Feverishly Abe and the others began to dig. They did not come upon
such a rich deposit as the miner had found, but there were enough
nuggets picked up to prove that the expedition would be very
successful.
No more attention was paid to the Fogers, but through the telescope
Tom could see that the bully and his father had made a camp in one
of the ice caves, and that both were eagerly digging in the frozen
surface of the valley.
Before night several thousand dollars' worth of gold had been taken
out by our friends. It was stored in the airship, and then, after
suppers the craft's searchlight was taken off, and placed in such a
position in front of the cave of ice so that the beams would
illuminate the claim staked out by Tom and the others.
"We'll stand watch an' watch," suggested Abe, "but I don't think
them Fogers will come around here ag'in."
They did not, and the night passed peacefully. The next day our
friends were again at work digging for gold. So were the Fogers, as
could be observed through the glass, but it was impossible to see
whether they got any nuggets.
The gold seemed to be in "pockets," and that day the ones in the
vicinity of the strike first made by Abe were cleaned out.
"We'll have to locate some new 'pockets,'" said the miner, and the
adventurers scattered over the frozen plain to look for other
deposits of the precious metal.
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