Sheriff Bob listened to all that the boy said. Several times he scratched his head reflectively, and made a grimace, as though conflicting forces had begun to engage him in an inward war.
And when finally Allan declared that he nowknew all, the officer drew a long breath, and remarked, quietly:
"I seem to smell a pretty good-sized rat about this game Mr. Artemus is putting up; but as I said, the warrant he swore out is in my hands for serving, and I just reckon I'll have to do my sworn duty and arrest this same Aleck——that is, if so be he shows up while we're around here."
Allan looked him squarely in the eye; and he was sure one of the lids above the blue orbs of the official dropped a little in a suggestive way.
He too drew a long breath, and with a smile on his boyish face, said as he arose:
"Thank you, Mr. Sheriff, thank you very much!"
As has been mentioned before, Thad had a plan in view when he left the camp in company with Aleck, somewhere about midnight. Though for certain reasons which he considered good, he had not seen fit to take a single one of his comrades into his confidence, the scoutmaster believed that the only way for Aleck to win his own game was to find the long-lost mine, and take possession of the samein the name of his father, who had been the original discoverer of the lode.
Scores of hungry prospectors, besides Kracker, had done everything in their power to locate the mine; though none had descended to his last unworthy methods of trying to torture Jerry Rawson's son, in the hope of profiting thereby. As the claim of the original discoverer rested only on a scant foundation, of course the man lucky enough to find the silver lode again would have a right to hold possession, in the eye of the law. He might choose to pay the widow something, but even that was a matter resting solely upon his conscience.
Thad had a reason for carrying the only lantern belonging to the scouts; and he hoped that if they were so lucky as to find that Aleck's rude little chart told the truth, they might utilize that means of illumination when entering the mine.
Of course both of them carried their guns, for there was no telling when they could return to camp. An arrangement had been with Allan, so that day and night there would be a sign shown, calculated to tell the absent ones whether the coast were clear, or the lawyer and sheriff still hovered near by, waiting to entrap the Rawson boy, should he show up.
They had moved along for some time, when Aleck broke the silence by saying, with considerable feeling in his voice:
"It makes me glad to know you believed what I told you, Thad, about that business of my uncle. If you could only meet up with him once, I'm sure you'd know the tricky kind of man he is, just from his looks, and the smooth way he talks. But no matter what they all do and say, I'm just bound to carry my plans out. My mother approves of what I am doing; and she is thinking of me, and praying all the time I'm up here, trying to take dad's place."
"Don't mention it," said Thad, quickly. "Of course we all believe every word you told us, no matter whether we've met this rascally uncle of yours or not. Our chum Step Hen did, and I reckon he wasn't much impressed with him, from the way he talked. And as you belong to the scouts, our first duty is to stand by you through thick and thin."
"Only as long as you believe in my word, Thad," added the other.
"That's true," returned the other, quickly; "even a scout has no business sticking up for a comrade when he knows the other is in the wrong; but we believe in you, Aleck. And if only you could find that mine, I feel sure all of this funny business would stop. Once you had put in a claim, with the proper witnesses, and hurried to file it before the court, nobody could steal it away. And that's going to be just where the Boy Scouts can help you."
"Well, we'll know more than we do now, before a great many hours," asserted the miner's son; "unless this little map is all wrong, and poor dad only believed he had found a rich lode. But remember, he brought home specimens that were nearly pure silver; and every one who saw them said they beat the world for richness. I can remember my dad saying that there were tons and tons without end of that same sort, inhismine. And then he was suddenly taken down sick, and died with the secret untold. All these long years, when we've been poor and wanting many things, there that secret lay in my hand, oh! hundreds of times, and I never dreamed of it still accident showed me the paper, back of the glass in the little pocket mirror that dad had carried with him a long time."
They relapsed into silence again for a long time, each busy with his thoughts. Aleck knew what few simple directions his rude chart carried; he had gazed at it so many times that it was photographed on his mind, and there had been no need for him to rip the seam of his coat, and take the slip of faded paper out. Kracker had not dreamed how near the coveted clue had been to his hands, at the time he actually held the boy, and closely examined all his pockets.
"It's lucky," remarked Thad, after fully an hour more had passed, with both boys pushing forward steadily all the time, over rugged ways that severelytried their abilities—"it's lucky, I say, that we are heading exactly away from the direction where that Sheriff, and your uncle, must be coming from."
"Yes, but I knew we'd do that before we ever started out," replied Aleck.
"You've been sizing up the region all day in camp, and laying your plans, if the chance ever came to try them out; isn't that so, Aleck?"
"You never said truer words in your life, Thad," answered the other. "I found a pretty high rock on which I could perch; and that gave me a chance to look over in this region with those fine glasses of yours. And I tell you now, it gave me a great thrill when I recognized something dad had marked on that little chart. It seemed just as if I could hear his voice calling me from the grave, and telling me I was doing the right thing—to go ahead, no matter who tried to stop me."
"What sort of a land-mark was it you saw?" asked the other scout.
"Why, you see, he made a rough sketch of a rock that looks a whole lot like a human head," Aleck went on to say, earnestly.
"Why, hello! I remember noticing that very same rock, the time I went up to take a look, and see if I could get a glimpse of our hunter squad. While about it, I turned the glasses around, to see if there were any sheep on the sides of the mountains to the south. And it was right then I sawthat outline of a face, cut in the rock, just like somebody had used a giant chisel and made it—nose, mouth, chin, forehead, all complete. It startled me a little at first, Aleck."
"I should guess it would, Thad; but think what it meant tome, when I had seen it on dad's little chart; and knew that the entrance to his hidden mine lay almost in the shadow of that face! I think he looked on it as the rock guardian to his silver lode."
"Is that a fact?" ejaculated Thad, partaking in a measure of the excitement that shook the frame of his companion; "Well, that's more than you've seen fit to tell me before, Aleck; and it's some interesting, I own up."
"I meant to tell you everything, Thad, believe me," declared the other, quickly, and with some emotion. "After the fine way you and your chums rescued me from that shelf up on the face of the cliff, and said you'd stand by me, no matter what happened, why, I made up my mind that I would keep nothing back from you. By to-morrow I expected to take the map out from the lining of my coat, where it was sewed in by my mother's own dear hands, so that nobody would ever think things had been disturbed at all. And now, I'm surely hoping that we'll both set eyes on dad's mine before another dawn breaks."
