track, and Owen on his part vowed that the glory must rest with Max
alone, still the fact remained that once the idea popped up it was
eagerly seized upon by both boys.

They needed more or less cash with which to purchase tents, guns, and
such other things as appeal to boys who yearn to camp out, fish, hunt,
and enjoy the experiences of outdoor life.

As the Glorious Fourth had exhausted their savings banks, this bright
idea was hailed with more or less glee by the other three members of the
club.

It was not an original plan, but that mattered nothing. Success was what
they sought, and to attain it the boys were quite willing to follow any
old beaten path.

An account of valuable pearls being found in mussels that were picked up
along certain streams located in Indiana, Arkansas, and other states,
suggested the possibility of like treasures near at home.

Now, Carson, their native town, lay upon the Evergreen River; and this
stream had two branches, called the Big Sunflower and the Elder. The boys
knew that there were hundreds of mussels to be found up the former
stream. They had seen the shells left by hungry muskrats, and even
gathered a few to admire the rainbow-hued inside coating, which Owen told
them was used in the manufacture of pearl buttons.

But up to that time no one apparently had dreamed that there might be a
snug little fortune awaiting the party who just started in to gather the
mussels along the Big Sunflower.