GETTING OUT THE GOLD
With a rush and a roar the storm descended, increasing in intensity
each minute. Well it was for the Racer boys and their chum that they
had reached the cave in time, for they would have found it almost
impossible to make their way up the side of the hill in that downpour.
"A cloudburst; eh?" echoed Frank, as he came to the entrance of the
cavern and stood beside Billy. "It's lucky we got in on time."
"I should say so," agreed Andy. "Look at it rain!"
The water was coming down in sheets, and they could see scarcely ten
feet beyond the mouth of the cave. It seemed as if that terrific
thunder clap had actually shattered a cloud, and the rain, instead of
coming down in drops, was descending in torrents.
"If those other fellows--Shackmiller's crowd--are out on Golden Peak
now they'll need umbrellas," observed Andy, with grim wit.
"That's right," agreed his brother. "Lucky if they don't slide down to
the bottom."
"And that's likely to happen," added Billy. "Look at those small rivers
of mud and water."
He pointed to big rivulets that were coursing down the side of the hill
on either hand from the opening to the big cave. Horse or man would
have found it difficult to make progress against them, for they washed
the soil out from under foot.
"Well, now that we're here, what shall we do?" asked Frank. "No use
standing looking at the rain, even if it is a cloudburst."
"That's right," agreed Andy. "Let's get at the gold."
"I'm with you," came from Billy. "Say, we couldn't have found a better
place to camp in a storm. This cave is as dry as a barn."
"Oh, that's Racer luck," answered Andy, lightly.
"I believe you," agreed his Western chum. "Well, as long as we have
some lanterns, and can make torches from some of this dry wood in the
cave, let's explore it a bit."
The cavern was, as I have said, a large one, extending back under the
brow of Golden Peak. As the boys could see, it also branched off in
different directions, smaller caves opening from the large one.
"And the question is, where is the gold?" came from Andy.
They did not have to hunt long to find it. Hardly had they gone a
hundred feet back into the cave when Frank uttered a cry of delight and
wonder.
"Here it is!" he shouted. "Gold! Lots of it! Sticking right out of the
side of the cave!"
His brother and chum hurried to his side. Frank, holding his lantern
aloft, flashed it on a vein that glowed a golden yellow in the light.
"Maybe it's only 'fools' gold," suggested Andy.
"No, I think this is the real thing," came from Billy. "We can soon
tell."
Quickly he made the test, and gave a cry of delight.
"It's gold, all right!" he yelled. "Boys, we've found the treasure of
Golden Peak! Or, rather, Andy did, by falling into this cave!"
"Oh, I'll whack up even," said the younger Racer boy, quickly.
Now that they were sure they had come upon the gold they examined the
precious vein more closely. It cropped out in the soft sand-like rock
of the cavern wall, as though squeezed by some giant hand that had
crushed the rocks into their present form. The gold was in the form of
a soft ore, as if it had been mixed with clay or putty, and with their
hatchets the boys had no difficulty in chopping out a considerable
quantity.
"But hold on!" exclaimed Billy, when they had made a precious pile in
the middle of the cavern floor. "Now that we have located this lode
let's look for others. This one isn't going to run away, and we may
find a richer one to work."
"That's a good idea," declared Frank. "This will keep, and we might as
well go to the far end of the cave and see what's there. Maybe there's
a bigger vein."
They fed the horses, for it was now nearly noon, and then, eating
something themselves, they started for the rear of the cavern.
It was larger than they had imagined, but their plan of going to the
end of it was quickly halted. For, proceeding cautiously along, on the
lookout for pits or crevices, Frank suddenly uttered a cry of warning.
"Hold on!" he called. "There's a big hole here! I nearly stepped into
it! Bring the lights!"
His companions hastened to his side. There they saw that, extending
all the way across the floor of the cave, was a great crack, the other
side of which they could not discern. Silently Andy picked up a stone
and dropped it down. It was many seconds before, from the black depths,
came floating up the echoes of the crash as the rock found bottom.
"By Jove!" whispered Frank. "That must go all the way down to the foot
of the hill--thousands of feet!"
"And if you had fallen--" began his brother.
"But he didn't," said Billy quickly, for he was in the habit of
looking on the bright side. "Well, this ends the cave as far as we are
concerned. We can't go any further, and all we can do is to go back to
where we first found the gold and get out as much as we can."
"That's right," agreed the Racer boys, and, after another glance into
the black depths before them, they turned back. A look from the mouth
of the cave showed them that the terrific storm was still keeping up.