"For your sake, Aleck, I hope that will cometrue. You deserve all the luck in the world, and that's what every one of our fellows say. But only for this moonlight I'm afraid we'd have had a hard job of it, coming all this distance; because the way is mighty rough, and both of us have stumbled lots of times as it is. We might have used the lantern, of course, but that would have put it out of business later, when we wanted it bad; and besides, it's flickering might have told our enemies where we were."
Aleck felt a thrill of pleasure at the way the other used that word "our;" why, it was just as though the Silver Fox Patrol had adopted him into the troop; and meant to make his cause their own. For a boy who had seldom had a friend to give him even words of encouragement, this was a glorious happening indeed. He felt that it had been the luckiest hour of his whole life when, in the midst of his bitter dejection, left alone on that high and isolated rocky ledge, he had discovered the strange movements of that fiery pencil, that seemed to be making all sorts of extravagant figures and circles in the air, which he knew stood for the means of communication between scouts.
"Let us work our way around this spur," he said, a while later, after they had continued to advance further into the depths of the mountains.
"I can guess what you are thinking," Thad wenton to remark; "you believe that we must even now be in the neighborhood of that rock face."
"Well, I've tried to judge the distance, and how we got along; and it seems to me we ought to be nearly there. What do you think, Thad?" asked the other; and from his manner it was evident that he laid considerable importance on the opinion of his companion.
"Just what you do, which is, that we must be getting close to where we saw that great head outlined just as if some scupltor had chiseled it from the solid rock. But even if we fail to find it, Aleck, that may be because of the formation of the mountain. Besides, this moonlight is awfully deceptive, you know."
"Wait, and we'll soon learn," was the confident answer. "I sat there, and looked for nearly an hour. I guess I got every rock fixed on my mind."
"Well, I've had a few of the same impressed on my knees and shins," chuckled the scoutmaster, drily. "But we've no need to complain, because, considering all the things we've had to fight against, I reckon we've escaped pretty slick. See anything yet, Aleck?"
"No, I own that I don't; but then, that may come from lots of causes," the other boy replied, trying not to let his disappointment show in his manner or speech; for he knew that Thad did not believe in a display of weakness in scouts. "Perhaps,when we've pushed on a little further, we may be able to glimpse the face again."
"Wait right here," said Thad, suddenly.
"Oh! did you hear anything? Wouldn't it be too unbearably hard if we learned that some one, perhaps that cruel prospector, Colonel Kracker, had been ahead of us, and located the hidden mine? He could hurry to enter his claim, and my poor mother would not stand a ghost of a show. Was it a voice you heard, Thad?"
"I didn't hear anything to bother me," came the reply, accompanied with a low chuckle. "I was only thinking how often we strain ourselves to see something away off, when all we have to do is to turn our eyes up and look."
Aleck instantly "caught on" to what his companion meant. He bent his head back, and gave utterance to a low cry of satisfaction.
"Well, if that doesn't beat anything?" he ejaculated, apparently highly pleased; "it's the head, as sure as I live, and towering right above us, almost. No wonder I couldn't see it, looking away off, and thinking it lay further on. We've found the land-mark dad set down in his little map, Thad. And now to discover the crack in the wall, hidden by the hanging vines, where he followed a fox in, just out of curiosity, and discovered the richest silver lode he ever knew about. Oh! I'm just shaking all over with excitement. And I sure hope mymother's thinking about me right now, thinking, and praying for me to succeed!"
It was plain to the young scoutmaster that Aleck had studied his map carefully. For after he had taken his bearings anew, from the rocky head that towered almost above them, the other was able to make a direct course to the foot of an adjoining cliff, where the moonlight fell upon the chalky wall.
Thad saw first of all that there were strange markings across the face of this cliff, or rather running up and down. They consisted of several thicknesses, and as the boys drew closer, he discovered that what he suspected before was the truth; and that these were caused by vines that ascended for various distances, clinging tenaciously to the rock wall.
Toward their base they seemed of unusual thickness; and it was easily believable that one of these might conceal a fissure in the rock, just as Aleck had mentioned, when speaking of the way his father discovered the entrance to Aladdin's Cave of treasure.
The boy seemed to be counting these dark veins traversing the face of the cliff, and when they came to the fourth one he stopped still.
"There it is, Thad, the vines he marked, fourth from the right!" he said, in a low and trembling voice, as though the intensity of his feelings almost overcame him.
"Yes, I can see it," replied the other, steadily, feeling that he must bolster up Aleck's courage in this trying time. "And we want to know right away whether it really does hide a gap in the rock. Come on, Aleck!"
He led the way forward, with the other half holding back. Feverish with impatience though Aleck might be, to know whether all his hopes were doomed to be shattered then and there, or allowed to blossom forth into glorious buds of promise, the poor boy suddenly felt a weakness come upon him. Only for his having such a staunch-hearted chum at his elbow, ready to take the lead, there is no telling how long Aleck Rawson might have hesitated there, before that mass of clinging vines, afraid to take his courage in both hands, and push on to the goal.
But it was different with Thad. He strode up to the vines, and with one sweep drew them aside. The act disclosed a fissure that was several feet in width at its base, and running some distance up the wall; although growing gradually smaller, untilfinally it merged into the gloom that held sway aloft, back of the screen of vines.
Aleck gave a low cry of rapture.
"It's here, just as he said it would be, in this map I carry!" he exclaimed, as he clutched the arm of the scoutmaster. "I hope I'm not dreaming all this, Thad; tell me I'm not, please, that's a good fellow."
"Well," replied the other, laughing gently so as to convince Aleck that he was perfectly cool and collected, and ought to know what he talked about; "so far as it goes, your map is absolutely correct, Chum Aleck; and I don't see any reason to doubt the rest of the story. In my opinion we're going to discover something fine before a great many minutes go past."
"What shall we do, Thad; you see, I'm so upset with it all, that somehow I look to you to arrange things. Perhaps if I was alone, and justhadto depend on myself, I'd do better; but it's so kind of you to help me out, and you're so capable of doing it all. Please fix it up as you think best."
"All right, then," returned Thad, readily. "First of all, I'll light our little glim here; for if we're going to poke along into that black hole, I reckon we'll be wanting some sort of light to see by. Don't think I'd like to take a tumble down some precipice, myself; not to speak of running across a wild beast."
"What makes you say that last, Thad?" demanded the other, quickly; "do you get a scent of it, too?"
"I had an idea I did, and somehow it made me think of a menagerie. Hold up just a minute, and we'll be able to see something."
