Kitabı oku: «Two Boy Gold Miners: or, Lost in the Mountains», sayfa 3
CHAPTER VII
OFF FOR THE WEST
Never before, save, perhaps, when the lightning struck, had there been such excitement in the Crosby home. The farmer and his wife stared in amazement at the sight of their two sons doing a good imitation of a Highland fling, for Will had caught Jed's enthusiasm, and the two boys were singing and leaping about, "as if they were circus performers," as their mother said afterward.
"Come on, Nettie, have a waltz!" exclaimed Jed. "We'll send you back enough gold for a pair of earrings and a bracelet!"
"Jed! Jed!" exclaimed his mother. "Do behave yourself. You're not going to let them undertake that crazy plan, are you?" she asked of her husband.
Mr. Crosby did not answer. He, too, was thinking of the golden West, and his poor farm that hardly supported him.
"Of course we can go. Can't we, dad?" asked Jed. "Why, it will be the best thing that ever happened!"
"It will – if we get the gold," added his brother, more soberly, for his first enthusiasm had begun to cool.
"Find the gold? Of course we'll find the gold. Won't we, Mr. Harrison?"
"Well, I always have been pretty lucky," replied the miner. "I always got gold when I went after it, but I didn't always keep it. If I had the money the gambler swindled me out of I'd be in good shape now."
"Maybe that gambler your friend wrote about is the same one who swindled you," suggested Jed.
"No. I guess Con Morton knows enough to keep away from Ted Jordan. He's looking for him, too. But I'll come across Con some day, and then I'll wager I'll make him shell out what he stole from me. But, Mr. Crosby, seriously speaking, why can't these two boys go with me? It will do them good. As Jed says, you won't need them on the farm now, and they may strike it rich. Stranger things have happened."
"I don't know that I would object to having them go, in your company," said the farmer, "for I know they are good boys, and can take care of themselves. But I'm afraid I couldn't spare the money for railroad fares, and for the outfits."
"Don't let that worry you," advised Gabe.
"But it does worry me. You can't do anything in this world without money."
"It doesn't take much to get an outfit for a gold prospector," replied the miner. "For that matter I'll undertake to see that they get what they need. I have friends enough out there to make that part easy."
"But the railroad fares?"
"We won't need any railroad fares."
"How are you going to get out to that place with the queer name, then?" asked Mrs. Crosby.
"Dizzy Gulch, you mean? That is a queer name, but it's a good one. It makes you dizzy when you stand on the edge and look down. But we'll get there all right. It's not more than eight hundred miles from here."
"You can't walk that far," objected Nettie.
"I know that," replied the miner. "We could, but we don't want to. We'll go on horseback."
"Horseback?" repeated Jed.
"Yes. I've got money enough to purchase a good nag, and I guess your father would be willing for you boys to take the animals here. He'll not need them much longer. How about it, Mr. Crosby?"
The farmer looked thoughtful.
"You seem to get over most of the difficulties," he remarked.
"Then we can go, can't we, dad?" exclaimed Jed.
"I don't know. I must consider it further. I suppose you could take the horses. They'll only be eating their heads off in the barn, after the crops are in."
"That's the way I figured it," resumed Gabe. "Now I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll write to Ted and ask him to send me word where is the best place to strike for. Then I'll get my outfit together, such as there's left of it, look around for a horse that can travel a long distance, and we'll set out for the gold regions."
"That's the way to talk!" cried Jed. "We'll all be millionaires soon!"
"Now hold on!" remonstrated Gabe. "Don't get the idea that you can go out there and pick up gold off the ground. There are some places, I admit, where the nuggets are close to the surface, but they're few and far between. If we get any gold we'll probably have to dig for it, and digging for the yellow boys is as hard as cultivating corn or hoeing potatoes. I know, for I've tried both. But, at the same time, I don't see why we haven't as good a chance as lots of others. We'll try, anyhow – that is, if your father gives his consent."
"I suppose I might as well," said Mr. Crosby slowly. "You three seem to have it all planned out, anyhow. But I can't spare the horses for a week or two."
"That will be time enough," replied the miner. "I want to hear from Ted again." And there the conversation, for the time being, came to an end.
"It hardly seems possible; does it, Will?" asked Jed, when they were going to bed that night. "To think that we're going to become real gold miners!"
"Maybe we won't get any gold after all our trouble," suggested his less hopeful brother.
"Oh, cheer up!" advised Jed. "Wait until Gabe gets to grubbing around with that lucky pick of his, and the nuggets will just roll out, they'll be so glad we've come."
