"It is true," said Bob. "Maybe Dixon is trying to find the trail of the thieves." Now that Si was found the boys could think of nothing but the loss of the gold. It was such a crushing blow it made them heartsick. "All of our hard work gone for nothing," groaned Si. "And we may never make such a rich find again!" "We must locate those greasers," said Bob. "They must be the guilty ones." "With somebody to help them," said Mark. "I don't think they did the job alone." "I am going to get into one of the trees and look around," said Bob, and began to climb the tree without delay, Mark giving him a boost up. At first Bob could see nothing out of the ordinary. Then he discovered Maybe Dixon coming toward the camp slowly and dejectedly. "I see Maybe," he called out. "He looks as if he hadn't found anything." Bob continued to look around the mountain and then glanced down to the foot of the landslide. He saw a man limping along. A moment later the man sank down in some bushes as if exhausted. "I see a stranger!" he called out. "He is down below us." "One of the greasers?" questioned Mark. "No, he is dressed in ordinary store clothes." "Let us go down at once and see who it is," cried Si. The others were willing, and as soon as Bob had descended from the tree they set out. They found the man on his side in the bushes, breathing heavily. "Soapy Gannon!" burst out Mark. "Sag Ruff's crony!" Soapy Gannon was in a bad way. The landslide had sprained one of his ankles, and in a roll down the mountain-side he had had a rib broken and received a severe cut along his left cheek. He was covered with blood and very weak. "What brings you here?" demanded Mark. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" whined the sufferer. "I ain't done nuthin!" "How did you get here?" "The landslide brought me down. Oh, how my chest hurts!" Soapy Gannon gave a gasp. "Got some liquor with you?" "No," said Bob. He knelt by the man's side. "Soapy Gannon, I want you to answer some questions." "I didn't do anything, I tell you!" whined the man. "The landslide came and took me down, as you can see." "Were you up at our tent?" "No! no! I wasn't within quarter of a mile of your camp." "But somebody was," said Mark. "Who was it? Answer at once!" And he made a move as if to draw his pistol. "Don't shoot me!" "Then tell me what you know--and be quick about it." "The greasers got up the plot--they said you had a lot of nuggets and dust stowed away in a hole in your tent. One of 'em, a fellow named Gomez, knew Sag Ruff and another gambler named Morgan Fitzsimmons. They all got in the game together." "The two greasers, Sag Ruff, Morgan Fitzsimmons, and yourself," cried Mark. He saw a flood of light ahead.