Part 6 (1/2)
”If we could only pitch in and help Ross find the gold, we'd square ourselves with Uncle Aaron for the rest of our lives,” reainst you now?” asked Ross, in surprise
Teddy's eyes twinkled as he looked at Fred
”Oh, no,” he explained, ”not especially Down in his heart I think he's rather fond of us But he's a bachelor, and he hasn't ot in bad with hiainst the horse of a coach he was riding in and e and went head first into the river Do you re?”
”Will I ever forget it?” chuckled Fred, as the picture of his uncle, with his hair plastered over his face and the water strea from his bony frame, came up before him
”He was furious,” explained Teddy, ”and he orse yet when he found that he'd spoiled his watch and lost soh, and that h I don't think he approves of us yet But if we could get this ive us a clean bill of health”
”Uncle Aaron likes h I will say that when he does spend, he does it royally He certainly fixed us up in style when he bought the tickets for us to go out to Bill's ranch He's got a hair-trigger teood old chap”
”I think he ht have seized what property we've got in payment of the debt, but when he learned that father had died and thaton, he did not trouble us And that's one thing that er to pay what father owed hiht to do!” exclaiht to spend the rest of our vacation here helping Ross look for the gold
There'll be lots of fun and excitement in it anyway, even if we never lay eyes on it”
”And think what it would loated Teddy
”Think what Uncle Aaron would say, and how proud father andof how Ross would feel, if we got back his father's ood to et the motor boat back for Ross, there won't be a spot on the coast within fifty miles that we can't explore Between us, we et lots of fun out of the hunt”
”Like the old darky with his lottery ticket,” laughed Bill ”His boss reproved hi money on a mere chance 'Oh, I dunno, boss,'
the old felloered 'T'ree dollars ain't hty good of you fellows to help h had subsided ”Of course, if you do find it, there'll be a great big reward in it for you I know that isn't what you are looking for, but you'll get it just the same”
”We'll leave that all to you,” answered Lester ”We've got to find it first”
”Like the old English recipe for cooking rabbit that begins: 'First catch the hare,'” chuckled Fred
The lads sat about the fire for another hour, too excited by all that had happened to think of sleep Then Lester gave the signal
”Come, boys,” he said, ”we'll have plenty of tiet so, if the storm has blown over It's me for the downy couch now and the early bird stunt in the ”
The ”downy couch” resolved itself into beds hollowed out in the sand with the boys' coats rolled up for pillows But no king in his bed of state ever enjoyed a sounder sleep than that into which the tired boys fell at once, while the fire died down and the surf beat on the rocks outside
CHAPTER VII
THE DRIFTING MOTOR BOAT
The sun had not yet risen the next ns of co comrades with a shake on the shoulder for each
”Co, you sleepy heads,” he cried, as they sat up and rubbed their eyes ”We et off Lively's the word”
”You old tyrant,” yawned Teddy ”I feel as though I'd just got to sleep”