CHAPTER XXXI
For a moment or two the three could not realize the truth of the crushing discovery which they had made. The precious gold dust and the nuggets were gone—not a grain of their wealth remained. It was too awful to be true.
"Gone!" gasped Maybe Dixon, and staggered to a rock and dropped down. "Who did this?" He leaped up, a cold glitter in his eyes. "Show me the rascal and I'll kill him on the spot!"
"More than one rascal did this," said Mark, pointing to the pick and shovels. "Looks like three to me."
"And they worked fast too," came from Bob. "They just threw the dirt any way, so as to get to the bottom of the hole."
"They must have been watching us," went on Mark. "As soon as the landslide came they took advantage of it."
There followed a silence, nobody knowing what to say next, or what to do. Then Mark gave a start.
"We are forgetting poor Si!" he cried. "We must try to find him. Perhaps he is in trouble and needs help."
"That is true," answered Bob. "Let us go down to the bottom of the landslide."
"But our gold?" demanded Maybe Dixon. "What of the rascals who took it?"
"We can follow them up afterwards—if we can find the trail."
"Supposing I hunt for the trail while you look for Si? It won't take all three of us to look for the boy."
The others were willing, and soon Mark and Bob were on their way down the mountain, following the direction the slide had taken. The way was rough and uncertain. Trees often barred their progress, and they had to pick their way around loose rocks with care.
"Take care that you don't take a tumble," cautioned the former sailor boy. "We can't afford it."
A tree was in front of them and they were on the point of going around it when they heard a faint cry. There lay poor Si, caught fast between two heavy branches.
"Oh, I was afraid you were all dead!" said the former farm lad. "Didn't the landslide cover you up?"
"Yes, but we dug our way out," answered Mark. "Are you hurt?"
"I think my shoulder is bruised, that is all. But the shock stunned me and I only came to my senses a little while ago. Can you get me out of this trap?"
"To be sure we can," cried Bob, and he and Mark set to work immediately. It was no easy task, but was finally accomplished, much to Si's satisfaction.
"By the way, I saw those Mexicans again," said Si, as he nursed his bruised shoulder. "I caught sight of 'em just before the landslide came. They were near the top of the mountain."
"My gracious, I wonder if they started that landslide!" gasped Mark.
"It would be nothing to wonder at," answered Bob.
"They ought to be hanged for it if they did," put in Si.
"Our gold is gone," explained Mark. "Somebody dug it up and made off with it."
"Oh!" gasped the former farm boy, and a look of real agony crossed his face. "You don't mean it!"
"It is true," said Bob. "Maybe Dixon is trying to find the trail of the thieves."
Now that Si was found the boys could think of nothing but the loss of the gold. It was such a crushing blow it made them heartsick.
"All of our hard work gone for nothing," groaned Si. "And we may never make such a rich find again!"
"We must locate those greasers," said Bob. "They must be the guilty ones."
"With somebody to help them," said Mark. "I don't think they did the job alone."
"I am going to get into one of the trees and look around," said Bob, and began to climb the tree without delay, Mark giving him a boost up.
At first Bob could see nothing out of the ordinary. Then he discovered Maybe Dixon coming toward the camp slowly and dejectedly.
"I see Maybe," he called out. "He looks as if he hadn't found anything."
Bob continued to look around the mountain and then glanced down to the foot of the landslide. He saw a man limping along. A moment later the man sank down in some bushes as if exhausted.
"I see a stranger!" he called out. "He is down below us."
"One of the greasers?" questioned Mark.
"No, he is dressed in ordinary store clothes."
"Let us go down at once and see who it is," cried Si.
The others were willing, and as soon as Bob had descended from the tree they set out. They found the man on his side in the bushes, breathing heavily.
"Soapy Gannon!" burst out Mark. "Sag Ruff's crony!"
Soapy Gannon was in a bad way. The landslide had sprained one of his ankles, and in a roll down the mountain-side he had had a rib broken and received a severe cut along his left cheek. He was covered with blood and very weak.
