initial commit of ebook 37857HEADmain

1 files changed, 10086 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/37857.txt b/37857.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a5a6b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/37857.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10086 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Haunted Mine, by Harry Castlemon
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Haunted Mine
+
+Author: Harry Castlemon
+
+Release Date: October 26, 2011 [EBook #37857]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HAUNTED MINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+  Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
+  been preserved.  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal
+  signs=.
+
+
+
+
+     THE HAUNTED MINE
+
+     BY
+
+     HARRY CASTLEMON
+
+     AUTHOR OF "THE GUNBOAT SERIES," "ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,"
+     "WAR SERIES," ETC.
+
+     THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.,
+
+     PHILADELPHIA,
+     CHICAGO,      TORONTO.
+
+
+
+
+     COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY
+     HENRY T. COATES & CO.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+         CHAPTER                           PAGE
+
+         I. THE SALE OF "OLD HORSE,"          1
+
+        II. CASPER IS DISGUSTED,             13
+
+       III. JULIAN IS ASTONISHED,            24
+
+        IV. WHERE THE BOX WAS,               38
+
+         V. CASPER THINKS OF SOMETHING,      52
+
+        VI. A MR. HABERSTRO APPEARS,         65
+
+       VII. A PLAN THAT DIDN'T WORK,         78
+
+      VIII. CLAUS CALLS AGAIN,               91
+
+        IX. THE MASTER MECHANIC,            105
+
+         X. WHERE ARE THE VALISES?          118
+
+        XI. IN DENVER,                      132
+
+       XII. CASPER NEVINS, THE SPY,         146
+
+      XIII. GETTING READY FOR WORK,         160
+
+       XIV. HOW CASPER WAS SERVED,          174
+
+        XV. HOW A MINE WAS HAUNTED,         188
+
+       XVI. GOOD NEWS,                      201
+
+      XVII. MR. BANTA IS SURPRISED,         215
+
+     XVIII. GRUB-STAKING,                   228
+
+       XIX. GOING TO SCHOOL,                243
+
+        XX. WATERSPOUTS AND BLIZZARDS,      256
+
+       XXI. THE CAMP AT DUTCH FLAT,         271
+
+      XXII. THE HAUNTED MINE,               286
+
+     XXIII. HAUNTED NO LONGER,              302
+
+      XXIV. "THAT IS GOLD,"                 317
+
+       XXV. CLAUS, AGAIN,                   332
+
+      XXVI. CLAUS HEARS SOMETHING,          348
+
+     XXVII. BOB TRIES STRATEGY,             365
+
+    XXVIII. AN INHUMAN ACT,                 380
+
+      XXIX. A TRAMP WITH THE ROBBERS,       392
+
+       XXX. HOME AGAIN,                     406
+
+      XXXI. CONCLUSION,                     420
+
+
+
+
+THE HAUNTED MINE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE SALE OF "OLD HORSE."
+
+
+"Going for twenty-five cents. Going once; going twice; going----"
+
+"Thirty cents."
+
+"Thirty cents! Gentlemen, I am really astonished at you. It is a
+disgrace for me to take notice of that bid. Why, just look at that
+box. A miser may have hidden the secret of a gold-mine in it. Here it
+is, neatly dovetailed, and put together with screws instead of nails;
+and who knows but that it contains the treasure of a lifetime hidden
+away under that lid? And I am bid only thirty cents for it. Do I hear
+any more? Won't somebody give me some more? Going for thirty cents
+once; going twice; going three times, and sold to that lucky fellow
+who stands there with a uniform on. I don't know what his name is.
+Step up there and take your purchase, my lad, and when you open that
+box, and see what is in it, just bless your lucky stars that you came
+to this office this afternoon to buy yourself rich."
+
+It happened in the Adams Express office, and among those who always
+dropped around to see how things were going was the young fellow who
+had purchased the box. It was on the afternoon devoted to the sale of
+"old horse"--packages which had lain there for a long time and nobody
+had ever called for them. When the packages accumulated so rapidly
+that the company had about as many on hand as their storeroom could
+hold, an auctioneer was ordered to sell them off for whatever he could
+get. Of course nobody could tell what was in the packages, and
+somebody always bought them by guess. Sometimes he got more than his
+money's worth, and sometimes he did not. That very afternoon a man
+bought a package so large and heavy that he could scarcely lift it
+from the counter, and so certain was he that he had got something
+worth looking at that he did not take the package home with him, but
+borrowed a hammer from one of the clerks and opened it on the spot,
+the customers all gathering around him to see what he had. To the
+surprise of everybody, he turned out half a dozen bricks. A partner of
+the man to whom the box was addressed had been off somewhere to buy a
+brickyard, and, not satisfied with the productions of the yard, had
+enclosed the bricks to the man in St. Louis, to see how he liked them.
+The purchaser gazed in surprise at what he had brought, and then threw
+down the hammer and turned away; but by the time he got to the door
+the loud laughter of everybody in the office--and the office was
+always full at the sale of "old horse"--caused him to arrest his
+steps. By that time he himself was laughing.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is, gentlemen," said he; "those bricks, which
+are not worth a nickel apiece, cost me just two dollars."
+
+He was going on to say something more, but the roar that arose caused
+him to wait until it was all over. Then he went on:
+
+"I have spent fifty dollars for 'old horse,' and if anybody ever knows
+me to spend another dollar in that way I will give him my head for a
+football. A man who comes here to squander his money for anything like
+that is a dunce, and ought to have a guardian appointed over him. I
+wish you all a very good day."
+
+But in spite of this man's experience, Julian Gray had invested in
+this box because he thought there was something in it. He did not care
+for what the auctioneer said to him, for he talked that way to
+everybody; but Julian knew there were no bricks in it, for it was done
+up too neatly. The box was not more than twelve inches long and half
+as wide, and by shaking it up and down the boy became aware that there
+were papers of some kind in it. He paid the clerk the amount of his
+bid upon it, picked up his purchase, and started for the door, paying
+no heed to the remarks that were offered for his benefit. There he met
+another boy, dressed in a uniform similar to the one he himself wore,
+and stopped to exchange a few words with him.
+
+"Well, you got something at last," said the boy. "It is not bricks, I
+can swear to that."
+
+"No, sir, it is not," said Julian. "Lift it. It contains papers of
+some kind."
+
+"Why don't you open it, and let us see what is in it?"
+
+"I won't do that, either. I am not going to have the whole party
+laughing at me the way they served that man a little while ago. Come
+up to my room when Jack comes home, and then I will open it."
+
+"I would not be in your boots for a good deal when Jack sees that
+box," said the boy, hurrying away. "He says you have no business to
+spend the small earnings you get on such gimcracks as 'old horse.'"
+
+"I don't care," said Julian, settling the box under his arm and going
+away in the opposite direction. "I've got the box, and if Jack does
+not want to see what is in it, he need not look."
+
+Julian broke into a run,--he knew he had no business to spend as much
+time in that express office as he had done,--and in a few minutes
+reached the headquarters of the Western Union Telegraph Company, in
+whose employ he was. He laid down his book of receipts for the
+dispatches he had delivered, then picked up his box again and stowed
+it away under the counter, where he was sure it would be out of
+everybody's way.
+
+"I don't care," Julian repeated to himself, when he recalled what his
+older companion, Jack Shelden, would have to say to him when he found
+that he had been investing in "old horse." "I don't know that I expect
+to make anything out of it, but somehow or other I can't resist my
+curiosity to know what is in those bundles. When you can get the
+packages for little or nothing, where's the harm? But that is no way
+to save my money. I will never go near that express office again."
+
+With this good resolution, Julian took his seat among the other boys
+and waited in silence for the operator to call upon him to deliver a
+dispatch. It came at last, and during the rest of the afternoon Julian
+was kept busy. When six o'clock came he put his box under his arm and
+started for home. His duties were done for that day.
+
+The place that Julian called home was a long way from the office, for,
+being a poor boy, he was obliged to room where he could get it as
+cheaply as possible. He passed along several streets, turned numerous
+corners, and finally sprang up the stairs in a sorry-looking house
+which seemed almost ready to tumble down, and when he reached the top
+he found the door of his room open. There he met his chum, who had
+already returned from his work, going about his preparations for
+supper, and whistling as though he felt at peace with himself and all
+the world.
+
+"Halloo!" he exclaimed, as Julian came in. "What's the news to-day?
+Well, there. If you haven't been to that old express office again!"
+
+These two boys were orphans--or at least Jack was. Julian had a
+stepfather who, when his mother died, told the boy that he could not
+support him any longer, and that he must look out for himself. He no
+doubt expected that the boy would find himself in the poorhouse before
+he had been long out of his care; but Julian was not that sort of a
+fellow. He wandered aimlessly about the streets, looking for something
+to do, sleeping in dry-goods boxes or on a plank in some lumber-yard;
+and one morning, while passing along the street, wondering where he
+was going to get something to eat, he saw a scene that thrilled him
+with excitement. A span of horses was running away, and a telegraph
+operator--Julian knew that he was an operator from the uniform he
+wore--in making an attempt to stop them, lost his footing and fell on
+the ground right in front of the frantic team. Julian was nearer to
+him than anybody else, and acting upon the impulse of the moment, but
+scarcely knowing why he did so, he dashed forward, seized the young
+man by the shoulders, and pulled him out of the way. It was all done
+in an instant, and Julian shuddered when he thought of what he had
+done.
+
+"Thank you, my lad," said the man, when he got up, brushed the dust
+from his clothes, and looked after the flying horses. "You saved my
+life, but you couldn't save the man in the buggy. Now, what can I give
+you?"
+
+"I don't want anything, sir," said Julian. The man was neatly dressed,
+and looked as though he had some money, and Julian had more than half
+a mind to ask him for enough with which to get some breakfast. But he
+concluded that he would not do it; he would look farther, and he was
+sure that he could get something to do, such as sweeping out a store,
+and earn some breakfast in that way.
+
+"You don't want anything?" exclaimed the man. "Well, you are the
+luckiest fellow I ever saw!"
+
+The man now turned and gave Julian a good looking over. It was not
+necessary that he should ask any questions, for poverty was written
+all over him.
+
+"Where's your home?" he asked.
+
+"I haven't any, sir."
+
+"Have you had any breakfast?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Well, here's enough to enable you to get a good fill-out," said the
+man, pulling out a dollar. "Get the very best breakfast you can, and
+then come down to the Western Union Telegraph office and ask for
+Wiggins. I will see what I can do for you."
+
+The man hurried away, and Julian looked at the dollar he held in his
+hand, then gazed in the direction in which his benefactor had gone,
+and could hardly believe that he was awake. A dollar was a larger sum
+of money than he had ever had before.
+
+Of course Julian followed the operator's instructions. When he reached
+the Western Union Telegraph office he was asked several questions
+about his habits, and what he knew about the city, and it finally
+ended by his being offered employment. Julian jumped at the chance. He
+had no money with which to purchase a uniform, but Wiggins got around
+that, and he had been there ever since, trying hard to do his duty,
+except in one particular, and his highest ambition was to become an
+operator.
+
+Long before this time he made the acquaintance of Jack Sheldon, who
+finally came to room with him, and they had been fast friends ever
+since. Jack had formerly gained a good living by shining boots and
+shoes around the St. Louis foundry-works, until one day the master
+mechanic, who had taken a wonderful shine to him, offered to take him
+away from his blacking-brush and give him a position where he could
+make a man of himself. Jack was waiting for this, and he promptly
+closed with it. Of course his wages were small now, but he wanted to
+get away from the bootblacks and mingle with persons more like
+himself, and when Julian made him a proposition to take him in as a
+roommate, Jack was only too glad to agree to it. He was but a year
+older than Julian, but he often took it upon himself to advise him;
+and one thing he could not stand was Julian's longing to find out what
+was concealed in those packages that every once in a little while were
+sold in the express office. Being economical himself, and never
+spending a cent unless absolutely necessary, he wanted to make his
+companion so, too.
+
+"That is no way for you to save money, Julian," said Jack. "To go to
+that express office when you ought to be at your work, and spending
+money for 'old horse' when you don't know what is in the bundle you
+bid on, is the very way for you to wear a poor man's clothes the
+longest day you live. I want to go into business myself some time, and
+I should think you would, too."
+
+This was the way he talked to Julian every time he brought home a
+bundle of "old horse," and he was ready to talk to him now in the same
+way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+CASPER IS DISGUSTED.
+
+
+"Well, you have been to that old express office again and invested
+some of your hard earnings in 'old horse,' haven't you?" repeated
+Jack, placing his hands on his hips and looking sullenly at the box,
+which Julian placed upon the table. "Is that any way for you to save
+your money?"
+
+"No, it is not; but, Jack, I've got something in this," said Julian.
+"See how nicely this box is done up----"
+
+"I don't care to know anything about it," said Jack, turning away and
+going on with his preparations of getting supper. "That is the only
+thing I have against you. What do you care what is in those bundles?
+If they were worth anything don't you suppose that the people to whom
+they were addressed would have come after them? How much money have
+you got in bank, anyway?"
+
+"About forty dollars, I guess, including tips and everything."
+
+"Well, I've got a hundred," said Jack. "You will never be able to go
+into business by doing this way."
+
+"Lend me your knife and talk about it afterward. I want to get these
+screws out."
+
+"Take your own knife. I don't want to have mine broken."
+
+"Well, I want you to remember one thing, Jack. If I get anything out
+of this box, it is mine entirely. You will have no interest in it."
+
+"All right--I will agree to that."
+
+Seeing that he must depend entirely upon himself to get his box open,
+Julian took his knife from his pocket and went to work upon the
+screws; but they had been put there to stay, and he finally gave it up
+in disgust. Then Jack relented and came to his assistance. The strong
+blade of his knife presently worked the screws loose, and the inside
+of the box was revealed to them. There was nothing but a mass of
+papers, which looked so ancient that Jack declared they had been
+through two or three wars. He took one look at them, and then went on
+with his work of getting supper.
+
+"What's the use of fooling away your time with that stuff?" said he.
+"That's all your 'old horse' amounts to. If you are going to spend
+money in that way, I wish you would get something that is of some
+use."
+
+Julian did not reply. He took his box to an out-of-the-way corner
+where he would not be in Jack's way, and devoted himself to the
+reading of the first paper he took up.
+
+"Who's Haberstro?" said he.
+
+"Don't know him," said Jack.
+
+"Here's a letter addressed to him."
+
+"What is in it?"
+
+"Oh, you want to know something about it, now, don't you?"
+
+"Of course I do. If we can find out who Haberstro is, we must take the
+letter to him."
+
+Julian began and read the letter, which was written in a very plain
+hand, and before he had read a page of it he stopped and looked at
+Jack, while an expression of astonishment came to his face.
+
+"Go on with it," said Jack; "we might as well know it all."
+
+Julian "went on with it," and when he got through he had read a very
+good description of a gold-mine located somewhere out West, and inside
+the letter was a map which would lead anyone straight to it. There was
+one thing in it that did not look exactly right, and here is the
+passage that referred to it:
+
+     "They have got the story around that the mine is haunted,
+     but don't you believe it. I worked for almost six months in
+     that mine alone after my partner took sick and died, going
+     down into it and shovelling the dirt in, coming up and
+     hoisting the bucket out, and went through the process of
+     washing, and I never found anything to scare me yet. I took
+     out, with every bucketful I washed, anywhere from ten to
+     fifty dollars; anyway, I got fifty thousand dollars out of
+     it. There is one thing about it: the mine is fully five
+     miles from anybody's place, and in all that region you won't
+     find a man who will prospect anywhere near you. It shows
+     that all the country about Dutch Flat is not played out
+     yet."
+
+A little farther on the letter spoke of the manner in which the miner
+came to turn his claim over to Haberstro:
+
+     "You know that very shortly after we got there my partner
+     died, and was buried near the mine. Perhaps that has
+     something to do with the story of the mine's being haunted.
+     I went to work and dug in the claim alone, not knowing
+     anything about mining, until I made the sum that I told you
+     of. Finally I received a letter from some lawyer in Europe,
+     who told me that my father had died and left me heir to all
+     his wealth. He urged me to come home and settle my claim at
+     once, and who should my mind revert to but to you, old
+     fellow, who stood by me when I was sick unto death. I know
+     that we did not have the stamps to buy a mule-halter, but
+     that did not make any sort of difference to you. You stayed
+     at my back until I got well; and as I can't pay you in any
+     other way I give you this mine, hoping it will make you as
+     rich as it did me. More than that, for fear that the mine
+     may play out on you, which I don't believe, I give you the
+     deeds of several little pieces of property located in Denver
+     and vicinity, which you will find will be more than enough
+     to run you, even if you don't choose to go mining. For me,
+     nothing would suit me. You know how you used to rail at me
+     because I wanted to go from one thing to another. After I
+     had accumulated that property in Denver, I had to go and
+     look for claims, and that is the way I come to have this
+     mine.
+
+     "I send all these things to you by express, for I am in New
+     York, now, and all ready to sail. By the time you get them
+     I shall be on the deep sea. I forgot to say that the
+     property which I have given to you for your kindness to me
+     is worth, in round numbers, one hundred thousand dollars.
+     Take it, and live happily with it. I don't know that I shall
+     ever see you again; but if I do not, remember that my
+     blessing always goes with you."
+
+"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" said Julian, as he folded up
+the letter.
+
+Jack Sheldon did not know what to say. He sat with a case-knife in his
+hand and with one leg thrown over the table, his mouth open, and
+listening with all his ears to the contents of the letter.
+
+"I tell you that auctioneer uttered a prophecy when he said that some
+miser had hidden the secret of a gold-mine inside the lid of that
+box," said Julian. "He told me that when I got home and opened this
+thing I would bless my lucky stars that I had come to that office to
+buy myself rich."
+
+"But there is one thing that you don't think of, Julian," replied
+Jack.
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"That we must make every effort to find this man Haberstro."
+
+"Yes," said Julian, with a sigh, "I did think of that. But it seems
+hard to have so much money in our grasp, and then to have it all slip
+away."
+
+"Of course it does. But that is the honest way of going at it."
+
+"Here's the deeds for a block of buildings that cost this man
+twenty-five thousand dollars," said Julian, continuing to examine the
+papers in the box.
+
+"Oh, put the box away," said Jack. "And he gives it all to this man
+Haberstro. We must find him, Julian, the first thing we do. Who's that
+coming upstairs, I wonder?"
+
+The boys turned toward the door, which opened almost immediately,
+admitting Casper Nevins, the boy who had met Julian at the express
+office. There was something about the boy that Jack did not like. He
+could not have told what it was, but there are those we meet in
+every-day life who have certain traits of character that excite our
+suspicions. Jack had often warned Julian to keep away from him, and
+the latter did not cultivate his acquaintance any more that he could
+help; but, being employed in the same office that Casper was, of
+course he was thrown into his company oftener than he desired.
+
+"Good-evening, boys," said Casper. "I was on my way home, and I
+thought I would drop in and see what Julian bought to-day at the
+express office. You promised to show me if I would come up," he added,
+turning to Julian.
+
+"I did, and there it is," said Julian, passing over the letter. "Sit
+down in this chair. We are so poor just now that we have only one
+chair apiece, but when we get out to our gold-mine we shall have two
+chairs."
+
+"Ah! You have a gold-mine, have you?" said Casper, with a smile. "When
+do you start?"
+
+"Read the letter, and you will think we ought to start right away,"
+said Julian, while Jack got up and proceeded with his supper. "We
+think of starting to-morrow morning."
+
+"I would like to have my hand on your coat-tail about the time you get
+out there," said Casper. "Now, the question is, does the mine pay
+anything?"
+
+"Read the letter, and you will understand as much as we do."
+
+Casper began the letter, and he had not gone far with it before he
+broke out with "Jerusalem!" and "This beats me!" and "Fifty thousand
+dollars!" When he had got done with the letter, he folded it up and
+passed it back to Julian without saying a word.
+
+"And that is not all of it," said the latter. "Do you see the rest of
+the papers there in that box? Well, they are deeds of property which
+amount to one hundred thousand dollars."
+
+"Whew!" whistled Casper. "By gracious! You're lucky--are you not? When
+do you start?"
+
+"Laying all jokes aside, we don't intend to start at all," said Jack.
+
+"You don't?" exclaimed Casper. "Have you got something better on
+hand?"
+
+"No, I don't know that we have; but our first hard work must be to
+find this man Haberstro. It would not be right for us to keep what is
+in that box without turning the city upside down in order to locate
+him."
+
+"Why, the box was sold to you, was it not?" said Casper, turning to
+Julian.
+
+"Of course it was. Didn't I pay thirty cents of my hard earnings for
+it?"
+
+"Did you agree to hunt up this man Haberstro?"
+
+"No, because the clerks did not know where he was."
+
+"Then I say the box and everything in it belongs to you. Undoubtedly
+the man does not live here any more. He has gone somewhere else. I
+would not make a precious fool of myself, if I were you. Take the
+money and say nothing to nobody."
+
+"And go out there and take possession of that property while there is
+another man waiting for it?" asked Jack, with some heat.
+
+"Yes, sir; that's what I would do."
+
+"Then, sir, you are not honest. I am glad you don't train in my
+crowd."
+
+"I don't call it dishonest in holding fast to what you have. A hundred
+thousand dollars! You would not need to go mining at all."
+
+"We are well aware of that; but we must find out where that man
+lives, if we can. After having exhausted every means to find out, then
+I would consider that the property belongs to us. Julian, we will have
+to see a lawyer about that."
+
+"That's what I was thinking," said Julian.
+
+"Well, of all the plumb dunces that ever I saw, you are the beat!"
+said Casper, getting up and putting on his hat. "I tell you that if
+that property was mine I would never let anyone know that I had it. I
+would throw up my position to-morrow, borrow money, go out there and
+take possession; and you are fools if you don't do it."
+
+And Casper went out, slamming the door behind him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+JULIAN IS ASTONISHED.
+
+
+"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" asked Julian, when he heard
+the noise the telegraph boy made in running down the stairs. "He
+really acts as though he were mad about it."
+
+"He is a dishonest fellow," said Jack, once more coming up to the
+table and throwing his leg over it. "You don't believe everything he
+said, do you?"
+
+"Not much, I don't," replied Julian, emphatically. "I could not go out
+there and work the mine as he talks of doing. I should think it was
+haunted, sure enough."
+
+"Well, put the papers away, and then let us have supper. While we are
+doing that, we will decide what we are going to do with the box."
+
+"I say, don't let us do anything with it. We will put it up there on
+the mantel, and when we are through supper one of us will write an
+advertisement calling upon Mr. Haberstro to come up and show himself.
+I guess the _Republican_ is as good a paper as any, isn't it?"
+
+"But Haberstro may be a Democrat, instead of a Republican," said Jack.
+
+"Well, then, put it in both papers. That will cost us two
+dollars--seventy-five cents for the first insertion and a quarter for
+the second."
+
+It did not take the boys a long time to get their supper. They had
+nothing but bacon, baker's bread, tea, and a few cream cakes which
+Jack had purchased on his way home; but there was an abundance, they
+were hungry, and they did full justice to it. After supper came
+something that everybody hates--washing the dishes; but that was
+something the two friends never neglected. The dishes must be washed
+some time, and the sooner it was done the sooner it would be over
+with. Then one picked up the broom and went to sweeping, while the
+other lighted the lamp and brought out the writing materials.
+
+"I have already made up my mind what I want to say," said Julian, who,
+being a better scribe than his companion, handled the pen. "Wait until
+I get the advertisement all written out, and then I will read it to
+you."
+
+The pen moved slowly, and by the time that Jack had finished sweeping
+and seated himself in a chair ready to listen, Julian read the
+following:
+
+     "Information wanted regarding the whereabouts of S. W.
+     Haberstro, formerly of St. Louis. If he will communicate
+     with the undersigned he will hear of something greatly to
+     his advantage. Any relative or friend of his who possesses
+     the above information will confer a favor by writing to the
+     name given below."
+
+"There; how will that do?" said Julian. "By the way, whose name shall
+I sign to it--yours or mine?"
+
+"Sign your own name, of course. Your place of business is much handier
+than mine."
+
+"I tell you, Jack, it requires something besides a knowledge of
+penmanship to write out an advertisement for a newspaper. I have
+worried over this matter ever since we were at supper, and then I
+didn't know how you would like it. Now, the next thing is to put it
+where it will catch the public eye in the morning."
+
+The boys did not intend to let the grass grow under their feet. They
+put on their coats and turned down the lamp, but before they went out
+they took particular pains to put the box where they knew it would be
+safe. They opened the closet, pushed the box as far back as they could
+on the top shelf, and threw some clothing in front of it to hide it
+from anyone who might look in there. Burglaries were common in the
+city, and the boys never left anything in their room that was worth
+stealing.
+
+The friends did not ride on the street cars, for they believed that
+five cents was worth as much to them as it was to the conductor, but
+walked all the distance that lay between them and the business part of
+the city. They reached the newspaper offices at last, paid for two
+insertions in each paper, and went away satisfied that they had done
+all in their power to find Mr. Haberstro.
+
+"Now we have done as we would be done by," said Julian, "and I believe
+a glass of soda water would help me sleep easier. Come in here."
+
+"We don't want any soda water," exclaimed Jack, seizing Julian by the
+arm and pulling him away from the drug store. "We don't need it. When
+we get home we will take a glass of cold water, and that will do just
+as well as all the soda water in town."
+
+"I suppose I shall have to give in to you," said Julian, continuing
+his walk with Jack, "but I think we deserve a little credit for what
+we have done. Here we are with a fortune of one hundred thousand
+dollars in our pockets, and yet we are anxious to give it up if Mr.
+Haberstro shows himself. I tell you, it is not everybody in the world
+who would do that."
+
+"I know it, but that is the honest way of doing business. I never
+could look our master mechanic in the face again if I should go off
+and enjoy that money without making an effort to find the owner."
+
+In due time the boys reached home and went to bed, but sleep did not
+visit their eyes before midnight. They were thinking of the fortune
+that was in their grasp. No one would have thought these boys very
+guilty if they had kept silent about the contents of that box and had
+gone off to reap the pleasure which good luck or something else had
+placed in Julian's hands; but such a thought had never entered their
+heads until Casper Nevins had suggested it to them. By being at the
+sale of "old horse" Julian had stumbled upon something that was
+intended for Mr. Haberstro, and he was just as much entitled to the
+contents of it as anybody.
+
+"But I would be dishonest for all that," said he, rolling over in his
+bed to find a more comfortable position. "I never could enjoy that
+money, for I should be thinking of Mr. Haberstro, who ought to have
+it. No matter whether he is alive or dead, he would come up beside me
+all the while, and reach out his hand to take the money I was getting
+ready to use for my own pleasure. No, sir. We will do the best we can
+to find Mr. Haberstro, and if he does not show up within any
+reasonable time, then Jack says the money belongs to us. I can spend
+it, then, to get anything I want, with perfect confidence."
+
+When Julian got to this point in his meditations he became silent, and
+thought over the many things he stood in need of, and which he thought
+he could not possibly get along without, until finally he fell asleep;
+but the next morning, when he arose and returned Jack's hearty
+greeting, that fortune came into his mind immediately.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Jack," said he. "If, after waiting a few days,
+we don't hear from Mr. Haberstro or any of his kin, suppose I go to
+Mr. Wiggins with it? He will know exactly what we ought to do."
+
+"All right," said Jack. "That will be better than going to a lawyer,
+for he won't charge us anything for his advice."
+
+"And shall you keep still about this?"
+
+"Certainly. Don't lisp it to anybody. We don't want somebody to come
+along here and claim to be Haberstro, when perhaps he don't know a
+thing about what is in the box."
+
+"Of course he would not know a thing about it," said Julian, in
+surprise. "Haberstro himself don't know what there is in the box. He
+has got to prove by outside parties that he is the man that we want,
+or we can put him down as a fraud."
+
+"That's so," said Jack, after thinking a moment. "We must be
+continually on the lookout for breakers."
+
+Why was it that Jack did not go further, and say that they must be
+continually on the lookout for the safety of the box when they were
+not there to watch over it? It was not safe from anybody who knew it
+was there, and it would have been but little trouble for them to have
+taken it with them and put it into the hands of Mr. Wiggins. If they
+had thought of this, no doubt they would have lost no time in acting
+upon it.
+
+Long before the hands on Jack's watch had reached the hour of
+half-past six the two friends were on their way toward their places of
+business, and when Julian reached the office almost the first boy he
+saw was Casper Nevins, who had denounced them for trying to find out
+what became of Mr. Haberstro.
+
+"Good-morning, Julian," said he. "Have you advertised for that man of
+yours yet?"
+
+"What do you want to know for?" said Julian, remembering what Jack had
+said about keeping the matter still.
+
+"Oh, nothing; only I want to tell you that if you get yourselves
+fooled out of that fortune you can thank yourselves for it. What is
+there to prevent some sharper from coming around and telling you that
+he is Haberstro? You didn't think of that, did you?"
+
+"Yes, we thought of it," said Julian, with a smile. "Do you suppose we
+will take any man's word for that? He must prove that he is the man we
+want, or else we won't have anything to do with him."
+
+"Pshaw! That is easy enough. I can find fifty men right here in this
+town who will prove that they are President of the United States for
+half of what that box is worth. Say!" he added, sinking his voice
+almost to a whisper, "you haven't said a word to anybody about
+advertising for him, have you?"
+
+"No; and I have not said a word to you about it either," said Julian.
+
+"That's all right, but you can't fool me so easy. I want to tell you
+right now that there are a good many here who know about it, and that
+they are bound to have that box. Ah!" he added, noting the expression
+that came upon Julian's face, "you didn't think of _that_, did you?"
+
+"Who are they?" asked Julian.
+
+"There were men in the express office yesterday who know all about it.
+You needn't think you are going to keep that express box hid, for you
+can't do it. Where did you put it?"
+
+"It is safe. It is where nobody will ever think of looking for it."
+
+"Then you are all right," said Casper, who was plainly very much
+disappointed because he did not find out where the box was. "But you
+had better keep an eye out for those fellows in the express office,
+for, unless the looks of some of them belied them, they will steal
+that box from you as sure as you are a foot high."
+
+"If they thought so much of the box, why didn't they buy it in the
+first place?"
+
+"That is for them to tell. I don't know but they have somehow got an
+idea that there is something in it. You are going to get fooled out of
+it, and it will serve you just right for advertising for Haberstro."
+
+That day was a long one to Julian, for he could not help turning over
+in his mind what Casper had said to him. When he reached home after
+his day's work was done he went straight to the closet, paying no sort
+of attention to Jack, who looked at him in surprise, took a chair with
+him, and hunted up the box. It was where he put it, and he drew a long
+breath of relief.
+
+"Now, then, I would like to have you explain yourself," said Jack,
+after he had waited some little time for Julian to say what he meant
+by his actions.
+
+"It is there," said Julian, "but I have been shaking in my shoes all
+day. Did it ever occur to you that some of those people who saw me buy
+the box at the express office would come up here to take it?"
+
+"No; and I don't believe they will do it."
+
+"Well, Casper said they would."
+
+"You tell Casper Nevins to keep his long, meddlesome nose out of this
+pie and attend strictly to his own affairs," said Jack, in disgust.
+"It is ours, and he has nothing to do with it. If anybody comes into
+this room when we are not here, it will be Casper himself."
+
+"He can't; he has not got a key."
+
+"I know that. If he had, we would have trouble with that box. What did
+he say to you?"
+
+Julian then repeated the conversation he held with Casper that
+morning, and Jack nodded his head once or twice to say that he
+approved of it.
+
+"You did perfectly right by declining to answer his question about
+advertising for our man," said Jack. "What did he want to know that
+for? If they wanted the box, why did they not buy it in the first
+place?"
+
+During the next few days the two friends were in a fever of suspense,
+for they did not want somebody to come and take their fortune away
+from them. Every man who came into the telegraph office Julian watched
+closely, for he had somehow got it into his head that Haberstro must
+be a German; but every German who came in there had business of his
+own, and as soon as it was done he went out. No one came to see Julian
+about the box, and, if the truth must be told, he began to breathe
+easier. Of late he had got out of the habit of looking for the box as
+soon as he came home, and perhaps the sport that Jack made of him for
+it was the only thing that made him give it up.
+
+"One would think you owned that fortune," said he. "I don't believe a
+miser ever watched his gold as closely as you watch that box."
+
+"I don't care," said Julian. "The fortune is ours, or rather is going
+to be in a few days. Now you mark my words, and see if I don't tell
+you the truth."
+
+"There's many a slip. We will never have such luck in the world."
+
+"Well, I am going to look at it now. It seems to me that if Haberstro
+is around here he ought to have put in an appearance before this time.
+We have waited a whole week without seeing anything of him."
+
+"A whole week!" exclaimed Jack, with a laugh. "If you wait a month
+without seeing him you may be happy. If we keep the box for three
+months without the man appearing, then I shall think it belongs to
+us."
+
+Julian did not believe that. He thought that the contents of the box
+would belong to them before that time. He made no reply, but took a
+chair to examine the closet. He moved the clothing aside, expecting
+every minute to put his hand upon the box, and then uttered an
+exclamation of astonishment and threw the articles off on the floor.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Jack, in alarm.
+
+"The box is gone!" replied Julian.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+WHERE THE BOX WAS.
+
+
+This startling piece of information seemed to strike Jack Sheldon
+motionless and speechless with astonishment. His under jaw dropped
+down, and he even clutched the back of a chair, as if seeking
+something with which to support himself. The two boys stood at
+opposite sides of the room looking at each other, and then Jack
+recovered himself.
+
+"Gone!" he repeated. "You are mistaken; you have overlooked it. I saw
+it night before last myself."
+
+"I don't care," said Julian, emphatically; "I have taken the clothes
+all out, and the box is gone. Look and see for yourself."
+
+Julian stepped down from the chair and Jack took his place. He peered
+into every nook and corner of the dark shelf, passed his hands over
+it, and then, with something like a sigh, got down and began to hang
+the clothes up in their proper places. Then he closed the door of the
+closet, took a chair, and gazed earnestly at the floor.
+
+"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" said Julian.
+
+"Didn't I tell you that if anybody came in here to look for that box
+while we were not here it would be Casper Nevins, and nobody else?"
+said Jack.
+
+"You surely don't suspect him!" exclaimed Julian.
+
+"I _do_ suspect him; if you could get inside his room to-night you
+would find the box."
+
+"Why, then he is a thief!" said Julian, jumping up from his chair and
+walking the floor. "Shall we go down to No. 8 Station and ask the
+police to send a man up there and search him?"
+
+"I don't know whether that would be the best way or not," said Jack,
+reflectively. "Has Casper got many friends among the boys of your
+office?"
+
+"I don't believe he's got one friend there who treats him any better
+than I do. The boys are all shy of him."
+
+"And well they may be. That boy got a key somewhere that will fit our
+door, and came in here and took that box. You say he has not any
+friends on whom he can depend in the office?"
+
+"Not one. If he has any friends, none of us know who they are."
+
+"Then he must be alone in stealing the box from us. He has it there in
+his room, for he has no other place to hide it. Do you know what sort
+of a key he has to fit his door?"
+
+"Of course I do. I was with him when he got it. It is a combination
+key; one that he folds up when he puts it into his pocket."
+
+"Do you believe you can buy another like it?"
+
+"By George! That's an idea. Let us go down and find out. Then
+to-morrow, if I can get away, I will come up here and go through his
+room."
+
+That was Jack's notion entirely. He wanted to see "the biter bit"--to
+know that he would feel, when he awoke some fine morning and found his
+fortune gone, just how they were feeling now. They put on their coats
+and locked the door,--it seemed a mockery to them now to lock the
+door when their fortune was gone,--and, after walking briskly for a
+few minutes, turned into the store where Casper had purchased his key.
+When Julian told the clerk that he wanted to see some combination
+keys, he threw out upon the counter a box which was filled to
+overflowing.
+
+"Do you remember a telegraph boy who was in here several months ago
+and bought a combination lock to fit his door?" asked Julian. "I was
+in here at the time, and I know he bought the lock of you."
+
+"Seems to me that I _do_ remember something about that," said the
+clerk, turning around to the shelves behind him and taking down
+another box, "and we have got just one lock of that sort left."
+
+"Are you sure this key will open his door?" asked Julian.
+
+"I am sure of it. If it don't open his door, you can bring it back and
+exchange it for another."
+
+Julian told him that he would take the lock, and while the clerk was
+gone to another part of the store to do it up he whispered to Jack,
+
+"I have just thought of something. He has not any closet in his room
+that I know of, and who knows but that he may have put that box in his
+trunk? I had better get some keys to his trunk while I am about it."
+
+"Do you remember how the key looked?" asked Jack.
+
+"I guess I can come pretty close to it," answered Julian.
+
+The work of selecting a key to the trunk was not so easy; but Julian
+managed to satisfy himself at last, and the boys left the store.
+Julian did not say anything, but he was certain that the box would be
+in his own possession before that time to-morrow. That would be better
+than calling the police to search his room. In the latter case, Casper
+would be held for trial, and Julian did not want to disgrace him
+before all the boys in the office.
+
+"I will give Mr. Wiggins the box as soon as I get my hands on it, but
+I shan't say anything to him about Casper's stealing it," said he.
+"Would you?"
+
+"You are mighty right I _would_," exclaimed Jack, who looked at his
+friend in utter surprise. "He stole it, didn't he? He was going to
+cheat Haberstro out of it if he showed up, and, failing that, he would
+leave us here to work all our lives while he lived on the fat of the
+land. No, sir; if you get the box you must tell Mr Wiggins about it."
+
+For the first time in a long while the boys did not sleep much that
+night. Jack was thinking about Casper's atrocity,--for he considered
+that was about the term to apply to him for stealing their box,--and
+Julian was wondering if he was going to get into Casper's room and
+recover the fortune which he was attempting to deprive them of.
+
+"I tell you, that boy is coming to some bad end," said Jack. "I would
+not be in his boots for all the money he will ever be worth."
+
+"I don't care what end he comes to," said Julian, "but I was just
+thinking what would happen to us if this key did not open his door. We
+would then have to get the police, sure enough."
+
+Morning came at length, and at the usual hour Julian was on hand in
+the telegraph office, waiting to see what his duties were going to be.
+As usual, he found Casper Nevins there. He looked closely at Julian
+when he came in, but could not see anything in the expression of his
+face that led him to believe there was anything wrong.
+
+"Good-morning, Julian," said he.
+
+"Good-morning," said Julian. "How do you feel this morning?"
+
+"Right as a trivet. I feel much better than you will when you find
+that that box is gone," added Casper to himself. "He hasn't found it
+out yet, and I hope he will not until I get my pay. I have waited and
+watched for this a long time, and, thank heaven! I have found it at
+last. I wish I knew somebody who would take that box and hide it for
+me; but I can't think of a living soul."
+
+All the fore part of that day Julian was kept busy running to the
+lower part of the city with messages, and not a chance did he get to
+go up past Casper's room. Two or three times he was on the point of
+asking Mr. Wiggins to excuse him for a few minutes, but he always
+shrunk from it for fear of the questions that gentleman would ask him.
+"Where did he want to go?" "What did he want to go after?" "What was
+he going to do when he got there?" and Julian was quite certain that
+he could not answer these questions without telling a lie. While he
+was thinking it over he heard his name called, and found that he must
+go right by Casper's room in order to take the message where it was to
+go. He seemed to be treading on air when he walked up to take the
+telegraphic dispatch.
+
+"Do you know where that man lives?" asked the operator.
+
+"I know pretty nearly where he lives," answered Julian.
+
+"Well, take it there, and be back as soon as you can, for I shall want
+to send you somewhere else. What's the matter with you, Julian? You
+seem to be gay about something."
+
+"I don't know that I feel any different from what I always do,"
+replied Julian. "I will go there as soon as I can."
+
+When Julian got into the street, his first care was to find his keys.
+They were all there; and, to gain the time that he would occupy in
+looking about the room, Julian broke into a trot, knowing that the
+police would not trouble him while he had that uniform on. At the end
+of an hour he began to draw close to Casper's room, and there he
+slackened his pace to a walk.
+
+"Ten minutes more and the matter will be decided," said Julian, his
+heart beating with a sound that frightened him. "That boy has the box,
+and I am going to have it."
+
+A few steps more brought him to the stairs that led up to Casper's
+room. It was over a grocery store, and the steps ran up beside it. He
+turned in there without anybody seeing him, and stopped in front of
+the door. The combination key was produced, and to Julian's immense
+delight the door came open the very first try.
+
+"I guess I won't lock it," muttered Julian. "I might lock myself in.
+He does not keep his room as neat as we do ours."
+
+Julian took one glance about the apartment, taking in the tumbled
+bedclothes, and the dishes from which Casper had eaten his breakfast
+still unwashed on the table, and then turned his attention to what had
+brought him there. There was no closet in the room, and the box was
+not under the bed; it must therefore be in his trunk. One after
+another of the keys was tried without avail, and Julian was about to
+give it up in despair, when the last key--the one on Jack's
+bunch--opened the trunk, which he found in the greatest confusion. He
+lifted off the tray, and there was the box, sure enough. Julian took
+it, and hugged it as though it was a friend from whom he had long been
+separated.
+
+"Now the next question is, are the papers all here?" thought he.
+"There were seven of them besides the letter, and who knows but that
+he has taken a block of buildings away from us."
+
+But the papers were all there. However much Casper might have been
+tempted to realize on some of the numerous "blocks of buildings" which
+the box called for, he dared not attempt the sale of any of them. It
+was as much as he could do to steal the papers. Julian placed the tray
+back and carefully locked the trunk, and then looking around, found a
+paper with which to do up his box. Then he locked the door, came down,
+and went on to deliver his message.
+
+"That boy called us foolish because we advertised for Mr. Haberstro,"
+said Julian, as he carefully adjusted the box under his arm. "I would
+like to know if we were bigger fools than he was. We could have found
+the police last night as easy as not, and it would have been no
+trouble for them to find the box. He ought not to have left it there
+in his trunk. He didn't think that we could play the same game on him
+that he played upon us."
+
+Julian conveyed his message and returned to his office in less time
+than he usually did, and, after reporting, told Mr. Wiggins in a
+whisper that he would like to see him in the back room.
+
+"I know what you want," said Mr. Wiggins, as he went in. "You have
+been up to the express office, buying some more of that 'old horse.'
+Some day I am going to give you fits for that. It is the only thing I
+have stored up against you."
+
+"Can you tell when I did it?" asked Julian, slowly unfolding the box
+which he carried under his arm. "Haven't I carried my telegraphic
+dispatches in as little time as anybody? Now, I have something here
+that is worth having. Read that letter, and see if it isn't."
+
+Mr. Wiggins seated himself on the table and slowly read the letter
+which Julian placed in his hands, and it was not long before he became
+deeply interested in it. When he had got through he looked at the boy
+with astonishment.
+
+"I declare, Julian, you're lucky," said he. "Now, the next thing for
+you to do is to advertise for Haberstro."
+
+"We have already advertised for him. We have put four insertions in
+the papers."
+
+"And he doesn't come forward to claim his money? Put two other
+advertisements in, and if he don't show up the money is yours."
+
+"That is what I wanted to get at," said Julian, with a sigh of relief.
+"Now, Mr. Wiggins, I wish you would take this and lock it up
+somewhere. I don't think it safe in our house."
+
+"Certainly I'll do it. By George! Who would think you were worth a
+hundred thousand dollars!"
+
+"It isn't ours yet," said Julian, with a smile. "About the time we get
+ready to use it, here will come Mr. Haberstro, and we will have to
+give it up to him."
+
+"Well, you are honest, at any rate, or you would not have advertised
+for him. This beats me, I declare. I won't scold you this time, but
+don't let it happen again."
+
+"I'll never go into that express office again while I live," said
+Julian, earnestly. "I have had my luck once, and I don't believe it
+will come again."
+
+When Julian went out into the office he saw Casper there, and he was
+as white as a sheet. Julian could not resist the temptation to pat an
+imaginary box under his arm and wink at Casper.
+
+"What do you mean by that pantomime?" said he.
+
+"It means that you can't get the start of two fellows who have their
+eyes open," said Julian. "I've got the box."
+
+"You have?" gasped Casper. "You've been into my room when I was not
+there? I'll have the police after you before I am five minutes older!"
+
+Casper jumped to his feet and began to look around for his hat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+CASPER THINKS OF SOMETHING.
+
+
+Julian stood with his hands in his pockets looking at Casper, and
+something that was very like a smile came into his face.
+
+"I know what you went in there with Mr. Wiggins for," said Casper; and
+having found his cap by that time, he jammed it spitefully on his
+head, "and I just waited until you came out so that I could ask you. I
+don't need to ask you. I tell you once for all----"
+
+"Well, why don't you go on?" asked Julian. "You will tell me once for
+all--what?"
+
+Casper had by this time turned and looked sternly at Julian, but there
+was something about him which told him that he had gone far enough.
+
+"Go and get the police," said Julian. "Right here is where I do
+business. Look here, Casper: you came into our room and stole that
+box out of our closet."
+
+"I never!" said Casper, evidently very much surprised. "So help
+me----"
+
+"Don't swear, because you will only make a bad matter worse. I found
+the box in your trunk, just where you had left it. The way I have the
+matter arranged now, there's nobody knows that you took it; but you go
+to work and raise the police, and I will tell all I know. If you keep
+still, I won't say one word."
+
+Casper backed toward the nearest chair and sat down. This conversation
+had been carried on in whispers, and there was nobody, among the dozen
+persons who were standing around, that had the least idea what they
+were talking about. If Casper supposed that he was going to scare
+Julian into giving up the box, he failed utterly.
+
+"I won't give up that fortune," said he, to himself, when Julian
+turned away to go to his seat. "A hundred thousand dollars! I'll have
+it, or I'll never sleep easy again."
+
+During the rest of the day Julian was as happy as he wanted to be. The
+box was now safe in the hands of Mr. Wiggins, and he would like to
+see anybody get hold of it. Furthermore, Mr. Wiggins had told him to
+put two more advertisements in the papers, and, if Mr. Haberstro did
+not show himself in answer to them, the money was his own.
+
+"I do hope he won't come," said Julian. "I don't believe in giving up
+that fortune."
+
+The boy was glad when the day was done, and the moment he was safe on
+the street he struck a trot which he never slackened until he ran up
+the stairs to his room. Jack was there, as he expected him to be, and
+he was going about his work of getting supper. He looked up as Julian
+came in, and he saw at a glance that he had been successful.
+
+"I've got it!" shouted Julian; and, catching Jack by the arm, he
+whirled him around two or three times. "It was in the trunk, just as I
+told you it was. Mr. Wiggins has it now, and he will take care of it,
+too."
+
+"That's the best news I have heard in a long time," said Jack,
+throwing his leg over the table. "Did you tell Mr. Wiggins about the
+way Casper acted?"
+
+"No, I did not. Somehow, I couldn't bear to see the boy discharged. I
+simply told Mr. Wiggins that it wasn't safe in our room."
+
+"Well, I don't know but that was the best way, after all," said Jack,
+looking reflectively at the floor. "But I tell you, if I had been in
+your place I would have let it all out. Now tell me the whole thing."
