immense half-round bowl, nine miles in circumference at the top, some places of bare rock and lava and others covered with a stunted growth of trees and brush. All was in a haze of smoke and vapor, so that to gaze from side to side of this gigantic caldron was impossible.
"And now where is that treasure?" muttered Dan, as he gazed at the scene. "Boys, do you suppose we will ever be able to locate it?"
Oliver looked doubtful. "Not unless we get Joe Koloa's aid," he replied. "To start in without the map and that description, or without a guide, would be worse than looking for a pin in a haystack."
"Well, there is one thing in our favor," I remarked. "Our time is our own. We can spend a year in the hunt, if we want to."
"That would be well enough, Mark, if we were sure that Merkin or the others wouldn't slip off with the treasure in the meantime!"
"Hullo, there, boys! So you have arrived at last!" came from a distance, and looking up we saw Dr. Barton coming toward us on foot. We were soon together, and the physician gave each of us a hearty handshake.
He insisted upon hearing our story, and feeling we could trust him, we told him everything, to which he listened in amazement.
"You were lucky to escape with your lives,"
