diff options
Diffstat (limited to '37857.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 37857.txt | 10086 |
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. |