Will laughed. There was no withstanding the jolly good nature of his elder brother.
Enthusiasm for the proposed gold hunt had not waned the next day. Mr. Crosby had talked the matter over with his wife and, though she was naturally timid and nervous, she made no objections to letting the boys go. Mr. Harrison seemed quite confident that in the new diggings there was a good chance of making a moderate fortune.
"Then you can pay off the mortgage on the farm," said Mrs. Crosby to her husband.
"If the boys get money enough for that out of their gold mining, I think I'll give up farming, and become a prospector myself," said Mr. Crosby, with a smile.
Fortunately for the plan, the barley crop turned out better than any one expected, and the price was very high. Mr. Crosby received enough money to insure them against hardships that winter, and even enough to buy another horse, as he might need one if the boys took the two. He secured an animal at a low price. It was not as good as the two he had, but Jed and Will would have to have steeds that could stand a certain amount of hard life, if they were to go to the gold regions.
In the meanwhile Mr. Harrison had another letter from Ted Jordan, and this confirmed the first rumors of rich strikes. There was quite a rush of miners and others to the new fields, Jordan wrote, and he advised Gabe and the boys to hurry.
So, one morning, with their simple outfits on the saddles back of them, the boys and Gabe Harrison mounted their horses, and started off for the golden West.
"Don't you boys go to gambling," cautioned Mrs. Crosby, as she waved a farewell to her sons.
"Now, mother, you know they won't do that," said Nettie.
"I know it – but – but I – I just had to say something," replied her mother, as she tried to hide the tears that would persist in coming into her eyes.
"Look out for a bagful of gold nuggets!" called back Jed. "I'll send them by the first mail."
"All right," answered his father with a laugh. "Good luck, boys, and write when you get a chance."
"Good-by!" they chorused, and Gabe Harrison waved his broad-brimmed hat at the little group standing in front of the farmhouse. Soon they were out of sight down the road.
"It's – it's lonesome – without the boys," said Mrs. Crosby softly, as she went in the house and closed the door.
CHAPTER VIII
THE BUCKING BRONCO
"How long do you think it will take us to get to the gold fields?" asked Jed, of the old miner, as they jogged forward.
"It's hard to say," was the answer. "You mustn't be in too much of a hurry. It's a good rule, in this business, to make haste slowly. You can't make a fortune gold-hunting in one day, and you've got to save your own strength, and that of your horse. A horse is a man's best friend in this country."
The route to the West had been carefully laid out by Mr. Harrison, who knew the land well. He had selected a line of march that, while it was not the shortest, would bring them to the Montana gold fields in good shape to start in at once with their prospecting.
For a week the travelers made fair time, stopping at night in various small towns, where living would be cheaper than in large cities, for their capital was limited. Nothing of note occurred, the weather was good, and Jed and Will began to think that gold hunting, or at least the preliminary part of it, was very much easier than farming.
"Say, I'd hate to go back now, cultivating corn in that hot field, wouldn't you?" Jed asked his brother one afternoon, as they were jogging slowly along.
"I certainly would, but I wouldn't mind now, if I had a drink of nice, cold switchel."
"Me either. You don't see any signs of a spring along the road anywhere, do you, Mr. Harrison?"
"No, and I wish I did, for the horses are pretty thirsty. But we ought to strike one soon."
"With all that, this is easier than farming," went on Jed.
"Don't be too sure of that," cautioned the old miner. "You haven't half begun yet."
And it was not long after this that Jed changed his mind about thinking it was easy to hunt for gold.
"That looks like a place where there was a spring," said Will, a little later, as they advanced around a turn in the road, and saw several horses, with men standing beside them, halted in the shade of a big tree.
"Guess you're right," admitted Gabe, "We're in luck."
It was a wayside spring, and the thirsty horses, scenting the water, hastened their pace. The gold-seekers found five men gathered around the drinking trough, into which the spring emptied through a wooden pipe. Four of the men were middle-aged, and one was quite young. They were all smoking, the older men using pipes, while the younger was rolling a cigarette with one hand, an operation at which he seemed quite adept.
"Howdy, strangers," greeted Mr. Harrison genially, as he alighted from his horse. "How's the water?"
"Nice and sweet," replied one of the men. "Come far?"
"We've done forty miles to-day."
"That's pretty good. Going far?"
"Montana."
"Montana?" exclaimed another man. "Why, that's where me and my pardner are bound. Going to the new fields?"
Mr. Harrison nodded. There was no object in concealing their destination, for they would soon be in the midst of the rush that always takes place when new gold fields are discovered.