"What brings you here?" demanded Mark.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" whined the sufferer. "I ain't done nuthin!"
"How did you get here?"
"The landslide brought me down. Oh, how my chest hurts!" Soapy Gannon gave a gasp. "Got some liquor with you?"
"No," said Bob. He knelt by the man's side. "Soapy Gannon, I want you to answer some questions."
"I didn't do anything, I tell you!" whined the man. "The landslide came and took me down, as you can see."
"Were you up at our tent?"
"No! no! I wasn't within quarter of a mile of your camp."
"But somebody was," said Mark. "Who was it? Answer at once!" And he made a move as if to draw his pistol.
"Don't shoot me!"
"Then tell me what you know—and be quick about it."
"The greasers got up the plot—they said you had a lot of nuggets and dust stowed away in a hole in your tent. One of 'em, a fellow named Gomez, knew Sag Ruff and another gambler named Morgan Fitzsimmons. They all got in the game together."
"The two greasers, Sag Ruff, Morgan Fitzsimmons, and yourself," cried Mark. He saw a flood of light ahead.
"I was only a hanger-on," whined the man. "I didn't want to go into the game at all. The greasers plotted to shut you up in the cave, but the landslide was bigger than they calculated on. I got caught in it, and that's the last I know of until I found myself here, knocked out."
"They stole our gold," said Bob.
"Got it, did they? I was thinkin' they might. Oh, how I suffer! Can't you do something for me—now I've given you the story straight?" said Gannon.
"Did they say where they would go, if they got the gold?"
"The greasers have a hiding place beyond the mountain—at a spot called Five Falls. They were going there to divide the spoils and then each man was to go his own way."
"Five Falls," repeated Si. "I have heard of such a place, but I don't know exactly where it is."
"Didn't Mr. West speak of it?" asked Bob.
"Yes!" shouted Si. "I remember now. He went over there prospecting."
"Then he must know how to reach it," put in Mark.
"Shall I go after him?"
"Perhaps it would be best. But we can speak to Maybe Dixon first. He may have some clew."
They could do little for Soapy Gannon but give him a drink and bind up the wound on his face. But they promised to come back later on, for which he was thankful.
"I've got my fill of Sag Ruff," said the sufferer. "Instead of coming to help me he went after that gold. I suppose he thinks if I'm dead he can have so much more of the plunder."
"Well, if you'll agree to testify against those men—providing we can capture them—I'll do what I can for you," said Mark, and Bob and Si said the same.
"All right, it's a go," gasped Soapy Gannon, and then became silent, for it hurt him greatly to talk.
As tired as they were, the three boys hurried back to what was left of the camp. Maybe Dixon came forward to meet them.
"Glad to know you are all right," he said to Si.
"Have you any news?" asked Bob.
"No," and the old miner looked much discouraged.
"We have," went on the former sailor lad.
The face of Maybe Dixon brightened considerably when he heard the news they had to tell.
"I'll go after Andy West myself," he said. "I'll get some of the other men to help us too. That gang has either got to be captured or wiped out."
As late as it was he set off to the gulch settlement, going down on muleback. He rode with all possible speed, and burst in on the West family as they were sitting down to supper.
"I want you to take us over to Five Falls at once," he said to Mr. West.
"What's up?" asked Andrew West in astonishment.
"We have been robbed and the thieves have gone to that place, so we have learned. Can you show us where it is?"
"Certainly."
"I want some men to go along. Is Jackson here?"
"I think so."
Maybe Dixon then told how the camp had been robbed of all the four partners possessed. To make it worth while, he said he would give Andrew West five ounces of gold dust if the stolen gold was recovered, and later on promised two ounces each to four other men who said they would go along to help round up the thieves.
"I don't want any reward," said Andrew West. "We must stand together when thieves are around. I'll do my best for you."
It was midnight when the posse left the gulch and two o'clock in the morning when they joined Mark, Si, and Bob. Everybody was fully armed. They went on foot, since to travel to Five Falls in any other manner was impossible.