Nervous and excited, with grim-set expressions, they put their bronchos in motion again, following the course of the stream as closely as dense vegetation would permit.
Broad shafts of light soon penetrated the woods, and before long only scattered groups of trees lay beyond.
Not a word was spoken as the ponies walked around the last of these and came to a halt on a knoll which commanded a clear view of the far-reaching slopes below.
One glance was enough.
A number of men, widely scattered, were seen digging with pick and shovel.
"Beaten!" cried Dick Travers, in a despairing voice.
CHAPTER XXI
ALONG THE CREEK
The lumberjacks had taken possession of land which the boys considered as rightfully belonging to them. Disappointment, chagrin, and a whirlwind of strange feelings surged through their beings. They had matched uncertainty with hopefulness, and the realization that defeat had actually come was a stunning blow.