"Excuse me," said the loud-spoken man, as he made Jed a mocking bow, "but perhaps you did not understand me. I asked for the honor of your company in partaking of a little of the liquid refreshment which they serve in this palatial hotel," and with his big hat he swept the floor. "Once more, stranger, a tenderfoot by your looks, what will you have?"
The last words were sternly spoken, and there was a general movement, on the part of those nearest Haverhill, to get out of range of the gun which they momentarily expected him to draw.
"I understood you perfectly," replied Jed, "but I can only repeat what I said. I don't drink."
"Why—why!" spluttered Haverhill, for he considered himself insulted such was his peculiar code of "honor." "You've got to drink with me, or take the consequences!"
He reached toward his revolver, which was in plain sight in his belt. But Jed never quailed. Will, with a white face, started forward to his brother's aid, but Gabe pulled him back.
"That'll do!" exclaimed the old miner, as he took a step in advance, and stood beside Jed. "I'm with this lad, and what he says I'll back up."
"Oh, you will, eh?" asked Haverhill, with a sneer. "And who are you?"
"No tenderfoot, if that's what you mean. I was out in California in '49, when you were eating bread and milk, and you can't bluff me. Don't you draw that gun!" suddenly exclaimed the brave miner, as he saw Haverhill's hand stealing toward the revolver.
"You dare give me orders!" exclaimed the other. "Why—why—dynamite and rattlesnakes—I'll—I'll eat you alive!"
"You will, eh?" exclaimed Gabe, taking a step closer to the man. Every one expected to see some "gun-play," but, for some reason, the man who had invited Jed to drink seemed so astonished at Gabe's defiance that he did not know what to say.
"Yes, and I'll—I'll——" spluttered the man, in his rage.
"That'll do you now!" replied Gabe quietly. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of here."
"I will? What for, I'd like to know?"
"Because, Sam Small,aliasNed Haverhill,aliasShort-card Ike, I know who you are, and if you don't leave at once I'll report you to the United States marshal. I know you well, but you fooled me at first. You were Con Morton's partner when he swindled me out of the best part of my fortune, and you can tell Con, when you see him, that I'm looking for him. Now clear out!"
"Why—why—you dare order me——" began the gambler, as if he could not believe what he heard.
"Yes, you'd better go, Ned," advised the bar-keeper in a low voice. Gabe's quiet manner, and the way he spoke, convinced the hotel keeper that the old miner had spoken the truth, and the saloon man did not want trouble with the authorities.
"I'll not go!" cried the angry man. "I'll—I'll——"
"Hold on there!" exclaimed a new voice, and every one turned to see Marshal Judson standing in the door. He was armed with a rifle, and, though he did not aim it at any one, the manner in which he looked at Haverhill, the cause of the disturbance, argued anything but peaceable intentions toward that individual.
"Clear out of here," added the marshal, "and don't you show up in these diggings again. I heard what Mr. Harrison said about you, and I believe him. Get out!" and his blue eyes blazed in a convincing manner.
"I—I was—was just goin' to," answered the man, who had been so bold a little while ago. "I'm going," and he sneaked out of the door, while several, who a few minutes before were afraid of him, laughed openly.
"Tenderfoot, you're all right!" exclaimed a man, extending his hand to Jed. "There aren't many who would refuse to drink with Haverhill."
Others also spoke of Jed's nervy stand, for, it was said, Haverhill was known to be a bad man in a quarrel, and dangerous when angered. Evidently, however, he feared the marshal.
Matters were rather quiet about the hotel the rest of the night, for the marshal remained in that vicinity In the morning Gabe and the two boys, having completed their outfits, set off on their horses in the direction of Dizzy Gulch. Several old miners tried, with the best of intentions, to dissuade Gabe from going to those diggings, saying he would only meet with failure.
"I don't care. I'm going," he said. "I'll trust Ted Jordan."
They traveled all that day, and reached a small mining camp that evening. It appeared to be a prosperous one, for there were several saloons and dance halls in full operation, and, usually, this is the surest sign of such prosperity. When the miners are digging plenty of gold they are spending it, and every one in the place seemed to have a good-sized bag of yellow dust, or else several nuggets in his pockets.
Though the boys had seen these evidences of the earth's richness at the town where they first stopped, they did not lose interest in watching the men pay for what they bought with gold dust or nuggets, instead of money.
"That's what we'll be doing soon, eh, Will?" suggested Jed.
"I hope so, but maybe we'll be fooled when we get to Dizzy Gulch. Every one seems to think there is no gold there."
"Don't let that worry you," replied Jed. "We'll get gold, I'm sure. Old Gabe knows what he is about. Don't believe what those old miners say."
"I hope you're right, but it doesn't seem so," added Will, with his usual habit of looking on the dark side of things.
The travelers found that the hotel they stopped at was somewhat better patronized than the former one, though it had been hastily constructed. There was the same quality of customers, however—miners and gamblers. After supper Gabe left the two boys alone, as he wanted to go about and make some inquiries of an old friend of his, who was somewhere about the diggings.
As Jed and Will were passing out of the hotel through the barroom, for there were no other egress, they were stopped by a flashily dressed man, who, with several others, was playing cards at a table in a corner.
"Hello, sports!" he greeted the lads. "Take a hand in the game. We're short."
"We don't gamble!" exclaimed Jed quickly. He was an outspoken lad, and never beat about the bush.
"You don't gamble? I reckon you're afraid of losing a dollar or so," sneered the man.
"No, but we don't believe in it," replied Jed, good-naturedly, and preparing to pass on.
"Hold on!" exclaimed the man. "Do you mean to insult me?"
"Not at all," answered the boy.
"But I consider you have insulted me, when you don't think I'm good enough for you to play cards with!"
"I did not say that," was Jed's reply. "I said I didn't believe in gambling or card playing. I don't consider that it's right."
"Then you think I'm doing wrong?"
"I don't think anything about you. I'm simply speaking for myself."
"Aw, you're a tenderfoot! A milksop! Why didn't you stay back East, tied to your mother's apron string? Does she know you're out? Give her my regards!"
That was too much for Jed. That any one should speak disrespectfully of his dear mother was more than he could stand. Without stopping to think of the consequences of his act, he shot out his left arm, his fist caught the gambler squarely on the chin, and the fellow fell flat on his back, after a desperate effort to retain his footing.
There were murmurs of astonishment from all in the room. The boy's act was so sudden it took every one by surprise. Instinctively Will moved nearer to his brother to protect him, for he felt there would be a fight.
The gambler was on his feet in an instant. With a quick motion he drew a revolver and leveled it at Jed.