As he spoke Thad struck a match, which he applied to the wick of the lantern. It was a good type of its kind, and as soon as the wick had been properly adjusted no one could reasonably complain about the quality of the illumination produced.
This done, the patrol leader hastened to lower the lantern so that he could examine the ground close to the bottom of the fissure in the rock.
"Plenty of tracks, all right," was his first comment.
"Can you make them out, and is it a bear?" asked Aleck, almost unconsciously swinging his gun a little further to the front, while his fingers sought the lock.
"Well, no; the marks differ very much from the tracks of a bear, either a black or a cinnamon. They look more like made by a dog's paws," Thad replied.
"But a dog wouldn't be up here; you must mean it's a wolf, that's what, Thad," Aleck hastened to observe.
"If that was a guess, you hit the nail square on the head, Aleck," chuckled the scoutmaster. "Awolf has been using this hole in the rock for a den; and from all I can make out, the tracks seem pretty fresh, too."
"Then you think the old chap is in there now, do you?" asked the other.
"I wouldn't like to say;" replied Thad; "but there's just one thing we've got to do, and that is, believe it to be so. A wolf caught in a trap is some dangerous, they tell me; and in case this happens to be a mother wolf, with a litter of whelps, she'd fight like everything, believe me."
"But we're going in, Thad; ain't we; you won't let that stand us off, after coming so far, will you? Oh! if there were a dozen wolves, and every one of them ready to fight from the word go, I'd justhaveto learn the truth before I left here. For her sake I'd take any risk to know."
"Well, I should say we were going in; and right away at that," returned Thad, taking a step forward. "I only thought I ought to put you on your guard, so that in case we came on the thing, you'd know what to expect. Have you got your gun all ready to shoot, Aleck?"
"Believe me, yes; and while I don't want to brag, still I've always called myself a pretty good shot, even at a jumping wolf," replied the other; since he now knew that Thad did not mean to be deterred by any sort of ordinary difficulty, Aleckbegan to seem like himself, being able to keep his feelings in restraint.
That was the influence of a cool, determined comrade, like the scoutmaster. Such a firm, collected spirit always exerts considerable influence over those with whom it comes in personal contact.
Thad held the lantern. He preferred doing so, even though it must necessarily interfere more or less with his taking any sort of aim, should the occasion suddenly arise whereby it become necessary for him to fire. But then, it was very important, Thad thought, that they keep the lantern intact; and of course he had never been alongside Aleck in action, so he could not tell just what sort of coolness the other would display when a time of excitement arrived.
Besides, when one is perfectly at home with a gun, it is possible to shoot without ever raising the weapon to the shoulder. Instinct takes the place of aim on such an occasion; some people call it "shooting from the hip," and that would be as good a designation for the method of pulling a hasty trigger, as any other.
Of course, they kept close together. This was rendered necessary by the narrowness of the fissure, even had not their personal wishes in the matter forced the two lads to touch elbows.
They strained their eyes as they slowly advanced,looking ahead most of the time, yet not neglecting to also observe the walls as they passed.
And already Thad was beginning to notice a peculiarly marked streak here and there, that had a rather dingy, black look, and which he strongly suspected might, on investigation, prove to be the outcropping of the marvelous ore of silver, which, further on had been revealed to the startled eyes of the prospector, years ago, doubtless causing him to blink, and pinch himself, under the belief that he must be only indulging in a maddening dream, such as all of his class are visited with from time to time.
But before they could pay the slightest attention to these things it became absolutely necessary that they find out the truth about that wolf business. And as they pushed steadily inward they were constantly on the alert for the first sign that would give warning of danger.
"I heard something like a growl, then!" whispered Aleck, suddenly.
"Sure thing," answered the other, steadily; "and we ought to get a sight of the animal's eyes, quick enough now. Look for twin fires, that burn like phosphorus in the dark. And hold your gun on them as soon as you sight them, but don't shoot till I give the word, unless the beast charges us."
Ten seconds later, another and different sound came to their strained hearing.
"Cubs whining, as I live!" ejaculated Thad, half under his breath.
"Then it's a she wolf?" said the other.
"I reckon it is," the scoutmaster answered.
"But what are you waiting for, Thad?" Aleck demanded; "I suppose that makes it a tougher proposition; but now I've come this far, I've just got to go through to the end."
"We will, all right, Aleck, never fear. I was just holding back to see if my eyes would get a little more accustomed to the dark over there; but now we can go on again. Ready all the while, are you?"
"Yes, indeed I am, Thad. Now I think I can see what you said I would."
"Meaning her yellow eyes glistening with fierce madness; because there's nothing more ready to fight a hundred enemies than a mother wolf with whelps. Steady, forward we go, slow but sure!"
"All right, Thad; I'm as cool as anything now; all my excitement seems to have gone when there's real danger afoot," remarked Aleck, in an even voice that backed up his words.
"I knew that would be so, Aleck," replied the other, in a low tone. "But I can begin to see the figure of the wolf now; can you?"
"Yes, and she's standing over something that seems to move," the other replied.
"That must be the cubs; yes, listen to themgrowl, would you? Young as they are they understand that an enemy is near. Ten to one the hair on each little back is standing up like bristles, right now. But seems to me we've gone about as close as we ought to, Aleck?"
Thad came to a halt. The light of the lantern showed them a dim, half crouching figure ahead. It was the mother wolf. Undoubtedly she might have found means of escape by retiring further into the place; but nothing would induce her to abandon her whelps. And Thad found himself obliged to admire this valor in the animal even though necessity compelled him to rid the country of pests by wiping out the entire brood of wolves, whelps as well as mother.
"Do you think we're close enough, Thad?" whispered Aleck, as they bent forward, and strained their eyes to make out the dim gaunt figure that blocked all further progress, and which they knew full well must be that mother wolf.
"Yes," answered the other, in the same cautious tone; "if we went any further on, I'm afraid the beast would fly at us; and in that case you know, we'd have a harder time taking aim."
Thad had managed to set the lantern down on a level place, where, he hoped it would stand little danger of being knocked over, in case there was anything in the nature of a fight between themselves and the wolf.
This allowed him the free use of both his arms, which of course was the main idea he had in view, when getting rid of the lantern.
