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diff --git a/43989-8.txt b/43989-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f39a467..0000000 --- a/43989-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8145 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Trail of The Badger, by Sidford F. Hamp - -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 Trail of The Badger - A Story of the Colorado Border Thirty Years Ago - -Author: Sidford F. Hamp - -Illustrator: Chase Emerson - -Release Date: October 21, 2013 [EBook #43989] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRAIL OF THE BADGER *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -THE TRAIL OF THE BADGER - -[Illustration: "DICK PUSHED HIS RIFLE-BARREL THROUGH A CREVICE IN THE -ROCKS."] - - - - -The Trail of The Badger - -_A STORY OF THE COLORADO BORDER THIRTY YEARS AGO_ - -BY -SIDFORD F. HAMP - -_Author of "Dale and Fraser, Sheepmen," -"The Boys of Crawford's Basin," etc._ - - -ILLUSTRATED BY -CHASE EMERSON - -[Illustration: logo] - -W. A. WILDE COMPANY -BOSTON CHICAGO - - -_Copyrighted, 1908_ BY W. A. WILDE COMPANY _All rights reserved_ - - - - -THE TRAIL OF THE BADGER - - - - -PREFACE - - -In writing the adventures of the boys who followed "The Trail of the -Badger" down into that part of Colorado where the fringes of two -discordant civilizations overlapped each other--the strenuous -Anglo-Saxon and the easygoing Mexican--the author has endeavored to show -how two healthy, enterprising young fellows were able to do their little -part in that great work of Desert Reclamation whose importance is now as -well understood by the general public as it always has been by those -whose lot has been cast to the west of meridian one hundred and five. - -To some it may appear that the boys are ahead of their time, but to the -author, whose introduction to "the arid region" dates back thirty years -and more, remembering the conditions then prevailing, it seems no more -than natural that they should recognize the unusual opportunity -presented to them of making a career for themselves, and even that they -should be dimly conscious of the fact that if they "could make two ears -of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where -only one grew before" they would be deserving well of the infant -community of which they formed a part. - -That in making this attempt they would meet with adventures--in fact, -that they could hardly avoid them--the author, recalling his own -experiences in that country at that time, feels well assured. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I. DICK STANLEY 11 - - II. SHEEP AND CINNAMON 32 - - III. THE MESCALERO VALLEY 51 - - IV. RACING THE STORM 68 - - V. HOW DICK BROUGHT THE NEWS 87 - - VI. THE PROFESSOR'S STORY 102 - - VII. DICK'S DIPLOMACY 116 - - VIII. THE START 129 - - IX. ANTONIO MARTINEZ 147 - - X. THE PADRON 165 - - XI. THE SPANISH TRAIL 179 - - XII. THE BADGER 191 - - XIII. THE KING PHILIP MINE 203 - - XIV. A CHANGE OF PLAN 221 - - XV. DICK'S SNAP SHOT 241 - - XVI. THE OLD PUEBLO HEAD-GATE 259 - - XVII. THE BRIDGE 276 - -XVIII. THE BIG FLUME 294 - - XIX. PEDRO'S BOLD STROKE 313 - - XX. THE MEMORABLE TWENTY-NINTH 333 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - -"Dick pushed his rifle-barrel through a crevice in -the rocks" (_Frontispiece_) 42 - -"It was a splendid chance; nobody could ask for a -better target" 57 - -"Passing on our way through the town of Mosby" 137 - -"Behind him, stood the squat figure of Pedro Sanchez" 213 - -"I could not think what he was doing it for" 286 - - - - -The Trail of the Badger - - - - -CHAPTER I - -DICK STANLEY - - -"Look out! Look out! Behind you, man! Behind you! Jump quick, or he'll -get you!" - -It was a boy, a tall, spare, wiry young fellow of sixteen, who shouted -this warning, his voice, in its frantic urgency, rising almost to a -shriek at the end; and it was another boy, also tall, spare and wiry, to -whom the warning was shouted. The latter turned to look behind him, and -for one brief instant his whole body stiffened with fear--his very hair -stood on end. Nor is this a mere figure of speech: the boy's hair did -actually stand on end: he could feel it "creep" against the crown of his -hat. _I know_--for I was the boy! - -That I had good reason to be "scared stiff" I think any other boy will -admit, for, not thirty feet below me, coming quickly and silently up -the rocks, his little gleaming eyes fixed intently upon me, was a grim -old cinnamon bear, an animal which, though less dangerous than his big -cousin, the grizzly, is quite dangerous enough when he is thoroughly in -earnest. - -But for my companion's warning shout the bear would surely have caught -me, and my story would have come to an end at the very beginning of the -first chapter. - -It was certainly an awkward situation, about as awkward, I should think, -as any boy ever got himself into; and how I, Frank Preston, lately a -schoolboy in St. Louis, happened to find myself on a spur of Mescalero -Mountain, in Colorado, with a cinnamon bear charging up the rocks within -a few feet of me, needs a word of explanation. - -I will therefore go back a few steps in order to give myself space for a -preliminary run before jumping head-first into my story, and will tell -not only how I came to be there, but will relate also the curious -incident which first brought me into contact with my future friend, Dick -Stanley; an incident which, while it served as an introduction, at the -same time gave me some idea of the resourcefulness and promptness of -action with which his very peculiar training had endowed him. - -It was in the last week of October, 1877, that I was seated one evening -in my room in St. Louis, very busy preparing my studies for next day, -when the door opened suddenly and in walked my Uncle Tom. - -When, at the age of seven, I had been left an orphan, Uncle Tom, my -mother's brother, though himself a bachelor, had taken charge of me, and -with him I had lived ever since. He and I, I am glad to say, were the -best of friends--regular chums--for, though twenty years my senior, he -seemed in some respects to be as young as myself, and our relations were -more like those of elder and younger brother than of uncle and nephew. - -Uncle Tom was rather short and rather fat, and he was moreover one of -the jolliest of men, being blessed with a disposition which prompted him -always to see the bright side of things, no matter how dark and -threatening they might look. Having at a very early age been pitched out -into the world to "fend for himself," and having by square dealing and -hard work done remarkably well, he had imbibed the idea that -book-learning as a means of getting on in the world was somewhat -overrated; an idea which, right or wrong--and I think myself that Uncle -Tom carried it rather too far--was to have a decided effect in shaping -my own career. - -As it was against the rule, laid down by Uncle Tom himself, for any one -to disturb me at my studies, I naturally looked up from my books to -ascertain the cause of the intrusion, when, with a cigar in his mouth -and his hands in his pockets, he came bulging in, half filling the -little room. - -That there was something unusual in the wind I felt sure, and my -guardian's first act went far to confirm my suspicion, for, removing one -hand from his pocket, he quietly reached forward and with his finger -tilted my book shut. - -"Put 'em away," said he. "You won't need them for a month or more." - -As the fall term of school was then in full swing, this declaration was -a good deal of a surprise to me, as any one will suppose, and doubtless -I showed as much in my face. - -"I have a scheme in my head, Frank," said he, with a knowing wag of that -member, in reply to my look of inquiry. - -"I know _that_," I replied, laughing; for there never was a moment when -Uncle Tom had not a scheme in his head of one sort or another. - -"You spider-legged young reptile!" cried he, with perfect good humor, -but at the same time shaking a threatening finger at me. "Don't you dare -to laugh at my schemes; especially this one. For this is a brand-new -idea, and a very important one--to you. I'm leaving to-morrow night for -Colorado." - -"Are you?" I cried, a good deal surprised by this sudden announcement. -"When did you decide upon that?" - -"To-day. I got a letter this afternoon from my friend, Sam Warren, the -assayer, written from Mosby--if you know where that is." - -I shook my head. - -"I didn't suppose you did," remarked Uncle Tom. "It is a new mining camp -on one of the spurs of Mescalero Mountain in Colorado, and in the -opinion of Sam Warren--my old schoolmate, you know--it has a great -future before it. So he has written me that if I have the time to spare -I had better come out and take a look at it." - -Uncle Tom's business was that of a mining promoter, the middle man -between the prospector and the capitalist, a business in which his -ability and his honorable methods had gained for him an enviable -reputation. - -"So you have decided to go out, have you?" said I. - -"Yes," he replied. "I leave to-morrow evening--and you are coming with -me." - -As may be imagined, I opened my eyes pretty widely at this unfolding of -the "brand-new idea." - -"What do you mean?" I asked. - -"Look here, Frank, old chap," said he, seating himself on the edge of -the table and becoming confidential. "You've stuck to your books very -well--if anything, too well. Now, I've had my eye on you ever since the -hot weather last summer, and it strikes me you need a change--you are -too pale and altogether too thin." - -Being fat and "comfortable" himself, Uncle Tom was disposed to regard -with pity any one, like myself, whose framework showed through its -covering. - -"But----" I began; when Uncle Tom headed me off. - -"Now you be quiet," said he, "and let me finish. I've had some such idea -brewing in my head for some time; it isn't a sudden freak, as you -imagine. I've considered the matter carefully, and I've come to the -conclusion that you'll lose nothing by the move. In fact, what you will -lose by missing a month or so of schooling will be more than made up to -you by the eye-opener you will get in making this expedition." - -"How so?" I asked. - -"You will make the acquaintance of a young State just learning to walk -alone--for, as you know, it was only last year that Colorado came into -the Union; you will see a new mining camp, and rub up against the men, -good, bad and indifferent, who go to make up the community of a frontier -town; and more than that, you will get at first hand, what you never -could get by sitting here and reading about it, a correct idea of the -country traversed by the explorers--Pike, Frémont and the rest of them. - -"I am honestly of opinion, Frank," he went on, seriously, "that this is -an opportunity not to be neglected. At the same time, old fellow, as it -is your education and not mine that is under discussion, I consider that -you have a right to a voice in the matter; so I'll leave you to think it -over, and to-morrow at breakfast you can tell me whether you are coming -or not." - -With that, Uncle Tom slipped down from the table, walked out and shut -the door behind him. That was his way: he was always as sudden as a clap -of thunder. - -Anybody will guess that my books did not receive much more attention -that evening. For an hour I paced up and down the room, considering -Uncle Tom's proposition. It was true that I did feel pulled down by the -effects of the hot weather, combined with a pretty close application to -my books, and I had no doubt that the expedition proposed would do me a -world of good; though whether my education would be benefited in like -manner I was not so sure as Uncle Tom seemed to be. - -But though I did my best honestly to consider the question in all its -aspects, there can be little doubt that my inclinations--whether I was -aware of it or not--colored my judgment, so that my final decision was -just what might have been expected in any active boy of sixteen. As the -clock struck ten I ran down-stairs and informed Uncle Tom that I was -going with him. - -It is not necessary to go into all the details of our journey, though to -me, who had never before been a hundred miles from home, everything was -new and everything was interesting. It is enough to say that, leaving -the train at the foot of the mountains--for the railroad then went no -further--we engaged places in the mail-carrier's open buckboard, and -after a very rough and very tiring drive of a day and a half we at last -reached our destination and were set down at the door of a house outside -which hung a "shingle" bearing the legend, "Samuel Warren, Assayer and -U. S. Dep. Min. Surveyor." - -It will be remembered that one of Uncle Tom's reasons for breaking into -my school term was that I should rub up against the citizens comprising -a frontier settlement. He could hardly have contemplated, however, that -I should come in contact with quite so many of them quite so early in -the day as I did. - -We had hardly sat down to the refreshments spread before us by our -host--a big, bearded man, clad in a suit of brown canvas--when we, in -common with the rest of the community, were startled by the sudden -shriek of a woman in distress. To rush to the door was the work of a -moment, when, the first thing we caught sight of was a man, clad only in -his nightshirt, running like a madman up the street, while far behind -him, and losing ground at every step, ran a woman, calling out with all -the breath she had to spare--which was not much--"Stop him! Stop him!" - -"It's Tim Donovan!" shouted the assayer. "He's sick with the -mountain-fever! He's crazy! Head him off! Head him off! The poor chap -will die of exposure!" - -Warren's house was near the upper end of the street, and just as we -three jumped down the porch steps, the demented fugitive passed the -door, going like the wind. At once we set off in pursuit, while behind -us came all the rest of the population and most of the dogs, by this -time roused to action by the cries of the sick man's wife. - -Nobody knows until he has tried it how hard it is to run up-hill at an -elevation of nine thousand feet, especially to one unaccustomed to such -altitudes. Uncle Tom, who was not built for such exercise, fell out in -the first fifty yards, while, of the others, the short-winded barroom -loafers--of whom, as is always the case in a new camp, there were more -than enough--gave out even more quickly, their habits of life being a -fatal handicap in a foot-race. One by one, nearly all the rest came down -to a walk, until presently the only ones left with any run in them were -Jake Peters and Oscar Swansen, both timber-cutters from the hills, -Aleck Smith, a wiry little teamster, and myself. - -As for me, having the advantage of a good start over everybody else, -being only sixteen years old, and having a reputation at school as a -long-distance runner, it seemed as though I ought to be able to catch -the unfortunate fugitive, who, having run a quarter of a mile already, -should by this time be out of breath. - -Indeed, I believe I should have caught him at the first dash had he not -resorted to tactics which made me chary of coming near him. Not more -than thirty yards separated us and I was gaining steadily, when he, -barefooted himself and making no noise, hearing the clatter of my shoes -behind him, suddenly stopped, picked up a stone and hurled it at me. It -would have taken me square in the chest had I not jumped aside; when, -finding that the man was really dangerous, and knowing very well that I -should have no chance whatever in a personal struggle with him--for he -was a stout young Irish miner with a fore-arm like a leg of mutton--I -contented myself with trotting behind and keeping him in sight; trusting -to the able-bodied men following me to do the tackling when the -opportunity should arise. - -The town of Mosby consisted of one steep street about half a mile long -and two houses thick; for it was situated in a valley, or, rather, in a -gorge, so narrow that there was no room for it to spread except at the -two ends. In truth, there was no room for it to grow except southward, -for at the upper, or northern, end the mountains came together, forming -an inaccessible cañon through which rushed the little stream of ice-cold -water coming down from Mescalero. - -From the lower end of this cañon the stream fell perpendicularly into a -great hole in the rocks--a sort of natural chimney, or well, about sixty -feet deep. The down-stream side of this "chimney" was split from top to -bottom, and through the narrow crack, only four or five feet wide, the -water leaped foaming down in a series of miniature cascades. The only -way of getting into this deep pit was by taking to the water, scrambling -up the steep, step-like bed of the stream and passing through the crack, -when, once inside, a man might defy the world to come and get him out. - -This was exactly what Tim Donovan did. Seeing that he could follow the -stream no further, I was wondering whether he would take to the -mountain on the right or the one on the left, when he suddenly jumped -into the