"Then there isn't any use in staying here?"
"Not unless we can find another deposit."
They hunted for it without success, remaining for several days in the place of their first strike. Then the miner decided they should continue on up into the mountains.
"The gold is above us," he said. "We've got to climb up to it."
They broke camp, packed their supplies on the backs of the horses, and started forward.
"Well, we made some money, anyhow," said Jed. "Our first attempt wasn't so bad."
"Yes, we cleaned up a few hundred dollars," admitted Gabe, "but that's hardly enough to pay our expenses for the time we spent. We'll have to have better luck than that, and I believe we will."
"I wish we could send word to dad," added Will.
"Better wait until we make a real strike," suggested Mr. Harrison. "No use raising false hopes."
They journeyed on for several days in a lonely part of the mountain, meeting no one. They had some luck, but not much, and the boys began to fear they would never reach a place where they could make a permanent camp, and dig gold in quantities sufficient to make it pay. But Gabe was not discouraged. He was too old a hand at the game of gold hunting.