Of course Thad had never had any experience in thus entering the den of a wolf with young ones. All he knew about it he had heard from the lips ofothers, or possibly read. Somehow, just then it flashed through his mind how history told of Israel Putnam, afterwards a celebrated general in the Continental Army, crawling into a wolf's den as a youth, and fetching the animal out, after a severe fight; but so far as Thad could remember, that was not a mother wolf; and Israel had an easy time compared to what it might have been under different conditions.
Well, there was their intended quarry; and with two guns to depend on, surely they ought to make quick work of the beast. The only difficulty about it was the treacherous light, for the lantern flickered in the draught; though until that critical moment Thad had paid no attention to this fact.
"Have you a bead on her head, Aleck?" he whispered; at the same time himself drawing his gun up to his shoulder and glancing along the double barrel; for Thad was of course carrying his Marlin with him at the time.
"Yes," came the answer.
"I'm going to count, slowly and evenly. When I say three, let go, Aleck!"
"I understand, Thad."
"All right. Hope we get her, sure. I'd hate to be bitten, or clawed by such a mad creature. Here goes, Aleck! One!"
"Yes."
"Two!"
A second passed, and then came the word:
"Three!"
It was drowned in a tremendous, deafening crash, as both guns were discharged so closely together that it made one report.
Thad of course had a second barrel to hold in reserve. He had more or less difficulty in seeing through the thin curtain of powder smoke that followed the double discharge; but at least no sprawling figure came flying at them, with snapping jaws that were eager to rend and tear.
"She's done for, Thad!" exclaimed Aleck, joyfully, as they heard a commotion beyond, and could see something moving with short jerks, like an animal kicking its last.
"Wait—hold on till I pick up the lantern; she may only be wounded, and get you, if you don't look out. Besides, those cubs are partly grown, and may be big enough to show fight."
Thad thus held his comrade back for a brief time until he could snatch up the light, and take his place in the van, which was really what he wanted to do.
As they approached the spot where a dark bundle lay, they could still see something of a movement.
"She isn't dead yet, I'm afraid, Thad," cried Aleck, who had a single-shot rifle, and was therefore without further means of defence until hecould find time to slip another cartridge into the chamber.
"Oh! I guess so," answered Thad; "what you see moving must be the whelps. Yes, I can see one right now, and he's a savage looking little beast on my word. We'll have to knock him on the head, Aleck. Wolves must be killed wherever they are found. Nobody ever spares them, Toby Smathers says. They're of no use at all, and do a great amount of harm, killing game and sheep, and even weak cattle in the winter season."
Aleck soon dispatched the growling cub with the stock of his gun, and then looked around for more.
"Do you expect that this was the only whelp?" he asked.
"Well, no, but the other must have escaped, somehow," replied Thad. "It doesn't matter to us, though, for the little beast will perish, without a mother to supply it food."
But although Thad never dreamed that such a small thing could have any bearing on their fortunes, it proved to be a fact, as would be shown before a great while.
"Shall we go on, now?" asked Aleck, after they had looked down on the big lean wolf that would never again hunt game in the passes and valleys of the Rockies; "I'm anxious to see what lies beyond, you know, Thad."
"Well, I don't blame you a bit, either, Aleck; infact, to tell the honest truth, I'm feeling somewhat that way myself, even if I haven't got the interest you have in the matter. So let's go right along. Have you loaded up again?"
"I'm just finishing now, Thad," came the reply.
Accordingly, the forward progress was resumed. Thad saw that they were rapidly drawing near what would likely prove to be a chamber of some size; and he anticipated that whatever was to be found would greet them here.
Just as he expected, a couple of minutes later they passed out from the tunnel which was a continuation of the fissure they had entered, and found themselves in a vaulted chamber. It was of some height, for the dim light of the lantern just reached the roof.
"Oh! what a strange place!" exclaimed Aleck, looking around with something like awe; "and to think that this was that my father saw that time. Do you expect this can be the silver lode, Thad?" and he pointed to the wall, where a broad streak of darkish ore cropped out.
Thad was no miner, but he had been interested in geology at school, and knew a little about the appearance of precious metals in their natural state.
"I don't doubt it one little bit, Aleck," he said, with a quiver to his voice. "And see here, you can tell that some one has pounded off pieces of the ore; why, I can even note where the hammer struck;and on the ground small bits still lie, just as they fell years ago, when your father found his way in here, and made this grand discovery. Shake hands, Aleck! I want to be the first to congratulate you on finding the hidden mine again. You're a lucky boy, let me tell you. I'm glad for your sake, Aleck; and for that dear little mother who is thinking of you right now, no doubt."
"Thank you, Thad," replied the other, with a break in his voice, although it was joy that almost overcame him. "And what do I not owe to you, and the chums of the Silver Fox Patrol? For if you hadn't come to my rescue, when that scoundrel of a Kracker had me caged on that horrible little shelf of rock up the cliff, like as not I'd be there still, and ready to tell all to save my life."
"I don't believe that!" cried the scoutmaster, quickly. "I've seen enough of you to know you'd have died before you gave him what belonged only to your mother. And the chances are, you'd have found some way of getting down from there, when it came to the worst."
"Yes, fallen down, most likely, when they had made me so weak I couldn't look over without getting dizzy. But Thad, let's forget all that now, and look around here. How it thrills me just to think that dad found this mine so long ago, and that during these years it's remained hidden from all men; just as if something might be holding itback until I grew old enough to come up here with that chart, to discover it again. Why, I can almost believe thatheis here right now, and smiling his approval on my work; for he was a good dad, I tell you."
They prowled around for a long time, examining the walls of the chamber, and following up the wide lode of rich ore, until Thad, inexperienced as he was, could estimate that it must prove to be a very valuable mine, once placed in working condition.
"Here, let's both of us fill our pockets with specimens of the ore," the patrol leader remarked, when they began to think of once more seeking the exit, so strangely hidden from the eyes of any possible passer by; "like as not you'll want them, to convince some capitalist that you've got the goods, when making arrangements to sell a part of the mine, so as to get the money to work with."
"Yes, that sounds sensible," declared Aleck. "Dad did the same; and if he hadn't those specimens, nobody would ever have believed that he'd found anything worth while. And now, do we start back to the fissure in the cliff, Thad?"
"Might as well;" replied the other. "And while we're about it, let's drag out the dead wolves, so as to throw them in some hole where they won't bother any more."
"I wonder if that other cub came back; I'dbetter make ready to knock it on the head, for it would die anyway, without a mother."
