"Better curb your imagination then," chided Mr. Wilder. "It's a
good thing we've got to pitch camp pretty soon or you'd all get the
nerves."

At Tom's words the other boys had sought the middle cliff with
their eyes and suddenly Bill exclaimed:

"Tom's right, father! There are men moving along the top of the
precipice!"

Mr. Wilder had been intent on searching the base of the mountains
for a place to camp for the night. But at his elder son's
statement he looked up quickly, drawing rein that he might be sure
the motion of his horse played no trick on his eyes.

Breathlessly the others waited his decision.

The cliff at which they all were staring so intently was about half
way up the mountain and above it rose another wall of rock. And it
was against the base of this latter that the objects which
attracted Tom's attention were silhouetted.

"By jove! They are men," exclaimed Mr. Wilder excitedly. "I never
knew there was a trail along the base of that cliff before."

The boys were tremendously stirred up as they heard this
confirmation.

"Perhaps they are the men going to guard the Lost Lode for the
night," Horace whispered. "They wouldn't need a trail to walk on,