CHAPTER XXVII
THE JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAIN
By noon of the day following the Rover expedition was on its way to the mountain said to be so rich in gold. The students from Yale went with them.
"It's like a romance, this search after your father," said Chester to Dick. "I hope you find him. You can rest assured that our party will do all we can for you. Specimen hunting is all well enough, but man hunting is far more interesting."
"I would like to go on a regular hunt for big game some day," said Tom. He had already mentioned Mortimer Blaze to the Yale students.
"Yes, that's nice—if you are a crack shot, like Sanders. He can knock the spots from a playing card at a hundred yards."
"Maybe he's a Western boy," laughed Sam.
"He is. His father owns a big cattle ranch there, and Sanders learned to shoot while rounding up cattle. He's a tip-top fellow."
They had passed over a small plain and were now working along a series of rough rocks overgrown with scrub brush and creeping vines full of thorns. The thorns stuck everybody but Cujo, who knew exactly how to avoid them.
"Ise dun got scratched in 'steen thousand places," groaned Aleck.
"Dis am worse dan a bramble bush twice ober, by golly!"