Aleck's voice had a catch in it as he said this, and Thad understood; the boy was thinking of his own mother, and how her prayers for his safety must have been the means of raising up for him such staunch friends as the scouts of the Silver Fox Patrol.
But when they came to the place where the animals lay they saw nothing of the other partly grown wolf. So Thad, having his gun and the lantern to manage, took charge of the offspring, while Aleck tugged at the big she wolf; and in this fashion they drew near the exit.
"Sh!"
It was Thad who uttered this low hiss of warning. His action was prompt in addition, for raising the lantern, he gave one sturdy puff, causing the flame to vanish.
Utter darkness surrounded them. Aleck had dropped the leg of the big wolf, and drew back the hammer of his rifle.
"Perhaps it was the other cub, Thad?" he whispered, as softly as the night wind creeps in and out of the trees, caressing each leaf as it passes on.
"No, it sounded more like voices!" came the equally low reply.
"Voices! Oh! do you mean men may be nearus?" gasped Aleck, a cold chill passing over him at the dreadful prospect of losing his long-sought patrimony just after finding it.
"It sounded like that Kracker; listen, and we'll soon know," Thad went on to say; and crouching there, the two boys waited for a repetition of the suspicious sound.
When the sound of the voice came again even Aleck heard it plainly. Why, it seemed so very near that his first thought was that the men must have found the entrance to the treasure cave, and were pushing along the tunnel at that very moment. But on reflection Aleck realized that this could not be so, for the voice came from somewhere in the open air.
"I jest ain't agoin' any further, an' that's a fact. Might as well rest up right here as keep on. I never was for comin' back, to spy on them ere scouts, but two agin one kerried the day. So here we be, tired in body, hungry, and nigh 'bout ready to drop. I say let's camp, and wait till mornin'."
"That's Dickey Bird," whispered Thad in the ear of his companion.
Aleck had had a load taken from his breast. Although the three men might be so close to the entrance of the mine that they could toss a stone into it, still it seemed only mere accident thatbrought them here, and not design, or a suspicion as to the truth.
Another voice chimed in now, that of Kracker himself.
"Oh! as for that, I'm about as leg weary as you can be; and ready to rest up a bit. So Waffles, stir around, and gather some tinder to start a blaze. This night air is some cool, too. And say, I'm that hungry I could eat anything 'most. But with only one six-shot gun in the crowd, it's going to be hard lines to provide grub, I reckon."
"Then why'd you turn back, when we was all started for a place where we could git all the eats we wanted, with money to pay for 'em?" grumbled Dickey Bird.
"Why? Any fool could see that," retorted the big prospector, sternly. "Here I've been looking for this mine years and years, and it's got to be the one dream of my life to find the same. That boy knows; he's just been waitin' till he growed up big enough to start out. You saw how he acted, and said he'd die before he'd give up what belonged to his mother. That proves he's got the combination, either in his head, or somewhar about his clothes, which we couldn't find."
"Well," said the grumbler, "what good is that same agoin' to do us, now that he's in with that party of scouts, who say they'll stand up for himright along? We ain't got no show, seems to me, Kracker."
"We ain't, hey?" replied the other, disdainfully. "Jest because you can't see anything before your nose, you say they ain't nothing doing. Let me tell you we never was nearer that same mine than we is now."
Thad felt his companion give a sudden start; he himself was wondering what these strange words of the prospector might mean; though he could not believe that the other could really suspect the presence of that fissure back of the vines.
"As how? Mebbe you wouldn't mind tellin' me, to ease up the pain in my legs; while Waffles, he's astartin' that ere fire?" Dickey Bird went on, skeptically.
"Sure thing," answered the big man who controlled the party of mine seekers. "If that boy does know the secret, he's going to open up while he's got them scouts to back him, ain't he? He'll want to feast his eyes on some of that same rich ore—that goes without saying. All right, let him, say I. We'll try and be close enough at hand to discover whar the pesky entrance lies; and while they're hangin' on up here, it's us to streak it for town and file a claim on that mine by description. First comer gets the persimmon every time. I ain't been in this line of business all my life without learnin' something."
Again did Thad feel his companion move restlessly. It was as though Aleck felt a sudden fear oppress him lest this sly old thief should yet get ahead in entering a claim for the mine.
The flicker of the kindling fire now began to show through the vines at the mouth of the opening. What if these men stayed there until morning, how were the boys to leave? Even when the moon stopped shining upon the face of the cliff, the light of the nearby fire would continue to light it up, so that they would not dare try and creep out. Such a movement, if seen or suspected by the campers, must arouse their curiosity, and lead to an investigation. Then the only thing that could save the mine for Aleck would be a hurried rush to town, in which they might be beaten by the others.
It was not a pleasant thought, although of course, if necessary, the boys could stay there without any great amount of privation. The constant chance of discovery would bother them much more than anything else.
Dickey Bird was still grumbling, it seemed. Things evidently did not please him at all, and only because the fear he entertained for Kracker, the man might have deserted the expedition.
"I jest don't like it around here, and that's what," they heard him say presently. "It ain't the nicest place agoin' either. Now what d'ye reckon that ere rumbling noise was, we all heard a while ago?Waffles, he sez it was thunder; but they ain't nary a cloud as big as my hand anywhar 'round. Sounded more like earthquake noise to me. I was in that shake down at Frisco remember, an' ain't likely to forgit how it starts. If these here mountings began to roll over on us, we'd be in a nice pickle, now, eh? I tell you I don't like it any too much."
"Drop that kind of talk, Dickey Bird," ordered the big prospector, gruffly, "and draw up closer to the fire here. You're cold that's what, and things they looks kind of blue like. Get warmed up and you'll feel better. I've got a little dried meat in my knapsack, and we'll chew on that for a change."
"Good for you, Kunnel!" exclaimed the discontented one, whose mood probably had its inception in hunger, after all. "And don't be long about passin' that same around, will ye? I'm that nigh famished I could eat Indian dog, though I never thought I'd ever come to that."
The three prospectors sat down around the fire, and in order to overhear what they might say while they munched at the tough pemmican, Thad crept closer to the vine screen.
Something moved ahead of him, and he thought he saw the vines tremble, as though giving passage to some sort of body. Immediately afterwards there was a shout from one of the three prospectors,and they could be seen scrambling hastily to their feet, showing every evidence of alarm.
"What is that coming this way?" roared Kracker.
"Say, looks like on'y a wolf cub, arter all!" declared Dickey Bird, with a catch in his husky voice, showing plainly how startled he had been.
