CHAPTER VII.WILD MAKES AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.
Cap Roche nodded his head at what Sedgwick said.
"All right," he said. "I reckon I'm satisfied. I am not broke, just because I lost a couple of hundred dollars."
After that he made himself very agreeable to all hands, and when he got ready to ride back to the cave in the pass he bade them good night and invited them to call at his store when in Silver Bend.
Young Wild West and his partners waited until the man rode off, and then they hurriedly left the shanty saloon.
Wild set out on a run for the camp.
He had made up his mind all at once to follow Cap Roche through Forbidden Pass.
He got his horse in a jiffy, and, hastily telling the girls where he was going rode off toward the pass.
So quickly had the young deadshot acted that Roche had not more than three or four minutes the start of him.
If he went along at an easy gait Wild would be able to overtake him before he got through the pass.
So quickly had the young deadshot acted that Roche had not more than three or four minutes the start of him.
If he went along at an easy gait Wild would be able to overtake him before he got through the pass.
Our hero knew that he was undertaking a risky thing, for he was quite sure that there was a band of outlaws located somewhere in the pass, or very near to it.
But he went on without any hesitation, prepared for anything that might turn up.
The place was totally strange to him, but the boy had confidence in the sorrel stallion he rode.
Spitfire would surely follow the horse that was ahead.
There was no mistake about that.
On went the dashing young deadshot, covering the ground rapidly.
He figured it that the storekeeper of Silver Bend was not going very fast, however, and when he thought he ought to be pretty close to him he brought his horse to a sudden halt and listened.
Wild had reckoned rightly, for he could hear the clatter of hoofs ahead.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, under his breath. "That was a pretty good guess. Another minute and I would have been right up chose to him—close enough for him to see me, perhaps. But I hardly think he has heard me, so I'll keep right on."
He set out again, keeping his horse at a walk.
Suddenly the hoofbeats ahead ceased.
Wild let the horse walk right on, for the sounds that came from Spitfire's hoofs could hardly be heard, the ground being very soft just there.
But when about a hundred feet had been covered Wild brought his horse to a halt and dismounted.
Throwing the bridle rein over the animals head, he hurried forward on foot.
He rounded a turn in the pass just in time to distinguish the outlines of a horse, and rider making straight for the almost perpendicular wall at the left of the pass.
Then, all of a sudden, both man and horse disappeared!
"By jove!" exclaimed our hero, under his breath. "I reckon Cap Roche has made a stop before going over to Silver Bend. Now it is for me to find out where he has stopped. I didn't think I would have as much luck as this. Whew! I reckon it won't take us long to settle accounts with the outlaws of Forbidden Pass."
Stepping forward noiselessly, he was soon at the very spot where he had last seen the horse and rider.
There was nothing there now and only the bleak walls of stone were before him.
It was very dark in the pass too, but he could see the stars twinkling overhead, and he was thus enabled to distinguish objects.
Wild went straight to the face of the cliff.
He put out his hand.
It was not rock that he touched, but a piece of canvas or similar material.
This was nothing new to the dashing young deadshot, for he had been up against all kinds of devices, and, he simply gave a low chuckle of satisfaction.
"I'm mighty glad I followed you, Mr. Cap Roche," he thought. "Now, I reckon it will be easy to settle the business. I'll just mark this spot, and then ride back to the camp."
It was an easy thing to mark the spot, for he did it by rolling three stones together, which he had no trouble in finding with his feet.
He took care that they were not directly in front of the hidden opening, so they could not be knocked aside by horses, should they come out.
But Wild knew just where he put them, anyhow, and then he went back to the waiting sorrel, and, mounting, rode off at a walk.
Not until he was a hundred yards from where he had mounted his horse did he set out at a gallop, and then he was not long in reaching the end of the pass.
Wild rode to the little camp and dismounted, surprising his waiting friends for getting back so soon.
"I reckon yer couldn't catch up to ther galoot, eh, Wild?" remarked Cheyenne Charlie.
"Oh, I caught up with him, all right," was the reply. "Things worked just the way I wanted them to."
"Is that so? Good enough!"
"Yes. I caught up to Cap Roche, and I was just in time to see him disappear."
"Disappear?" echoed Arietta. "Then he fooled you, after all?"
"Oh, no. He didn't fool me, Et, for I found where he went."
"Git out!" exclaimed the scout, jubilantly.
"Yes, I was right there in the proper time. But I'll tell you all about it."
This the young deadshot did, and when he had done the faces of his partners and the girls wore smiles of delight and satisfaction.
Even the girls were always anxious to see him make a success of hunting down outlaws and bad men, no matter how much the danger was in doing it.
They had become so used to it that they thought that Wild and his partners were simply following the natural law in doing such things.
"I am glad you did not go into the place, Wild," Arietta said. "If you had done so you might have been caught, and then we would not have known where to look for you."
"That is just why I didn't take the risk of doing it, Et," was the reply. "To-morrow will be time enough to get inside the cave, or whatever it may be. But you can bet that both Charlie and Jim will know just where it is before I make the attempt."
Our friends usually retired quite early nights, and as they were pretty well tired out from an all-day ride, they decided to get the sleep they needed.
Hop had not returned yet, but Wild thought he would allow him to stay out, since there was nothing to do in the morning.
He felt that the Chinaman would not get in any trouble at the saloon, since the miners all seemed to like him.
It was after midnight when Hop returned to the camp, and when he came he sneaked in quietly.
But Cheyenne Charlie was awake, and he let him know that he heard him.
"You yaller galoot, you've been fillin' up with tanglefoot ag'in!" he exclaimed in a whisper. "Don't think I don't know."
"Allee light, Misler Charlie," was the Chinaman's reply; "me feel allee samee velly goodee. Whattee you care?"
The scout let it go at this, and soon the camp was wrapped in silence.
Early the next morning they were up and stirring, however.
Hop was still sound asleep, however, and when his brother tried to arouse him it did no good.
It was not until our friends had eaten their breakfast that it occurred to them that it was time for Hop to get up.
Charlie undertook the task of rousing him.
He threw a pail of water on him, and, as might be supposed, it had the desired effect.
"Lat allee light, Misler Charlie," said the Celestial, as he made for the brook, after crawling out of the tent; "me allee samee gittee square, so be!"
"You're square now, if I know anything about it," was the retort. "You don't count ther tricks you're played on me, I s'pose? Now, you'd better look out what yer do ter me, 'cause I won't stand it, if yer rub somethin' good an' hard on me."
"Allee light, Misler Charlie," was all Hop said just then.
The breakfast being over, Young Wild West decided to take a ride through the pass, and thus keep his promise.
"Come, boys," said he, "I reckon we'll start out now. We'll go right on through, unless it happens that we are stopped by the outlaws. When we come back I'll show you the place where Cap Roche disappeared last night."
"I would like to go along, Wild," spoke up Arietta, "Why can't we all go?"
"Well, it might make it a little bad in case the villains took a notion to hold us up," was the reply. "But if you want to go real bad I suppose you may."
"We do want to go real bad, don't we, girls?" said Arietta, as she turned to Anna and Eloise.
"Of course, we do!" was the quick reply.
"All right, then. Hop and Wing will stay in charge of the camp. Get yourselves ready, and be sure that you take your rifles with you. If we are attacked by a masked gang about half way through the pass I won't be much surprised."
The horses were soon saddled, and then, after giving the two Chinamen instructions to keep a watch on the camp, and not to get into mischief, Wild led the way for Forbidden Pass.
"We are going through, and we won't pay any toll, either!" he said.
"If there is any toll to pay, I'll pay it!" exclaimed Arietta, as she touched the butt of her revolver.