"Put up that gun!" yelled a sudden voice, and every one turned to see who had spoken. Old Gabe was entering the room. At the sight of him, the gambler's hand shook, and he lowered the weapon.
"Ah! I've found you, have I!" exclaimed Gabe, as he pushed his way through the crowd. "Now I've got you!"
"No, you haven't!" yelled the gambler, and, with a quick motion, he jumped to one side, and out of an open window near the table, disappearing in the darkness outside.
Gabe Harrison turned quickly and ran out of the door. The boys, and those in the room, caught a glimpse of the old miner as he hurried past the window after the gambler.
"He'll never catch him," observed a man. "Can't run fast enough."
This seemed to be the general verdict, and it was borne out by the fact, for, in a minute or two, Gabe returned, rather out of breath.
"Did you get him?" asked the bartender.
"Nope," replied Gabe. "It was too dark, and I can't run as fast as I could once. How did it happen he pulled a gun on you, Jed?"
"I knocked him down for insulting my mother."
"Whew!" whistled Gabe. "You're getting right into the swim of things out here. I can't leave you alone but what something happens."
"Who was he? What did you want of him?" asked Will.
"That fellow was Con Morton, the gambler who robbed me of nearly all my fortune," replied Gabe, to the surprise of the boys. "I've been looking for him for some time, but he was too slick for me. How long has he been here?" he asked, turning to the proprietor of the hotel.
"Just came in a little while ago, and tried to start a card game. I didn't know him, and no one else seemed to; did you fellows?" and he appealed to the men. There was a general dissent, so far as having an acquaintance with Con was concerned.
"I wouldn't have a word to say if he'd won my money when I gambled with him," went on the miner. "I've been fool enough to do that in my time, but I've sworn off from cards and drink. These boys are friends of mine. Their father did me a good turn, and they don't drink or gamble either. I say that for the benefit of all who hear it. If any one makes trouble for them they've got to reckon with me."
"That one lad seems able to take care of himself," remarked a man, nodding at Jed. "He sent that gambling chap on his back as neat as I ever saw."
"I'm glad he did," replied Gabe. "I wish I could have caught him. But I'm still after him, and if he shows up around here again, you can tell him I'll have back the money he practically stole from me, or my name's not Gabe Harrison."
"I heard him say he'd been over to the Dizzy Gulch diggings before he drifted in here," volunteered a miner with a very red mustache.
"He did, eh?" replied Gabe. "Did he say how things were going there? That's where I'm headed for."
"Said he cleaned up a pile."
"In his own way, I suppose, with cards. Well, if he got some, the miners must have struck pay dirt. I guess we're on the right road, boys."
This was better news than they yet had heard concerning Dizzy Gulch, and the three gold seekers felt better over it. They soon retired to their rooms, where they slept undisturbed, though Jed had uneasy dreams of fights with mountain lions, and a band of gamblers who had revolvers as large as cannons.
With the first gleam of daylight Gabe was up, and roused the boys.
"We must make an early start for the mountains," he said. "Our real trail begins now, and for some time we'll have to depend on ourselves, for we aren't going to strike any camps."
"Aren't we going to Dizzy Gulch?" asked Jed. "I thought there was a camp there."
"I've made a little change in our plans," replied the old miner. "I had a talk with a friend when I was away from the hotel last night, when you so nearly got into trouble. He told me there had been some good strikes made at the Gulch, where Ted Jordan is, but nothing remarkable. Now I've had enough of ordinary mining. I want to get at something big. So I think we'll strike off into the mountains back of the Gulch."
"Do you think there's gold there?" asked Will.
"I think so. I've made some inquiries about the lay of the land around Dizzy Gulch, and, from what I know about gold mining, I'm convinced that we'll stand a better chance in the mountains than we will in the Gulch. If I'm wrong, and we don't strike some rich pay dirt, we can drift on to the Gulch, and try our luck there. But I'd like to try my way first, if you have no objections."
"We're with you," responded Jed. "We'll follow your lead. You know all about it, and we—well, we're tenderfeet of the tenderest kind, I guess."
"You'll get over that. Now then, if you're ready we'll start on the trail, and bid good-by to such civilization as they have out in these camps. I'll not be sorry, either. I'm not afraid of any man, and I'll take my chances with most of 'em, but I like a peaceable life, and this business of drinking and playing cards I don't like. I've gotten over it."
They made their departure from the town quietly, few persons being up to see them go, for the miners and gamblers, who made up most of the population, kept late hours, and, in consequence, were late risers.
The trail led up the mountain, for the town was situated at the foot of a big range. As they got higher and higher the boys had a view of a big stretch of country. It was different from any they had yet seen, and the great masses of mountain ranges, the deep valleys, the towering peaks, were a strange contrast to the scenery back in the quiet little country town of Lockport.
"Isn't this great!" exclaimed Jed, as he halted his horse on a ledge of rock and looked at the scene below him.
"The mountains for mine! Every time!" exclaimed Gabe, fervently. "Farming is all right, but it's too low down. You can't see enough. Look at this view! It makes a man grow big in spite of himself!"
"Then Will had better look out," advised Jed, with a smile. "If he grows any taller his legs will reach the ground on either side of his horse, and he won't be able to get in ordinary rooms."
"Yes, and if you keep on getting stout, you'll have to get two horses to carry you," retorted his brother.
The little party was in jolly humor. It was a fine day, they had a good supply of food with them, a comfortable tent, and best of all, they were actually about to begin their hunt for gold.
The boys were anxious to start digging at every place they made a halt, but Gabe pointed out that it would be foolish, as the nature of the ground was such that no gold could be expected there.
"I'll tell you when to get out the picks and washing pans," he said. "We're getting closer, and I shouldn't wonder but by night we'd get to a place where we can make a try clean-up."
How anxiously the boys wanted that time to come! They closely scanned the trail on either side, for Gabe had told them some methods of recognizing when they were near pay dirt, and they wanted to test their new knowledge.
"Just think! We're actually going to dig gold!" exclaimed Jed. "I used to think it was wonderful to dig potatoes, but when I turn out a few yellow nuggets I'll think I've really begun to live."
"Digging potatoes is a heap sight surer, sometimes, than digging gold," remarked Gabe, "only it isn't so exciting."
The trail became wilder now, for it was one seldom traveled. The horses had to proceed slowly, and, as it was getting well on in the afternoon, Gabe decided they would make a camp.
"Is this—do you think it would be any good to dig for gold here?" asked Jed eagerly.
"Well, you might try a little surface or placer mining," replied Gabe. "That looks like a good place to dig," he went on, pointing to a gravelly spot, about a hundred feet from where he had decided to pitch the tent. "You boys can be miners for a while until I get camp in shape. But don't be disappointed."
