Kitabı oku: «Two Boy Gold Miners: or, Lost in the Mountains», sayfa 6
CHAPTER XVI
LOST
"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."
CHAPTER XVII
CORNERED BY A BEAR
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.
CHAPTER XVIII
FINDING THE NUGGETS
"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.
