The man of the thin features produced the revolver from its holster and sat down on a snow-covered rock near the top of the shaft. He held the weapon negligently, but there was no doubt that he could level it at the Hardy boys in a second if they attempted to escape.

“You can sit down if you want,” he said. His partner still retained a tight grasp on Frank. “Let him go, Shorty. I’ve got this gun here and I guess they won’t try to get away. We may as well be comfortable.”

The fellow addressed as “Shorty” moved away from Frank and sat down by his companion. The Hardy boys found a heap of rocks near by and seated themselves. They knew there was no use of attempting to escape as long as that ugly-looking revolver was in the hand of their captor.

“Say, Slim,” remarked Shorty, “do you think Black Pepper is at the camp?”

The other man nodded.

“Yeah! He came back this morning.”

Slim looked up at the Hardy boys.

“What were you guys lookin’ for in that mine, anyway?”

“Oysters,” replied Frank, with a grin.

“None of your funny stuff,” rapped out Slim. “We’ll make you talk soon enough. We know what you’re after.”

“What did you ask us for, then?” asked Joe.

The outlaws were silent. They saw that nothing was to be gained by seeking information from the lads. They were content to await the return of Black Pepper and their companion Jack.

Frank and Joe Hardy sat on the snow-covered rocks in silence. Slowly Frank put his hand behind his back and began to grope about among the rocks. He knew that they were loose and that they were of various sizes. The idea had occurred to him that if he could but use one of them as a weapon he might be able to disarm Slim and perhaps effect his escape and that of his brother.

Bit by bit he groped about. One rock was too large for him to grasp. Another was too small to be of any use. Finally his hands closed about a good-sized stone that came from the rest of the pile without much difficulty.

He calculated the distance and eyed the revolver warily. Frank had been pitcher on the Bayport high school nine and the accuracy of his aim had often been the despair of opposing batsmen. Now he called on all his skill.

Without moving from his position he suddenly brought up the rock and flung it with all his strength directly at the revolver in Slim’s hand. The outlaw’s grip on the weapon had relaxed in his indifference, and when the stone struck its mark, full and true, the gun went flying into the deep snow.

“Come on, Joe!” shouted Frank scrambling to his feet. He had noticed a path leading through the snow in the direction of the road that went to Hank Shale’s cabin and he ran toward this path with all the speed at his command. Joe had not been slow to grasp the situation, and he too came racing through the snow but a few paces behind.

The outlaws were taken off their guard. Slim instinctively reached for his revolver, but it had disappeared in the snow and he wasted many precious seconds hunting for it. Shorty had leaped after the boys, then, seeing that his companion did not follow, he hesitated, ran back, and then turned around again. He did not know what to do.

“After them!” roared Slim, and Shorty took up the pursuit. But his indecision had given the Hardy boys the opportunity they needed. They had a good start on their pursuer and Shorty was but a clumsy runner at best. Frank gained the path and there his progress was swifter because he was not handicapped by the impeding snow. Slim finally abandoned his search for the weapon and also took up the chase, but by this time he was far behind.

The boys gained the main road, with Shorty ploughing along in pursuit. Even yet they were not safe, but chance came to their aid in the shape of a stage that ran from Lucky Bottom to one of the neighboring camps. It rattled along, with sleighbells jingling, the driver muffled to the ears, and when Shorty and Slim caught sight of it they slowed up and abandoned the chase. The open road was a dangerous place. They did not wish any interference from the stage driver or his passengers.

When Frank and Joe saw that their pursuers had turned back they slowed down to a walk. Hank Shale’s cabin was already in sight.

“We gave them the slip, all right,” declared Frank jubilantly.

“I’ll tell the world we did. Black Pepper and the other fellow will be hopping mad when they come back and find that we’ve escaped.”

“We’ll have to be on the lookout for them from now on. They won’t stop until they do lay their hands on us.”

“Perhaps it’s just as well. We can be on our guard. If we weren’t expecting anything wrong we’d be liable to walk right into their arms.”

When the boys reached the cabin they found their father and Hank Shale greatly worried by their prolonged absence. They told of their descent into the abandoned mine, of the cave-in, and of their subsequent escape, of their capture by Black Pepper’s men and of their getaway. Mr. Hardy looked grave.

“I think we’d better drop the case,” he said finally. “It’s too big a risk to take.”

“Why?” asked the boys, in surprise.

“You might have been buried alive in that mine, in the first place. I would never have forgiven myself. And now that you have run up against Black Pepper’s gang they’ll be out to get you. I don’t want to be responsible for making you run those risks.”

“We won’t drop the case,” laughed Frank. “It’s just getting interesting now. We’ll find that gold for you, Dad.”