+
+Julian pulled off his coat, and, while he assisted Jack in getting
+supper, told him all that passed between Mr. Wiggins and himself, not
+forgetting how the latter had promised to scold him at some future
+time for going to the express office and investing in "old horse."
+
+"I hope he will tell you some words that will set," said Jack. "All I
+can say to you has no effect upon you."
+
+"I will never go near that express office again--never!" said Julian,
+earnestly.
+
+"I hope you will always bear that in mind."
+
+"I've had my luck, and if I live until my head is as white as our
+president's I never shall have such good fortune again. I will get
+bricks the next time I buy."
+
+"You had better sit down and write out that advertisement for two more
+insertions, and after supper we'll take it down and put it in. If
+Haberstro does not appear in answer to them the money is ours. That's
+a little better fortune than I dared to hope for."
+
+Anybody could see that Jack was greatly excited over this news, but he
+tried not to show it. If he had gone wild over it, he would have got
+Julian so stimulated that he would not have known which end he stood
+on. He had to control himself and Julian, too. He ate his supper
+apparently as cool as he ever was, and after the room had been swept
+up and the dishes washed he put on his coat and was ready to accompany
+his friend to the newspaper offices.
+
+"Remember now, Julian, we don't want any soda water to-night," said
+Jack. "If you want anything to drink, get it before you start."
+
+Julian promised that he would bear it in mind, and during the three
+hours that they were gone never asked for soda water or anything
+else.
+
+"Just wait until I get that fortune in my hands, and then I will have
+all the soda water I want," said Julian to himself. "But, after all,
+Jack's way is the best. I don't know what I should do without him."
+
+In due time the boys were at home and in bed; and leaving them there
+to enjoy a good night's rest, we will go back to Casper Nevins and see
+what he thought and what he did when he found that he had lost the box
+he had risked so much to gain. He was about as mad as a boy could hold
+when he ran down the stairs after his interview with them in their
+room, and he straightway began to rack his brain to see if he could
+not get that box for himself.
+
+"Of all the dunces I ever saw, those two fellows are the beat!" said
+he, as he took his way toward his room. "They have got the fortune in
+their own hands; no one will say a word if they use it as though it
+was their own; and yet they are going to advertise for the man to whom
+it was addressed. Did anybody ever hear of a fool notion like that? I
+was in hopes that I could get them to go partners with me, but under
+the circumstances I did not like to propose it. Why didn't I happen
+into that express office and bid on that box? Gee! What a fortune that
+would be!"
+
+Casper was almost beside himself with the thought, and he reached his
+room and cooked and ate his supper, still revolving some plan for
+obtaining possession of that box. He had suddenly taken it into his
+head that he ought to go into partnership with the two boys in order
+to assist them in spending their money, although there was not the
+first thing that he could think of that induced the belief. Julian had
+always been friendly with him,--much more so than any of the other
+boys in the office,--although he confessed that he had not always been
+friendly with Julian.
+
+"Of course I have little spats with him, but Julian isn't a fellow to
+remember that," said Casper to himself. "I've had spats with every
+boy, and some of them I don't want anything more to do with. But
+Julian ought to take me into partnership with him, and I believe I'll
+ask him. But first, can't I get that box for my own? That is an idea
+worth thinking of."
+
+It was an idea that had suddenly come into Casper's head, and he did
+not think any more about the partnership business just then. Of course
+their advertising for Haberstro knocked all that in the head; but then
+if he had the box he could do as he pleased with it. The next day, at
+the office, he did say something about partnership, but Julian laughed
+at him. He said that he and Jack could easily spend all that money,
+and more too, if they had it. It was made in a joking way, and Julian
+had not thought to speak to Jack about it.
+
+"It is no use trying you on," said Casper to himself, getting mad in a
+minute. "You can spend all that money yourselves, can you? I'll bet
+you don't. There must be some keys in the city that will fit your
+door, and I am going to have one."
+
+From that time forward Casper had but just one object in view, and
+that was to get the box. He spent three days in trying the different
+keys which he had purchased to fit the lock, and one time he came
+near getting himself into difficulty. He was out a great deal longer
+than he ought to have been with a message, and when he got to the
+office Mr. Wiggins took him to task for it.
+
+"How is this, Casper?" said he. "You have been gone three-quarters of
+an hour longer than you ought to have been."
+
+"I went just as soon as I could," replied Casper, who was not above
+telling a lie. "The man wasn't at his place of business, and so I went
+to his home."
+
+"Then you are excusable. It seems strange that he should be at home at
+this hour."
+
+Casper did not say anything, but he was satisfied that he was well out
+of that scrape. He had not been to the man's home at all. He was
+trying the lock on Julian's door.
+
+Although he made two attempts without getting in, he succeeded on the
+third. The door came open for him, and after searching around the room
+in vain for the box, he looked into the closet.
+
+"Aha! I've got you at last!" said he, as he drew the clothing aside
+and laid hold of the object of his search. "Now I wish I had my money
+that is due me from the telegraph office. To-morrow would see me on my
+way toward Denver."
+
+Hurriedly locking the door, Casper made the best of his way down the
+stairs and to his room, and put the box into his trunk. Then he broke
+into another run and went to the office, where he arrived in time to
+avoid a second reprimand.
+
+"Oh, you feel mighty well now," said Casper, watching Julian, who was
+talking and laughing with some of the boys, "but I bet you you will
+feel different in a little while. Now who am I going to get to hide
+that box for me? None of the boys in here will do it, so I must go
+elsewhere."
+
+During the rest of the week Casper was as deeply interested in
+watching the persons who came there as Julian was. He did not
+advertise for Haberstro, because he did not want to give up the box.
+He was more than half inclined to go to Mr. Wiggins and tell him he
+was going to leave when his month was out, but some way or other he
+did not. Something compelled him to wait, and in three days more he
+found out what it was. He was in the office waiting for a message to
+deliver, when Julian came in with a bundle wrapped up in a newspaper
+under his arm. Casper was thunderstruck, for something told him that
+Julian had played the same game that he had. He had been to his room
+and got the box. His face grew as pale as death when he saw Mr.
+Wiggins follow Julian into the back room, and his first thought was to
+leave the office before he came out.
+
+"It is all up with me now," said he, rising to his feet and looking
+around for his cap, which, boy fashion, he had tossed somewhere, on
+entering the room. "He will tell Mr. Wiggins that I stole the box, and
+I will be discharged the first thing. I'll deny it," he added, growing
+desperate. "I haven't seen his box. He did not find it in my room, but
+got it somewhere else. I will make a fight on it as long as I can."
+
+So saying, Casper sat down to await Julian's return; but the boy came
+out alone, and the antics he went through drove Casper frantic.
+
+"I've got the box," said Julian, when Casper asked him what he meant
+by that pantomime.
+
+The guilty boy was given plenty of opportunity to "deny it all," but
+he gave it up in despair when he found that Julian was not to be
+frightened into giving up the box. The latter was perfectly willing
+that the police should come there, but if they did, he would tell all
+Casper had done. He might get Julian in a scrape, but he would get
+into a worse one himself. He was glad when Julian moved off to his
+chair and left him alone.
+
+"I guess it is the best way as it is," said Casper, getting upon his
+feet and looking out into the street. "If he sets the police onto
+me--good gracious, what should I do? So that plan has failed, and now
+the next thing is something else. I'll have that box, or die trying to
+get it."
+
+All that day, while he was in the office or carrying his telegraphic
+dispatches around the street, Casper thought of but one thing, and
+that was, how was he going to get that box again? He did not have much
+to say to anybody, and when six o'clock came he lost no time in
+getting home. He had evidently determined upon something, for he ate a
+very scanty supper, changed his clothes, and hurried out again. His
+changing his uniform for a citizen's suit was something that would
+have brought him his instant discharge if his company officers had
+found him in that fix. He could mingle with loafers about the
+pool-rooms, and no one could have told that he was any different from
+anybody else. He could drink his beer, too, and no one would suspect
+that he was going back on the pledge he made to the company. But,
+then, Casper was used to such things, and he thought nothing of it.
+More than that, he had an object to gain, and he had already picked
+out the person whom he hoped to induce to enter into a scheme to
+possess that box.
+
+"Claus is the fellow I am going to try," said he, as he hurried along
+toward a pool-room which he often frequented. "He is a German, he is
+well along in years, and I know he isn't above making a dime or two
+whenever he gets the chance. Now for it. It is make or break."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A MR. HABERSTRO APPEARS.
+
+
+As Casper Nevins uttered these words he turned into an entry, ran up a
+flight of stairs, and opened the door of the pool-room. The apartment
+was always crowded at night, and the players were mostly young men who
+ought by rights to have been somewhere else. One end of the room was
+occupied with pool-tables, and the other was taken up by billiards,
+which were in full blast. Casper gave out among the players that he
+was a broker's clerk, and the story seemed to satisfy the young men,
+who asked no further questions. There was no chance for him in a pool
+game, and consequently he did not look for it. He looked all around,
+and finally discovered his man Claus, who was sitting near one of the
+tables, watching the game.
+
+This man was one of the loafers about the pool-rooms. He always
+dressed very neatly, but he was never known to have any money. He was
+a German, and that fitted the name of the man to whom the box was
+addressed.
+
+"I am living on the interest of my debts," said he, when some one
+asked what his occupation was. "I never have any money. I don't need
+it. I can get along without it. You fellows have to work every day,
+while I do nothing but sit around the pool-room and wait for some one
+to challenge me for a game."
+
+"But you must make some money sometime, or else you couldn't play pool
+as often as you do."
+
+"Oh, as to that, I make a dollar or two when I find the right man who
+can play a little, and sometimes I make more. If I could get a chance
+to make a hundred thousand dollars I would take it in a minute. After
+that, I would not be obliged to work."
+
+These remarks were made in the presence of Casper Nevins, who
+remembered them. After he had stolen the box, and before Julian had
+got it back again, he thought it best to try him on a new tack.
+
+"Supposing you didn't get a hundred thousand dollars the first time
+trying," said he. "Would not fifty thousand do you?"
+
+"Well, I think I could live on that much. Fifty thousand would tempt
+me awfully. I wish I had a chance to try it."
+
+"There is Claus, and I am going to speak to him the first thing I do,"
+said Casper. "If there is anybody who can play the part of the missing
+Haberstro, he is the man."
+
+"Ah! Good-evening, Casper," he exclaimed, as the boy approached him.
+"How is the brokerage business to-day? Have you made any money?"
+
+"I don't make any. The boss does all that."
+
+"Well, why don't you pick up some money and go in yourself? You will
+never be a man in the world as long as you stay in the background. Do
+you want to see me? Here I am, and all ready for business. Is there
+any money in this thing you have to propose?"
+
+Claus, following Casper's lead, occupied an arm-chair in a remote
+corner of the room, away from everybody, and Casper sat down
+alongside of him. It was not any work for him to begin the
+conversation, for Claus "had given himself away" every time the
+subject of money was introduced.
+
+"Were you in earnest the other day when you said that if you had a
+chance to steal a hundred thousand dollars you would try it on?" said
+Casper. "I want you to deal fairly with me now. I want to know just
+how you feel about it."
+
+"My dear boy, I was never more in earnest in my life," said Claus
+emphatically. "Just give me a chance, and you will see whether or not
+I meant what I said."
+
+"Well, I have got a chance for you to make something," said Casper.
+
+"You have? Let her rip. I am all attention. But hold on a bit. Let us
+get a cigar. Have you any money?"
+
+"I have ten cents."
+
+"That is enough. Anything to keep our jaws puffing. I can listen a
+great deal better with a cigar than I can without it."
+
+The two arose from their seats and made a trip to the bar. They
+lighted their cigars, and Casper paid ten cents for them. It made no
+difference to Claus that Casper had paid out some of his hard earnings
+and wondered where his next morning's breakfast was coming from. As
+long as he got the cigar, it mattered little to him whether Casper had
+any more money or not.
+
+"Now I am all ready to listen," said Claus, seating himself in his
+arm-chair once more. "Be explicit; go into all the minutiae, so that I
+may know what I have to do."
+
+There was no need that Claus should tell Casper this, and for the next
+fifteen minutes Claus never said a word, but listened intently. He
+told about Julian's habit of going to the express office on the day
+that "old horse" was offered for sale, until finally he bought the
+secret of a gold-mine which was hidden away in a box that came near
+being sold for twenty-five cents. The box was addressed to S. W.
+Haberstro, and the boys had put four advertisements in the papers
+asking that man to show himself; and, if he did not show up in
+reasonable time, the money was to be theirs.
+
+"Here is a copy of the _Democrat_, with a copy of the advertisement in
+it," said Casper. "I knew you would want to know everything, and so I
+brought it along. A hundred thousand dollars! Now, why couldn't I have
+bid on that box? That little snipe does not get any more money than I
+do, and yet he had to go and buy himself rich."
+
+"Then it seems that you are not a broker's clerk after all," said
+Claus. "I don't know as I blame you."
+
+"You see I would get discharged if any of the company officers should
+find me dressed up in citizen's rig," said Casper. "I can go among the
+boys, now, and have a good time."
+
+"I don't know that I blame you," repeated Claus. "I will keep your
+secret. Well, go on. I begin to understand the matter now."
+
+"I tell you I was mad when I found out that they were going to
+advertise for old man Haberstro," said Casper. "I called them
+everything but decent boys, and went to work to conjure up some plan
+for getting the box for my own. I got it, too----"
+
+"You did? Then you are all right."
+
+"Not so near right as you think I am. Julian got some keys that would
+fit my door, and went in and stole it."
+
+"Whew! They are a desperate lot; ain't they?"
+
+"That is just what they did; and, furthermore, Julian gave the box
+into the hands of Mr. Wiggins, our chief telegraph operator. Now, I
+want you to come down there, pass yourself off for Haberstro, and
+claim that box. Can you do it?"
+
+Mr. Claus did not answer immediately. He stretched his legs out before
+him and slid down in his chair until his head rested on the back of
+it. He was thinking over the details of the plan. Casper did not
+interrupt him, but waited to see what he was going to say about it.
+
+"And you are willing to give me half the contents of that box if I
+will get it for you?" said he. "You have given me the hardest part of
+the work. Where do you suppose that man Wiggins keeps the box?"
+
+"In the bank, of course. He's pretty sharp, and you must look out for
+that. If we can get that box, I won't go near the mine. I am not going
+to handle a pick and shovel when I have fifty thousand dollars to fall
+back upon. I am not going to work every day when I am afraid that
+something will come up and scare me to death. I will take half the
+block of buildings described there, and you can take the other half.
+That is fair, isn't it?"
+
+"Yes, it is fair enough, but I am afraid of that man Wiggins. What
+sort of a looking man is he?"
+
+"The worst part about him is his eyes. They are steel-gray, and when
+he turns them on a culprit in the office you would think he was going
+to look him through. You will have to be pretty sharp to get around
+him."
+
+"Well, suppose I go and see Julian first. If I can get around him,
+that will be so much gained."
+
+This was the beginning of a long conversation between Casper and
+Claus, and when it was done the latter felt greatly encouraged, and
+told himself that he was nearer getting the box for his own than he
+ever was before. Casper told him everything he could think of that
+related to the matter, and when Claus got up, removed his hat and
+wiped his face with his handkerchief, Casper said that if he would
+just act that way in the presence of Mr. Wiggins, he would carry the
+day.
+
+"You act more like a German than I ever saw you act before," said he.
+"If you will just do that way to-morrow, I will answer for your
+success."
+
+"I can act the German all over, if that is what he wants," said Claus,
+with a laugh. "You haven't got another ten cents, have you? Well, let
+it go. I will go home and sleep upon it."
+
+"But look here," said Casper, earnestly. "If you come to that
+telegraph office you must not know me. You never saw me before."
+
+"Of course not. I won't give you away. That money is worth trying for.
+What is the reason that you and I have not some good friends to leave
+us that amount of money?"
+
+"Because we are not honest enough," said Casper, bitterly.
+
+"Honesty has nothing to do with it. We ain't sharp; that is what's the
+matter with us. Well, good-night. I will go and see Julian
+to-morrow night, and the next day I may be down to the telegraph
+office. I want to go easy, because I don't want to spoil the thing by
+being too brash."
+
+As it was already late, Casper did not attempt to enter any game that
+night. He went home and tumbled into bed, and for a long time he lay
+thinking over what he had said to Claus. There was another thing that
+came into his mind every once in a while, and that was, where was his
+breakfast to come from?
+
+"I was not going to get any cigars to-night, because ten cents was all
+I had left," said Casper. "But I could not well refuse Claus. No
+matter. If he succeeds in getting that box, I will have all the cigars
+I want."
+
+The next morning Casper went to the office without any breakfast; but
+the first message he had to carry took him to a saloon where they set
+a free-lunch table. There he took the edge off his appetite and ate
+enough to last him until supper-time, when he was to get his pay.
+Julian was there, looking as happy as ever. Casper did not blame him
+for that. If he had a box with that amount of money in it, he would be
+happy, too.
+
+"By George! It is six o'clock," said Casper, at length. "In two hours
+more I will know what Julian says to Claus. Till then, I must have
+patience."
+
+Casper received his money when the others did, and without saying a
+word to anybody set out for home. Julian was not in quite so big a
+hurry. He walked along with his hands in his pockets, and once, when
+passing by a baker's shop, he went in and bought some cakes with which
+to top off their supper. Jack Sheldon always reached home before he
+did, and Julian found him in his usual act of getting supper. In reply
+to his ordinary greetings, he answered that there had been nothing
+unusual going on in the telegraph office, and that no man who said his
+name was Haberstro had been there to see about the advertisement that
+had appeared in the papers.
+
+"I tell you, Jack, that fortune in the box is ours," said Julian.
+"That man has had ample time to show up, and it won't be long before
+we will be on our way to Denver."
+
+"Don't be too sure of that," said Jack. "Haberstro may be off on a
+vacation somewhere. I shall believe we are in Denver when we get
+there, and not before."
+
+Almost as Jack said the words there was a sound of somebody coming up
+the stairs. He stopped in front of the door, and called out to
+somebody he left below,
+
+"Does Mr. Julian Gray live here? Thank you;" and a moment afterward
+his rap sounded upon the door.
+
+"What did I tell you?" whispered Jack. "That's Haberstro, as sure as
+you live."
+
+For an honest boy, Julian's heart fell. His fortune was gone, and
+there were no two ways about it. He stepped to the door and opened it,
+and there stood Claus, more neatly dressed than ever.
+
+"Good-evening," said he, while his eyes roved from one boy to the
+other. "Which one of you is Julian Gray?"
+
+"I am, sir."
+
+"I am delighted to meet you," said he; and he thrust out his hand,
+into which Julian put his own. Then he put his hand into his pocket
+and pulled out a card on which the name S. W. Haberstro was engraved.
+"I got belated in my hotel while waiting for the train, and I picked
+up this paper and saw this advertisement in it. As it happened to be
+my name, I read it through."
+
+"Come in, sir," said Jack, placing a chair for him. "It is one of four
+advertisements that we put into the daily papers. Your name is
+Haberstro, I believe?"
+
+"That is my name. You said you had something of great value to tell
+me. What is it?"
+
+Julian could not have opened his mouth to save him. He was obliged to
+let Jack do all the talking.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A PLAN THAT DIDN'T WORK.
+
+
+Julian Gray took his stand in one corner of the room, with his hands
+in his pockets and his feet spread out, and looked at this man who
+called himself Haberstro. He was a German, there were no two ways
+about that; and he had a habit of taking out his handkerchief and
+wiping his face with it that nobody but a pompous and well-to-do
+German ever imitated.
+
+"Do you know of a man of the name of Winkleman?" asked Jack.
+
+"Know him?" exclaimed the German. "Of course I do. He was living here
+in St. Louis with me, but all on a sudden he took the gold fever and
+went out to Denver. I was engaged in pretty good business, and so I
+did not go with him. I never heard what he was doing out there. He--he
+isn't dead, is he?"
+
+"Oh, no. He accumulated some property while he was out there. He got a
+notice that his father had died in Europe and left all his property to
+him, and he has gone home to take possession of it."
+
+"Then that accounts for his not writing to me. He always said that his
+folks were immensely rich, and that some day he would have more than
+he wanted. What property did he collect out there?"
+
+"He is worth several buildings which are worth a hundred thousand
+dollars. Furthermore, he has given them to you."
+
+"To me?" cried the German, rising to his feet.
+
+"Yes, to you. And, more than that, he has a mine out of which he took
+fifty thousand dollars, and you come into possession of that, also."
+
+"Lord bless my soul!" exclaimed the German. "I don't remember that I
+ever did anything to him to give him so good an opinion of me."
+
+"Did you not nurse him while he was sick?"
+
+"Did you not care for your mother when she was sick?" returned the
+German. "Of course that did not amount to anything. He was my chum,
+and I had to stand by him."
+
+"Well, he gave you the property for it, anyway. He sent you the deeds
+by express, and Julian bought them for thirty cents."
+
+"Well, sir, that is a heap of money. I don't know anybody that needs
+it more than I do. Where is the box now?"
+
+"It is safe in the hands of Mr. Wiggins. We were not going to have
+somebody come along here and claim to be Haberstro. Have you anybody
+here in St. Louis to whom you can recommend us? We want to know who
+you are before we give up the box."
+
+"That is perfectly right and proper. You see, my home is in Chicago,
+and I know but few persons here. If you think this Mr----what do you
+call him?"
+
+"Wiggins?" said Jack.
+
+"Yes; if you think he will want somebody to vouch for me, I can give
+him the names of all the Germans in the city. Where does he hang
+out?"
+
+"The Union Telegraph office. You know where that is?"
+
+"I can easily find it, for I have a tongue in my head. I don't believe
+I will go near that mine at all. I will sell it."
+
+"You had better not. The miners have a story around that it is
+haunted."
+
+The German threw back his head and laughed heartily.
+
+"I am not afraid of that. If he took fifty thousand dollars out of it,
+it is surely worth as much more. Well, if you have told me everything,
+I guess I had better go back to my hotel. I was going back to my home
+to-night, but now I am glad I did not go."
+
+"I guess we have told you everything that pertains to the matter,"
+said Jack. "Do you think of any questions you would like to ask us?"
+
+"No; but I may think of some to-morrow. Good-night."
+
+"By the way," said Jack, as if he had just thought of something.
+"Where were you when this man Winkleman was sick? You were out in the
+mines, I suppose?"
+
+"Oh, no, we were not; we were here in St. Louis. If we had been out at
+the mines, where no doctor could have been reached, he would have gone
+up on my hands. Look here--I don't want you to do this for nothing.
+Make up your minds what you ought to have and I will give it to you.
+If it had not been for you I would never have seen the box.
+Good-night."
+
+The German bowed himself out and closed the door behind him. The boys
+waited until he got to the street, and then Julian took possession of
+the chair he had just vacated.
+
+"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" asked Jack, using companion's
+expression.
+
+"I think our fortune is gone up," answered Julian; and then he leaned
+his elbows on his knees and looked down at the floor.
+
+Jack laughed as loudly as the German did a few moments before. Julian
+straightened up and looked at him in surprise.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" he exclaimed. "Is a hundred thousand
+dollars such a sum in your eyes that you can afford to be merry over
+it?"
+
+"No; but you will never lose it through that man. His name is not
+Haberstro any more than mine is."
+
+"Jack, what do you mean?"
+
+"You were so busy with your own thoughts that you didn't see how I was
+pumping him, did you? In the first place he told us that Winkleman was
+sick in St. Louis; and yet Winkleman says in his letter that they were
+so poor that they could not raise enough to buy a halter for a mule.
+Now, he would not have used such an expression as that if he had been
+here in the city, would he?"
+
+"No, I don't think he would," said Julian, reflectively. "He used the
+words of the country in which he lived."
+
+"That is what I think. In the next place, he said that he was engaged
+in a paying business here, and consequently did not go with Winkleman
+to the mines; and then, almost in the same breath, he said he could
+not refer me to anybody here because his home was in Chicago. You
+didn't see those little errors, did you?"
+
+Julian began to brighten up. He remembered all the German had said to
+Jack, but somehow he did not think of it. The box was not lost, after
+all.
+
+"Now, he must have had somebody to post him in regard to these
+matters," said Jack. "Who do you think it was?"
+
+"Casper Nevins!" said Julian, who just then happened to think of the
+boy's name.
+
+"That is what I think. He is bound to have that box, is he not? Don't
+you give that box up; do you hear me?"
+
+"I am mighty sure I won't give it up," said Julian, emphatically. "I
+shan't give it up until you are on hand. I had better take Mr. Wiggins
+into my confidence to-morrow."
+
+"Of course. Tell him the whole thing. Tell him about the mistakes this
+man made in his conversation with me, and let him draw his own
+conclusions. I never saw such a desperate fellow as that Casper Nevins
+is. Now let us go on and get supper."
+
+"I feel a good deal better than I did a few minutes ago," said Julian,
+with something like a long-drawn sigh of relief. "I thought the box
+was lost to us, sure."
+
+The boys were impatient to have to-morrow come because they wanted to
+see what the German--they did not know what his true name was--was
+going to do about it.
+
+"I will tell you one thing, Jack," said Julian. "If that Dutchman goes
+to-morrow and sees Mr. Wiggins about it, he will get a look that will
+last him as long as he lives. I ought to know, for I have had those
+eyes turned on me two or three times. If that man stands against them
+I shall think he is a nervy fellow."
+
+The night wore away at last, and at the usual hour the boys were at
+their posts. Casper was in the office, and he seemed to be uneasy
+about something. He could not sit still. He was continually getting up
+and going to the door, and then he would come back and walk around the
+room. When Mr. Wiggins came in and wished them all a good-morning,
+Julian followed him into the back room.
+
+"Julian, have you some news about that box?" said he.
+
+"Yes, sir; there was a man up to our room and handed us this card, and
+I thought----"
+
+"Halloo," said Mr. Wiggins. "The box does not belong to you, after
+all."
+
+"Hold on until I get through explaining things," said Julian.
+
+With this Julian began, and told him of the conversation that had
+taken place between Jack and the German, not omitting the smallest
+thing. Mr. Wiggins listened intently, and when the story was done he
+said,
+
+"Somebody has been posting that man in regard to that box. Now, who
+have you told about it except Jack Sheldon?"
+
+"I don't know as that has anything to do with it," said Julian, who
+resolved that he would stand by Casper as long as he could.
+
+"Yes, it has; it has a good deal to do with it. Does Casper Nevins
+know all about it?"
+
+"What do you know about Casper?" said Julian in surprise. He wondered
+if there was any boy in the office who could do anything wrong without
+Mr. Wiggins finding it out.
+
+"Because he has been uneasy for the past week. Does Casper know all
+about it?"
+
+"Yes, sir, he does. He was there when we read the letter."
+
+"That is all. I will see you again after a while."
+
+Julian went out and sat down, and in a few minutes Mr. Wiggins came
+from the back room and spoke to the operator, who immediately sent off
+a dispatch. Nobody was called to carry this, for the message went
+straight to the office for which it was intended. Five minutes passed,
+and then a stout man, who was a stranger to all of them, strolled into
+the office. One of the boys got up to wait upon him, pushing some
+blanks toward him, but the stout man did not want to send any
+telegraphic dispatches.
+
+"I just want to look around and see how you do things here," said he.
+
+"Then take this chair, sir," said Mr. Wiggins. "I guess you will find
+that we do things about right."
+
+The minutes passed, and all the boys who had congregated in the office
+had been sent off with messages--all except Casper. There did not seem
+to be any dispatches for him. The chief operator was busy at his desk,
+when suddenly the door opened, and the same German who had called at
+Julian's room the night before, came in. Mr. Wiggins glanced toward
+him and then he looked toward Casper. The latter never could control
+himself when he was in difficulty, and his face grew white.
+
+"Is this the Western Union Telegraph office?" said the German, wiping
+his forehead with his handkerchief. "Do I speak to Mr. Wiggins? Well,
+sir, I would like to see you about a box that one of your boys bought
+at a sale of 'old horse' in the express office. That box contains
+something that is off immense value to me--S. W. Haberstro." And he
+handed out his card with his name engraved on it.
+
+"There is a box here addressed to a man of that name," said Mr.
+Wiggins, "but it is in the bank now. I suppose you have plenty of
+friends here to whom you can refer?"
+
+"I am sorry to say that I have not," replied the German. "My home is
+in Chicago. I can refer you to all the Germans there."
+
+"Then, would it not be worth while for you to write to some of your
+friends there and get some letters of recommendation? You see, we
+don't want to give the box to anybody unless we know who it is."
+
+"That is all right, sir. I have some business on hand in Chicago, and
+I will go up there and get them."
+
+"That will be sufficient. Good-day, sir."
+
+The German, who appeared to be in a great hurry, closed the door and
+hastened up the street. As soon as he was gone, Mr. Wiggins beckoned
+to Casper and went into the back room.
+
+"Who was that man who just went out?" said he, in a tone of voice
+which did not admit of argument. "Tell me the truth."
+
+"His name is Claus, sir," said Casper.
+
+"Where does he stay, principally?"
+
+"He stays first in one pool-room, and then in another. Where he lives
+I don't know."
+
+"That will do," said Mr. Wiggins.
+
+"I never have been guilty of such a thing before," began Casper.
+
+"I said that would do," interrupted Mr. Wiggins. "I may see you again
+after a while."
+
+When Mr. Wiggins and Casper got out into the other room they found
+that the stout man had disappeared. He had gone out about the time
+that the German disappeared. In half an hour he came back, leaned over
+the desk, and spoke to the chief operator.
+
+"That fellow is no more Haberstro than I am," he whispered. "His name
+is Solomon Claus. We have had him up a time or two for vagrancy, and
+I'll take him up for the same cause, if you say so."
+
+"No; let him go, but keep your eyes on him. He has not done us any
+harm yet. If he comes here again I will send for you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+CLAUS CALLS AGAIN.
+
+
+When the stout man reached the sidewalk he saw the German a short
+distance in advance of him, still hurrying along as though he had no
+time to waste. He turned several corners, and at last disappeared up
+the stairs that led to the pool-room. The detective, for that was what
+he was, did not seem to notice what had become of the German, but he
+marked the place where he had gone up and kept on to the
+station-house. There he changed his coat and hat, and picked up a huge
+walking-stick which stood in one corner. When he came out on the
+streets again, everybody noticed that he walked with difficulty, and
+there was an expression on his face which only those who were intimate
+with the detective would have thought belonged to him. It was very
+different from his ordinary appearance. Instead of the frank, open
+look with which he regarded everybody, it was drawn up as though he
+was suffering intense pain, from which he could not get a moment's
+relief.
+
+The detective speedily found the place where the German had
+disappeared, walked wearily up the stairs, opened the door, and sank
+into the nearest chair. Then he pulled a pair of eye-glasses from his
+pocket and became interested in a paper. But he used his eyes to some
+advantage, and quickly discovered the man he wanted seated off by
+himself, with his legs outstretched before him and his chin resting on
+his breast.
+
+"I guess he found some difficulty in getting that box," said the
+detective, who knew what Mr. Wiggins wanted of him before he came to
+the office. "You want to go easy, my friend, or I'll have you up for
+vagrancy again."
+
+There were not so many in the pool-room as there were the night
+before, and nobody seemed to bother the German; but presently, while
+he was thinking about it, another party came in. He took off his coat,
+seized a cue, and looked all around the room for an antagonist, until
+he discovered the German sitting there doing nothing.
+
+"Halloo, Claus!" he shouted, "come on, and let us have a game of
+billiards."
+
+"No, you must excuse me," was the reply; "I don't feel in the humor
+for billiards or anything else."
+
+"Have you anybody on a string that you are trying to make some money
+out of?" asked his friend. "Come on, and perhaps a game will brighten
+you up."
+
+"'Claus,'" muttered the detective. "I know you now. I was told to find
+out what his name was, so I will go back. So this is where you hang
+out. I will remember you."
+
+The detective hobbled out the door and down the stairs; but by the
+time he got down to the street his lameness had all disappeared, and
+he walked as briskly as anybody. He went to the Western Union
+Telegraph office, told Mr. Wiggins he had discovered that the man's
+name was Claus, and not Haberstro, and then went back to the station.
+Casper Nevins was called into the back room a moment afterward, but
+he was not there more than long enough to receive his discharge.
+
+"I have never done anything like this before," said Casper, trying to
+beg off. "If you will overlook this----"
+
+"I can't do it," said Mr. Wiggins. "You are a boy that I can't trust.
+Why, Casper, do you know what will become of you if you do not mend
+your ways? You will get into the State's prison before you are five
+years older. I paid you up yesterday, and you have not done anything
+to-day, and so you can go."
+
+"It would not be of any use for me to ask for a letter of
+recommendation, would it?" asked Casper. He always had a good deal of
+audacity about him, but this made Mr. Wiggins open his eyes in
+surprise.
+
+"Not from me, you can't," he answered. "You will have to go somewhere
+else to get it."
+
+Casper put on his cap and left the office, and on the way to the
+pool-room, where he expected to find Claus, he blamed everybody but
+himself for the disgrace he had got into. He blamed Claus, although
+it is hard to see what that man had done, for he worked as hard as
+anybody could to get that box; but he reproached Julian Gray more than
+all for his interference in the matter.
+
+"Come to think of it, I don't know but I am to blame a little myself,"
+said he, after he had thought the affair all over. "Why did I not dig
+out the moment I got that box? I would have been in Denver by this
+time, and enjoying my wealth. It beats the world what luck some people
+do have."
+
+But Claus was not in the pool-room. He wanted to be alone, so that he
+could think over the matter, and he had gone out where he would be by
+himself. The barkeeper did not know where he had gone, and Casper went
+home to change his clothes. As he pulled his uniform off he told
+himself that it would be a long time before he ever wore it again.
+Then he threw himself into a chair and tried to determine what he
+should do next.
+
+"I have just ten dollars," he mused, taking the bill from his pocket,
+"and what I shall do when that is gone is another and a deeper
+question. I'll bet that Claus don't get any cigars out of me
+to-night."
+
+Meanwhile Julian Gray came in from delivering his message. His face
+was flushed, and he acted as though he had been running. He made his
+report, and then went into the back room in obedience to a sign from
+Mr. Wiggins.
+
+"Well, Julian, your box is still safe," said the latter.
+
+"Has that Dutchman been around here?" asked Julian.
+
+Mr. Wiggins said he had, and then went on to give the boy a complete
+history of what Claus had done to secure the box.
+
+"I got rid of him very easily," said Mr. Wiggins. "I told him that it
+would be well for him to write to some German friends in Chicago,
+where he said he lived, and he said he was going up there on business
+and would bring the letters back with him. I found out that his name
+is Claus, and that he hangs out in a pool-room. You don't know him, do
+you?"
+
+No, Julian could not say that he had ever heard of him before.
+
+"Well, don't you let the box go without seeing me about it."
+
+"Nobody shall have it. Mr. Wiggins, I don't know how to thank you for
+what you have done."
+
+"You are a good boy, Julian, and the only thing I have against you is
+that you will hang around that express office so much. Some day I am
+going to give you a good scolding for that."
+
+"You will never hear of my being there again. I am done going there
+forever."
+
+"I don't think you will have to do it any more. You have your fortune,
+easy enough."
+
+"Oh, Mr. Wiggins! Do you think it is ours sure enough?"
+
+"Well, perhaps I ought not to speak so positively; it is hard to tell
+at this stage of the game. I _hope_ you have."
+
+Julian was delighted to hear Mr. Wiggins talk in this way, but before
+he could ask him any more questions that gentleman had gone back into
+the office. He then went out and looked around for Casper. One of the
+boys told him he believed Casper had got the "sack," for he put on his
+cap and left the office.
+
+"I don't know what he has been doing," said the boy; "do you?"
+
+"Mr. Wiggins knows, and he will not tell," replied Julian. "I wonder
+what the poor fellow will do now?"
+
+Julian was impatient for night to come, so that he could go home and
+see Jack about it. It came at last, and Julian never broke a trot
+until he ran up the stairs and burst into his room.
+
+"Well?" said Jack. "You look happy. Tell us all about that Dutchman."
+
+"There is not much to tell. His name is Claus, and he lives in a
+pool-room."
+
+"I knew I was not mistaken in him," said Jack, taking his usual seat
+by throwing his leg over the table. "That man had better go somewhere
+else."
+
+But that he did not feel inclined to go somewhere else just then was
+evident, for just as Jack pronounced his name the boys heard his step
+coming up the stairs. He had a peculiar step, which, once heard, could
+not be forgotten.
+
+"Well, he is coming again," said Julian. "Now, what are you going to
+say to him?"
+
+"That depends upon what he has to say to me," said Jack. "Go to the
+door, let him in, and put out a chair for him."
+
+He rapped on the door the minute he got there, and Julian opened it
+for him. He looked closely from one to the other of the boys, but did
+not see anything in their faces to make him hide what he had on his
+mind. He had a new plan, but it did not promise as well as the one
+which had been defeated by Mr. Wiggins. He wanted to induce one of
+them to get the box for him and let him read the papers that were in
+it. If he could prevail upon them to bring the box out of the bank, he
+was certain that in some way he could get an opportunity to steal it.
+He did not intend to go about it slyly; he intended to take it, open
+and above-board, and let Jack and Julian help themselves if they
+could. He was certain that a revolver, presented at their heads and
+cocked, would surely keep them quiet until he had locked the door and
+got into the street. Where he would go after that he neither knew nor
+cared. What he wanted was to get possession of the box.
+
+"Ah! Good-evening," said Claus, bowing very politely. "I came back to
+see you about that box."
+
+"Take a chair," said Jack. "What about the box?"
+
+"Mr. Wiggins said it was in the bank," said Claus, "and I want to know
+if you could get it out of there and let me read the letter and the
+papers. You see, the thing may not be for me, and I don't want to go
+home and bother my friends about it until I know what the box
+contains."
+
+"Oh! your friends won't care anything about that," said Jack. "You
+tell them that the box is for you, and they will give you all the
+letters you want. Besides, I don't think Mr. Wiggins would agree to
+what you ask."
+
+The German did not like the way Julian was acting. He had kept his
+eyes roaming from one to the other; but, although the boy occupied
+his favorite position, with his hands buried in his pockets and his
+feet spread out, his expression was different from what it had been
+the night before. There was a smile on his face, and it would not have
+taken very much to set him to laughing outright. Claus began to think
+there was something up.
+
+"Why, the box is your own, ain't it?" asked Claus. "You can do what
+you please with it."
+
+"Not now, we can't. We have told Mr. Wiggins that we wanted him to
+watch over it for us, and he will have to be present when you read the
+papers."
+
+"Then you can't get it for me?"
+
+"No, I don't believe I could, Mr. Claus. You don't need anybody to
+give you a recommend. Go to some of your friends here----"
+
+"Claus! Claus! That is not my name. My name is Haberstro."
+
+Julian grinned broadly, and even Jack did not appear to be above
+merriment.
+
+"What do you mean by applying that name to me?" exclaimed Claus.
+"There is my card."
+
+"I don't want to see it. I have one already. Your name is Claus, you
+live in a billiard saloon, and you got a full history of this box from
+Casper Nevins."
+
+"Young man, I will have you arrested before you are an hour older!"
+said Claus, getting upon his feet. "I come here and ask a civil
+question of you, and you insult me!"
+
+"Do so, and we will have Casper arrested for burglary and you for
+trying to obtain money under false pretenses. The sooner you get about
+it the better it will suit us."
+
+"Very well--I will have a policeman here in less than ten minutes!"
+
+Mr. Claus went out, and this time he did not bow himself through the
+door as he had done the night before. The boys heard him going
+downstairs, and then turned and looked at each other.
+
+"Somebody has been posting those fellows," said Claus, as he hurried
+away toward Casper's room. "I wonder if there was a detective in there
+while I was at the office? Two attempts have failed, but the third is
+always successful."
+
+Claus was almost beside himself with fury, but he retained his wits
+sufficiently to guide him on the road to Casper's room. He found the
+boy in, seated in a chair, with his elbows on his knees, trying his
+best to make up his mind what he was going to do, now that he had been
+discharged from the telegraph office. He had sat that way ever since
+eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and had not been able to determine
+upon anything. The first intimation he had that anybody was coming was
+when the door was thrown open and Claus came in, muttering something
+under his breath that sounded a good deal like oaths.
+
+"There is no need that you should say anything," said Casper. "You
+have failed."
+
+"Yes, sir, I have; failed utterly and plump," said Claus.
+
+"And I have been discharged."
+
+"Whew!" whistled Claus. "You are in a fix, aren't you?"
+
+"Yes, and I don't know what I shall do now. Tell me your story, and I
+will tell you mine."
+
+"Have you a cigar handy?"
+
+"No; and I have no money."
+
+"How long before you will be paid?"
+
+"Oh, it will be two weeks yet."
+
+"Then I will have to go down and get some cigars myself. I can think
+more clearly while my jaws are puffing than I can without."
+
+"You got your last cigar out of me, old fellow," said Casper to
+himself, when Claus had left the room. "I have but little money, and I
+am going to keep it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE MASTER MECHANIC.
+
+
+"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" said Julian, when he was
+certain that Claus had gone down the stairs and out on the street. "He
+had better try some other way of getting that box."
+
+"He has failed," said Jack, putting a frying-pan filled with bacon on
+the stove. "Casper Nevins is at the bottom of that. I tell you, that
+money is safe yet."
+
+"Do you know that I looked upon it as gone when he first came here and
+handed out his card?" said Julian. "I thought he was Haberstro, sure
+enough."
+
+"I confess that I thought so, too. Now let us go on and get supper.
+The next time we save that money, somebody else will have a hand in
+it."
+
+"Why, will we have to fight for it?"
+
+"It looks that way to me now. We don't know anything about business,
+and the first thing we know we'll get tripped up."
+
+"I did not think of that," said Julian, drawing a long breath. "I wish
+Mr. Wiggins were going out to Denver with us. I will get advice from
+him before we start."
+
+"We have not got out there yet," said Jack, with a laugh. "If we do
+get there, we will go to the lawyer who drew up those deeds. He must
+be an honest man."
+
+The boys continued to talk in this way until the room was swept up and
+the dishes washed, and when bedtime came they went to sleep. The next
+morning found them on duty again. Casper was not there to greet him
+and make inquiries concerning the box, but there were other boys there
+who wanted to know why Casper had been discharged. They appealed to
+Julian, for he was in the back room shortly before; but he thought the
+best thing he could do was to keep a still tongue in his head.
+
+"Mr. Wiggins knows why he discharged Casper, and if he won't tell you,
+I don't know where else you can apply."
+
+"You had a hand in it and I know it," said one boy who was enough like
+Casper to have been his brother. "Maybe you are a spy on us."
+
+"You come out in the back yard and I'll show you who is a spy!" said
+Julian, rising to his feet. "No one ever accused me of that before. If
+I am a spy, you want to do your duty right up to the handle."
+
+This was something new on Julian, for we know how hard he worked to
+keep the police off from Casper's track. Some of the other boys turned
+away as if they were quite willing to believe that Julian was seeking
+for promotion, while some others stood up close to him, as if to
+assure him of their protection.
+
+"If you will stay by me when Mr. Wiggins comes here, I will ask him
+before you if I had anything to do with Casper's discharge. He will
+tell you the truth."
+
+But the boys wisely appealed to him not to do that. Since Casper had
+been discharged, they wanted their skirts clear of him, and the best
+way to do that would be to say nothing about it.
+
+"But, Julian, you want to keep clear of that fellow who called you a
+spy," said one of the boys. "He has been jealous of you for a long
+time, in fact ever since the day you came into the office, and just as
+soon as he gets a good chance he is going to split on you."
+
+"Thank you; I did not suppose I had an enemy in this city. Let him
+keep watch, if he wants to. My conduct will bear investigation."
+
+Julian did not do his work with his usual energy that day, for he
+could not bear to think that one boy was acting as a spy upon him. He
+carried his dispatches as well as he could, never stopping to gaze in
+at the prize windows or to make one of a crowd who gathered around
+some show that had stopped for a moment on a corner, and that was as
+well as anybody could do. Jack laughed loudly when he saw what a
+gloomy face Julian had on when he told him of the matter.
+
+"What do you care for spies?" said Jack. "Do your duty faithfully, and
+then you will be all right. In our place we don't have any such
+things. The boys are always glad to see me promoted, for they think
+they have a new mechanic to assist them when they get into trouble."
+
+For another month things moved along in their usual way, and nothing
+was heard from Mr. Haberstro. Julian did not meet Casper or Claus, for
+they had disappeared completely. He held frequent and earnest
+consultations with Mr. Wiggins on the subject of the box, put other
+advertisements in the papers, and finally Mr. Wiggins took Julian down
+to the bank and talked to the president. It excited Julian wonderfully
+to know that the box was theirs.
+
+"I should not wait any longer, if I were in your place," said the
+president. "You have done all that you can to find the owner, and he
+does not make his appearance. You can go out there and lay claim to
+the property, and enjoy it; and if at any time this Mr. Haberstro
+turns up, you can give the property over to him. But I want you to be
+careful in what you are doing. There are plenty of Haberstros in the
+world who would like nothing better than to get that box."
+
+"By George, Jack," said Julian, when he went home that night, "did I
+not tell you that that box was ours? I have talked with the president
+of the bank about it, and he says we can go out there and enjoy that
+property."
+
+Jack took his usual seat, with his leg thrown over the table, and
+looked at Julian without speaking. He had never laid great stress on
+having that box. He supposed that Haberstro would show himself in due
+time, and all they would have to do would be to give up the money and
+go on with their work. His good fortune was a little too much for him
+to take in all at once. A dollar a day was pretty big wages for him,
+and he supposed that it would last till he learned his trade, and that
+then he would receive more money. But a hundred thousand dollars, to
+say nothing of the gold-mine! Why, that mine had already yielded its
+owner fifty thousand dollars!
+
+"Jack, why don't you say something?" exclaimed Julian. "You don't act
+as though you were a bit pleased. I wish, now, that I had been a mile
+away when that box was put up for sale."
+
+Jack roared. He was always ready to laugh when Julian talked in this
+way.
+
+"I am very glad you _were_ there when it was sold," said he; "but the
+idea of owning so much money rather takes my breath away. I was just
+wondering what we would do if some more Haberstros came up and
+demanded the money. I suppose there are some men like that in Denver,
+as well as there are here."
+
+"The president cautioned me about that. He told me to be careful in
+what we did. Now, Jack, when will we start?"
+
+"I don't know. I shall have to see the master mechanic about that. You
+know that I am as deeply indebted to him as you are to Mr. Wiggins."
+
+"Does he know about the box?"
+
+"Not a thing. I thought I had better see you about that before I
+broached the subject to him."
+
+"Well, then, tell it to him to-morrow. We don't want to be any longer
+in getting out there than we can help. We want to be there before the
+snow flies, or the first thing we know we'll be snowed up."
+
+"Are you going to see Mr. Wiggins about it?"
+
+"I am. Let us go out to Denver at once."
+
+"I tell you it comes hard to say good-bye to those fellows; I have
+been with them so long that I hate to do it. If I get in trouble in
+any way, they will always help me out."