water, ran up the smooth, wet "steps," and disappeared from -sight through the crevice. In ten seconds, however, he showed himself -again. He had found in the driftwood a ragged branch of a pine tree -about three feet long, and with this in one hand and a ten-pound stone -in the other he stood at bay, regardless of the icy water which poured -over his feet, or of the spray from the fall behind him, which in half a -minute had wet his thin single garment through and through. - -It was an impregnable stronghold. No one could get in from the rear, and -the place could not be rushed from the front--the ascent was too steep -and slippery and the entrance too narrow. If Tim were determined to stay -there and perish with cold, it appeared to me that nobody could do -anything to prevent him. - -One by one the pursuers joined me before the entrance, when Mrs. -Donovan, who was among the last to arrive, advanced as near as she could -without getting into the water, and besought her errant husband to come -down. - -But Tim was deaf to entreaty; all the blandishments of his anxious wife -were without effect, and if she could not get him to come down it -appeared as though nobody could. - -Tim, though, was a popular young fellow, and it was not in the nature of -a Colorado miner, or of an Irishman either--for they hold together like -burrs in a horse's tail--to desert a comrade in distress. So, Mrs. -Donovan having failed, there stepped to the front a short, thick-set, -red-haired man, Mike O'Brien by name, Tim's partner and particular -crony, who, talking pleasantly and naturally to him, as though his -friend were quite sane and rational, stepped into the water and waded -carefully up the steep slope. - -"How are ye, Tim, me boy?" said he, with off-hand cordiality. "It's glad -I am to see ye out again. It's me birthday to-day, Tim; I'm having a bit -of a supper at home an' I come up to ask ye----" - -Whack! came the stone from Tim's hand, breaking to pieces against the -rocky wall within an inch of Mike's head. The invitation was declined. - -Mike himself, in his effort to dodge the missile, missed his footing, -fell on his back, and in a series of dislocating bumps was swept down -the "steps" to the starting place, wet, as he declared, right through to -his bones. - -Up to this time the demented man had kept silence, but on seeing Mike -go tumbling down-stream, he shook his fist after him and cried out: - -"Come back and try again, ye devouring baste! Come on, the whole pack of -yez! Don't stand there howling, ye cowardly curs; come up and get me -out--if ye dare!" - -"I believe he thinks we are a pack of wolves," said Mr. Warren. - -"That's it, Mr. Warren, sir," exclaimed Mrs. Donovan, turning to the -assayer. "That's it, entirely. He heard a wolf howl last night, and it -was hard wor-rk I had to kape him from jumping out of his bed and -running off right thin. He thinks it's a pack of them that's hunting -him." - -"Poor fellow! No wonder he refuses to come down. What are we going to -do? We _must_ get him out." - -Then ensued an eager debate, in which everybody took a share except -Uncle Tom and myself, who, standing a little apart from the rest on the -sloping bank of the stream, were listening and looking on, when some one -touched me on my arm, and a boyish voice said: - -"What's the matter? What's it all about?" - -Turning round, I saw before me a tall young fellow about my own age, -with reddish hair, very keen gray eyes and a much-freckled face, -carrying in one hand an old-fashioned, muzzle-loading rifle, nearly as -long as himself, and in the other three grouse which he appeared to have -shot. - -Wondering who the boy might be, I explained the situation, when he -cried: - -"What! Tim Donovan! Why he'll die if he's left in there. Poor chap! We -must get him out." - -"Yes," said Uncle Tom. "That's just it. But how? The man won't be -persuaded to come out, and no one can get in to drag him out--so what's -to be done?" - -The young fellow stood for a minute thinking, and then, suddenly lifting -his head, he exclaimed, with a half laugh: - -"I know! I know what we can do! He can't be persuaded out or dragged -out, but he can be driven out." - -"How?" asked Uncle Tom. - -"If you'll come with me," replied the boy, "I'll show you in two -minutes." - -So saying, he jumped across the creek and set off straight up the almost -perpendicular side of the mountain, we two following. Uncle Tom, -however, finding the climb too steep for him, very soon turned back -again, so we two boys went on alone. - -About three hundred feet up my companion stopped, and it was well for me -he did, for I could hardly have gone another step, so desperately out of -breath was I. - -"Not used to it, are you?" said the boy, who himself seemed to be quite -unaffected. "Well, we don't have to go any higher, fortunately. Look -over there. Do you see that stubby pine tree growing out of the rocks -and overhanging the waterfall?" - -"Yes, I see it," I replied. "And what's that big round thing hanging to -it?" - -"A wasps' nest." - -"A wasps' nest?" - -"A wasps' nest," repeated my new acquaintance with peculiar emphasis and -with a twinkle in his eye. - -"Ah!" I exclaimed, suddenly enlightened. "I see your little game. Good! -You propose to knock down the wasps' nest into the 'well,' and then poor -Tim will just have to vacate." - -"That's my idea." - -"Great idea, too. But, look here! Are the wasps alive at this time of -year?" - -"They are this year. We've had such a wonderfully warm season that they -are just as brisk as ever." - -"Well, but there's another thing: how are you going to do it? You can't -get at it: the rocks are too straight-up-and-down; and you can't come -near enough to knock it off with a stone. How are you going to do it?" - -The young fellow smiled and patted the stock of his gun. - -"Shoot it down!" I exclaimed. "Do you think you can? It won't be any use -plugging it full of holes, you know; you'll have to nip off the little -twig it hangs on. Can you do that?" - -"I think I can." - -"All right, then, fire away and let's see." - -I must confess I felt doubtful. The boy did not look nor talk like a -braggart, but nevertheless, to cut with a bullet the slim little branch, -no bigger than a lead-pencil, upon which the nest hung suspended looked -to me like a pretty ticklish shot. - -My companion, however, seemed confident. Cocking his gun, he kneeled -down, and using a big rock as a rest he took careful aim and fired. - -It was a perfect shot. The big ball of gray "paper" dropped like a -plumb, struck the rim of the "well," burst open, and emptied upon the -head of the unfortunate Tim about a bucketful of venomous little -yellow-jackets, each and every one of them quivering with rage, and each -and every one bent on taking vengeance on somebody. - -The people below were still debating how to get the sick man out of his -fortress, when the sound of the rifle-shot caused them all to look up; -but only for an instant, for the echoes had not yet died away, when, -with a startling yell, out came Tim, frantically waving his club above -his head, seemingly more crazy than ever. Supposing that he was making a -dash for liberty, half a dozen of his particular friends flung -themselves upon him, and down they all went in a heap together. - -But this arrangement was of the briefest. In another moment, with -shrieks and yells and whirling arms, the whole population went charging -down the street, Uncle Tom in the lead, running--breath or no breath--as -he had never run before. - -Never was there a more complete victory: besiegers and besieged flying -in one general rout before the assaults of the new enemy. And never did -I laugh so extravagantly as I did then, to see the enraged -yellow-jackets "take it out" on an unoffending community, while the real -culprits were all the time sitting safely perched on the mountainside -looking down on the rumpus. - -"Well, we got him out all right," remarked my companion, as he calmly -reloaded his rifle. "I thought we could. You're a newcomer, aren't you? -My name's Dick Stanley; I live up-stream, just at the head of the cañon. -Are you expecting to make a long stay?" - -"Two or three weeks, I think," I replied. "My uncle, Mr. Tom Allen, is -here to inspect the mines, and he brought me with him. We come from St. -Louis. My name's Frank Preston. We're staying at Mr. Warren's house." - -"Well, come up to our house some day. It is in a little clearing just at -the head of the cañon--you can't miss it--and we'll go off for a day's -grouse-shooting up into the mountains if you like." - -"All right, I will. That would just suit me. To-morrow?" - -"Yes, come up to-morrow, if you like. I'll be on the lookout for you. I -suppose you are going home now," he continued, as we rose to our feet. -"If I were you, I'd keep up here on the side of the mountain--the street -will be full of yellow-jackets--and then, when you come opposite the -assayer's house, make a bolt for his back door, or some of them may get -you yet." - -"That's a good idea. I'll do it. Well, good-bye. I'll come up to-morrow -then, if I can." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -SHEEP AND CINNAMON - - -"That was the funniest thing I ever saw," exclaimed Uncle Tom, laughing -in spite of himself, while at the same time, with a comically rueful -twist of his countenance, he rubbed the back of his neck where one of -the wasps had "got" him. "The way poor Tim bolted out of his stronghold -after defying the whole population to come and get him out, was the very -funniest thing I ever did see. That was a smart trick of that young -rascal; though I wish he had given me notice beforehand of what he -intended to do. I'd have started to run a good five minutes earlier if -I'd known what was coming. Who is the boy, Warren?" - -"Well, that is not easy to say," replied our host, "for, as a matter of -fact, he does not know himself. His history, what there is of it, is a -peculiar one. He lives up here at the head of the cañon with an old -German named Bergen--commonly known as the Professor--and his Mexican -servant, a man of forty whom the professor brought up with him from -Albuquerque, I believe. If Frank's object in coming here was to rub up -against all sorts and conditions of men, he could hardly have chosen a -better place. Certainly he cannot expect to find a more remarkable -character than the professor. - -"The old fellow is regarded by the people here as a harmless -lunatic--which, in a community like this, where muscle is at a premium -and scientific attainments at a discount, is not to be wondered at--for -it is incomprehensible to them that any man in his right mind should -spend his life as the professor spends his. - -"The old gentleman is an enthusiastic naturalist. He is making a -collection of the butterflies, beetles and such things, of the Rocky -Mountain region, and with true German thoroughness he has spent years in -the pursuit. Choosing some promising spot, he builds a log cabin, and -there he stays one year--or two if necessary--until that district is -'fished out,' as you may say, when he packs up and moves somewhere else, -to do the same thing over again." - -"Well, that is certainly a queer character to come across," was Uncle -Tom's comment. "But how about the boy, Sam? How does he happen to be in -such company?" - -"Why, about twelve or thirteen years ago, old Bergen was 'doing' the -country somewhere northwest of Santa Fé, when he made a very strange -discovery. It was a bad piece of country for snowslides, which were -frequent and dangerous in the spring, and one day, being anxious to get -to a particular point quickly, the professor was crossing the tail of a -new slide--a risky thing to do--as being the shortest cut, when his -attention was attracted by some strange object lodged half way up the -great bank of snow. Climbing up to it, he found to his astonishment that -the strange object was a wagon-bed, while, to his infinitely greater -astonishment, inside it on a mattress, fast asleep, was a three-year-old -boy--young Dick!" - -"That was an astonisher, sure enough!" exclaimed I, who had been an -eager listener. "And was that all the professor found?" - -"That was all. The running-gear of the wagon had vanished; the horses -had vanished; and the boy's parents or guardians had vanished--all -buried, undoubtedly, under the snow." - -"And what did the professor do?" - -"The only thing he could do: took the boy with him--and a fortunate -thing it was for young Dick that the old gentleman happened to find -him. But though he inquired of everybody he came across--they were not -many, for white folks were scarce in those parts then--the professor -could learn nothing of the party; so, not knowing what else to do, he -just carried off the youngster with him, and with him Dick has been ever -since." - -"That's a queer history, sure enough," remarked Uncle Tom. "And was -there nothing at all by which to identify the boy?" - -"Just one thing. I forgot to say that in the wagon-bed was a single -volume of Shakespeare--one of a set: volume two--on the fly-leaf of -which was written the name, 'Richard Livingstone Stanley, from Anna,' -and as the boy was old enough to tell his own name--Dick Stanley--the -professor concluded that the owner of the book was his father. Moreover, -as the boy made no mention of his mother, though he now and then spoke -of his 'Daddy' and his 'Uncle David,' the old gentleman formed the -theory that the mother was dead and that the father and uncle, bringing -the boy with them, had come west to seek their fortunes, and being very -likely tenderfeet, unacquainted with the dangerous nature of those great -snow-masses in spring time, they had been caught in a slide and -killed." - -"Poor little chap," said Uncle Tom. "And he has been wandering about -with the old gentleman ever since, has he? He must be a sort of Wild Man -of the West in miniature." - -"Not a bit of it. The professor is a man of learning, and he has not -neglected his duty. Dick has a highly respectable education, including -some items rather out of the common for a boy: he speaks German and -Spanish; he has a pretty intimate knowledge of the wild animals of the -Rocky Mountains; and he is one of the best woodsmen and quite the best -shot of anybody in these immediate parts." - -"Well, they are an odd pair, certainly. I should like to go up and see -the professor--that is, if he ever receives visitors." - -"Oh, yes. He's a sociable old fellow. He and I are very good friends. -I'll take you up there and introduce you some day. He is well worth -knowing. If there is any information you desire concerning the Rocky -Mountain country from here southward to the border, Herr Bergen can give -it you. You are to be congratulated, Frank, on making Dick's -acquaintance so early: he will be a fine companion for you while you -stay here. You propose to go grouse-shooting to-morrow, do you? Well, -you can take my shotgun--it hangs up there on the wall--and make a day -of it; for your uncle and I are proposing to ride up to inspect a mine -on Cape Horn, which will take us pretty well all afternoon." - -I thanked our host for his offer, and next morning, gun in hand, I set -off immediately after breakfast for Dick's dwelling. - -Passing the "well" where Tim Donovan had taken refuge the day before, I -ascended by a clearly-marked trail to the edge of the cañon, and -following along it through the woods for about a mile, I presently came -in sight of a little clearing, in which stood a neat log cabin of two or -three rooms. Outside was a Mexican, chopping wood, while in the doorway -stood Dick, evidently looking out for me, for, the moment I appeared, he -ran forward to meet me. - -"How are you?" he cried. "Glad you came early: I have a new plan for the -day, if it suits you. I've been spying around with a field-glass and -I've just seen a band of sheep up on that big middle spur of Mescalero; -they are working their way up from their feeding-ground, and I propose -that we go after them instead of hunting grouse. What do you say?" - -"All right; that will suit me." - -"Come on, then. Just come into the house for a minute first and see the -professor, and then we'll dig out at once." - -From the fact that Mr. Warren had so frequently spoken of the professor -as "the old gentleman," I was prepared to see a bent old man, with a -white beard and big round spectacles--the typical "German professor," of -my imagination. I was a good deal surprised, then, to find a small, -active man of sixty, perhaps, a little gray, certainly, but with a clear -blue eye and a wide-awake manner I was far from anticipating. He was in -the inner room when I entered--evidently the sanctum where he prepared -and stored his specimens--but the moment he heard our steps he came -briskly out, and, on Dick's introducing me, shook hands with me very -heartily. - -"And how's poor Tim this morning?" he asked, as soon as the formalities, -if they can be called so, were over. - -"He is all right, sir," I replied. "I went down there before breakfast -this morning at Mr. Warren's request to inquire. In fact, Tim was so -much better apparently that Mrs. Donovan declares that if