Following carefully the directions given them by Norman, Ned and Jimmie toiled up the slope until they came to the summit of the ridge which lay along the side of the Sierra Nevadas and then turned to the north. The way was steep and rocky, but in their anxiety and excitement they made good progress.
“The boy may be lying,” Ned replied in answer to Jimmie’s question, “but we can’t take that for granted. We’ve just got to go and see if the boys are in such a predicament as he described.”
“At first,” Jimmie announced, “I had rather a good opinion of Norman. But lately I’ve been thinking over all the tricks he has played on us, and I’m becoming convinced that he is a bad egg.”
“The record does look rather black,” Ned answered. “Every time we have listened to advice or suggestions from him, we have gotten into trouble. He has always told a good story, and we have always had the worst of it. If this proves true in the present case, we will settle with him the next time he comes across our path.”
“You don’t suppose they’ll go to the camp and stir up Gilroy, do you?” asked Jimmie after a long time.
“If they do, he’ll be scared out of his skin!” Ned laughed.
“What made me ask,” Jimmie went on, “is that I saw lights flashing back there, and I thought I heard some one calling.”
“You must be mistaken!” Ned insisted.
“Now just come over here and look for yourself,” Jimmie answered. “Here’s an elevation, something like the one I stood on when I saw the commotion and heard the voice at the camp. Come on over and see what you can make of it.”
Ned stepped to the elevation occupied by his chum and looked out over the slope of the mountain. From where he stood the entrance to the cave was not in sight, it being concealed by the dip of the rock in which the cavern lay. However, a short distance up the slope, he saw a light moving and heard the call of a frightened voice.