“Wonderful, String!” said Fred.  “You have proved yourself to be a great man.  That’s exactly what was in the diary as I recall it.  The only thing then for us to do is to follow along the middle of Thorn’s Gulch until we strike the vein.”

“Huh!” retorted Zeke, “you had better make arrangements to have breakfast with the man in the moon than try any such plan as that.”

“What shall we do then?” demanded John.

“We’ve got to decide first of all,” explained Zeke, “about this claim that old Sime staked.”

“That’s what we’re trying to do,” interrupted Fred glibly.

“Be patient with the child, Zeke,” said Grant dryly.  “He rides on a half-fare ticket yet.”

“Quit your fooling,” spoke up John.  “We want to find out about this.”

“Well,” said Zeke, “I’ve got a compass here, of course, but I haven’t any chain.  How are we going to tell when we have covered the distance!”

“The only way,” responded Grant, “will be for us to pace the distance until we come to what we think is about the spot which Simon found.”

“That will take a month of Sundays,” spoke up George.

“It will take some time,” acknowledged Grant, “but I don’t know any other way.  Do you, Zeke?” he inquired, turning to the guide.

“Where are you going to start with your measurements?” demanded Zeke.

“Why, at Split Rock, of course,” said Grant promptly.

“From the middle of the Rock, or the edge?  From the near side or the far side?  From the top of it or—­”

“I say,” broke in Fred, “that we start from the edge of the Rock where it touches the sand.  Then we can follow the compass and we know just how many paces there will be in a half-mile.”

“It will depend on who does the pacing, I guess,” said John drolly.  “My legs are longer than Fred’s and I guess my steps wouldn’t be more than half as many as his.”

“The best thing for us to do,” said Grant confidently, “is to measure off as nearly as we can do it just what a yard is.  Then John, who can cover any distance from two inches to two yards, can try to take steps just the required length.”

“We can try that,” assented Zeke dubiously, “though I’m inclined to think the better plan will be for us to get a stick that will measure a yard as nearly as we can make it.  Then we had better measure it off.  We can follow the compass all the way and needn’t go very far aside even if we don’t come to the exact spot.”

“It’s a long job,” remarked Fred dolefully.  “You see we’ve got to turn.  We’ve got to make the half-mile, then stop and change our directions and go a quarter-mile southeast and then stop again and go a quarter of a mile north northeast.  I wonder why old Sime didn’t make it a straight line anyway.”

“We may find out,” said Grant, “that he had to go this way.  What shall we do, Zeke?” he added, turning to the guide.

“Whichever you say,” replied Zeke.