The Boy Miners Or, The Enchanted Island, A Tale of the Yellowstone Country

After losing his father and the family fortune, George Inwood travels to California with his younger brother Edwin and their loyal companion Jim Tubbs to seek gold, but the three are repeatedly endangered by Mohave warriors while hiding in caves and crossing the wilderness. Their earlier mercy toward a captured Mohave eventually helps them survive, and their investigation of a mysterious moving island reveals that it is an artificial raft of logs, earth, and vegetation constructed to conceal a rich deposit of gold beneath the lake. In gratitude for being rescued, the former outlaw Gaylor reveals the secret of the underwater treasure, allowing the companions to gather nearly one hundred thousand dollars in gold before they face another dangerous pursuit by white outlaws on their journey home. George safely returns East, pays every debt, completes his education, marries Marian, and enters the ministry, while Edwin resumes his studies and Jim rejoins his mother, bringing their adventure to a prosperous and hopeful conclusion.