"My name's Fred Hurd," went on the man who had last spoken. "This is my partner, John Curtin. We were in Nevada, but we went East to spend some of our money, and managed to get rid of most of it. Now we're going to new fields."
"My name's Gabe Harrison," said the old miner, and he introduced the two boys, in the hearty and easy fashion that prevails in the West. The other three men also told their names. They were Ade Bryant, the young man who smoked cigarettes, and Tim Walsh and Bill Case.
"Are you miners, too?" asked Jed, of the latter three.
"Nope," replied Ade Bryant, with a pleasant smile. "We just got rid of a bunch of steers, and we're going back to our ranch in Montana. My father owns it. It's the Diamond T Ranch," he went on, giving the name of the brand marked on all the cattle from that ranch. "Probably you've heard of it?"
The boys shook their heads. They had not heard much of outside matters in the quiet country village where they had lived nearly all their lives.
"Is your father Colonel Jack Bryant?" asked Gabe suddenly.
"That's him," replied the young man eagerly. "Do you know him?"
"No, but I've heard lots about him. There ain't a finer cattleman in these parts than Colonel Jack Bryant, and I'm glad to meet his son. Put her there, my boy!" and the old miner extended his hand to greet the young man.
When the horses had been watered and rested, the five men found that they were traveling in the same direction as was Gabe and the boys.
"Well, we'll keep company, if it's agreeable to you," proposed Mr. Hurd. "We've got plenty of grub, and we can camp together to-night."
"That suits me right down to the ground," replied Harrison, and the boys were also pleased to have company.
As the five men remounted, to continue their journey, Will noticed that Bill Case, the oldest of the cattlemen, was leading a small horse, tied by a long rope to the saddle horn of his own pony.
"Do you take turns riding those horses?" asked Will, for he was fond of animals, and a very good rider.
"No," replied Mr. Case, with a wink at his companions, which Will did not see, "that horse is a new one I bought. He's one of the fastest in this section, but the trouble is no one can ride him."
"Why not?" asked Will.
"Because he's got such a temper. Not exactly bad, you understand, but as soon as any one gets on his back, he doesn't do as a decent horse should, and carry his rider along the right way."
"I believe I could ride him," went on Will, who liked the looks of the steed.
"Are you much of a rider?" asked the man, and again he winked at his companions.
"Pretty fair," replied Will, who did not like to boast. The truth was, he was the best rider around Lockport, but he did not know what was in store for him from the innocent-looking animal that trailed along so meekly at the saddle horn of Bill Case.
"You can try this one, if you like," went on the cattleman. "I've no objection. In fact I'd like to see some one ride him. Maybe he'd be more valuable then. He needs training, but I can't seem to do anything with him."
The truth of the matter was that the horse was one of the very worst types of "bucking broncos." That is, whenever a person got on his back he would jump up into the air, and come down on four feet stiffly, almost jarring the rider out of the saddle. In fact he usually did jar him off, or, if he could not get rid of the man on his back in that way, he had other tricks as bad as bucking.
Bill Case had bought the horse at the town where he had been with his employer's cattle, and he was taking the animal back to the ranch, mainly to use in cowboy sports, for a bucking bronco is not much use as a riding steed. Bill had tried, unsuccessfully, to ride the steed, that was all right, and gentle, as long as no one tried to get on its back.
By this time Mr. Harrison and Jed were some distance ahead. They were interested in talking about gold strikes to the two miners, and had, with Hurd and Curtin, unconsciously drawn away from Will, and the three cattlemen.
"Will you let me try him?" asked the boy, as he looked at the horse. He knew nothing of bucking broncos, though he had read about them. Still, there was no way of telling one by merely looking at it.
"Sure thing," replied Mr. Case. "Here's a nice level stretch. You can try him here," and he stopped, and unfastened the long rope. At the same time he whispered to his companions: "Watch the fun now."
Will, all unaware of what was in store for him, dismounted from his own patient, plodding horse, and approached the bronco.
"Jump right on his back," advised Bill Case. "You don't need a saddle."
He knew that the moment a saddle touched the animal's back it would begin to buck, and that would give the "joke" away.
Will took hold of the animal's bridle, and patted the horse on the muzzle. Then, with a quick motion, he leaped on the bronco's back.
So suddenly was it done that the animal hardly knew what to make of it. On other occasions there had been a great fight to get a saddle on him, and this prepared him for what was to follow. But this was a new one on him. Still, he made up his mind, did that bronco, that he was not going to submit to the indignity of having a person on his back. He stood still a moment.