he ever gets -the fever again she intends to apply iced water to his feet and -wasp-stings to the rest of his anatomy, as being a sure cure. She is -immensely grateful to Dick for having discovered and applied a remedy -that has worked so well." - -"Then if Tim is wise," remarked the professor, laughing, "he won't get -the fever again, for I should think the cure would be worse than the -disease. But you want to be off, don't you? Do you understand the -working of a Winchester repeater? Well," as I shook my head, "then you -had better take the Sharp's and Dick the Winchester. And, Dick, you'd -better have an eye on the weather. Romero says there is a change coming, -and he is generally pretty reliable. So, now, off you go; and good luck -to you." - -Leaving the cabin, we went straight on up the narrow valley for about -three miles--the pine-clad mountains rising half a mile high on either -side of us--going as quickly as we could, or, to be more exact, going as -quickly as I could. For the elevation, beginning at nine thousand feet, -increased, of course, at every step, and I, being unused to such -altitudes, found myself much distressed for breath--a fact which was -rather a surprise to me, considering that in our track-meets at school -the mile run was my strong point. I did not understand then that to get -enough oxygen out of that thin mountain air it was necessary to take two -breaths where one would suffice at sea-level. - -We had ascended about a thousand feet, I think, when, at the base of the -bare ridge for which we had been making, we slackened our pace, and my -companion, who knew the country, taking the lead, we went scrambling up -over the rocks and snow for an hour or more. - -The quantity of snow we found up there was a surprise to me, for, from -below the amount seemed trifling. There had been a heavy fall up in the -range a month before, and this snow, drifting into the gullies, had -settled into compact masses, the surface of which, on this, the southern -face of the mountain, being every day slightly softened by the heat of -the sun, and every night frozen solid again, made the footing -exceedingly treacherous. Whenever, therefore, we found it necessary to -cross one of these steep-tilted snow-beds we did so with the greatest -caution. - -We had been climbing, as I have said, for more than an hour, and were -nearing the top of the ridge, when Dick stopped and silently beckoned to -me to come up to where he lay, crouching under shelter of a little -ledge. - -"Smell anything?" he whispered. - -I gave a sniff and raised my eyebrows inquiringly. - -"Sheep?" said I, softly. - -My companion nodded. - -"They must be somewhere close by," said he, in a voice hardly audible. -"Go very carefully and keep your eyes wide open. If you see anything, -stop instantly." - -We were lying side by side upon the rocks, Dick considerately waiting a -moment while I got my breath again, and were just about to crawl -forward, when there came the sound of a sudden rush of hoofs and a -clatter of stones from some invisible point ahead of us, and then dead -silence again. - -"They've winded us and gone off," whispered Dick. But the next moment he -added eagerly, "There they are! Look! There they are! Up there! See? My! -What a chance!" - -Immediately on our left was a deep gorge, so narrow and precipitous that -we could not see the bottom of it from where we lay. The sheep, having -seemingly got wind of us, with that agility which is always so -astonishing in such heavy animals, had rushed down one side of the -precipitous gorge and up the other, and now, there they were, all -standing in a row--eleven of them--on the opposite summit, looking down, -not at us, but at something immediately below them. - -"What do you suppose it is, Dick?" I whispered. - -"Don't know," my companion replied. "Mountain-lion, perhaps: they are -very partial to mutton. Anyhow," he continued, "if we want to get a shot -we must shoot from here: we can't move without the sheep seeing us, and -they'd be off like a flash if they did. You take a shot, Frank. Take the -nearest one. Sight for two hundred yards." - -"No," I replied. "You shoot. I shall miss: I'm too unsteady for want of -breath." - -"All right." - -Raising himself a fraction of an inch at a time until he had come to a -kneeling position, Dick pushed his rifle-barrel through a crevice in the -rocks, took aim and fired. The nearest sheep, a fine fellow with a -handsome pair of horns, pitched forward, fell headlong from the ledge -upon which he had been standing and vanished from our sight among the -broken rocks below; while the others turned tail and fled up the -mountain, disappearing also in a minute or less. - -"Come on!" cried Dick, springing to his feet. "Let's go across and get -him. Round this way. Don't trust to that slope of ice: you may slip and -break your neck." - -"But the mountain-lion, Dick," I protested. "Suppose there's a -mountain-lion down there." - -"Oh, never mind him!" Dick exclaimed. "If there was one, he's gone by -this time. And even if he should be there yet, he'd skip the moment he -saw us. We needn't mind him. Come on!" - -Away we went, therefore, Dick in the lead, and scrambling quickly though -carefully down the rocky wall, we made our way up the bed of the ravine -until we found ourselves opposite the ledge upon which the sheep had -been standing. Here we discovered that the wall of the gorge was split -from top to bottom by a narrow cleft--previously invisible to us--filled -with hard snow, and whether the sheep had been standing on the right -side or the left of this crevice, and therefore on which side the big -ram had fallen, we could not tell; for the wall of the gorge, besides -being exceedingly rough, was littered with great masses of rock against -any of which the body of the sheep might have lodged. - -"I'll tell you what, Frank," said my companion. "It might take us an -hour or two to search all the cracks and crannies here. The best plan -will be to climb straight up to the ledge where the sheep stood and look -down. Then, if he is lodged against the upper side of any of these -rocks, we shall be able to see him. But as we can't tell whether he was -standing on the right or the left of this crevice, suppose you climb up -one side while I go up the other." - -"All right," said I. "You take the one on the left and I'll go up on -this side." - -It was a laborious climb for both of us--and how those sheep got up -there so quickly is a wonder to me still--but as my side of the crevice -happened to be easier of ascent than Dick's I got so far ahead of him -that I presently found myself about fifty yards in the lead. - -At this point, however, I met with an obstruction which at first seemed -likely to stop me altogether. The fallen rocks were so big, and piled so -high, that I could not get over them, and for a moment I thought I -should be forced to go back and try another passage. Before resorting -to this measure, though, I thought I would attempt to get round the -barrier by taking to the snow-bank, supporting myself by holding on to -the rocks. To do this I should need the use of both my hands, so, as my -rifle had no strap by which to hang it over my shoulder, I took out my -handkerchief, tied one end to the trigger-guard, took the other end in -my teeth, and slinging the weapon behind me, I seized the rock with both -hands and set one foot on the snow. - -It was at this moment that Dick, down below me on the other side of the -crevice, while in the act of crawling up over a big rock, caught a -glimpse of something moving over on my side, and the next instant, out -from between two great fragments of granite rushed a cinnamon bear and -went charging up the slope after me. - -The bear--as we discovered afterward--had found our sheep, and was -agreeably engaged in tearing it to pieces, when he caught a whiff of me. -He was an old bear, and had very likely been chased and shot at more -than once in the past few years--since the white men had begun to invade -his domain--and having conceived a strong antipathy for those -interfering bipeds which walked on their hind legs and carried -"thunder-sticks" in their fore paws, he decided instantly that, before -finishing his dinner, he would just dash out and finish me. - -And very near he came to doing it. It was only Dick's quick sight and -his equally quick shout that saved me. - -My companion's warning cry to jump could have but one meaning: there was -nowhere to jump except out upon the snow-bank; and recovering from my -first momentary panic, I let go my rifle and sprang out from the rocks. - -My hope was that I should be able to keep my footing long enough to -scramble across to the rocks on the other side; but in this I was -disappointed. The snow-bed lay at an angle as steep as a church roof, -and while its surface was slightly softened by the sun, just beneath it -was as hard and as slippery as glass. Consequently, the moment my feet -struck it they slipped from under me, down I went on my face, and in -spite of all my frantic clawing and scratching I began to slide briskly -and steadily down-hill. - -The bear--most fortunately for me--seemed to be less cunning than most -of his fellows. Had he paused for a moment to reason it out, he would -have seen that by waiting five seconds he might leap upon my back as I -went by. Luckily, however, he did not reason it out, but the instant he -saw me jump he jumped too, and he, too, began sliding down the icy slope -ahead of me; for being, as I said, an old bear, his blunted claws could -get no hold. - -It was an odd situation, and "to a man up a tree," as the saying is, it -might have been entertaining. Here was the pursuer retreating backward -from the pursued, while the pursued, albeit with extreme reluctance, was -pursuing the pursuer--also backward. - -It was like a nightmare--and a real, live, untamed broncho of a -nightmare at that--but luckily it did not last long. Finding that no -efforts of mine would arrest my downward progress, and knowing that the -bear, reaching the bottom first, need only stand there with his mouth -wide open and wait for me to fall into it, I whirled myself over and -over sideways, until presently my hand struck the rocks, my finger-tips -caught upon a little projection, and there I hung on for dear life, not -daring to move a muscle for fear my hold should slip. - -But from this uncomfortable predicament I was promptly relieved. I had -not hung there five seconds ere the sharp report of a rifle rang out, -and then another, and next came Dick's voice hailing me: - -"All right, Frank! I've got him! Hold on: I'm coming up!" - -Half a minute later, as I lay there face downward on the ice, I heard -footsteps just above me, a firm hand grasped my wrist, and a cheerful -voice said: - -"Come on up, old chap. I can steady you." - -"But the bear, Dick! The bear!" I cried, as I rose to my knees. - -"Dead as a door-nail," he replied, calmly. "Look." - -I glanced over my shoulder down the slope. There, on his back among the -rocks, lay the cinnamon, his great arms spread out and his head hanging -over, motionless. As the snarling beast had slid past him, not ten feet -away, Dick, with his Winchester repeater, had shot him once through the -heart and once in the base of the skull, so that the bear was stone dead -ere he fell from the little two-foot ice-cliff at the bottom of the -slope. - -As for myself, I had had such a scare and was so completely exhausted by -my vehement struggles during the past couple of minutes, that for a -quarter of an hour I lay on the rocks panting and gasping ere I could -get my lungs and my muscles back into working order again. - -As soon as I could do so, however, I sat up, and holding out my hand to -my companion, I said: - -"Thanks, old chap. I'm mighty glad you were on hand, or, I'm afraid, it -would have been all up with me." - -"It was a pretty close shave," replied Dick; "rather too close for -comfort. He meant mischief, sure enough. Well, he's out of mischief now, -all right. Let's go down and look at him." - -"I suppose," said I, "it was the bear that the sheep were looking down -at when they stood up there on the ledge all in a row." - -"Yes, that was it. If I'd known it was a bear they were staring at I'd -have left them alone. A mountain-lion I'm not afraid of: he'll run -ninety-nine times out of a hundred. But a cinnamon bear is quite another -thing: the less you have to do with them, the better." - -"Well, as far as I'm concerned," said I, "the less I have to do with -them, the better it will suit me. If this fellow is a sample of his -tribe I'm very willing to forego their further acquaintance: my first -interview came too unpleasantly near to being my last. Come on; let's go -down." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE MESCALERO VALLEY - - -It had been our intention to take off the bear's hide and carry it home -with us, but we found that he was such a shabby old specimen that the -skin was not worth the carriage, so, after cutting out his claws as -trophies, we went on to inspect our sheep. Here again we found that "the -game was not worth the candle," as the saying is, for the bear had torn -the carcass so badly as to render it useless, while the horns, which at -a distance and seen against the sky-line, had looked so imposing, proved -to be too much chipped and broken to be any good. - -My rifle we found lying beside the bear, it also having slid down the -ice-slope when I dropped it. - -"Well, Frank," remarked my companion, "our hunt so far doesn't seem to -have had much result--unless you count the experience as something." - -"Which I most decidedly do," I interjected. - -"You are right enough there," replied Dick; "there's no gainsaying that. -Well, what I was going to say was that the day is early yet, and if you -like there is still time for us to go off and have a try for a deer. I -should like to take home something to show for our day's work." - -"Very well," said I. "Which way should we take? There are no deer up -here among the rocks, I suppose." - -"Why, I propose that we go up over this ridge here and try the country -to the southwest. I've never been down there myself, having always up to -the present hunted to the north and east of camp; but I've often thought -of trying it: it is a likely-looking country, quite different from that -on the Mosby side of the divide: high mesa land cut up by deep cañons. -What do you say?" - -"Anything you like," I answered. "It is all new to me, and one direction -is as good as another." - -"Very well, then, let us get up over the ridge at once and make a -start." - -Having discovered a place easier of ascent than those by which we had -first tried to climb up, we soon found ourselves on top of the ridge, -whence we could look out over the country we were intending to explore. - -It was plain at a glance that the two sides of the divide were very -different. Behind us, to the north, rose Mescalero Mountain, bare, -rugged and seamed with strips of snow. From this mountain, as from a -center, there radiated in all directions great spurs, like fingers -spread out, on one of which we were then standing. Looking southward, we -could see that our spur continued for many miles in the form of a chain -of round-topped mountains, well covered with timber, the elevation of -which diminished pretty regularly the further they receded from the -parent stem. On the left hand side of this chain--the eastern, or Mosby -side--the country was very rough and broken: from where we stood we -could see nothing but the tops of mountains, some sharp and rugged, some -round and tree-covered, seemingly massed together without order or -regularity. But to the south and southwest it was very different. Here -the land lying embraced between two of the spurs was spread out like a -great fan-shaped park, which, though it sloped away pretty sharply, was -fairly smooth, except where several dark lines indicated the presence of -cañons of unknown depth. The whole stretch, as far as we could -distinguish, was pretty well covered with timber, though occasional open -spaces showed here and there, some of two or three acres and some of -two or three square miles in extent. - -"Just the country for black-tail," said Dick, "especially at this time -of year--the beginning of winter. For, you see, it lies very much lower -on the average than the Mosby side, and the snow consequently will not -come so early nor stay so late. It ought to be a great hunting-ground." - -"It is a curious thing to find an open stretch like that in the midst of -the mountains," said I. "What is it called?" - -"The Mescalero valley. The professor says it was once an arm of the -sea--and it looks like it, doesn't it? Over on the Mosby side the rocks -are all granite and porphyry, tilted up at all sorts of angles; but down -there it is sandstone and limestone, lying flat--a sure sign that it was -once the bottom of a sea." - -"Is the valley inhabited?" I asked. - -"Down at the southern end, about fifty miles away, there is a Mexican -settlement, at the foot of those twin peaks you see down there standing -all alone in the midst of the valley--the Dos Hermanos: Two Brothers, -they