and
farther west the boys were wild with delight at the beautiful prospect,
the wild stretches of country and the glimpses of the free life on the
plains.

Sleeping in the berths, eating in the dining-car and looking out of the
windows of the big Pullman were keen delights to Dick's companions,
none of whom had ever traveled in such a fashion before, though to the
millionaire's son it was more or less familiar.

When they reached the last stage of their journey and were within a few
hours' ride of Yazoo City the five boys, at Tim's suggestion, changed
from the parlor car to an ordinary one.

"It'll look better t' climb down out of a poor man's car dan from de
coach wid de velvet curtains at de windows," he said. "Students ain't
supposed t' be lookin' fer places t' t'row money away." For they had
agreed to pass themselves off as students, come West to look at mines in
general.

Thus it was that no unusual comments were made by the crowd at the
station in Yazoo City when the five boys and a few other passengers
alighted from the train.

It was a typical Western town, rather larger than an ordinary one, for
it was the centre for a prosperous mining section. Across from the
station were two hotels, one called the Imperial Inn and the other the
Royal Hotel.

"Doesn't seem to be much choice," observed Frank Bender. "Neither one
looks as if royalty was in the habit of stopping at it."

"We'll go to the Royal," decided Dick. "The lawyer, whom dad wrote to
about the mine, stops there, and I want to see him."

Accordingly the five boys walked across the street and entered the
lobby of the hotel. It was even less pretentious on the inside than
viewed from without, but it looked clean. Dick led the way up to the
desk, to engage rooms for himself and friends.

"Glad t' see you, strangers," greeted the man behind the desk with easy
familiarity. "What might yo' uns be, if I might make so bold as to ask?
Travelin' show or capitalists lookin' fer a good payin' mine?"

"We're studying mining conditions," replied Dick. "Traveling for
information."

"Ah, I see," interrupted the hotel proprietor, who also acted as clerk.
"We've had some of you college boys out here before. Welcome to Yazoo
City," and Dick and his companions were glad that the man had put his
own interpretation on their object in coming West. He swung the book
around to them and Dick signed first. The pen was poor and the ink
worse, so it was no wonder that h