They managed to shoot some sage hens and a partridge or two, insuring them a good dinner.
"But I don't see any treasure," complained Andy.
"There's where someone has been digging for it," remarked Billy, pointing to a hole in the ground. "But I guess he gave it up as a bad job."
There was quite an excavation amid the dirt and yellow rocks, but it had been abandoned after having been sunk to a depth of about five feet, showing that the looked-for gold, or other precious minerals, had not been found.
"I wonder what the treasure will be?" ventured Frank.
"Gold, I hope," said Billy. "As soon as we get to a likely place we'll do a little digging ourselves, but there's no use trying where these fellows have, for they'd find it if it was in plain sight."
"How will we know gold if we see it?" asked Frank.
"Oh, I've got a prospector's testing outfit," replied the ranch lad. "I can manage to wash some of the dirt or gravel, and if I get some yellow particles that will stand the acid test I'll know we're on the right track."
"These rocks look as if they contained some gold," suggested Andy, a little later, leaping from his horse to pick up several of the yellow stones.
Billy laughed.