are called--but up at this end there are no inhabitants, I -believe." - -"Well, there will be some day, I expect," said I. "It ought to be a -fine situation for a saw-mill, for instance." - -"I don't know about that. There would be no way of getting your product -to market. Old Jeff Andrews, the founder of Mosby, told me about it -once--he's been across it two or three times--and he says that the -country is so slashed with cañons that a wheeled vehicle couldn't travel -across it, and consequently the expense of road-making would amount to -about as much as the value of the timber." - -"I see. And, of course, the streams are much too shallow to float out -the logs. Well, let us get along down." - -"All right. By the way, before we start, there was one thing I wanted to -say:--If we should happen to get separated, all you have to do is to -turn your face eastward, climb up over the Mosby Ridge, and you'll find -yourself on our own creek, either above or below the town. It's very -plain; you can hardly lose yourself--by daylight at any rate. So, now, -let's be off." - -The climb down on this side we found to be very much steeper than the -climb up on the other had been. We dropped, by Dick's guess, about -three thousand feet in the three miles we traversed ere we found -ourselves in the midst of the thick timber, walking on comparatively -level ground. Keeping along the eastern side of the valley, in the -neighborhood of the Mosby Ridge, we made our way forward, steering by -the sun--for the trees were so thick we could see but a short distance -ahead--when we came upon one of the little open spaces I have mentioned. -We were just about to walk out from among the trees, when my companion, -with a sudden, "Pst!" stepped behind a tree-trunk and went down on one -knee. Without knowing the reason for this move, I did the same, and on -my making a motion with my eyebrows, as much as to say, "What's up?" -Dick whispered: - -"Do you see that white patch on the other side of the clearing? An -antelope with its back to us. I'll try to draw him over here, so that -you may get a shot." - -So saying, Dick took out a red cotton handkerchief, poked the corner of -it into the muzzle of his rifle, and standing erect behind his tree, -held out his flag at right angles. - -At first the antelope took no notice, but presently, catching a glimpse -of the strange object out of the corner of his eye, he whirled round -and stood for a moment facing us with his head held high. A slight puff -of wind fluttered the handkerchief; the antelope started as though to -run; but finding himself unhurt, his curiosity got the better of his -fears, and he came trotting straight across the clearing in order to get -a closer view. At about a hundred yards distance he stopped, his body -turned broadside to us, all ready to bolt at the shortest notice, when -Dick whispered to me to shoot. - -[Illustration: "IT WAS A SPLENDID CHANCE; NOBODY COULD ASK FOR A BETTER -TARGET."] - -It was a splendid chance; nobody could ask for a better target; but do -you think I could hold that rifle steady? Not a bit of it! Instead of -one sight, I could see half a dozen; and finding that the longer I aimed -the more I trembled, I at length pulled the trigger and chanced it. -Where the bullet went I know not: somewhere southward; and so did the -antelope, and at much the same pace, if I am any judge of speed. - -"Never mind, old chap," said Dick, laughing. "That is liable to happen -to anybody. Most people get a touch of the buck-fever the first time -they try to shoot a wild animal. You'll probably find yourself all right -the next chance you get." - -"I'm afraid there's not likely to be a 'next chance,' is there?" I -asked. "Won't that shot scare all the deer out of the country?" - -"I hardly think so: the deer are almost never disturbed down here; it -isn't like the Mosby side, where the prospectors are tramping over the -hills all the time." - -"Don't they ever come down here, then?" - -"No, never. There is a common saying, as you know, perhaps, that 'gold -is where you find it'; meaning that it may be anywhere--one place is as -likely as another. But, all the same, the prospectors seem to think the -chances are better among the granite and porphyry rocks on the other -side, where the formation has been cracked and broken and heaved up on -end by volcanic force. They never trouble to come down here, where any -one can see at a glance that the deposits have never been disturbed -since they were first laid down at the bottom of a great inlet of the -ocean." - -"I see what you mean: and as nobody ever comes down here the deer are -not fidgety and suspicious as they would be if they were always being -disturbed." - -"That's it, exactly. They are so unused to the presence of human beings -that I doubt if they would take any notice of your shot except to cock -their ears and sniff at the breeze for a minute or two. Anyhow, we'll go -ahead and find out. Let us go across this clearing and see if there -isn't a spring on the other side. That antelope was drinking when we -first saw him, if I'm not mistaken." - -Sure enough, just before we entered the trees again, we came upon a pool -of water around the softened rim of which were many tracks of animals. - -"Hallo!" cried Dick. "Just look here! See the wolf tracks--any number of -them. It must be a great wolf country as well as a great deer -country--in fact, because it is a great deer country. I shouldn't like -to be caught here in the winter with so many wolves about; they are -unpleasant neighbors when food is scarce." - -"Are they dangerous to a man with a gun?" I asked. - -"Yes, they are. One wolf--or even two--doesn't matter much to a man with -a breach-loading rifle; but when a dozen or twenty get after you, you'll -do well to go up a tree and stay there. A pack of hungry wolves is no -trifle, I can tell you." - -"Have you ever had any experience with them yourself?" - -"I did once, and a mighty distressing one it was, though it didn't hurt -me, personally. I was out hunting with my dog, Blucher, a little -short-legged, long-bodied fellow of no particular breed, and was up -among the tall timber east of the house, going along suspecting nothing, -when Blucher, all of a sudden, began to whine and crowd against my legs. -I looked back, and there I saw six big timber-wolves slipping down a -hill about a quarter of a mile behind me. They stopped when I stopped, -but as soon as I moved, on they came again--it was very uncomfortable, -especially when two of them vanished among the trees, and I couldn't -tell whether they might not be running to get round the other side of -me. I went on up the next rise, the wolves keeping about the same -distance behind me, and as soon as we were out of their sight, Blucher -and I ran for it. But it was no use: the wolves had taken the same -opportunity, and when I looked back again, there they were, all six of -them, not a hundred yards behind this time. - -"It began to look serious; for though it was possible that they were -after Blucher, and not after me at all, I couldn't be sure of that. So, -first picking out a tree to go up in case of necessity, I knelt down -and fired into the bunch, getting one. I had hoped that the others would -turn and run, but the shot seemed to have a directly opposite effect: -the remaining five wolves came charging straight at me. - -"I gave the dog one kick and yelled at him to 'Go home!'--it was all I -could do--dropped my rifle, jumped for a branch, and was out of reach -when the wolves rushed past in pursuit of Blucher. - -"Poor little beast! Though he was a mongrel with no pretence at a -pedigree, he was a good hunting dog and a faithful friend. But what -chance had he in a race with five long-legged, half-starved -timber-wolves? It happened out of my sight, I am glad to say; all I -heard was one yelp, followed by an angry snarling, and then all was -silent again." - -Dick paused for a moment, his face looking very grim for a boy, and then -continued: "I've hated the sight and the sound of wolves ever since. Of -course, I know they were only following their nature, but--I can't help -it--I hate a wolf, and that's all there is to it." - -"I don't wonder," said I. "Any one----" - -"Hark!" cried Dick, clapping his hand on my arm. "Did you hear that? -Listen!" - -We stood silent for a moment, and then, far off in the direction from -which we had come, I heard a curious whimpering sound, the nature of -which I could not understand. - -"What is it?" I whispered, involuntarily sinking my voice. - -"Wolves--hunting." - -"Hunting what?" - -"I don't know; but we'll move away from here, anyhow. Come on." - -Dick's manner, more than his words, made me feel a little uneasy and I -followed him very willingly as he set off at a smart walk through the -timber. - -"You don't suppose they are hunting us, Dick, do you?" I asked, as we -strode along side by side. - -"I can't tell yet. It seems hardly likely--in daylight, and at this time -of year. I could understand it if it were winter. If they are hunting -us, it is probably because they, like the deer, are unacquainted with -men, and never having been shot at, they don't know what danger they are -running into. Still, I feel a little suspicious that it is our trail -they are following. They are coming down right on the line we took, at -any rate. We shall be able to decide, though, in a minute or two. Look -ahead. Do you see how the trees are thinning out? We are coming to -another open space, a big one, I think; I noticed it when we were up on -the ridge just now." - -"What good will that do us?" I asked. - -"We shall be able to get a sight of them. Come on. I'll show you." - -True enough, we presently stepped out from among the trees again and -found ourselves on the edge of another open, grassy space, very much -larger than the last one. It was about three hundred yards across to the -other side, and a mile in length from east to west. We had struck it -about midway of its east-and-west length. Out into the open Dick walked -some twenty yards, and there stopped once more to listen. - -We had not long to wait. The eager whimper came again, much nearer, and -now and then a quavering howl. I did not like the sound at all. I looked -at Dick, who was standing "facing the music" and frowning thoughtfully. - -"Well, Dick!" I exclaimed, getting impatient. - -"I think they are after us," said he. - -"And what do you mean to do? Not stay out here in the open, I suppose." - -"Not we; at least, not for more than five minutes. Look here, Frank," -he went on, speaking quickly. "I'll tell you what I propose to do. We'll -keep out here in the open, about this distance from the trees, and make -straight eastward for the Mosby Ridge; it is only half a mile or so to -the woods at that end of the clearing and we can make it in five -minutes. Then, if the wolves are truly hunting us, they will follow our -trail out into the open, when we shall get a sight of them and be able -to count them. If they are only three or four we can handle them all -right, but if there is a big pack of them we shall have to take to a -tree. Give me your rifle to carry--my breathing machinery is better used -to it than yours--and we'll make a run for it." - -It was only a short half-mile we had to run--quite enough for me, -though--and under the first tree we came to, Dick stopped. - -"This will do," said he, handing back my rifle. "We'll wait here now and -watch. Hark! They're getting pretty close. Hallo! Hallo! Why, look -there, Frank!" - -That Dick should thus exclaim was not to be wondered at, for out from -the trees, scarce a hundred paces from us, there came, not the wolves, -but a man! And such an odd-looking man, riding on such an odd-looking -steed! - -"What is he riding on, Dick?" I asked. "A mule?" - -"No; a burro--a jack--a donkey; a big one, too; and it need be, for he -is a tremendous fellow. Did you ever see such a chest?" - -"Is he an Indian?" - -"No; a Mexican. An Indian wouldn't deign to ride a burro. I understand -it all now. The wolves are not hunting us at all: they are after the -donkey. And the man is aware of it, too: see how he keeps looking -behind. What is that thing he is carrying in his left hand? A bow?" - -"Yes; a bow. And a quiver of arrows over his shoulder." - -"So he has! He doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry, does he? Evidently -he is not much afraid of the wolves. Why, he's stopping to wait for -them! He's a plucky fellow. Why, Frank, just look! Did you ever see such -a queer-looking specimen?" - -This exclamation was drawn from my companion involuntarily when the -Mexican, checking his donkey, sprang to the ground. He certainly was a -queer-looking specimen. If he had looked like a giant on donkey-back, he -looked like a dwarf on foot; for, though his head was big and his body -huge, his legs were so short that he appeared to be scarce five feet -high; while his muscular arms were of such length that he could touch -his knees without stooping. - -To add to his strange appearance, the man was clad in a long, sleeveless -coat made of deer-skin, with the hairy side out. - -We had hardly had time to take in all these peculiarities when Dick once -more exclaimed: - -"Ah! Here they come! One, two, three--only five of them after all." - -As he spoke, the wolves came loping out from among the trees; but the -moment they struck our cross-trail the suspicious, wary creatures all -stopped with one accord, puzzled by coming upon a scent they had not -expected. - -This was the Mexican's opportunity. Raising his long left arm, he drew -an arrow to its head and let fly. - -I thought he had missed, for I saw the arrow strike the ground and knock -up a little puff of dust. But I was mistaken. One of the wolves gave a -yelp, ran back a few steps, fell down, got up again and ran another few -steps, fell again, and this time lay motionless. The arrow had gone -right through him! - -Almost at the same instant Dick raised his rifle and fired. The shot -was electrical. One of the wolves fell, when the remaining three -instantly turned tail and ran. - -But not only did the wolves run: the Mexican, casting one glance in our -direction, sprang upon his donkey and away he went, at a pace that was -surprising considering the respective sizes of man and beast. - -It was in vain that Dick ran out from under our tree and shouted after -him something in Spanish. I could distinguish the word, _amigos_, two or -three times repeated, but the man took no notice. Perhaps he did not -believe in friendships so suddenly declared. At any rate, he neither -looked back nor slackened his pace, and in a minute or less he and his -faithful steed vanished into the timber on the south side of the -clearing. - -The whole incident had not occupied five minutes; but for the presence -of the two dead wolves one would have been tempted to believe it had -never happened at all--solitude and silence reigned once more. - -"Well, wasn't that a queer thing!" cried Dick. - -"It certainly was," I replied. "I wonder who the man is. Anyhow, he's -not coming back, so let's go and pick up his arrow." