“You go on, don’t mind me,” said the youngest Rover.  “Only keep them from running off with our goods.”

It was a good half hour before the camp was reached.  When they came in sight of the spot it looked deserted.

“We may as well go slow,” cautioned John Barrow.  “There may be some sort of a trap set for us.”

They advanced with their guns ready for use, but nobody appeared, and presently they stood close to the camp-fire.  Then Dick ran into the shelter, to find Jasper Grinder lying as Sam had left him.

“Mr. Grinder, where is the Baxter crowd?” he asked.

“Gone, half an hour ago,” replied the wounded man.

“Where did they go to?”

“I don’t know.  They said something about following you up and spying on you, to see if you had found the treasure.”

“Creation!” ejaculated Dick, and ran outside again.  “We’ve made a mess of it!” he said.  “They followed us up, and more than likely they’ve got the treasure box this minute!”

It was found that but little in the camp had been disturbed, excepting that Sam’s gun had been taken off.  What to do was now the question.  Sam could not walk further.

“Better stay here,” said Dick.  “If the Baxter crowd comes back, you can hide.”

Then he, Tom, and John Barrow set out to return to where the treasure had been left.  They were still some distance away when they discovered Dan Baxter, Bill Harney, and Lemuel Husty making their way along the snow-covered trail.  In a few minutes they came up to the party.

“Baxter, where are you bound?” demanded Dick, striding up.

“You know well enough.”

“We are after thet treasure,” came from Harney, and it was plain to see that he and Husty had been drinking heavily.

“The treasure is ours, Baxter, and you can’t touch it.”

“It will belong to whoever finds it,” growled the bully.

“That’s right,” came from Husty.  “Whoever gits it, owns it.  Eh, Harney?”

“Plain truth, that is,” hiccoughed the big guide.

“In that case, it is ours for sure,” grinned Dick.  “We have it already.”

At this announcement Dan Baxter staggered back.

“It—­it aint true; you’re joking,” he faltered.

“It is true, Baxter.  Come, I will show you where the treasure was hidden—­if that will do you any good.  Here is the description.”  And Dick brought it forth and let the bully read it.

“Where’s the tree?” demanded Baxter.

“There is the tree, and over yonder is the rock.  We turned it over and found the treasure, just as we anticipated.  It’s ours, and I am simply telling you this to save you the trouble of looking further for it.  Dan Baxter, you have played this game to a finish with your companions, and you have lost.”

If ever there was a disappointed and angry individual, it was Dan Baxter.  He raved and said all sorts of uncomplimentary things, and Husty and Harney joined in, until John Barrow told all of them to shut up or he would have the law on them.