+
+The next day Julian talked to Mr. Wiggins about going out to Denver,
+and the latter's face grew grave at once. He could not bear to let
+Julian go out there among strangers. He had always had him under his
+eye, was waiting for a chance to promote him, and now he was going
+away.
+
+"I will go down and get the box," said he. "And remember one thing,
+Julian: You may get into a hard row of stumps out there, and I want
+you to write to me fully and plainly of what you are doing. If you
+want some money, say so; and if you want to come back here in the
+office, say that also, and I will try and make room for you."
+
+Julian's eyes filled with tears when he saw Mr. Wiggins go out on the
+street and turn toward the bank. He found, with Jack, that it was
+going to be hard work to say good-bye. When he went out into the other
+room, the boys noticed at once that he had been crying.
+
+"Aha!" said the boy who had once accused him of being a spy, "you have
+come up with a round turn, have you?"
+
+"Yes," said Julian, "I've got it at last."
+
+"It serves you right!" said the boy. "If Wiggins gave it to you in
+pretty good order I shall be satisfied. You know now how Casper felt
+when he was discharged."
+
+"Are you discharged, Julian?" whispered another of the boys.
+
+"I guess I have got something like it," was the reply; "you won't see
+me here to-morrow."
+
+Julian walked to the window and looked out on the street, and in a few
+minutes Mr. Wiggins came up with the box. The boy followed him into
+the back room, all the boys, of whom there were half a dozen in the
+office, looking on with surprise. Mr. Wiggins's face was grave, but
+he was not angry, and they did not know what to make of it.
+
+"I think I would do this up and send it by express--wouldn't you?"
+said he. "If this is put in your trunk, and the cars run off the track
+and get smashed, your trunk might get smashed, too, and the box with
+it. Before I put the cover on I will write a letter to our agent in
+Denver. I have never seen him, but that won't matter; and then, if you
+want any good advice, go to him. Come in in the course of half an
+hour--"
+
+"No, sir!" said Julian, emphatically; "I am going to do my duty as
+long as I stay in the office."
+
+"Well, go ahead; I will give you the box, sealed and addressed to
+yourself, to-night."
+
+Julian went out and took his seat among the boys, and about half of
+them felt a little bit sorry for him, but the other half did not. Here
+was one favorite out of the way, and consequently there was a chance
+for somebody else. Presently his name was called, and then Julian went
+away to deliver his dispatch.
+
+When six o'clock came, Julian went into the back room and received the
+package.
+
+"You will be around here before you go?" said Mr. Wiggins, extending
+his hand. "Then I won't bid you good-bye. Take this box to the express
+office and send it off. Have you any money?"
+
+Yes, Julian had plenty of money. Did Mr. Wiggins suppose that he was
+going to spend all his month's wages in two days? He took the box and
+went out, and took his way toward the express office, wondering what
+the clerk would say if he knew what was in that package. The clerk
+turned out to be the same one who had given him the box, but he said
+nothing about it; and when Julian had paid the express charges on it
+he came out and started for home. As he was going up the stairs he
+heard the sound of voices in the room, and opened the door to find a
+man there, dressed in his best, and with a very smiling face, which he
+turned toward Julian.
+
+"So this is the boy who bought himself rich," said he, getting on his
+feet "I know you from the description I have received of your
+uniform. I congratulate you heartily, but I am sorry you are going to
+take Jack away from me. When you are awful home-sick, and are short of
+money, you can write to me, and I will send you something to come home
+on."
+
+"This is Mr. Dawson, our master mechanic," said Jack.
+
+"I am glad to meet you, Mr. Dawson," said Julian, shaking the man's
+hand very cordially. "Jack often found fault with me for going to that
+office, but I struck it once,--didn't I?"
+
+"Well, I should say you _did_," returned Mr. Dawson, with a laugh;
+"you couldn't do it again if you were to try it your lifetime."
+
+"Sit down, sir; we will have supper ready after awhile, and you must
+join us."
+
+"That's just what I came up here for. Jack is going away pretty
+shortly, and I shall not see him any more, so I came up to be with him
+as long as I could."
+
+Mr. Dawson moved back his chair so that he would not be in the way,
+and Julian pulled off his coat and went to work; but he saw by the
+extra bundles there were on the table that his chum had been going
+back on his principles. There were cream cakes and peaches by the
+dozen, as well as sundry other little things that Jack had purchased
+for supper. It was a better meal than they had been accustomed to for
+a long time, and if there was any faith in the way that master
+mechanic asked for peaches, he thoroughly enjoyed it.
+
+"I hope you boys will live this way while you are gone," said he, as
+he pushed back his chair and declined having any more. "You must
+remember that a hundred thousand dollars don't go very far. There
+certainly is an end to it, and the first thing you know you'll be
+there. Now, I hope you fellows won't object if I smoke a cigar?"
+
+The "fellows" did not object, nor did he raise any complaint when they
+proceeded to wash the dishes. It was eleven o'clock when Mr. Dawson
+said it was time he was going home, and when the boys felt the hearty
+grasp of his hand at parting, they told themselves that there was one
+friend they were leaving behind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+WHERE ARE THE VALISES?
+
+
+For the next two days Julian did not know whether he stood on his head
+or heels. Jack went about his preparations very moderately, but the
+fact of it was, Julian was in a great hurry. He could not help telling
+himself that if they did not get away from St. Louis, that man
+Haberstro would appear just at the wrong time, and they would have to
+go back to work again. He donned a citizen's dress and tied his
+uniform up neatly in a bundle, calculating to take it down to the
+office and present it to a boy there who did not act as though he had
+more in this world than the law allows.
+
+"I will give this up to Hank," said he. "The poor fellow don't have
+any too much, and perhaps this suit will help him."
+
+Jack accompanied him to the office--it was the first time he had ever
+been there--and while he was looking around to see how they did
+business, Julian found the boy of whom he was in search.
+
+"Here's a present I have brought for you, Hank," said he in a whisper.
+"You asked me yesterday if I had been discharged, and that showed that
+you were a friend of mine. I told you the truth; I have been
+discharged, and I am going out to Denver. This is my uniform. Take it
+and wear it, and think of me."
+
+Julian did not wait for the boy to raise any protests, but laid the
+bundle down on his seat, and then turned toward Mr. Wiggins.
+
+"I haven't gone yet," said he. "We are going to-morrow night."
+
+"Well, come in and say good-bye before you go," said Mr. Wiggins.
+
+Julian took the opportunity to introduce Jack, who raised his cap
+respectfully. He listened while Mr. Wiggins congratulated him on his
+good fortune, and heard some very good advice in regard to saving his
+money.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Julian," said he, when they had left the
+office behind them, "everybody who is anybody is glad that we are
+going to improve ourselves, and many seem to think there is going to
+be an end to that hundred thousand dollars."
+
+"I'll bet you that it don't come to an end with _me_," said Julian,
+emphatically. "I am going to purchase some things that I need, but I
+shan't touch the principal at all."
+
+The first thing was to go to a store and buy a trunk. Up to this time
+they had never had any receptacle for their clothes, carrying all
+their belongings in a traveling-bag. They concluded that one trunk was
+enough, and, after they had purchased it, Jack shouldered it and was
+going to take it home.
+
+"Come, now, that won't do," whispered Julian; "it is three miles to
+our room."
+
+"No matter if it is a thousand," said Jack; "I can take it there."
+
+"Put it down, and I will get a carriage."
+
+"Well, I won't pay for it."
+
+"I _will_; I don't see what's the use in our being so particular."
+
+Jack put the trunk down, and Julian went out, and very soon returned
+with a carriage. The boys held a consultation, and decided that, now
+that they had a conveyance, they might as well stop at some places on
+the way home and invest in some other articles they needed.
+
+"But I'll tell you one thing," said Jack; "you are keeping this rig
+too long; I won't pay for it."
+
+It was three hours before the friends got home, and then they had
+their trunk more than half-filled with new clothing. The hackman
+carried it upstairs for them, and Julian, having paid him his price,
+threw himself into a chair to wait until Jack did the packing. In
+addition to the trunk, the boys bought small traveling-bags, in which
+they carried several handy little articles they thought they might
+need during their journey, such as towels, comb and brush; and Julian
+stowed away in his a book that he had long desired to possess--"The
+Last Chronicle of Barset," by Anthony Trollope. Jack could hardly
+conceal his disgust; he was going to look out of the window when they
+were fairly on the train, and he would see more fun in that than
+Julian could in reading his book.
+
+"There, sir, I guess it's all done," said Jack, going to the closet to
+make sure that they had left nothing behind.
+
+"All right; lock the trunk and put the key in your pocket," said
+Julian. "Now give me half of what this room will come to during the
+present month, and I will go down and pay the landlady. We haven't
+anything to eat, so I guess we will have to go down to a restaurant
+and get dinner and supper all in one."
+
+"I think a sandwich and a cup of coffee would go pretty well," said
+Jack.
+
+"Oh! I am going to have a better meal than that. Where's the money?"
+
+Jack counted out his share of the rent, and Julian posted off to see
+the landlady. He was gone a long time, but he came back with a receipt
+in his hand which he showed Jack, and then the two boys went out to
+get their dinner. Jack ordered what he had said he would; but anyone
+who could have seen what Julian sent for would have thought he was a
+millionaire already. Jack looked on but did not say anything; he was
+old enough to know that the change in Julian's circumstances would
+make him reckless for a while. He remarked that he might as well go
+down to the shop and bid the fellows good-bye, and then it would be
+done with; so they turned their faces in that direction when they came
+out, and in a short time they were among the railroad shops. Jack knew
+where to go; and, after leading his companion through a long workshop,
+where Julian would certainly have got in somebody's way if he had not
+stuck close to his heels, finally ushered him into the helpers' room.
+He shook hands with them one after the other--dirty, begrimed fellows
+they were, too, looking very unlike the well-dressed men they were
+when dressed up for Sundays--and presently he came to the master
+mechanic. The latter threw his arm around Jack, led him away out of
+earshot of the others, and held an earnest conversation with him. He
+even put his hand into his pocket, but Jack shook his head and turned
+away.
+
+"Come on, Julian; I guess I have said good-bye to them all," said he,
+as he led the way to the street. "Every one of those fellows wanted to
+give me money--as if they didn't know I have enough already. Well, I
+hope the last one of them will be successful. If they want any money,
+they can apply to me."
+
+Julian had never seen Jack look sad before. After going a little way
+on the street, Jack turned and looked at the shop as if he thought he
+never would see it again. Julian did not know that Jack had so much
+heart in him.
+
+The next day was devoted to Julian, who went down to the office and
+took leave of all his friends. Even the boy who had accused him of
+being a spy came in for a good, hearty hand-shake. He did not know how
+to take it, but stammered out something about being sorry he had
+treated Julian in the way he did.
+
+"That's all right," said the boy; "only, the next time don't you
+accuse any boy of being a spy on you unless you know whereof you
+speak."
+
+Mr. Wiggins had something more to say to Julian. He conducted him into
+the back room, and kept him there until Jack began to be impatient.
+When he came out again, Julian was wiping his eyes.
+
+"I tell you, Jack," said he, when they were well on their way to the
+railroad depot to purchase their tickets, "when one has been here and
+done the best he could in the office, it comes hard to say good-bye.
+Every boy--and man, too--has used me white, if I except that fellow
+who accused me of being a spy. But this isn't the last time we will
+see St. Louis, I hope. When we get out to Denver, and get fairly
+settled, we will come back again."
+
+The friends waited a long time at the depot, for the ticket office was
+not open; but they had much to talk about. What sort of a looking
+place was Denver? They had not read much about that, and they had
+somehow got it into their heads that it was a little settlement, and
+that they should find more wigwams there than houses. But at last the
+window was opened, and, falling in behind the others, they purchased
+tickets which were to carry them farther west than they had ever been
+before.
+
+"Now, the next thing is to get a sleeping-car," said Julian.
+
+"We don't want a sleeping-car," said Jack, catching Julian by the arm
+and leading him away. "You can lie down on one seat, and I can take
+the other, and we'll sleep just as well there as we would on a pile of
+down."
+
+Julian was obliged to give up, but told himself that it would not
+always be so. He wanted to spend money for something he really needed,
+and he thought he could sleep better in a sleeping-car than he could
+in another which was devoted to passengers who were wide awake.
+
+Nothing now remained but to get their supper and call a carriage to
+take them to the depot. The boys took coffee and sandwiches, and
+during the meal hardly spoke to one another. That was the last meal
+they would eat in St. Louis, and they wondered what the future had in
+store for them. Perhaps, when they got to Denver, they would find
+that Haberstro had been there already, and by some hook or crook had
+managed to get the property into his own hands.
+
+"But I don't see how that could be done," said Jack, when Julian
+hinted at this. "The deeds are in Winkleman's name, and we have them.
+How is he going to get the property, then?"
+
+"I don't know; but I am afraid he will get it some way."
+
+"If he does, all we have to do is to give it up."
+
+But this was going to be a hard job, in Julian's estimation. He did
+not confess that much, but it would be disastrous to him to have to
+surrender those blocks of buildings. He thought of it all that day,
+and while he was seated in the cars, going with as much speed as steam
+could put forth to carry him to his destination, it still bothered
+him. The master mechanic was there to bid them once more a good-bye,
+and Julian was certain, when he turned away and hung his head down,
+that there were tears in his eyes.
+
+As long as daylight lasted, Julian was busy looking out of the window
+as they rushed through the country; but when the lamps were lighted he
+began to grow sleepy.
+
+Julian was sitting on one bench, and Jack, having turned his seat
+over, was sitting on the other, and, having arranged their beds, they
+lay down on them; but it was a long time before they fell asleep.
+
+"Now, you see, if we had a sleeping-car we wouldn't have to go to all
+this trouble," said Julian.
+
+"Wait until you get too tired to keep your eyes open, and you won't
+know whether we are in a sleeping-car or not," said Jack; "I am most
+ready to go off this minute."
+
+Jack's words came out true, for after they had given up their tickets
+and been furnished with a slip to put in their caps, Julian speedily
+lost himself in the land of dreams, and the next thing he knew Jack
+was shaking him by the shoulder. It was broad daylight, and the train
+was still whirling them onward.
+
+"Can we get anything to eat along here?" said Julian, looking out of
+the window; "I am hungry."
+
+"There is a place a few miles ahead, so I heard the conductor tell a
+passenger, where we will stop to get breakfast," said Jack. "That was
+the reason I called you. If you are anything like me, you can eat a
+whole pan of baked beans."
+
+"Baked beans!" said Julian. "They have something better than that to
+eat on the railroad. I am going to get a breakfast that is worth the
+money."
+
+There was another thing that bothered Julian, and that was, he did not
+have any place to wash; but Jack told him that that would be remedied
+when they came to their stopping-place. They rode on for a dozen miles
+or so, and when the whistle sounded, and the brakeman announced
+fifteen minutes for breakfast, they left their valises in their racks
+and moved up nearer the door.
+
+"That wakes a fellow up," said Julian, as he plunged his face into a
+basin of water. "We have to hurry, Jack, for fifteen minutes is not a
+great while."
+
+The boys' breakfast was all that could be asked, although, if the
+truth must be told, they were not long in eating it. Julian boarded
+the train first, and led the way along to their seats; but where were
+the valises they left there when they went out to breakfast?
+
+"Is this our car?" said Julian, running his eyes over the passengers.
+
+"Why yes, this is our car," said Jack. "There is that red-faced man
+who sat behind you; he was sitting there when we left St. Louis. But
+what is the matter with you?"
+
+"Matter enough; our valises are gone!"
+
+"By George! So they are!"
+
+"Say!" said the red-faced man, leaning over the back of the seat. "I
+saw the man who took those valises, but I supposed he was a member of
+your party and that you had sent him for them; therefore I did not
+stop him."
+
+"What sort of a looking man was he?"
+
+"He was a very genteel fellow, but I noticed that he toed in, and that
+he had a very German cast of countenance."
+
+"I wonder if it was Claus?" said Julian.
+
+"I don't know what his name was, but he got the valises. Say! If I
+were you I would search the train, and if you find him you can make
+him give your property up."
+
+"We will do it. I wonder if we are ever going to see the last of that
+man?"
+
+The train had been gathering headway all the while, and was now
+running at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour. If Claus, or whoever
+stole the valises, was on the train, the boys were certain he could
+not jump off to escape them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+IN DENVER.
+
+
+"Did the man find anything of value in your valises?" asked the
+red-faced man, as the boys turned toward the front part of the car.
+
+"He could have bought everything I had in my valise for two dollars,"
+said Jack, with a laugh. "It seems funny that he should want to put
+himself in danger of arrest for that"
+
+"He got a book in mine," said Julian. "Of course I have read it
+before, but I wanted to read it again. Say, Jack," he continued, when
+the latter reached the door and was about to open it, "if the man was
+Claus, don't you suppose he had an eye on that box?"
+
+Jack released the door and leaned up heavily against it. Such an idea
+had never occurred to him.
+
+"He watched us while we were in St. Louis, and when he saw us ready to
+come out, he got on the same train with us."
+
+"What a lucky thing it was that we sent that box off by express!" Jack
+almost gasped. "Of course it was Claus, and we shall not find him on
+this train, either. He jumped off at that station back there."
+
+"Let us go and see. If he is going to follow us in this way, we are
+going to be in a fix, the first thing you know."
+
+Jack opened the door and went out, and Julian followed close at his
+heels. They went slowly through the cars, looking sharply at every man
+they saw on the train, but nobody with "a very German cast of
+countenance" could be seen. The next thing was to try the other end of
+the train. Jack led the way, as before, and when they got into their
+own car the red-faced man, who seemed to take an interest in their
+success, said, in a low tone,
+
+"Did you find him?"
+
+"No," replied Jack; "he must have got off at the station. We are going
+through the sleeping-cars, and, if he is not there, we will have to
+give him up."
+
+In the next car there was no one who looked like Claus, and when they
+opened the door of the next car, and entered the vestibuled part of
+the train, they found themselves in an entry which was fitted up in
+the most gorgeous manner. A negro porter stood in front of the window
+looking out, and when he saw who the boys were, he stepped up in front
+of them.
+
+"Does you want to see somebody on dis train?" he asked.
+
+"Well, I should say we did," replied Jack. "Some one has stolen our
+valises, and we want to find him."
+
+"Dat's bad. Has you got a ticket?"
+
+"Of course we have. Don't you see the slips in our caps?"
+
+"But I mean a ticket for dis part of de train. If you hasn't got one,
+you can't go in."
+
+This was a new arrangement to Jack. The last time he travelled on the
+railroad it was when the hands connected with the railroad-shop gave
+an excursion and a picnic, and then he had no difficulty in going all
+over the train; but he saw the beauty of it at once.
+
+"Then we will have to give it up," said he, turning toward the door.
+"That man may be here and have our valises, and we can't help
+ourselves."
+
+"Mebbe not," said the negro. "What kind of a looking man was he? I
+will go over the train and look for him."
+
+Jack described the man as well as he could from the description the
+passenger had given him, and the negro went out.
+
+"Just see what we would have got we had taken a sleeping-coach,"
+whispered Julian. "No one can come near you except those who purchased
+tickets at the depot."
+
+"We'll come to that after a while," said Jack. "Wait until we get our
+money. Just now it seems as though we shall have to be constantly on
+the watch."
+
+The negro was gone a long time, but our friends found themselves busy
+in taking a note of all their surroundings. There must have been a
+good deal of money spent upon that sleeping-car. There did not seem
+to be a cheap thing about it. One or two passengers, who had slept
+late and were just getting up, came in, and yawned, and stretched, and
+prepared to go through their ablutions. They merely glanced at the two
+boys, and went on with their work. They did not care for the
+eating-stations that were scattered along the route; when they were
+hungry, they could go into the dining-coach and get all they wanted.
+
+"I tell you, it is worth while to know where your money is coming from
+when you travel," thought Julian; "one feels so much safer."
+
+By the time he had reached this conclusion the negro appeared.
+
+"Dar ain't a man on dis train that looks like the one you spoke of,"
+said he. "Dey's all Americans; the last man-jack of them."
+
+"Thank you," said Jack. "Our man has got off at the station. I hope he
+will get rich on what he found in those valises."
+
+The two friends went back to their own car, and to the inquiry of the
+passenger who sat behind them replied that the man had left the train
+as soon as he got the valises. Then they settled down and prepared to
+enjoy their journey; but it must be confessed that Claus came into
+their minds very frequently. If he was the one who took their valises,
+they were certain that they had not seen the last of him yet.
+
+"And to think that that fellow watched us all the while we were in St.
+Louis," said Jack, leaning over and whispering the words to Julian.
+"He may watch us after we get in Denver. Who knows?"
+
+But Claus, if that was the man, did not come near them any more during
+their journey. They grew weary, of course, and Julian, having no book
+to read, slept most of the way. Their night was passed in much the
+same way that the first one was, and about two o'clock in the morning
+they arrived at Denver. The appearance of the city, wrapped though it
+was in slumber, surprised them. There were as many people running
+about in the depot as there were in St. Louis, and all appeared to
+have work to do. The man to whom they had given their check was there
+to show them the way to their omnibus, and Julian, while he was on the
+way to it, looked all around for Indians, but did not see any. The
+hotel was as large as those they had left in St. Louis, and almost
+before they knew it they were in their room with two beds in it, the
+porter had carried up their trunk, had bid them good-night, and they
+were alone.
+
+"Say, Jack, there's more houses than wigwams here, is there not?"
+
+"I was just thinking so myself," said Jack. "Denver is a big city.
+Now, the next thing is something else. It is something I don't like to
+think of. That letter which Mr. Wiggins wrote to the agent here may
+help us some, but we have something to prove after that."
+
+"Well, don't let us worry about that to-night," said Julian. "Perhaps
+in the morning it will look different."
+
+Julian had never slept in so comfortable a bed before, and when sleep
+overpowered him he did not know a thing until he opened his eyes in
+the morning and saw Jack standing at the window, with his suspenders
+about his waist, looking through the window at some mountains which
+seemed to be looming up close at hand.
+
+"When we get settled, if we ever do, we must walk out there and take a
+view from the top," said he.
+
+"How far are they away from here?"
+
+"About two or three miles, probably. I believe if we get on the summit
+of those mountains we can see California."
+
+"I have just thought of another thing that may bother us some," said
+Julian. "I don't know whether the express clerks will want us to
+identify ourselves before they give us that box, but if they do--then
+what?"
+
+"Although we are in the right, there is always something to bother
+us," said Jack, seating himself in the nearest chair. "What will we
+do?"
+
+"We can't do anything except to write to St. Louis. There is nobody
+here that knows us from Adam."
+
+That was something that bothered Jack during breakfast, but at eight
+o'clock, the hour when the express offices are generally open, they
+were directed by the clerk how to reach it, and in process of time
+drew up before the counter. To Julian's inquiry if there was a box
+there addressed to himself the clerk placed the box before him, and
+never asked him who he was or where he came from.
+
+"Now, the next thing is to keep an eye out for the telegraph office.
+If you see a sign sticking out, let me know it."
+
+"I see a sign already," said Jack, pointing it out.
+
+Julian began to feel a little more at home. He had worked in a
+telegraph office, and he was certain that he was going among friends.
+The boys were there, and they came up to wait on him, but Julian went
+ahead until he confronted the operator at his desk.
+
+"Is Mr. Fay in?" Julian asked.
+
+"Yes, sir. He is in his private office. Would you like to see him?"
+
+"I would thank you first to give me a screw-driver so that I can take
+this cover off. There is a letter in here addressed to him."
+
+The screw-driver was soon forthcoming, and while Julian was at work at
+it, a hustling little man suddenly stood before him.
+
+"Do you want to see me?" he asked, in a business way.
+
+Julian had by this time taken out the letter, which was placed on top,
+and handed it to Mr. Fay, who leaned against the counter and read it.
+The boys watched him closely, and finally saw his eyes light up with
+surprise.
+
+"This letter has a stamp on it, so I know it is all right," said he.
+"But this man Wiggins I never heard of. Come into the office."
+
+The boys followed him, seating themselves in chairs that were pointed
+out to them, while Mr. Fay went on reading the letter. He was utterly
+amazed, and looked at the two friends as if he could scarcely believe
+it.
+
+"Which one of you boys is Julian Gray?" he asked. "You are? Then I
+congratulate you from the bottom of my heart. You struck it rich once
+in buying 'old horse,' didn't you? How long have you been with Mr.
+Wiggins?"
+
+Julian began, and told as much of his history as he was willing that
+any stranger should know--all except about pulling him out from under
+the feet of the runaway horses. He thought that that was a sacred
+matter between him and Mr. Wiggins, and so he said nothing about it.
+
+"And how about your friend, here, John Sheldon?" said he. "You see, I
+want to get at the bottom of all your doings, so that I can explain it
+to Mr. Gibson, Mr. Winkleman's lawyer. We know of that man, and we
+know why he left; but we want to be certain that you have a right to
+the box."
+
+Jack began and related his story; and although Mr. Wiggins did not say
+much about it, never having been acquainted with Jack, the tale he
+told was so honest and truthful that Mr. Fay could not but believe
+him.
+
+"Well, boys, I will go with you to see Mr. Gibson," said the operator.
+"It all rests with him. You see, all these things happened eleven
+months ago, and he has collected considerable money in rent for all
+these places. You will come in for fifteen or twenty thousand dollars
+at the start. He may want to ask you some questions."
+
+What Mr. Fay said almost took the boys' breath away. They had hardly
+anything in their pockets, and to be told that they were worth ten
+thousand dollars apiece was almost too good for belief. They followed
+Mr. Fay out on the street--the way he moved proved that he had come up
+from the ranks--and up the stairs that led to Mr. Gibson's office.
+They found the lawyer in there, walking up and down, but he stopped
+long enough to bid Mr. Fay good-morning.
+
+"What have these young men been doing?" said he, pulling up a chair
+for each one to sit down. "More lawsuits, I suppose."
+
+"No, sir, there is no law in this except what you have a mind to tell
+us. Read this letter; but first let me introduce the boys."
+
+Mr. Gibson said he was glad to see them, and then commenced the
+letter, and before he had read it half-way through he whistled and
+looked at them with intense surprise.
+
+"Well, sir, you have done it, have you not?" said he. "Now, whom have
+you to prove that you bought this 'old horse' at the express office?"
+
+"Read on, sir, and I think the letter will answer that question for
+you," replied Julian. "I told Mr. Wiggins about it. That is all he
+knows of it."
+
+Mr. Gibson finished the letter at last, and then turned and gave the
+boys a good looking over. He evidently was not thinking about them at
+all, but about some point of law that had just occurred to him.
+Finally he said,
+
+"I want you to understand that I believe your story, but in order to
+be all right in everything, and leave nothing for anybody to pick a
+flaw with, I would like to know what you did to look up this man
+Haberstro."
+
+"If I were in your place, Gibson," said Mr. Fay, "I would write to Mr.
+Wiggins and the president of that bank, and get a full history of the
+boys. They will tell the truth."
+
+"Let me suggest to you, also, the name of Mr. Dawson," said Jack. "I
+used to work for him, and he knows all about me."
+
+The lawyer took down the three addresses of the men he wanted to write
+to.
+
+"Have you young fellows any money?" asked the lawyer.
+
+"Yes, sir, a little."
+
+"Will it last you two weeks?"
+
+The two friends were sure it would last them as long as that.
+
+"Where are you stopping?"
+
+Julian replied that they were stopping at some hotel, but they did not
+know which one.
+
+"Well, Fay will no doubt direct you to a cheaper boarding-house than
+that. What are you boys going to do with this?" said Mr. Gibson,
+placing his hand upon the box.
+
+"We want to put it somewhere so it will be safe," said Julian.
+
+"Shall I take charge of it for you? I will put it in the bank. It is
+most too valuable for me to carry around."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+After a little more conversation his two clients went out. The lawyer
+sat for a long time thinking the matter over, and at last he got up,
+took the box under his arm and started for the bank. He had decided
+that he would go to St. Louis that very night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+CASPER NEVINS, THE SPY.
+
+
+"No, sir," said Casper, leaning over and placing his elbows on his
+knees, his eyes gazing thoughtfully at the floor; "you don't get any
+more five cents out of me, yet awhile, to pay for cigars. I have got
+only ten dollars, and I am anxious to make that do. Now, what shall I
+go at next?"
+
+Casper Nevins was in a predicament the first thing he knew. He claimed
+to be an orphan, the same as Julian was; but those who were well
+acquainted with his history knew that he had a mother in a Western
+village who was a dressmaker, and who would have been glad to get
+every cent he could send her. But Casper never sent her any money. On
+the contrary, he often appealed to her to forward him a few dimes, to
+pay his debts for pool and cigars. Claus often got into him a dollar
+or two on the games he lost, and his mother was the only person he
+had to call on. Now he had lost his position, and the next thing was
+to find something else to do. He was really afraid he would have to go
+to work with his hands. He thought of Jack Sheldon, dirty and begrimed
+as he was when he came from the shop, and wondered how he would look
+in that fix. And, another thing, he wasn't satisfied that he could get
+as good a position as Jack held. Aside from being acquainted with the
+city and carrying the telegraphic dispatches, there was nothing else
+that he could do.
+
+"I tell you I am up a stump," said Casper to himself; "I shall soon be
+sweeping out saloons, as Julian did, to pay for my breakfast. I would
+rather die than do that."
+
+When he had reached this point in his meditations the door opened, and
+Claus came in with a couple of cigars in his hand. He did not seem to
+be at all worried over his failure to get his hands upon that box, but
+he was whistling a jig as he closed the door and offered a cigar to
+Casper.
+
+"What is the matter with you, any way?" he asked, when he saw the
+gloomy look on Casper's face. "You act as though you had lost your
+last friend."
+
+"What am I going to do now?" asked Casper. "I have no trade, no
+profession, and I must do something to keep myself in grub. There is
+no pool or cigars for me from this time on."
+
+"Well, let that thing go until I tell you my story," said Claus, who
+did not like to hear a man talk in this way. He knew that he was to
+blame for Casper's shortness of funds--a good deal of his hard
+earnings was located in Claus's own pockets--and he wanted to make him
+look on the bright side of things while he was in his presence. When
+he got away where he could not see him, then he could indulge in moody
+thoughts as often as he pleased.
+
+"I wish I had not played pool with you as often as I have," said
+Casper, showing a little spirit. "Every time I have crossed cues with
+you I have always been out three or four dollars. Why don't you play
+with somebody else?"
+
+"Well, if you are going to talk that way I'll go on," said Claus,
+getting up from his chair. "What I was going to say was that I don't
+believe that box is gone yet. I have tried twice to get it and have
+failed; but there is a charm in everything. Three times and out is
+what I go by; but if you don't want to hear what I have to say, why,
+good-night."
+
+"Well, sit down," said Casper, who couldn't bear to let Claus go away
+if he had anything to say concerning that box; "but you yourself would
+be angry if you were in my fix."
+
+"Oh, I have been that way lots of times. I have been so I didn't know
+where my next meal was coming from."
+
+"I have been that way, too," said Casper. "The other night you got ten
+cents of me, and it was the last cent I had in the world; I had to get
+my next meal at the free-lunch saloons."
+
+"I didn't know you were as hard up as that," said Casper, with
+surprise. "Have you money with which to get breakfast to-morrow?"
+
+"Not a cent."
+
+"Then here are twenty cents," said Claus, putting his hand into his
+pocket. "Two meals will do you. In the meantime, if you get hard up
+for something to eat, go to the saloons; that's the way I do."
+
+"Yes, but you always get something else. If I go in there and dabble
+with their lunch, the barkeeper will want to know why I don't get
+something to drink."
+
+"Then walk out and go to another saloon. You ain't posted. Now, I want
+to tell you my story. It isn't long, and I want to ask you a question
+before I get through."
+
+When Claus said this, Casper settled back in his chair and tried to
+look interested; but the trouble was, he only succeeded in looking
+guilty.
+
+"I have just come from Julian's room," continued Claus, "and I
+threatened him with the police. He called me by my own name, or Jack
+did, and I want to know who has been telling him that. Did you?"
+
+"I never said a word to him about you or anybody else," said Casper,
+looking Claus squarely in the eye.
+
+"Did you say anything to Mr. Wiggins about it?"
+
+"Never a word. There might have been a detective in the office while
+you were there."
+
+"A detective? Who was it?"
+
+"I am sure I don't know. But if he knew your name, there was where he
+got it. You went up to the pool-room after you got through there?
+Well, did anybody follow you up to see what your name was?"
+
+"There was nobody up there that I saw, and I took mighty good care to
+watch out. I threatened him with the police for addressing me by that
+name, and he just as good as told me to go and get them."
+
+"What made you say police at all? What had he done?"
+
+"I wanted him to get the box and let me read the papers in it, because
+I wanted to be sure that they were intended for me; but he would not
+do it."
+
+"Of course he would not!" exclaimed Casper, in disgust. "That was a
+pretty way to do business, wasn't it?"
+
+"I calculated, if he brought the box in there, to steal it away from
+them," said Claus. "If I once got out on the street, I would like to
+see anybody catch me. I would have hung around this city for a month
+but that I would have got away with it."
+
+"And what would I be doing in the meantime?"
+
+"You would have known where I was," said Claus, bending toward Casper
+and speaking in a whisper. "I would have found means to communicate
+with you. Of course if I had got that box you would have had a share
+of it."
+
+Casper did not know whether to believe this or not. Somehow he had
+felt suspicious of Claus ever since the first night he spoke to him
+about the box. If the German got it without any of his help, he was
+sure that he never would see any of it.
+
+"Well, you failed in that scheme, and I would like to know if you have
+some other means of getting hold of it."
+
+"Certainly I have. Three times and out is what I go by. My next scheme
+will be to steal the box from them on the train."
+
+"How are you going to do that?"
+
+"We will keep watch of them, and when they are ready to go to Denver,
+we will go, too. You know their habits better than I do, and by
+keeping your eyes on them--"
+
+"Well, I won't do it," said Casper, emphatically. "They may not go for
+a month yet, and I must have something to eat in the meantime."
+
+"I will give you twenty cents a day and enough to pay your rent," said
+Claus. "That will keep you going, won't it?"
+
+"You must give me more than that. I shall need a cigar once in a
+while, won't I?"
+
+"Then I will give you thirty cents. You don't want to smoke more than
+two cigars every day, do you?"
+
+The question where Claus earned the money he had was a mystery to
+every one except himself. When the police arrested him for vagrancy
+and the justice fined him ten dollars, believing that he was going to
+shut him up for two months, Claus pulled out a roll of greenbacks as
+large as one's wrist. The justice gazed at him in surprise and said,
+
+"I had no idea that you were so well heeled as that."
+
+"I have a relative in Europe who sends me money once in a while," said
+Claus.
+
+"Well, get out of here, and don't come into this station any more."
+
+"I won't," said Claus; "and I wouldn't have come in here this time,
+only the police brought me."
+
+"You must go easy on me, because I haven't too many ducats," said
+Claus, continuing the conversation which we have broken off. "I think
+thirty cents a day will see you through in good fashion."
+
+"Of course that puts a different look on the matter. Begin by giving
+me ten cents to get a cigar with to-night. Thank you. Now, what do you
+want me to do?"
+
+"You are to begin and keep your eye on Julian, and report to me every
+day at the pool-room. Whenever you see preparations made for them to
+go out to Denver, you must let me know it; then we will go, too."
+
+"But how are you going to steal their valises, if they have any?"
+
+"They will leave their valises behind them when they go out to get
+their meals, and I will slip up and get them. You won't have anything
+to do with stealing them at all."
+
+"That is a bargain," said Casper. "I believe that is the best way yet.
+But remember--you must keep out of their sight; and I will, too."
+
+A little more conversation was held on the subject, and then Claus
+took his leave. When the door closed behind him Casper arose to his
+feet, placed his thumb against his nose, and wiggled his fingers. That
+was his opinion of Mr. Claus's scheme.
+
+"I know what you mean to do," said he, in a voice that was choked with
+passion. "You are going to get me out there on the railroad and leave
+me. But I will see that you don't do it; I will stick closer to you
+than a brother, and when you get that box I will be close at hand. Now
+I will go off to some restaurant and get some supper."
+
+The next morning dawned clear and bright, and when Casper opened his
+eyes his first thought was to get up; but remembering that he had not
+to go to the office that day, he rolled over and dropped asleep again.
+But he had to get up at last; and after a good, hearty breakfast, and
+smoking a cigar, he strolled down toward the telegraph office. Julian
+was there, sitting in his chair, for he could see him through the
+window. He had not made preparations to go to Denver yet. And so it
+was during every day that the boys waited for Haberstro to show up.
+Julian was as impatient as Casper, and even Claus began to growl for
+fear there was being too big a haul made upon his money.
+
+"I am not an Astor, to be giving you thirty cents a day to watch those
+fellows," said he. "If they don't begin to make some move very soon I
+shall be sorry that I hired you."
+
+"They are going to Denver some time, and if you are bound to have a
+hand in the box, the best thing for you to do is to keep on hiring
+me," said Casper. "I know what you want," he added to himself. "If you
+were to give me every cent of money you have, I would just about get
+my own back."
+
+But not long after this, when Casper was strolling by the telegraph
+office to see what was going to happen, he saw Julian and Jack go in
+there. The two boys were dressed in citizens' clothes, too, and that
+proved that there was something up. While he was wondering whether or
+not he had better go back and report the matter to Claus, Mr. Wiggins
+came out and took his way toward the bank. In a little while he came
+back again with the box under his arm. Casper concluded to wait still
+longer, and the result proved satisfactory. The two friends came out
+of the office, and Julian held the door open long enough to say,
+
+"I haven't gone yet; I will come back and bid you good-bye before I
+start."
+
+"By gracious, they are going!" said Casper, so excited that he could
+not stand still. "Now, the next thing is to find out _when_ they are
+going. I guess I will go and see what Claus has to say about it."
+
+Claus was found in the pool-room, and he was playing a game with
+somebody. He drew off on one side, and Casper hurriedly related what
+he had to say to him. For a wonder Claus smiled.
+
+"They are going to-morrow night," said he.
+
+"You talk as though you knew all about it. How do you know?" asked
+Casper, with the accent on the adverb.
+
+"Because Julian has got his discharge, he is dressed in citizen's
+clothes, and they will have to take to-day in order to bid their
+friends good-bye and get some things that are necessary for the trip,"
+said Claus. "Watch them closely, and when you see a carriage drive up
+to their door and a trunk put on, come to me here and I will be ready
+for you."
+
+"How are you going to get your own luggage down?" asked Casper.
+
+"I don't want any luggage," replied Claus; "I have more money than
+enough to buy--humph!"
+
+He had intended saying that he had money enough to buy all the
+clothing he wanted, but seeing Casper's eyes fastened upon him he
+caught his breath in time and said,
+
+"I have money enough to pay for a night's lodging, and that is all we
+want. Now you go and do just as I tell you."
+
+Claus turned again to his game and Casper went slowly out of the room.
+The German watched him, as he opened the door, and said to himself,
+
+"I wonder if that fellow knows what I am up to? He acts like it; but
+if he does, I would like to see him help himself."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+GETTING READY FOR WORK.
+
+
+"I know just what you are going to do," repeated Casper, as he ran
+down the stairs--"you are going to steal the box, and leave me out on
+the prairie to get back the best way I can. For two cents I would not
+have anything to do with it."
+
+But in spite of this resolution, Casper, as soon as he reached the
+street, turned his gaze in every direction in the hope of finding
+Julian and Jack; but the boys had disappeared. He walked along the
+streets looking everywhere for them, and finally came to a standstill
+opposite Julian's room.
+
+"They will have to come here some time, and I will just take my stand
+here in this door and watch for them," said Casper. "They will not
+take that box with them, anyhow; it is much too valuable to lug about
+in a valise. They will send it by express."
+
+This was something that had occurred to Casper on the spur of the
+moment, and he thought seriously of going back to Claus with it; but,
+on the whole, he decided to keep still about it. He was getting thirty
+cents a day for doing nothing, and he did not want to bring that to an
+end too speedily. Claus had plenty of money. Casper had seen the
+inside of his pocketbook when he took it out to pay him his money, and
+he might as well have thirty cents of it as not.
+
+At the end of three hours Casper saw the carriage coming up the
+street. He was certain that he was right in his suspicions, because
+carriages of that description were not often seen in that by-street;
+and, more than that, there was a trunk perched in front of the driver.
+He drew up in front of Julian's room, and a moment afterward the boys
+got out. Casper saw the driver catch up the trunk and carry it
+upstairs, and presently he came down again, mounted to his box, and
+disappeared up the street.
+
+"They are gentlemen now, and of course they could not carry that trunk
+upstairs," sneered Casper, coming out of his concealment. "Now, I
+wish I knew when they are going to start. If things were all right
+between Julian and myself I would go upstairs and find out; but as it
+is, I guess I had better keep away; he would not tell me, anyhow. I
+stole that box from him once, and that was where I missed it. I ought
+to have gone to Denver at once."
+
+After some time spent in rapid walking, Casper once more found himself
+in the pool-room, and saw Claus busy with his game. Claus drew off on
+one side, while Casper whispered the result of his investigations to
+him.
+
+"That is all right," said he, and a smile overspread his face. "You
+are much better at watching than I thought you were. Wait until I get
+through here and I will give you a cigar."
+
+"But, Claus, though they had a valise apiece in their hands, they have
+no idea of carrying the box in them," said Casper; "it is too
+valuable."
+
+"That's the very reason they will take it with them," whispered
+Claus. "They will not trust it out of their sight."
+
+"I'll bet you that they will send it by express," answered Casper;
+"that is what I should do with it."
+
+"But all persons are not as careful as you are," said Claus; and he
+turned to take his shot at the game.
+
+"You need not think you can soft-sawder me in that style," thought
+Casper, as he backed toward a chair and took his seat to see how the
+game was coming out. "You have some other little trick that you want
+me to play. Well, if it is not too dangerous I'll do it; if it is, I
+won't."
+
+"There is nothing more that we can do to-night, but I shall expect to
+see you bright and early to-morrow morning," resumed Claus, as he
+finished his game and hung the cue up in its proper place. "Here is a
+dollar. You may get yourself all the cigars you want."
+
+"Thank you for nothing," said Casper to himself, as he turned to leave
+the room. "The last game I played with you you got an even five
+dollars out of me. This does not make me straight with you by a long
+way."
+
+Casper did not rise bright and early the next morning, because he did
+not think there was any need of it. He spent a quarter of Claus's
+dollar for breakfast, smoked a cigar, and strolled leisurely down to
+the telegraph office. He was just in time to see Julian and Jack
+coming out. The face of the former wore a very sad expression, and
+there was a suspicious redness about his eyes, which looked as though
+he had been crying.
+
+"By gracious! I don't think I would shed tears if I were in your
+place," said Casper, in disgust. "And you are going away with a
+hundred thousand dollars in your pocket! It beats me, how many people
+go to make up a world! Julian has been bidding them good-bye in there,
+and so he must be getting ready to go off very soon. Now I will go and
+see Claus."
+
+Casper found his companion in guilt at the very place he said he would
+be; and, for a wonder, he was sitting there alone, in one corner of
+the room. He told what he had seen, adding that Julian could not keep
+back his tears when he came out.
+
+"We'll give him something to cry for when he goes out of that car,"
+said Claus, with a wink; "he will be just a fortune out of pocket."
+
+Casper had several times been on the point of asking Claus how he was
+going to work in order to secure to himself the full possession of all
+that property. He thought there would have to be some legal steps
+taken before the agent, or whoever had charge of those blocks of
+buildings, would be willing for Claus to call them all his own.
+Suppose the agent should write to some of the many friends he was
+presumed to have in Chicago, and should get no answer from them; what
+would Claus do then? All the friends he had were in St. Louis; he did
+not know anybody in Chicago, and consequently he would receive a check
+at the very start. If the German thought of this, he did not say
+anything about it. He wanted first to get the box, and then he could
+settle these things afterward.
+
+"Well, there is only one thing for you to do now," said Claus, after
+thinking the matter over; "you must stay around Julian's room, and
+wait for them to go to the depot. You will find me right here."
+
+"I shall want a cigar to smoke in the meantime," said Casper.
+
+It was right on the end of Claus's tongue to make a flat refusal, but
+there was something in Casper's eye, which he turned full upon him,
+that made him hesitate. He growled out something about not being made
+of money, but finally put his hand into his pocket and produced
+another dollar.
+
+"You need not mutter so lustily every time I ask you for money," said
+Casper to himself as he left the pool-room. "I will have to give up
+this business before long, and I am going to make all I can."
+
+Casper went straight to a restaurant and got his dinner, and with a
+cigar for company took up his usual hiding-place in the doorway and
+waited to see what was going to happen. He stayed there until four
+o'clock in the afternoon, and then began to grow interested. He saw
+Julian come out and hasten away, and something told him that he had
+gone for a carriage. But why was it that Casper got so mad, and threw
+his cigar spitefully down upon the pavement? Julian was dressed in a
+suit of new clothes, and he looked like a young gentleman in it. The
+suit that Casper wore was the only one he had, and when that was gone
+he did not know what he should do to get another.
+
+"That fellow must have received a good many tips while he was in the
+office," muttered Casper, "or else he saved his money. I wish to
+goodness I had saved mine, instead of giving it all to Claus."
+
+Julian soon came back with a carriage, and it became evident that they
+were going to take the train for Denver. Julian and the hackman went
+upstairs, and when the boys came down again they each wore a
+traveling-coat and had a small valise in their hands. They got into
+the carriage and were driven away for the depot.
+
+"Now, then, I am going to see if Claus is fooled," thought Casper, as
+he hurried off in another direction. "The box is not in those
+gripsacks; they are not large enough. Now, you mark what I tell you."
+
+"What's the news?" said Claus, who was loitering at one of the windows
+of the pool-room. "Did you see them go?" he asked, in a whisper.
+
+"I did," answered Casper. "We have just time to get down there, and
+that is all. You are making a mistake by not taking some baggage
+along."
+
+"No, I am not. We shall go as far as the station at which the
+passengers take breakfast, and then we will stop and come back. That
+is as far as we want to go."
+
+"And come back as empty-handed as we went," said Casper to himself.
+"I'll bet there won't be anything worth having in those valises."
+
+It took Claus and Casper a long time to walk to the depot, although
+they went with all the speed they could command; but when, at last,
+they got there, they found that the ticket office was not open. It was
+no trouble at all for them to find the boys whom they were seeking;
+they occupied a couple of seats in the gentlemen's waiting-room,
+sitting pretty close together, too, and were engaged in earnest
+conversation.
+
+"Those are the ones, are they not?" questioned Claus. "They are
+dressed up so fine that I would not have known them."
+
+"Yes; they have new clothes on," said Casper. "They are going off as
+though they were business men starting out on a vacation."
+
+"That is the way we will travel when we get our money," said Claus,
+with a wink.
+
+"And when we do get it you may go your way and I will go mine," said
+Casper to himself; "I am not going to stay around where you are all
+the while bothering me to play a game with you. I am going to save my
+money; that's what I will do."