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -RACING THE STORM - - -Walking over to where the two wolves lay, we soon found the arrow, its -head buried out of sight in the hard ground, showing with what force it -had come from the bow. It was carefully made of a bit of some hard wood, -scraped down to the proper diameter, and fitted with three -feathers--eagle feathers, Dick said--one-third as long as the shaft, -very neatly bound on with some kind of fine sinew. - -"Looks like a Ute arrow," remarked my companion, as he stooped to pick -it up; "yet the man was a Mexican, I am sure. I suppose he must have got -it from the Indians." - -"Do the Utes use copper arrow-heads?" I asked. - -"No, they don't. They use iron or steel nowadays. Why do you ask?" - -"Because this arrow-head is copper," I replied. - -"Why, so it is!" cried Dick, rubbing the soil from the point on his -trouser-leg. "That's very odd. I never saw one before. I feel pretty -sure the Indians never use copper: it is too soft. This bit seems to -take an edge pretty well, though. See, the point doesn't seem to have -been damaged by sticking into the ground; and it has been filed pretty -sharp, too; or, what is more likely, rubbed sharp on a stone. It has -evidently been made by hand from a piece of native copper." - -"I wonder why the man should choose to use copper," said I. "Though when -you come to think of it, Dick," I added, "I don't see why it shouldn't -make a pretty good arrow-head. It is soft metal, of course, but it is -only soft by comparison with other metals. This wedge of copper weighs -two or three ounces, and it is quite hard enough to go through the hide -of an animal at twenty or thirty yards' distance when 'fired' with the -force that this one was." - -"That's true. And I expect the explanation is simple enough why the man -uses copper. It is probably from necessity and not from choice. Like -nearly all Mexicans of the peon class, he probably never has a cent of -money in his possession. Consequently, as he can't buy a gun, he uses a -bow; and for the same reason, being unable to procure iron for -arrow-heads, he uses copper. I expect he comes from the settlement at -the foot of the valley, for copper is a very common metal down there." - -"Why should it be more common there than elsewhere?" I asked. - -"Well, that's the question--and a very interesting question, too. The -professor and I were down in that neighborhood about a year ago, and on -going into the village we were a good deal surprised to find that every -household seemed to possess a bowl or a pot or a cup or a dipper or all -four, perhaps, hammered out of native copper--all of them having the -appearance of great age. There were dozens of them altogether." - -"How do they get them?" I asked. - -"That's the question again--and the Mexicans themselves don't seem to -know. They say, if you ask them, that they've always had them. And the -professor did ask them. He went into one house after another and -questioned the people, especially the old people, as to where the copper -came from; but none of them could give him any information. I wondered -why he should be so persevering in the matter--though when there is -anything he desires to learn, no trouble is too much for him--but after -we had left the place he explained it all to me, and then I ceased to -wonder." - -"What was his explanation, then?" - -"He told me that when he was in Santa Fé about fifteen years before, he -made the acquaintance of a Spanish gentleman of the remarkable name of -Blake----" - -"Blake!" I interrupted. "That's a queer name for a Spaniard." - -"Yes," replied Dick. "The professor says he was a descendant of one of -those Irishmen who fled to the continent in the time of William III, of -England, most of them going into the service of the king of France and -others to other countries--Austria and Spain in particular." - -"Well, go ahead. Excuse me for interrupting." - -"Well, this gentleman was engaged in hunting through the old Spanish -records kept there in Santa Fé, looking up something about the title to -a land-grant, I believe, and he told the professor that in the course of -his search he had frequently come across copies of reports to the -Spanish government of shipments of copper from a mine called the King -Philip mine. That it was a mine of importance was evident from the -frequency and regularity of the 'returns,' which were kept up for a -number of years, until somewhere about the year 1720, if I remember -rightly, they began to become irregular and then suddenly ceased -altogether." - -"Why?" - -"There was no definite statement as to why; but from the reports it -appeared that the miners were much harried by the Indians, sometimes the -Navajos and sometimes the Utes, while the loss, partial or total, of two -or three trains with their escorts, seemed to bring matters to a climax. -Shipments ceased and the mine was abandoned." - -"That's interesting," said I. "And where was this King Philip mine?" - -"The gentleman could not say. There seemed to be no map or description -of any kind among the records; but from casual statements, such as notes -of the trains being delayed by floods in this or that creek, or by snow -blockades on certain passes, he concluded that the mine was somewhere up -in this direction." - -"Well, that is certainly very interesting. And the professor, I suppose, -concludes that the Mexicans down there at---- What's the name of the -place?" - -"Hermanos--called so after the two peaks, at the foot of which it -stands." - -"The professor concludes, I suppose, that the Mexicans' unusual supply -of copper pots and pans came originally from the King Philip mine." - -"Yes; and I've no doubt they did; though the Mexicans themselves had -never heard of such a mine. Yet--and it shows how names will stick long -after people have forgotten their origin--yet, just outside the village -there stands a big, square adobe building, showing four blank walls to -the outside, with a single gateway cut through one of them, flat-roofed -and battlemented--a regular fortress--and it is called to this day the -_Casa del Rey_:--the King's House. Now, why should it be called the -King's House? The Mexicans have no idea; but to me it seems plain -enough. The King Philip mine was probably a royal mine, and the -residence of the king's representative, the storage-place for the -product of the mine, the headquarters of the soldier escort, would -naturally be called the King's House." - -"It seems likely, doesn't it? Is that the professor's opinion?" - -"Yes. He feels sure that the King Philip mine is not far from the -village; possibly--in fact, probably--in the Dos Hermanos mountains." - -"And did he ever make any attempt to find it?" - -"Not he. Prospecting is altogether out of his line. It was only the -historical side of the matter that interested him. All he did was to -write to the Señor Blake at Cadiz, in Spain, telling him about it; -though whether the letter ever reached its destination he has never -heard." - -"And who lives in the King's House now?" I asked. "Anybody?" - -"Yes. It is occupied by a man named Galvez, the 'padron' of the village, -who owns, or claims, all the country down there for five miles -square--the Hermanos Grant. We did not see him when we were there, but -from what we heard of him, he seems to regard himself as lord of -creation in those parts, owning not only the land, but the village and -the villagers, too." - -"How so? How can he own the villagers?" - -"Why, it is not an uncommon state of affairs in these remote Mexican -settlements. The padron provides the people with the clothes or the -tools or the seed they require on credit, taking security on next year's -crop, and so manages matters as to get them into debt and keep them -there; for they are an improvident lot. In this way they fall into a -state of chronic indebtedness, working their land practically for the -benefit of the padron and becoming in effect little better than slaves." - -"I see. A pretty miserable condition for the poor people, isn't it? And -doesn't this man, Galvez, with his superior -intelligence--presumably--know anything of the King Philip mine?" - -"Apparently not." - -"My word, Dick!" I exclaimed. "What fun it would be to go and hunt for -it ourselves, wouldn't it?" - -"Wouldn't it! I've often thought of it before, but I know the professor -would never consent. He would consider it a waste of time. It's an idea -worth keeping in mind, though, at any rate. There's never any telling -what may turn up. We might get the chance somehow; though I confess I -don't see how. But we must be moving, Frank," said he, suddenly changing -the subject. "It's getting latish. Hallo!" - -"What's the matter?" I asked, looking wonderingly at my companion, who, -with his hand held up to protect his eyes from the glare, was standing, -staring at the sun. - -"Why, the matter is, Frank, that the professor will say that I've -neglected my duty, I'm afraid. You remember he told me to look out for a -change of weather? I'd forgotten all about it." - -"Well," said I, "I don't see that that matters. There's no sign of a -change, is there?" - -"Yes, there is. Look up there. Do you see a number of tiny specks all -hurrying across the face of the sun from north to south?" - -"Yes. What is it?" - -"Snow." - -"Snow!" I cried, incredulously. "How can it be snow, when there isn't a -scrap of cloud visible anywhere?" - -"It is snow, all the same," said Dick; "old snow blown from the other -side of Mescalero." - -"But how can that be, Dick? All the snow we found up there was packed -like ice." - -"Ah, but we were on the south side. On the north side, where the sun has -no effect, it is still as loose and as powdery as it was when it fell." - -"Of course. I hadn't thought of that. There must be a pretty stiff -breeze blowing overhead to keep it hung up in the sky like that and not -allow a speck of it to fall down here." - -"Yes, it's blowing great guns up there, all right, and I am afraid we -shall be getting it ourselves before long. We must dig out of here hot -foot, Frank. I hope we haven't stayed too long as it is." - -It was hard to believe that there was anything to fear from the weather, -with the unclouded sun shining down upon us with such power as to be -almost uncomfortably hot; but Dick, I could see, felt uneasy, and as I -could not presume to set up my judgment against his larger experience, I -did not wait to ask any more questions, but set off side by side with -him when he started eastward at a pace which required the saving of all -my breath to keep up with him. - -We had been walking through the woods for about half an hour and were -expecting to begin the ascent of the Mosby Ridge in a few minutes, when -we were brought to a standstill by coming suddenly upon the edge of a -deep cleft in the earth, cutting across our course at right angles. It -was one of the many cañons for which the Mescalero valley was notorious. - -Looking across the cañon, we could see that the opposite wall was -composed of a thick bed of limestone overlying another of sandstone, the -latter, being the softer, so scooped out that the limestone cap -projected several feet beyond it. It appeared to be quite unscalable, -and on our side it was doubtless the same, for, on cautiously -approaching the edge as near as we dared, we could see that the cliff -fell sheer for three hundred feet or more. - -"No getting down here!" cried Dick. "Up stream, Frank! The cañon will -shallow in that direction." - -Away we went again along the edge of the gorge, and presently were -rejoiced to find a place where the cliff had broken away, enabling us, -with care, to climb down to the bottom. The other side, however, -presented no possible chance of getting out, so on we went, following up -the dry bed of the arroyo, looking out sharply for some break by which -we might climb up, when, on rounding a slight bend, Dick stopped so -suddenly that I, who was close on his heels, bumped up against him. - -"What's the matter, Dick?" I asked. "What are you stopping for?" - -"Look up there at Mescalero," said he. - -It was the first glimpse of the mountain we had had since entering the -woods at the head of the valley, and the change in its appearance was -alarming. The only part of it we could see was the summit, standing out -clear and sharp against the sky; all the rest of it, and of the whole -range as well, was shrouded by a heavy gray cloud, which, creeping round -either side of the peak, was rolling down our side of the range, slowly -and steadily filling up and blotting out each gully and ravine as it -came to it. There was a stealthy, vindictive look about it I did not at -all like. - -"Snow, Dick?" I asked. - -"Yes, and lots of it, I'm afraid. See how the cloud comes creeping -down--like cold molasses. I expect it is so heavy with snow that it -can't float in the thin air up there, and the north wind is just -shouldering it up over the range from behind. We've got to get out of -here, Frank, as fast as we can and make the top of the Mosby Ridge, if -possible, before that cloud catches us. Once on the other side, we're -pretty safe: I know the country; but on this side I don't. So, let us -waste no more time--we have none to waste, I can tell you." - -Nor did we waste any, for neither of us had any inclination to linger, -but pushing forward once more along the bottom of the cañon, we -presently espied a place where we thought we might climb out. Scrambling -up the steep slope of shaly detritus, we had come almost to the top, -when to our disappointment we found our further progress barred by a -little cliff, not more than eight feet high, but slightly overhanging, -and so smooth that there was no hold for either feet or fingers. - -"Up on my shoulders, Frank!" cried my companion, laying down his rifle -and leaning his arms against the rock and his head against his arms. - -In two seconds I was standing on his shoulders, but even then I could -not get any hold for my hands on the smooth, curved, shaly bank which -capped the limestone. Only a foot out of my reach, however, there grew a -little pine tree, about three inches thick, and whipping off my belt I -lashed at the tree trunk with it. The end of the belt flew round; I -caught it; and having now both ends in my hands I quickly relieved my -companion of his burden and crawled up out of the ravine. - -Then, buckling the belt to the tree, I took the loose end in one hand, -and lying down flat I received and laid aside the two rifles which Dick -handed up to me, one at a time. Dick himself, though, was out of reach, -perceiving which, I pulled off my coat, firmly grasped the collar and -let down the other end to him, lying, myself, face downward upon the -stones, with the end of the belt held tight in the other hand. - -"All set?" cried Dick; and, "All set!" I shouted in reply. There was a -violent jerk upon the coat, and the next thing, there was Dick himself -kneeling beside me. - -"Well done, old chap!" cried he. "That was a great idea. Now, then, -let's be off. I'll carry the two rifles. It's plain sailing now. -Straight up the Ridge for those two great rocks that stand up there like -a gateway to the pass. I know the place. Only a couple of thousand feet -to climb and then we begin to go down-hill. We shall make it now. Come -on!" - -The trees were thin just here, and as we started to ascend the pass we -obtained one more glimpse of Mescalero--the last one we were to get that -day. The bank of cloud had advanced about half a mile since we first -caught sight of it, while it had become so much thicker as the wind -rolled it up from the other side of the range, that now only the very -tip of the mountain showed above it. Even as we watched it, a great fold -of the cloud passed over the summit, hiding it altogether. - -"See that, Dick?" said I. - -"Yes," he replied. "A very big snow, I expect. Hark! Do you hear that -faint humming? The wind in the pines. We shall be getting it soon. Come -on, now; stick close to my heels; if I go too fast, call out." - -Away we went up the pass, pressing forward at the utmost speed I could -stand, desperately anxious to get as far ahead as possible before the -storm should overtake us. The ascent, though very steep on this side, -presented no other special difficulty, and at the end of an hour we had -come close to the two great rocks for which we had been making. - -All this time the sun continued to shine down upon us, though with -diminishing power as the hurrying snowflakes passing above our heads -became thicker and thicker; while, as to the storm-cloud itself, we -could not see how near it had come, for the pine-clad mountain, rising -high on our left hand, obstructed our view in that direction. That it -was not far off, though, we were pretty sure, for the humming of the -wind in the woods--the only thing by which we could judge--though faint -at first, had by this time increased to a roar. - -The storm was, in fact, much nearer than we imagined, and just as we -passed between the "gateway" rocks it burst upon us with a fury and a -suddenness that, to me at least, were appalling. - -Almost as though a door had been slammed in our faces, the light of the -sun was cut off, leaving us in twilight gloom, and with a roar like a -stampede of cattle across a wooden bridge, a swirling, blinding smother -of snow, driven by a furious wind, rushed through the "gateway," taking -us full in the face, with such violence that Dick was thrown back -against me, nearly knocking us both from our feet. Instinctively, we -crouched for shelter behind the rock, and there we waited a minute or -two to recover breath and collect our senses. - -"Pretty bad," said Dick. "But it might have been worse: it isn't very -cold--not yet; we have only about two miles to go, and I know the lay of -the land. We'll start again as soon as you are ready. I'll go first and -you follow close behind. Whatever you do, don't lose sight of me for an -instant: it won't do to get lost. Hark! Did you hear that?" - -There was a rending crash, as some big tree gave way before the storm. -It was a new danger, one I had not thought of before. I looked -apprehensively at my companion. - -"Suppose one of them should fall on us, Dick," said I. - -"Suppose it shouldn't," replied Dick. "That is just as easy to suppose, -and a good deal healthier." - -I confess I had been feeling somewhat scared. The sudden gloom, the -astonishing fury of the wind, the confusing whirl and rush of the snow, -and then from some point unknown the sharp breaking of a tree, sounding -in the midst of the universal roar like the crack of a whip--all this, -coming all together and so suddenly, was quite enough, I think, to -"rattle" a town-bred boy. - -But if panic is catching, so is courage. Dick's prompt and sensible -remark acted like a tonic. Springing to my feet, I cried: - -"You are right, old chap! Come on. Let's step right out at once. I'm -ready." - -It was most fortunate that Dick knew where he was, for the light was so -dim and the snow so thick that we could see but a few paces ahead; while -the wind, though beating in general against our left cheeks, was itself -useless as a guide, for, being deflected by the ridges and ravines of -the mountain, it would every now and then strike us square in the face, -stopping us dead, and the next moment leap upon us from behind, sending -me stumbling forward against my leader. - -In spite of its vindictive and ceaseless assaults, though, Dick kept -straight on, his head bent and his cap pulled down over his ears; while -I, following three feet behind, kept him steadily in view. Presently he -stopped with a joyful shout. - -"Hurrah, Frank!" he cried. "Look here! Now we are all right. Here's a -thread to hold on by: as good as a rope to a drowning man." - -The "thread" was a little stream of water, appearing suddenly from I -know not where, and running off in the direction we were going. - -"This will take us home, Frank!" my companion shouted in my ear. "It -runs down and joins our own creek about a quarter of a mile above the -house. With this for a guide we are all safe; we mustn't lose it, that's -all. And we won't do that: we'll get into it and walk in the water if we -have to. Best foot foremost, now! All down-hill! Hurrah, for us!" - -Dick's cheerful view of the situation was very encouraging, though, as a -matter of fact, it was a pretty desperate struggle we had to get down -the mountain, with the darkness increasing and the snow becoming deeper -every minute. Indeed it was becoming a serious question with me whether -I could keep going much longer, when at the end of the most perilous -hour I ever went through, we at last came down to the junction of the -creeks, and turning to our right presently caught sight of a lighted -window. - -Five minutes later we were safe inside the professor's house--and high -time too, for I could not have stood much more of it: I had just about -reached the end of my tether. But the warmth and rest and above all the -assurance of safety quickly had their effect, and very soon I found -myself seated before the fire consuming with infinite gusto a great bowl -of strong, hot soup which Romero had made all ready for us; thus -comfortably winding up the most eventful day of my existence--up to that -moment. