What was, and what share the Racer boys had in some further adventures, will be told of in the next volume of this series, to be called "The Racer Boys on Guard, Or, The Rebellion at Riverview Hall."
It did not take long to reach the dam, where the boat was moored, and then the Racer boys, and their chum, with Mr. Thornton and the cowboys, rode across the prairie to the ranch. The gates in the dam were closed, and that night Golden Peak disappeared forever under the waters of the irrigation lake.
There is little more to tell. The treasure did not amount to as much as the boys had hoped it would, but still it was a substantial sum.
"Besides, look at the fun we had!" exclaimed Andy.
"That's all you think of," complained his brother, with a laugh.
"Well, haven't we a right to, after what we've gone through?" asked Andy.
"I should say so," agreed Billy. "Oh, but I'm glad you boys came West with me! I've never had such a fine summer."
"And we got the best of Shackmiller and his crowd," commented Frank. "You won't have anything to fear now, when you come back to Riverview Hall, Billy."
"That's right, though I don't know whether I'll come back or not."
As Frank had said, the Shackmillers were completely routed. The twin brothers disappeared after Sam had recovered from his injuries. Later it was learned that Bruce Shackmiller had played the part of the hypocrite while being taken care of at Double X ranch. It was he who had taken the valuable paper and escaped in the night, though the document did him no good. As for the others who had sought the treasure of Golden Peak, and claimed the land that was rightfully Mr. Thornton's, they, too, went their several ways, it not being thought worth while to seek to bring them to justice, even though they had tried their best to endanger the lives of our heroes.