hey
are I don't know. Plenty o' miners travel this trail at one time or
another."

They looked at the distant horsemen for several minutes. Then the
field-glasses were put away and they continued their journey.

Nightfall found them in a district that, to the boys, was desolation
itself. Rocks were on every side, with little patches of the coarsest
kind of growth, brushwood, stalk-like grass, and cacti. The air was so
pure and thin that it fairly made one's nose tingle to breathe it.

All were tired out--indeed the boys were so stiff from the long ride
that they could scarcely climb down from their saddles. But not for the
world were they going to let Tom Dillon know this. They had told the old
miner that they were used to roughing it and they wanted to "make good"
in his eyes.

Some brushwood was gathered and a fire started, and the horses were
tethered near by. The old miner knew where there was a spring of
drinkable water--something occasionally hard to find in a district full
of all sorts of minerals--and soon they had some boiling for coffee.
Then their outfit was unstrapped, and they prepared supper and got ready
to turn in for the night.

"I wonder if we can't see something of the campfire of Abe Blower, if he
is ahead," remarked Dave.

"We might have a look for it," answered Roger.

There was a tall rock just behind their camp, and this the two youths
climbed, Phil saying he was too tired to stir. It was harder work than
Dave and Roger had anticipated, but, once they had started, they hated
to give up. Up and up and still up they went, climbing from one
elevation to another by means of the rocks themselves and bits of coarse
grass and brushwood.

"There, I reckon we are high enough now!" cried the senator's son, after
nearly half an hour's climbing. "Anyway, I am going to stop!" And he
began to pant for breath.

The two boys looked around them. The sun had sunk to rest behind the
mountain in the west, and the hollows between the hills were deep in the
gloom of the oncoming night. Far back on the trail they had come they
saw a small fire start up.

"That must be the campfire of those three horsemen," said Dave.

"More than likely," responded his chum. "Do you see anything ahead?"

Both looked, but for a long time could see nothing. Then they caught a
faint gleam from a point apparently halfway up the mountain, in the
direction where the Landslide Mine was supposed to be located.

"Maybe that's Ab