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -HOW DICK BROUGHT THE NEWS - - -"You ran it rather too close, Dick," said the professor, with a shake of -his head, when we had told him the story of our race with the storm. "I -was beginning to be afraid; not so much for you as for your companion: -it was too big an undertaking for him, considering that it was his first -day in the mountains; even leaving out the risk of the snow-storm." - -"I'm afraid I was thoughtless," replied Dick, penitently; "especially in -not looking out for a change of weather. It did run us too close, as you -say--a great deal too close. But there is one thing I can do, anyhow, to -repair that error to some extent, and I'll be off at once and do it." - -So saying, Dick, who by this time had finished his supper, jumped out of -his chair and began putting on his overcoat. - -"Where are you off to, Dick?" I exclaimed. "Not going out again -to-night?" - -"Only a little way," replied Dick. "Down to the town to let your uncle -know that you are all safe. He'll be pretty anxious, I expect." - -I had thought of that, but I could see no way of getting over it. I -could not go myself, for even if I had dared to venture I had not the -strength for it, and of course I could not expect any one else to do it -for me. My first thought, therefore, when Dick announced that he was -going, was one of satisfaction; though my next thought, following very -quickly upon the first one, was to protest against his doing any such -thing. - -"No, no, Dick," I cried, "it's too risky--you mustn't! Uncle Tom will be -worried, I know, but he will conclude that I am staying the night with -you. And though I should be glad to have his mind relieved, I don't -consider--and he would say the same, I'm pretty sure--that that is a -good enough reason for you to take such a risk." - -"Thanks, old chap," replied Dick; "but it isn't so much of a risk as you -think. Going down wind to the town is a very different matter from -coming down that rough mountain with the storm beating on us from every -side. I've been over the trail a thousand times, and I believe I could -follow it with my eyes shut; and, anyhow, to lose your way is pretty -near impossible, you know, with the cañon on your right hand and the -mountain on your left. So, don't you worry yourself, Frank: I'll be -under cover again in an hour or less." - -Seeing that the professor nodded approval, I protested no more, though I -still had my doubts about letting him go. - -"Well, Dick," said I, "it's mighty good of you. I wish I could go, too, -but that is out of the question, I'm afraid: I should only hamper you if -I tried. I can tell you one thing, anyhow: Uncle Tom will appreciate -it--you may be sure of that." - -In this I was right, though I little suspected at the moment in what -form his appreciation was to show itself. As a matter of fact, Dick's -action in braving the storm a second time that evening was to be a -turning-point in his fortune and mine. - -"Good-night, Frank," said he. "I'll be back again in the morning, I -expect. Hope you'll sleep as well in my bed as I intend to do in yours. -Good-night." - -So saying, Dick, this time overcoated, gloved and ear-capped, opened the -door and stepped out. Watching him from the window, I saw him striding -off down wind, to be lost to sight in ten seconds in the maze of driving -snow. - -"Are you sure it's all right, Professor?" said I, anxiously. "There's -time yet to call him back." - -"It is all right," replied my host, reassuringly. "You need not fear. -Dick has been out in many a storm before, and he knows very well how to -take care of himself. You may be sure I would not let him go if I -thought it were not all right. And now, I think, it would be well if you -took possession of Dick's bed. You have had a very hard day and need a -good long rest." - -To this I made no objection, and early though it was, I was asleep in -five minutes, too tired to be disturbed even by the insistent banging -and howling of the storm outside. - -Meanwhile, Uncle Tom, down in the town, was, as I had suspected, -fretting and fuming and worrying himself in his uncertainty as to -whether I was safe under cover or not. - -The storm had taken the town by surprise, for the morning had opened -gloriously, clear and sharp and still, as it had done every day for a -month past, and most people naturally supposed there was to be another -day as fine as those which had gone before; little suspecting that the -north wind, up there among the icebound peaks and gorges of the mother -range, was at that moment marshaling its forces for a mad rush down into -the valley. - -And how should they suspect? Of the three hundred people comprising the -population, not one, not even old Jeff Andrews himself, the patriarch of -the district, had spent more than two winters in the camp. In the year -of its founding there were about a dozen men and no women who had braved -the hardships of the first winter, but as the fame of the new camp -extended to the outer world, other people began to come in, slowly at -first and then in larger numbers, so that by this time the population -numbered, as I said, about three hundred souls, including twenty-one -women and two babies; while at a rough guess I should say there was -about two-thirds of a dog to each citizen, counting in the twelve -children of school age and the two babies as well. - -These dogs, by the way, were the chief source of entertainment in the -town, for during the hours of daylight there was always a fight going on -somewhere, while at night most of them, especially the younger ones, -used to sit out in the middle of the street barking defiance at the -coyotes, which, from the hills all round, howled back at them in -unceasing chorus. This part of the programme was changed, however, later -in the winter, for one half-cloudy night the blacksmith's long-legged -shepherd pup, seated in front of the forge door, was barking himself -hoarse at the moon when a big timber-wolf came slipping down out of the -woods and finished the puppy's song and his existence with one snap. -After this the other dogs were more careful about the hours they kept. - -But to return to the human part of the population. Considering how few -of them had spent a winter in this high valley; remembering that every -one of the grown-up citizens had been born in some other State, and that -the very great majority were newcomers in Colorado, it is not to be -wondered at that the storm should have caught them unawares. For, in -Colorado, if there is one thing almost impossible to forecast it is the -weather, especially in the mountains where it is made, where the -snow-storms and the thunder-storms, brewing in secret behind the peaks, -bounce out on you before you know it. - -So, on this sunshiny morning, most people went about their usual -occupations unsuspicious of evil; it was only the few old-timers who -divined what was coming, and their little precautions, such as shutting -their doors and windows before leaving the house, merely excited a smile -or a word of chaff from the "plum-sure" newcomers. For it is always the -new arrival who thinks he can predict the weather; the old-stager, -having had experience enough to be aware that he knows nothing about it -for certain, can seldom be persuaded to venture a decided opinion. - -Tied to a hitching-post outside the assayer's door that afternoon were -two ponies, and about two o'clock Mr. Warren, himself, and Uncle Tom, -issued from the house, prepared for their ride up on Cape Horn--a big, -bare mountain lying southeast of town. As they stepped down from the -porch, however, Warren happened to notice old Jeff Andrews walking up -the street, carrying over his shoulder a great buffalo-skin overcoat, -which, considering the warmth of the day, seemed rather out of place. - -"Hallo, Jeff!" the assayer called out. "What are you carrying that thing -for? Are we going to have a change?" - -Jeff, a gray-bearded, round-shouldered man of sixty, with a face burnt -all of one color by years of life in the open, paused for a moment -before replying, and then, knowing that the assayer was not one of those -"guying tenderfeet," for whom, as he expressed it, "he had no manner of -use," he answered genially: - -"Well, gents, I ain't no weather prophet--I'll leave that business to -the latest arrival--but I have my suspicions. Just look up overhead." - -The old man had detected the hurrying snowflakes passing across the face -of the sun, and though to Uncle Tom there was nothing unusual to be -seen, the assayer understood the signs. - -"Wind, Jeff?" said he. - -"And snow," replied the old prospector. "Was you going to ride up on -Cape Horn this evening, Mr. Warren? Well, if I was you, I wouldn't. Cape -Horn lies south o' here, and if a storm from the north catches you up -there on that bare mountain you may not be able to work your way back -again. If I was you, I'd put the ponies back in the stable and lay low -for a spell." - -"Thank you, Jeff," responded the assayer. "I believe that's a good idea. -I think we shall do well, Tom, to postpone our trip. No use running the -risk of being caught out in a blizzard: it's a bit too dangerous to suit -me." - -The ponies, therefore, were taken back to the stable and the two men, -returning to the house, sat down on the sunny porch to await -developments. - -The snow-cloud was already half way down the range and it was not long -ere the murmur of the wind among the distant trees began to make itself -heard, giving warning of what was coming to a few of the more observant -people. - -"It looks pretty threatening, Sam," said Uncle Tom. "I don't like the -way that cloud comes creeping down. I hope those boys will notice it in -time." - -"I don't think you need worry about them," replied the assayer. "Young -Dick is well able to take care of himself. He knows the signs as well as -anybody." - -"Well, I hope he'll notice them in time. Going indoors, are you?" - -"Yes; if you don't mind, I'll leave you for the present. I have some -work I want to finish up. Let me know when it comes pretty close so that -I may get my windows shut. It will come with a 'whoop' when it does -come." - -As the assayer rose to his feet, he observed across the street the -proprietor of the corner grocery standing in his doorway with his hands -in his pockets. - -"Hallo, Jackson!" he called out. "You'd better take in those loose boxes -from the sidewalk if you want to save them: there's a big blow coming -pretty soon." - -"Oh, I guess not," replied the grocer, a fat-faced, self-satisfied man, -one of those "dead-sure weather prophets" for whom old Jeff felt such -supreme contempt. "I reckon I'll chance it." - -He cast a glance skyward, and deceived by the sparkling brilliancy of -the sun, he added under his breath, "Big blow! As if any one couldn't -see with half an eye that there isn't a sign of wind in the sky." - -"All right, Jackson, suit yourself," replied Warren; adding on his part, -as an aside to Uncle Tom, "He'll change his mind in about half an hour, -if I'm not mistaken." - -For about that length of time Uncle Tom continued to sit on the porch -watching the approaching cloud and listening to the increasing murmur of -the wind, when, on the crown of a high ridge about a mile above town he -saw all the pine trees with one accord suddenly bend their heads toward -him, as though making him a stately obeisance. - -Springing out of his chair, Uncle Tom bolted into the house, slamming -the door behind him and calling out: "Here it comes, Sam! Here it -comes!" - -It did. The roar of its approach was now plainly audible; there was a -hurrying and scurrying of men and women, a banging of doors and a -slamming down of windows; even the incredulous grocer, convinced at -last, made a dive for his loose boxes--but just too late. - -With a shriek, as of triumph at catching them all unprepared, the wind -came raging down the street, making a clean sweep of everything. A young -mining camp is not as a rule over-particular about the amount of rubbish -that encumbers its streets, and Mosby was no exception to the rule, but -in five minutes it was swept as clean as though the twenty-one -housewives had been at work on it for a week with broom and -scrubbing-brush. - -Heralded by a cloud of mingled dust and snow, a whole covey of paper -scraps, loose straw and a few hats, went whirling down the street, -followed by a dozen or two of empty tin cans, while behind them, with -infinite clatter, came three lengths of stove-pipe from the bakery -chimney, closely pursued by an immense barrel which had once contained -crockery. - -As though enjoying the fun, this barrel came bounding down the roadway, -making astonishing leaps, until, at the grocery corner, it encountered -the only one of the empty boxes which had not already gone south, and -glancing off at an angle, went bang through the show window! - -It was as though My Lord, the North Wind, aware of Mr. Jackson's -incredulity, had sent an emissary to convince him that he _did_ intend -to blow that day. - -From that moment the wind and the snow had it all their own way; not a -citizen dared to show his nose outside. - -It was an uneasy day for Uncle Tom. Knowing full well the extreme danger -of being caught on the mountain in such a storm, he could not help -feeling anxious for our safety, and though his host tried to reassure -him by repeating his confidence in Dick Stanley's good sense and -experience, he grew more and more fidgety as the day wore on and -darkness began to settle down upon the town. - -In fact, by sunset, Uncle Tom had worked himself up to a high state of -nervousness. He kept pacing up and down the room like a caged beast, -unconsciously puffing at a cigar which had gone out half an hour before; -then striding to the window to look out--a disheartening prospect, for -not even the corner grocery was visible now. Then back he would come, -plump himself into his chair before the fire, only to jump up again in -fifteen seconds to go through the same performance once more. - -At length he flung his cigar-stump into the fire, and turning to his -friend, exclaimed: - -"Sam, I can't stand this uncertainty any longer. I'm going out to see if -I can't find somebody who will undertake to go up to the professor's -house and back for twenty dollars, just to make sure those boys have got -safe home. I'd go myself, only I know I should never get there." - -The assayer shook his head. - -"No use, Tom," said he. "You couldn't get one to go; at least, not for -money. If it were to dig a friend out of the snow you could raise a -hundred men in a minute; but for money--no. I don't believe you could -get any of them to face this storm for twenty dollars--or fifty, either. -They would say, 'What's the use? If the boys are in, they're in; if -they're not----'" - -"Well, if they're not---- What? I know what you mean. You chill me all -through, Sam, with your 'ifs.' Look here, old man, isn't there _anybody_ -who would go? Think, man, think!" - -"We might try little Aleck Smith, the teamster," said the assayer, -thoughtfully. "He's as tough as a bit of bailing-wire and plum full of -grit. We'll try him anyhow. Come on. I'll go with you. It's only six -houses down. Jump into your overcoat, old man!" - -The two men turned to get their coats, when, at that moment, there came -a thump upon the porch outside, as though somebody had jumped up the two -steps at a bound, the door burst open and in the midst of a whirl of -snow there was blown into the room the muffled, snow-coated figure of a -boy, who, slamming the door behind him, leaned back against it, gasping -for breath. - -The men stared in astonishment, until the boy, pulling off his cap, -revealed the face, scarlet from exposure, of Dick Stanley. - -"Why, Dick!" cried the assayer. "What's the matter? Where's young -Frank?" - -"All safe, sir! Safe in our house, and in bed and asleep by this time." - -"And did you come down through this howling storm to tell me?" cried -Uncle Tom. - -"Yes, sir. But that wasn't anything so very much, you know: it was -down-hill and downwind, too." - -"Well, you may think what you like about it--but so may I, too; and my -opinion is that there isn't another boy in the country would have done -it. I shan't forget your service, Dick. You may count on that. I shan't -forget it!" - -Nor did he--as you will see. