Blackjack and Runaway had heard Kid Hawpe yell as he went over Mare's Leap, and they urged their horses around the curve on Deadman's Trail at breakneck speed. Blackjack jumped from his horse, ran to the edge of the bluff, and tried to catch a glimpse of The Kid, but he was nowhere to be seen.Stampede was still dazed when McAlister and Sourdough slid down the hill and grabbed him from behind. He cursed and struggled, but Sourdough had a firm choke-hold which the rugged cattle-rustler couldn't break. McAlister turned his attention to Blackjack, who had swung around, drawn his gun and taken aim at Sourdough. Lovelace started to pull his gun from its holster when Marsh appeared and shoved a rifle into his ribs. "Ain't gonna be no shootin' outta yer six-shooter, you no-good, rustlin', horse-thief!"
Frenchie, Molly, and Tracinda had been watching from a safe spot behind one of the boulders above the trail, and Tracinda let out a shriek as Blackjack aimed his gun. Startled by the noise, the angry bandit lost his balance and lurched forward, giving McAlister a chance to kick the gun from his hand. Unable to get his gun back, Blackjack grew even more angry, but there was nothing he could do. He and his men were beaten, at least for the time being.
The excitement and stress of the struggle had sapped the adventurers, but they had just found a very important clue to the gold and they didn't have time to rest. They also had three prisoners to contend with. It was going to be an added burden to keep them corralled while they searched for more clues, but they couldn't afford to spend the time it would take to transport them back to Brisbee. They tied them to the wagon, and it was decided that Marsh would guard them while the others inspected the area around the rock containing the pictographs.
They climbed the hill and reached the opening in the granite that Tracinda had found earlier. They could see a sort of stairway formed by the jagged rock, and though it took a few minutes for it to hit them, they soon realized ... that had to be what the zig-zag line on the boulder meant!
The rift was narrow, but one by one the group was able to squeeze through to ascend the precarious steps. The passageway was steep, winding, and rough at first, but it widened to an open space which they discovered was just above the stone they now referred to as "Goat Rock". The area was a flat mesa from where they could see past Mare's Leap, and all the way to where Marsh was standing. Looking out over the tree tops, and in the other direction, they could see the place where they had camped the night before. They began to scour the area looking for another clue.
Frenchie and Molly spotted it at the same time, and both let out a squeal. Directly over the shelf where Goat Rock sat was a another ledge, but it was nothing more than a slab of sandstone which was cantilevered out over the huge boulder forming the goat's head. The representation of an eye was chiseled into the smooth surface, and in the middle of the eye was a hole that went through the thin rock. There were rayed lines shooting out from under the eye, and underneath that was another outline that appeared to represent the sun.
The excited group gathered around the drawing and tried to determine its meaning, but they couldn't figure it out. McAlister reached into his shirt for Blackjack's journal to compare this new-found clue to the page of sketches in the book. It was gone! He must have lost it during the fight, and now he would have to climb back down the spiraling stone steps to go look for it.
McAlister reached the bottom of the fissure, scooted down the hill, and stepped out onto the trail, hurriedly scanning the area for the journal. He turned and started toward Mare's Leap when the sun peeked out from behind a cloud and beamed down, casting shadows from the rocks above. He spotted the book and reached for it, but as he did, he noticed a single beam of light. The ray of sunlight was streaming through the hole in the sandstone and as his eyes traced its path he saw that it formed a perfect circle on an enormous chunk of quartzite situated on the north side of Deadman's Trail. He crossed over to study the reflection and saw a small image encircled by the light. It was a carved sun like the one he had just seen at the top of the cliff ... only this one was smaller, and it had an added feature. In the center of this sun he could see two letters scratched into the rock. AU .... the symbol for gold!