+
+It was shortly after they reached the depot that the ticket office was
+opened, and Julian went to purchase tickets for himself and companion.
+Casper watched them until they were safe in the train, and then Claus
+bought two tickets for Casper and himself, and they took seats in the
+car behind Julian's. In that way they would keep out of sight. They
+did not intend to show themselves until the train stopped for
+breakfast the next morning, and then they would show themselves to
+some purpose.
+
+The night was a long and wearisome one to Casper, who did not once
+close his eyes in slumber. He was wondering what was going to be the
+result of this new scheme of theirs, and telling himself over and over
+again that it would not amount to anything. It did not look reasonable
+that the boys should carry their box in a valise, and leave it behind
+when they went to breakfast while there was so much in it that needed
+their constant care.
+
+"And then, after he gets the valises and finds that there is nothing
+in them, that is the time for me to look out," thought Casper. "He
+won't get away from me if I have to stay awake for two or three nights
+to watch him."
+
+Finally, to Casper's immense relief, day began to dawn and some of the
+wakeful passengers to bestir themselves. He arranged his hair with the
+aid of a comb which he had in his pocket, and then sat on the seat
+and waited impatiently for Claus to wake up. All night long the German
+had slumbered heavily, as though he felt at peace with himself and all
+the world. That was something that Casper could not understand. Here
+he was, fully intending to steal a fortune from a boy who had come
+honestly by it, and yet he could sleep peacefully and quietly over it!
+
+"I wonder if I shall be the way he is?" soliloquized Casper. "I will
+try this once, and if we don't get the box I will go back and go to
+work--that's the best thing I can do."
+
+It was not long before a brakeman came in and told them that they were
+approaching the place where they would be allowed fifteen minutes for
+breakfast; whereupon Casper leaned over and shook Claus by the
+shoulder.
+
+"It was time you were getting up," said he in a whisper; "it is time
+to go to work."
+
+"I heard every word that was said," said Claus. "This is the place to
+which I bought tickets, and it is as far as we shall go. Go forward,
+and see if they are in the car ahead of us."
+
+"But suppose they see me?" said Casper.
+
+"You must not let them see you. Keep out of their sight. If they leave
+their valises behind when they go out to breakfast, it is all I want."
+
+Casper went, but he walked slowly, as if he did it under protest. When
+he arrived at the end of the car he found he could not see anything
+from there, so he opened the door and went out on the platform. He was
+gone a good while, but when he came back his face told Claus all he
+wished to know.
+
+"They are there," Casper whispered, "and are getting ready to go out.
+I saw the valises in the rack over their seats."
+
+"That's all right. Now, when we go out you must keep close behind me.
+I will come in at the front end of the car as if I had a perfect right
+there, and if I say anything to you, you must just nod your head."
+
+"What must I do that for?" asked Casper.
+
+"Because there may be somebody looking. I want to convince everybody
+that I have a right to the valises. Now, you go on ahead, and do as I
+tell you."
+
+Casper did not approve of this plan at all. The understanding between
+him and the German was that he was to have no hand in stealing the
+valises, but this looked as though he was the prime mover in the
+affair. Before he could make any further objection the cars stopped,
+the gong sounded for breakfast, and the passengers began to move
+toward the door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+HOW CASPER WAS SERVED.
+
+
+"Come on, now, and remember what I told you," said Claus, getting on
+his feet. "There they go! All we have to do, now, is to go in there
+and get the valises. You know where they sat, don't you?"
+
+Casper glanced toward the front end of the car, and saw Julian and
+Jack step down and hurry toward the dining-room. Claus waited until
+most of the passengers got off, and then, with a motion to Casper to
+follow him, he went boldly forward and climbed the steps. He opened
+the door, and, when Casper went in, he said,
+
+"Now tell me exactly where they sat, so that I can pick up the valises
+without exciting anybody's suspicions."
+
+"Do you see that red-faced man sitting on the right-hand side?"
+whispered Casper. "And do you see those valises in the rack directly
+in front him? Well, they are the ones you want."
+
+"All right! We will have them out of there in a jiffy."
+
+"I don't like the way that man looks at us," Casper ventured to
+remark; "perhaps he knows them."
+
+"It don't make any difference to me whether he does or not. If he says
+anything to us, we will tell him the valises belong to us, and that we
+have come after them."
+
+Calling a smile to his face, Claus went down the passage-way, looking
+at the various valises stowed away in the racks. When he arrived
+opposite the seat where Julian had sat before he left the train, a
+look of surprise spread over his countenance, and he stepped in and
+took them down, one after the other.
+
+"These are ours, ain't they?" he asked, turning to Casper.
+
+"Yes--they are the ones."
+
+"I don't see what those boys put them in here for. Now we will take
+charge of them ourselves."
+
+He passed one valise to Casper, who took it and made his way out of
+the car, while Claus kept close at his heels.
+
+"Now we want to go somewhere and get out of sight as soon as we can,"
+said Casper, looking around guiltily, and almost expecting a policeman
+to take him by the collar. "I shall not feel easy until this train
+goes."
+
+"Well, we don't want to get out of sight just yet," said Claus. "That
+red-faced man kept his eyes on us, didn't he? Let us see what he will
+make of it now."
+
+"Why, Claus, you are not going in there?" queried Casper, when his
+companion led the way toward the waiting-room. "Julian and Jack went
+in there, and they will be certain to discover us."
+
+"No, they won't. You follow me, and do just as I do."
+
+Casper turned his eyes and looked back at the train. There was the
+red-faced man, sitting by the car window, closely watching all their
+movements, and when he saw them enter the waiting-room into which
+Julian and Jack had gone a few moments before, his suspicions, if he
+had any, were set at rest, and he settled back in his seat and picked
+up a newspaper which he had just purchased. Claus kept on to the
+waiting-room, but he did not stop when he got there. He kept right on
+through and went out at the other door, and after walking briskly for
+a few minutes, and turning several corners until he was sure that the
+depot had been left out of sight, he seated himself on the steps of a
+deserted house, took off his hat, and wiped his forehead.
+
+"It was not such an awful thing to get those valises, after all," said
+he. "When that train goes, we will go and get our breakfast."
+
+"But I would like to know what is in those valises first," said
+Casper. "I tell you, you are fooled. I have felt this valise all over
+on the outside, and there is nothing in it that feels like a box."
+
+"I don't suppose you could feel anything of that kind in it, because I
+don't believe the box was put in there," said Claus. "My only hope is
+that they took the papers out of the box and put them in here;
+consequently they left the box at home."
+
+"Good enough!" exclaimed Casper, catching up his valise and feeling
+the outside of it, to see if he could feel anything that seemed like
+papers that were stowed away on the inside of it; "I never thought of
+that. Now, how shall we go to work to get the valises open? I haven't
+a key in my pocket that will fit them."
+
+"I haven't, either; but as soon as we get our breakfast we will go up
+the road a little distance and cut them open. These gripsacks will
+never be worth anything to anybody after we get done with them."
+
+Even while they were talking in this way they heard the shriek of the
+whistle twice, followed by the ringing of the bell, and knew that
+their train was getting ready to start on again; whereupon Claus got
+up and said he was as hungry as a wolf, and that he must procure a
+breakfast somewhere.
+
+"I shall not eat much till I find out what those valises are hiding
+from us," said Casper. "It would be just dreadful if we should fail,
+after all the trouble we have been to."
+
+By the time they got back to the depot the train was well under way;
+but Claus went out and looked after it, to satisfy himself that the
+coast was clear. Then they placed their valises in charge of the clerk
+at the desk, enjoyed a good wash, and went in and took their seats at
+the table. Their meal was a better one than they had had served up to
+them at St. Louis, especially when they were hard up for money; and,
+after taking their time in eating it, Claus settled the bill, took his
+valise, and started up the railroad track.
+
+"Have you a cigar?" he asked, before they had gone a great ways. "That
+is all right. We will go on until we get into that sagebrush, and then
+we will stop and look into these things. I will take just a hundred
+thousand dollars for my find."
+
+"I'll bet you will take less than that," said Casper; for, somehow, he
+could not get over the idea that the box had been sent by express.
+"There is nothing in them that you want."
+
+It did not take them more than a quarter of an hour to get into the
+sagebrush; and, after looking all around to make sure that there was
+no one in sight, they stepped down from the track and seated
+themselves on the bank beside it. Claus did not waste any time in
+trying his keys upon the valise, but stretched out his legs and put
+his hand into his pocket, and when he pulled it out again he held a
+knife in it.
+
+"The shortest way is the best," said he, thrusting the blade into the
+valise he held in his hand. "Come out here, now, and let us see what
+you have."
+
+His knife made short work of the valise, but nothing in the way of
+papers could be found. It was Jack's valise that he had destroyed, and
+all he found in it was a brush and comb, and half a dozen
+handkerchiefs.
+
+"I just knew how it would be," said Casper, despairingly. "You will
+find the same things in here."
+
+He had never seen Claus look so angry and disappointed as he was at
+that moment. With a spiteful kick of one foot he sent the valise out
+of sight in the sagebrush, and was about to send the other things to
+keep it company, when he happened to think of something.
+
+"I guess I'll keep the handkerchiefs and brush and comb for the good
+they may do me," said he. "Where's your valise?"
+
+Casper handed it over, and in a moment more that valise was a wreck,
+also. They found things in it similar to those found in Jack's
+gripsack, with the exception of a book which Julian had purchased to
+read on his journey, the leaves of which were uncut. Casper took
+possession of the handkerchiefs and the brush and comb, while Claus
+slowly rolled up the book and sat with his eyes fastened on the
+ground. He was mad--Casper could easily see that, and he dared not
+interrupt his train of thought. Claus sat for some moments communing
+with his own thoughts, then broke into a whistle and got upon his
+feet.
+
+"To say that I am disappointed, and angry, too, would not half express
+my feelings," said he, pulling off his hat with one hand and digging
+his fingers into his head with the other. "I did not suppose they
+would send those papers by express, for I know it is something that I
+would not have done. I would have kept them by me all the while, so
+that I could see that they were safe. Now, the next thing is to
+determine upon something else."
+
+"Do you intend to make another effort to get the money?" asked Casper,
+very much surprised. "Your 'three times and out' did not amount to
+anything--did it?"
+
+"No, I don't suppose it did," said Claus, who was evidently thinking
+about something else. "I guess you have done about all you can do, and
+so you had better go back to St. Louis."
+
+This was nothing more than Casper expected. He had his ten dollars
+stowed away somewhere about his clothes, together with small sums
+which he had saved from the amount that Claus had paid him, and so he
+could pay his way back to St. Louis easily enough; but what should he
+do when he got there? He shuddered when he thought of it. Here was
+winter coming on, and unless he should obtain work very soon he would
+have to go out to where his mother lived, which was all of two hundred
+and fifty miles from there. And what should he say when he got home?
+He had gone to St. Louis with big boasts of what he intended to do
+when he got there, and for him to turn up penniless and friendless at
+his mother's house was rather more than he had bargained for.
+
+"And what will _you_ do?" asked Casper.
+
+"I haven't had time to think the matter over," said Claus, who was
+rather surprised that his companion took his discharge, or whatever
+you might call it, so easily, "but I think I shall go on to Denver."
+
+"And I can't be of any use to you there?"
+
+"No, I don't think you can. I may not be back to the city before next
+spring."
+
+"I wish you would tell me what you are going to do when you get there.
+You can't get the box; that will be safe in the bank."
+
+"But perhaps I can pass myself off for Mr. Haberstro. I have some of
+his cards in my pocket."
+
+"But you will only get yourself into trouble if you try that game.
+There are people out there who know Haberstro."
+
+"Well, that is so," said Claus, looking reflectively at the ground. "I
+shall have to think up some way to get around that. At any rate, you
+cannot be of any further use to me, and so you had better start by the
+next train."
+
+"Well, you had better give me some money before you turn me off in
+this way," said Casper. "How am I going to get back to the city
+without money?"
+
+"Where is that ten dollars you got out of the telegraph office when
+your time was up?" asked Claus, who did not like it whenever the
+subject of giving some of his hard earnings was brought up before him.
+"You have not spent all of that, I know."
+
+"Yes, I have. I have just a quarter, and there it is," said Casper,
+pulling out of his pocket the coin in question.
+
+"I wish to goodness I had never seen you!" said Claus, shoving his
+hand into the pocket in which he kept his money. Casper heard the
+jingling of some silver pieces, and thought that perhaps his companion
+might be tempted to give him a few dollars. That would be better than
+nothing, and he would have some money left when he reached St. Louis.
+"If I had never seen you, I would have more dollars left in my pocket
+than I have now," said Claus, bringing out a handful of small change.
+
+Casper said nothing in reply. He wanted to see how much Claus was
+going to give him; and, once he had the money in his hand, he could
+talk to him as he pleased.
+
+"There are five dollars that I will give you, and you need not ask me
+for any more," said Claus, counting out the money; "for, if you do,
+you won't get it."
+
+"I don't know whether five dollars will pay my fare to St. Louis or
+not," said Casper. "Give me six."
+
+"No, sir; that's all I have to spare. It will take you so close to the
+city that you can easily walk in," said Claus, turning on his heel and
+starting toward the town they had just left. "You can walk twenty-five
+miles very easily."
+
+It was right on the point of Casper's tongue to "open out" on Claus,
+and give him as good as he sent. Wouldn't he have had more dollars in
+_his_ pocket if he had never met the man who was anxious at all times
+to play a game of billiards or pool with him, especially on pay-day,
+when Casper was known to have money in his pocket? But, on thinking
+the matter over, he decided that he would say nothing about it. Claus
+was a pretty big man, and there was no knowing what he would do if the
+boy made him angrier than he was now.
+
+"He is going to be fooled again," said Casper, as he fell in behind
+Claus, who walked toward the town as if he were in an awful hurry to
+get there. "What good will it do him to go on to Denver? He can't get
+the box there, neither can he cheat Julian out of his money. Julian
+will find any amount of friends there--I never heard of a boy with a
+hundred thousand dollars in his pocket who could not find somebody to
+stand by him--and they will tell him what to do. Oh! why did I make so
+great a mistake! I ought to have started for Denver the moment I got
+my hands on that box. Well, I got five dollars out of Claus, anyhow."
+
+Casper sauntered along behind Claus, who was walking rapidly, and
+when he reached the depot he looked all around for his companion, but
+failed to see him. Claus had gone off somewhere, and Casper was there
+alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+HOW A MINE WAS HAUNTED.
+
+
+"Well, boys," said Mr. Fay, when they had reached the street and were
+walking toward their hotel, "I have somehow taken a great interest in
+you, and I am anxious to see you come out all right. It is the most
+remarkable thing I ever heard of. You did not know what was in that
+box when you bought it, did you?"
+
+"No, sir," replied Julian; "it was all sealed up. The auctioneer said
+something about a miner having hidden the secret of a gold-mine in it,
+and I bought it for thirty cents."
+
+"The auctioneer happened to hit the matter right on the head. I will
+go with you in search of a cheaper boarding-house than the one at
+which you are now stopping, and you had better remain there until Mr.
+Gibson hears from those people in St. Louis. That will be two weeks,
+probably. If, at any time, you grow weary of walking about our city,
+looking at what little there is worth seeing, come down to the office,
+and we'll sit there and swap a few lies."
+
+Mr. Fay continued to talk in this way while they were walking along
+the streets, meanwhile turning several corners, and the longer he
+talked the more the boys saw the traits of his Western character
+sticking out all over him. He talked like a gentleman, and then
+spoiled it all by remarking that they would "swap a few lies" when
+they came around to his office. He had probably been out West so long
+that he had become accustomed to Western ways of conversation.
+
+At length Mr. Fay turned off from the sidewalk, ascended the steps
+that led to the door of a house, saying, as he did so, "Now we will go
+in here and see what we can do," and rang the door-bell. It was a very
+different-looking house from the one they had been in the habit of
+living in when in St. Louis. There were no broken-down doors to be
+opened before they went in, nor any rickety steps to be climbed, but
+everything was neat and trim, and kept in perfect order. A
+motherly-looking old lady answered Mr. Fay's pull at the bell.
+
+"Ah! good-morning, Mrs. Rutherford," was the way in which Mr. Fay
+greeted her. "Let me introduce Julian Gray and John Sheldon. They are
+looking around for a cheap boarding-house,--not too cheap, mind
+you,--and I have called to see if you have any place in which to hang
+them up for the night."
+
+Mrs. Rutherford was glad to meet Julian and Jack, invited them into
+the parlor, and asked them if they wanted a room together. The boys
+replied that they did, and she conducted them upstairs, to show them a
+room that was vacant. They were gone not more than five minutes, and
+when they came downstairs again Mrs. Rutherford was putting some bills
+away in her pocket-book, and the boys acted as though they were well
+satisfied.
+
+"Well, you have found a place, have you?" said Mr. Fay. "Have you
+jotted down the street and number?"
+
+No, the boys had not thought of that, and Julian quickly pulled his
+note-book from his pocket.
+
+"Your city is somewhat larger than we expected to find it," began
+Julian.
+
+"You don't find many wigwams around here now," answered Mr. Fay. "We
+keep spreading out all the time. Can you boys find the way back to
+your hotel?"
+
+Julian and Jack thought they could find it if they were given time
+enough, but Mr. Fay thought he had better go with them. It was right
+on the road to his office, and he walked off so rapidly that his young
+companions were obliged to increase their speed in order to keep up
+with him. Before they had gone a great way, Julian, who was anxious to
+learn all he could about their surroundings, asked how far it was to
+the mountains behind them. Mr. Fay had evidently answered such
+questions before, for all he said in reply was,
+
+"How far do you think it is?"
+
+"I think two miles would cover the distance," he answered, for he was
+determined he would guess enough while he was about it.
+
+"How far do _you_ say it is, John?" said Mr. Fay, turning to Jack.
+
+"I would rather be excused from expressing an opinion, but I think we
+could walk out there in two hours."
+
+"And come back the same day?"
+
+"Why, yes; certainly."
+
+"Now, let me tell you," said Mr. Fay: "If you have made up your minds
+to go out to the mountains, hire a good, fast walking-horse, and go
+out one day and come back the next."
+
+"Is it as far as that?" exclaimed the boys, looking at each other with
+amazement.
+
+"It is all of twelve miles. You must take into consideration that the
+air is very rare up here, and that things appear nearer than they are.
+You are 5135 feet above the level of the sea."
+
+"My goodness! I didn't think we were so far out of the world!"
+
+"We have awfully uncertain weather here," continued Mr. Fay, "but
+still we regard our climate as healthy. Our thermometer sometimes
+changes as much as forty degrees in twenty-four hours. Since
+Professor Loomis took charge of the matter, the mercury has changed
+forty-five times in one day. What sort of a place did you expect to
+find Denver, anyway?"
+
+"Well, I did not know what sort of a place it was," said Julian. "We
+thought we should find more wigwams here than houses, and you can't
+imagine how surprised we were when we found ourselves in a depot full
+of people."
+
+"Denver used to be full of wigwams, but it is not so now. Until the
+year 1858 the Indians lived in peace; but in that year gold was
+discovered by W. G. Russell, a Georgian, on the banks of the river
+Platte, which is but a little way from here, and that settled the
+business of the Indians in a hurry. Denver, Black Hawk, Golden City,
+and many other cities that I can't think of now, were founded in 1859,
+and a host of immigrants appeared. Since that time we have been
+spreading out, as I told you, until we have a pretty good-sized city."
+
+"It shows what Western men can do when they once set about it," said
+Jack. "Now, answer another question while you are about it, if you
+please. If the mercury changes forty degrees in twenty-four hours,
+working in the mines must be dangerous business."
+
+"That depends upon where you are working," said Mr. Fay. "If you are
+at work in a placer-mine, you stand a good chance of leaving your
+bones up there for somebody to bring home; but if you are working
+under the ground, it does not make any difference. Are you thinking of
+going out to Dutch Flat to try your hand at it? I don't know where
+that is, but you can find plenty of men here who can tell you."
+
+"I have not said anything to Julian about it, but I think that would
+be one of the best things we could do. You see, we are not settled in
+that property yet."
+
+"I see," said Mr. Fay. "Gibson may get word from those fellows in St.
+Louis that you are impostors, and that you stole that box instead of
+buying it at a sale of 'old horse.' That would be rough on you."
+
+The boys did not know how to take this remark. They looked at Mr. Fay,
+but he was walking along as usual, with his hands in his pockets,
+bowing right and left to the many persons he met on the streets, and
+did not seem to think anything of it. Perhaps it was his ordinary
+style of talking.
+
+"I am not at all afraid of that," remarked Jack. "If he finds us
+impostors, we are willing to go to jail."
+
+Mr. Fay threw back his head and laughed heartily.
+
+"I have no idea of anything of the kind," said he, as soon as he could
+speak. "I was just wondering what you would think of it. But what were
+you going to say?"
+
+"This property is not settled on us yet," replied Jack, "and we may
+want something to keep us in grub while we are here. We have a perfect
+right to work that mine, have we not?"
+
+"If you can find it--yes. Go up there, and if nobody else is working
+it, pitch in and take fifty thousand dollars more out of it."
+
+"And what will we do if somebody else is working it?"
+
+"You had better give up to them, unless you think you are strong
+enough to get the better of them. But you need not worry about that.
+The mine is haunted, and you won't catch any of the miners going
+around where ghosts are."
+
+"Who do you suppose are haunting it?" asked Julian. "That letter says
+the writer worked the mine alone, and took lots of money out of it,
+and never saw a thing to frighten him."
+
+"Perhaps somebody has been murdered up there; I don't know. You won't
+see anything until you get down in the mine, and then you want to look
+out. I heard of a mine up at Gold Cove that was haunted in that way.
+There were a dozen miners tried it, and each one came away without
+getting anything, although the gold was lying on top of the ground. As
+often as a miner went below (it was about thirty feet down to the
+bottom), he was sure to see somebody at work there before him. He was
+picking with a tool at the bottom of the shaft in order to loosen it
+up, accompanying every blow he made with a sonorous 'whiz!' which
+showed that he was an Irishman. Some of the miners retreated to their
+bucket and signaled to their helper to pull them up, and you couldn't
+hire them to go into the mine again. Others, with a little more
+bravery than they had, went up to put their hands on the man, but as
+fast as they advanced he retreated; and when they got to the end of
+the shaft, the phantom miner was still ahead, and picking away as fast
+as ever."
+
+"Then the mine is deserted?"
+
+"Yes, and has been for years. It is one of the richest mines around
+here, too."
+
+"Why, I should think somebody would shoot him," said Jack.
+
+"Shoot him! He has been shot at more times than anybody could count;
+but he pays no attention to it. He is a ghost, and he knows you can't
+hurt him. I never saw it, and, what is more, I don't want to; but I
+would not go down into that mine for all the gold there is in the
+hills."
+
+"Did anybody think a murder had been committed somewhere around
+there?" said Julian.
+
+"I never heard that there was."
+
+"Well, I just wish our mine would be haunted with something like
+that," said Jack. "I would find out what he was, and what business he
+had there, or I would know the reason why."
+
+"Well, you may have a chance to try it. Does this look like your
+hotel? Now I will bid you good-bye, and I will see you again
+to-morrow, if you come around."
+
+Mr. Fay departed, taking with him the hearty thanks of the boys for
+all his kindness and courtesy, and then they slowly ascended the steps
+to the office. They had secured one thing by his attentions to them--a
+boarding-house at which the money they had in their pockets would keep
+them safely for a month, if it took Mr. Gibson that long to hear from
+St. Louis; but, on the whole, Jack wished Mr. Fay had not used his
+Western phraseology so freely.
+
+"Does he want us to work that mine or not?" asked Jack.
+
+"I don't know. He talked pretty readily, did he not?"
+
+"I wonder if that is the way all Westerners talk? Did he scare you
+out of going up there to that mine?"
+
+"No, sir," replied Julian, emphatically. "Do you know that I rather
+like that man? He reminds me of Mr. Wiggins, and talks exactly like
+him."
+
+"What do you suppose it was that those fellows saw in that mine?"
+
+"I give it up. Some of these Western men are good shots with a
+revolver, and it seems to me they might have struck the fellow if they
+had had a fair chance at him."
+
+"But he was a ghost, you know."
+
+"Oh, get out! If they saw him there, you can bet that there _was_
+somebody there. Some of the miners had their minds all made up to see
+something, and of course they saw it."
+
+"But how do you account for that 'whiz!' that he uttered every time he
+struck with his pick?"
+
+"They never heard any 'whiz!' coming from that man; they only imagined
+it."
+
+"Do you think their ears could be deceived, as well as their eyes?"
+
+"Jack, I am surprised at you. You are big enough and strong enough to
+whip any ghost that I ever saw, and yet you are afraid to go down in
+that mine!"
+
+"Wait until we find it, and then I'll show you whether I am afraid or
+not. Now, if you will go on and pay our bill and have our trunk
+brought down, I'll go and get a carriage."
+
+In five minutes this was done, and the boys were soon on their way to
+their boarding-house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+GOOD NEWS.
+
+
+For a week after Julian and Jack went to their new boarding-house they
+had much to occupy their attention--so much, indeed, they did not
+think of going down to the telegraph office and "swapping a few lies"
+with the chief operator. Their new home charmed them in every
+particular. Mr. Fay had not forgotten that _he_ had been a boy in the
+not so very long ago, and the boarding-house he had chosen for them
+was such as he would have chosen for himself. The boarders were young
+men who, like themselves, had come out West to seek their fortunes,
+and they were all employed in various avocations in the city. Jack
+noticed one thing, and that was they did not run around of evenings to
+any extent; or, if they did, they went down to the library, where they
+spent their time in reading.
+
+"Do you know that that is something that strikes me," said Jack one
+night when they went upstairs to their room. "We ought to join the
+Young Men's Christian Association."
+
+"Have you forgotten our mine?" asked Julian.
+
+"No, I have not; but I don't believe in going up there in winter. A
+thermometer that can change so many times within twenty-four hours is
+something that I want to keep clear of."
+
+"Well, where is the money to come from?"
+
+"Humph!" said Jack, who had not thought of that before; "that's so.
+Where is it?"
+
+The first thing the boys thought of, when they got up the next
+morning, was to take a trip to the mountains. Jack was in favor of
+walking. It was only twelve miles, and the amount they would have to
+pay out for a horse would keep one of them a week at their
+boarding-house. But Julian could not see it in that light.
+
+"I tell you, you have never walked twenty-four miles in a day,"
+remarked the latter. "I have done it many a time, but I am not going
+to do it now, when there is no need of it."
+
+"You act as though you had that money in your hands already," retorted
+Jack. "Now, I'll tell you what's a fact: I am going to have the same
+trouble with you that I had in St. Louis. There won't be any 'old
+horse' for you to spend your money on, but you will squander it in
+some other way."
+
+"You will see," said Julian, with a laugh. "Come on, now; I am going
+to get a saddle-horse--one that can take me out there in an hour."
+
+Jack reluctantly yielded to his companion, who made his way toward a
+livery-stable which he had seen when they came to their
+boarding-house. There they engaged a couple of saddle-horses which
+seemed to know what they were expected to do, for when allowed the
+rein they put off toward the mountains, and went along at a brisk
+pace. Jack could not get over grumbling about hiring horses to do what
+they could do themselves, but Julian did not pay the least attention
+to it. When they had gone a long distance on the road they met a
+teamster, and of him Jack inquired how many miles they had yet to
+travel to reach their destination.
+
+"Them mountains?" asked the man, facing about in his seat. "They are a
+matter of six miles from here."
+
+"If I had a good start for a run I believe I could jump that far,"
+said Jack.
+
+"Yes, it does look that way," said the man; "but it would be a mighty
+lengthy jump for you. I guess you are a tenderfoot--ain't you?"
+
+"I never was so far West as this in my life."
+
+The man had evidently heard all that he wanted to hear, for he started
+his team, smiling and nodding his head as if to say that Jack would
+learn more about distances on the prairie before he had been there
+long.
+
+The distance was fully as great as the boys expected to find it; and,
+when they drew up in front of a little hotel in the foothills, the
+mountains seemed to be as far off as ever. The proprietor came to the
+door, bid them good-morning in his cheery way, and asked if there was
+anything that he could do for them.
+
+"How far off are those peaks from here?" questioned Jack.
+
+"Twenty miles," said the man. "You are not going out there to-day, are
+you?"
+
+"Why, the folks in Denver told us that the mountains were twelve miles
+away," said Jack, greatly surprised.
+
+"Well, you are twelve miles from Denver now. These little hills here
+are the beginning of the mountains."
+
+"I guess you may feed our horses and give us some dinner, and then we
+will go back," said Julian. "Well, Jack, we've seen the mountains."
+
+"Yes, and laid out six dollars for the horses besides," replied Jack,
+in disgust. "The next time you want anything to carry you, we will go
+on foot."
+
+The man laughed heartily as he took charge of their horses, and the
+boys went into the hotel, where they found a fire on the hearth, and
+were glad to draw up close to it.
+
+"I declare, I did not know it was so cold," said Julian. "I suppose
+it is warm enough in St. Louis. How high is that city above the
+sea-level?"
+
+"I don't know," answered Jack, who could not get over the feeling that
+those people in Denver had played too much on his credulity. "Twenty
+miles! I guess we won't go up to the top of those mountains, yet a
+while, and look for California. I wish those horses were back in the
+stable where they belong."
+
+"We will have them back there in three hours," answered Julian, "and
+if you don't want me to hire any more horses, I won't do it."
+
+The boys got back to Denver without any mishap, and after that they
+were eager to see the city. Jack did not have anything to grumble
+about during the week that followed, for they went on foot, and there
+were no horses hired. Finally, after viewing all the fine buildings
+that were to be seen, they thought of the telegraph operator, and
+decided to take him in the next day; so on Monday they presented
+themselves at his office. Mr. Fay was there; and, unlike Mr. Wiggins,
+he did not seem to have much to do, for he was sitting in an
+easy-chair, with his feet perched upon the desk in front of him,
+playing with a paper-cutter. The boy who came forward to attend to
+their wants seemed to have made up his mind that Mr. Fay was the man
+they wanted to see, and so he conducted them into his private office.
+
+"Halloo! boys," he cried, taking down his feet and pushing chairs
+toward them; "you are here yet, are you? Have you been out to look at
+your gold-mine?"
+
+"No, sir," replied Julian; "we could hardly go out there and come back
+in a week--could we?"
+
+"No, I don't believe you could. I have been thinking about you,"
+continued Mr. Fay, depositing his feet on the desk once more, "and if
+you know when you are well off you won't go out there this fall. I was
+talking with a man who has come in from Dutch Flat, and he says it is
+getting most too cold up there to suit him. He has made a heap of
+money, and has come here to spend it. I suppose that is what you will
+be doing when you get to work out there--make all you want in summer,
+and come here in winter and spend it."
+
+"No, sir," asserted Julian, emphatically; "we have worked hard for
+what little money we have, and we know how to take care of it. I
+thought it would not make any difference to us how cold it was if we
+were working under the ground; I thought you said something like
+that."
+
+"Certainly, I said so," affirmed Mr. Fay; "but you will have to take
+provisions with you to last you six months. If you don't, you will get
+snowed up in the mountains; the drifts will get so deep that you can't
+get through them."
+
+"I did not think of that," said Julian.
+
+"Well, you had better think of it, for if you get up there, and get
+blocked by drifts, my goodness!--you will starve to death!"
+
+"Did you say anything to the man about our claim up there?"
+
+"No, I did not, for I did not know where it was located. I will tell
+you what you can do, though. He is going back in the spring, and he
+can assist you in getting everything you need."
+
+"We are very much obliged to you for saying that," responded Jack, who
+felt that a big load had been removed from his and Julian's shoulders.
+
+"I am only speaking of what I know of the man," remarked Mr. Fay.
+"Miners are always ready to help one another, and I know he will do
+that much for you. I will tell you where you can see him. Do you know
+where Salisbury's hotel is?"
+
+The boys replied that they did not. They had been all over the city,
+but did not remember having seen any sign of that hostelry.
+
+"Well, I will go with you," said Mr. Fay "Come around about two
+o'clock and we'll start. By the way, that lawyer has got back."
+
+"What lawyer, and where has he been?"
+
+"I mean Gibson--the lawyer that you employed to do your business for
+you. He has been to St. Louis."
+
+"Good enough!" exclaimed Jack. "He has found out by this time more
+than we could tell him."
+
+"I saw him last night just as he got off the train, and he desired me
+to tell you, if I happened to see you before he did, that he would be
+glad to see you around at his office as soon as you could get there,"
+said Mr. Fay. "So you can run down there as soon as you please. You
+know where he hangs out--don't you?"
+
+Yes, the boys were certain they could find his office without any
+help, and arose and put on their caps. They told Mr. Fay they would be
+sure to come around at two o'clock, to go with him to call upon the
+miner who had recently come from Dutch Flat, bade him good-bye, and
+left the office.
+
+"What do you think of the situation now?" asked Julian, as they
+hurried along toward the place where the lawyer "hung out." "Are you
+still sorry that I bid on that 'old horse?'"
+
+"I only hope there will be no hitch in the business," said Jack. "If
+he should ask us some questions that we could not answer--then what?"
+
+"We will tell him the truth," said Julian. "He can't ask us any
+questions that we can't answer. Claus and Casper could go in on
+telling lies, but that way would not suit us."
+
+As the boys had taken particular note of the location of Mr. Gibson's
+office, they went there as straight as though they had been in Denver
+all their lives, ran up the stairs to the first floor, and opened the
+lawyer's door. Mr. Gibson was there, as well as two men whom he was
+advising on some law-point they had brought to him to clear up. When
+the boys came in he stopped what he was saying, jumped up, and
+extended a hand to each of them.
+
+"I was coming around in search of you fellows as soon as I got through
+with these men," said he. "How have you boys been, out here, so far
+away from home? Please excuse me for fifteen minutes or so."
+
+The boys took the chairs he offered them, and for a few minutes kept
+track of what he was saying; but that did not last long. It was about
+a fence that a neighbor of the two men had built, but which their
+cattle had broken down, and they were anxious to get out of a lawsuit
+for the field of wheat their cattle had ruined. They heard the lawyer
+advise them, honestly, that they must either compromise the matter or
+get into a lawsuit, in which case they would have to pay full damages;
+and while he was talking to them he proved that he was a man who could
+do two things at once. He opened a drawer and took out two
+photographs, which he compared with the boys, one after the other. It
+did not take him long to decide upon this business, and then he
+devoted himself to the question of fences again.
+
+"It is as plain as daylight to me," said he, as he arose to his feet.
+"Your cattle broke the fence down, went in, and ate up the man's
+wheat. It was a good, strong, staked-and-ridered fence, too. There are
+only two ways out of it: Yon can either settle the matter with him, or
+you can go to law; and if you do that, you will get beaten."
+
+One of the men then asked him how much he charged for his advice, and
+when he said "Five dollars," the boys cast anxious glances at each
+other. If he charged that way for advising a man to keep out of law,
+what price would he demand for taking care of one hundred thousand
+dollars? Mr. Gibson showed them to the door, bowed them out, and then
+turned to the boys.
+
+"I ought to have charged that man ten dollars," he declared, with an
+air of disgust. "He is always in a row; he never comes here to seek
+advice but that he wants to beat somebody. Do you recognize these
+pictures?"
+
+"Of course I do," replied Julian. "This is a photograph of me, and
+that is my signature on the back; the other one is Jack's."
+
+"I have been to St. Louis since you were here," Mr. Gibson went on. "I
+called upon the men whose addresses you gave me, and found out all
+about you. I tried my best to find Mr. Haberstro, but could not do it,
+and so I have concluded that the money is yours."
+
+"Everything?" exclaimed Julian. "The gold-mine and all?"
+
+"Everything belongs to you," answered Mr. Gibson; and one would have
+thought, from the way in which he announced the fact, that somebody
+had left the fortune all to Julian. "Of course, if Mr. Haberstro ever
+turns up you will have to surrender the money; but I don't take any
+stock in his turning up. Julian, you now have very nearly twenty
+thousand dollars coming to you."
+
+"But Jack must have half," said Julian, earnestly. "He has stuck to me
+like a good fellow, and I don't know what I should have done without
+him."
+
+"Well, then, that makes you worth ten thousand dollars apiece."
+
+Julian drew a long breath and looked at Jack. The latter leaned his
+elbows on his knees, whirled his cap in his hand, and looked at the
+floor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+MR. BANTA IS SURPRISED.
+
+
+"You fellows look surprised," said Mr. Gibson, running his eyes from
+one to the other of the boys. "It seems to me, if a man told me I had
+that amount of money coming to me, and that I had ten thousand dollars
+where I could draw on it at my leisure, this room would not hold me; I
+should want the whole city to splurge in."
+
+The boys made no reply. Jack drew his hand once or twice across his
+forehead, as if to brush away some wrinkles, while Julian got up and
+walked to the window.
+
+"You did not expect to get it--did you?" continued Mr. Gibson.
+
+"No, sir, we did not," replied Julian; "but we hoped to get it. We
+tried our level best to find Mr. Haberstro, following the advice of
+Mr. Wiggins in everything he told us to do; but he was out of our
+reach."
+
+"He is dead, probably," said Mr. Gibson. "I know just what you tried
+to do, and all about it. Of course there will be some law to go
+through with before you can step into the property. Do you wish me to
+take charge of it for you?"
+
+"Oh, Mr. Gibson, we really wish you would. We know nothing about law,
+and consequently we should not know how to act."
+
+"And do you wish me to take charge of the rental of your blocks of
+buildings?"
+
+"Yes, sir; go on just as you did before, and when we want money we
+will come to you."
+
+"Well, that is a different thing altogether," said Mr. Gibson, looking
+down at the floor. "The twenty thousand dollars that I told you of is
+now in the bank, subject to my order. I guess I had better go up there
+with you and have it changed. You can then get money whenever you want
+it. By the way, Julian, Mr. Wiggins sent his kindest regards to you;
+and, furthermore, he gave me a letter which he wished me to hand to
+you. I've got one for you, Jack, from your boss; what do you call
+him?"
+
+"Master mechanic," replied Jack.
+
+Mr. Gibson opened his desk and took out two letters, which he gave to
+the boys. The sight of Mr. Wiggins's handwriting on the envelope was
+almost too much for Julian, for he put the letter into his pocket and
+walked to the window again.
+
+"There is some good advice in those letters, and I want you boys to
+follow it out implicitly," said the lawyer. "You will always find me
+here, ready to tell you what to do in case you get into trouble. You
+must come to me or to Mr. Fay every time you get into a box. But,
+first and foremost, don't have anything to do with strangers. There
+are some of them who are bound to hear of your good fortune, and will
+take every means in their power to get hold of it. Don't sign any
+papers unless you bring them to me."
+
+"We have already had a little experience in that line," said Julian,
+with a smile. "Claus came up to us and tried to pass himself off for
+Mr. Haberstro, and he is the one who stole our valises on our way
+here; but he didn't make anything by it."
+
+"Yes--I heard all about this man Claus, and about that friend of
+yours, Casper Nevins. You know enough to steer clear of such fellows
+in future. Now, if you are all through, we'll go up to the bank."
+
+The boys followed Mr. Gibson out of the office, along the street,
+turning three or four corners, until they reached the bank. He did not
+have any business to do with the man who stood behind the desk
+counting out the money, but he simply asked him,
+
+"Is E. A. in?"
+
+"Yes, sir; he is in his private office," replied the cashier.
+
+The boys did not know who E. A. was, but they found out a moment
+later, for the lawyer led them into the presence of the president of
+the bank. He was gray-headed and wore a pair of gold spectacles, but
+he stopped his work and shook Mr. Gibson warmly by the hand. He looked
+curiously at the boys, but when the lawyer began his story, talking
+very rapidly, for there was a card hung up over his desk which said on
+it, "This is my busy day," he laid down his pen and glanced at Julian
+and Jack with some interest.
+
+"And you want the twenty thousand dollars changed, so that it will be
+subject to their order?" said he.
+
+"Yes, sir, that is my errand up here."
+
+The president got upon his feet and walked into the room where the
+cashier was. When he went, the boys had not more than ten dollars in
+their pockets that they could call their own; when he came back, they
+had a small fortune coming to them.
+
+"It is all right," said he. "And which of you boys was it who bid on
+the 'old horse?'" he continued, extending a hand to each of them. "You
+are the one? Well, my son, remember that there is an end to your money
+somewhere, and if you go to work and spend it all without waiting for
+some more to come in, the end of it is not far off. I wish you good
+luck."
+
+The boys retraced their steps to the cashier's desk, and the transfer
+of the property from Mr. Gibson's order to their own was easily
+completed. Mr. Gibson signed a check, the boys attached their names
+to a big book which was thrust out at them, and then the cashier
+wanted to know if they needed any money.
+
+"We would like about one hundred dollars apiece," said Julian.
+
+"Very well; make out a check for it and sign your names to it, and you
+can get it all right. You will find the checks there on that desk."
+
+The boys accordingly made out their checks for the money, and Mr.
+Gibson stood watching them, smiling to himself when he saw how the
+boys' hands trembled, and how anxious they were to have everything
+correct. The money was paid on the checks, and Julian and Jack put it
+into their pockets.
+
+"You got it, didn't you?" said the lawyer.
+
+"Yes, sir; thanks to you, we have got it," said Julian. "Mr. Gibson, I
+can't begin to tell you how much we thank you----"
+
+"Oh, that is all right," said the lawyer, opening the door of the
+bank; "only, don't get into a fuss and lose it all."
+
+"When we came here," continued Julian, "we had no money at all; now
+see how different it is! I assure you that we are not going to get
+into any fuss. The money is safe where it is."
+
+"Well, let it stay there. I am pretty busy this morning, so I beg that
+you will excuse me. Good-bye."
+
+The lawyer hurried away, and Julian stood a little on one side of the
+door of the bank, one hand thrust into his pocket where he had placed
+the bills, and his eyes fastened upon Mr. Gibson as long as he
+remained in sight.
+
+"Say, Jack," said he, suddenly; "I don't believe Mr. Gibson had any
+right to give us this money."
+
+"He hadn't?" exclaimed Jack. "Why, it was his."
+
+"No, it was not; it belongs to that Haberstro estate. It seems to me
+he ought to have got an order from the court before giving any of the
+money up to us."
+
+"Perhaps he has an order," said Jack.
+
+"Then why did he not say something about it? I would like to know when
+the court sits. If the Judge finds any blundering in the business,
+why, then we are up a stump. What will we do if this man Haberstro
+comes up, all on a sudden, and tells us he wants this hundred
+dollars?"
+
+"Whew!" said Jack; "I did not think of that."
+
+"But Mr. Gibson probably knew what the decision of the court was going
+to be or he would not have done this," added Julian, after a moment's
+pause. "I guess we are all right, but I shall feel better when we have
+all that property in our hands."
+
+Julian wished now, when it was too late, that he had not spoken to
+Jack about this. During the dinner hour he was unusually silent and
+thoughtful, and the landlady's questioning could not get a word out of
+him. He would arouse up long enough to reply, and then he would fall
+to thinking again.
+
+"I will never tell you another piece of news as long as I live," said
+Julian, as they went up to their room to get ready to accompany Mr.
+Fay to call on the miner. "You always have enough to say at dinner,
+but to-day you were as solemn as an owl."
+
+"I could not help it," said Jack. "If that man who owns this property
+turns up here, I tell you we shall be in a fix. We shall spend this
+before the winter is over, and how are we to get a hundred dollars to
+pay him? I'll speak to Mr. Gibson about that the next time I see him."
+
+"I believe that would be a good plan," said Julian, after thinking the
+matter over. "I'll bet you that he has some good reason for it."
+
+In due time the boys arrived at Mr. Fay's office, and found him ready
+to accompany them. All he said was that he was going out for half an
+hour, and if anybody came to see him he was to be told that he would
+soon be back; and then he set off, with his long strides, to lead the
+way to Salisbury's hotel. The boys found it as much as they could do
+to keep up with him.
+
+"I guess you have been a messenger-boy in your day," said Julian.
+
+"I was a messenger-boy for six years," replied Mr. Fay. "Of course I
+did not want to hold that position all my life, so I learned
+telegraphy at odd times, and got my promotion as fast as I was
+qualified for it, until at last I got where you see me now. That's the
+way that young men ought to do--look out for promotion."
+
+"We received good news down there at Mr. Gibson's office," continued
+Julian.
+
+"I knew you would. Have you the property all in your hands?"
+
+"No; there is some law-business to go through with, first. We told Mr.
+Gibson to go ahead with it, as he did before."
+
+"That was the best thing that you ever did," said Mr. Fay, earnestly.
+"Gibson is an honest man, even if he is a lawyer, and you will get
+every cent that is coming to you. Now, then, here we are. You will
+find this rather a different hotel from the one you first stopped at
+when you came here, but the old fellow makes lots of money out of the
+miners. There is nobody stays here except those who have shovelled
+dirt."
+
+Mr. Fay opened the door as he spoke, and the boys speedily found
+themselves in the living-room of the hotel. Before they had time to
+look around them the chief telegraph operator walked up and laid his
+hand upon the shoulder of a man who sat with his back to him.
+
+"You are here yet, are you, Banta?" said he.
+
+"Yes," replied the miner, looking up to see who it was that accosted
+him. "I am on hand, like a bogus coin made out of iron pyrites; you
+can't get rid of me."
+
+"I have brought some boys with me who would like to know something
+about the mines at which you are working," said Mr. Fay; and he
+proceeded to introduce Julian and Jack.
+
+Banta speedily proved that he was a gentleman, for he straightway got
+upon his feet to shake hands with the boys.
+
+"All right," said the miner; "if anybody can tell them about Dutch
+Flat, I am the man."
+
+"They are going to stay here this winter, and go out with you next
+spring," Mr. Fay went on.
+
+"All right," said the miner, again; "I will put them where they can
+dig gold so fast that you won't see anything but gold coming out of
+the pit."
+
+"But they have a gold-mine up there already."
+
+"They have? Where is it located?"
+
+Mr. Fay could not answer this question, so he stood aside and waited
+for Julian to tell him the whereabouts of the mine. The boy began by
+asking him,
+
+"Do you know the mine that Winkleman used to work when he was here?"
+
+Mr. Banta started, and looked at Julian to see if he was in dead
+earnest. The boy gazed fixedly at him, and the miner finally settled
+back in his chair and pulled himself down until his neck rested on the
+back of it.
+
+"Of course I know that mine," said he. "You don't think of working
+there, do you?"
+
+"We thought some of trying it," replied Julian.
+
+"Pete, what do you think of that?" asked Mr. Banta, pushing his hand
+against the shoulder of the man who sat nearest him, with his eyes
+closed, as if he were fast asleep. "Here are two boys going up to
+Dutch Flat next spring to work the Winkleman mine."
+
+"Well," replied Pete, without lifting his head, "I am glad I am not
+going up there."
+
+"Are the ghosts so awful thick up there?" asked Julian, who felt his
+courage oozing out at the ends of his fingers.
+
+"You know something about it--don't you? The ghosts are so thick up
+there that you can't go down in the mine to shovel a bucketful of dirt
+without scaring some of them up."