Eagerly unpacking their picks, shovels and washing pans, the boys hurried over to where the old miner had indicated. As the method they were about to use may not be familiar to all of my readers I will briefly describe it.
The kind of gold they hoped to find is known as free gold—that is, it exists in little grains, sometimes only as large as a pin point or a pin head, and, again, the size of a walnut. It is mixed in with the dirt or gravel, and is usually washed to its resting place by some flood. Other gold is held in ores, or hard rocks, which must be crushed and specially treated before the precious metal can be extracted.
The kind of mining the boys were about to undertake is very simple. Acting under Gabe's advice, they first loosened the top soil with their picks. This they threw aside, as it was not very likely to contain gold, which, being quite heavy, would be washed by the rains below the surface.
After digging down a little way, the boys came to some fine gravel. This, Gabe had told them, might contain fine grains of gold, but to determine that point they had to wash the dirt. For this purpose the simplest means are common iron pans, circular and rather shallow. Another method is by a wooden "rocker," which will be explained later.
Filling their pans half full of the gravel, the boys let water run in from a near-by mountain stream. They now had a mixture of very moist mud. This they agitated in the pans by a peculiar circular motion, the object of it being to cause the heavier grains of gold to sink to the bottom of the pan. Repeated applications of water, and shakings of their pans, soon washed out most of the gravel in the pans, which were tilted at a slight angle to permit this. At length there was only a little fine dirt left in the bottom of the pan.
"I think I see something yellow!" exclaimed Jed, greatly excited.
"Don't think—make sure," called Gabe. "Here, I'll do it for you."
He was almost as excited as the boys. The gold fever was on him again. Taking Jed's pan, he let some more water run in it. Then with a gentle whirling motion he threw this water out by degrees, the fine sand and gravel going with it. Then there remained in the bottom of the pan a little heap of glittering yellow grains.
"Gold! It's gold!" murmured Gabe. "Boys, we've struck our first pay dirt!"
"Hurrah!" yelled Jed, capering about. "We're in luck! Gold, Will! What'd I tell you? I knew we'd find it!" and he began dancing about like an Indian, or a cowboy celebrating a holiday.
"Oh, it's not such an awful lot," replied Gabe, more calmly, as he scooped up the yellow grains. "You'll have to wash out a good many panfuls before you'll be rich at this rate. Let's see how Will's is going to pan out."
He repeated the operation, and got more of the gold. The eyes of the two brothers shone with excitement, nor was Gabe altogether free from excitement, though it was an old story to him.
"Come on, Will, let's clean up another panful," suggested Jed.
"Hold on!" called Gabe. "Help me get camp in shape first. It'll soon be dark. That pay dirt will keep. It's been there a good many hundred years, and it isn't going to run away in the night."
"Hadn't we better stake out a claim?" suggested Jed, who was rapidly becoming familiar with mining terms.
"We'll prospect a bit more first," replied Gabe. "It may not pay us to remain here. No use cleaning up a little bit like this, when we can get big nuggets a bit further on."
"But we're sure there's gold here," objected Jed, "and we don't know whether or not there's any further on."
"Go slow," advised the old miner. "Come on, now, help me fix up the tent."
The boys knew that Gabe's advice was good, and, though they felt a wild desire to remain digging gold, they realized that they must have a place to sleep, for it was getting cool at night, now that they were well up in the mountains.
The boys were up early the next morning, and each one had washed a pan of gravel before breakfast. They obtained about a quarter of an ounce of gold each.
"How much is it worth?" asked Jed eagerly.
"Well," replied Gabe critically, "you've made about ten dollars between you this morning."
"And last night?"
"A little more. Say twenty-five dollars altogether."
"Why, we'll soon be rich!" exclaimed Jed.
"Maybe, if this gravel holds out," admitted Gabe. "But don't be too sure. I think it's only a surface mine, the gold having been washed down from some place higher up. Now get your breakfast and then we'll do some mining, until I can see what sort of a place we've struck."
They washed several panfuls of dirt that morning. To Jed's disappointment on several occasions the result, after a careful washing and shaking, was only a few grains of the precious yellow stuff. Again they would get nearly half an ounce.
"I think I'll make a rocker," said Gabe, at length. "We can do it faster then, and find out if this is going to pay."
"What's a rocker?" asked Will.
"I'll show you."
From some pieces of a box, in which some of their camp stuff was packed, Gabe constructed a sort of rude cradle, on rockers. The bottom of the box, which was rather shallow, was covered with a number of cross sticks, nailed to it like the cleats on a gangplank.
The box was filled with gravel and water. The water ran out of the lower end, carrying most of the dirt and gravel with it. The gold, being heavier, settled to the bottom, and was prevented from flowing away by the cleats. After about two hours of this work or "rocking," so called because the cradle is rocked from side to side, Gabe gathered from the box nearly a handful of pure gold grains.
"There! What do you think of that?" exclaimed Jed. "Have we struck a bonanza or not?"
"I can't tell yet," replied Mr. Harrison cautiously. "It may peter out any minute, but it's good so far."
The miner's fears were realized. As the day wore on the result of the various "clean-ups" was less and less, until, after the cradle had been filled several times, the result was only a mere pinch of gold.
"Let's dig over a wider space," suggested Jed.
"No," said the miner, "it's just as I thought, there was only a small deposit of gold there, and we've cleaned it up."
"Then there isn't any use in staying here?"
"Not unless we can find another deposit."
They hunted for it without success, remaining for several days in the place of their first strike. Then the miner decided they should continue on up into the mountains.
"The gold is above us," he said. "We've got to climb up to it."
They broke camp, packed their supplies on the backs of the horses, and started forward.
"Well, we made some money, anyhow," said Jed. "Our first attempt wasn't so bad."
"Yes, we cleaned up a few hundred dollars," admitted Gabe, "but that's hardly enough to pay our expenses for the time we spent. We'll have to have better luck than that, and I believe we will."
"I wish we could send word to dad," added Will.
"Better wait until we make a real strike," suggested Mr. Harrison. "No use raising false hopes."
They journeyed on for several days in a lonely part of the mountain, meeting no one. They had some luck, but not much, and the boys began to fear they would never reach a place where they could make a permanent camp, and dig gold in quantities sufficient to make it pay. But Gabe was not discouraged. He was too old a hand at the game of gold hunting.
"Boys," said the old miner one morning, as they were preparing to break camp, and travel on, "suppose you stay here for a few hours? I want to take a little side trip, and as it's rather dangerous I'd rather you'd stay here. I want to go up that mountain," pointing to one, off to one side, "and see if I can't see some new signs. I'll be back in a little while, so wait here for me."