"Well, now, that's just what it seems to be; knock the critter on the head, one of you," and the big man dropped back again to his seat.
It was Waffles who picked up a club, and jumping forward, hastened to wind up the earthly career of the motherless wolf whelp; though the savage little beast snarled furiously at his approach, and showed fight.
"Now I wonder what next?" remarked Kracker, as he watched the other engaged in a regular fight with the cub, which would not give up the ghost as easily as Waffles had evidently anticipated.
Indeed, the second man had to also arm himself with a club, and put in a few vicious blows before the wolf whelp was subdued.
"That's what comes to a man when he ain't got no gun!" complained Dickey Bird; from which remark it might be taken for granted that if there was only one revolver in the crowd, which the scouts had allowed them to retain possession of, Kracker had made sure to hold that.
"Oh! that was only a cub, and a wolf ain't anythingto be scared of!" remarked the big prospector; though he turned his head even while speaking, as though he fancied that he heard something moving in the bushes back of him, with visions of a red-eyed furious wolf mother coming to demand satisfaction for the killing of her offspring.
"Whar d'ye reckon the critter kim from now?" demanded Dickey Bird.
"Oh!" whispered Aleck, as though something warned him the danger point was getting very close now.
"First thing I see, he was acomin' away from the rock yonder," remarked Waffles, pointing straight at the hanging vines that screened the fissure so completely.
"Then it looks like he might a come out of them vines?" suggested Kracker, carelessly.
"Reckon, now, he did," replied the other.
"Go and take a look, Waffles," added the big man. "If so be we expect to sleep right here, we want to know if there's any wolf around. I ain't so fond of the ugly critters that I want to have one crawlin' all over me when I'm trying to get some rest. Look behind the vines, I say, Waffles, and make sure."
Waffles did not seem any too anxious to obey. Possibly, if he had gripped some sort of firearm in his hand, he might not have shown the sametimidity. Perhaps he too had an animosity toward ferocious and maddened wolves; and besides, it had been his hand that had given the finishing blow to that nasty little spitting cub, just now, and the mother wolf might have it in for him on that account.
But then he feared the scorn of the big prospector even more than he did the possibility of danger from a she wolf bereft of her whelps. And so, rather hesitatingly to be sure, the man started toward the cliff, with the intention of lifting the screen of vines, and peering behind the same.
Of course he would immediately learn of the fact that there was a fissure in the rock; and curiosity was apt to induce the men to make an attempt to explore the cavity, since they were all experienced miners, and eager to discover signs of a "find" in some unexpected place.
Closer came Waffles. He was now within a few feet of the vines, and indeed, had one hand stretched out, as with the intention of clutching the mass of vegetation, and drawing it aside; while the other gripped that stout cudgel, with which he expected to defend himself desperately, should he be attacked.
Aleck was quivering with suspense, and Thad could easily understand that he must be handling his gun, as though tempted to discharge this, and frighten the man off. But that would be giving the secret away, for these men were cunning; and afterthey had come to figure things out, they would arrive at something like the truth.
If discovery were to be averted other means must be employed in order to keep Waffles from raising that curtain, or at least daring to venture into the fissure as much as one foot.
Finding the ear of his companion Thad managed to whisper in it the few words:
"Don't shout."
"Do just what I do; we've got to scare him!"
And Aleck pressed his arm, to let the scoutmaster know that he understood; even though the means to be employed might as yet be a mystery to him.
Just as the prospector had started to draw the curtain of vines back, there came a most dreadful growl that made Aleck jump, under the belief that the she wolf he had been dragging after him, might have come back to life, and was about to pounce on the destroyers of her lair.
Then all at once it struck him that Thad must have been the cause of this savage growl; that was no doubt what he meant when he spoke so confidently of knowing a way to frighten the man off.
Indeed, Waffles did spring back instantly, uttering a cry of terror. He fully expected to see the beast that had uttered that ferocious growl come flying through the vine screen, leaping at his throat.
"What is it?" shouted Kracker, himself scrambling to his feet clumsily, owing to the girth of his waist.
He seemed to be dragging something out of a rear pocket, and no doubt this was the single weapon which the Boy Scouts had allowed the men to carryoff with them, at the time Kracker and his companions found it necessary to confess themselves beaten in the game of wits.
"A wolf is layin' behind them vines; didn't you hear her give tongue like sixty? Ketch me aliftin' anything thar, I tell you. Ugh! I ain't lost no wolf. Chances are it's the mother of that cub, too; an' she'll be that mad when she knows we killed it, nawthin' won't stop her rushin' the camp. Let's clear out of here?"
"But we got our fire started, an' all of us feel dead tired, too," complained Dickey Bird, who was evidently struggling between two opinions, and did not know which was the lesser evil—remain where they were, with that savage beast hovering around; or once more pursue their weary way elsewhere.
Kracker had approached close to the vines, and Thad thought it a good time to give another growls which he did with new emphasis. And Aleck, not wanting to be left out of the game entirely, tried his hand also.
"Look out, Kunnel, thar's two of the critters!" shouted Waffles, turning and edging further away from the rock wall.
"A hull den of 'em, I reckons!" added Dickey Bird, who no longer cared to stay in such a dangerous vicinity.
Thad reached out his hand, and shook the vines violently. This action completed the demoralizationof the three prospectors. Almost weaponless as they were, they seemed to lack their ordinary courage.
"Run! they's comin' out arter us, Kunnel!" cried Waffles, suiting the action to his words, by turning and dashing wildly away.
The second man followed close at his heels, just as thoroughly demoralized. Kracker might have stood it out, for Kracker gripped a firearm in his fat hand; but when he found that he was being deserted by his companions, the big prospector also started to run clumsily away, breathing out all manner of threatenings against the other two for cowards.
Thad no longer growled, but lying there on the rocky floor of the fissure, he shook all over with half-suppressed laughter.
"That's the time we saved the day with our growls, Aleck!" he whispered, when he could control himself to some extent.
The other lad felt even more exultant. The mine had been in danger, but thanks to the ready wit of the scoutmaster, the enemy had been frightened away before they learned anything. And so Aleck, feeling that he had plenty of cause for rejoicing, soon joined Thad in soft laughter.
"No danger of those fellows coming back to investigate, do you think?" he asked.
"Well, if you could judge from the hurried waythey lit out, I guess we needn't dream that they'll ever want to see this cliff again," replied Thad.
