And where were Julian and Jack all this while? To begin with, they were in the ravine, making all the haste they could to leave the robbers behind and reach the haunted mine before their provisions gave out. That troubled them worse than anything.
"If our grub stops, where are we going to get more?" asked Jack. "I don't believe there is a house any nearer than Dutch Flat."
"And we can't get there any too soon," returned Julian. "At any rate, we are better off than Claus is. What do you suppose they intend to do with him?"
"I suppose they intend to divide the money with him. What makes you think they would do anything else?"
"From the way they treated him. If we could learn the whole upshot of the matter, you would find that they don't intend to give him a dollar."
"I wish we could see Mr. Banta for about five minutes," said Jack. "I don't like to give up that money. It is the first we ever earned by digging in the ground, and I was going to suggest to you that we keep some of it."
Julian replied by lengthening his steps and going ahead at a faster rate than ever. He, too, did not like to confess that the money was lost,—that is, if they could only get word to Mr. Banta in time. He did not know where the robbers were heading for; but, with two hundred men at his back, Julian was certain he could come up with them before they had left the country entirely.
"But I hope they will not hurt the robbers," said Julian. "If they will just get the dust, that is all I shall ask of them."
About five o'clock in the afternoon, when it began to grow dark in the ravine, Julian, who had been all the time leading the way, stopped and pointed silently before him. Jack looked, and there was the camp they had occupied two nights before.
"We are on the right road, so far," said he. "If we don't miss our way to-morrow we are all right."