"Well done!" cried Bill. Then he added, in a lower tone: "Watch the fun now, boys!"
"Get up!" exclaimed Will, striking the bronco lightly on the flank.
Instantly something happened. Gathering himself together, as if he had wire springs in his legs, the bronco shot up into the air. Will was taken completely by surprise, but he managed to stay on. Then the horse came down stiffly, jarring the boy so that he thought he would shake to pieces.
But he did not fall off. Instinctively, he gripped his legs around the horse, and drew the reins tighter. The bronco was surprised. Usually one "buck" was enough to unseat any rider. He would try a new plan.
Suddenly he started off at a fast gallop. By this time Will knew he was in for it, but he was not going to give up. Gathering headway for another leap into the air, the animal rushed on toward where Mr. Harrison, Jed and the two miners were. Then, coming to a sudden stop, the animal launched himself upward. This time, when he came down stiffly, with his head between his fore legs, Will lost his grip. He was jarred off, and fell to the ground, his head striking heavily, and rendering him unconscious.
CHAPTER IX
AFTER BIG GAME
Attracted by the noise of Will's fall, and the sound of the bucking bronco, Mr. Harrison turned quickly. He leaped from his horse and hurried to where the lad was stretched out near the bronco. The steed, now that it had gotten rid of the person on his back, was quiet.
"What happened? What's the matter, Will?" asked Gabe.
"That bronco threw him," explained Mr. Hurd. "I just caught a glimpse of it. A nasty fall, too. Is he badly hurt?"
"There don't seem to be any bones broken," replied Mr. Harrison, as he began feeling of Will's arms and legs.
"Oh, Will! Are you killed?" cried Jed, jumping from the saddle and kneeling beside his brother.
At that moment the boy on the ground opened his eyes.
"Did I – did I stay on?" he asked, as he put his hand to his head.
"Not very long," replied Mr. Hurd. "How do you feel?"
"Somewhat dizzy. I guess I'm not hurt much."
"How did it happen?" asked Jed. "Where's your horse? How did you come to get on this one?"
"They said I couldn't ride him," explained Will, nodding in the direction of the cattlemen, who were slowly approaching.
"I thought so," murmured John Curtin. "It was a trick of that big cowboy. He knew this was a bucking bronco, yet he let this lad mount it, knowing the beast would throw him off."
"So, that's the kind of men they are, eh?" spoke Gabe Harrison. "Then I guess the less we have to do with them the better. Jed, you look after Will a bit. Get him some water. There's a spring just ahead."
"Where are you going?" asked Mr. Hurd of the old miner, as he saw him turn back on the trail, and walk toward the cattlemen.
"I'm going to have a talk with that big cowboy," replied Gabe.
Bill Case and his chum, Tim Walsh, were laughing heartily as Gabe approached.
"It's a good joke, isn't it?" asked Gabe sternly. "I suppose you think you did a smart thing, Bill Case, when you got that tenderfoot to ride that bucking bronco."
"He sure is a tenderfoot," replied the cowboy, who did not exactly catch Gabe's sarcasm.
"He wanted to ride," put in Tim Walsh.
"Well, if a baby wanted to play with a loaded gun, would you let him?" asked Gabe scornfully.
"How was I to know he didn't know the difference between a bucking bronco and a cow pony?" asked Bill Case.
"You knew well enough," declared Gabe. "I think it was a mean, cowardly act, and the sooner we part company, the better I'll like it. There's the trail. We'll wait until you get far enough ahead on it so we can't see your dust. I have no use for such fellows as you."
"Hold on there!" exclaimed Bill Case, an ugly look coming over his face. "Maybe you don't know who you're talking to."
"I know I'm talking to a coward who'll take advantage of a tenderfoot's ignorance to let him ride a dangerous horse," replied Gabe.
"Say, old man," began the cowboy, preparing to dismount from his horse, "me and you is going to have trouble, right now, unless you take back them words. Bill Case is a hard case when it comes to that, and I ain't used to such talk from nobody."
"Well, you'll listen to it from me," retorted the fearless miner. "I say you're a coward, and I'm not afraid of you."
In an instant the cowboy was off his steed and was striding toward the old man, who, nothing daunted, awaited his approach. Tim Walsh moved up closer, as if he, too, would take a hand in the affair.
Gabe looked back to where the two miners and Jed were taking care of Will. Mr. Hurd and Mr. Curtin were aware that something unusual was taking place, and they made ready to go to the aid of Gabe.
