THE RISING WATER
"Well, how much do you think we've got?" asked Andy Racer, as he sat
down on a pile of dirt, and looked at a mass of dull, gleaming yellow
near the side of the cavern.
"Oh, we must have two or three thousand dollars' worth," declared Frank.
"More than that," came from Billy, who was wielding a shovel, pausing
at intervals for a rest. "Of course this isn't pure gold, as it's mixed
with clay and earth, to say nothing of the rocks, but with all that we
must have nearly five thousand dollars' worth."
"As much as that?" cried Andy, eagerly.
"I think so," replied the ranch boy. "Of course my test isn't very
reliable, and about all I am able to do is to say that it really _is_
gold that we're digging out. But I think we have struck it rich, all
right."
"And to think those fellows have been searching all the while for the
treasure of Golden Peak and didn't find it!" commented Andy. "It was
just our luck."
Billy again resumed his digging, loosening the soft soil in which
appeared the curious out-cropping of the gold vein. For it was curious.
It defied all the known laws of mining. It seemed that, ages ago, there
must have been some upheaval of nature that thrust into the interior of
the hill a streak of rich metal, isolated, as it were, from everything
else.
Then the cave was formed, making a sort of envelope above the treasure,
and it had been undiscovered for many years. Then came the unfortunate
prospector, who, after finding the rich deposit, went crazy. Others had
searched for it in vain.
Suddenly Billy uttered a cry of dismay.
"What's the matter?" asked Frank.
"It's gone!" was the answer.
"What is?"
"The gold streak! It's come to an end!"
They flashed their lanterns and torches into the crevice where Billy
was working. It was only too true. After digging out a considerable
quantity of the valuable earth, filled with gold, the seam, or vein,
had come to an abrupt end.
"No more gold here," said Billy, digging his spade into the side of the
cave.
"Maybe it crops out somewhere else," suggested Frank.
"In that case we'll have to have more tools, and help, to get at it,"
said the boy from the ranch. "We've reached our limit now."
"Let's try on the other side," suggested Andy. "There may be a vein
there."
They looked--going carefully over the opposite side of the cavern--but
no yellow streaks showed. It was as if all the gold had been collected
in one narrow space.
"And we can't pass beyond the chasm in the floor of the cave," said
Frank, referring to the big opening down which he had nearly fallen.
"Not without a bridge," said Andy. "But we can go back to the ranch,
and come here again to look for more gold."
"Let's make sure of what we have, first," suggested Andy. "We ought to
get this in shape to carry home."
Looking carefully into the big crack they had dug in the wall of the
cave, to make certain that it contained no more of the precious metal,
the boys proceeded to put into bags the treasure they already had. It
was heavy, but they did not mind that, and, as it was about half pure
gold, they figured that they had a goodly sum.
"I guess the burros can pack it back to the ranch," said Billy, as they
made up bundle after bundle.
"Especially since our grub is nearly gone, and they won't have to carry
that," added Frank.
"But it will be hard going through the rain," said Andy, for the big
storm had still kept up, though not with such fury. The rain still
descended, and the wind blew, but the cloudburst was a thing of the
past.
They made the gold into small packages, so that they could easily be
put on the backs of the pack animals. Since they had taken up their
camp in the cave they had not gone out, as there was no necessity. They
had their food, they could cook it over fires made in the cavern, their
horses were safely stabled, and all there was to do was to dig out the
gold.
The treasure of Golden Peak had not amounted to nearly as much as they
had hoped it would, but it was still a good find, and they were very
glad.
"Well, I suppose we might as well move," suggested Frank, when they had
put all the precious ore into bags. "We can come back later and make a
bridge across the chasm to see if there is any of the yellow stuff on
the other side."
"Yes, I guess we've got all we can get at present," added Billy.
"Besides, my uncle will be glad to get word that we are going to leave
so he can close the dam, and----"
"But if there is more gold here he won't do that!" interrupted Frank.
"We ought to hurry and tell him that we have found the treasure, and
to wait a while before flooding Golden Peak."
"That's so," agreed the ranch boy. "We'll do it. Let's get back to the
ranch as fast as we can."
Little more preparation was required to put them in shape for travel.
It was still raining, but they did not mind that, though they realized
that they would have to make quite a circuit in order to pass the
river, which would be much swollen.
"Forward!" cried Frank, when the burros were laden with the remains of
the food, and the precious sacks of gold. "Back to the ranch!"
They emerged from the mouth of the cave. Riding their horses, holding
them well in hand, lest they slip on the wet earth, and leading the
burros, the lads began their homeward march with the treasure of Golden
Peak.
As Frank, who was in the lead, made a turn in the downward trail, he
suddenly came to a halt. Then he uttered a cry of alarm.
"What is it?" called Andy.
"The water--the rising water!" answered his brother. "Look, there's a
lake below us! We're surrounded by water!"
[Illustration: "LOOK, THERE'S A LAKE BELOW US! WE'RE SURROUNDED BY
WATER!"]
It was even as he said. A quarter of a mile down from the top of Golden
Peak there was a sea of turbid water, and it was still rising.
"What has happened?" cried Andy.
"The gates of the dam are closed!" shouted Billy. "There has been
some mistake! Uncle Richfield has closed the dam, and the lake is
being made! We're caught here on Golden Peak! Everything else is under
water!"