In the meantime, down the hot and dusty road in the rear of the orchard ran the young fellow who had leaped the fence. It was indeed Link Merwell, sour-faced, and with that same cunning look as of old in his eyes. He kept on for fully a quarter of a mile, then suddenly plunged into a strip of woodland. There, beside a large stream of water, were the ruins of an old stone house. Link Merwell stopped running and after a stealthy look around, emitted a clear, short whistle. This he repeated twice. From behind the ruins of the stone house a man appeared, with a soft hat drawn well down over his forehead. The man was Job Haskers. "Back again, eh?" snapped the former teacher of Oak Hall. "Did you do it?" he questioned, curiously. "No, I didn't get the chance," answered Link Merwell. He sank on a log and fanned himself with his hat. "Humph! Better let it go then. If they see you, they'll be after you." "They are after me, Haskers." "They are! Then let us get out at once!" And the former teacher plainly showed his nervousness. "I'm willing," returned Link Merwell. "I've changed my mind about doing something here," he went on. "We can do something somewhere else--something that will pay us both big." "What do you mean?" "We can go after a fortune that is coming to Roger Morr's mother. It's the Landslide Mine, and it's lost. Haskers, if we can locate that mine, our fortunes are made! Come on, and I'll tell you all about it while we are getting away from this place. We must go West just as fast as we can make it!" CHAPTER XII ON THE WAY WEST "Off at last!" "Hurrah for the West!" "And the Landslide Mine, Roger, don't forget that!" "What a splendid day for beginning the trip!" "Say, we make quite a crowd, don't we?" "Wonder if the train will be on time, Dave?" "I suppose so. Special excursions are supposed to start on time. Is everybody here, and have we all our baggage?" "I've got all of mine," returned Laura. "How about you, Jessie?" "I've got my hand-bag. The trunk went with the other trunks." "Say, seeing this crowd, puts me in mind of a story," burst out Shadow Hamilton. "Once some tourists--" "Oh, Shadow!" came from several in concert. "Better keep the story until after we are on the way," cried Dave, gayly. "We'll have plenty of time on the train. It's a four-days' trip to Yellowstone Park, remember." "Here comes the train!" was the cry.