"Jack Wumble!" cried Sam. "Really!"
"Put her thar! Put her thar!" cried the man, and took hold of the hand of each at once. "Ain't this great! Whar ye bound now anyhow? Goin' to locate another mine—like thet one we found out in Colorady?"
"No, we are not looking for a mine this trip," answered Dick. "We are on the trail of something far more important."
"More important than a gold mine?" demanded Jack Wumble, his eyes opening widely.
"Yes. We are on the trail of my brother Tom, who is out of his mind and has wandered away."
"Hoss pistols an' rattlesnakes! Ye don't tell me! Well, if Tom is missin' count me in on the hunt fer him," was the quick and earnest response.
CHAPTER XVIII
AT JUNEAU AND SKAGWAY
Jack Wumble was an old miner and prospector, a man the boys had met years before in Colorado, when they went to that section of our country to locate a mine belonging to their father. As related in detail in "The Rover Boys Out West," Wumble had been of great assistance to them and he knew them all well. He had, after numerous stirring adventures, located a claim for himself, which, at the time, paid very well. Lately, however, the Rovers had not heard from him, and they had often wondered what had become of the man.