"And when we want to, we can crawl out ourselves, can't we?" Aleck went on.
"Sure thing, right now is the time, because they're traveling for all they're worth, and never even looking back over their shoulders as they gallop along."
"How about these wolves; shall we drag them out, and throw the carcases away in some hole?" asked Thad's companion, evidently only too glad to do just whatever the scoutmaster decided were best.
Indeed, he had reason to feel the utmost confidence in Thad Brewster; from the very first this new friend had directed affairs in a way that Aleck looked on as simply wonderful. It was almost like a dream to him, the coming of these scouts, their championing his almost lost cause, and bringing success out of failure. No wonder then that Aleck felt so willing to trust this staunch friend through thick and thin. No wonder that he asked his opinion, knowing full well that whatever Thad decided would be best.
"Might as well get rid of the things while we're about it," was what Thad said. "Sooner or later you'll be entering this passage again, I hope with capitalists along with you to look the mine over, and decide how much money they'll advance to begin itsworking; and you wouldn't find it nice here, if we left these bodies to cause a disagreeable odor. But we must be careful not to disarrange the vines. And I want to rub out any tracks we may leave, before quitting this place."
Accordingly both the mother wolf and the cub were taken outside. It was not a difficult thing to find a deep hole into which all of the dead animals could be cast; and after this duty had been accomplished the two boys returned to the mouth of the hidden mine.
The fire had been kicked under foot, and extinguished; though Thad afterwards made sure to place the embers in such a position that it would appear to have gone out of its own accord. This was to keep the prospectors from suspecting the truth, should they have the temerity to ever come back again, for one of them had lost his hat in his mad haste to depart.
Then lighting the lantern, Thad tried the best he knew how to smooth over any footprint he or his companion may have made close to the fissure in the rock. He wished Allan might be there just then, for he would have known how to go about it better.
"All right now," he announced a little later, as he arose from his knees.
"What had we better do, stay around here, ortry and work a little closer back to camp, to see what has happened there?" Aleck questioned.
"I was thinking it might pay us to do that last," the scoutmaster replied. "We needn't show ourselves, of course; but could hang around until your rascally old uncle and that sheriff went away. Now, if only it was some one else he wanted to nab, what a fine chance this would be for you to get him as an officer of the law to help you locate the mine. But I suppose that would be too dangerous."
"It's an idea worth thinking about," Aleck declared, "and we may find a way yet to carry it out. I hope we won't run across those three scared men, because they headed this way when they ran off. You don't mean to carry the lantern lighted, do you, Thad?"
"Well, I should say not. It would only advertise the fact that a couple of very fresh Boy Scouts were wandering around. Why, those very men might sight us and lie in wait to capture you again," with which Thad blew out the lantern.
They started on.
Thanks to the moonlight they were able to keep their course fairly well; sometimes under the low trees, and again among masses of piled up rocks. Far above their heads towered the mighty mountains, their tops capped with snow. Thad never glanced up at them without thinking how eagerlyhe and his chums had looked forward to this chance for seeing the fortress Nature had built up and down the Western country, separating the Pacific Coast from the balance of the land.
"Listen!" said Aleck, laying a hand on his companion's sleeve.
"Did you think you heard a voice again?" asked Thad, whispering the words, for there was a spice of danger in the very air around them.
"I sure did; and there it is again. Whatever is that man doing?"
"Sounds to me like that Waffles?" suggested Thad.
"But what would he be praying for, tell me?" asked Aleck.
"Praying?" echoed the other, astonished himself.
"Well, listen to him, would you; he seems to be begging somebody not to hurt him? Do you suppose they've gone, and had a falling-out among themselves, and the colonel is threatening to finish his man for running away?" Aleck went on, still keeping his voice lowered.
"Why, hardly that, because he ran as fast as the rest of them," replied Thad. "But come, let's creep forward a little, and find out what all the fuss is about."
As they proceeded to do this, the sound of Waffles' peculiar voice came more and more plainly to theirhearing; and sure enough, he was certainly pleading earnestly with some unknown one.
"Think what a guy I'll be if so be ye do hit, and cut my pore ears off, jest in spite work?" he was whining; "I admit that I done ye dirt, when I hooked that bead belt from yer place, meanin' to sell the same. But shore I didn't know as how ye vallied it so high. Never'd a put a hand on it, if I'd been told 'twar a sacred fambly relic, and that outsiders hadn't orter touch the same. Let me go this time, Fox, and shore I promises never to do hit again. My ears is all I got, and think how I'd look without the same. Ye got me down, and I cain't help myself, ef so be ye mean to do hit; but better let me off this time. You ain't a wild Injun, and you knows it ain't doin' right to try and mend one wrong with another. Let me go, Fox; I'm asayin' I'm sorry, an' a man can't do more'n that."
The mystery was explained. The Fox had followed Thad and Aleck from the camp, no doubt with the idea of standing up for them, if they needed help. He must have been hovering near when the three prospectors started their fire, and witnessed all that happened afterward.
When the three frightened men made their wild flight, the Fox, still burning with a desire to wipe out the insult that Waffles had put upon his family when he took away that revered wampum belt that had never before been touched by profane hands,had followed in their wake. Finding a chance to jump on the back of Waffles, he had borne the man to the ground. Doubtless the other two had continued their mad flight, never caring what would happen to Waffles, and only thinking of saving their own precious bodies.
And ever since that minute, the Fox had been sitting on the fallen man, telling him how he meant to punish him for his mean act, by making Waffles a reproach among his fellows, since only thieves have their ears sliced off in some countries.
Thad nudged his companion, and they started to creep closer to the spot where the two figures prone on the ground could be indistinctly seen.
"Hold on, Fox! that man has been punished enough; and besides you've recovered the belt, so there's been no real harm done. Let him get up!"
It was Thad who said this, as he and Aleck broke cover, and appeared before the astonished eyes of the two who were on the ground, the Crow boy flourishing his knife in a way calculated to make any one's blood run cold.
The Fox seemed to recognize that Thad spoke as one having authority. He had seen him manage things in the camp of the scouts, and noticed how willingly the rest of the boys recognized his leadership. And secretly the Crow boy admired Thad more than any paleface lad he had ever met on or off the reservation, saving possibly Aleck.
So he immediately arose, and hastened to conceal his knife.
"Give big scare, so him never try again!" he muttered, looking down.