+
+"Well, you will have to excuse me," said Mr. Fay. "I should like to
+see what those ghosts are, but my work calls me. You will take charge
+of the boys next spring, will you, Mr. Banta?"
+
+"Sure I will; but they are plumb dunces if they try to work that mine.
+I will go with them as far as I can, and the balance of the way they
+will have to depend on themselves."
+
+Mr. Fay said he believed they could do that, opened the door and went
+out, and Julian and Jack were left alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+GRUB-STAKING.
+
+
+"Sit down," said Banta, pushing chairs toward the two boys with his
+foot; "I want to talk to you about that mine. What loon has been so
+foolish as to grub-stake you?"
+
+"Grub-stake us?" repeated Julian, for the words were quite new to him.
+
+"Yes; he does not expect to get his money back again very soon. I mean
+the fellow who has furnished you with grub and tools, and such things,
+to work the mine with."
+
+"We never heard that before; we did not know there was anybody who
+_could_ grub-stake us."
+
+"Say, Pete, what do you think of that?" said Banta, once more pushing
+the man who sat nearest him. "Here are a couple of tenderfeet, come
+away out West from--where did you come from?"
+
+"From St. Louis; this is as far West as we have ever been."
+
+"Here are a couple of tenderfeet from St. Louis who didn't know that
+they could get anybody to grub-stake them," continued Banta. "What do
+you think of that?"
+
+Pete, who had by this time got his wits about him, straightened up,
+pushed his hat on the back of his head, and regarded the boys with
+some curiosity. Julian and Jack looked at him, too, and concluded that
+he and Banta were partners in working a mine. He was roughly dressed,
+but there was a good-natured look about him that made the boys take to
+him at once. There were other men, dressed as miners, in the room, and
+they all seemed to be interested in the conversation.
+
+"Then I reckon I shall have to tell you about this grub-staking
+business," said Banta, squaring around in his chair so as to face the
+boys. "You are going to lay in a supply of things yourselves, I
+suppose?"
+
+"Yes, we are; and we shall have to depend on you to tell us what to
+get."
+
+"Well, there is plenty of time between this and spring, and we will
+have time to talk that over afterward. Now, about this grub-staking
+business. There are lots of fellows who come out here who haven't got
+the money to enable them to go prospecting, and what do they do but
+hunt up some fellow who is willing to buck against a hole in the
+ground, and get their provisions and tools of him. He gets half of
+what they make. The men stay out there until they have eaten up all
+their provisions and then come in; and if they have had good luck, so
+much the better. But if they have wasted their time in looking for
+gold where there wasn't any to be found, why, so much the worse; that
+man is just so much out of pocket.
+
+"Well, along in '90 Pete and me struck this very town, and we flew so
+light that we couldn't hardly stay on the ground. We didn't have
+enough to buy our next meal with; but we struck a gang whom we knew,
+and headed along with them for the gold country. Of course we had
+nothing, but we managed to strike a grub-stake and went prospecting up
+there behind Dutch Flat. We lit into that rock and dirt, working like
+beavers, but the sign didn't come right. It looked well enough at the
+start, but it did not pan out much. We stuck to it for nearly three
+months, and then concluded that we had better go down and get another
+grub-stake and strike in somewhere else. So I stayed up there alone,
+and Pete went down and brought up the man that employed us. He looked
+at the hole, liked the looks of it, and wanted us to go farther; but
+Pete and I couldn't see it in that light. One word brought on another,
+and he offered us three hundred dollars for the hole."
+
+"For the hole!" exclaimed Julian. "And there was not a sign of gold
+about it?"
+
+"Now, hold on till I tell you," returned Banta. "There was a little
+sign of gold about it, but there was not enough to pay Pete and me for
+digging. We snapped him up quicker'n a flash, and what does that man
+do? He went down to Dutch Flat, brought up his tools, and set in to
+working the hole, and before he had gone two feet farther he struck
+the richest vein you ever clapped your eyes on. He took sixty
+thousand dollars out of it. Now, some of you fellows talk about hard
+luck. If any of you can beat that story, I'll give you what little I
+made on Dutch Flat this summer."
+
+"That _was_ hard luck, I must say," said Julian. "And you lacked only
+two feet of being rich?"
+
+"Only just two feet," returned Banta, "We might have been running
+around now with two niggers to drive the team--one dressed as a
+coachman and the other as a footman. Pete didn't get over pulling his
+hair for a month after that."
+
+"But we are going to stake ourselves next summer," said Julian. "If we
+lose, it will come out of our own pockets. Have you been anywhere near
+this mine that we are going to work?"
+
+"What do you think of that, Pete?" exclaimed Banta. "He wants to know
+if we have been near his mine. Not much! I'll bet there are two
+hundred miners on Dutch Flat this minute, and not one of them has ever
+seen that mine. They have heard about it, they know there is plenty
+of gold up there, but nobody has ever been near it. The last two that
+went up there came away so badly frightened that they packed up and
+left the country so quick that you could not see them for the dust
+they kicked up along the trail. They saw something down there in the
+pit, and it took all the pluck out of them."
+
+"What did they see?" asked Julian.
+
+"Well, perhaps I was a little too fast in saying that they saw
+something," said Banta. "They heard something, and that was as good as
+though they had seen it. It first began with a scurrying on the
+ground, as if somebody was hurrying over it. Where it came from nobody
+knew; it seemed to fill the air all around them. Before they had time
+to get frightened at this there was a shriek that made it appear as if
+the pit was full of unearthly spirits, and then all was still; but the
+fellows had heard enough. The man down below yelled to his partner to
+pull him up, and when he found himself safe on top he laid down on the
+ground and swore he would never go down there again. Oh, you boys
+have something to face, if you are going up there!"
+
+"Could not the sound they heard have been occasioned by bats that had
+been disturbed while trying to take a rest?" asked Julian. "He had a
+light, of course."
+
+"Bats!" exclaimed Banta, with deep disgust; "it was a great deal
+larger than bats. And he could have seen them if he had a light, could
+he not?"
+
+"And, besides, bats don't shriek that way," said a miner who had not
+spoken before. "There used to be a miner who was working that pit
+along with Winkleman----"
+
+"You hold your yawp," exclaimed Banta, fiercely; "I am telling the
+boys nothing but facts. I want them to know just what they have to
+face. I don't go into any of this cock-and-bull story about a dead
+miner. If that man died up there, and was buried, he's there yet, and
+he can't come out to work in the pit any more."
+
+"What about him?" asked Julian. "We want to know everything connected
+with the mine, then we will be prepared for anything."
+
+"But this thing is not connected with the mine," said Banta; "it is
+some sort of a story the miners have, and there is not a word of truth
+in it. They tell about a miner being seen there by everyone who goes
+down, and when you try to get up to him, he is not there. He goes
+farther and farther away every time you approach him."
+
+"We have heard that story before," said Julian, with a smile; "Mr. Fay
+knows all about it."
+
+"Then of course you don't believe it. I have told you the truth about
+the mine, and now you can go up with me next spring or stay away, just
+as you have a mind to."
+
+"Oh, we will go with you," said Julian. "I never was interested in any
+property yet that I was afraid to work just on account of some things
+you could not see. When we bid you good-bye at Dutch Flat we shall
+know what there is in that mine before we come back."
+
+"I like your pluck," said Banta; and the look of admiration he
+bestowed upon Julian more than confirmed his words. "If you live up
+to that, I hope you will get some gold."
+
+"They say that gold is plenty up there," said another miner. "They say
+it is lying around under your feet."
+
+"And you never went there to get it!" exclaimed Julian with surprise.
+
+"It isn't as thick as that," said Banta. "Probably every bucketful you
+send up to be washed will yield you from ten to fifty dollars. You
+will get rich at that rate."
+
+"Well, I guess we have troubled you long enough," said Julian, rising
+to his feet. "We are really obliged to you, Mr. Banta, for offering to
+take charge of us, although we are nothing but tenderfeet. There are
+no Indians out there, are there?"
+
+"Indians!--no; and if there were some on the warpath, we have miners
+enough up there to make them hunt their holes."
+
+"I am glad of that; we don't want anything to do with those savages,
+after what we have read about them. We will see you again, Mr. Banta."
+
+"Do so, and the next time I will tell you what things you want to
+buy, to make your enterprise successful. Good-morning."
+
+"There's two boys that have gone plumb crazy," said one of the miners,
+after the door had closed upon Julian and Jack. "I wonder how they got
+that mine, in the first place?"
+
+"The boys are bound to get gold there, if they can stick it out," said
+another. "One of the men who came down from there showed me a piece of
+metal as big as a marble, which he had picked up on the bottom of that
+pit; but the trouble is, can they stick it out?"
+
+"I believe _they_ will," said Banta, settling down in his chair once
+more. "That boy who did most of the talking is one who has plenty of
+'sand' to see him through. After they get fairly settled, I believe
+I'll go up and see how they are getting along."
+
+"Then you will go without me," said Pete; "I am as close to that mine
+as I want to be."
+
+"Well, Jack," said Julian, as he buttoned his coat, "what do you think
+of our mine? Shall we go up and try it? The miners all think there is
+gold up there."
+
+"We will have plenty of time to talk about that between this time and
+spring," returned Jack. "Mr. Haberstro may come up before we get ready
+to start, and demand his money."
+
+"I have no fears on that score," replied Julian. "Did not the lawyer
+say that he did not look for that? But, Jack, I really believe you are
+afraid of that mine."
+
+"You need not be. When we get up there, and get things fixed, I will
+be the first to go into it."
+
+"All right. I'll stand back and let you. Now, Jack, what are we going
+to do this winter? We can't sit around all the time without something
+to occupy our minds."
+
+"I have been thinking about that. Let us call on Mr. Fay, and see what
+he says."
+
+Julian thought this a piece of advice worth acting upon, and they bent
+their steps toward Mr. Fay's office, where they found him seated, as
+before, with his feet on the desk in front of him. When he saw who his
+visitors were, he jumped up hastily and seized each of them by the arm
+with a firm grip.
+
+"Oh, boys, you surely haven't made up your minds to go up to that
+mine next spring, have you?" he asked, almost in a whisper.
+
+"Why, yes, sir," said Julian, somewhat surprised by the man's actions.
+"I reckon it is ours, and we want to see what gold is to be found in
+it."
+
+"But think of the ghosts you will have to contend with," said Mr. Fay.
+"You will hear scurrying of feet--What was that?" he continued,
+looking toward a distant part of his office and pulling the boys
+around in front of him. "I am certain there is a ghost there."
+
+Julian and Jack began to see into the matter now. The man was so full
+of his fun that he could not keep it in under any circumstances, and
+it had come to the surface when he saw the boys come into his office.
+Perhaps a lingering smile around his mouth had something to do with
+it.
+
+"I don't believe you heard any ghost there," said Julian; "they are so
+busy up there at the mine that they have no time to come down here to
+trouble you."
+
+"All right, boys; sit down. What did Banta say the spirits looked
+like?"
+
+Julian replied that he could not tell, for he had not seen them; and
+with this as an introduction he went on and repeated the miner's
+conversation as nearly as he could recall it. Mr. Fay listened, highly
+amused, and when Julian ceased speaking he said,
+
+"If you can see them, what's the use of your being afraid? And as for
+that phantom miner, that happened a long ways from here. I ought to be
+kicked for trying to frighten you."
+
+"It will take something more than that to scare us out," said Julian.
+"Now, Mr. Fay, we want to ask your advice."
+
+"I am ready to give it. Do you want to invest some property in a
+gold-mine?"
+
+No; Julian assured him that it had no reference to their property,
+which was not theirs yet until the court had passed upon it, but it
+was in regard to their going to school in order to learn something.
+Mr. Fay was all attention now, and when Julian spoke of joining some
+mercantile academy, he slapped his hands down upon his knees as if
+that was the best thing the boys could do.
+
+"I have no fears that your money will not prove useful to you," said
+he; "the idea of your wanting to go to school is a big feather in your
+caps. Some young men, with such an amount of money as you have coming
+to you, would loaf around and do nothing until their funds were all
+gone; but you don't act that way. Believe me, there is an end to that
+hundred thousand dollars somewhere."
+
+"That is just what the president of the bank told us when we called
+upon him," said Julian. "We have worked so hard for the little money
+we have that we intend to take care of it. But, Mr. Fay, we don't
+believe that Mr. Gibson did right in giving us these funds."
+
+"What's the reason you don't?"
+
+"Why, he said he would have to get word from the court before all the
+property could be turned over to us--"
+
+"Oh, that's all right; Mr. Gibson knew what he was doing. You will
+find it all right when the Judge hears the case. Now, do you know
+where the business college is situated?"
+
+Julian was not so sure about that, but he received certain
+instructions from Mr. Fay that made him think he could find it; so the
+boys put on their caps and went out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+GOING TO SCHOOL.
+
+
+"Is the boss mechanic anywhere about?" asked Jack, who chanced to be
+the first who entered the college when they found it.
+
+They had opened a door, and found themselves in one of the study-rooms
+of the school. There were fifty men and women there, all interested
+with their books, and the best of order prevailed. A young man, whose
+seat was near the door, on seeing that the boys were strangers, had
+arisen and asked them what he could do for them.
+
+"The boss mechanic?" he repeated, in a surprised tone.
+
+"He means the man who is at the head of this institution," said
+Julian. We want to see him for a few minutes, if you please."
+
+"Oh, yes," said the young man, as he gave Jack a looking over. "I
+guess you have worked at manual labor all your life."
+
+"Yes, I have," replied Jack; "I have done nothing but lift heavy iron
+for a good many years, and now I want to find an easier way of making
+a living."
+
+"You have come to the right place to find it. Step this way."
+
+The student led the way around the room, passing close to the
+scholars, some of whom merely glanced up, others paying not the least
+attention to them, until he opened a door and ushered them into a
+private office. He introduced the boys as persons who had come there
+to see the "boss mechanic," and then went out; while a pleasant-faced,
+elderly gentleman replied that he was the "boss mechanic" of that
+school, and asked them what they wanted. Jack, who had made a blunder
+by the first question he asked, remained silent, leaving Julian to do
+all the talking.
+
+"We want to get an education," said Julian.
+
+"Well, that is what this school can give you," said the man. "What do
+you want to study?"
+
+"Stenography and type-writing."
+
+"And you?" he added, turning to Jack.
+
+"Bookkeeping and writing; I write a fearful hand."
+
+The superintendent, having made a start with the boys, invited them to
+sit down, and in a few minutes he learned something of the boys'
+history, and what occupation they had been engaged in previous to
+coming to Denver. Without telling him anything of their circumstances,
+they chanced to mention the names of Mr. Fay and Mr. Gibson, and after
+that Julian thought he seemed to take more interest in them. After a
+little conversation the boys pulled out their roll of bills and paid
+for six months' instruction and the books they would need, and then
+arose to go, after telling him they would be on hand in the morning,
+ready to go to work.
+
+"I'll tell you what's a fact," said Jack, pausing on the stairs and
+pulling out his diminished roll of bills; "we will have to go to the
+bank and get some more money, the first thing you know."
+
+"That is so," replied Julian. "And I have just thought of another
+thing. Did you see how neatly all those students were dressed? I am
+going to draw two hundred dollars--"
+
+"Man alive!" said Jack, appalled by the sum mentioned. "Suppose Mr.
+Haberstro comes up--"
+
+"I don't bother my head about him. We will go and get some money, and
+then we will go to a tailor's and get some clothes worth having. If
+Mr. Haberstro is going to appear, Mr. Gibson will show us the way
+out."
+
+Jack was not convinced by any means, but he kept close by Julian's
+side until he reached the bank. Julian made out the check for him and
+he signed his name, and the money was paid to each of them without a
+word of protest. Jack felt a little uneasy after that. He did not like
+to have so much money about him. He carried his left hand in the
+pocket where he had placed the bills, and looked at every
+roughly-dressed man he met, as if he were afraid that somebody would
+rob him.
+
+"I don't feel exactly right," said he to Julian. "As soon as we get
+home I'll put this money in my trunk, and then I know it will be
+safe."
+
+"Don't keep your hand on it all the while, or you will lead somebody
+to suspect something," said Julian. "Now, here is a tailor shop; let
+us go in and see what we can do."
+
+Jack fairly gasped when Julian said he wanted the finest suit of
+clothes there was in the store. He wanted two suits--one for every day
+and one for Sundays. Of course the merchant was eager to show them to
+him, and the result was that he ordered the best suits he had ever had
+in his life. Jack did not believe in expensive clothes, but Julian
+urged it upon him, telling him that he would look as though he came
+from the country among all those nicely-dressed students, and Jack
+finally yielded to him.
+
+"That's the worst expenditure of money that I was ever guilty of,"
+said he, when they were fairly on the street.
+
+"Grumbling again, are you?" was Julian's comment. "Never mind; you
+will get used to it after a while."
+
+The next thing the boys had in view was to join the Young Men's
+Christian Association, so that they could get some books to take home
+with them; and when that was done they considered themselves settled
+for the winter. They went to school the next day, and from that time
+until spring opened they never missed a lesson. Jack was rather
+awkward at first. The hands which had been in the habit of lifting
+heavy bars of iron could not accommodate themselves to a pen very
+readily; and oftentimes, when Julian sat in his room, of nights,
+reading, Jack was there learning to write. No two boys ever behaved
+themselves better than they did, and it was not long before they
+became favorites, both with the boarders and others who came there to
+visit. Jack soon got used to his fine clothes, and wore them as if he
+had been accustomed to them all his life. They took an evening now and
+then to call upon Mr. Banta, and they always found him as talkative as
+ever. Sometimes they became so interested in his tales of life in the
+gold-camps that it was ten o'clock before they returned home. Mr. Fay
+and Mr. Gibson also came in for visits occasionally, and once the
+latter took out a bundle of papers, which he handed to Julian.
+
+"What are these?" he asked.
+
+"They are your property," said the lawyer. "You can keep the papers
+yourself, or you can let me keep them, and I will put them in my till
+in the bank."
+
+"Do you mean that all comes to us?" inquired Julian, while a thrill
+shot all through him.
+
+"Yes, sir; the court decided so a week ago."
+
+"Jack," said Julian, turning to his companion, "are you sorry, now,
+that I went to the express office and invested in that 'old horse'?"
+
+Jack could not say anything. He remembered how he had scolded Julian
+for that, and he did not want it thrown up to him so often. Julian
+then went on and told Mr. Gibson what had happened in their room the
+night he brought the "old horse" home, and the lawyer laughed loudly
+at his description of it.
+
+"Mr. Gibson, we really wish you would take charge of this matter for
+us," said Julian. "You hope so, too--don't you, Jack?"
+
+"Of course; we don't know what to do with it."
+
+And so the matter was settled, and the boys breathed a good deal
+easier while they were on their way home. There was one thing that
+often came into their minds, and that was, What had become of Claus
+and Casper Nevins? Had they given up all hopes of gaining possession
+of that hundred thousand dollars? Jack scouted the idea. Casper might
+have given it up, but Claus would stick to his idea until he got into
+jail by it. He was not a man who gave up so easily. It is true they
+had not seen anything of him since they came to Denver, but Jack was
+sure they would hear from him at some other time.
+
+"You will see," exclaimed Jack, when he confided his opinions to
+Julian. "You want to be on the watch, or the first thing you know he
+will jump down on us."
+
+"I guess Mr. Gibson can shut him up very easily," said Julian.
+
+"Yes; but it may happen when Mr. Gibson is not around."
+
+"Eh? Do you mean that he will come down on us while we are up at the
+mine?"
+
+"Such things as that have happened. When you see a German you want to
+look out."
+
+Things went along in Denver as they usually did, and when winter
+fairly opened on them the boys thought they had never experienced such
+cold weather before. But it did not interfere with their business in
+any way. It was not long before Mr. Banta began to talk to them about
+the things that would be necessary for them to have if they were going
+to operate their mine successfully, and the boys had a lengthy list of
+things they would have to buy. They thought they could get along
+without some of them, but Banta assured them that everything they had
+down would be of use to them sooner or later. As time wore on, the
+prospect of leaving Denver and going off to the mountains alone, where
+they were destined to encounter some risks that they did not know
+whether they could stand up against or not, made the boys silent and
+thoughtful. In Denver they had friends--they were sure of that; but
+when they got out to their mine they would be left all to themselves,
+and Julian and Jack did not know what they would make of it. Jack had
+less to say about it than his companion, but it was plain enough to
+see that he was not going to back out.
+
+"I tell you I hate to go away and leave all the kind friends we have
+gathered about us," said Julian, as they left Salisbury's hotel after
+Mr. Banta had told them that by two weeks from Monday they must be on
+hand bright and early, all ready to start for the mountains. "I wish I
+knew what was in that mine."
+
+"So do I; and the only way we can find out is to go and see," replied
+Jack. "I don't believe in ghosts, but I have heard so much about the
+things up there in that mine that I am almost ready to give in to
+them."
+
+There was another thing that Jack thought of, although he did not
+mention it. Julian had always been one of the first to talk about
+going to the mine, and he was ready to accuse Jack of cowardice; but
+when the time for their departure drew near, Julian did not open his
+mouth. Jack thought of that, but said nothing.
+
+Mr. Banta told them, finally, that they had better go to work and get
+their things ready, and they set about it in earnest. The first thing
+they did was to take leave of the students at the college. The boys
+were all sorry to see them go, and the superintendent said he hoped
+Julian and Jack had given up the idea of a gold-mine, for they were
+getting on so rapidly in their studies that he trusted to see them
+complete the course. He predicted they would come back poorer than
+when they went away. He had heard of such things before; and, after
+the young men had eaten up all their provisions, they would be glad to
+find somebody to grub-stake them back to Denver.
+
+"You will see us back here in the fall," said Julian, confidently. "We
+are not going to give up our chances of learning something."
+
+"But you may meet your death up there," said the superintendent. "I
+have often heard of such things."
+
+"I was awfully afraid you were going to say something about the ghosts
+in our gold-mine," said Jack, as they went down the stairs. "You
+looked at me several times as though you wanted to say something about
+it."
+
+"It was right on the end of my tongue," said Julian, "but I thought I
+had better keep still about it. If we should come back here before
+fall, they would say right away that we had been frightened out and
+dared not go back."
+
+Mr. Banta was busy getting his own things together, but he found time
+now and then to overlook the boys' expenditures. Under his
+instructions they bought three horses,--two of them for riding, the
+other intended as a pack-horse to carry their utensils,--and then he
+led the boys away to a gun-shop, where they were to purchase rifles.
+
+"Look here, Mr. Banta," said Julian; "we don't need anything in here.
+We have got a revolver apiece, and, if the truth must be told, we have
+spent a good deal of time in practicing with them."
+
+"What good will a revolver do you?" asked Banta, greatly surprised.
+"If we chance to meet any Indians----"
+
+"But you told us there were no Indians," said Julian. "We don't want
+to shoot at anybody unless they are close at hand. Maybe they will
+come in handy on the ghosts, you know."
+
+"Well, you don't know anything about the plains--I can see that, plain
+enough. If you think revolvers are going to do you, why, I am done
+with you."
+
+"Then we have purchased everything we want, have we?"
+
+"I think so. Be on hand on Monday morning, because we shall be off
+before the sun gets an hour high."
+
+The boys drew a long breath when they heard this. If they had not
+talked so much about visiting their mine it is probable that both of
+them would have backed squarely out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+WATERSPOUTS AND BLIZZARDS.
+
+
+"Hi! Nellie; get on, there! Strike a trot! We won't get to the
+mountains in seven years, at this gait."
+
+It was Mr. Banta who spoke, and he emphasized his remarks by making
+the whip he carried in his hand crack loudly. The old, white bell-mare
+pricked up her ears and slowly quickened her pace, closely followed by
+all the pack-mules and horses belonging to the train.
+
+"That old pack-mare knows where we are going as well as we do," said
+Banta, squaring around and throwing his leg over the horn of his
+saddle so that he could face the two boys whom he was addressing. "She
+has been up here so often that she knows every foot of the way. If we
+get hard up for deer meat, all we have to do is to take her bell off,
+and then we can go twenty miles out on the prairie, and she will
+bring us back home again. You can't get lost if you are on her."
+
+"Why do you take the bell off when you want to go hunting with the
+mare?" asked Julian of Mr. Banta, who, by reason of his age and
+experience, acted as leader of the company. "Does the noise of the
+bell frighten the game?"
+
+"That is one reason," replied Banta; "and the other is, we don't want
+all the pack-mules and horses to follow us. Wherever they hear the
+bell, they will go to it. If we were on the other side of a wide
+river, even though it was swimming-deep, and some of these mules don't
+like water any too well, and should sound that bell a few times, they
+would all come over. If anything should happen to that old bell-mare,
+and she should die, we'd send a man on with that bell, and the mules
+would follow him wherever he went."
+
+It was Monday morning, and the sun was just rising. The cavalcade had
+been on its way for two hours, for they left the hotel, amid wishes
+for good luck from all who saw them go, at the first peep of day. They
+went directly past the hotel at which Julian and Jack had stopped to
+eat dinner when they first came there, and were now alone in the
+foothills which arose on all sides of them. There were at least a
+dozen miners in the company, and they had all set out for Dutch Flat
+in the hope of digging up a fortune before the winter's storms
+overtook them. Julian and Jack were there, dressed in rough miners'
+clothing, and the horse which bore their provisions and tools was with
+the others who were following the bell-mare.
+
+Anybody could see at a glance that these boys were tenderfeet, and
+they did not attempt to deny it. Every other miner had a heavy
+Winchester slung at his back, while the only firearms the boys
+exhibited were Smith & Wesson revolvers, which they carried strapped
+to their waists. They did not look forward to the future with as brave
+hearts as most of the miners did. They could not get the idea out of
+their minds that the gold they wanted to find was protected by
+something which they did not want to see. The miners now and then cast
+curious looks at them, to see if they were not afraid of the prospect
+before them, but finally came to the conclusion that the boys were
+"going through with it." The miners were happy, and sang rude songs
+and cracked jokes with each other; but the boys were busy with their
+own thoughts, and took no part in what was going on around them.
+
+"And I don't blame them, either," said one miner, in a low voice, to
+his companion. "I wouldn't take any part in the singing if I were in
+their place. They are brave enough now, but wait until they have been
+up to that mine about two days; then we will see them at our camp,
+frightened to death."
+
+"Banta has rather taken them under his care, judging by the way he
+keeps watch over them," said the other miner.
+
+"Yes; he was made acquainted with them by some high man in Denver, and
+so he keeps an eye on them. But he can't go up to their mine with
+them. More than that, those ghosts will not stop for him or anybody
+else."
+
+Julian and Jack were not accustomed to being in the saddle from
+daylight until dark, and the ride was long and wearisome to them.
+They stopped at noon to eat their lunch and to let their animals crop
+the grass for a few minutes; but their packs were never removed from
+them until they halted for the night at a place which showed that
+there had been a camp before. Lean-to's were scattered around, partly
+unroofed by the storms of winter, and remnants of fires were to be
+seen; and Banta said that no one had been there since he and his party
+made the camp last fall.
+
+"We made this camp while we were going down to the city," said he. "It
+was raining when we stopped here, and that accounts for the lean-to's.
+We had a waterspout that night, this little stream was filled twenty
+feet deep, and some of us began to look wild."
+
+"A waterspout?" queried Jack. "What is that?"
+
+"Why, I don't know that I can describe it so that you can understand
+it," answered Banta, scratching his head. "It is caused by the large
+quantity of water that sometimes falls among the hills up-country, and
+when it all rushes into these ravines--well, you can imagine how it
+looks, but I cannot describe it. This stream has not much water in it
+now--you can step across it anywhere; but I have seen it bank full
+from rains in the up-country, while there was not a drop of it fell
+here. I remember that night. I was sound asleep in a lean-to. I had
+told the boys that before morning we would have to get farther up the
+bank or run the risk of having some of our things carried off, and
+about midnight I awoke with a feeling that there was something going
+on. You don't know anything about that, do you? Well, you wait until
+you have acted as guide for two or three mule-trains, and then you'll
+know it. Everything depends upon you to see that the train comes out
+all right.
+
+"I could not go to sleep again when once I woke up, and so I arose and
+went out. It was still raining heavily, but the brook didn't show much
+sign of it. I placed myself on the edge of the bank, and hardly had I
+got there before a long, creamy wave, which extended clear across this
+gully, crept with a hissing sound across the sand and rocks.
+Following with equal speed, and about a hundred feet behind it, was
+another wave, an unbroken mass of water at least five feet in height.
+It was not rounded into a wave, as at sea or on the lakes, but rose
+sheer and straight, a perfect wall of water. I knew that in five
+minutes this little creek would be brim full, so I raised a yell and
+awoke everybody in camp. The men I had with me were all veterans, and
+there was no need that I should explain matters. They took just one
+look at the water, and then grabbed their things and made a rush for
+the high bank behind the lean-to's. After placing them where they
+would be safe, they came back and made a rush for the horses. Pete,
+there, caught the bell-mare, and by dint of pulling and boosting we
+finally got them to that level spot you see up there."
+
+Mr. Banta pointed to the bank, which seemed almost as straight as the
+side of a house, and the boys looked on with perfect astonishment.
+
+"How in the world did you get the mules and horses up there?" inquired
+Julian.
+
+"A man can do a heap of things when he is working for his life and for
+things that he can't afford to lose," said Banta, with a laugh. "Pete
+has a heap of strength in those arms of his, and when I get hold of a
+mule's tail and begin to twist it, he goes somewhere as soon as he
+can. We got them up easy enough, and there we stayed for two whole
+days, until the water had all passed away. We didn't lose so much as a
+pound of bacon. But if I had been asleep, like the rest of the fellows
+were, we would have had a time of it; somebody would have had to swim
+for his life, and the current ran like lightning, too."
+
+"I did not know you had to look out for water on the plains," remarked
+Julian. "Is there anything you don't stand in fear of out here? You
+see, we want to know it all."
+
+"Well, a waterspout is one thing, and a blizzard is the next," said
+Banta. "I mean a blizzard where the clouds send down chunks of ice at
+you as big as your fist. Oh, you needn't laugh. Look at that."
+
+Banta stripped up his leggings, and showed the boys a long, ragged
+scar which he had received in one of the commotions of nature
+referred to. The wound must have been a dangerous one.
+
+"And the worst of it was, I did not have a doctor look at it for two
+weeks," Banta went on. "You see, I was out alone, and making the best
+track I could for the fort. The sky had all along been hazy, and on
+this day I had to go across the Twenty-mile desert, where there was
+not a willow-twig big enough for me to get under. When I was about
+half-way over it began to rain, and in less than an hour afterward the
+blizzard came a-ripping. My horse and mule were made so frantic by the
+pelting of the ice that I finally let them go; but before I released
+the horse I took my knife and cut the saddle and blankets off him.
+What did I do that for? Because I was too cold to use my fingers. I
+settled down there on the prairie, put the saddle and blankets over my
+head, and waited for the storm to cease; but before I did that, there
+came a big bunch of ice and struck me on the leg. I never had anything
+hurt so bad in my life."
+
+"How long did you have to stay there?" asked Jack. "I hear that some
+of these storms last two or three days."
+
+"This one lasted one day, and I was glad to see the ice quit dropping.
+I was thirty miles from the fort, and I'll bet I didn't do two miles
+of walking in all that distance. I left everything except my weapons
+and crawled all the way. This is the saddle, right here."
+
+"I should keep that for the good it had done," said Julian. "Your
+saddle probably saved your life."
+
+"It will stay with me while I live," said Banta, casting an
+affectionate look upon the article in question. "Now, boys, suppose
+you get ready and chop some wood and start the fire. I'll take the
+things off the animals and straighten up the lean-to. You boys don't
+know how to make a lean-to, do you? If you take a good look at this
+one, you will see how it is done."
+
+There was one satisfaction the boys had in listening to Mr. Banta's
+stories--they were true, every word of them. If any of the "boys"
+tried to make things different from what they were, Banta always shut
+them up. That was the reason the boys thought so much of him, and
+anything he had to say in regard to working their mine was always
+listened to with the keenest interest.
+
+The change that a few experienced men made in that deserted camp in a
+short time was wonderful. Every stroke of the axe counted for
+something, and every step the men made to and from the places they had
+chosen to make their beds seemed to count for something else; so that
+by the time Julian and Jack had cut wood enough to last them all night
+the lean-to's were covered with fresh boughs, those who did not choose
+to sleep under shelter had their beds made up under the protecting
+branches of trees, the animals were staked out, and two of the cooks
+were busy getting supper. It was all done without the least commotion,
+for each man knew what his duty was.
+
+"If a rain-storm was coming up you couldn't have made this camp
+quicker," said Julian. "It beats the world how soon men can get ready
+for the night."
+
+"Yes, but that comes from experience, you know," said Banta. "Do you
+know that I have been thinking of something? When we get up to Dutch
+Flat, and you get ready to go up to your mine, I believe I will go
+with you."
+
+"That's the best piece of news I have heard for a long time," declared
+Julian, who was delighted beyond measure. "We don't ask you to go down
+in the mine, you understand, but if you will just stay there until we
+get things fixed you will confer a great favor upon us."
+
+"Yes, I guess I had better see to your wants a little," said Banta.
+"You are tenderfeet, you have never lived alone in the mountains, and
+perhaps I can tip you a wink now and then that will be of use to you.
+You will need the mine cleared away--it has all grown up to grass by
+this time--and you will need a windlass and a lean-to; and maybe I can
+be of assistance."
+
+"I know you can; and of great assistance, too. I tell you, I feel
+easier. I have often wondered how that mine looked, and how we were
+going to get it in shape to work it, but I don't worry about it now.
+We are much obliged to you for your offer."
+
+"Oh, that's all right. I remember that I was a boy myself, and any
+such little help as I have offered you would have been a regular
+blessing to me. Now let us go and see if supper is ready."
+
+Supper was almost ready, and the neat manner in which it was served
+up, and the way it was cooked, told the boys that if the miners could
+always get such food as that, they could work their claims to the best
+possible advantage.
+
+"Can we help you a little?" said Julian to one of the cooks after the
+meal was over and the man began gathering up the dishes.
+
+"What a-doing?" asked the cook.
+
+"We want to help you wash the dishes," said Julian.
+
+"Why, bless you, that's no trouble. There is only one way you can help
+us, and that is by sitting by and looking on. I never yet saw a
+tenderfoot that didn't get in the way. You will have enough of it to
+do when you get up to that ghost-haunted mine of yours and have to
+cook your own meals. You had better take my advice," said the cook, in
+a lower tone, "and stay down on Dutch Flat with us. There are no
+spirits down there."
+
+"But it is ours, and I don't see why we can't work it," replied
+Julian. "If there is anybody there, we will make him show himself."
+
+"You will see," said the cook, going to the camp-fire for a bucket of
+water. "The next time we see you, you will be all ready to go back to
+Denver."
+
+The cook struck up a whistle as he began washing the dishes, and the
+boys, taking this as a gentle hint that he would rather be alone,
+walked off to another fire which had been kindled in the upper end of
+the camp. All the miners were gathered about there, and each one of
+them had a story to tell about some wonderful "find" which he had
+almost struck, and then ceased digging because he was discouraged by
+the way the gold "showed up." Banta was there, and after relating
+three or four stories of his own, he began to stretch and yawn as
+though he were sleepy, and finally arose and went into his lean-to.
+The boys followed him, hoping he would say something more about going
+up to their mine with them; but he talked on other topics until he got
+into bed, and then he became silent. He had already decided what he
+would do when they reached Dutch Flat, and there the matter ended.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE CAMP AT DUTCH FLAT.
+
+
+The boys slept as comfortably as if they had been at home in their
+boarding-house. It is true their blankets were rather hard, and their
+pillows were not as soft as they might have been, being simply their
+saddles with nothing but the horse-blankets over them, but they never
+knew a thing from the time they went to bed until they heard Mr.
+Banta's voice roaring out "Catch up!"
+
+They found all in the camp busy. Some were raking the embers of the
+fire together, others were getting ready to cook breakfast, but most
+of them were engaged in packing the animals. This last was a task that
+the boys always wanted to see, for the operation was so complicated
+that they did not think they could ever learn how to do it. The mules
+were blinded, in the first place, so that they could not kick when the
+heavy pack was thrown upon their backs, and the man on the near side,
+who seemed to "boss" the business, placed his foot against the mule's
+side and called lustily for the rope which the other fellow held in
+his hands.
+
+"You have more rope there, and I know it," was the way in which he
+began the conversation.
+
+"Here you are," said his companion, and the rope was passed over the
+pack to where the other fellow was waiting to receive it.
+
+"Come, let's have a little more rope," repeated the first man.
+
+"There's oceans of it here, and you can have all you want of it."
+
+"Are you all fast there?"
+
+"I will be in a minute. Here's your end."
+
+"All fast here. Now let us see him kick it off," said the first man;
+whereupon a dexterous twist tore off the blinders, and the mule was
+free to go and join his companions. It was all done in two minutes,
+and the pack was safe to last until the train halted for the night.
+
+"Come on, boys," said Mr. Banta, turning to Julian and Jack, who
+stood, with towel and soap in their hands, watching the operation of
+packing the animals. "You must get around livelier than this. When you
+get to digging out gold by the bucketful you won't wait to wash your
+faces or get breakfast; you'll be down in that mine before the sun is
+up."
+
+"Are we not going to eat at all?" asked Julian, who was amused at the
+man's way of telling them that they would be so anxious to find the
+gold that they would not spend time to cook their meals.
+
+"Yes, I suppose you will have to eat sometimes, but you will hold your
+grub in one hand and use the spade with the other."
+
+The miners were in a hurry, now, to resume their journey, and it took
+them about half as long to eat breakfast as they devoted to their
+supper. Five minutes was about the time they applied themselves to
+their meal, and when Mr. Banta arose from his seat on the ground and
+drew his hairy hand across his mouth to brush away the drops of coffee
+that clung to his mustache the miners all arose, too. In less time
+than it takes to tell it they were all in their saddles and under
+way, and when they stopped again for the night they were in a camp
+which they had occupied on the way down to Denver. Mr. Banta was as
+talkative as usual, and when he had got his pipe going, and had taken
+three or four puffs to make sure that it was well started, he began
+his round of stories, which the boys were always ready to listen to.
+
+They were all of a week in making their journey; and about three
+o'clock in the afternoon, when the old bell-mare struck a trot, Mr.
+Banta turned to Jack and gave him a poke with his finger.
+
+"We are almost home," said he, joyfully. "I don't suppose this will
+seem like home to you, but it does to me, for it is the only home I
+have."
+
+"Do you never get tired of this business?" asked Julian. "I should
+think you would like to go back to the States, where you belong."
+
+"How do you know that I belong in the States?" asked Mr. Banta.
+
+"I judge by your way of talking, as much as anything. You were not
+raised in this country--I am certain of it."
+
+"Well, I will go back when I get enough."
+
+"How much do you call enough?"
+
+"Half a million dollars."
+
+Julian and Jack opened their eyes and looked surprised.
+
+"I've got three hundred thousand now in the bank at Denver."
+
+"Then you are not so badly off, after all. I think I could live on the
+interest of that much."
+
+"There are some objections to my going back," said Mr. Banta, looking
+off toward the distant mountains. "When I get back there I will have
+to settle down to a humdrum life, and there won't be nothing at all to
+get up a little excitement. Here the thing is different. We live here,
+taking gold in paying quantities all the time, and the first thing we
+know we hear of some new placers, which have been found somewhere
+else, that make a man rich as fast as he can stick a shovel into the
+ground. Of course we pack up and go off to find the new placers. We
+have a muss or two with some outlaws, and when we get rid of them we
+go to work and find out that there is nothing there."
+
+"Then you wish yourself back at Dutch Flat," said Jack.
+
+"That's the way it happens, oftentimes. It is the excitement that
+keeps us a-going. Now, in the States I would not have any of that."
+
+"Did you find many outlaws in this country when you first came here?"
+
+"They were thicker than flies around a molasses barrel," answered Mr.
+Banta. "But we have got rid of them all, and your life is just as safe
+here as it would be in St. Louis. Whenever we go to a new country, the
+outlaws are the first things we look out for. There's the camp, all
+right and tight, just as we left it."
+
+The camp covered a good stretch of ground; but then Mr. Banta had not
+told them that there were fully two hundred miners in it, and of
+course such a multitude of men, where nobody owned the land, would
+spread over a good deal of territory. The boys had a fine opportunity
+to take a survey of the first mining camp they had ever seen. They
+were surprised at the neatness of it. Things in the shape of old
+bottles or tin cans were not scattered around where somebody would
+stumble over them, but such articles were thrown into a ravine behind
+the camp, out of sight. The most of the miners had erected little log
+cabins to protect them from the storms of winter, and the others had
+comfortable lean-to's which served the same purpose. Most of the men
+were busy with their mines, but there were three or four of them
+loafing about, and when the noise made by the pack-animals saluted
+their ears they turned to see who was coming. One glance was enough;
+they pulled off their hats and waved them by way of welcome.
+
+"Well, if here ain't Banta!" they all exclaimed in a breath. "Did you
+drop your roll down at Denver and come back to get more?"
+
+"Nary a time," replied Mr. Banta, emphatically. "We got just what we
+could eat and drink, and that is all the money we spent. Who has
+passed in his checks since I have been gone?"
+
+(This was a miner's way of asking "Who's dead?")
+
+"None of the boys who are here shovelling for gold," said the man,
+coming forward to shake hands with Mr. Banta, "but those four outlaws
+who came up here from Denver to deal out some whiskey and start a faro
+bank could tell a different story, if they were here."
+
+"They did not get a foothold here, did they?" asked Mr. Banta.
+
+"I'll bet they didn't. We hardly gave them time to unpack their goods
+before we jumped on them and spilled their traps on the ground. One of
+the bums grew huffy at that, and he took a wounded arm down for the
+doctor to bandage up."
+
+"Have any of the boys made their pile?"
+
+"Some have, and some have not. Tommy Moran has struck a vein with
+sixty thousand dollars in it, and has been loafing around for the last
+two months, doing nothing. He went out to-day to see if he can get
+some more. He wants to go home, now."
+
+"I should not think he would like to travel between here and Denver
+with that amount of money about him," said Mr. Banta.
+
+"Well, there will be plenty more to join in with him when he is ready
+to go. The discouraged ones number a heap. The sign looks right, but
+the paying-stuff don't pan out first-rate. Some are going home, and
+the rest are going off to hunt up new diggings."
+
+Having briefly got at the news of what had been going on at the camp
+while he had been away, Mr. Banta led the way toward his own log
+cabin, which was fastened up just as it was when he left it. There was
+one bed, made of rough boards, an abundance of dishes, a fireplace,
+and one or two chairs, and that was all the furniture to be seen. But
+Mr. Banta thought his cabin just about right.
+
+"It don't matter how hard it rains or blows, this little house has
+sheltered me for a year, and has got to do so until my vein gives out.
+Now, boys, catch the pack-animals and turn them over to me, and I'll
+soon make things look as though somebody lived here."
+
+Julian and Jack managed to secure the pack-animals by catching the
+bell-mare and leading her up to the door of the cabin, and it was not
+long before the bundles which they had borne for two hundred miles
+were placed on the ground, and Mr. Banta was engaged in carrying the
+things into his house. He unpacked all the bundles except the one that
+belonged to the boys, and that would not be opened until they reached
+their mine.
+
+"Are you fellows decided on that matter yet?" he asked. "Had you not
+better stay with us here on the Flat? We will promise you that no
+spooks will trouble you here."
+
+"The more you talk about that mine, the more determined we are to see
+what is in it," answered Jack. "You need not think you can scare us
+out in that way."
+
+"I like your pluck, and if you are determined to go there, why, I am
+going with you. It is only five miles, and we can easily ride over
+there in two hours."
+
+"Where is it you are going?" asked one of the miners, who stood in the
+doorway unobserved.
+
+"You know that haunted mine, don't you?"
+
+"Great Moses! You ain't a-going up there!" said the man; and as he
+spoke he came into the cabin and sat down in one of the chairs.
+
+"The boys are going there, and I thought I would go with them to see
+them started," said Mr. Banta. "The mine is all grown up to grass,
+because there hasn't been anybody up there for some time now."
+
+"No, I should say not!" exclaimed the miner, as soon as he had
+recovered from his astonishment. "Are the boys plumb crazy? I tell
+you, lads, when you see----"
+
+"Tony, shut your mouth!" cried Mr. Banta. "The boys won't see
+anything, but they'll hear something that will take all the sand out
+of them. I have talked to the boys many times about that mine, during
+the past winter, but they have their heads set on it, and I don't see
+any other way than to let them go."
+
+"Well, if we hear anything, there must be something that makes the
+noise," asserted Julian.
+
+"It will be something that you can't see," said the miner, shaking his
+head and looking thoughtfully at the ground. "Two fellows went up
+there since I knew the mine, and when they got down to the bottom of
+the pit they were so frightened that they came down here as fast as
+they could and struck out for Denver. They were both big, stout men,
+and were armed with Winchesters and revolvers. If they had seen what
+made the noise, they would have been apt to shoot--wouldn't they?"
+
+"I should think they would," answered Jack.
+
+"Will you go down into the mine when you get there?" asked the man,
+turning to Mr. Banta.
+
+"Not much, as anybody knows of," declared the latter, shivering all
+over. "The ghosts don't bother anybody working at the top, so I shall
+get along all right."
+
+"Well, that puts a different look on the matter," remarked Tony,
+evidently much relieved. "Then I shall expect to see you back in two
+or three days."
+
+"Yes, I'll be back by that time," asserted Mr. Banta; and he added to
+himself, "if anything happens to the boys after that, why, I shall be
+miles away."
+
+This was the first time that Mr. Banta had anything to say to the
+miners about what he intended to do when he reached Dutch Flat, but it
+was all over the camp in less than five minutes. The miner went slowly
+and thoughtfully out of the cabin, as if he did not know whether it
+was best to agree to his leader's proposition or not, and it was not
+long before the men who were busy with things about their houses came
+up in a body to inquire into the matter. They were filled with
+astonishment; and, furthermore, they were anxious to see the boys who
+were going to take their lives in their hands and go up to work that
+pit, from which strong men had been frightened away. And it was so
+when six o'clock arrived, and the men all came in to get their supper.
+Some of the miners declared that it was not to be thought of, and some
+said that if Mr. Banta was bound to go, they would go with him to see
+that he came out all right.
+
+"You see what the miners think of this business," remarked Mr. Banta,
+as he began preparations for their supper. "They think you are out of
+your heads."
+
+"Well, you will not see anything of it, because you won't go into the
+mine," said Jack.
+
+"You are mighty right I won't go into the mine," declared Mr. Banta,
+looking furtively about the cabin, as if he expected to see something
+advancing upon him. "We will go up there and put the pit all right,
+and then you will have to work it."
+
+"I wonder if there is any gold up there?" asked Julian.
+
+"There is more gold up there than you can see in Dutch Flat in a
+year's steady digging. The men who have been down in the mine say so."
+
+"Well, when we come back you may expect to see us rich," said Julian,
+compressing his lips. "And you may be sure that the spooks won't drive
+us out, either."
