“Keep it up, boys, and you’ll soon have everything well named,” said the coroner with appreciative cheeriness.
Just then all were startled by an interruption from Mr. Miles who had been busy while the others were exclaiming over the discovery of the money and the gems. In one hand he held a coat and in the other several objects the size of small potatoes which he had drawn from one of the pockets. The objects were of a soiled yellow.
“I’ve found my nuggets! I’ve found my nuggets!” cried the aviator gleefully. “Hal, you’re fully exonerated now, and the mystery of the bag of specimens in the cave is solved. Maxwell found them in the cañon, took them behind the waterfall, picked out the nuggets, left the bag in the cave and accidentally dropped one of the lumps of gold!”
Before the excitement of this discovery was over, another thriller was added to the rapid succession of events. Suddenly from the very cave in which they had seen the mountain lion on the day before, issued a dark object, which bounded down an incline of stones and earth and sped with swift leaps past the aeroplane and off toward the edge of the mountain-top plateau.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE AIR.
Coroner Huffman was quickest to act. His rifle was leaning against a rock near by, and he snatched it up and took two shots at the flying animal before it disappeared. Apparently the panther was not hit.
But Mr. Miles was scarcely less active. Like a sprinter, he started for his airship, twenty yards away, calling out:
“Come on, a couple of you. We’ll chase him. Bring the guns.”
There was a general race toward the aeroplane. The aviator leaped aboard and busied himself rapidly with the motor. As the rest lined up before the machine, Dr. Byrd said:
“Coroner, you and Hal get aboard. You have guns.”