ch in a
hundred miles of here, as I knows of. Go ahead an' pick out a place ter
camp. Ther boys will be here in a few minutes, fur it's about quittin'
time now. I'll tell 'em that Young Wild West, ther champion deadshot, is
here, an' you kin bet that they'll give yer a royal welcome!"

CHAPTER II.

OUR FRIENDS HEAR ABOUT FORBIDDEN PASS.

Young Wild West was not long in picking out a spot to camp upon.

It was right near a little, running brook that came tumbling down the
steep rocks and wound its way through the gentle slope upon which was
located the cluster of shanties.

It was easy to tell that the mining camp had not been in existence very
long, for the shanties were new.

As soon as the pack horses were unloaded our friends allowed the two
Chinamen to go ahead with the work of getting the camp in shape, while
they took a look around.

Almost opposite to the point they had rounded in order to ride into the
mining camp was a high ridge, which was easily a hundred feet above the
level. It extended around on both sides and joined the sloping,
irregular side of the mountain over which the trail ran.

Almost in the centre of this was a cut that was about thirty feet in
width, and it was so regular in shape that one would almost have taken
it to be the work of man.

But it was nothing more than one of the passes that are to be found in
the mountains, and which are so handy for travelers to proceed to a
given point in a more direct line.

Young Wild West noticed that a trail ran through the camp direct to the
pass. But it did not appear as though it was used a great deal, since
the wagon-ruts and hoof-prints had become obliterated in some parts.

"I wonder where that trail leads to?" our hero observed, as he tamed to
his two partners. "Wherever it goes, there are not many using it now, it
seems."

"It leads on up in the wilds of the mountains, by the looks of things,"
Jim Dart answered. "It may be that prospectors have gone that way and,
not finding anything worth while, have come back through the pass
again."

"Sorter looks that way, I reckon," said Cheyenne Charlie. "But, hello!
Ther miners is quittin' work. Now we'll soon see how many of 'em knows
us, as ther saloon man said they did."

Sure enough, the miners were seen heading for the saloon. They came from
different directions, for it was just six o'clock now, and they had quit
work for the day.

The claims that were being worked were all within