they hunted the treasure all the time," said Mr. Hammond. "They'll
never find it."

"Oh, Daddy!" exclaimed Rhoda, "we were just thinking of hunting for
it ourselves. Can't we? Don't you believe--"

"No law against your huntin' for it all you want to," said her
father, laughing. "Go ahead. I didn't say you couldn't hunt for it;
I only said I did not think it would be found. Lobarto hid it too
well."

"But, Daddy! you don't encourage us," cried Rhoda. "And we are all
so interested. We want really to find the money so that Juanita and
her mother need not be poor."

"Well, well!" exclaimed the ranchman, "do you want me to go out and
bury some money, so you can find it?"

"No. But we want some of the boys to go with us. I want to search
that old bears' den, and the gulch there, and all about."

"Go to it, Honey-bird," he said, patting her shoulder. "You shall
have Hess and any other two boys you want. That's enough to handle
any little tad of Mexicans that may be hanging about up there. I'll
speak to Hess. Want to go to-morrow?"

This plan was agreed to. Of course the girls and Walter did not
want to rest after their exciting experiences at the round-up and
afterward.