"That's what I say. Otherwise how did Ramon and Kie Wicks find out about the claims in the first place?" asked Bet.
"There's no mystery in that, Bet. Kie saw us coming here and followed. He spied on us, saw us building the monuments and then came and jumped the claims," explained Kit.
"All but one!" cried Bet as she clapped her hands. "And on that one little neglected claim, we find the tracings that will perhaps lead us to the buried treasure. That's luck!"
"Oh Bet, wake up, you're dreaming!" laughed Shirley, the quiet, sensible girl. Never in the world would Shirley have dreamed or let her imagination run wild. She was a practical, well-balanced girl, a clear thinker and not given to romantic flights of fancy.
"The bubble's burst!" sang Joy tantalizingly.
"It has not!" Bet swung easily into the saddle. "The bubble isn't blown yet. Just wait and see!"
In single file they rode down into the canyon below them and let their horses pick a way through the rocks of the creek bed.
Just as they passed through the Iron Gate, the narrow pass that led to
Lost Canyon, they met Kie Wicks.
"Nice weather for a picnic!" he called to them gaily with a wave of his dusty sombrero. "That's an interesting canyon!"
"Yes," the judge replied with his most courteous air. "We find it very interesting. The girls located a claim up that way, and have started work on it."