Free The Legend of Miner's Creek by Carolyn Keene Page B

passed through a quiet clearing.
    â€œThis is a good place for lunch,” Rachel announced, jumping off her horse. “We have one more steep climb before we get to the canyon.”
    Nancy and George dismounted, and the three girls quickly ate a lunch of roast beef sandwiches, corn chips, and lemonade.
    â€œEat all you want,” Rachel told them. “Elsa and I fixed enough for the whole camp, and I didn’t think of sending any of it back with the others. I guess I made more work for Elsa. She’ll probably fix a second lunch for everyone now.”
    â€œI’m sure she’ll understand, if we can solve this mystery and end all the problems at the retreat,” Nancy said. She hoped they’d find something in the canyon to make their trip worthwhile.
    The girls hurried through lunch and mounted their horses again. After a short, rocky climb the trail wound back to the stream and the mouth of a narrow canyon.
    Below them the stream cascaded down a rocky slope in a series of small waterfalls. At the top of the falls a large, rocky crag stretched skyward.
    â€œThat rock looks like a sand castle,” George said, shielding her eyes against the sun as she looked up. “It even has little points at the top.”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I think it looks like,” Rachel agreed. “I call it Castle Rock. It guards the entrance to Prospector’s Canyon.”
    The canyon had high, steep sides covered with trees and mountain grasses. At the bottom the stream was once again calm and peaceful. Twisted trees stood like sentries next to small, quiet pools.
    Near the creek was a broken chute. Rachel explained that the chute had once been used by prospectors to wash sand.
    â€œIt’s called a sluice box,” Rachel told Nancy and Bess. “It works just like a pan, but it can wash more sand at a time. The miners put sand in one end and let the water wash it down. Black sand and gold would catch behind the ridges on the floor of the chute. Then the miners could collect it easily.”
    â€œIs this how Jeremiah mined?” George asked.
    â€œNo. Whoever built this chute was a ‘placer miner,’ ” Rachel answered. “Placer miners looked for bits of gold that had broken loose from the main deposit and washed down here. Jeremiah was a ‘hard rock’ miner. He would have searched the hillsides for the source of the gold—the mother lode.”
    Nancy got off her horse and examined the chute carefully. “It doesn’t look as if it’s been used for years,” she said. “And I don’t see anything here that anyone would want to keep hidden.”
    â€œMe, neither,” George agreed. “Why do you suppose someone was so determined to keep us from coming here?”
    â€œThere must be something,” Nancy said. “Let’s ride a little farther.”
    After climbing back on her horse, Nancy let Heather lead the way along the creek. Soon the brush and trees gave way to a combination of rocks and gravel, with only a small tree growing here and there. The open hillside led up to a wall of rocky cliffs. Nancy immediately spotted several fresh holes in the graveled soil.
    â€œSomeone’s been digging!” Rachel exclaimed.
    â€œLook how the holes seem to make a pattern on the hillside,” George added. “They make rows, both up and down and across.”
    â€œAs if someone’s looking for something and following a pattern to cover all the ground,” Nancy said.
    She tied Heather’s reins to a tree and walked up the hillside. The holes were about two feet deep. She was soon joined by Rachel and George.
    â€œDo you know what we’re looking for?” Rachel asked.
    â€œNo, but there’s got to be something more here,” Nancy replied. “I’m sure of it.”
    She was searching through a thick growth of bushes near one of the holes when she caught a glint of metal. Carefully