+
+This was all that was said on the subject--that is, by those in the
+cabin; but when the men had eaten their suppers they all crowded into
+it, and the stories that would have been told of ghosts interfering
+with miners who tried to take away their precious belongings would
+have tested the boys' courage; but Mr. Banta did not allow them to go
+on.
+
+"As I told these boys down at Denver, I am telling them nothing but
+facts in regard to this mine, and I want you to do the same," said he.
+"Don't draw on your imagination at all."
+
+Before the miners returned to their cabins, it came about that the
+boys were going to have a small army go with them on the morrow. At
+least a dozen miners declaimed their readiness to go with Banta "and
+see him through," and Banta did not object.
+
+"The more, the merrier," said he, when they had been left alone and he
+turned down his bedclothes. "Now, you boys can spread your blankets on
+the floor in front of the fire and go to sleep; I will have you up at
+the first peep of day."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE HAUNTED MINE.
+
+
+Mr. Banta kept his word the next morning, for the day was just
+beginning to break when he rolled out on the floor and gave the order
+to "Catch up." All the miners were astir soon afterward; but there was
+no joking or laughing going on in the camp, as there usually was. The
+men went silently about their work of cooking breakfast, or sat
+smoking their pipes in front of the fire, for their thoughts were busy
+with that mine up in the mountains. Even the talkative Mr. Banta had
+nothing to say. He seemed to have run short of stories, all on a
+sudden.
+
+"Say, Julian," remarked Jack, as they stood by the stream washing
+their hands and faces, "why don't Banta talk to us the way he usually
+does? I'll bet he is thinking about what is going to happen to us."
+
+"I was just thinking that way myself," replied Julian. "But we have
+gone too far to back out; we have got to go on."
+
+"Of course we have. I wouldn't back out now for anything."
+
+Breakfast was cooked and eaten, and the same silence prevailed; and
+that same silence did more to shake the boys' courage than all that
+had been said against their mine. Mr. Banta answered their questions
+in monosyllables, and when he had satisfied his appetite he put the
+dishes away unwashed and went out to catch his horse.
+
+"Take hold of the bell-mare and lead her up the path," said he,
+addressing the miners who were getting ready to accompany him. "We
+have to take her and all the stock along, or the boys' pack-horse
+won't budge an inch."
+
+The miners were talkative enough now, when they saw the boys getting
+ready to start on their journey. They crowded around them, and each
+one shook them by the hand.
+
+"Good-bye! kids," said one. "The next time I see you, you will be so
+badly scared that you won't be able to tell what happened to you up
+there; or, I sha'n't see you at all. I wish you all the good luck in
+the world, but I know that will not amount to anything."
+
+"Do you think they can whip all these men?" asked Jack, running his
+eye over the miners, who were getting on their horses and making ready
+to go with Mr. Banta.
+
+"That ain't the thing; you won't see anybody; but the sounds you will
+hear when you get fairly on the floor of that pit you will never want
+to hear again."
+
+The bell-mare was caught and led along the path, the stock all
+followed after her, and the miners brought up the rear. Then Mr. Banta
+opened his mouth and proceeded to talk all the way to the mine.
+
+"You boys may come along here pretty sudden, some time, and if you
+don't find Dutch Flat you will stray off into the mountains and get
+lost; so I will just blaze the way for you."
+
+As Mr. Banta spoke he seized a handful of the branches of an evergreen
+and pulled them partly off, so that they just hung by the bark.
+
+"Now, whenever you see that, you are on the right road," said he; "but
+if you don't see it, you had better turn back and search for a blaze
+until you find it."
+
+For once the boys did not pay much attention to Mr. Banta's stories,
+for their minds were fully occupied with their own thoughts. At
+last--it did not seem to them that they had ridden a mile--the man
+with the bell-mare sung out "Here we are!" and led the way into a
+smooth, grassy plain which seemed out of place there in the mountains,
+and to which there did not appear to be any outlet except the one by
+which they had entered it. It was surrounded by the loftiest peaks on
+all sides except one, and there the plain was bounded by a precipitous
+ravine which was so deep that the bottom could not be seen from the
+top. Near the middle of the plain was a little brook, placed most
+conveniently for "washing" their finds, which bubbled merrily over the
+stones before it plunged into the abyss before spoken of; and close on
+the other side were the ruins of the mine--a strong windlass, which
+had hauled up fifty thousand dollars' worth of gold--and the rope that
+was fast to the bucket, or rather to the fragments of it, for the
+bucket itself had fallen to pieces from the effects of the weather,
+and lay in ruins on the ground. Still farther away stood the
+lean-to--firmly built, of course, but not strong enough to stand the
+fury of the winter's storms. Taken altogether, a miner could not have
+selected a more fitting camp, or one better calculated to banish all
+symptoms of homesickness while they were pulling out the gold from the
+earth below. Mr. Banta kept a close watch on the boys, and saw the
+pleased expression that came upon their faces.
+
+"I know it looks splendid now, but it will not look so before long,"
+said he, with a knowing shake of his head. "Now, boys, let us get to
+work. We want to get through here, so as to get back to Dutch Flat
+to-night."
+
+The miners unsaddled their horses, grabbed their axes and spades, and
+set in manfully to make the "mine all right," so that the boys could
+go to work at it without delay. Some repaired the lean-to, others
+laboriously cleared the mouth of the pit from the grass and brush
+which had accumulated there, and still another brought from the boys'
+pack the new bucket and rope which they expected would last just about
+long enough for one of them to go down and up--and they were positive
+that the boy would come up a great deal faster than he went down. The
+boys did not find anything to do but to get dinner, and they were
+rather proud of the skill with which the viands were served up.
+
+"I didn't know you boys could do cooking like this," said Mr. Banta,
+as he seated himself on the grass and looked over the table--a blanket
+spread out to serve in lieu of a cloth. "If the cooking was all you
+had to contend with you could live like fighting-cocks as long as you
+stay here."
+
+"We had hardly enough money to pay for a housekeeper while we were in
+St. Louis, and so we had all this work to do ourselves," said Julian.
+"You must give Jack the credit for this. We kept bachelor's hall while
+we were at home. He cooked, and I swept out and helped wash the
+dishes."
+
+"Now, boys," said Mr. Banta, after he had finished his pipe, "I guess
+we have Julian and Jack all ready to go to work whenever they feel
+like it. Look over your work, and see if there is anything you have
+missed, and then we will go back to Dutch Flat. I tell you, I hate to
+leave you up here in this sort of a way."
+
+"You need not be," said Jack. "If you will come up here in two weeks
+from now, we will have some gold-dust to show you."
+
+Mr. Banta did not say anything discouraging, for he had already
+exhausted all his powers in that direction. He inspected all the work,
+to satisfy himself that it was properly done, and then gave the order
+to "catch up."
+
+"Of course your stock will go back with us," said he. "You could not
+keep them here away from that old bell-mare."
+
+"That was what we expected," said Julian; "we may be so badly
+frightened that we won't think to bring our weapons with us."
+
+"I am not afraid to say that I'll risk that," said Mr. Banta, leaning
+over to shake Julian by the hand. He told himself that the miner's
+heart was in that shake. It was very different from the clasp of the
+hand that he gave him when he was first introduced to him in Denver.
+"Good-bye, Julian. That is all I can say to you."
+
+The other miners rode up to take leave of them, and all looked very
+solemn. Some had a parting word to say, and some shook them by the
+hand without saying anything, the man with the bell-mare led off, the
+stock followed, the miners came last, and in two minutes more they
+were alone. Julian sat down on the grass feeling lonely indeed, but
+Jack jumped up and began to bestir himself.
+
+"Come on, boy--none of that!" said he, beginning to gather their few
+dishes together. "We must get these things out of the way and I must
+get ready to go into that mine."
+
+"Are you going down to-day?" asked Julian. The time had come at last.
+For long months Julian had talked about going down into that mine--not
+boastingly, to be sure, but he had said enough to make people believe
+he would not back out, and now the opportunity was presented for him
+to do as he had agreed. "Why can't you let it go until to-morrow?"
+
+"Because I am just ready to go now," said Jack; and there was a
+determined look on his face which Julian had never seen there before.
+"I am fighting mad, now, and to-morrow I may be as down-hearted as you
+are."
+
+"Do you think I am afraid?" exclaimed Julian, springing up and
+beginning to assist his chum. "I'll show you that I am not! If you
+want to go first you can go, and I will go the next time."
+
+Julian went to work with a determination to get the dishes done as
+soon as possible. When they had got them all stowed away where they
+belonged, Jack stopped to roll up his sleeves, examined his revolver,
+which he strapped to his waist, lighted his lamp, and led the way
+toward the mine without saying a word. Julian gave a hasty glance at
+him and saw that his face was as calm as it usually was, and he began
+to take courage from that.
+
+"It looks dark down there, does it not?" asked Julian, leaning on the
+windlass and peering down into the pit.
+
+"It is dark enough now, but it will be lighter when I get down there
+with my lamp," replied Jack. "Now, Julian, are you sure you can hold
+me up?"
+
+"Of course I can. If I can't, we had better get another man up here."
+
+Jack stopped just long enough to shake Julian by the hand, then seized
+the rope and stepped into the bucket, his partner holding the windlass
+so that he would not descend too rapidly. Slowly he went down, until
+finally the bucket stopped.
+
+"All right!" called Jack; and his voice sounded strangely, coming up
+from thirty feet underground. "This hole is bigger down here than it
+is at the top. Somebody has cut away on each side to try to find
+gold," and at last he started off toward the gully.
+
+Julian leaned over the pit and followed his companion's movements by
+the light of his lamp. He saw him as he went around to the "false
+diggings," and finally his lamp disappeared from view as Jack went
+down toward the ravine. His face was very pale; he listened intently,
+but could not hear that rustling of feet nor that moaning sound that
+had frightened two men away from there, and his courage all came back
+to him.
+
+"I wonder what those men were thinking of when they started that story
+about this mine being haunted?" Julian muttered to himself. "There is
+nothing here to trouble anyone."
+
+Hardly had this thought been framed in Julian's mind than there came a
+most startling and thrilling interruption. The boy was leaning over
+the pit with his head turned on one side, so that he could hear any
+unusual sounds going on below, and all of a sudden he sprang to his
+feet and acted very much as though he wanted to go below to Jack's
+assistance. He distinctly heard that rustling of feet over the rocks
+below, some of them made by Jack as he ran toward the bucket, and the
+other by something else that made Julian's heart stand still. And with
+that sound came others--moans or shrieks, Julian couldn't tell
+which--until they seemed to fill the pit all around him. This lasted
+but a few seconds, and then came the report of Jack's revolver and the
+sound was caught up by the echoes until it appeared to Julian that a
+whole battery of artillery had been fired at once.
+
+"There!" said Julian, greatly relieved to know that Jack had seen
+something to shoot at. "I guess one ghost has got his death at last!"
+
+A moment afterward came Jack's frantic pull on the rope, accompanied
+by his frightened voice--
+
+"Pull me up, Julian! For goodness' sake, pull me up!"
+
+Julian jumped for the windlass and put every atom of his strength into
+it. At first the resistance of the bucket was just about what it would
+have been if Jack had stepped into it; but suddenly the resistance
+ceased, the crank was jerked out of his hand, and Julian was thrown
+headlong to the ground.
+
+"What was that?" exclaimed the boy, regaining his feet as quickly as
+he could. "Jack, did you fall out of the bucket?"
+
+There was no response to his question. He leaned over and looked into
+the pit; but Jack's light had gone out, and everything was silent
+below. The rustling of feet had ceased, the moans had died away, and
+the mine was as still as the grave.
+
+"Something has happened to Jack!" exclaimed Julian, running to his
+lean-to after his revolver and lamp. "I am going down there to see
+about it if all the ghosts in the Rocky Mountains should be there to
+stop me!"
+
+Julian worked frantically, and in less time than it takes to tell it
+he was ready to go down to Jack's help. He hastily unwound the rope
+until all the length was out except the extreme end, which was
+fastened to the windlass by a couple of staples, and swung himself
+into the mine. He went down much faster than Jack did, and when he
+reached the bottom he let go his hold on the rope, and, holding his
+revolver in readiness for a shot, he turned slowly about, as if he
+were expecting that whatever had frightened Jack would be upon him
+before he could think twice. But nothing came. In whatever direction
+he turned his light, everything seemed concealed by Egyptian darkness,
+and finally he resolved to let the ghosts go and turned his attention
+to Jack. There he lay, close to Julian's feet, his lamp extinguished
+and his revolver at a little distance from him; and it was plain that
+he was either frightened or dead, for Julian had never seen so white a
+face before. His own face, if he only knew it, was utterly devoid of
+color, and his hands trembled so that he could scarcely use them.
+
+"I would like to know what it was that could make Jack faint away in
+this fashion," muttered Julian, first looking all around to make sure
+that nothing had come in sight before he laid his revolver down. "How
+to get him into that bucket, and the bail over him, is what bothers me
+just now; but he must go in, and get out of this."
+
+Jack was a heavyweight, and if any boy who reads this has ever been
+called upon to handle a playmate who remained limp and motionless in
+his arms he will know what a task Julian had to put him into the
+bucket. And remember that he must go inside the bail, otherwise he
+could not pull him out; and the bail would not stay up without
+somebody to hold it. But Julian worked away as only a boy can under
+such circumstances, and was just getting him in shape, so that in a
+moment more he would have had him in, when he noticed that one of his
+hands was wet. He stopped for a moment to look at it, and at the sight
+of it he seemed ready to sit down beside Jack and faint away, too.
+
+"It is blood!" murmured Julian. "My goodness! you must get out of
+here, and be quick about it! What was that?"
+
+Julian straightened up again, but he had his revolver in his hand.
+That moaning sound was repeated again, but the boy could not tell
+where it came from. It was not so great in volume as the first one
+that had saluted Jack, but it was a complaining kind of a sound, such
+as one might utter who was being deserted by the only friend he had
+upon earth. Julian stood there with his revolver in his hand, but,
+aside from the sound which rung in his ears for many a night
+afterward, his eyes could not reveal a single thing for him to shoot
+at. Julian thought now that he had got at the bottom of the mystery.
+Hastily slipping his revolver into his belt, he turned his attention
+to Jack, and in a few moments had him ready to hoist to the top. Then
+he seized the rope, and, climbing it hand over hand, he reached the
+surface, when, throwing off his hat and revolver, he turned around to
+haul up Jack.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+HAUNTED NO LONGER.
+
+
+This time Julian laid out all his strength on the windlass; but the
+bucket resisted, and he knew that Jack's weight was safely within it.
+Presently his head and shoulders appeared above the pit, whereupon
+Julian slipped a bucket over the crank, and in a few minutes Jack was
+safe above ground. To tumble him out of the bucket and dash into his
+face some water that he dipped up from the stream with his hat
+occupied but little of his time, and almost at once Jack opened his
+eyes and looked about him.
+
+"Well, sir, you saw them, did you not?" asked Julian, with a smile.
+
+"I tell you, you wouldn't have smiled if you had been in my place,"
+replied Jack. "That thing looked awful as it came at me."
+
+"What thing?"
+
+"There is some animal down there who is not going to let us work this
+mine if he can help it," said Jack, feeling around with his right hand
+to examine his shoulder. "As I stepped into the bucket with one foot
+he jumped--my goodness! I don't like to say how far it was; but I saw
+his eyes shining green in the darkness, and just as I pulled on him he
+sprang at me, dug his claws into my shoulder, and pulled me out. I
+thought I was gone up, sure; then all was blank to me. Did you see
+him?"
+
+"I did not see anything," said Julian. "When the bucket came up
+easily, as though you were not in it, I went down after you; but I did
+not see a thing. What was it?"
+
+"You tell. It was some kind of an animal that I never saw before. And
+didn't he make a howling just before he jumped! I wish you would look
+at my shoulder; it smarts awfully."
+
+Jack could handle himself well enough now, and it was no trouble for
+him to roll over on his face and give Julian a chance to view his
+wounds. His shirt was torn completely off, and underneath were four
+scratches which went the whole length of his back and spent
+themselves on the thick waistband of his trousers, which they had
+ripped in two. Very little blood came from the wounds, and Julian
+assured him that they were not deep enough to cause him any
+inconvenience.
+
+"You must have killed him before he got to you," said Julian. "A bear
+could not jump that far, and if it were a panther--why, you have done
+something to be proud of. You have done it anyway, for you have
+cleared up something that scared those two men away from here."
+
+"Do you really think so?" asked Jack.
+
+"I know it."
+
+"But think of the howling he made! It seemed as if the pit was full of
+bears and panthers, and I didn't know which way to look. Have you got
+all the blood off? Then let us go down there and see about it. We
+can't work our mine with those fellows in there. If I killed him at
+once, how did he come to jump so far? And then he took himself off
+after clawing me; that is something I don't understand."
+
+"You have to shoot one of those fellows through the brain or in the
+spine, in order to throw him in his tracks. Did you have a fair chance
+at his heart?"
+
+"I don't know. I simply shot a little ways below that green spot, in
+the darkness, and the next thing I knew I didn't know anything."
+
+"Because, if you had a fair chance at his heart, a wild animal will
+sometimes run a good way before he drops. He is down there somewhere,
+and I'll bet you will find him. But, Jack, there are others that we
+must get rid of before we own this mine."
+
+"What do you mean by that? I was in hopes I had shot the last one of
+them."
+
+"Well, you did not. While I was working over you I heard those moans
+repeated. That proves others are there--don't it?"
+
+"I am going down to clear it up," persisted Jack, who had got upon his
+feet by this time and started toward the lean-to. "Hold on till I get
+cartridges to put in this revolver. I used to grumble at you because
+you spent so much money in Denver, last winter, in shooting at a
+mark, but I begin to believe you were right and that I was wrong. If I
+had been as awkward with this shooting-iron as I used to be, you would
+have got the whole of that hundred thousand dollars to spend for
+yourself."
+
+"Don't speak about it!" exclaimed Julian, who wondered what he should
+do if Jack was taken away from him. "I need somebody to grumble at me,
+and you will do as well as anybody. Are you not going to put on
+another shirt?"
+
+"Not much, I ain't. Maybe I did not kill that animal, whatever it was
+and he will come for me again. Now, you hold up and let me go," said
+Jack, when he saw Julian place one foot in the bucket."
+
+"I am a better shot than you are, and if I pull on one of those ghosts
+you will see him drop," returned Julian, drawing the other foot in.
+"Take hold of the windlass and let me down easy. If I halloo, you must
+lose no time in hauling me up."
+
+Jack was obliged to submit to this arrangement, and he carefully
+lowered Julian out of sight. When the bucket stopped he seized the
+rope, and in a moment more stood beside him.
+
+"I am glad it is animals that are interfering with us, for I am not at
+all afraid of them," declared Jack. "Now, where is that other sound
+you heard?"
+
+The question had hardly been formed on Jack's lips when that sound
+came to their ears--not faint and far off, as was the one that caused
+Julian to handle his revolver, but louder and clearer, as though the
+animal that made it was close upon them. Sometimes they thought it was
+in front, and they held their revolvers ready to shoot at a moment's
+warning, and then, again, it sounded behind them; and in a second more
+it appeared as if the rocks on each side of them concealed the enemy
+that was uttering those startling sounds.
+
+"It is the echo--that's what it is," said Julian. "There is only one
+animal in here, and we can't shoot him any too quick."
+
+Julian, aided by his lamp, led the way cautiously along the
+subterranean passage, which would have been level but for the
+carelessness or haste of the men who had worked the pit before them,
+peering into every little cavity he saw, until at last he stopped
+suddenly and pointed his revolver at something that lay upon the
+floor.
+
+"What is it, Julian?" whispered Jack, pressing eagerly to his side.
+
+"Well, sir, you have done it now," answered Julian, bending over and
+examining the animal as well as he could by the light of his lamp.
+"This is the thing that frightened the other two men away."
+
+"What is it?" repeated Jack. "A panther?"
+
+"No, sir; this animal will make two of the biggest panthers you ever
+saw. It is a lion!"
+
+"In America?" said Jack, in astonishment.
+
+"It is what the miners call them, anyway. When we get it into the
+bucket I will let you have the crank, and we will see if it does not
+weigh almost as much as you do. This animal is a mother, and her
+babies are crying for her."
+
+Jack was surprised when he saw what a monster animal his lucky shot
+had put out of the way, for he did not lay any claim to his skill as a
+marksman in making that shot. He must have shot her plumb through the
+heart, or else she would not have died so quickly. She looked as big
+as a yearling, marked for all the world like the panthers he had seen
+in the shows which he had attended; but it was her size more than
+anything else which impressed him. It was wonderful, too, what a
+change the sight of this animal made in Jack. His courage all came
+back to him, and after taking a hasty glance at his trophy he took the
+lead and pressed on toward the farther end of the passage. Every few
+feet he found what the miners called "false diggings"--that is, places
+that they had dug, either on the right-hand side or the left, to see
+if the vein they were following turned that way. In one of these
+"false diggings" Jack stopped and pointed silently before him. Julian
+looked over Jack's shoulder, and saw that the miner had dug through
+the embankment there and into a cave which extended through into the
+gulch--the boys could see that by the little streaks of light which
+came in at the other end. On a slight shelf which formed one side of
+the passageway some leaves had been gathered, and in this bed were two
+cubs about the size of full-grown cats, while a third had crawled out
+and was trying, in his clumsy way, to follow his mother into the mine.
+The little thing was wild, and set up a furious spitting as the boys
+approached.
+
+"These things account for the noise you heard," remarked Jack, picking
+up the cub and beating its head against the floor.
+
+"What made you do that, Jack?" exclaimed Julian. "We ought to save the
+young ones alive."
+
+"Well, suppose we do; what will we raise them on? It is true that we
+might tell the milkman to leave us an extra quart or two to feed them
+on, for such little things can't eat bacon and hard-tack. Now, after
+we get through--"
+
+"By gracious, Jack--look out!" exclaimed Julian, suddenly. "The old
+man is coming home to see what's the matter with his young ones!"
+
+Jack dropped the cub he had picked up, and which he was about to serve
+as he had the first, and, looking toward the farther end of the
+passageway, saw that the light was shut off by the head and shoulders
+of another monstrous lion that had stopped when he discovered the
+boys. In an instant two revolvers were aimed at the white spot on his
+chest.
+
+"Be sure you make as good a shot as you did before," whispered Julian,
+whose face was as pale as Jack's was when he pulled him out of the
+pit. "It's a matter of life and death with us."
+
+The revolvers cracked in quick succession, raising an echo that almost
+deafened them. Without a moment's delay they fired again, then threw
+themselves prone upon the floor of the cave, for they saw the lion
+coming. He had evidently got all ready for a spring, and when the
+first two bullets struck him he made it, jumping over them and landing
+in the pit beyond. The moment he touched the ground two more balls
+went into him, and then the boys jumped to their feet; for they did
+not want the lion to spring upon them while lying down. But the
+animal made no effort to recover his feet; he was too badly hurt for
+that. He struggled frantically, springing from the ground as high as
+the boys' heads, and his motions were so quick and rapid that there
+was no chance to shoot him again; but this lasted only for a few
+seconds. His struggles grew weaker, and he soon lay upon the floor,
+stone dead.
+
+"There, sir," said Julian, who was the first to speak; "this is a
+haunted mine no longer. Our little 44-caliber revolvers did as good
+work as Banta would have done with his Winchester."
+
+"Whew! I am glad it is all over, and that we were not frightened out
+of coming here. I don't believe in ghosts, anyway."
+
+"How do you account for that man in the mine up the country who always
+gets farther and farther away every time anybody tries to touch him?"
+asked Julian.
+
+"I believe that story originated in the minds of some miners who were
+afraid to go there. And as for their shooting at him, I don't take any
+stock in that, either. Now, I will finish what I was going to say
+when the old gentleman came in and interrupted me. After I have killed
+these cubs, we will go to work and fill this cave so full of the rocks
+which some of the miners have left scattered about that there won't be
+a chance for any other animal to make a commotion in this mine."
+
+The work of dispatching the cubs was very soon accomplished, and then
+the boys wanted to get the lions above ground, so that they could see
+how they looked. But when they undertook to lift the "old gentleman,"
+to carry him to the bucket, they found they had more than they could
+do; so they each took hold of a hind leg and dragged him to the shaft.
+When they came to put him in, they saw there was not room enough for
+the cubs, for the bucket would not hold any more.
+
+"I'll go up and haul the old fellow out," said Jack. "I tell you, he
+is big enough to scare anybody--is he not?"
+
+"Yes," answered Julian, with a laugh; "and if we had been frightened
+away, and somebody else had found out that they were lions, and not
+unearthly spirits, it would have been all over Denver inside of a
+month."
+
+Jack, who said he thought that was so, seized the rope and began
+working his way toward the top. Then the bucket began to move, and
+presently Julian saw it go out over the top. In a few minutes Jack
+came down again, and they got the mother of the family ready to be
+hoisted up. Julian went up this time, tumbled the lion out beside his
+mate, and let down the bucket for the dead cubs and Jack, who, when he
+stepped out, found Julian with his hat off and drawing his
+shirt-sleeves across his forehead.
+
+"I tell you, Jack, if the dirt you send up weighs as much as these
+ghosts did, the one who pulls it out will have the hardest part of the
+work," said Julian. "Now let us sit down and take a good look at
+them."
+
+The longer the boys looked, the larger seemed to grow the animals that
+had created so great an uproar in the country for miles around. They
+regretted they had not brought a tape-line with them, that they might
+take measurements; but they came to one conclusion--if they found an
+animal like either of those in the mountains, they would give it a
+wide berth. They had read of encounters with them by men, and during
+their stay in Denver had listened to some thrilling stories, told by
+miners, of their fierceness, and they decided that those men had more
+pluck than they had.
+
+"Let us take the skins off, and by that time it will be night," said
+Julian. "We can fill up the hole to-morrow."
+
+"I don't know how to go to work at it--do you?" asked Jack, taking off
+his hat and scratching his head. "I never did such a piece of business
+in my life."
+
+"We are not going to take them off with the intention of selling them;
+we are going to show them to the miners. If we tell them our story
+without anything to show for it, they will think we are trying to
+shoot with a long bow. If we make a few holes in the skins by a slip
+of our knives, who cares?"
+
+The boys went to work on the cubs first, one holding the hind legs and
+the other doing the skinning, and they got along so well with them
+that they went to work on the big ones with more confidence. By the
+time it grew dark the skins were removed, and the carcasses were
+dragged away and thrown into the ravine. Then the boys began supper
+with light hearts. The mystery of the haunted mine had been unearthed,
+and Julian and Jack were ready to dig up the treasure--that is, if
+there was any there waiting for them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+"THAT IS GOLD."
+
+
+"Jack, come up here; I have something to show you."
+
+"What is it? Have you made yourself rich by washing out the last
+bucket of earth I sent up?"
+
+"I have something, and it looks like gold. Wait until I haul this
+bucket up, and then I'll send it down for you."
+
+This conversation took place between Julian and his chum on the third
+morning after their arrival at the mine. The hole that led into the
+cave which the lions had made their habitation had been filled up so
+tight that even a ground-squirrel would have found it a hard task to
+work his way through; all the little rocks had been cleared away from
+the floor of the pit, making it an easy matter for them to carry the
+earth in a basket to the bottom of the shaft, and the digging had been
+going on for two days without any signs of "color" rewarding their
+anxious gaze. The buckets of dirt, as fast as they were sent up, were
+washed in the brook by the aid of a "cradle" which the boys had
+brought with them, but their most persistent "rocking" failed to leave
+a sediment behind. All the dirt went out with the water, and the
+cradle was as clean when they got through rocking it as it was before
+they began.
+
+"I believe the fellow who wrote that letter must have taken all the
+gold in the mine," remarked Julian, one night, after they had spent a
+hard day's work at the pit. "Fifty thousand dollars! That's a heap of
+money to take out of one hole in the ground."
+
+"I think so myself," replied Jack; "but we will keep it up until our
+provisions are gone, and then we will go back to Dutch Flat."
+
+But on this particular day Julian, who was washing the dirt at the
+head of the shaft, thought he saw some settlings in the bottom of his
+cradle, and forthwith began to handle it a little more carefully. The
+longer he rocked the more the sediment grew, until at last he had a
+spoonful, which he gathered up and then approached the mouth of the
+pit.
+
+"If you have any gold to show me I'll come up before the bucket does,"
+declared Jack; "the bucket can wait."
+
+"I have enough here to buy another block of houses," exclaimed Julian,
+as Jack's head and shoulders appeared. "What do you think of that?"
+
+"Is it gold or not?" asked Jack, who was inclined to be suspicious.
+"Maybe it is some of that iron that Mr. Banta told us about."
+
+"That is just what I was afraid of," said Julian; "but I reckon iron
+pyrites comes in lumps, don't it? If it does, this is gold, sure
+enough."
+
+The boys did not know what to make of it, and they finally decided
+that they would put it away until Mr. Banta came up to see how they
+were getting along, which he had agreed to do at the end of two weeks.
+The boys spoke of their "find" as iron pyrites, for they did not like
+to think they would be lucky enough to dig gold out of the ground,
+and this was not the only spoonful of dust that went into their bag.
+The bag grew in size as the days wore on, and finally, at the end of
+two weeks, it was almost full.
+
+"I tell you, Jack, I don't like to show this to Mr. Banta," declared
+Julian, holding up the bag, and looking ruefully at it. "Perhaps we
+have done all our best digging all for nothing."
+
+"Well, it can't be helped," was Jack's reply. "They were inexperienced
+when they first came out here, and there was nobody to tell them
+whether they had iron pyrites or gold. But we have done one thing that
+he can't laugh at--we have worked the haunted mine."
+
+Two weeks had never passed so slowly to the boys before. They worked
+early and late, but they found time now and then to glance toward the
+entrance of the valley, to see if Mr. Banta was approaching. All this
+while the bag grew heavier and fuller, until Julian declared that it
+would not hold another spoonful.
+
+"Then we must tie it up tight and hide it somewhere," said Jack.
+
+"What is the use of hiding it?" asked Julian. "Nobody knows that we
+have been so successful in our haunted mine."
+
+"No matter; such things have happened, and we want to be on the safe
+side. We must hide it a little way from the lean-to, for there is the
+first place anybody will look for it."
+
+Julian readily gave in, although he could not see any necessity for
+it, took a spade, and went with Jack to what he considered to be a
+good hiding-place. A hole was dug, the bag put in, some leaves were
+scattered over the spot, and then Jack drew a long breath of relief.
+
+"One would think we are surrounded by robbers," said Julian. "Who do
+you suppose is going to steal it?"
+
+"I don't know; but I have never had so much money, or what is
+equivalent to money, in my charge before, and, as I said before, I
+think it best to be on the safe side."
+
+"Our two weeks have passed, and Mr. Banta ought to be here to-morrow,"
+observed Julian, leading the way back to the lean-to. "I expect he
+will look for us to be all chawed up."
+
+The very next day Mr. Banta appeared. The boys had found an extra
+"find" that morning. Julian was rocking the cradle back and forth, and
+Jack was leaning over his shoulder to see what gold there was in it,
+when they heard the sound of horses' hoofs on the rocks, and looked up
+to find the miner and his partner, Pete, standing in the entrance to
+the valley.
+
+"Now we will soon have this thing cleared up," exclaimed Julian,
+joyfully. "Mr. Banta, you don't know how glad we are to see you
+again!"
+
+Mr. Banta did not say anything in reply. He and his partner rode
+slowly toward them, looking all around, as if they expected to
+discover something.
+
+"Is it the ghosts you are looking for?" asked Jack. "Come along, and
+we will show them to you."
+
+"Boys," stammered Mr. Banta, as if there was something about the
+matter that looked strange enough to him, "you are still on top of
+the ground. Put it there."
+
+The boys readily complied, and they thought, by the squeeze the miner
+gave their hands, that he was very much surprised to see them alive
+and well, and working their mine as if such things as ghosts had never
+been heard of.
+
+"Did you see them?" he continued.
+
+"You are right, we did," answered Julian. "Jack, pull off your shirt.
+He has some marks that he will carry to his grave."
+
+Jack did not much like the idea of disrobing in the presence of
+company, but he divested himself of his shirt and turned his back to
+the miners. On his shoulder were four big welts, which promised to
+stay there as long as he lived.
+
+"It was a lion!" exclaimed Mr. Banta.
+
+"That is just what it was. Now come with me and I will show you the
+skins. We have something to prove it."
+
+The miners followed after the boys, when, as they were about to pass
+their pit, Julian said he wanted to see them about something that had
+been worrying them a good deal ever since they first discovered it.
+
+"What do you call that?" he asked, gathering up a pinch of the
+sediment that still remained in the cradle.
+
+"Good gracious! Do you gather much of this stuff?" exclaimed Mr.
+Banta, who was all excitement now.
+
+"It is not iron pyrites, is it?"
+
+"Iron your grandmother!" retorted Mr. Banta. "It is gold, and a bag
+full of that stuff will be worth about ten thousand dollars to you!"
+
+"We have a bagful of it hidden away," asserted Julian; while Jack was
+so overcome with something, he didn't know what, that he sat right
+down on the ground. "Jack thought we had best hide it, but I will get
+it and show it to you."
+
+"Well, well! this beats anything in the world that I ever heard of!
+Don't it you, Pete?" asked Mr. Banta, dismounting from his horse.
+"Here's you two, come out here as tenderfeet from St. Louis, who never
+saw or heard of a gold-mine before, and you come up to this pit,
+which has all manner of ghosts and other things wandering about it at
+will,--so much so that they scared away two of the best men we had on
+Dutch Flat,--and then you get the upper hand of the spirits and make
+ten thousand dollars out of the mine in two weeks! I tell you that
+bangs me; don't it you, Pete?"
+
+Jack came up to take the horses and hitch them to swinging limbs, and
+Mr. Banta turned to Julian and told him he was anxious to see that bag
+with the ten thousand dollars in gold in it; whereupon Julian caught
+up a spade and hurried out, and Jack, who had returned to the lean-to,
+was told to sit down and tell them the story about the haunted
+gold-mine.
+
+"There isn't much to tell," said Jack, who, like all modest fellows,
+disliked to talk about himself. "I went down to see what the inside of
+the mine looked like, and one of the lions pitched onto me and I shot
+him."
+
+"There's more in the story than that comes to," declared Mr. Banta.
+"Let us go out and look at the skins; we will hear the straight of the
+matter when Julian comes in."
+
+The skins were rolled up,--they had been stretched on the ground until
+the sun dried them,--but Jack quickly unrolled them, and the miners
+looked on as if greatly surprised. They could not understand how one
+ball, fired in the dark, had finished the lion so speedily.
+
+"It is a wonder she did not tear you all to pieces," said Pete. "You
+must have made a dead-centre shot."
+
+The other skin was unrolled, too, and by the time the miners had
+examined it to their satisfaction Julian came up with the bag. Mr.
+Banta untied it, and one look was enough.
+
+"That is gold," said he; "there is no iron pyrites about that. Now,
+Jack, you go on and get dinner for us, and we will listen while Julian
+tell us about those ghosts."
+
+"I told you I did not believe in such things," remarked Julian. "And
+the whole thing has come out just as I said it would."
+
+"What have you in this pack?" asked Jack. "It looks like provisions."
+
+"That is just what it is. We thought you must be nearly out by this
+time, and so we brought some along. Let the mule go home, if she
+wants to; she misses that old bell-mare."
+
+The story which Jack did not tell lost nothing in going through
+Julian's hands. He described things as nearly as he could see them
+before Jack's light went out, and told of the lucky shot and the
+savage shrieks that came up to him through the pit.
+
+"Those shrieks were what got next to me," declared Julian, with a
+shudder. "I can't get them out of my mind yet. I thought that the
+ghost had Jack, sure."
+
+"Well, go on," said Mr. Banta, when Julian paused. "There were two
+lions there--how did you get the other one?"
+
+When Julian told how Jack had taken charge of the matter, and had gone
+ahead in order to hunt up the other ghost, Mr. Banta acted as though
+he could scarcely believe it; while Pete thrust his spurred heels out
+before him and broke out into a volley of such quaint oaths that
+Julian threw back his head and laughed loudly.
+
+"If you had not done anything else since you have been up here but go
+to hunt up that lion with revolvers, I should know you were
+tenderfeet pure and simple," declared Mr. Banta. "Why, boys, that was
+the most dangerous thing you ever did!"
+
+"Well, we did not know what else to do," explained Julian, modestly.
+"Jack said the lion would not let us work the mine if he could help
+it, and so we had to go and find him."
+
+"I know some miners down at Dutch Flat who would think twice before
+going for that lion with their Winchesters," declared Pete, "and you
+had nothing but little popguns!"
+
+"They did the work, anyhow," asserted Julian.
+
+"Well, boys, you have been very lucky," said Mr. Banta. "Take your bag
+of dust and hide it where nobody will ever think of looking for it.
+And remember--if any person comes here and asks you for money, you are
+to give him what is in the other bag, and keep still about this full
+one."
+
+Julian's eyes began to open wide as this hint was thrown out. He
+looked at Jack, who was by this time engaged in dishing up the
+dinner; but the latter only shook his head at him, as if to say,
+"Didn't I say we had better hide that gold while we had the
+opportunity?"
+
+"Who do you think is going to rob us?" asked Julian, as soon as he
+could speak.
+
+"I am sure I don't know; but we have some men down at the Flat who
+would not be any too good to come up here and see how you are getting
+along. Of course this thing will get all over the Flat in less than
+five minutes after we get there. We must tell just how we found you;
+for, if we try to keep it secret, the miners will suspect something
+and come up here in a body. But if they do that, then you will be
+safer than if you were alone."
+
+"We don't want any truck with such people," declared Jack. "If we
+shoot as well as we did at the lion that wore that big skin, you will
+hear something drop. Now sit up and eat some dinner."
+
+"Jack, I believe you have the most pluck," said Pete.
+
+"He has it all," replied Julian. "He don't say much, but he keeps up a
+dreadful lot of thinking."
+
+Dinner over, the miners lit their pipes, and then Mr. Banta said they
+wanted to go down into the mine to see how it looked.
+
+"It is my opinion that you won't get much more gold out of here," said
+he, as he stepped into the bucket. "You are gradually working your way
+toward the ravine, and when you break through the wall, you will find
+no color there."
+
+"I don't care," replied Julian. "If it will hold out until we get
+another bag filled, that will be all we want. We can say, when we get
+back to Denver, that we have been in the mines."
+
+"And had some adventures there, too," remarked Mr. Banta. "Lower
+away."
+
+Julian and Pete followed Mr. Banta down to the bottom of the mine, and
+Jack stayed up above to manage the bucket. They were gone a long time,
+for Julian was obliged to tell his story over again; and, when they
+were pulled up, Mr. Banta repeated what he had said before he was let
+down, namely, that the boys had about reached the end of their vein.
+
+"But even with these bags full, you have got more than some men have
+who have been on the Flat for two years," said he. "Now, boys, is
+there anything we can do for you before we bid you good-bye?"
+
+No, Julian and Jack could not think of anything they wanted. They
+thanked the miners for bringing them some provisions, and offered
+payment on the spot; but Mr. Banta said they would let that go until
+the boys had got through working their mine. They shook them by the
+hand, wished them all the good luck in the world, turned their faces
+toward home, and in a few moments the sound of their horses' hoofs on
+the rocks had died away in the distance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+CLAUS, AGAIN.
+
+
+"There!" said Mr. Solomon Claus, as he entered at a fast walk the
+railroad depot, passed through it, and took up the first back street
+that he came to; "I guess I have got rid of him. Now, the next thing
+is to go somewhere and sit down and think about it."
+
+Claus kept a good watch of the buildings as he passed along, and at
+last saw a hotel, into which he turned. He bought a cigar at the bar,
+and, drawing a chair in front of one of the windows, sat down to
+meditate on his future course; for this German was not in the habit of
+giving up a thing upon which he had set his mind, although he might
+fail in every attempt he undertook. He had set his heart upon having a
+portion of that money that Julian had come into by accident, and,
+although something had happened to upset his calculations, he was not
+done with it yet.
+
+"That was a sharp trick, sending off the box by express, when they
+might as well have carried its contents in their valises," said Claus,
+settling down in his chair and keeping his eyes fastened upon the
+railroad depot. "Wiggins was at the bottom of that, for I don't
+believe the boys would ever have thought of it. I wonder how they felt
+when they found their valises gone? Now, the next thing is something
+else. Shall I go home, get my clothes, and spend the winter in Denver,
+or shall I go home and stay there? That's a question that cannot be
+decided in a minute."
+
+While Claus was endeavoring to come to some conclusion on these points
+he saw Casper Nevins coming along the railroad and entering the depot.
+By keeping a close watch of the windows he discovered him pass toward
+the ticket office, where he made known his wants, and presently Claus
+saw him put a ticket into his pocket.
+
+"So far, so good," muttered Claus, as he arose from his chair. "I
+guess I might as well get on the train with him, for I must go to St.
+Louis anyhow. Perhaps something will occur to me in the meantime."
+
+Casper was sitting on a bench, with his hands clasped and his chin
+resting on his breast, wondering what in the world he was going to do
+when he got back to St. Louis, when he heard Claus's step on the
+floor. He first had an idea that he would not speak to him at all; but
+Solomon acted in such a friendly manner, when he met him, that he
+could not fail to accost him with
+
+"You were trying to shake me, were you?"
+
+"Shake you! my dear fellow," exclaimed Claus, as if he were profoundly
+astonished. "Such a thing never entered my head! I simply wanted to
+get away by myself and think the matter over. Have a cigar."
+
+"I don't want it!" declared Casper, when Claus laid it down upon his
+knee. "I don't believe I shall want many cigars or anything else very
+long."
+
+"Disappointed over not finding that wealth, were you?" asked Claus, in
+a lower tone. "Well, I was disappointed myself, and for a time I did
+not want to see you or anybody else. I have wasted a heap of
+hard-earned dollars upon that 'old horse.'"
+
+"Have you given it up, too?" inquired Casper.
+
+"What else can I do? Of course I have given it up. I will go back home
+again and settle down to my humdrum life, and I shall never get over
+moaning about that hundred thousand dollars we have lost."
+
+"Do you think we tried every plan to get it?"
+
+"Every one that occurred to me. They have it, and that is all there is
+to it. What are you going to do when you get back to St. Louis?"
+inquired Claus, for that was a matter in which he was very much
+interested. He was not going to have Casper hanging onto him; on that
+he was determined.
+
+"I suppose I shall have to do as others do who are without work,"
+replied Casper. "I shall go around to every store, and ask them if
+they want a boy who isn't above doing anything that will bring him his
+board and clothes. I wish I had my old position back; I'll bet you
+that I would try to keep it."
+
+"That is the best wish you have made in a long time," said Claus,
+placing his hand on Casper's shoulder. "If I was back there, with my
+money in my pocket, I would not care if every one of the express boys
+would come and shove an 'old horse' at me. I tell you, 'honesty is the
+best policy.'"
+
+Casper was almost ready to believe that Claus had repented of his
+bargain, but he soon became suspicious of him again. That was a queer
+phrase to come from the lips of a man who believed in cheating or
+lying for the purpose of making a few dollars by it. For want of
+something better to do, he took up the cigar which Claus had laid upon
+his knee and proceeded to light it.
+
+"Well, I guess I'll go and get a ticket," remarked Claus, after a
+little pause. "I don't know how soon that train will be along."
+
+"'Honesty is the best policy,' is it?" mused Casper, watching Claus as
+he took up his stand in the door and looked away down the railroad.
+"Some people would believe him, but I have known him too long for
+that. I wish I knew what he has in his head. He is going to try to
+get his hands on that 'old horse'; and if he does, I hope he will
+fail, just as we have done. He need not think that I am going to hold
+fast to him. I have had one lesson through him, and that is enough."
+
+Claus did not seem anxious to renew his conversation with Casper. He
+had heard all the latter's plans, as far as he had any, and now he
+wanted to think up some of his own. He walked up and down the platform
+with his hands behind his back, all the while keeping a bright lookout
+down the road for the train.
+
+"I must go to Denver, because I shall want to make the acquaintance of
+some fellows there whom I know I can trust," soliloquized Claus. "I
+can get plenty of men in St. Louis, but they are not the ones I want.
+I must have some men who know all about mining, and perhaps I can get
+them to scrape an acquaintance with Julian. That will be all the
+better, for then I can find out what he is going to do. Well, we will
+see how it looks when I get home."
+
+For half an hour Claus walked the platform occupied with such
+thoughts as these, and finally a big smoke down the track told him the
+train was coming. He stuck his head in at the door and informed Casper
+of the fact, and when the train came up he boarded one of the forward
+cars, leaving his companion to do as he pleased.
+
+"You are going to shake me," thought Casper, as he stepped aboard the
+last car in the train. "Well, you might as well do it at one time as
+at another. I have all the money I can get out of you, but I am not
+square with you by any means. From this time forward I'll look out for
+myself."
+
+And the longer Casper pondered upon this thought, the more heartily he
+wished he had never seen Claus in the first place. He did not sleep a
+wink during his ride to St. Louis, but got off the train when it
+reached its destination and took a straight course for his room. The
+apartment seemed cheerless after his experience on the train, but he
+closed the door, threw himself into a chair, and resumed his
+meditations, for thus far he had not been able to decide upon
+anything.
+
+"I am hungry," thought he, at length, "and after I have satisfied my
+appetite I will do just what I told Claus--go around to the different
+stores and ask them if they want a boy. I tell you that will be a big
+come-down for me, but it serves me right for having anything to do
+with Claus."
+
+We need not go with Casper any further. For three nights he returned
+from his long walks tired and hungry, and not a single storekeeper to
+whom he had applied wanted a boy for any purpose whatever. Sometimes
+he had sharp words to dishearten him. "No, no; get out of here--you
+are the fifth boy who has been at me this morning;" and Casper always
+went, for fear the man would lay violent hands on him. On the fourth
+night he came home feeling a little better than usual. He had been
+hired for a few days to act as porter in a wholesale dry-goods store,
+and he had enough money in his pocket to pay for a good supper. The
+wages he received were small--just about enough to pay for breakfast
+and supper; but when the few days were up the hurry was over, and
+Casper was once more a gentleman of leisure. And so it was during the
+rest of the summer and fall. He could not get anything to do steadily,
+his clothes were fast wearing out, and the landlord came down on him
+for his rent when he did not have a cent in his pocket. Utterly
+discouraged, at last he wrote to his mother for money to carry him to
+his home; and so he passes out of our sight.
+
+As for Claus, we wish we could dispose of him in the same way; but
+unfortunately we cannot. Everybody was glad to see him when he entered
+the pool-room where he had been in the habit of playing, and more than
+one offered him a cigar. He told a long story about some business he
+had to attend to somewhere out West, and when he talked he looked up
+every time the door opened, as if fearful that Casper would come in to
+bother him for more money. But Casper was sick of Claus. The lesson he
+had received from him was enough.
