"That," said Frank, and he could not keep a note of satisfaction from his voice; "that is the treasure of Golden Peak!"
"The treasure of Golden Peak?" cried Mr. Thornton. "Are you joking? Was there a treasure?"
"There was!" cried his nephew, "and we got it," and then, when they had all boarded the barge, though it was no easy work to induce the animals to embark, the boys told their story, while the cowboys propelled the boat toward the lower end of the lake.
"Well, you certainly are the luckiest chaps I ever saw," said Mr. Thornton. "And it all happened just as you guessed. There must have been a traitor among the construction gang, who informed the Shackmiller crowd of your plans. We thought you had gone camping somewhere else as you said you would.
"Then, when you did not come home, after the rain kept up, your aunt got worried. I tried to tell her it was all right, but she insisted that we go out and hunt you up. We were just starting when one of my men saw the smoke on Golden Peak. Then I guessed the truth and I ordered the gates of the dam opened, so the waters would stop rising."
"And only just in time, too," said Frank. "We were so busy in the cave, getting out the gold, that we never noticed the rising waters, or we might have escaped unaided."
"But what about those men who made trouble for you?" asked Billy of his uncle.
"Oh, they've cleared out," said Mr. Thornton. "I've got them just where I want them, now. Though I did go ahead without any legal authority and flood this region I was within my rights for, only yesterday, I succeeded—or rather, my lawyers did—in getting full title to the land in dispute. There is no doubt now that Golden Peak, and the approach to it, is mine beyond question. And it will soon be where no one can get at it, for I'm going to let the waters rise again as soon as we land, and Golden Peak will be no more—that is unless there is more gold there."
"No, I think we got all there was," said Frank. "I'm glad we dug it out when we had the chance. This is the first treasure hunt I was ever on."
"And very successful," added Andy. "Say, but things have been happening lately. I wonder what's next on the list?"