"There," he said as he held it forth to view. "That's just as good as the original."
"It's a mighty pretty picture," scoffed George. "The only trouble with it is that no one knows whether it is correct or not."
"Zeke, isn't that drawing all right?" demanded John as he held forth the paper to the guide.
"It isn't so far wrong," acknowledged Zeke cautiously, "but I guess we'll be able to do something whether we have any paper or not. I'm more afraid of those two men than I am that we shan't be able to draw th' picture that old Sime had in his diary."
All four boys looked keenly into the face of the guide but no one inquired concerning the meaning of his words.
"Well, the little book is gone, anyway," continued Zeke. "We've got to decide what we'll do without it. When do you boys want to start?"
"What do you mean? For the lost mine?" demanded Fred.
"That's what I thought you wanted to do."
"Well, we do all right," said Fred quickly. "Are we ready to start?"
"We can be in a few minutes," said Zeke. "I think we can drop down the river in the two boats. That will be easier than climbing up the cliffs."