“Fooled again!” was the exclamation that was forcing itself to Tubby’s irrepressible lips when he stopped short, struck by the look of keen disappointment on the major’s face.
“It looks as if we had had all our trouble for nothing, boys,” he began, when Rob interrupted.
“What’s that off there, major, through the bushes yonder. You can see it best from here.”
The major hastened to the young leader’s side.
“It’s a sort of cliff or precipice,” he cried.
“Maybe the man of stone is located there,” suggested Rob; “it’s worth trying, don’t you think so, sir?”
“By all means. This growth may have sprung up since the treasure was hidden away, and so have concealed the place.”
Once more the party moved on. A few paces through the undergrowth brought them to the foot of a steepish cliff of rough, gray stone. It appeared to be about thirty feet or more in height. Above it towered the rugged peak of the first of the Three Brothers.
“Now, where’s the man of stone?” asked the professor in a puzzled tone, gazing about him.
“There’s certainly no indication of a man of that material or any other,” opined the major, likewise peering in every direction.