Removing the pack from his horse, and with only his rifle, pick and pan, the old miner set off. The boys, for want of something better to do, dug up some gravel and washed it in their pans, but with no success. It served, however, to pass the time.
"Say, don't you think it's about time Gabe came back?" asked Will, as he looked up at the sun, and noted it was nearly noon.
"That's so. He has been gone longer than he said he would be," answered Jed. "But he'll come back. Let's try digging over here," and he went to a new spot.
He was encouraged by finding a few grains of gold, and then he and Will set feverishly to work, but they had no great success.
"My! But I'm hungry!" exclaimed Jed, several hours later. "Why!" he exclaimed, as he looked at his watch, "it's three o'clock, and Gabe isn't back yet!"
"Let's get grub," proposed Will. "Maybe he's struck good pay dirt, and he hates to leave."
They ate their meal, and again went back to their gold pans, but they found no yellow metal. The sun sank lower and lower. It was getting dark, and there were no signs of the old miner. The boys looked anxiously at each other.
"Maybe he's hurt," suggested Will.
"Maybe," admitted Jed, accepting his brother's rather gloomy view, which was something new for him.
"Had we better go look for him?"
"I don't know. He told us to stay here until he came back."
"But if he's fallen, and can't move, he'd want us to go for him."
"That's so. Let's go. Get your gun, Will, and put plenty of matches in your pockets. We may want to light a torch. Tie the horses so they won't stray."
The two boys were soon walking up the mountain path that Gabe had taken earlier in the day. It was fast getting dusk, and they were very anxious. The trail was a winding one, and twisted and turned in every direction. At first they could see the marks made by Gabe's horse, but the hoof-prints soon disappeared.
"Guess we'd better go back," suggested Will, after they had tramped for an hour. "There's no sign of him. Maybe he went on another trail, and is back at camp now. Anyhow, we can't see any more," for it was now quite dark.
"All right," agreed Jed. "Back to camp it is."
They turned, and thought they were taking the same path they had used in coming up. But they had not traveled far before they were made aware that it was not the right one.
"I don't remember that we passed this big rock before," said Jed, pausing near one, which, even in the darkness, they could see was perched on the edge of a deep gully.
"Me either. I wonder if we're on the right trail?"
They paused and, lighting matches, looked about them. They were observing lads, and it did not take them long to arrive at the conclusion that they were on a totally different path.
"Will," said Jed solemnly, "we're lost on the mountain, that's all there is to it."
"Lost! What are we going to do?"
"Stay here until morning, I guess. See if you can find some wood, and we'll build a fire. This rock will make a good shelter."
The boys passed a dreary, miserable night. There was a heavy dew, and they were wet, almost as if by a rain. Their fire went out, for in the darkness they could not find wood enough to keep it going.
How glad they were when morning came! The sun warmed them, and took the stiffness from their limbs.
"Oh, for something to eat!" cried Will.
"Same here," replied Jed. "But, listen! What's that?"
"Sounds like water running. Queer we didn't hear it before."
"We were too excited, I guess. There must be a stream around here, and maybe there are fish in it."
They found just below where they had spent the night a swift mountain stream foaming along over a rocky bed. Jed and Will had not gotten over the habit, formed while on the farm, of carrying hooks and lines in their pockets. It was short work to cut poles, adjust their tackle, and, with bait of worms, dug with their pocket knives, they were soon casting in. The fish of that stream must have been very hungry, for they took the bait at once, and soon the lads had several beauties. These they cleaned, and broiled by holding them in front of the fire on sharp sticks.
"They'd be better if we had salt," said Will.
"Use gunpowder," suggested Jed, and they did not find it a bad substitute, when they had taken some of the black grains from a cartridge, for salt-peter is the principal ingredient of some powders, and it is very salty.
"Now suppose we get back to camp," suggested Will, after their simple breakfast. "I suppose Gabe is back by this time, thinking how foolish we were to disobey him."
"Well, we did it for the best," said Jed. "He can't blame us."
"Of course not. Do you think we can find the way back?"
Jed did not answer. He was looking about him. They were on a totally unfamiliar trail, and he did not know which way to go. He admitted as much to his brother.
"But we came up the mountain," said Will, "and naturally, to get to camp we ought to go down. That's easy."
"Yes, it's easy enough to go down the slope, but where will we come out? I'm in favor of going up."
"What for?"
"Well, the higher we go the better view we'll have. Then we can size up the country, and decide which way we'd better travel. No use simply going down, for we may come out miles and miles from our camp."
Will agreed in this view, and the boys started up the trail again. But luck was against them. They did not know it, but they were on one of the wildest mountain ranges in that section of the country. Many travelers had been lost on it, for the trails, made by wild animals, were confusing, and there were a number of them.
"We don't seem to be getting anywhere," said Will, at length.
"That's so," admitted Jed. "I'm hungry; aren't you? Those fish weren't very filling."
"No, indeed, but I don't see how we're going to get anything to eat."
For several hours more the boys wandered on. They were tired, and their stomachs craved more food. They saw no game, or they might have provided themselves with food, and they came across no more streams from whence they could take fish. They were in a sad plight, for night was coming on, and they were farther than ever from camp—lost in the mountains.
As Jed, who was in the lead, was turning around a big rock, that marked a shift in the trail, he uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"What's the matter?" asked Will eagerly. "See anything to eat?"
"No; but I see a good place to stay to-night. Here's a big cave."
Before them, opening off from the trail, was the mouth of a large cavern. It looked inviting, after their night spent in the open, with the heavy dews soaking them through.
"That's the stuff!" exclaimed Will. "Now if we only had something to eat!"
"Maybe we will strike another stream around——" began Jed, when his words were suddenly interrupted by a whirr of wings.
"Partridges!" exclaimed Will, as a number of birds flew up from the bushes in front of them.
"I don't know whether they're partridges or not," said Jed, "but they look good to eat. Got any shot cartridges?"
Will had some, and Jed, inserting one in his rifle, which in an emergency would shoot those shells, hurried forward. He was lucky enough to kill a couple of the birds, and in a short time the two hungry lads were roasting them over a fire they quickly kindled at the mouth of the cave.
As they intended to spend the night in the cavern they decided to explore it a bit, and, taking several torches, which they made from white birch bark, that is most excellent for that purpose, they set forward. They found the cave was a large one, and, having selected a secluded place, that was nice and dry, and far enough away from the entrance to insure of their being warm, they stretched out, and went to sleep, for they were utterly tired out with the day's fruitless tramp.
"Hello, it's morning!" suddenly announced Jed, as he awoke and looked at his watch, by the light of a match. "It's seven o'clock. Get up, Will."