There was an ugly air about Bill Case, and he had the appearance of a man who would resort to desperate measures in a fight, such as now seemed imminent. Gabe was unarmed, having left his revolver and rifle in his saddle pack, but the cowboy wore in a belt two large revolvers. He made no motion to draw one, however, but, with clenched fists, strode closer to Gabe.
"Are you going to take back what you said about me?" he asked.
"No, I'm not," replied the old miner. "I'm not afraid of you, even if you are a hard case."
Bill raised his hand, as if to strike Gabe, but, at that instant, Ade Bryant, for whose father the two cattlemen worked, exclaimed:
"Don't, Bill. I'm sure dad wouldn't like it. Besides, you were in the wrong to let that boy ride that bronco, without telling him he bucked. Don't get into a fight."
"Well, of all things!" murmured Bill. "Am I going to stand still and be called a coward? I guess not!"
"Don't you hit him!" cried Ade. "It was your own fault, for trying to play a joke on a tenderfoot. I'm sorry it happened," the young cowboy went on to Gabe. "I shouldn't have allowed it. But I didn't think it would result so seriously. Is he much hurt?"
"No, just shaken up, I guess. But I'm glad you didn't really have a hand in this. I should hate to think Colonel Bryant's son would do such a thing."
"It was thoughtlessness," went on young Bryant. "I don't suppose you'll care to travel with us after this. We'll take the lower trail. Bill, go and get the bronco, and here's Will's horse," he added to Gabe Harrison. "Tell him I'm sorry it happened, and don't let him think we intended to injure him."
"I'm glad to hear you say so," responded Gabe. "I didn't think you looked like that kind of a lad. You're right; I guess there wouldn't be the best feelings if we traveled together."
He turned back to meet the two miners, to whom he explained matters, and then the three men returned to where Jed was caring for Will. The latter was speedily recovering.
"Was he going to show fight?" asked Mr. Hurd.
"He was, but he couldn't scare me," answered Gabe, as he explained the outcome of the interview. One of the miners led the bronco back to the cattlemen, receiving Will's horse in exchange, and then the three from the Diamond T Ranch turned off on another trail, and were soon lost to sight.
"Cowboys are all right," said Mr. Harrison, "but they're too much up to tricks to suit me. Hereafter, we'll be more careful who we travel with. How are you feeling, Will?"
"Pretty fair, now, Mr. Harrison, but that was certainly a shock to my system."
"Yes, a bucking bronco is about as bad a proposition as anything I want to tackle. I got fooled with one once, and later on I got kicked by a mule. I still prefer the mule."
"Suppose we stop here for grub?" proposed John Curtin. "That will give Will a chance to rest."
"Oh, I'm all right," protested the boy, who did not want to put others to trouble on his account.
"You're all right, except for what happened to you," remarked Jed, with just the suspicion of a smile. He had been quite alarmed at his brother's fall, but he was now relieved, when he found there was nothing serious the matter with him.
"Well, we'll stop here a few hours," decided Gabe. "Jed, if you'll make a fire, I'll get ready to fry some bacon."
"Say, I've eaten so much bacon lately," remarked Jed, "that I'm ashamed to look a pig in the face."
"Some fresh meat wouldn't go bad," added Fred Hurd.
"Well, maybe we can get some soon," said his partner. "We'll soon be in the elk country, and I don't see why we can't knock over a good fat buck."
"Do you think we'll have a chance to shoot such big game?" asked Jed, who had never hunted anything larger than foxes or rabbits.
"I'm pretty sure we will. I have hunted around here."
This was good news to the two boys. Mr. Harrison was not so much interested, as he was anxious to push on to the mines, but he well knew the camp larder could stand a little addition in the way of fresh meat, and he agreed to go hunting with the others.
It was two days after this, when, having traveled several miles further along the northwest trail, that Mr. Curtin announced that they might now get their rifles ready for elk, or any other big game that crossed their path.
The two boys had brought with them serviceable rifles, and they were fair shots. As they knew nothing of trailing after big game they had to be guided by the advice of the two mining partners.
It was decided, when they reached a good spot, they would establish a camp, and remain there a day or so, meanwhile hunting in the surrounding country. Gabe announced that he would stay in camp, and that afternoon, having found a suitable spot, a lean-to was erected, a fire built, and preparations made to stay there that night.
"In the morning we'll try our luck hunting," said Mr. Hurd.
Every one was up early, before the sun in fact, and all ate heartily of the breakfast which Gabe had prepared. The two boys, and the miners, leaving Mr. Harrison in camp, then set off in search of an elk or a deer, of which there were signs, according to Mr. Curtin.
