"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!"