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE PROFESSOR'S STORY - - -What a change had come over the landscape when, at sunrise next morning, -I jumped out of bed and went to the door to look out. Though the sky was -as clear and as blue as ever, though Mescalero, swept bare by the wind, -looked much as usual, all the lower parts of the range, except the -crowns of the ridges, were buried under the snow. The woods were full of -it; every hollow was leveled off so that one could hardly tell where it -used to be; while the narrow valley itself was ridged and furrowed by -great drifts piled up by freaks of the wind. It was cold, too, for with -the falling of the wind and the clearing of the sky the temperature had -dropped to zero. As so often happens in these parts, winter had arrived -with a bang. - -Closing the door, I hopped back to the jolly, roaring fire of logs which -Romero had started an hour before, and there finished my dressing. While -I was thus engaged, the professor came out of the back room, where it -was his custom to sleep--a queer choice--with a couple of thousand dead -insects for company. - -"Well, Frank," said he, cheerily. "Here's King Winter in all his glory. -Rather a rough-and-tumble monarch, isn't he? When his majesty makes his -royal progress, we, his humble subjects, do well to get out of his way -and leave the course clear for him." - -"That's true, sir," said I, laughing; and falling into the professor's -humor, I added: "I never met a king before, and if King Winter is an -example of the race I think we Americans were wise to get rid of them -when we did." - -"Oh," replied the professor, "you must not judge a whole order by one -specimen: there are kings and kings, and some of them are very fine -fellows. King Winter, though, is rather too boisterous and -inconsiderate; and to tell you the truth, Frank, you had rather a narrow -escape from him yesterday. I did not like to make too much of it before -Dick; I did not want him to think I blamed him for what was, after all, -merely an oversight; but as a matter of fact you ran a pretty big risk, -as you may easily understand when you see the amount of snow that fell -in about twelve hours; for the storm ceased and the sky cleared again -about three o'clock this morning." - -"It was nip and tuck for us, sure enough," said I; "but if our getting -caught in the storm was any fault of Dick's, there is one thing certain, -sir: he got us out of it in great style. I wouldn't ask for a better -guide. I was pretty badly scared myself, I don't mind owning"--the -professor nodded, as much as to say, "I don't wonder,"--"but Dick," I -continued, "did not seem to be flustered for a moment; he knew just what -to do and pitched right in and did it. It seems to me, sir--though of -course I don't set up to be a judge--that the most experienced -mountaineer couldn't have done any better." - -"Dick is a good boy," said the professor, evidently pleased at my -standing up for his young friend; "and he seems to have a faculty for -keeping his wits about him in an emergency. It has always been so, ever -since he was a little boy. I suppose he has never told you, has he, how -he once saved his donkey from a mountain-lion?" - -"No, sir," I replied. "How was it?" - -"He was about nine years old at the time, and as his little legs were -too short to enable him to keep up with me, I had given him a young -burro to ride. We were camped one night on the Trinchera, not far from -Fort Garland, when we were awakened by a great squealing on the part of -the donkey, which was tethered a few feet away, and sitting up in our -beds, which were on the ground under the open sky, we were just in time -to see some big, cat-like animal spring upon the poor little beast and -knock it over. Instead of crying and crawling under the blankets, as he -might well have been excused for doing, little Dick sprang out of his -bed--as did I also. But the youngster was twice as quick as I was, and -without an instant's hesitation he seized a burning stick from the fire, -ran right up to the mountain-lion--for that was what it was--and as the -snarling creature raised its head, the plucky little chap thrust the hot -end of his stick into its mouth, when, with a yell of pain and -astonishment, the beast let go its hold and fled like a yellow streak -into the woods again." - -"Bully for Dick!" I cried. "That was pretty good, wasn't it? And was the -donkey killed?" - -"No; rather badly scratched; but Dick's promptness and courage saved it -from anything more serious." - -"Well, that was certainly pretty good for such a youngster," said I. -"By the way, sir," I continued, "there is one thing I should like to ask -you, if you don't mind, about your life in the mountains, especially -back in the 'sixties' and earlier, and that is, how you managed to -escape being killed and scalped by the Indians." - -My host laughed, and I could see by his face that he was thinking -backward, as he slowly stirred his coffee round and round; for we were -seated at our breakfast, Romero serving us. - -"That _was_ a serious question at first," he replied presently, "but I -solved it very early in my wanderings; and now I--and Dick, too--may go -among any of the tribes with impunity." - -"Will you tell me about it, sir?" I asked, full of curiosity to know how -he had worked such a seeming miracle. - -The professor leaned back in his chair, stretched out his feet and -folded his hands on the edge of the table. - -"I will, with pleasure," he replied; "for it is rather a curious -incident, I have always thought. - -"Before I took up the profession of 'bug-hunting,' as the pursuit of -entomology is irreverently termed by the people here, I had graduated as -a physician--very fortunately for me, as it turned out, for my -knowledge of medicine was the basis of my reputation among the Indians. -I was down in Arizona at one time, when, on coming to a little Mexican -village, I found the poor people suffering from an epidemic of smallpox. -Several had died, and the survivors, scared out of their wits, had given -themselves up for lost. After my arrival, however, there were no more -deaths, I am glad to say, and by the end of about a month I had -succeeded in putting all my patients on the highroad to recovery. - -"There was a little adobe ranch-house about a quarter of a mile -up-stream from the village, the owner of which had died before my -arrival, and this building I had utilized as a pest-house. I was on my -way out to it one morning, with my little case of medicines in my hand, -when I heard behind me a great crying out among the villagers, and -looking back I saw them all scuttling for shelter, at the same time -shouting and screaming, according to their age and sex, 'Apache! -Apache!' - -"The next moment, right through the middle of the village, riding like a -whirlwind, came ten horsemen, who, paying no attention to the frightened -Mexicans, made straight for me. Doubtless they had been hiding in the -creek-bed among the willows since daylight, awaiting their opportunity -to dash out and capture me--for, as I found later, it was I whom they -were after. - -"To run was useless, to fight impossible, as I was unarmed, so, there -being nothing else to do, I just stood still and waited for them. In a -moment I was surrounded, when one of the Indians sprang from his horse -and advanced upon me. He had, as I very well remember, his nose painted -a bright green--a fearsome object. This apparition came striding toward -me, and I supposed I was to be killed and scalped forthwith; but -instead, my friend of the green nose, in halting Spanish, and with a -deference which was as welcome as it was unexpected, explained to me -that the fame of the great white medicine-man had extended far and wide; -that the smallpox was ravaging their village; and that they had come to -beg me to return with them and drive out the enemy. - -"Greatly relieved to find that their mission was peaceful, I replied at -once that I would come with pleasure, provided I were treated with the -respect due to my quality, but that I must first visit the pest-house -and leave directions for the care of my two remaining patients. To -this--rather to my surprise--they readily consented, relying implicitly -upon my promise to accompany them; an instance of trustfulness from -which I could only infer, I regret to say, that they had had but little -intercourse with white men. - -"The Indians had brought a horse for me, and after a long two-days' ride -into the mountains, we reached the camp, consisting of about twenty -lodges, where I found matters in pretty bad condition. I went to work -vigorously, however, and again had the good fortune to rout the enemy -without the loss of a patient; thereby, as you may suppose, gaining the -lasting good will of every member of the tribe--with one exception. - -"This exception--rather an important one--was the local medicine-man, -who, having vainly endeavored to drive out the plague by the application -of bad smells and worse noises, was not unnaturally consumed with -jealousy of my superior success, and with the desire to discover what -charms and spells I used to that end. - -"On our way up from the Mexican settlement I had several times stopped -to note the direction with a little pocket-compass I always carried -about with me, on each of which occasions I had observed that the -medicine-man, who was one of the party, had eyed the little instrument -with a sort of fearful curiosity. Later, when my patients were all -getting well, I had several times gone out to a distance from the camp -and with the compass taken the bearings of the many mountain peaks -visible in all directions, making a little map of the country. Every -time I did this, the medicine-man was sure to come stalking by, watching -my motions out of the corner of his eye. On one such occasion I called -him to me, anxious to be on friendly terms, and showing him the -instrument, tried to explain its use. But the Indian, seeing through the -glass the unaccountable motion of the needle, was afraid to touch it, -and my explanation, I fear, had rather the effect of misleading him, for -his knowledge of Spanish was very small, while my knowledge of Apache -was smaller, and eventually he went off with the idea that the compass, -which I had tried to make him understand was my 'guide,' 'director' and -so forth, was in fact nothing more nor less than the familiar spirit -through whose aid I had ousted the evil spirit of the smallpox. - -"With this conviction in his mind, and supposing that the possession of -the compass would confer upon him similar powers, he screwed up his -courage to steal it--and a very courageous act it was, too, I consider, -remembering how greatly he stood in fear of it. - -"It was on the eve of my departure that I discovered my loss, and going -straight to my friend with the green nose I informed him of the fact, at -the same time stating my conviction that the medicine-man was the thief. -He was very wroth that his guest should have been so treated after -having rendered such good service to the community, but feeling some -diffidence about seizing and searching his medicine-man, of whom he was -rather afraid, he suggested that I concoct a spell which should induce -the thief to disgorge his plunder of his own accord; a course which -would doubtless be a simple matter to a high-class magician like myself. - -"This was rather embarrassing. I did not at all like to trust to the -tricks of the charlatan, but being unable to devise any other plan by -which to recover my compass, an instrument indispensable to me, and -impossible to replace, in that wild country, I determined to employ a -device I had once read of as having been adopted by an officer in the -East India Company's service to detect a thieving Sepoy soldier. Even -then I should not have resorted to such a measure had I not felt -convinced that the medicine-man was the thief, and that his -superstitious dread of my powers would cause him to fall into my trap. - -"I therefore desired Green Nose to summon all the men of the village, -which being done, I addressed them through him as interpreter. I told -them that one of their number was a thief, and that I was about to find -out which one it was--a statement which I could see had an impressive -effect. - -"Taking two straws of wild rye, I cut them to exactly equal lengths, and -then, holding them up so that all might see, I announced that the men -were to come forward, one at a time, take one of the straws, step inside -my lodge for a few seconds, and then bring back the straw to me. To -those who were innocent nothing would happen, 'but,' said I, with -menacing fore-finger, 'when the _thief_ brings back the straw it will be -found to have _grown one inch_!' - -"I waited a minute to allow this announcement to have its full effect, -and then requested that, in deference to his exalted position, my -honored brother, the medicine-man, should be the first to test the -potency of my magic. - -"I could see that he was very reluctant to do any such thing, but to -decline would be to draw suspicion on himself, so, stepping from the -line, he received the straw and retired with it to my lodge. - -"There was a minute of breathless suspense, when back he came and handed -over his straw to me. My own straw, together with the hand which held -it, I had covered with a large, spotted silk handkerchief, in such a -manner that it was concealed from view, and slipping the medicine-man's -straw into the same hand, I perceived at once that the thief had -betrayed himself, just as I had hoped and expected he would. - -"Casting a glance along the line of silent Indians, and noting that they -were all attention, I withdrew the handkerchief and held up the two -straws. One of them was an inch longer than the other! - -"In spite of their habitual stoicism, there was a murmur and a stir -along the line; but the greatest effect was naturally upon the poor -medicine-man. Thrusting his hand into his bosom, he drew out the compass -from under his shirt, handed it to me, and then, pulling his blanket -over his head, he crept away without a word and shut himself up in his -lodge." - -"But how did you do it?" I interrupted. "How did his straw come out -longer than the other? Did you break off a piece from your own?" - -"No," replied the professor, smiling; "it was the medicine-man who broke -off a piece from his. Knowing himself to be the thief, and fully -believing that the straw would grow in his hand, he no sooner got into -the shelter of my lodge than he bit off an inch from his straw, thus -making sure, as he supposed, that its supernatural growth would bring it -back to its original length. It was just what I had expected him to do. -Nobody but myself, of course, could tell which straw was which, and when -I held them up to view, one longer than the other, the whole assembly -never doubted for an instant that the shorter one was mine and that it -was the thief's straw that had grown--least of all the medicine-man, -himself. - -"He, poor fellow, conscious of guilt, and being himself a dealer in -charms and incantations, was more than anybody in a proper frame of mind -to put faith in my magic, and when he saw, as he supposed, that his -straw, in spite of his precautions, had grown the promised inch, he -collapsed at once; and thinking, very likely, that it was the compass -itself that had betrayed him, he handed it back to me very willingly, -glad to be rid of so pernicious a little imp." - -"And was that the end of the matter?" I asked. - -"Yes, that was the end of it. Being all ready to go, I went, leaving -behind me a reputation which was to be of great service to me on many a -subsequent occasion; a reputation due, I am sorry to say, very much more -to the clap-trap trick played upon the poor medicine-man than upon my -really meritorious service in dealing with the smallpox epidemic. My -fame gradually extended among all the mountain tribes, and since then I -have been free to go anywhere with the assurance not only of safety but -of welcome from any of the Indians, Apache, Ute or Navajo--a condition -of affairs which, as you will readily understand has been of infinite -service to me during my twenty years of wandering. - -"Ah!" casting a glance out of the window as he rose from the table. -"Here comes Dick, and somebody with him; a stranger to me--your uncle, I -presume." