Part 30 (1/2)
”All right,” agreed Ted, though he thought perhaps Baby William might be in the way at the gold mine.
”Where is he?” asked Jan.
They looked around for the little fellow. He was not in sight.
”He got down from the table and was playing over there on the path a while ago,” said Grandpa Martin, and he pointed toward the path that led to the gold mine. But Trouble was not in sight now.
”He must have wandered off into the woods,” said his mother. ”I've kept him close by me all day, and he didn't like it. Trouble! William!” she called aloud. ”Where are you?”
Ted and Jan looked at one another. Hal seemed startled. The same thought came to all three of them:
”Suppose Trouble had fallen down the big hole at the gold mine?”
CHAPTER XVI
A GLAD SURPRISE
Janet, Ted and Hal started to run.
”Where are you going?” called Mrs. Martin after them. ”Wait for Trouble!”
”We're going to find him,” answered Janet.
”Maybe he fell down the big hole we dug for a gold mine,” added Ted.
”What do you mean?” gasped Mrs. Martin.
”What have you Curlytops been up to now?” asked Grandpa Martin.
”We dug a big hole to find the gold the tramps are looking for on this island,” explained Hal, who walked on slowly, following Mrs. Martin, who had run after Ted and Janet. ”Maybe the little boy fell into it.”
”Where did you dig the big hole?” asked grandpa, and he, too, began to be afraid that something had happened.
”Up near what Ted calls the cave. It's got a ladder in it, our gold mine hole has, and maybe Trouble could climb out on that.”
”If it's a hole deep enough for a ladder, I'm afraid he couldn't,” said Grandpa Martin. ”You children must have dug a pretty big hole.”
”We wanted to find the gold,” explained Hal.
”What gold?”
”The gold the tramps are looking for here on Star Island. Ted told me about them, and I suppose they were after gold. We want to find it first.”
”There isn't any gold here, and you mustn't dig holes so deep that Trouble--or anyone else--would wander off and fall into them,” said Mr.
Martin. ”However, I presume it will be all right. But we must hurry there and find out what has happened.”
He and Hal hastened on, following Mrs. Martin and the Curlytops, who were now out of sight around a turn in the path that led to the big hole. Hal was rather frightened, for he knew it was his idea, more than the plans of Jan and Ted, that had caused the ”gold mine” to be dug.
On and on, along the path and up the hill hurried grandpa and Mrs.