“Don’t worry about us,” chimed in Joe. “We can look after ourselves. We probably won’t be up against any worse dangers than the ones we faced today.”

“Well,” said Mr. Hardy, reluctantly, “you’ve come all the way out here, and I suppose you’ll be disappointed if I don’t let you go ahead; but I don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks.”

“I’m thinkin’ they’ll pull through all right,” said Hank Shale solemnly. “Let the lads be, Mr. Hardy.”

So, with this encouragement, Mr. Hardy consented to let his sons continue their activities on the case. Both Frank and Joe promised to take all due precautions and next morning they resumed their search for the missing gold.

During the days that followed they explored several abandoned workings, but the hunt was fruitless. They succeeded only in getting themselves well covered with dirt and grime and would return to the cabin hungry and weary. There had been no sign of any members of Black Pepper’s gang. But finally Hank Shale, who had been down to the general store at Lucky Bottom one day, had news for them.

“They be sayin’ down town,” declared the old miner, “that Black Pepper and his gang have broke up camp.”

“Have they left Lucky Bottom?” asked Mr. Hardy quickly.

Hank Shale shook his head. “Nobody knows. They had a camp somewheres back in the mountain, but they’ve all cleared away from it. Maybe the two lads here scared ’em.”

“They’ve likely just moved to a new camping place,” remarked Frank.

“I hope so,” said Mr. Hardy. “If they’ve gone away it means that the gold has gone with them. If they’re still around we have a chance yet.”

Frank and Joe said nothing, but when they went to bed that night they talked in whispers in the darkness.

“What’s the program for tomorrow?” asked Joe.

“We’re going to find out if any of that gang are still around.”

“Do you mean we’ll go out looking for them?”

“Sure! It’s just as dad says⁠—if they’ve gone away the gold has gone with them. If they’re still hanging around we’ll know there’s still a good chance of finding it ourselves.”

“Where shall we look?”

“Up in the mountains. We can look around for trails in the snow.”

“Suits me, as long as they don’t catch us.”

“That’s a chance we have to take.”

So next morning, without revealing their plans to anyone, the boys started out into the mountains. It was a gloomy day and the sky was overcast. The lowering, snow-covered crags loomed high above them as they headed toward a narrow defile not far from the abandoned mine where they had been captured by Black Pepper’s men some days previous. It was toward this defile that the man called Jack had gone on his way to summon Black Pepper, and the boys judged that the outlaws’ abandoned camp was probably somewhere in that direction.

They discovered a narrow trail through the snow. It was a trail that had evidently been much used, for the snow was packed hard by the tramp of many feet.

“I think we’re on the right track, all right,” said Frank. “Even if we only find the deserted camp we may get some clues that will help us.”

The boys went higher up into the mountain and at last they came to a protected spot beneath an overhanging crag, where the snow had not penetrated. Here the trail ended in a long platform of bare rock. They went across it, but were unable to pick up the trail again, although they searched about in every direction.

Suddenly Frank said to his brother in a low voice:

“Don’t look around. Keep straight ahead.”

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s someone following us. I just caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. He’s hiding behind the rocks back there.”

“Let’s tackle him.”

“There may be others with him. Let him follow, and if he’s alone we’ll grab him.”

Without giving any indication that they had seen their pursuer, the Hardy boys cut down into a narrow ravine where huge masses of boulders made progress difficult. They came to a place where rocks rose on either side so close together that there was room for only one person to pass at a time. As soon as they had gone through the opening Frank leaped to one side, motioning to his brother to take the opposite side of the boulders. They were now completely hidden from the man who followed.

“We’ll get him when he comes through,” whispered Frank.

They waited expectantly.

At last they heard the crunch of snow that indicated the unsuspecting man was approaching. Cautiously he drew nearer, step by step. The boys prepared themselves.

The man drew nearer. He was just entering the passage between the boulders. Frank and Joe pressed themselves against the rocks. They saw a head appear in view, then the shoulders of the man. He stepped forward and, at the same moment, they sprang at him.

Frank launched himself full on the fellow’s shoulders and he gave a cry of surprise. At the same time Joe flung his arms about the man’s waist and all three came tumbling to the ground. There was a flurry of snow as they struggled, but the fight was short-lived. Taken completely by surprise, the man was quickly overcome. He had reached for a revolver at his waist, but Frank had seen it in the nick of time and had struck it from his grasp. He seized the weapon himself and pressed the barrel of it to the fellow’s temple.

“All right! All right!” he gasped. “I give in.”

There was something familiar about the voice. The man turned his head about and they saw that it was the man known as Slim, the thin-faced fellow who had been among their captors several days before.