+
+Claus remained in St. Louis for two months; and he must have been
+successful, too, for the roll of bills he carried away with him was
+considerably larger than the one which Casper had seen. When he was
+ready to go he bade everybody good-bye, and this time he carried his
+trunk with him. He was going out West to attend to "some business,"
+which meant that he was going to keep watch of Julian and Jack in some
+way, and be ready to pounce upon them when they worked their
+mine--that is, if they were successful with it.
+
+"That will be the only thing I can do," decided Claus, after thinking
+the matter over. "They have the buildings by this time, at any rate,
+so that part of it has gone up; but when they get out alone, and are
+working in their mine, that will be the time for me to take them. They
+will have all the work, but I will have the dust they make."
+
+When Claus reached this point in his meditations, he could not help
+remembering that some of the men who were interested in the mines were
+dead shots with either rifle or revolver, and that if he robbed the
+boys he would be certain to have some of them after him, and what they
+would do if they caught him was another matter altogether.
+
+"I can shoot as well as they can," thought he, feeling around for his
+hip pocket to satisfy himself that his new revolver was still in its
+place. "If I have some of their money in my pocket, I would like to
+see any of the miners come up with me."
+
+When Claus reached Denver, his first care was to keep clear of Julian
+and Jack, and his next was to find some miners who were familiar with
+the country in the region bordering on Dutch Flat; for thus far Claus
+had not been able to learn a thing about it. Dutch Flat might be five
+miles away or it might be a hundred, and he wanted somebody to act as
+his guide. He put up at a second-rate hotel, engaged his room, and
+then came down into the reading-room to keep watch of the men who
+tarried there.
+
+"I must find somebody whose face tells me he would not be above
+stealing a hundred thousand dollars if he had a good chance," decided
+Claus; "but the countenances of these men all go against me--they are
+too honest. I guess I'll have to try the clerk, and see what I can get
+out of him."
+
+On the second day, as Claus entered the reading-room with a paper in
+his hand, he saw before him a man sitting by a window, his feet
+elevated higher than his head, watching the people going by. He was a
+miner,--there could be no doubt about that,--and he seemed to be in
+low spirits about something, for every little while he changed his
+position, yawned, and stretched his arms as if he did not know what to
+do with himself. Claus took just one look at him, then seized a chair
+and drew it up by the man's side. The man looked up to see who it was,
+and then looked out on the street again.
+
+"Excuse me," began Claus, "but you seem to be a miner."
+
+"Well, yes--I have dabbled in that a little," answered the man,
+turning his eyes once more upon Claus. "What made you think of that?"
+
+"I judged you by your clothes," replied Claus. "Have a cigar? Then,
+perhaps you will tell me if you know anything about Dutch Flat, where
+there is--"
+
+"Don't I know all about it?" interrupted the man. "Ask me something
+hard. A bigger fraud than that Dutch Flat was never sprung on any lot
+of men. There is no color of gold up there."
+
+"Then what made you go there in the first place?" asked Claus.
+
+"It got into the hands of a few men who were afraid of the Indians,
+and they coaxed me and my partner to go up," replied the man. "But
+there were no Indians there. I prospected around there for six months,
+owe more than I shall ever be able to pay for grub-staking, and
+finally, when the cold weather came, I slipped out."
+
+"I am sorry to hear that," remarked Claus, looking down at the floor
+in a brown study. "I have a mine up there, and I was about to go up
+and see how things were getting on there; but if the dirt pans out as
+you say, it will not be worth while."
+
+"You had better stay here, where you have a good fire to warm you
+during this frosty weather," said the man, once more running his eyes
+over Claus's figure. "If you have a mine up there you had better let
+it go; you are worth as much money now as you would be if you stayed
+up there a year."
+
+"But I would like to go and see the mine," replied Claus. "There was a
+fortune taken out of it a few years ago, and it can't be that the vein
+is all used up yet."
+
+"Where _is_ your mine?"
+
+"That is what I don't know. I have somehow got it into my head the
+mine is off by itself, a few miles from everybody else's."
+
+"Do you mean the haunted mine?" asked the man, now beginning to take
+some interest in what Claus was saying.
+
+"I believe that is what they call it."
+
+"It is five miles from Dutch Flat, straight off through the mountains.
+You can't miss it, for there is a trail that goes straight to it."
+
+"Do you know where it is?"
+
+"Yes, I know; but that is all I do know about it. I saw two men who
+went there to work the pit, and who were frightened so badly that they
+lit out for this place as quick as they could go, and that was all I
+wanted to know of the mine."
+
+"Then you have never been down in it?"
+
+"Not much, I haven't!" exclaimed the man, looking surprised. "I would
+not go down into it for all the money there is in the mountain."
+
+"Did those men see anything?"
+
+"No, but they heard a sight; and if men can be so badly scared by what
+they hear, they don't wait to see anything."
+
+"Well, I want to go up there, and who can I get to act as my guide?"
+
+"I can tell you one thing," answered the man, emphatically--"you won't
+get me and Jake to go up there with you. I'll tell you what I might
+do," he added, after thinking a moment. "Are you going to stay here
+this winter?"
+
+"Yes, I had thought of it. It is pretty cold up there in the
+mountains--is it not?"
+
+"The weather is so cold that it will take the hair right off of your
+head," replied the man. "If you will stay here until spring opens, you
+might hire me and Jake to show you up as far as Dutch Flat; but beyond
+that we don't budge an inch."
+
+"How much will you charge me? And another thing--do I have to pay you
+for waiting until spring?"
+
+"No, you need not pay us a cent. We have enough to last us all winter.
+I was just wondering what I was going to do when spring came, and that
+made me feel blue. But if you are going to hire us--you will be gone
+three or four months, won't you?"
+
+Yes, Claus thought that he would be gone as long as that. Then he
+asked, "How far is Dutch Flat from here?"
+
+"Two hundred miles."
+
+The two then began an earnest conversation in regard to the money that
+was to be paid for guiding Claus up to Dutch Flat. The latter thought
+he had worked the thing just about right. It would be time enough to
+tell him who Julian and Jack were, and to talk about robbing them,
+when he knew a little more concerning the man and his partner. He had
+not seen the other man yet, but he judged that, if he were like the
+miner he was talking to, it would not be any great trouble to bring
+them to his own way of thinking.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+CLAUS HEARS SOMETHING.
+
+
+Never had a winter appeared so long and so utterly cheerless as this
+one did to Solomon Claus. The first thing he did, after he made the
+acquaintance of Jake and his partner, was to change his place of
+abode. Jake was as ready to ask for cigars as Claus had been, and the
+latter found that in order to make his money hold out he must
+institute a different state of affairs. He found lodgings at another
+second-rate hotel in a distant part of the city, but he found
+opportunity to run down now and then to call upon Bob and Jake,--those
+were the only two names he knew them by,--to see how they were coming
+along, and gradually lead the way up to talking about the plans he had
+in view. It all came about by accident. One day, when discussing the
+haunted mine, Claus remarked that he knew the two boys who were
+working it, and hoped they would have a good deal of dust on hand by
+the time he got here.
+
+"Then they will freeze to death!" declared Bob. "What made you let
+them go there, if you knew the mine was haunted?"
+
+"Oh, they are not working it now," said Claus. "They are in St. Louis,
+and are coming out as soon as spring opens. They are plucky fellows,
+and will find out all about those ghosts before they come back."
+
+"Yes, if the ghosts don't run them away," answered Bob. "I understood
+you to say they are boys. Well, now, if they get the better of the
+ghosts, which is something I won't believe until I see it, and we
+should get there about a month or two after they do, and find that
+they have dug up dust to the amount of ten or fifteen thousand
+dollars--eh?"
+
+"But maybe the gentleman is set on those two boys, and it would not
+pay to rob them," remarked Jake.
+
+"No, I am not set on them," avowed Claus, smiling inwardly when he saw
+how readily the miners fell in with his plans. "I tried my level best
+to get those boys to stay at home, for I don't want them to dig their
+wealth out of the ground, but they hooted at me; and when I saw they
+were bound to come, I thought I would get up here before them and see
+what sort of things they had to contend with."
+
+"What sort of relationship do you bear to the two boys?" asked Bob.
+
+"I am their uncle, and I gave them a block of buildings here in Denver
+worth a hundred thousand dollars and this haunted mine; but, mind you,
+I did not know it was haunted until after I had given it to them. But,
+boy like, they determined to come up, brave the ghosts, and take
+another fifty thousand out of it."
+
+Bob and Jake looked at each other, and something told them not to
+believe all that Claus had said to them. If he was worth so much money
+that he was willing to give his nephews a hundred thousand dollars of
+it, he did not live in the way his means would allow.
+
+"And another thing," resumed Claus. "I would not mind their losing ten
+thousand dollars, provided I got my share of it, for then they would
+learn that a miner's life is as full of dangers as any other. But
+remember--if you get ten thousand, I want three thousand of it."
+
+This was all that Claus thought it necessary to say on the subject of
+robbing the boys, and after finishing his cigar he got up and went
+out. Jake watched him until he was hidden in the crowd on the street,
+and then settled back in his chair and looked at Bob.
+
+"There is something wrong with that fellow," he remarked. "His stories
+don't hitch; he has some other reason for wishing to rob those boys.
+Now, what is it?"
+
+"You tell," retorted Bob. "He has something on his mind, but he has no
+more interest in that pit than you or I have. He never owned it, in
+the first place."
+
+"Then we will find out about it when we show him the way to the Flat,"
+said Jake.
+
+"Oh, there will be somebody there working the mine--I don't dispute
+that. But he is no uncle to them two boys. But say--I have just
+thought of something. We are not going up there for three dollars a
+day; and if we don't make something out of the boys, what's the reason
+we can't go to headquarters?"
+
+Jake understood all his companion would have said, for he winked and
+nodded his head in a way that had a volume of meaning in it. The two
+moved their chairs closer together, and for half an hour engaged in
+earnest conversation. There was only one thing that troubled
+them--they did not like the idea of staying at Dutch Flat, among the
+miners, until they heard how the boys were getting on with their mine.
+
+"You know they did not like us any too well last summer," said Bob,
+twisting about in his chair. "If we had not come away just when we
+did, it is my belief they would have ordered us out."
+
+"Yes; and it was all on your account, too. You were too anxious to
+know how much the other fellows had dug out of their mines. You must
+keep still and say nothing."
+
+Claus went away from the hotel feeling very much relieved. Bob and
+Jake had come over to his plans, and they had raised no objection to
+them. The next thing was to bring them down to a share in the spoils.
+He was not going to come out there all the way from St. Louis and
+propose that thing to them, and then put up with what they chose to
+give him.
+
+"I must have a third of the money they make, and that is all there is
+about it," said he to himself. "They would not have known a thing
+about it if it had not been for me. Who is that? I declare, it is
+Julian and Jack!"
+
+The boys were coming directly toward him, and this was the first time
+he had seen them since his arrival in Denver, although he had kept a
+close watch of everybody he had met on the street. He stepped into a
+door, and appeared to be looking for some one inside; and when the
+boys passed him, he turned around to look at them. The latter were in
+a hurry, for it was a frosty morning, and they felt the need of some
+exercise to quicken their blood; besides, they were on their way to
+school, in the hope of learning something that would fit them for
+some useful station in life. They were dressed in brand-new overcoats,
+had furs around their necks and fur gloves on their hands, and Julian
+was bent partly over, laughing at some remark Jack had made. He
+watched them until they were out of sight, and then came out and went
+on his way.
+
+"I tell you we are 'some,' now that we have our pockets full of
+money," soliloquized Claus, who grew angry when he drew a contrast
+between his and their station in life. "Most anybody would feel big if
+he was in their place. But I must look out--I don't want them to see
+me here."
+
+Fortunately Claus was not again called upon to dodge the boys in his
+rambles about the city. He kept himself in a part of the city remote
+from that which the boys frequented. The winter passed on, and spring
+opened, and he did not again see them; but he heard of them through
+Bob and Jake, who made frequent visits to the hotel where Mr. Banta
+was located.
+
+"I guess we saw your boys to-day," said Bob, who then went on to
+give a description of them. "They have it all cut and dried with
+Banta, and he is going to show them the way to their mine. No, they
+did not mention your name once. They are going to buy a pack-horse,
+and load him up with tools and provisions, and are going out as big as
+life."
+
+"That is all right," said Claus. "Now, remember--I am to have a third
+of the dust you get."
+
+"Of course; that is understood," answered Jake, who now seemed as
+anxious to go to Dutch Flat as he had before been to keep away from
+it. "It would not be fair for us to take it all. Where are you going
+after you get the money?"
+
+"I haven't got it yet," remarked Claus, with a smile. "Those ghosts
+may be too strong for the boys, and perhaps they will come away
+without anything."
+
+"Then we will pitch in and work the mine, ourselves," said Bob. "They
+say that gold is so thick up there that you can pick it up with your
+hands. We won't come away and leave such a vein behind us."
+
+"What about the ghosts?" queried Claus, who could not deny he was
+afraid of them. "They may be too strong for you, also."
+
+"If they can get away with cold steel we'll give in to them," said
+Jake. "But I'll risk that. Where are you going when you get the money?
+Of course you can't go back to St. Louis."
+
+"No; I think I shall go on to California. I have always wanted to see
+that State."
+
+"Well, we will go East. Three thousand dollars, if they succeed in
+digging out ten thousand, added to what we shall make--humph!" said
+Bob; and then he stopped before he had gone any further.
+
+It was a wonder that Claus did not suspect something, but his mind was
+too fully occupied with other matters. Where was he going when he got
+the money? That was something that had not occurred to Claus before,
+and he found out that he had something yet to worry him.
+
+"You fellows seem to think you will get rich by robbing those boys,"
+remarked Claus, knowing that he must say something.
+
+"No, we don't," answered Jake; "but that will be enough to keep us
+until we can turn our hands to some other kind of work. Now about our
+pack-horse, tools and provisions. You have money enough to pay for
+them, I suppose?"
+
+"Oh, yes--that is, I have a little," Claus replied, cautiously, for he
+was afraid the miners might want more of it than he felt able to
+spend. "But I tell you I shall be hard up after I get those things."
+
+"You have other money besides what you gave the boys," said Bob. "You
+can write to St. Louis for more."
+
+"But I don't want to do that. I have with me just what I can spare,
+for my other funds are all invested."
+
+"Oh, you can get more for the sake of what is coming to you," said
+Jake, carelessly. "Now, we want to start for Dutch Flat in about a
+week. That will give the boys time to fight the ghosts and get to work
+in their pit. Suppose we go and see about our pack-horse and tools."
+
+Claus would have been glad to have put this thing off for a day or
+two, but he could not see any way to get out of it. He went with the
+miners, who knew just where they wanted to go, and the horse he bought
+was a perfect rack of bones that did not seem strong enough to carry
+himself up to Dutch Flat, let alone a hundredweight of tools and
+provisions with him. The tools he bought were to be left in the store
+until they were called for, and the miners drew a long breath of
+relief, for that much was done. If Claus at any time got sick of his
+bargain, and wanted to haul out, he could go and welcome; but they
+would hold fast to his tools and provisions, and use them in
+prospecting somewhere else.
+
+The morning set apart for their departure came at last, and Claus and
+his companions put off at the first peep of day. They made the journey
+of two hundred miles without any mishap, and finally rode into the
+camp of Dutch Flat just as the miners were getting ready to have their
+dinner. They all looked up when they heard the newcomers, and some
+uttered profane ejaculations under their breath, while others greeted
+them in a way that Claus did not like, for it showed him how his
+partners stood there with the miners.
+
+"Well, if there ain't Bob I'm a Dutchman!" exclaimed one,
+straightening up and shading his eyes with his hand. "You are on hand,
+like a bad five-dollar bill--ain't you? I was in hopes you were well
+on your way to the States by this time."
+
+"No, sir; I am here yet," answered Bob. "You don't mind if I go and
+work my old claim, do you? I don't reckon that anybody has it."
+
+"Mighty clear of anybody taking your claim," said another. "You can go
+there and work it, for all of us; but we don't want you snooping
+around us like you did last summer."
+
+"What is the matter with those fellows?" asked Claus, when they were
+out of hearing. "What did you men do here last summer?"
+
+"Just nothing at all," replied Jake. "We wanted to know how much gold
+everybody was digging, and that made them jealous of us."
+
+"But if you can't mingle with them as you did then, how are you going
+to find out about the haunted mine?"
+
+"Oh, we'll mix with them just as we did last year, only we sha'n't
+have so much to say to them," said Jake. "Here is our claim, and it
+don't look as though anybody had been nigh it."
+
+Claus was both surprised and downhearted. If he had known that the
+miners were going to extend such a reception as that to him he would
+have been the last one to go among them. There he was, almost alone,
+with two hundred brawny fellows around him, each one with a revolver
+strapped to his waist, and their looks and actions indicated that if
+necessity required it they would not be at all reluctant to use them.
+He managed to gather up courage to visit the general camp-fire, which
+was kindled just at dark, where the miners met to smoke their pipes
+and tell about what had happened in their mines during the day. This
+one had not made anything. The dirt promised fairly, and he hoped in a
+few days to strike a vein that would pay him and his partner
+something. Another had tapped a little vein, and he believed that by
+the time he got a rock out of his way he would stumble onto a deposit
+that would make him so rich that he would start for the States in
+short order.
+
+"Well, partner, how do you come on?" asked the man who was sitting
+close to Claus, who was listening with all his ears. "Does your dirt
+pan out any better than it did last summer?"
+
+"We have not seen the color of anything yet," replied Claus. "I do not
+believe there is any gold there."
+
+"You are a tenderfoot, ain't you?"
+
+"Yes; I never have been in the mines before."
+
+"And you will wish, before you see your friends again, that you had
+never seen them this time. If you get any dust, you hide it where your
+partners can't find it."
+
+There was one man, who did not take any part in the conversation, that
+kept a close watch on Claus and listened to every word he said. It was
+Mr. Banta, who wondered what in the world could have happened to bring
+so gentlemanly appearing a man up there in company with Bob and Jake.
+
+"He must have money somewhere about his good clothes, and that is what
+Bob is after," said he to himself. "But if that is the case, why did
+they not jump him on the way here? I think he will bear watching."
+
+Three nights passed in this way, Claus always meeting the miners at
+the general camp-fire, while his partners stayed at home and waited
+for him to come back and tell them the news, and on the fourth evening
+Banta seemed lost in thought. He sat and gazed silently into the fire,
+unmindful of the tales that were told and the songs that were sung all
+around him. At last one of the miners addressed him.
+
+"Well, Banta, I suppose this is your last evening with us," he
+remarked.
+
+"Yes; I go off to-morrow."
+
+"Don't you wish you had not promised to go up there?"
+
+"No, I don't; I shall find out if the boys are all right, anyway. That
+is what I care the most about. I shall take some provisions with me,
+and if the boys are above ground I will leave them; otherwise, I shall
+bring them back."
+
+"Oh, the boys must have the better of the ghosts by this time," said
+another; "they would have been here before this time if they had not.
+You will find them with more gold stowed away than they know what to
+do with."
+
+"And didn't they see the ghosts at all?"
+
+"Why, as to that, I can't say. But they have beaten them at their own
+game. You will see."
+
+Claus pricked up his ears when he heard this, and when the miners had
+all drawn away, one by one, and sought their blankets in their
+lean-to's, he asked of the man who sat near him, and who was waiting
+to smoke his pipe out before he went to bed,
+
+"Where is Banta going?"
+
+"Up to the haunted mine," was the reply. "You see, he went up there
+two weeks ago with the boys, and promised to come back in two weeks to
+see how they were coming on. His two weeks are up to-night."
+
+"What is up there, anyway?"
+
+"Well, you can ask somebody else to answer that question," said the
+miner, getting upon his feet. "I don't know what is up there, and I
+don't want to know."
+
+The miner walked off and left Claus sitting there alone. He was
+certain that he was on the right track at last. As soon as Banta came
+back they would know something about the haunted mine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+BOB TRIES STRATEGY.
+
+
+"Well, what did you hear this time?" asked Bob, who lay on his blanket
+with his hands under his head and a pipe in his mouth. "Everybody kept
+still about the haunted mine, I suppose?"
+
+"No, sir; I heard about it to-night for the first time," answered
+Claus. "Banta is going up there to-morrow."
+
+"Then we will know something about it when he comes back," remarked
+Bob. "I hope the boys have got the better of those ghosts in some way,
+and that they are working their mine. Go on, and tell us what you have
+heard."
+
+Claus did not have much to tell, for the miners had cut the
+conversation short; but what little he did say created great
+excitement between those who heard it now for the first time. The boys
+had got the better of those unearthly spirits in some way, for if the
+ghosts had driven them out and not allowed them to work their mine,
+the miners would have found it out long before this time.
+
+"I don't see why Banta put it off for two weeks," said Jake; "I reckon
+he was afraid of them spirits."
+
+The next day was one which Claus often remembered. There was much
+excitement in the camp, although it did not show itself. There was
+none of that singing and whistling going on, but every man worked in
+silence. Banta and his partner had got off at daylight, and ten hours
+must pass away before they could look for their return; but evening
+came on apace, the camp-fire was lighted, and the miners gathered
+around it and smoked their pipes without making any comments on the
+long delay of Mr. Banta and the man who had gone with him. There was
+one thing that troubled them, although no one spoke of it--the mule
+which had carried their pack-saddle came home alone, and was now
+feeding in company with the old bell-mare. That looked suspicious, but
+the men said nothing. For an hour they sat around the fire, and then
+one of them broke the stillness. He was an old, gray-headed man,
+experienced in mining, and of course all listened to what he had to
+say. He spoke in a low tone, as if there had been a patient there and
+he was afraid to arouse him.
+
+"Ten miles in ten hours," said he, knocking the ashes from his pipe.
+"Boys, something's got the better of those two men. I remember that
+several years ago I was waiting for a partner of mine who had gone
+away to prospect a mine----"
+
+"What was that?" exclaimed a miner, jumping to his feet.
+
+"I heard something, but I don't know what it was," said another.
+
+It was done quicker than we could tell it. In less than a second two
+hundred men sprang to their feet, and two hundred hands slipped behind
+them and laid hold of as many revolvers. Of all those men, there was
+not one who would have hesitated to fight Indians with the fear of
+death before their eyes, but there was not a single instance of a
+miner who did not change color at the sound of a noise which seemed
+to come upon them from no one could have told where.
+
+"Which way did the noise come from?" asked a miner.
+
+"What did it sound like?" queried another.
+
+"There it is!" said the miner who had at first detected it--"it sounds
+like a horse's hoofs on the rocks. There! Don't you hear it?"
+
+And so it proved. The noise was heard plainly enough by this time, and
+in a few moments more two men came out of the willows and rode into
+the circle of light that was thrown out by the camp-fire. They were
+Banta and his partner; and one look at their faces was enough--they
+were fairly radiant with joy.
+
+"Halloo! boys," cried Banta. "I declare, you act as though you had
+lost your best friend; and some of you have revolvers drawn on us,
+too!"
+
+"Say, pard," said one of the miners, shoving his revolver back where
+it belonged and extending a hand to each of the newcomers, "where
+have you been so long? Your pack-mule has been home all the afternoon,
+and has kept the camp in an uproar with her constant braying. She
+acted as though she wanted to see your horses. Did you see the boys?"
+
+"Yes, sir, we saw the boys," answered Banta. He did not seem in any
+particular hurry to relieve the suspense of his friends, which was now
+worked up to the highest degree, but dismounted from his horse very
+deliberately and proceeded to turn him loose.
+
+"Well, why don't you go on with it?" asked another miner. "Were the
+boys all right?"
+
+"The boys were all right and tight, and digging away as hard as they
+could."
+
+"Did they--did they see the ghosts?"
+
+"Of course they did; and the ghosts are now lying up there with their
+skins off."
+
+"Were they animals?"
+
+"You are right again. Now, hold on till I light my pipe and I'll tell
+you all about it. Tony, you ought to have gone up there; you would be
+ten thousand dollars better off than you are this minute."
+
+Tony was a man who was noted far and near for his success in killing
+the lions which were so abundant in the mountains. He would rather
+hunt them than dig for gold, because he was almost sure to get the
+animal he went after. He was filling his pipe when Banta was speaking,
+but he dropped it and let it lay on the ground where it had fallen.
+
+"It is the truth I am telling you," declared Banta. "If you don't
+believe it, you can go up there to that haunted mine and find out all
+about it. The boys killed them with nothing but revolvers."
+
+Banta had his pipe lit by this time, and the miners crowded around
+him, all eager for his story. Bob and Jake were there, and no one
+seemed to pay the least attention to them; but they were impatient to
+learn all the particulars of the case. There was one question they
+wanted answered immediately, and that was, Did the boys really have a
+bagful of dust, or was Banta merely joking about that? Fortunately
+Tony recovered his wits and his pipe at the same time and asked the
+question for them.
+
+"Did the boys get ten thousand dollars in two weeks?" he asked.
+
+"Well, they brought a bag out for us to examine, and they thought it
+was nothing but iron pyrites," said Banta; and then he went on smoking
+his pipe.
+
+"We took one look at the bag," said his partner, "and we took a big
+load off the boys' minds when we told them it was gold, and nothing
+else. Yes, sir--they have it fair and square."
+
+"The boys are going ahead as though there had never been any ghosts
+there," said Banta; and then he went on to tell the miners everything
+that had happened during their trip to the haunted mine; and when he
+got started, he followed Julian's narrative, and paid no attention to
+Jack's. It was certain that the story did not lose anything by passing
+through his hands.
+
+"Jack pulled off his shirt," said he, in conclusion, "and he has some
+wounds on his back that will go with him through life."
+
+"And is the gold as thick as they say it is--so thick that one can
+pick it up with his hands?"
+
+"It is not quite as thick as that," replied Banta, with a laugh. "But
+every time one washes out a cradleful he finds anywhere from a
+teaspoonful to three or four which he wants to put in his bag. I tell
+you, the boys have been lucky."
+
+"I am going up there the first thing in the morning," said a miner.
+"Here I have been slaving and toiling for color for six months, and I
+can hardly get enough to pay for my provisions, but I'll bet it won't
+be that way, now, much longer."
+
+"Wait until I tell you something," answered Banta. "Neely, you can go
+up there, if you are set on it; there's no law here that will make you
+stay away. There are plenty of places where you can sink a shaft
+without troubling the boys any, but whether or not it will pay you is
+another question. The boys will be down here themselves in less than
+two weeks' time."
+
+"How do you account for that?"
+
+"Their vein is giving out. It will end in a deep ravine that is up
+there, and there their color ends."
+
+"Why don't they go back farther and start another?" asked the miner.
+
+"It won't pay. The man who started that shaft upon which they are now
+at work was a tenderfoot, sure enough. There is not the first sign of
+color about the dirt anywhere. He thought it was a pretty place and so
+went to work, and the consequence is, it has panned out sixty thousand
+dollars. But go ahead if you want to, Neely."
+
+Neely did not know whether or not he wanted to go ahead with such a
+warning in his ears. Banta was an experienced prospector, and he could
+almost tell by looking at the ground if there was any gold anywhere
+about there. A good many who had been on the point of starting for the
+haunted mine with the first peep of day shook their heads, and
+concluded they would rather stay where they were than go off to a new
+country. There were three, who did not say anything, whose minds were
+already made up as to what they would do. They waited until the
+miners were ready to go to their blankets, and then Bob attracted the
+attention of those nearest him by saying,
+
+"What Banta says throws a damper on me. The haunted mine is going to
+play out in a day or two, this place here is not worth shucks, and we
+are going off somewhere at break of day to see if we can't do better
+than we are doing here."
+
+"Where are you going?" asked one.
+
+"I don't know, and in fact I don't care much. I'll go to the first
+good place I hear of, I don't care if it is on the other side of the
+Rocky Mountains. I came out here expecting to get rich in a few days,
+and I am poorer now than I was ten years ago. These mountains around
+here have not any gold in them for me."
+
+"And I say it is good riddance," whispered the miner to some who stood
+near him. "If you had acted as you did last year, you would have been
+sent out before this time."
+
+Having paved the way for the departure of himself and companions, Bob
+joined them and led the way into his own cabin. They seated
+themselves close together, for they did not want to talk loud enough
+to be heard by anyone who was passing their camp.
+
+"Well, they have it!" exclaimed Claus, who was so excited that he
+could not sit still.
+
+"And it is gold, too," declared Jake. "Banta says so, and that is
+enough."
+
+"In the morning, after we get breakfast," said Bob, "we'll hitch up
+and take the back trail toward Denver. We will go away from the
+haunted mine, and that will give color to what I told them a while
+ago."
+
+"What if you should chance to miss your way?" asked Claus.
+
+"You can't lose me in these mountains; I have prospected all over
+them, and I have seen where the haunted mine is located a hundred
+times. What a pity it was that I did not stay there. Sixty thousand
+dollars! Jake, if we had that sum of money we would be rich."
+
+Jake did not say anything--that is, anything that would do to put on
+paper. He stretched himself out on his blanket and swore softly to
+himself, so that nobody but his companions could hear him.
+
+"That will be three thousand three hundred dollars apiece," said
+Claus, who did not like the way that Bob and Jake left him out
+entirely. "Remember, I am to have a third of it."
+
+"Of course; and it will be more than that. The boys will have some
+time to do more digging, and maybe they'll have another bagful. I
+understood you to say that the boys were pretty plucky."
+
+"You may safely say that," replied Claus. "The way they stood up
+against those lions, when they did not know what was onto them, is
+abundant proof of that. You will have to go easy when you tackle them,
+or some of you will get more than you want."
+
+The three continued to talk in this way until they grew tired and fell
+asleep--that is, all except Claus, who rolled and twisted on his
+blanket for a good while before he passed into the land of Nod. But he
+was out before daybreak and busy with breakfast, while the others
+brought up the animals and packed them for their journey. There was
+only one man who came near them, and that was Banta, who wanted to
+make sure they were not going toward the haunted mine.
+
+"Well, boys, are you going to leave us?" he inquired. "Where are you
+going?"
+
+"Not giving you a short answer, we don't care much _where_ we go,"
+replied Bob. "There is nothing here for us, and we will go elsewhere.
+We are going to take the back track."
+
+"Are you not deciding on this matter suddenly?"
+
+"We determined on it yesterday. We decided to go up to the haunted
+mine if you came back with a favorable report of the condition of
+things, but you say the lead is played out, and of course that knocks
+us. Wherever we go, we can't find a much worse place than this."
+
+"Well, boys, I wish you luck, and we'll all go away from here before a
+great while."
+
+"Why are you so anxious to find out about where we are going?" asked
+Bob.
+
+"Because I wanted to remind you to keep away from that mine up the
+gully," answered Banta, looking hard at Bob while he spoke. "The boys
+have that mine all to themselves, and we are going to stand by them."
+
+"We have no intention of going near that haunted mine," asserted Bob,
+rather sullenly. "If those boys have gold, let them keep it."
+
+"All right! Then I have nothing further to say to you."
+
+So saying, Banta turned on his heel and walked away. There was nothing
+insulting in what he said, but Bob and his companions knew that he was
+in earnest about it. They all kept watch of him as long as he remained
+in sight, and then looked at each other with a broad grin on their
+faces.
+
+"I guess Banta didn't make anything by trying to pump me," said Bob.
+"When we get a mile or two down the gully, we'll save what little
+provisions we want, push our horses over the bluff----"
+
+"What do we want to do that for?" exclaimed Claus, in great amazement.
+"Can't we turn them loose?"
+
+"Yes, and have them come back here and join the old bell-mare," said
+Jake, in disgust. "We have to be in a hurry about what we do, for we
+must get a long start of the men here. If our nags appeared among the
+other horses here, the miners would know we had been fooling them and
+would start for the haunted mine at once."
+
+"Couldn't we tie them up?" asked Claus; "or, we could shoot them. That
+would be an easier way than pushing them over the bluff."
+
+"But there's the report our pistols would make," replied Bob, turning
+fiercely upon Claus. "The easiest way is the best. Now, if we have
+everything we want, let us dig out from here."
+
+The men in the camp saw them when they mounted their horses and
+started down the gully toward Denver, but there was not one who
+shouted a farewell after them. When they disappeared from view, Banta
+drew a long breath of relief.
+
+"It is just as well that they took themselves off before we had a
+chance to tell them that their room was better than their company. I
+do not like the way they have been acting since they have been here."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+AN INHUMAN ACT.
+
+
+"I'll bet no men ever went away from a camp before without somebody
+said good-bye to them," said Jake. "They don't care where we go, or
+what luck we have, provided we don't go near the haunted mine. If they
+will just stay that way until to-morrow, they can all come on at once,
+if they have a mind to."
+
+Claus was the soberest man in the party. He was waiting and watching
+for that bluff at which their faithful steeds were to give up their
+lives to make it possible for their owners to get away with the amount
+they expected to raise at the haunted mine. There was something
+cold-blooded about this, and Claus could not bring himself to think of
+it without shivering all over.
+
+"I don't see why you can't tie them there," Claus ventured to say;
+"they won't make any fuss until we are safely out of the way. It
+looks so inhuman, to kill them."
+
+"Look here!" said Bob, so fiercely that Claus resolved he would not
+say anything more on the subject--"if you don't like the way we are
+managing this business, you can just go your way, and we'll go ours."
+
+"But you can't go yet," interrupted Jake; "we are not going to have
+you go back to Dutch Flat and tell the men there what we are going to
+do. You will stay with us until we get that money."
+
+"Of course he will," assented Bob. "When we get through with that
+haunted mine we'll go off into the mountains, and then you'll be at
+liberty to go where you please."
+
+"Of course I shall stay with you," said Claus, not a little alarmed by
+the threat thus thrown out. Then he added to himself, "I reckon I
+played my cards just right. If I can keep them from searching me, I'll
+come out at the big end of the horn, no matter what happens to them."
+
+For the next hour Claus held his peace; but he noticed that his horse
+turned his head and looked down the gully as if he feared they were
+not going the right away. He did not remember that he had come that
+route before, but concluded that Bob was gradually leaving the trail
+behind them, and was veering around to get behind the camp at Dutch
+Flat. Then the mule which bore their pack-saddle began to be
+suspicious of it, too, for he threw up his head and gave utterance to
+a bray so long and loud that it awoke a thousand echoes among the
+mountains.
+
+"Shut up!" exclaimed Jack, jerking impatiently at his halter. "I hope
+that bluff is not far away. We'll soon put a stop to your braying when
+we get there."
+
+In another hour they came upon the bluff, one side of which was
+bounded by a deep ravine that seemed to extend down into the bowels of
+the earth, and the other was hemmed in by lofty mountains which rose
+up so sheer their tops seemed lost in the clouds above. Here again the
+mule became suspicious, for, in spite of the jerks which Jake gave at
+his halter, he set up another bray that sounded as if the mountains
+were full of mules.
+
+"Hold fast to him, Jake, until I take his saddle off," said Bob,
+hastily dismounting from his horse; "I can soon stop that, if you
+can't. There--his pack is off. Take him by the foretop--don't let him
+get away from you. Now, then, look at you!"
+
+The mule got away in spite of all Jake's efforts to hold fast to him.
+The moment the bridle was out of his mouth he dodged the grab that
+Jake made for his foretop, and with a flourish of his heels and
+another long bray made for the gully by which he had entered the
+bluff. The horses made a vain attempt to follow him, and the animal on
+which Claus was mounted seemed determined to go away, but he was
+finally stopped by his rider before he reached the gully. Bob and Jake
+were fairly beside themselves with anger. Bob stamped up and down so
+close to the ravine that the least misstep would have sent him over
+the brink, and Jake sat down on the ground and swore softly to
+himself.
+
+"I tell you, this won't do!" said Bob, coming back to the horses. "Let
+us put them over without the least delay; and, mind you, we won't
+take their bridles off at all. That mule will be in camp in less than
+an hour, so we must make tracks. Let their saddles go, too."
+
+The men went to work at pushing the horses over into the ravine as if
+they were in earnest. First Bob's horse went; then Jake's; and finally
+they took Claus's bridle out of his hands and shoved his horse over,
+too. Claus did not see any of this work. The animals went over without
+making any effort at escape beyond putting out their feet and trying
+to push themselves away from the brink; but the miners got behind
+them, and all their attempts to save themselves amounted to nothing.
+He heard the horses when they crashed through the branches of the
+trees below him, and then all was silent.
+
+"What else could we do?" exclaimed Bob, who thought Claus looked
+rather solemn over it. "Dutch Flat is not a mile from here, and some
+one there would have heard their whinnying. I am sorry to do it, too,
+but when there is ten thousand dollars in sight, I don't stop at
+anything. Now pitch that mule's things over, also, and then we'll get
+away from here."
+
+This being done, the three, with a small package of provisions on
+their shoulders, set out once more at a rapid pace, Bob leading the
+way.
+
+For a long time no one spoke, the travelling being so difficult that
+it took all their breath to keep pace with Bob; but finally he turned
+about and made a motion of silence with his hand, and then they began
+to pick their way through the bushes with more caution. After a few
+moments he stopped, pushed aside the branches of an evergreen, and
+after taking a survey of the scene presented to his gaze he made
+another motion, which brought his companions up beside him.
+
+"We have caught them at it!" said he. 'Julian is on top, and Jack is
+down below, shovelling dirt. Where are your revolvers?"
+
+"Those fellows from the Flat have not come yet," said Jake, looking
+all around to make sure that the boys were alone. "Lead ahead, Bob,
+and remember that we are close at your heels."
+
+Leaving his provisions behind him, Bob arose to his feet, stepped out
+of his place of concealment and advanced toward the pit. Julian was so
+intent on watching his companion below that he did not hear the sound
+of their footsteps until they were so close to him that he could not
+pull his partner up; so he simply raised his head, and was about to
+extend to them a miner's welcome, when he saw something that made him
+open his eyes and caused him to stare harder than ever. There was
+something about that short, fleshy man which he was sure he
+recognized. It did not make any difference in what style of clothing
+Claus was dressed in,--whether as a gentleman of leisure or as a
+miner,--his face betrayed him. He saw that it was all up with him, for
+he had no time to go to the lean-to after his revolver.
+
+"Pitch that dirt out of the bucket and come up, Jack," called Julian,
+shaking the rope to attract the attention of his comrade. "Claus is up
+here."
+
+There was a moment's silence; then Jack's voice came back in no very
+amiable tones.
+
+"Get away with your nonsense!" he exclaimed. "If I come up there again
+for just nothing at all, I pity _you_! If Claus is there, make him
+show himself."
+
+"Why, he's your uncle," asserted Bob, who began to wonder if that was
+the first lie that Claus had told them.
+
+"That man?" exclaimed Julian. "Not much, he ain't. Jack, is Claus your
+uncle?"
+
+"Tell him to come down here and I'll see about it," said Jack, who
+could not yet be made to see that there was something really going on
+at the top. "That makes two I have against you, old fellow."
+
+"No, you haven't got anything against me," said Julian. "Here is
+Claus. Don't you see his face? Any man who would claim such an uncle
+as that--"
+
+"That is enough out of you!" interrupted Jake. "Fetch that partner of
+yours up, and then bring out your money--we must get away from here in
+a hurry."
+
+"Well! well!" cried Jack, who happened to look up and catch a glimpse
+of Claus's face. "I will come up directly."
+
+"Say, you, down there," called Bob, bending over the shaft, "if you
+have a revolver down there, be careful that you keep it where it
+belongs."
+
+"Don't worry yourself," answered Jack; "I haven't anything in the
+shape of a revolver about me. Hoist away, Julian."
+
+The dirt was emptied out by this time, and Jack stepped into the
+bucket and was promptly hoisted to the top. Then he stood waiting for
+the three men to make known their wants; but he devoted the most of
+his time to scrutinizing the face of Claus, to whom he was indebted
+for the presence of the other two.
+
+"Do you think you could recognize me if you should chance to meet me
+again anywhere?" asked Claus.
+
+"Certainly, I could," answered Julian; "I would recognize you if I saw
+you in Asia. You are bound to have some of that money, are you not?"
+
+"That is just what I am here for," said Claus, with a grin. "You have
+one bagful and another partly full, and we want them both as soon as
+you can get them."
+
+Jack was astonished when he heard this, for Mr. Banta had told him to
+keep the full bag hidden where no one could find it. How, then, did
+Claus know anything about it? Julian was equally amazed; but, after
+thinking a moment, he turned on his heel and led the way toward their
+lean-to. Bob and his companion kept close by the side of the two boys,
+for they did not want them to find their revolvers before they knew
+something about it. They had heard from various sources that the boys
+were fair shots, and they did not want to see them try it on.
+
+"Well, Claus, you slipped up on one thing," said Julian; "you didn't
+get any of that block of buildings--did you?"
+
+"Come, now, hurry up!" insisted Bob. "Where are those bags?"
+
+"Here's one you have been talking about," answered Jack, pulling the
+head of his bed to pieces and producing the article in question.
+"Julian, you know where the other one is."
+
+While Jack was engaged in performing this work the revolvers were kept
+pointed straight at him, for fear he might pull out another one and
+turn it loose upon them before they could draw a trigger. But the boys
+did not seem to care any more about the revolvers than if they had
+been sticks of wood that were aimed at them. Claus had a revolver, but
+he did not seem inclined to use it.
+
+"Are you sure it is gold in here, and not something else?" asked Bob.
+
+"You have got the bag in your hands, and you can look and see for
+yourself," said Jack.
+
+"Go out in front of the lean-to and sit down on the ground so that I
+can watch you," said Bob. "Jake, go with that boy and dig up the other
+one. Is this all you have made since you have been here?"
+
+"Yes, that's all. Now, what are you going to do with us?"
+
+"I'll tell you when Jake comes back. Is there much more of that lead
+down there?"
+
+"Well, you have charge of the mine, now, and there is no law to hinder
+you from going down and finding out," retorted Jack. "Claus, where are
+you going? I don't expect to see these gentlemen any more, but I
+should like to keep track of you."
+
+Claus did not see fit to answer this question, and in the meantime
+Julian and Jake returned with the other bag.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+A TRAMP WITH THE ROBBERS.
+
+
+"Oh, it is gold!" exclaimed Jake, as Bob took the bag and bent over
+it; "it is not iron pyrites."
+
+"Stow that about your clothes, Jake, and then we'll go on," said Bob;
+"and we want you boys to gather up provisions enough to last you for
+three or four days. But, in the first place, where are your
+revolvers?"
+
+"Don't you see them hung up there, in plain sight?" asked Jack,
+pointing to the articles in question, which were suspended from the
+rack of the lean-to, in plain sight. "What are you going to do with
+us?"
+
+"We are going to take you a three days' journey with us, and then turn
+you loose."
+
+"Why can't you let us go now?" queried Julian. "We have nothing else
+that is worth stealing."
+
+"No, but you are too close to Dutch Flat," Jake replied. "We haven't
+got anything against you, and when we get out there in the
+mountains--"
+
+"You might as well shoot us on the spot as to lose us among these
+hills. I pledge you my word that we will not stir a step--"
+
+"That is all very well," interrupted Bob with a shake of his head
+which told the boys that he had already decided on his plan; "but, you
+see, it don't go far enough. If you don't go to the miners, the miners
+will come here to you, so we think you would be safer with us. Gather
+up your grub and let us get away from here."
+
+The boy saw very plainly that Bob and Jake wanted to make their escape
+from the miners sure; so Julian collected some bacon and hard-tack,
+which he wrapped up in a blanket and fixed to sling over his
+shoulders. There was one thing that encouraged him--"if he did not go
+to the miners, the miners would come after him"--and proved that they
+must in some way have had their suspicions aroused against Bob and
+Jake. Jack also busied himself in the same way, and in a very few
+minutes the boys were ready to start.
+
+"I must say you are tolerably cool ones, to let ten or fifteen
+thousand dollars be taken from you in this way," remarked Bob, who was
+lost in admiration of the indifferent manner in which the boys obeyed
+all orders. "I have seen some that would have been flurried to death
+by the loss of so much money."
+
+"If Claus, here, told the truth, they have a whole block of buildings
+to fall back on," answered Jake. "But maybe that is a lie, too."
+
+"No, he told you the truth there," said Julian. "He tried to cheat us
+out of those buildings while we were in St. Louis--"
+
+"I never did it in this world!" declared Claus, emphatically.
+
+"Did you not claim to be our uncle?" asked Julian.
+
+"Uncle!" ejaculated Jack. "Great Scott!"
+
+Claus did not attempt to deny this. Bob and Jake were almost within
+reach of him, and they looked hard at him to see what he would say,
+and he was afraid to affirm that there was no truth in the statement
+for fear of something that might happen afterward. He glanced at the
+boys, who were looking steadily at him, and Jack moved a step or two
+nearer to him with his hands clenched and a fierce frown on his face,
+all ready to knock him down if he denied it; so Claus thought it best
+not to answer the question at all.
+
+"You won't think it hard of me if I hit him a time or two?" asked
+Jack.
+
+"Come here and behave yourself," said Julian, walking up and taking
+Jack by the arm. "I think, if the truth was known, he is in a worse
+fix than we are."
+
+"But he claims to be my uncle!" exclaimed Jack.
+
+The tone in which these words were uttered, and Jack's anger over the
+claim of relationship, caused Bob and Jake to break out into a roar of
+laughter.
+
+"We'll take your word for it," said Bob, as soon as he could speak;
+"but we can't waste any more time here. Follow along after me, and
+Jake will bring up the rear."
+
+Bob at once set off to the spot where they had left their provisions,
+and, having picked them up, led the way down the almost perpendicular
+side of the ravine until they reached the bottom. Now and then he
+would look over his shoulder at Jack, who was following close behind
+him, and would break into another peal of laughter.
+
+"So you didn't want that fellow to claim relationship with you?" said
+he. "Well, I don't blame you. He has done nothing but tell us one pack
+of lies after another ever since we met him. The only thing that had
+the least speck of truth in it was that we should find you here at the
+haunted mine."
+
+This remark was made in a low tone, so that it did not reach the ears
+of Claus, who was following some distance behind. If Claus had not
+seen already that he was in a "fix," he ought to have seen it now.
+
+"Now, perhaps you wouldn't mind telling us what you are going to do
+with us," Jack ventured to say, in reply.
+
+"Well, the men there at Dutch Flat are hot on our trail now," asserted
+Bob.
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Because our mule got away from us when we tried to shove him over the
+bluff. We wanted to destroy everything we had that we could not carry
+on our backs, but he got away from us. Banta warned us against coming
+up here, and we fooled him by making him believe we were going
+straight down to Denver; but he will be after us now. If he comes, he
+had better take us unawares; that's all."
+
+"We don't want to see that fight," remarked Jack. "You'll let us go
+before that comes off?"
+
+"Oh, yes; when we get you so deep in the mountains that you can't find
+your way back readily, why, then we'll let you go. If you behave
+yourselves, you won't get hurt."
+
+Bob led the way at a more rapid pace when they reached the bottom of
+the gorge, jumping from rock to rock, and climbing over fallen trees
+that lay in their road, and Jack followed his example. He knew that
+Bob was making the trail more difficult to follow, but it was done in
+order to keep out of argument with his charge; for Bob often stopped,
+whenever he came to a place that took some pains to get over, and saw
+that those who were following him left no tracks behind them.
