“Just the same, I’d be willing to go and hunt for it,” persisted Tom.

“And so would I,” chimed in his brother.  “I say,” he continued, “why can’t we go on a hunting trip?  We needn’t say anything about trying to find the mine.  Then, if we didn’t, no one could laugh at us and say we got scared.”

The refusal of the boys from Ohio to believe in the haunted mine had at first nettled Bill and Horace, but they had always been keen to hear or see phantoms, and at Larry’s proposal of the hunting trip they became enthusiastic.

“It will be great sport, if father will let us,” assented Horace.  “Come on, we’ll ask him.”

And abandoning their intention of roping ponies, they turned back to the house in search of Mr. Wilder.

Finding him on the piazza, they lost no time in laying their plan for a hunting trip before him.

As he beheld the eager faces and noted the lithe, supple bodies of the boys, in whose eyes shone the light of fearlessness, the ranchman replied: 

“I have no objection, if you don’t go beyond the foothills.  Bill, you remember the trails I showed you last spring, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right, keep to them.  You boys certainly ought to be able to take care of yourselves.  Go and tell Hop Joy to put up some grub for you.  You had better camp on the plains to-night, so you won’t be able to shoot your food.”

Delighted at the thought of going on a hunting trip, the boys hurried away to the Chinaman.

“Golly!  You boyee go shootee?” exclaimed the celestial when he had received the orders to pack their food.  “No flaid ghostee?”

“Of course not,” replied Horace.  “There’s no such thing as ghosts, Hop Joy.”

“Mebbe so, mebbe not; no be too sure,” grunted the Chinaman.  “Plete, him say they be.”

But the boys did not linger to argue the matter, and only waiting to see that Hop Joy put in a quantity of doughnuts, went to get their rifles and shells ready.

To their surprise, when they returned to the piazza, they found the ranchman busily overhauling his guns.

“I reckon I’ll go with you,” he explained.  “I haven’t been hunting for some time, and as everything is quiet I can get away for three or four days as well as not.”

“Oh, good!  Hooray!” exclaimed the boys.

And Horace added:  “Now we won’t have to worry about getting lost.”

Not long did it take the lads to clean their rifles and fill their cartridge belt with shells.

“Have you two got any knives?” inquired Mr. Wilder, looking at Tom and Larry.

“Sure,” replied Larry, and he told of the old gold miner’s presents and his advice about always carrying the pieces of thong with them.

“Silas is no fool,” smiled the ranchman.  “If you remember all he told you, you won’t get into trouble.  Still, I think it would be just as well for you to let me put your money in my safe.  Then you surely can’t lose it.”