CHAPTER XXVII
GETTING OUT THE GOLD
With a rush and a roar the storm descended, increasing in intensity each minute. Well it was for the Racer boys and their chum that they had reached the cave in time, for they would have found it almost impossible to make their way up the side of the hill in that downpour.
"A cloudburst; eh?" echoed Frank, as he came to the entrance of the cavern and stood beside Billy. "It's lucky we got in on time."
"I should say so," agreed Andy. "Look at it rain!"
The water was coming down in sheets, and they could see scarcely ten feet beyond the mouth of the cave. It seemed as if that terrific thunder clap had actually shattered a cloud, and the rain, instead of coming down in drops, was descending in torrents.
"If those other fellows—Shackmiller's crowd—are out on Golden Peak now they'll need umbrellas," observed Andy, with grim wit.
"That's right," agreed his brother. "Lucky if they don't slide down to the bottom."
"And that's likely to happen," added Billy. "Look at those small rivers of mud and water."
He pointed to big rivulets that were coursing down the side of the hill on either hand from the opening to the big cave. Horse or man would have found it difficult to make progress against them, for they washed the soil out from under foot.
"Well, now that we're here, what shall we do?" asked Frank. "No use standing looking at the rain, even if it is a cloudburst."
"That's right," agreed Andy. "Let's get at the gold."
"I'm with you," came from Billy. "Say, we couldn't have found a better place to camp in a storm. This cave is as dry as a barn."
"Oh, that's Racer luck," answered Andy, lightly.
"I believe you," agreed his Western chum. "Well, as long as we have some lanterns, and can make torches from some of this dry wood in the cave, let's explore it a bit."
The cavern was, as I have said, a large one, extending back under the brow of Golden Peak. As the boys could see, it also branched off in different directions, smaller caves opening from the large one.
"And the question is, where is the gold?" came from Andy.
They did not have to hunt long to find it. Hardly had they gone a hundred feet back into the cave when Frank uttered a cry of delight and wonder.
"Here it is!" he shouted. "Gold! Lots of it! Sticking right out of the side of the cave!"
His brother and chum hurried to his side. Frank, holding his lantern aloft, flashed it on a vein that glowed a golden yellow in the light.
"Maybe it's only 'fools' gold," suggested Andy.
"No, I think this is the real thing," came from Billy. "We can soon tell."
Quickly he made the test, and gave a cry of delight.
"It's gold, all right!" he yelled. "Boys, we've found the treasure of Golden Peak! Or, rather, Andy did, by falling into this cave!"
"Oh, I'll whack up even," said the younger Racer boy, quickly.
Now that they were sure they had come upon the gold they examined the precious vein more closely. It cropped out in the soft sand-like rock of the cavern wall, as though squeezed by some giant hand that had crushed the rocks into their present form. The gold was in the form of a soft ore, as if it had been mixed with clay or putty, and with their hatchets the boys had no difficulty in chopping out a considerable quantity.
"But hold on!" exclaimed Billy, when they had made a precious pile in the middle of the cavern floor. "Now that we have located this lode let's look for others. This one isn't going to run away, and we may find a richer one to work."
"That's a good idea," declared Frank. "This will keep, and we might as well go to the far end of the cave and see what's there. Maybe there's a bigger vein."
They fed the horses, for it was now nearly noon, and then, eating something themselves, they started for the rear of the cavern.
It was larger than they had imagined, but their plan of going to the end of it was quickly halted. For, proceeding cautiously along, on the lookout for pits or crevices, Frank suddenly uttered a cry of warning.
"Hold on!" he called. "There's a big hole here! I nearly stepped into it! Bring the lights!"
His companions hastened to his side. There they saw that, extending all the way across the floor of the cave, was a great crack, the other side of which they could not discern. Silently Andy picked up a stone and dropped it down. It was many seconds before, from the black depths, came floating up the echoes of the crash as the rock found bottom.
"By Jove!" whispered Frank. "That must go all the way down to the foot of the hill—thousands of feet!"
"And if you had fallen—" began his brother.
"But he didn't," said Billy quickly, for he was in the habit of looking on the bright side. "Well, this ends the cave as far as we are concerned. We can't go any further, and all we can do is to go back to where we first found the gold and get out as much as we can."
"That's right," agreed the Racer boys, and, after another glance into the black depths before them, they turned back. A look from the mouth of the cave showed them that the terrific storm was still keeping up.