+
+"There!" said Bob, pulling off his hat and looking back at the way
+they had come; "I reckon Banta will find some trouble in tracking us
+up here. I am hungry, and we'll stop here and have something to eat."
+
+After they had satisfied their appetites they took a little time to
+rest, and then set off again at a more rapid pace than ever. It was
+almost dark when they stopped to camp for the night. The boys were
+tired, and they showed it as soon as they had disposed of their bacon
+and hard-tack by wrapping their blankets about them and lying down to
+sleep, with their feet to the fire. Their slumber was as sound as
+though they were surrounded by friends instead of being in the power
+of those who had robbed them of their hard-earned wealth.
+
+It seemed to them that they had scarcely closed their eyes when they
+were awakened by the sound of footsteps moving about, and threw off
+their blankets in time to see Bob cutting off a slice of bacon. It was
+as dark as pitch in the woods, and the boys did not see how Bob was to
+find his way through them.
+
+"It will be light enough by the time we have our breakfast eaten,"
+said he, in response to the inquiry of Julian. "You have a watch with
+you. What time is it?"
+
+Julian had a watch with him, it is true, but he had been careful how
+he drew it out in the presence of Bob and Jake. It had no chain
+attached to it, and the boy was not aware that Bob knew anything about
+it; but he produced the gold timepiece and announced that it was just
+five o'clock. This was another thing over which Julian had had an
+argument with Jack, who believed that, with the money he had at his
+disposal, he ought to have the best watch that could be procured, and,
+in spite of Jack's arguments, he had purchased the best American
+patent lever he could find. Jack's watch was an ordinary silver one,
+and he said that by it he could tell the time when dinner was ready as
+well as he could by a good timepiece.
+
+"Do you want this watch?" asked Julian, because he thought the man who
+would steal his money would not be above stealing his watch also.
+
+"Oh, no," replied Bob, with a laugh; "you can keep that. I wanted your
+money, and, now that I have it, I am satisfied."
+
+By the time breakfast was cooked and eaten there was light enough to
+show them the way, and Bob once more took the lead. There was no trail
+to guide them--nothing but the gully, which twisted and turned in so
+many ways that Julian almost grew heart-sick when he thought of
+finding his way back there in company with Jack. More than once he was
+on the point of asking Bob if he did not think they had gone far
+enough, but the man had been so friendly and good-natured all the time
+that he did not want to give him a chance to act in any other way. So
+he kept with him during that long day's tramp, looking into all the
+gullies he crossed, and once or twice he slyly reached behind him and
+pulled down a branch of an evergreen that happened to come in his
+way.
+
+"That's the way our women used to do in old Revolutionary times when
+they were captured and wanted to leave some trail for their rescuers
+to follow," soliloquized Julian; "but Bob doesn't take any notice of
+it."
+
+"Well, I reckon we'll stop here for the night," remarked Bob, when it
+got so dark that he could scarcely see. "This is as far as we shall
+ask you to go with us, Julian. I suppose you are mighty glad to get
+clear of us."
+
+"Yes, I am," assented Julian, honestly. "If you will give us what you
+have in your pockets, you can go your way and we will make no attempt
+to capture you."
+
+"Oh, we couldn't think of that! You have wealth enough to keep you all
+your lives, and I have struggled for ten years to gain a fortune, and
+to-day I have just got it."
+
+"What would you do if somebody should catch you along the trail,
+somewhere? You would come in for a hanging, sure."
+
+"Don't you suppose we know all that? It is a good plan for you to
+catch your man before you hang him. We have two revolvers apiece, and
+you know what that means."
+
+"You don't count Claus worth anything, then," remarked Jack.
+
+"Eh? Oh, yes, we do," exclaimed Bob, who wondered what Claus would
+think of him for leaving him out entirely. "But Claus is not used to
+this sort of business, you know. He could make a noise, and that is
+about all he could do."
+
+"We know we should come in for a hanging if those fellows at Dutch
+Flat should ever get their hands on us, but when they do that we'll be
+dead. You need not think we are going to stay in this country, where
+everybody has got so rich, and we be as poor as Job's turkey all the
+while. We have just as good a right to be rich as they have."
+
+When Jake got to talking this way it was a sure sign that he was
+rapidly getting toward a point which Bob called "crazy." He was always
+mad when he spoke of others' wealth and his own poverty; and the boys,
+who were anxious to get him off from that subject, began their
+preparations for supper. They were glad to know they had gone far
+enough with the robbers to insure their escape, and they were
+disposed to be talkative; but they noticed that Claus was more
+downhearted than he had ever been. He lit his pipe, leaned back
+against a tree, and went off into a brown study.
+
+"I suppose he'll get a portion of the money that was stolen from us,"
+said Jack, in a low tone.
+
+"No, he won't," answered Julian in the same cautious manner. "He has
+been promised some of that money, but I'll bet you he don't get a cent
+of it. He is here in these fellows' power, and they'll take what they
+please out of him."
+
+The boys, although as tired as they were on the previous day, were not
+by any means inclined to sleep. In fact they did not believe they had
+been asleep at all until they heard Bob moving around the fire. It was
+five o'clock by Julian's watch, and his first care was to find out
+what had become of Claus, who lay muffled up, head and ears, in his
+blanket; but he would not have stayed there if he knew what was going
+to happen to him during the day.
+
+"Now perhaps you will be good enough to tell us what route we have to
+travel in order to get out of here," said Jack.
+
+"Have you a compass with you?" asked Jake.
+
+No, the boys had none; they did not think they would need one when
+they were surrounded by friends who knew the woods, and consequently
+they had not brought one with them.
+
+"You know which way is east, don't you? Well, place your backs to the
+sun, and keep it there all the time. Dutch Flat lies directly west of
+here."
+
+"That will be good if the sun shines all the time," said Julian. "But
+if it goes under a cloud--then what?"
+
+"Then you will have to go into camp, and stay until it comes out
+again," replied Bob. "But at this time of the year you have nothing to
+fear on that score. Are you going already? Well, good-bye. Why don't
+you wish us good luck with that money we took from you?"
+
+"Because I don't believe it will bring you good luck," said Jack. "We
+worked hard for it, and we ought to have it. I wish you good-bye, but
+I don't wish you good luck."
+
+"Shake hands with your uncle, why don't you?" asked Bob.
+
+"Not much!" returned Jack. "If that money doesn't bring him some
+misfortune I shall miss my guess."
+
+Julian and Jack shouldered the blankets which contained the few
+provisions they had left, plunged into the thicket, and were out of
+hearing in a few minutes. The robbers sat by the fire without making
+any effort to continue their journey, and presently Bob turned his
+eyes upon Claus.
+
+"Now, my friend, it is time for you to go, too," said he.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+HOME AGAIN.
+
+
+Claus had been expecting something of this kind. It is true he had a
+revolver, but by the time he could reach back to his hip pocket and
+draw it he could be covered by Jake, whose weapon lay close at hand.
+There was but one thing to be done--he had to surrender. Instead of
+getting three thousand dollars for his share in the robbery, he would
+be turned loose in that country, two hundred miles from anybody,
+without a cent left in his pockets--that is, if Bob searched him.
+
+"Well," said Claus, "I suppose you want all the money I have around
+me. I should think you might leave me a little."
+
+"How much have you?" asked Bob.
+
+Without saying a word, Claus unbuttoned his vest, worked at something
+on the inside, and presently hauled out a belt, which he handed over
+to Bob. It did not stick out as though there was much money in it, and
+when Bob began to investigate it, all he drew forth was twenty-five
+dollars.
+
+"You are a wealthy millionaire, I understood you to say," exclaimed
+Bob, in great disgust. "This looks like it!"
+
+"I told you, when I had purchased the pack-mule, provisions and tools,
+that I should not have much left," answered Claus. "That's all I have,
+and if you take it from me I shall starve."
+
+"Stand up!" commanded Jake, who was as disgusted as Bob was. "You are
+sure you haven't got any about your clothes? But, first, I'll take
+possession of that revolver."
+
+The revolver having been disposed of, Jake then turned his attention
+to feeling in all Claus's pockets, but he found nothing more
+there--Claus had evidently given them the last cent he had.
+
+"Take your little bills," said Bob, throwing Claus's belt back to him.
+"If you are careful of them, they will serve you till you get back to
+Denver."
+
+"And when you get there, you can go to one of those men who own that
+block of buildings and borrow another thousand or two. Now, get out of
+here!" put in Jake.
+
+"I thank you for this much," returned Claus. "But I should thank you a
+good deal more if you would give me my revolver. I may want it before
+I reach Denver."
+
+"Give it to him, Jake. He hasn't pluck enough to shoot at us or
+anybody else. Make yourself scarce about here!"
+
+"They think they are awful smart!" thought Claus, when he had placed
+some bushes between him and the robbers. "Why didn't they think to
+look in my shoe? I have three hundred dollars that they don't know
+anything about. Now I guess I'll go back to St. Louis; and if anybody
+ever says anything to me about an 'old horse,' I'll knock him down."
+
+We are now in a position to take a final leave of Claus, and we do it
+with perfect readiness. Did he get back to St. Louis in safety? Yes,
+he got there in due course, but he had some fearful sufferings on the
+way. In the first place, he was nearly a week in finding his way out
+of the mountains; and by the time he reached a miner's cabin he was so
+weak from want of food that he fell prone upon the floor, and stayed
+there until the miner came from his work and found him there. Of
+course he was taken in and cared for, and when he was able to resume
+his journey he offered to present the miner with every cent he
+had,--twenty-five dollars,--to pay him for his kindness; but the miner
+would not take it.
+
+"You will need every cent of that before you get to Denver," said he.
+"The food and care I have given you don't amount to anything.
+Good-bye, and good luck to you."
+
+He was nearly three times as long in finding his way back to Denver.
+He tried to buy a horse on the way, but no one had any to sell. He now
+and then found a chance to ride when he was overtaken by a teamster
+who was going somewhere for a load, but the most of his journey was
+accomplished on foot. His long tramp never cost him a cent, for
+everybody pitied his forlorn condition.
+
+"I tell you, if I had been treated this way by those robbers I
+wouldn't look as bad as I do now," Claus often said to himself; "I
+would have seen California before I went home."
+
+All this while, Claus was on nettles for fear he would see some of the
+men from Dutch Flat who were in pursuit of him; but the trouble was,
+the miners all went the other way. They never dreamed that Claus was
+going home, but saddled their horses at Mr. Banta's command, and,
+making no attempt to follow the devious course of the robbers through
+the mountains, took the "upper trail," and did their best to shut them
+off from the towns toward which they knew the men were hastening to
+buy some more provisions. What luck they met with we shall presently
+see.
+
+No man ever drew a longer breath than Claus did when he came within
+sight of Denver. He went at once to the hotel where he had left his
+clothes, but the landlord did not recognize him and ordered him out of
+the house; but he finally succeeded in making himself known; and, now
+that he was safely out of reach of the miners at Dutch Flat, he had
+some fearful stories to tell of his experience.
+
+"You know I left my clothes with you on condition that you would keep
+them for me for a year," said Claus, who thought that was the wisest
+thing that he ever did. "Well, I want them now. I have the key to my
+trunk, so everything is all right."
+
+Claus was not long in recovering from the effects of his journey, for
+he could not help thinking that Mr. Banta, or some other man who
+belonged to the Flat, would find out that he had gone to Denver and
+come after him; so he remained there but two days before he took the
+cars for home.
+
+"Now I am safe," said he, settling down in his seat and pulling his
+hat over his eyes; "I would like to see them catch me. But what shall
+I do when I get back to St. Louis? I must settle down into the same
+old life I have always led, and that will be a big come-down for me."
+
+Claus is there now, spending his time at the pool-rooms, where he
+makes the most of his living, and ready at any time to talk about the
+mines and the terrible experience he had there.
+
+And where were Julian and Jack all this while? To begin with, they
+were in the ravine, making all the haste they could to leave the
+robbers behind and reach the haunted mine before their provisions gave
+out. That troubled them worse than anything.
+
+"If our grub stops, where are we going to get more?" asked Jack. "I
+don't believe there is a house any nearer than Dutch Flat."
+
+"And we can't get there any too soon," returned Julian. "At any rate,
+we are better off than Claus is. What do you suppose they intend to do
+with him?"
+
+"I suppose they intend to divide the money with him. What makes you
+think they would do anything else?"
+
+"From the way they treated him. If we could learn the whole upshot of
+the matter, you would find that they don't intend to give him a
+dollar."
+
+"I wish we could see Mr. Banta for about five minutes," said Jack. "I
+don't like to give up that money. It is the first we ever earned by
+digging in the ground, and I was going to suggest to you that we keep
+some of it."
+
+Julian replied by lengthening his steps and going ahead at a faster
+rate than ever. He, too, did not like to confess that the money was
+lost,--that is, if they could only get word to Mr. Banta in time. He
+did not know where the robbers were heading for; but, with two hundred
+men at his back, Julian was certain he could come up with them before
+they had left the country entirely.
+
+"But I hope they will not hurt the robbers," said Julian. "If they
+will just get the dust, that is all I shall ask of them."
+
+About five o'clock in the afternoon, when it began to grow dark in the
+ravine, Julian, who had been all the time leading the way, stopped and
+pointed silently before him. Jack looked, and there was the camp they
+had occupied two nights before.
+
+"We are on the right road, so far," said he. "If we don't miss our
+way to-morrow we are all right."
+
+The boys had not stopped to eat any dinner, and for that reason they
+were hungry. They spent a long time in cooking and eating their bacon,
+and Julian said there was just enough for two more meals. He did not
+like to think of what might happen when it was all gone, and, after
+replenishing the fire, bade his companion good-night, wrapped his
+blanket about him, and laid down to rest; but sleep was out of the
+question. A dozen times he got up to see the time, and there was Jack,
+snoring away as lustily as he had done at the haunted mine. Julian
+wished that he, too, could forget his troubles in the same way, but
+when morning came he had not closed his eyes.
+
+Julian proved to be an invaluable guide, for that night they slept in
+the first camp they had made after leaving the haunted mine. If he had
+always known the path, he could not have brought his companion
+straighter to it.
+
+"Now keep your eyes open for the trail we made when we came down from
+our mine, and then we are at home. But I say, Julian, I shall not be
+in favor of staying here. All our money is gone, I don't feel in the
+humor to work for any more, and we will go down to Dutch Flat."
+
+"And we'll stay there just long enough to find somebody starting out
+for Denver, and we'll go with him," replied Julian. "I don't want
+anything more to do with the mines as long as I live."
+
+The night passed away, and the next morning, without waiting to cook
+breakfast, the two boys started to find the trail that led up the
+bluff to the haunted mine. They were a long time in finding it--so
+long, in fact, that Julian began to murmur discouraging words; but
+finally Jack found it; and now began the hardest piece of work they
+had undertaken since they left the robbers. The cliff was as steep as
+it looked to be when they gazed down into its depths from the heights
+above, and they did not see how they had managed to come down it in
+the first place.
+
+"Are you sure the mine is up here?" asked Julian, seating himself on a
+fallen tree to rest. "I should not like to go up there and find
+nothing."
+
+"Didn't you see the trail we made in coming down?" inquired Jack. "Of
+course we are on the right track; but if you spend all your time in
+resting, we shall never be nearer the top than we are this minute."
+
+Julian once more set to work to climb the hill, and in half an hour
+more Jack pushed aside some branches that obstructed his way and found
+himself in plain view of the mine. Julian was satisfied now, but
+declared he could not go any farther until he had recovered all the
+wind he had expended in going up the bluff; but Jack wanted to see
+that everything in the camp was just as they left it. He walked on
+toward the lean-to, and the first thing that attracted his attention
+was that his goods had been disturbed. The skins were gone, some of
+the blankets were missing, and there were hardly provisions enough to
+get them a square meal. Julian came up in response to his call, and
+was obliged to confess that there had been other robbers while they
+were absent.
+
+"Let us dish up the few provisions left, take those things we want to
+save, and dig out for the Flat," said Julian. "I am sure there is
+nothing here to keep us, now."
+
+"And we'll leave the dirt-bucket here for somebody else to use," added
+Jack. "If he thinks there is a lead down there, let him go and try it.
+I did not send up enough dust the last time I was down there to pay
+for the rope."
+
+At the end of an hour the boys resumed their journey, each one loaded
+with a few things they wanted to save, and in two hours more they
+arrived within sight of Dutch Flat. Some few of the men had already
+given up their workings and were sitting in front of the store,
+smoking their pipes; but one of them speedily caught sight of the
+boys, and the miners broke out into a cheer. In a few seconds more
+they were surrounded, shaking hands with all of them, and trying in
+vain to answer their questions all at once.
+
+"This is no way to do it," declared Julian. "Let us put our things in
+the cabin and get our breath, and I will tell you the story."
+
+"In the first place," began Jack, as he deposited the things with
+which his arms were filled and came out and seated himself on the
+doorsteps of Mr. Banta's cabin, "let me ask a few questions. I won't
+delay the story five minutes. Where is the man who owns this house?"
+
+"Mr. Banta?" said one of the miners. "He took the upper trail two or
+three days ago, and rode with all possible speed in the direction of
+Mendota. He hopes in that way to cut off those villains."
+
+"He will do it, too, for they have no horses," said Julian.
+
+"No horses? What did they do with them?"
+
+"I don't know, I am sure," answered Julian, in surprise. "They were on
+foot when they came to rob us."
+
+"Why, their mule came up here a few hours after they left, and made
+the biggest kind of a fuss, and Banta suspected something at once. He
+called for some men to go with him, and he went as straight as he
+could to your mine. You were not there, and that proved that those
+miners had paid you a visit."
+
+"We are going to get our dust again!" said Julian, slapping Jack on
+the shoulder. "But I hope they won't hurt the robbers after they catch
+them."
+
+"Well, that is rather a difficult thing to tell. A man who comes into
+a mining-camp and watches his chance to steal money instead of working
+for it, takes his life in his hand."
+
+"Then they must have been the ones who disturbed our things," said
+Jack.
+
+"Probably they were. They brought the skins of the ghosts back, and
+also some of your provisions. They are there in his cabin now. Now let
+us have that story."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+When Julian had fairly settled down to tell his story, which he did by
+crossing his right leg over his left leg and clasping his hands around
+his knee, he discovered that there was not so much to be told as he
+had thought for. His adventure with the robbers was nothing more than
+might have happened to any one of the miners who were standing around
+him; the only question in his mind was, would the other miner have
+fared as well as he did?
+
+"They came to our mine and stole our dust; but I don't see how they
+found out about the full bag. Mr. Banta told us to be careful about
+that."
+
+"Why, Mr. Banta told it himself!" remarked one of the miners. "He said
+you had a bagful hidden away."
+
+"You see, he had to do it, or the men here would have become
+suspicions and gone up to your mine in a body," explained another. "Go
+on--what next?"
+
+"They took the full bag, as well as the half-empty one, and told us we
+would have to go with them on a three days' journey into the
+mountains, so as to keep you fellows here in ignorance of the robbery
+as long as possible but they took us only a two days' journey, and
+then told us we had gone far enough. That's all there was of it."
+
+"Is that all you have to tell?" asked one.
+
+"Well, no. They went away from here on horseback, you said. Now, what
+did they do with their animals? They were on foot when they came to
+see us, and they never said 'horses' once during the two days we were
+with them."
+
+"Probably they rode their horses as far as they could, and then killed
+them."
+
+"No doubt they pushed them over a bluff," said a man who had not
+spoken before.
+
+"We did not see any horses; of that much we are certain. The only
+thing I can't see into is, what they did with Claus after we went
+away. Of course they agreed to give him a portion of the money they
+got off us."
+
+"Maybe so, but I don't think they did it. Go on--how did they treat
+you?"
+
+"As well as they knew how," answered Julian, emphatically. "That is
+the reason why I hope Mr. Banta will be kind to them if he catches
+them."
+
+"Well, you'll see how he'll treat them," retorted a miner. "You'll
+never see those three men again."
+
+Julian became uneasy every time the men spoke of the way the miners
+would use their prisoners if they found them, but he knew it would be
+of no use to say a word. If anything was done to them, he was in hopes
+the miners would get through with it before they came to camp. He was
+not used to any Western way of dealing with criminals, and he thought
+he was getting too old to become used to it now.
+
+This was the way Julian told his story, in answer to numerous
+questions of the miners, who finally heard all they wanted to know. In
+regard to what had happened to Claus, none of the miners had any
+idea. He did not get any of the dust that was stolen from the boys,
+and he would be lucky if he got away with a dollar in his pocket.
+
+"Do you know, I have been on the watch for them fellows to get into a
+squabble of some kind before we saw the last of them?" remarked a
+miner. "That Bob was a regular thief--one could tell that by looking
+at him. The short, pursy fellow--you called him Claus, didn't
+you?--looked like a gentleman; but his face did not bear out his good
+clothes."
+
+The miners then slowly dispersed, one after the other,--some to their
+work, and some to lounge in front of the grocery, smoking their
+pipes,--and the boys were left to themselves. Their first care was to
+get something to eat, for they had not had a sufficient quantity of
+food, the bacon and hard-tack they first put into their blankets
+having disappeared until there was none left. Provisions were handy in
+Mr. Banta's cabin, and when they had got fairly to work on it they
+heard a sound from the miners whom they had left outside.
+
+"Here they come!" shouted a voice. "Now we'll see what will be done
+with those prisoners!"
+
+The boys looked at each other in blank amazement. They had caught the
+robbers, so their dust was safe; but what were they going to do with
+the culprits, now that they had captured them?
+
+"I declare," said another miner, at length, "they haven't brought any
+prisoners with them! And there's Tony, with his arm tied up in a
+sling!"
+
+The boys had by this time reached the door, and saw Mr. Banta,
+accompanied by a dozen miners, ride into the camp. The boys looked
+closely at them, but could not see anybody that looked like Bob and
+Jake; but Tony did not seem to have left all the fight there was in
+him up in the mountains, for he raised his rifle and flourished it
+over his head.
+
+"Halloo! Mr. Banta," shouted Julian. "You meant to catch them, did
+you? But I guess you came out at the little end of the horn."
+
+"Well, there!" exclaimed Mr. Banta, stopping his horse and addressing
+himself to his men; "didn't I tell you those boys would come back all
+right? Put it there, kids!"
+
+Julian and Jack shook hands with all the returning miners before they
+saw an opportunity to propound any other questions; and then, when
+they did ask them, they did not get any satisfactory answers.
+
+"Did you get our dust?" asked Jack.
+
+"Yes, sir! And the men--ah!" said Mr. Banta, who stopped and looked
+around at the miners as if he hardly knew what to say next.
+
+"Well, what about the men?" inquired Julian. "You saw them, of
+course."
+
+"Oh, yes, we saw the men; and when we asked them where the dust was
+that they stole down here at the haunted mine, they took it out of
+their clothes and gave it to us. Ain't that so, boys?"
+
+The men around him nodded their heads emphatically, as if to say their
+leader had told nothing but the truth, but there was something in
+their faces that told a different story. The boys concluded they
+would ask no more questions while Mr. Banta was around, but when he
+went away they were sure they would get at the truth of the matter.
+
+"And, Julian, there's your money," continued Mr. Banta, who had been
+trying to take something out of his coat-pocket. "There is the full
+bag, and there is the other. The next time I leave you with such an
+amount of money to take care of, I'll give you my head for a
+football."
+
+"Why, Mr. Banta, _you_ told them all about this!" asserted Jack,
+laughingly.
+
+"No, I never!" shouted Mr. Banta.
+
+"Didn't you tell the men what we had done and all about the dust we
+had?" asked Julian. "You _did_ tell them, and the robbers were sitting
+by the camp-fire, and heard it all."
+
+"Eh? Oh, well--I did say--I could not well help it--let us go into the
+cabin and see what you have to eat."
+
+Mr. Banta lost no time in getting into the cabin, for the boys had
+asked a question he could not answer, and when they followed him in he
+was engaged in filling his pipe.
+
+"We rode to the haunted mine and found you were not there, so we came
+back and took the upper trail on the way to Mendota," said the miner,
+talking rapidly, as if he hoped to shut off any questions the boys
+might have ready to ask him. "We had a good time. We found the men
+there and asked them for the money, and they gave it over as peaceable
+and quiet as could be. Now, don't let us hear any more about it. You
+know the whole of the story. Is this all you have to ease a man's
+appetite? Why, I could eat it all myself!"
+
+"That's a funny story," whispered Jack, as he and Julian went to the
+spring after a bucket of water.
+
+"Well, keep still," said Julian. "He told us not to say anything more
+about it, and that's just the same as an order. We'll get the straight
+of the matter yet."
+
+"Who will you go to?"
+
+"We'll go to Tony for it. He was the man who was shot in the fracas,
+and he will tell us all about it."
+
+It was two days before Julian had an opportunity to speak to Tony in
+private. Tony's right arm was injured so badly that he could not use
+a shovel, and the boys volunteered to go down in his mine and help
+him--a voluntary act on their part which gained them the good-will of
+all the miners. One day, when Tony was sitting by his mine smoking his
+pipe and Julian was waiting for Jack to fill up their bucket, the
+latter thought the chance had come, for Tony was unusually talkative
+that morning.
+
+"Now, there is no need that you should keep this thing away from us
+any longer," said Julian, suddenly. "Who shot those two men?"
+
+Tony was taken off his guard and looked all around as if he was
+waiting for some one to suggest an answer. Finally he took off his hat
+and dug his fingers into his hair.
+
+"Who said anything about shooting a man?" he asked.
+
+"No one has said anything about it this morning, but I just want to
+know if everything I suspect is true," answered Julian, with his eyes
+fastened on Tony's face.
+
+"Some one who was there can't keep his mouth shut," remarked Tony, in
+great disgust. "Mr. Banta said he didn't want you to know anything
+about it, and here that man has gone and blowed the whole thing! But
+you'll remember that I didn't say a word about it--won't you?"
+
+"No one shall ever know what you tell me," asserted Julian. "Did you
+shoot them?"
+
+"Well, I couldn't help it--could I? We came up with them just before
+we got to Mendota. We rode right plump onto them before we knew it,
+and without saying a word they began to shoot. If they had had rifles,
+some of us would have gone under; but they had nothing but revolvers,
+and the first thing I knew something went slap through my arm, and I
+began to shoot, too. I got in two shots while you would be thinking
+about it, and then Mr. Banta looked through their clothes and got the
+dust. We went down to Mendota and reported the matter to the sheriff,
+and he sent up and buried them."
+
+"It is a wonder to me that they didn't arrest you," said Julian.
+
+"Who--me? What did I do? The men were shooting at us, and I was
+defending myself. It would have taken more men than they had there to
+arrest me, for any man would have done the same. Anyhow, we got your
+money back. Say! Don't lisp a word of this to Mr. Banta. He would go
+for me hot and heavy."
+
+Julian was obliged to promise again that Mr. Banta should never hear a
+word of what Tony had told him; but that night he told it to Jack, who
+said that his "funny story" had come out just as he thought it would.
+
+"You said you didn't want them to deal with the culprits here in camp,
+and you have your wish," said Jack.
+
+Not long after that the miners, discouraged, packed up, by companies
+of half a dozen or more, bid good-bye to their associates, and struck
+out for other localities. Dutch Flat was "played out," there was no
+gold there for them, and they were going where they could do better.
+Some of them talked of going home, while others, whose "piles" were
+not quite as large as they wished, were going to try it again for
+another year. Mr. Banta lingered there for some time, and then he,
+too, astonished the boys by bringing up his tools and telling them
+that next day he would strike for Denver.
+
+"And when I get there I don't think I shall stop," said he. "I have
+been away from my home in the granite hills so long that I won't know
+how to act when I get there, and I can't learn any younger than I can
+now. I am going as far as St. Louis with you, and then I shall strike
+off alone."
+
+This put new life into the boys. As soon as it became known in camp
+that Mr. Banta was going away, a dozen others joined in with his
+party, and when they rode away from the camp the few miners who were
+left behind cheered themselves hoarse. The boys had been "to the
+mines," had met with some adventures while there, and they were ready
+to go back among civilized people once more.
+
+Their stay in Denver did not last more than a week, and the boys were
+made to promise, over and over again, that after they had seen their
+friends in St. Louis they would go back there to live. Everything
+they had in the world was there, the Western country seemed to agree
+with them, and there they would remain. They had not yet completed
+their course at the business school, and when that was done they must
+look for some useful occupation in which to spend their lives.
+
+Mr. Banta proved that he had some money in the bank before he had been
+in Denver two days. The boys left him at his old hotel, clad in a
+miner's suit, and looking altogether, as he expressed it, "like a
+low-down tramp," and when they saw him again they could hardly
+recognize him. The barber had been at work on him, the tailor had done
+his best to fit him out; but the squeeze he gave their hands proved
+that he was the same "old Banta" still. The boys never forgot him; his
+kindness had saved them many a dollar.
+
+After taking leave of Mr. Banta at St. Louis the boys took up their
+quarters at a leading hotel, and for two weeks devoted themselves to
+calling upon their friends. As they signed their names to the register
+Julian whispered,
+
+"I have often thought, while I have been carrying messages here in the
+city and looked into this hotel while hurrying past it, that the men
+who could put up at a first-class house like this must be a happy lot,
+and now I have a chance to see how it goes myself. Jack, let us go
+down and have a glass of soda water. Why don't you grumble about that
+the way you did the last time we were here?"
+
+But Jack did not feel like grumbling--he was too happy for that. He
+did not think, while he was finding fault with Julian for the wages he
+had spent at the express office in buying 'old horse,' that he was one
+whose fortunes hung upon the letter that was to tell him about The
+Haunted Mine.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.'S POPULAR JUVENILES.
+
+HARRY CASTLEMON.
+
+HOW I CAME TO WRITE MY FIRST BOOK.
+
+
+When I was sixteen years old I belonged to a composition class. It was
+our custom to go on the recitation seat every day with clean slates,
+and we were allowed ten minutes to write seventy words on any subject
+the teacher thought suited to our capacity. One day he gave out "What
+a Man Would See if He Went to Greenland." My heart was in the matter,
+and before the ten minutes were up I had one side of my slate filled.
+The teacher listened to the reading of our compositions, and when they
+were all over he simply said: "Some of you will make your living by
+writing one of these days." That gave me something to ponder upon. I
+did not say so out loud, but I knew that my composition was as good as
+the best of them. By the way, there was another thing that came in my
+way just then. I was reading at that time one of Mayne Reid's works
+which I had drawn from the library, and I pondered upon it as much as
+I did upon what the teacher said to me. In introducing Swartboy to his
+readers he made use of this expression: "No visible change was
+observable in Swartboy's countenance." Now, it occurred to me that if
+a man of his education could make such a blunder as that and still
+write a book, I ought to be able to do it, too. I went home that very
+day and began a story, "The Old Guide's Narrative," which was sent to
+the _New York Weekly_, and came back, respectfully declined. It was
+written on both sides of the sheets but I didn't know that this was
+against the rules. Nothing abashed, I began another, and receiving
+some instruction, from a friend of mine who was a clerk in a book
+store, I wrote it on only one side of the paper. But mind you, he
+didn't know what I was doing. Nobody knew it; but one day, after a
+hard Saturday's work--the other boys had been out skating on the
+brick-pond--I shyly broached the subject to my mother. I felt the need
+of some sympathy. She listened in amazement, and then said: "Why, do
+you think you could write a book like that?" That settled the matter,
+and from that day no one knew what I was up to until I sent the first
+four volumes of Gunboat Series to my father. Was it work? Well, yes;
+it was hard work, but each week I had the satisfaction of seeing the
+manuscript grow until the "Young Naturalist" was all complete.--_Harry
+Castlemon in the Writer._
+
+
+GUNBOAT SERIES.
+
+     6 vols.      BY HARRY CASTLEMON.        $6.00
+
+     Frank the Young Naturalist.
+     Frank on a Gunboat.
+     Frank in the Woods.
+     Frank before Vicksburg.
+     Frank on the Lower Mississippi.
+     Frank on the Prairie.
+
+
+ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.        BY HARRY CASTLEMON.        $3.00
+
+     Frank Among the Rancheros.
+     Frank in the Mountains.
+     Frank at Don Carlos' Rancho.
+
+
+SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.75
+
+     The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle.
+     The Sportsman's Club Afloat.
+     The Sportsman's Club Among the Trappers.
+
+
+FRANK NELSON SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.75
+
+     Snowed up.
+     Frank in the Forecastle.
+     The Boy Traders.
+
+
+ROUGHING IT SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.00
+
+     George in Camp.
+     George at the Fort.
+     George at the Wheel.
+
+
+ROD AND GUN SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.00
+
+     Don Gordon's Shooting Box.
+     The Young Wild Fowlers.
+     Rod and Gun Club.
+
+
+GO-AHEAD SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.00
+
+     Tom Newcombe.
+     Go-Ahead.
+     No Moss.
+
+
+WAR SERIES.
+
+     6 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.        $6.00
+
+     True to His Colors.
+     Marcy the Blockade-Runner.
+     Rodney the Partisan.
+     Marcy the Refugee.
+     Rodney the Overseer.
+     Sailor Jack the Trader.
+
+
+HOUSEBOAT SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.      BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.00
+
+     The Houseboat Boys.
+     The Mystery of Lost River Canyon.
+     The Young Game Warden.
+
+
+AFLOAT AND ASHORE SERIES.
+
+     3 vols.       BY HARRY CASTLEMON.       $3.00
+
+     Rebellion in Dixie.
+     A Sailor in Spite of Himself.
+     The Ten-Ton Cutter.
+
+
+     COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
+     MAILED ON APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS
+     THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA
+
+
+
+
+The Roundabout Library For Young People
+
+
+THIS WELL-KNOWN SERIES OF BOOKS is recognized as the best library of
+Copyright Books for young people, sold at popular prices.
+
+THE AUTHORS represented in the Roundabout Library are not only the
+best well-known writers of juvenile literature, but the titles listed
+comprise the best writings of these authors,
+
+OVER 100 TITLES are now in this Library and all new titles will be
+selected with the same care as in the past, for stories that are not
+only entertaining but equally _instructive_ and _elevating_. This
+respect for wholesome juvenile literature is what has made and kept
+_the Roundabout Library better than any other library of books for
+Boys and Girls_.
+
+OUR AIM is to maintain the supremacy of these books over all others
+_from every viewpoint_, and to make the superior features so apparent
+that those who have once read one, will always return to the
+Roundabout Library for more.
+
+     _Bound in Extra cloth, with gold title and appropriate cover
+     designs stamped in colors, attractive and durable, printed
+     on the best paper from large clear type. Illustrated, 12mo._
+
+     PRICE PER. VOLUME,      $.75
+
+     Catalogue mailed on application to the Publishers.
+
+     THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., Publishers
+     PHILADELPHIA
+
+
+
+
+ROUNDABOUT LIBRARY
+
+FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
+
+Selected from the works of Alger, Castlemon, Ellis, Stephens, Henty,
+Mrs. Lillie and other writers.
+
+Price, per volume, $0.75
+
+
+     =Across Texas.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Adventures in Canada; or, Life in the Woods.= By John C.
+     Geikie.
+
+     =Alison's Adventures.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =American Family Robinson, The; or, The Adventures of a
+     Family Lost in the Great Desert of the West.= By W. D.
+     Belisle.
+
+     =Bear Hunters of the Rocky Mountains, The.= By Anne Bowman.
+
+     =Ben's Nugget; or, A Boy's Search for a Fortune.= By Horatio
+     Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Bob Burton; or, the Young Ranchman of the Missouri.= By
+     Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Bonnie Prince Charlie; A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden.= By
+     G. A. Henty.
+
+     =Brave Billy.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Brave Tom; or, The Battle that Won.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =By England's Aid; or, The Freeing of the Netherlands
+     (1585-1604).= By G. A. Henty.
+
+     =By Pike and Dyke; A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic.=
+     By G. A. Henty.
+
+     =By Right of Conquest; or, With Cortez in Mexico.= By G. A.
+     Henty.
+
+     =By Love's Sweet Rule.= By Gabrielle Emelie Jackson.
+
+     =Cabin in the Clearing, The.= A Tale of the Frontier. By
+     Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Camping Out, As Recorded by "Kit."= By C. A. Stephens.
+
+     =Camp in the Foothills, The.= By Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Cornet of Horse, The.= A Tale of Marlborough's Wars By G. A.
+     Henty.
+
+     =Cruise of the Firefly.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Dear Days, A Story of Washington School Life.= By Ada Mickle.
+
+     =Diccon the Bold.= A Story of the Days of Columbus. By John
+     Russell Coryell.
+
+     =Do and Dare; or, A Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune.= By Horatio
+     Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Dog Crusoe, The. A Tale of the Western Prairies.= By R. M.
+     Ballantyne.
+
+     =Dog of Cotopaxi, The.= By Hezekiah Butterworth.
+
+     =Doris and Theodora.= By Margaret Vandegrift.
+
+     =Dr. Gilbert's Daughters.= By Margaret H. Matthews.
+
+     =Dragon and the Raven, The; or, The Days of King Alfred.= By
+     G. A. Henty.
+
+     =Elam Storm, the Wolfer; or, The Lost Nugget.= By Harry
+     Castlemon.
+
+     =Elinor Belden; or, The Step Brothers.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Esther's Fortune.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Floating Treasure.= By Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Four Little Indians.= By Ella Mary Coates.
+
+     =Family Dilemma.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands, The.= By R. M.
+     Ballantyne.
+
+     =For Honor's Sake.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Four Boys; or, The Story of the Forest Fire.= By Edward S.
+     Ellis.
+
+     =Fox Hunting, As Recorded by "Raed."= By C. A. Stephens.
+
+     =Freaks on the Fells.= By R. M. Ballantyne.
+
+     =Gascoyne, the Sandalwood Trader.= By R. M. Ballantyne.
+
+     =Girl's Ordeal, A.= By Lucy C. Lillie
+
+     =Gorilla Hunters, The.= By R. M. Ballantyne.
+
+     =Great Cattle Trail, The.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Hunt on Snow Shoes, A.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Hartwell Farm, The.= By Elizabeth B. Comins.
+
+     =Hector's Inheritance; or, The Boys of Smith Institute.= By
+     Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Helen Glenn; or, My Mother's Enemy.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Helping Himself; or, Grant Thornton's Ambition.= By Horatio
+     Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Honest Ned.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Haunted Mine, The.= By Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =In Freedom's Cause.= A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By G. A.
+     Henty.
+
+     =In the Reign of Terror; The Adventures of a Westminster Boy.=
+     By G. A. Henty.
+
+     =Jack Midwood; or, Bread Cast Upon the Waters.= By Edward S.
+     Ellis.
+
+     =Joe Wayring at Home; or, The Adventures of a Fly Rod.= By
+     Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Kangaroo Hunters, The; or, Adventures in the Bush.= By Anne
+     Bowman.
+
+     =King's Rubies, The.= By Adelaide Fulaer Bell.
+
+     =Lady Green Satin.= By Baroness Deschesnez.
+
+     =Left on Labrador; or, The Cruise of the Yacht "Curlew."= By
+     C. A. Stephens.
+
+     =Lena Wingo, the Mohawk.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Lenny, the Orphan.= By Margaret Hosmer.
+
+     =Lion of the North. The; A Tale of the Times of Gustavus
+     Adolphus.= By G. A. Henty.
+
+     =Luke Walton; or, The Chicago Newsboy.= By Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Lynx Hunting.= By C. A. Stephens.
+
+     =Limber Lew, the Circus King.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Marion Berkley.= By Elizabeth B. Comins.
+
+     =Missing Pocket-Book, The.= By Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Mysterious Andes, The.= By Hezekiah Butterworth.
+
+     =Northern Lights.= Stories from Swedish and Finnish Authors.
+
+     =Off to the Geysers; or, The Young Yachters in Iceland.= By C.
+     A. Stephens.
+
+     =On the Amazon; or, The Cruise of the "Rambler."= By C. A.
+     Stephens.
+
+     =On the Trail of the Moose.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Orange and Green; A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick.= By G. A.
+     Henty.
+
+     =Oscar in Africa.= By Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Our Boys in Panama.= By Hezekiah Butterworth.
+
+     =Our Fellows; or, Skirmishes with the Swamp Dragoons.= By
+     Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Path in the Ravine, The.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Plucky Dick; or, Sowing and Reaping.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Queen's Body Guard, The.= By Margaret Vandegrift
+
+     =Question of Honor.= By Lynde Palmer.
+
+     =Righting the Wrong.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =River Fugitives, The.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Romain Kalbris.= His Adventures by Sea and Shore. Translated
+     from the French of Hector Malot.
+
+     =Rose Raymond's Wards.= By Margaret Vandegrift.
+
+     =Ruth Endicott's Way.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Shifting Winds; A Story of the Sea.= By R. M. Ballantyne.
+
+     =Snagged and Sunk; or, The Adventures of a Canvas Canoe.= By
+     Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Squire's Daughter, The.= By Lucy C. Lillie.
+
+     =Steel Horse, The; or, The Rambles of a Bicycle.= By Harry
+     Castlemon.
+
+     =Store Boy, The; or, The Fortunes of Ben Barclay.= By Horatio
+     Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Storm Mountain.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Struggling Upward; or, Luke Larkin's Luck.= By Horatio Alger,
+     Jr.
+
+     =Tam; or, Holding the Fort.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Through Forest and Fire.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =True to the Old Flag; A Tale of the American War of
+     Independence.= By G. A. Henty.
+
+     =Two Bequests, The; or, Heavenward Led.= By Jane R. Sommers.
+
+     =Two Ways of Becoming a Hunter.= By Harry Castlemon.
+
+     =Under Drake's Flag. A Tale of the Spanish Main.= By G. A.
+     Henty.
+
+     =Under the Holly.= By Margaret Hosmer.
+
+     =Under the Red Flag; or, The Adventures of Two American Boys
+     in the Days of the Commune.= By Edward King.
+
+     =Ways and Means.= By Margaret Vandegrift.
+
+     =Where Honor Leads.= By Lynde Palmer.
+
+     =Wilderness Fugitives, The.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Wild Man of the West, The.= By R. M. Ballantyne.
+
+     =With Clive in India; or, The Beginning of an Empire.= By G.
+     A. Henty.
+
+     =With Wolfe in Canada; or, The Winning of a Continent.= By G.
+     A. Henty.
+
+     =Wyoming.= By Edward S. Ellis.
+
+     =Young Adventurer, The; Tom's Trip Across the Plains.= By
+     Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Young Circus Rider, The.= By Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Young Conductor, The; or, Winning His Way.= By Edward S.
+     Ellis.
+
+     =Young Explorer, The; or, Among the Sierras.= By Horatio
+     Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Young Miner, The; or, Tom Nelson in California.= By Horatio
+     Alger, Jr.
+
+     =Young Ranchers, The; or, Fighting the Sioux.= By Edward S.
+     Ellis.
+
+     =Young Wreckers The.= By Richard Meade Bache.
+
+
+
+
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.'S POPULAR JUVENILES
+
+J. T. TROWBRIDGE.
+
+
+Neither as a writer does he stand apart from the great currents of
+life and select some exceptional phase or odd combination of
+circumstances. He stands on the common level and appeals to the
+universal heart, and all that he suggests or achieves is on the plane
+and in the line of march of the great body of humanity.
+
+The Jack Hazard series of stories, published in the late _Our Young
+Folks_, and continued in the first volume of _St. Nicholas_, under the
+title of "Fast Friends," is no doubt destined to hold a high place in
+this class of literature. The delight of the boys in them (and of
+their seniors, too) is well founded. They go to the right spot every
+time. Trowbridge knows the heart of a boy like a book, and the heart
+of a man, too, and he has laid them both open in these books in a most
+successful manner. Apart from the qualities that render the series so
+attractive to all young readers, they have great value on account of
+their portraitures of American country life and character. The drawing
+is wonderfully accurate, and as spirited as it is true. The constable,
+Sellick, is an original character, and as minor figures where will we
+find anything better than Miss Wansey, and Mr. P. Pipkin, Esq. The
+picture of Mr. Dink's school, too, is capital, and where else in
+fiction is there a better nick-name than that the boys gave to poor
+little Stephen Treadwell, "Step Hen," as he himself pronounced his
+name in an unfortunate moment when he saw it in print for the first
+time in his lesson in school.
+
+On the whole, these books are very satisfactory, and afford the
+critical reader the rare pleasure of the works that are just adequate,
+that easily fulfill themselves and accomplish all they set out to
+do.--_Scribner's Monthly._
+
+
+
+
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.'S POPULAR JUVENILES.
+
+
+JACK HAZARD SERIES.
+
+     6 vols.      By J. T. TROWBRIDGE      $7.25
+
+     Jack Hazard and His Fortunes
+     The Young Surveyor.
+     Fast Friends.
+     Doing His Best.
+     A Chance for Himself.
+     Lawrence's Adventures.
+
+
+CHARLES ASBURY STEPHENS.
+
+This author wrote his "Camping Out Series" at the very height of his
+mental and physical powers.
+
+     "We do not wonder at the popularity of these books; there is
+     a freshness and variety about them, and an enthusiasm in the
+     description of sport and adventure, which even the older
+     folk can hardly fail to share."--_Worcester Spy._
+
+     "The author of the Camping Out Series is entitled to rank as
+     decidedly at the head of what may be called boys'
+     literature."--_Buffalo Courier._
+
+
+CAMPING OUT SERIES.
+
+By C. A. STEPHENS.
+
+All books in this series are 12mo. with eight full page illustrations.
+Cloth, extra, 75 cents.
+
+CAMPING OUT. As Recorded by "Kit."
+
+     "This book is bright, breezy, wholesome, instructive, and
+     stands above the ordinary boys' books of the day by a whole
+     head and shoulders."--_The Christian Register_, BOSTON.
+
+LEFT ON LABRADOR; OR, THE CRUISE OF THE SCHOONER YACHT "CURLEW." As
+Recorded by "Wash."
+
+     "The perils of the voyagers, the narrow escapes, their
+     strange expedients, and the fun and jollity when danger had
+     passed, will make boys even unconscious of hunger."--_New
+     Bedford Mercury._
+
+OFF TO THE GEYSERS; OR THE YOUNG YACHTERS IN ICELAND. As Recorded by
+"Wade."
+
+     "It is difficult to believe that Wade and Read and Kit and
+     Wash were not live boys, sailing up Hudson Straits, and
+     reigning temporarily over an Esquimaux tribe."--_The
+     Independent_, New York.
+
+LYNX HUNTING: From Notes by the Author of "Camping Out."
+
+     "Of _first quality_ as a boys' book, and fit to take its
+     place beside the best."--_Richmond Enquirer._
+
+FOX HUNTING. As Recorded by "Raed."
+
+     "The most spirited and entertaining book that has as yet
+     appeared. It overflows with incident, and is characterized
+     by dash and brilliancy throughout."--_Boston Gazette._
+
+ON THE AMAZON; OR, THE CRUISE OF THE "RAMBLER." As Recorded by "Wash."
+
+     "Gives vivid pictures of Brazilian adventure and
+     scenery."--_Buffalo Courier._
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Haunted Mine, by Harry Castlemon
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HAUNTED MINE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 37857.txt or 37857.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/8/5/37857/
+
+Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.