"Oh, I'm as stiff as a man with the rheumatism. How are you?"
"Well, I have felt better."
"Morning? Did you say it was morning?" asked Will. "Why, it's as black as midnight."
"I know it. We're quite a way into the cave. The light doesn't come this far. I'll light a torch, and we'll see if we can't get out and shoot some more of those birds. They were fine."
He ignited a roll of the birch bark, and leading the way started toward what he thought was the mouth of the cave. But he was soon convinced that he was mistaken.
"We didn't come in this far," said Will.
"I guess you're right," admitted his brother. "I must have taken a wrong turning. Come on back."
They retraced their steps. They came to the place where they had slept, and an investigation showed them several passageways leading from it.
"I didn't imagine there was more than one," said Jed in bewilderment.
"Me either. Say, Jed, we're lost again!"
"Looks like it, and this is a big cave."
There was no doubt about it. Frantically the boys tried passage after passage. Some ended at blank walls, and others led so far into the blackness that they were afraid, and turned back. They could not find the passage by which they had entered.
"Well, we certainly are up against it," sighed Will despondently, as he sat down on a rock, and watched his torch slowly burn. "What can we do?"
"Keep on hunting," replied Jed. "I wish we'd stayed in camp, then we wouldn't have had all this trouble. I wonder where Gabe is?"
"No telling. Maybe he's lost, too. I wish we'd stayed on the farm."
"Oh, don't say that. We'll be all right yet."
"I hope so. What's that?"
Will sprang to his feet. There came a noise from a dark corner of the cave. It sounded like some one shuffling along. Jed raised his torch and peered forward into the blackness. As he did so there came a menacing growl.
"It's a bear! A big bear!" he cried.
At the same moment the savage creature rushed at the two boys, who did not know which way to run.
"Quick with your gun, Will!" yelled Jed. "I laid mine down back there!"
"So did I," replied his brother. "What'll we do?"
The present position of the brothers was perilous in the extreme. They were some distance away from their weapons, which they had rested against the side of the cave, while they debated what they had better do. The bear was rushing straight at them, growling savagely.
"Get behind me, Will!" bravely cried Jed. "I'll try to stand him off with my knife," and at that he drew his knife, which had one big blade.
"I'll get the guns!" cried Will, as he turned to run. But he slipped on a stone, and fell. Jed turned to see what had happened to his brother, and the bear, taking advantage of the lack of attention of the foremost of the lads, gave a lunge forward, placing himself close to Jed.
"Look out!" yelled Will, who, from his position on the floor of the cave, saw what was about to happen—that his brother was likely to be clawed by the shaggy brute.
Jed turned, but only just in time. Then he did the only thing possible under the circumstances. He hurled his burning torch, which he had caught up, after opening his knife, right into the face of the bear.
With a growl of mingled terror and rage the brute halted. It dropped to all-fours. Then, as the blazing mass of bark was on the floor of the cave, right under its nose, bruin turned tail and fled back up the dark recesses of the cave.
"Quick!" cried Jed. "The guns, Will! We'll try a shot at him!"
Will leaped to his feet and managed to reach the rifles, which were loaded. He handed one to Jed, who took as good aim as he could at the black, shaggy form, which was almost out of sight, the torch giving but a faint light now.
The report of the gun nearly deafened the boys, and Jed felt certain that he had missed. But a new plan came into his mind.
"Come on, Will!" he cried.
"Where?"
"Let's follow the brute! He came into the cave, and he must know the way out. That's where he's making for now. Come on, it's our only chance!"
Will comprehended. Grabbing up the other gun and lighting another torch, the two boys prepared to follow bruin. They could hear the beast scrambling over the floor of the cavern, though they could not see it, but Jed had watched in what direction it fled.
"Come on!" he called back to Will. "We'll get out of this place!"
The bear, which at first seemed likely to do them serious harm, proved a friend instead of an enemy, for the frightened creature took the shortest route out of the cave, to get away from those queer creatures, who, instead of allowing themselves to be eaten up, threw blazing chunks of fire in the face of peaceable bears.
Bruin scrambled out of a hole, some distance in advance of the boys, but they could still hear the creature, and followed, lighting their way with the torches. In a few minutes they were outside of the cave, on a sort of rocky plateau, while, running as fast as it could, the bear could be seen disappearing down the side of the mountain.
"Take a shot at him," suggested Will.
"No, it's too far. Besides, he did us a good turn. But for him we'd be in the cave yet. Now to look about and see where we are."
The place was unfamiliar to the boys. They might have passed it before, in their wanderings, but they did not recognize it.
"We're not much better off," murmured Will, despondently.
"Yes, we are," said Jed. "We're out of the cave, and it's only a question of time before we'll be back at camp where Gabe is probably waiting for us."
"If he isn't dead."
"Oh, quit it!" advised Jed, a trifle impatiently.
"Well, I'm hungry."
"So am I, but finding fault isn't going to do any good. Come on, let's walk in some direction. Let's go down. That looks like the place where we camped," and Jed pointed off to the left.
"Say, I believe you're right," admitted Will, after a moment's inspection. "It does seem to be the spot. No, it isn't, either," he added, after looking again. "There's a stream near that place, and there wasn't any so close to our camp."
"You're right," agreed Jed. "But say, Will, am I mistaken, or are those horses down there?" and he pointed toward the other side. "They look just like two horses, with packs on their backs. I wonder if they can be our nags, or from some other camp? Anyhow, we can get something to eat now, for there must be persons near there."
Will, who had a little better eyesight than his brother, looked long and earnestly in the direction indicated. Then he gave a great shout.
"They're our horses!" he cried. "I'm sure of it. I can tell old Pete two miles off! Hurrah, Jed! We're all right. Probably Gabe has come up to meet us."
The boys, their hearts beating high with hope, hurried down the mountain side. As they came nearer to the horses they could see that there was no one with the steeds. Gabe was not in sight, and when they reached the animals, they saw that they had broken their tether ropes, and had evidently strayed from the camp.
"Then Gabe isn't here," said Will, quickly.
"Looks that way," agreed Jed.
"Something must have happened to him."
"I'm afraid so. Still, the horses are all right. So are the packs on their backs. They may have broken loose right after we went to look for Gabe, and he may be hunting around for us. Anyhow, we can get something to eat. I'm nearly starved."
There was food in the packs, and the boys made a hasty meal. They held a brief consultation, and decided they would walk along, leading the horses, as the trail was rough, and try to reach the camp, though they had no idea in which direction it lay.
As they were about to start off, Jed, who picked up from the ground the end of the broken tether rope, uttered a cry of surprise.
"What's the matter?" asked Will.