"Don't ye believe him; he just meant to take my ears off, for a fact," exclaimed the man as he gained his feet, hardly knowing whether to start in running once more, or trust to Thad to stand between himself and the injured Crow boy.
"Well, then, we just happened along this way in time to save them for you; and Waffles, suppose you clear out of this as fast as you can. Don't forget what we said about shooting, if ever we found you around our camp. Now, if you get away in a hurry, I'll agree to keep the Fox beside me. Only if you know what's good for you, never go near the reservation again."
"Well, I never will, make up your mind to that. Hold him now; I'm going to skedaddle out of this on the jump!" and sure enough Waffles did, rushing away as only a good healthy fright could urge on a tired man.
Nor did any of them see him again, or either of the other two for that matter. They must have made up their minds that the region around there was unhealthy for fellows of their stamp, and that the sooner they turned their faces toward civilization the better for them.
Joined by the Fox, Thad and Aleck continued to walk toward the distant camp of the scouts further up the valley.
The night was getting well along when they halted to rest, having gone as far as was deemedadvisable. They had talked it well over, and the Fox had even told them what he knew about Sheriff Bob. This information was of so pleasing a nature that it seemed apt to have more or less influence with regard to making their final decision, as to what their plan should be in the morning.
They were up early, and had a bite to eat, a little food having been brought along by the far-sighted scoutmaster, who when he and Aleck cleared out, did not know when they would get back again.
Again they talked matters over. Thad was of a mind to betake himself back to the camp, leaving the others in hiding; but where they could see a signal he would make, if so be he wanted them to come in.
"This thing of your hiding out like you're a common criminal is all wrong," the scoutmaster had declared, somewhat angrily. "And I'm going to put it up to that sheriff in a way that must convince him he's been humbugged by your scheming old uncle. Then we can get him to go with us, to see you put up your notice, and claim the mine your father originally discovered. After that you can go with him to the place where you have to file your sworn declaration of entry, and have things all done according to law. The Silver Fox Patrol will meanwhile camp in front of that wolf den, and hold it secure for you! Understand all that, Aleck?"
"Indeed, I do; and no fellow ever before found such grand good friends as you and the rest of the scouts have shown yourselves to be to me," and as he shook hands with Thad, on the latter's leaving, Aleck had tears in his eyes.
"Oh! that's what scouts are for, you see; to be a help to each other, and to anybody that's in trouble, when they can lend a helping hand. Now, watch for the signal; for if I give it, you can feel satisfied you have nothing to fear from that sheriff."
With that Thad strode away, heading in a roundabout way for the camp, so that his coming from a certain direction might not betray the hiding-place of the other two.
Great was the astonishment of Allan, and those of the patrol who were in camp, when a lone figure was seen approaching that they quickly made out to be Thad. All sorts of possible sources of new trouble loomed up in their minds; but as the scoutmaster drew nearer, they were considerably relieved to discover that he was smiling, as though not worried in the least.
Of course the sheriff and Uncle Artemus had jumped up when the others did, and observed the coming of the young scoutmaster but with different emotions. The lawyer only wondered whether this might mean the surrender of his nephew to the authority invested in the office of sheriff; but the official himself was engaged in studying the approachinglad, of whom he had heard so much, and drawing his own opinion with regard to his character.
"Glad to see you again, Thad!" called out Bumpus.
"That's right, and so says every one of us," echoed Giraffe, determined not to be left out of any talking-bee, if there was one.
Thad only nodded, and smiled. He walked right over to where Allan stood, and engaged him in earnest consultation; while the others looked on, not knowing what to make of this most unexpected turn of events.
Presently Allan turned and called out:
"Would you mind coming over here, Mr. Sheriff; we want to tell you something that ought to interest you, about this case?"
The shrewd lawyer tried to hang on to the coat-tails of the big sheriff, as he exclaimed, half threateningly, half pleadingly:
"Don't you go, Sheriff; they want to blarney you into believing their side of the story. You've got a warrant for the arrest of a vicious young fellow, even if he is my own nephew, who has robbed me of valuable papers. You've got to do your sworn duty! Better stay by me, and the pay'll be sure. I wouldn't mind doubling what I promised, if so be I get my papers back. And the boy can go hang, for all of me, then."
But the sheriff tore himself loose, and walked over to where the two earnest-faced scouts were awaiting him. Allan introduced him to the patrol leader, and from the hearty hand-clasp which the officer bestowed upon him, Thad felt sure that the case of poor badgered Aleck Rawson was as good as won, even before he had commenced to do any persuasive talking.
He began at the start, and related all that Aleck had told him of his troubles in the past; and how not only Kracker and his kind had annoyed the widow of the dead prospector, but this sly old lawyer as well, all of them imbued with the same mad desire to learn where the hidden mine was located.
He related numerous instances that almost amounted to persecution, whereby Uncle Artemus had tried to force the widow, through stress of poverty, to sell him the secret he believed she carried locked in her breast; until presently Thad saw by the angry glow in those blue eyes of the sheriff that he had accomplished the aim he had in view.
Meanwhile the old lawyer had been on needles and pins. He jumped up and sat down again half a dozen times. Of course he could easily understand that Thad was trying to wean the sheriff away from his duty; and there were signs that told Uncle Artemus this very thing was gradually being accomplished before his very eyes.
He could not stand it much longer, and finally headvanced toward the spot where the sheriff and the two scouts stood.
Thad had no longer the slightest fear that his work would be undermined. He knew that Sheriff Bob would not longer lend his official stamp to any such underhand work as that which this "slick" lawyer from Denver was endeavoring to carry out. And so he could view the coming of the other without anxiety.
"I hope you haven't allowed yourself to be at all influenced by any specious story you've listened to, Mr. Sheriff," the old man started to say.
The officer drew his capacious hand across his chin, as though collecting his thoughts, in order to frame a suitable reply.
"I've been listening to some mighty interesting facts, Mr. Rawson," he said.
"Lies, every one of them, I warrant you, sir," snapped the lawyer, who began to feel that he was losing his grip on the case right then and there, since this little whipper-snapper of a leader among these boys appeared more capable of swaying the sheriff than he could himself do.
"Oh! I don't know about that, Mr. Rawson," the sheriff went on, his eyes losing some of their twinkle, and a steely look taking its place, which Thad understood must be his official face; "I know a heap more'n I did about things when I agreed to take this here warrant, and execute the same foryou, by arresting a lad you claimed was your nephew, which was true; and who had been stealing valuable papers from you, which I reckon was only a yarn."