"Look here. See what I've found!"
He held out in his hand something of a dull yellow color. There was no need to say what it was. The boys knew the color of gold by this time.
"It's a nugget! A big nugget!" whispered Will, for the discovery seemed to awe him.
"Yes, and here's another, and a third!" exclaimed Jed, as he dropped the rope, and picked up from among the stones two more irregular chunks of the precious metal—the gold they had come so far to seek.
For a moment the sudden discovery so surprised the boys that they could only stare at the golden nuggets. Jed was the first to recover his composure, yet he was still greatly excited.
"Look around, Will," he directed. "There must be more of them. These haven't been dropped by some one, they must have cropped out from a regular bonanza. Feel how heavy they are! Oh, if Gabe was only here!"
"I've found one!" cried Will. "Yes, and here's another! Hurrah! Jed, we're rich!"
"Not yet, but we may be. Keep on looking. Wait, I'll tie the horses so they won't stray away, and we'll start to dig. Lucky we left the packs on the animals, or we wouldn't have anything now."
It was the work of but a moment to fasten the patient steeds, that were only too glad to stay there and crop the rich grass. Then the boys resumed their hunt.
The nuggets they had found were only partly imbedded in the earth. There was a quantity of gravel around them, and they appeared to have been washed into sight by the recent rain.
"I've got another!" cried Jed joyfully. "It's the biggest yet! Oh, Will! What good news we'll have to send home to dad! He'll not have to worry about bad crops, and dry spells any more!"
"That's right!" admitted Will. "Here's another, Jed!"
The boys could hardly believe their good fortune. In a short time they had picked up eleven nuggets, of good size. The gold amounted to far more than that which they had washed out by hard work in their first diggings.
"How much do you reckon it is?" asked Will.
"I don't know. I'm too excited. We have eleven. Let's make it an even dozen! Keep on looking. Oh, if Gabe was only here! There must be a rich mine in this section, where these nuggets came from. We must make it a dozen, Will, and then we'll go look for Gabe."
"All right. There—I thought that was one, but it was only a yellow stone. We'll find one more and then——"
Suddenly, the attention of the boys was attracted by a noise on the rocky trail above them, for they were down in a sort of valley. The noise was that of the iron-shod hoofs of horses on the hard ground.
"Maybe that's Gabe," suggested Will. "Oh, if it only is, all our troubles will be over."
They could not yet see the horseman, for he was hidden behind a ledge of rock. But, a moment later, a steed came into sight. To the amazement of the boys they saw, riding toward them, a group of men. And the foremost was Con Morton, the gambler who had threatened Jed, and who had robbed Gabe Harrison of nearly all his fortune. Behind him rode another person they also recognized. It was Ned Haverhill, with whom Jed had had an encounter in the saloon, and there was a third man they did not know.
"Quick!" cried Jed. "Hide the nuggets! If he sees we have gold he'll rob us! Don't tell him what we have found, nor what we are doing here. Leave it to me. Bring the horses over here, and get your gun ready! Those are desperate men!"
No sooner did Morton and his companions catch sight of the two boys, than they hastened their pace, and soon had descended the trail to where the lads were. Meanwhile, Jed had hidden the nuggets among the things on the back of his horse.
"So, tenderfoot, we meet again," said Con Morton, in sneering tones, as he rode close to Jed. "Oh, you needn't be afraid I'll hurt you," he went on. "You're safe enough."
"I'm not afraid of you," said the lad boldly.
"You might better be. I'm a dangerous man when I'm aroused."
"I guess you're dangerous for any one who has money," replied Jed. "But we haven't any fortune for you to steal, as you did that of Mr. Harrison."
"Who says I stole his fortune?" demanded the gambler sharply.
"He does, and I believe him."
"Well, he wants to be careful what he says about me. Do you know these tenderfeet, Ned?" and Morton turned to Haverhill.
"Sure. That one there," indicating Jed, "refused to drink with me. I've a good notion to make him dance to the tune of my revolver," and he made a motion as if to draw his weapon.
"None of that, now," said Morton in a low tone. "It isn't safe. Leave me to deal with them. What are you two lads doing here?" he went on, turning back to Jed.
"I don't know that it's your affair."
"Well, I'll make it so. What have you got there? I saw you putting something in the pack."
"It's none of your business!"
"Be careful! Don't get me riled! I want to know what you're doing here."
"Well, we're prospecting; my brother and I."
"Where's your camp? You've just gotten here, for there are no signs of a camp."
"Back there!" replied Jed, with an indefinite wave of his hand. He would have been only too glad to point to where the camp was.
"Hum! Did you see any signs of gold?"
Now Jed had never told a lie, and he did not want to begin now, though the gambler asked a question he had no right to have answered.
Jed hesitated. He resolved he would not utter an untruth; yet to defy the man, and refuse to tell, would practically be to confess the truth. And he knew what that meant. The reckless men would overpower him and Will, and rob them of their nuggets, and the other gold, which was hidden in the saddles. Worse than this, the bad men would become aware of the existence of a rich nugget mine, and they would claim it for their own.
Then, as he hesitated, a flash of inspiration came to the lad. He looked around, and saw that Will was ready with the guns. If his trick failed, and worst came to worst, the two farmer boys could defend themselves.
With a sudden start, Jed peered up the trail, as if he had caught sight of some one approaching. Then, placing his fingers to his lips, he gave vent to a shrill whistle.
"Come on, Gabe!" he yelled. "Right this way. Here we are! Right down the trail! Come on!"
"Who you yelling to?" asked Con Morton quickly.
"To Gabe," replied Jed, truthfully enough, though he knew Gabe was too far off to hear him.
"Gabe Harrison coming here!" murmured Haverhill. "We'd better light out, Morton. I don't want to meet him. Probably he's got his gang with him! Come on!"
He spurred his horse forward. Con Morton, with a look of baffled hate at the two boys, did likewise, and their companion followed them. Jed's ruse had succeeded.
"I'll see you again!" shouted back the gambler in threatening tones, as he disappeared down the trail.
Jed and Will could hardly believe their good luck. But the mention of the name of the man he had robbed was too much for Morton. He dared not stand and face him. Probably he imagined the United States marshal was with the sturdy old gold miner.
"Say, that was a good idea—a fine one, Jed!" cried Will. "How did you happen to think of it? You actually fooled me for a moment. I really thought you saw Gabe."
"I only wish I had."
"Do you s'pose they're gone for good?"
"I don't know. I think we'd better get out of here. But first let's cover up the places where we took out the nuggets. I was afraid those scoundrels would see the holes."
"Good thing they didn't. They'd have robbed us, sure pop. What shall we do next?" Will went on, as he carefully stamped with his feet on the places where the gold had been found.
"Both of us had better look at this location carefully, so we'll know how to find it again. It looks like a good place for gold, according to what Gabe told us. I'll bet there's a rich mine around here. Now we must find our way back to camp, and tell Gabe. Then we can come here and stake out three claims—one for each of us."
"It's easy enough to say 'go back to camp,'" remarked Will, "but how are we going to do it?"
"We've simply got to," responded his brother. "The horses may know their way back. We must trust to them. Let's see, I should say they must have come up that valley. They'd naturally travel the easiest way, when there was no one to drive 'em. Suppose we start down that valley a way, and see if the horses won't do the rest?"
There seemed nothing better to do, so they put this plan into operation. Making sure that their precious nuggets were safe, and seeing that the packs were securely strapped on the backs of the steeds, the two boys started down the valley, that was near the trail on which they had found the gold. They walked a little way behind each horse, keeping hold of the tether ropes.
The animals went willingly enough, though they stopped every now and then for a mouthful of the sweet grass that grew quite luxuriantly on the slopes of the fertile valley.
They traveled several miles in a rather leisurely fashion, and, as it was beginning to get late in the afternoon, they decided to halt and have a meal before it got too dark. They wanted to go as far as possible before making camp, and they hoped they would come upon the one where Gabe had left them, ere nightfall.
"Here's a good place to camp," remarked Jed as he came to a halt. "This will do all right."
"Suits me," replied his brother.
They made a hasty meal, and looked about them for a good place to spend the night.
"That looks like a sheltered place over there," remarked Jed, pointing to an overhanging ledge, screened about with low bushes and fir trees. "Suppose we take a look."
They walked over, and were just on the edge of the fringe of little trees when something happened. Jed, who was a little in advance, suddenly disappeared from his brother's sight. The thing happened so quickly that Will thought Jed had jumped down some little declivity, but an instant later he knew this was not so, for Jed's voice came back to him, sounding far off and muffled:
"Keep back! Don't come down here. I'm in a hole. Keep away!"
Even with that warning Will pressed on. He was not going to desert his brother in the hour of need. He was almost at the place where Jed had vanished, when a slipping and sliding of the earth, a movement of several boulders, and a trembling of the surface of the ground, convinced him that to go farther would be dangerous, not only for himself, but perhaps for his brother. He leaped back, and just in time, for a yawning cavern opened at his very feet.
"Jed! Jed! Where are you?" he cried.
"Down here. In a big hole."
"Are you hurt?"
"Not much. Only bruised a bit. But keep back, or you'll be down here too. You'll have to stay up there to get me out."
"But how can I do it? Can't you climb out?"
"No. I'm in a regular hole, and the sides are so slippery that I daren't try to climb out. This place is a regular cave, and I got too close to the entrance. You'd better get the tether-ropes from the horses, tie them together, and let 'em down to me. Then you can pull me up."
"All right. I'll do it."
Will turned back from the edge of the hole down which Jed had fallen, and into which a considerable portion of earth and stones and several trees had disappeared. Luckily they had toppled to one side, instead of upon Jed, or he might have been seriously hurt.
Will could not see Jed, though he could hear him, for he dared not approach close enough to the edge of the hole to look directly into it, as, if he did, he might cause more of a cave-in. How he was going to come near enough to lower his brother the rope he did not stop to think about.
"Keep still until I come back," he called to Jed. "Don't go to trying any tricks, or you may get buried under a lot of dirt."
It seemed a little odd for Will, the younger brother, to be giving the advice which usually fell to Jed's part, but he was in a better position to advise the imprisoned one than was Jed himself.
Will found the two horses where he had left them, quietly browsing on the rich grass. He took the rope from one, cut off a small piece to be used for a halter, and tied the animal to a tree. He then started to do likewise to the other animal, the same steed which had run away at the farm and caused them such a chase.
"Steady now, old boy," said Will, as he approached the animal, which began to prance about for no particular reason. "Why, what's the matter with you?" he asked, as the horse swung about and pulled violently on the tether-rope, which was, as yet, fast to a tree. "You're getting skittish in your old age."
Will untied the rope, and was coiling it up in his hand as he walked toward the animal, intending to fasten it as he had done the first one, when the horse, with a shrill neigh, threw up his head, yanked the rope from Will's hand, and started off at a smart trot.
"Whoa! Hold on there! Come back here!" cried Will. "I must catch him," he added, "if only to get that rope from him. Without it I can't rescue Jed."
He started to run after the steed, but the horse, evidently not wanting to be caught, or else urged on by a mere spirit of mischief, kicked up its heels again like a colt, and dashed away down the mountain-side.
Poor Will did not know what to do. He knew he must catch the horse, yet to go after him meant that he would have to leave Jed for some time alone in the cave. His brother would fear he had been deserted, and might try to get out unaided. In that case there might be another small landslide, and he would be buried.
"I've just got to catch him," said Will to himself. "This is worse than when he ran away the other time."
He was about to place the rope he had already removed from the other horse down near where the packs were, in order to have both his hands free, when he happened to think that perhaps he could use it as a lasso and capture the other steed, though he had had very little practice with the lariat, and was doubtful as to his success.
The runaway animal had now come to a stop and was gazing back at the boy, as much as if to say: "Come on, let's have a game of tag."
The long tether-rope, trailing out behind the horse, Will thought would give him a good chance to capture the animal. Accordingly, he bent his attention on that, resolving if he could get hold of it that he would quickly take a hitch with it around a tree, and so "snub" the horse as one checks the progress of a boat.
"I believe that will be a better plan than trying to lasso him," he said to himself. "Why didn't I think of that first? But worrying about Jed has made me so I can't think straight."
He hung the other rope upon a low branch of a tree, where he would see it on his way back, and then he crept cautiously forward, crouching down low, so that the horse would not see him, intending to sneak up and grab the end of the rope.
He tried it, but it would not work. The horse saw him coming, or guessed his intention, and galloped away just as Will was about to grasp the trailing rope. This happened several times. It was getting dusk now, and every second was precious. The chase had led in a sort of irregular circle about the place where the packs had been lifted off the animals, the horse sometimes going up the trail, and sometimes down. He did not seem to want to leave his equine companion, who remained quietly tied.
"I know what I'll do," exclaimed Will at length. "I'll do as we used to at home, when we want to catch a frisky horse in a big pasture. I'll give him some sugar."
He hurried to one of the packs, took out a quantity of the sweetstuff, and placed it in his cap. This he held out to the steed, at the same time calling persuasively.
The horse was not proof against this. He sniffed the air and came closer. Then, as he only wanted to get hold of the end of the rope, and did not need to actually catch the horse, Will turned the sugar out on the ground where the steed could see it. The boy then backed away, and a little later the horse was eagerly licking up the sugar. Another moment and Will had secured the rope, and though the animal started to run, when it found itself caught, it was too late.
"There, I hope you're satisfied!" exclaimed Will. "You've made me lose nearly an hour. I wonder if Jed's all right?"
He cut off all but a small piece of that rope, tying the horse to a tree, and then, with the two lengths, he started back to where he had left his brother. It was fast getting dark, and he doubted very much if the rescue could be attempted that night.
"Here I am, Jed," he called as soon as he came within hearing distance. "Were you wondering what happened to me?"
"Yes, I was beginning to get anxious. What happened?"
Will explained.
"Now how am I going to get you out?" asked the younger brother. "Shall I throw the rope down to you?"
"Guess you'll have to. Only don't come too close. I'll tell you what you'd better do. Go up on that little ledge opposite here, on the other side. Fasten the rope to a tree or stump, and throw one end down here. Then I can pull myself up. If I put any strain on the rope on the side where you are now, there may be another cave-in."
Will started to do as his brother had directed, but he had not gone far before there came another rumble of the earth, and more dirt slid down into the hole where Jed was hidden from sight.
"Jed! Jed! Are you hurt?" cried Will. "Did it fall on you?"
But there was no answer, and, waiting in the fast gathering blackness, Will felt a great fear in his heart. What if Jed had been killed, and he was left all alone there in the mountains, with that band of unprincipled men close after him?
"Jed! Jed!" he cried again, but no answer came back.
Will started forward, and then he recollected that if he went too close the landslide might be made worse than it now was. He tried to see some path by which he might get nearer, but it was too dark.
"I must kindle a fire so as to have light," he said.
He gathered some dry wood, and soon had a little blaze. By the glare of it he went as close as he dared and peered down into the place where Jed was imprisoned. All he could see was bare earth and piles of rocks.
"Jed! Jed!" he shouted in a frenzy of fear. "Where are you? Are you alive? Speak to me!"
Was it an echo, or was that a voice replying to him? At first he could not be sure what it was, then, as he listened, he made sure that it was some one answering.
"Where are you?" he cried.
"Farther down," came the faint reply. "I'm all the way in under now, and can't see any way out. Your voice sounds right over my head."
"Can you hear me now?" asked Will eagerly.
"Yes. You're right over my head. Knock on the ground so I can hear it."
Will stamped his feet, and at once his brother cried:
"Hold on! That's enough. You nearly brought the whole ceiling down on me. You're right above me, that's sure enough."
"How can I get you out?"
"You'll have to dig a hole—sink a shaft, I suppose, so you can lower a rope through. But be careful how you do it. You'd better wait until morning."
"And leave you there all night—buried in a cave!"
Back came the faint answer:
"I don't mind. This is a big place, and there's plenty of fresh air. Stand by until morning, and then see what you can do."
This seemed the only advice possible under the circumstances. The light of the fire was too uncertain to permit of the rescue work going on. It was a dreary night. Occasionally Will called to Jed, who answered, and the younger lad sat by the campfire, which he kept up, anxiously waiting for the dawn. He dozed off toward morning, and awoke with a start to see a streak of light in the east. Then, calling to his imprisoned brother that he was going to begin soon, he brought up his pick and shovel from the packs.
"Stand back as far as you can toward the sides of the cave," advised Will. "I may shake down a lot of dirt. But first, are you sure there's no other way out?"
"I can't see any," was the faint reply, and with that Will set to work.
He located the place where he could hear Jed's voice the plainest, rightly judging that to be the thinnest part of the top of the cave—the earth-crust that held his brother a prisoner. Cautiously he began to dig, using the pick lightly, and slowly shoveling out the dirt he loosened.
As he got down with his shaft he found that the soil was a sort of clay, which was firmer than the loose earth on top, and not so likely to break through with a rush when he had nearly finished his work.
"How are you now, Jed?" he asked when he was down about three feet.
"Pretty fair," was the reply, and the answer was plainly heard, showing that there was not much more earth to be taken out.
"Better go slow now," advised Jed, who could distinguish his brother's tones more audibly now. "Don't you come tumbling down here, or neither of us'll get up. Better get out of the hole now, and punch the rest of the dirt with a long tree branch."
Will concluded that this was good advice, and got out to cut a sort of crowbar, which he fashioned from a sapling, the end of which he chopped quite sharp with a small hatchet. Then, standing on the edge of the hole, he began to jab the pole into the bottom.
"Hold on! You're through!" yelled Jed suddenly. "I can see the end of the pole now."
Will thereupon began to punch it through more cautiously. In a little while he had an opening over a foot in diameter, and he could hear Jed almost as plainly as if he stood beside him.
"Now for your ropes, Will!" cried Jed. "I'm all ready to climb out. Better fasten one end to a tree, and I'll come up hand-over-hand."
Will did as directed, and soon saw the rope beginning to become taut as Jed put a strain on it.
"Is it going to hold?" asked Jed.
"Yes. Come on."
A little later Jed was out of the cave. Will clasped him in his arms.
"Poor old Jed!" he exclaimed. "You did have a time of it!"
Jed plainly showed the effects of his terrible night. He was pale, and his clothes were covered with dirt. There was also a long cut on his forehead, where a rock had grazed him, and his arms and legs were bruised.
"Come on, I'll get you something to eat, and you can tell me about it after that," said Will, and soon he was handing Jed a cup of hot coffee.
"That cave extended back quite a way under the earth, from the face of rock where we were going to camp. I fell into it, and must have rested on a sort of shelf, until the second landslide came. Then I was rolled right back into the main part of the cavern, and the outlet was closed up. I tell you I was scared there, one spell."
"I should think you would be," commented Will. "But I'm glad it was no worse. Can you travel?"
"I'm afraid not. I think we'll have to rest a bit to-day. I may be able to start late in the afternoon. I'd like to get some sleep. I didn't have any down in that hole."
They spent the best part of the day, after Jed had slept some, in talking over what had happened, and wondering what had become of their pursuers.
"Oh, they'll keep after us," said Jed. "We can't shake 'em off so easily. I think we'd better move our camp away. I don't like this place. Let's move on a few miles and spend the night there. I think it will be safer."
"Do you think you can travel?"
"Sure. I'm much better now. Let's pack up, get some supper and move our camp."
They did not waste much time over "grub," merely making coffee and eating some bread and cold meat. They were just strapping the packs together again preparatory to fastening them on the backs of the animals, when, from down below them, sounded the footfalls of several horses.
"Some one's coming!" exclaimed Will.