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -DICK'S DIPLOMACY - - -Running to the door, I saw Dick striding down toward the cabin, while -behind him on a stout pony rode Uncle Tom. Just as I stepped out, the -pair approached one of the drifts of snow which ridged the valley, and -into this Dick plunged at once. Though it was up to his waist, he pretty -soon forced his way through, when it was Uncle Tom's turn. - -Evidently it was not the first time the pony had tackled a snow-drift, -for he showed no disposition to shirk the task, but wading in up to his -knees, he did the rest of the passage in a series of short leaps, very -like buck-jumping; a mode of progression extremely discomforting to his -plump, short-legged rider. - -"Oh! Ah!" gasped Uncle Tom at each jump. "Heavens! What a country! Dick, -you imp of darkness, I thought you said it was an easy trail." - -At this I could not help laughing, when Uncle Tom, who had not -perceived me before, transferred his attention to me. - -"You young scamp, Frank!" cried he, shaking his fist at me as I ran -forward to meet him. "This is a nice way to treat your respected -uncle--first scare him half to death and then laugh at him. Lucky for me -there's only one of you: if you had been born twins I should have been -worn to a rag long ago. How are you, old fellow?" he went on, reaching -down to shake hands with me. "Any the worse for your adventure?" - -"Not a bit," I replied. "Sound as a bell, thank you." - -"Thank Dick, you mean. I'll tell you what, Frank," he continued, leaning -down and whispering; Dick having walked on toward the house: "that's an -uncommonly fine young fellow, in my opinion. His coming down in the -storm last night to tell me that you were all safe was a thing that few -boys of his age would have done and fewer still would have thought of -doing. Ah! This is the professor, I suppose. Why, I've seen him before!" - -So saying, Uncle Tom jumped to the ground, and hastening forward, held -out his hand, exclaiming: - -"How are you, Herr Bergen? I'm glad to meet you again. We are old -acquaintances, though I had forgotten your name, if I ever heard it." - -"I believe you are right, Mr. Allen," responded the professor. "Your -face seems familiar, though I am ashamed to say I cannot recall when or -where we met." - -"I can remind you," said Uncle Tom. "It was at Fort Garland, six or -seven years ago. I was on my way to investigate an alleged gold -discovery in the Taos mountains, when you rode into the fort to ask the -cavalry vet to give you something to dress the wounds of a burro which -had been clawed by a mountain-lion. I got into conversation with you, -and learning that you also wanted some cartridges for a little Ballard -rifle, I gave you a box of fifty. Do you remember?" - -"I remember very well," replied the professor. "The cartridges were for -Dick: he learned to shoot with a Ballard. Well, this is a great pleasure -to meet an old acquaintance like this. Come in out of the cold. Romero -will take your pony." - -Soon we were all seated before the fire, Uncle Tom puffing away his -aches and pains with the smoke of the inevitable cigar, when the -professor, turning to him, asked: - -"And how long do you intend to stay in camp, Mr. Allen? Will this snow -drive you out?" - -"Not at all," replied Uncle Tom. "I expect to be here a couple of weeks, -in spite of the snow. The drifts will settle in a day or two, and the -miners will break trails to their claims, and then I shall be able to -get about--there won't be any difficulty. Though if it were going to be -as hard work as it was coming up here this morning I might as well go -home again at once--it took us an hour to make the one mile from town." - -"You came to inspect the mines, I understand. Do you confine yourself to -silver mines, or do you deal in mines of all sorts?" - -"Silver and gold," replied Uncle Tom. "Though, as it happens, I am on -the lookout this time for a copper mine as well. Before I left St. Louis -I notified a Boston firm, with whom I have frequent dealings, of my -intention to come here, and received from them in reply a telegram, -saying, 'Find us a good copper mine. Price no object.' There was no -explanation, and I am rather puzzled to understand why they should -suddenly branch out into 'coppers' in this way." - -"I expect the explanation is simple enough," remarked the professor. - -"What is it, then?" asked Uncle Tom. - -"To any one watching the progress of science," replied the professor, -puffing away at his big porcelain pipe, "even to me, here on the ragged -edge of civilization, it is obvious that a new era is close at hand; a -new force rapidly coming to the front." - -"Electricity?" asked Uncle Tom. - -"Yes, electricity. The science is still in the egg, as you may say, but -to those who have ears to hear, the shell is beginning to crack. I am -convinced that before long we shall be lighting our streets with -electricity and using it in a thousand ways as a mechanical power. The -consequence will be an immense increase in the demand for copper; and -that, I have no doubt, is why you have been asked to look out for a -copper mine: they want to be ready when the time comes. What is this, -Dick?" - -At the first mention of the words, "copper mine," the thoughts of Dick -and myself had, of course, instantly reverted to the King Philip mine, -and I was on the point of introducing the subject, when Dick, catching -my eye, signed to me to keep quiet. Rising from his chair, he stepped -softly to the rack where the rifles hung and took down the Mexican's -arrow, which he had put there the evening before. It happened that we -had not mentioned the episode of the wolves and the Mexican when -describing to the professor our struggle homeward through the -snow-storm, and consequently, when my companion laid the arrow on the -table close to his elbow, it was only natural that the old gentleman -should exclaim, "What is this, Dick?" - -Very briefly, Dick related how he had come by it, merely stating that we -had seen a Mexican shoot a wolf; that the Mexican had run away when we -hailed him; and that we had gone and picked up his arrow. I wondered -rather why he did not call attention to the copper arrow-head; but Dick -knew what he was about, as I very soon saw: he intended to let the -professor discover it for himself, which a man of his habits of close -observation was certain to do. In fact, the old gentleman had no sooner -taken the arrow into his hands than he exclaimed: - -"Why, this arrow-head is made of copper! A Mexican, you say? Then he -probably came from Hermanos. You remember, Dick, how all the people -down there---- Why, Mr. Allen, here's the very thing! You want a copper -mine? Well, here is a copper mine all ready to your hand! All you have -to do is----" - -"To find it," interjected Dick, laughing. - -"That is true," the professor assented, laughing himself. "I had -forgotten that little particular for the moment, Dick. I'm afraid it is -not quite so ready to your hand as I was leading you to suppose, Mr. -Allen; but that it is there, somewhere in the Dos Hermanos mountains, I -feel sure." - -Thereupon the professor proceeded to tell the story that Dick had -already told me, giving some further details of the information he had -derived from the Spanish gentleman, Don Blake. - -"It appears to have been a mine of some consequence," said the -professor. "The records covered a period of fifteen years, and during -the last five years of the time the shipments were constant and large. -It is fairly sure, I think, that the product was native copper----" - -"Sure to be," interrupted Uncle Tom. "It would never have paid to ship -any waste product so far. In fact, I am surprised that they should ship -even native copper such a long distance." - -"Yes; but as they did so, I think the inference is that the metal was -plentiful and easy to mine." - -"That is a reasonable assumption," said Uncle Tom, thoughtfully nodding -his head. "What beats me, though," he went on, "is that the memory of -the spot should have been so totally lost. Considering that the mine was -producing for fifteen years, there must be many traces of the work done, -such as the waste dump, the old road or trail, and so forth: you can't -run a mine for that length of time and leave no marks. It is a wonder to -me that the place has never been rediscovered." - -"I don't think there is anything surprising in that," replied the -professor. "The villagers of Hermanos, agricultural people, seldom go -five miles from home; it is only old Galvez' _vaqueros_, his cow-men, -who would be likely to come across the traces of mining, and if they -did, those peons are such incurious, unenterprising people they would -pay no attention. Besides which, I gathered that even the cow-men never -went up into the Dos Hermanos mountains: it is not a good cattle -country--rough granite and limestone, little water and scant pasturage. -Consequently, the cattle range southward toward the Santa Claras, -instead of westward to the Dos Hermanos, and the Twin Peaks, therefore, -remain in their solitary glory, untouched by the foot of man; and -probably they have so remained ever since the King Philip mine was -abandoned, a hundred and fifty years ago." - -For a full minute Uncle Tom remained silent, thoughtfully blowing out -long spirals of cigar smoke, but presently he roused up again and said: - -"There is one thing more I should like to ask you, Professor, and that -is, why you conclude that the King Philip mine is in the Dos Hermanos -mountains?" - -"For this reason," replied our friend: "In the first place, many of the -reports were dated from the _Casa del Rey_. Of course, it is likely -enough that there are other _Casas del Rey_ in other parts of the -country, but besides the frequent mention of the King's House, there was -also mention of Indian fights at different places: 'at the crossing of -the Perdita,' for instance, and 'near the spring by Picture Buttes'; -then there was the record of a snow-blockade on the Mosca Pass, in the -Santa Claras; another of a terrible dust-storm on the Little Cactus -Desert, 'with the loss of one man and three mules'; and so forth. Now, a -line running through these and other places mentioned would bring you -into the Mescalero valley at its southern end, and there is no doubt in -my mind that the _Casa del Rey_ named in the reports is the King's House -down there at Hermanos." - -"It does seem so, doesn't it?" responded Uncle Tom. "Look here, -professor," he went on, suddenly jumping out of his chair and casting -his cigar stump into the fire, "I must make an attempt to find that -copper mine. It does, as you say, seem all ready to my hand. But how to -do it, is the question. I can't go myself--can't spare the time--so the -only way, I suppose, is to hire some prospector, if I can." - -"I don't think you can get one," said the professor, shaking his head; -"at least, not here in Mosby. They are all too intent on hunting for -silver, and I doubt if you could persuade one of them to waste a season -in searching for a metal so commonplace as copper, the value of which is -rather prospective than immediate. I doubt very much if you could get -one to go." - -"I suppose not," replied Uncle Tom. "And you can hardly blame them, -either, when you consider that by the expenditure of the same amount of -labor a man may come across a rich vein of silver, every ounce of which -he knows to be worth a dollar and twenty cents." - -"Just so," the professor assented. - -"What am I to do, then?" asked Uncle Tom. "Give it up? Seems a pity, -doesn't it, when, more than likely, the old workings are lying there -plain to view, only waiting for some one with his eyes open to pass that -way. Still, if I can't get a man----" - -"Take a boy," suggested Dick, cutting in unexpectedly. - -Uncle Tom whirled round on his heels and stared at him; the professor -removed his long pipe from his mouth and stared at him too; while Dick -himself sat bolt upright in his chair, a broad and genial grin -overspreading his countenance. - -For some seconds they all maintained these attitudes in silence, when -Uncle Tom suddenly broke into a hearty laugh. - -"You young scamp!" cried he, shaking his forefinger at Dick. "I believe -that's what you've been aiming at all the time." - -"That's just what we have, Mr. Allen," replied my companion. "Frank and -I were talking about it yesterday, saying what fun it would be to go and -hunt for the old mine; though we never expected to get the chance. But -when you began to talk about copper mines, we cocked our ears, of -course, thinking that here, perhaps, _was_ a chance after all--and--and -if you _can't_ get a man, Mr. Allen, why not send a boy? Would you let -me go, Professor?" - -Our two elders looked at each other, and very anxiously we looked at our -two elders. Not a word did either of them say, until the professor, -rising from his chair and knocking out the ashes of his pipe upon the -hearthstone, remarked quietly: - -"Go out and chop some wood, boys. I want to talk to Mr. Allen." - -Regarding this order as a hopeful sign, out we went, and for a long -half-hour we feverishly hacked at the heap of poles outside, making a -rather indifferent job of it, I suspect, until a tapping at the window -attracted our attention and we saw Uncle Tom beckoning us to come in. - -How anxiously we scanned their countenances this time, any one will -guess. Both men were standing with their backs to the fire, Uncle Tom -smoking a fresh cigar and the professor puffing away again at his pipe, -both of them looking so solemn that I thought to myself, "It's no go," -and my spirits fell accordingly; but looking again at Uncle Tom I -detected a twitching at the corner of his mouth which sent them up again -with a bound. - -"Well, Uncle Tom!" I cried. "What's it to be?" - -"It is a serious matter," replied my guardian, with all the solemnity of -a judge passing sentence. "The professor and I have discussed it very -earnestly, and we have decided--that you shall go!" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE START - - -The delight with which this announcement was received by us two boys may -be imagined, for though we had hoped for such a decision we had not -dared to expect it. I, for my part, had feared that the matter of my -interrupted education alone would form an insurmountable barrier; and -indeed it was that subject which had proved the chief obstacle, as Uncle -Tom presently informed me. All the other objections were minor ones and -we discreetly refrained from asking for their recapitulation lest, in -going over them again, something not thought of before should crop up to -interfere. We were quite content to accept the decision without knowing -how it had been arrived at. - -As to my interrupted schooling, though, that was a serious matter, as -Uncle Tom, in spite of his original ideas about education, clearly -understood. - -"The main question with me, you see, Frank," said he, "was whether you -would benefit or otherwise by missing so much schooling, and though I -believe pretty strongly in the value of learning by practice and -experience, I should have felt obliged to decide against this expedition -if the professor had not come to the rescue. It is to him you owe our -decision to let you boys go." - -I looked gratefully at Herr Bergen, who serenely waved the stem of his -pipe in our direction, though whether to intimate that the obligation -was nothing to speak of, or as a sign to Uncle Tom to go on, I could not -decide. - -"I find," continued the latter, "that the winter is Dick's school-time; -and the professor has offered to take you in, Frank, and let you share -in Dick's work, undertaking to bring you on in your mathematics in -particular--which is your weak spot, you know. In the spring, when the -snow clears off, you are to start for the Dos Hermanos and make a -thorough search for this old copper mine; and as you will be doing it on -my account, I shall bear all expenses. There, that is all, except--well, -it is not necessary to mention that--but I was going to say that I rely -on you, old fellow, to make the most of your opportunity and in your own -person to prove the correctness of my theory that a boy may sometimes -learn more out of school than in it." - -"I believe you may count on me, Uncle Tom," said I. "I'll do my level -best. And I'm tremendously obliged to you, Herr Bergen----" - -"Not at all," interrupted the professor, "not at all. The fact is, I am -very glad to have a companion for Dick; and as to the schooling, the -obligation is not all on one side by any means, for to me it is one of -the greatest pleasures possible to teach a boy who really desires to -learn. I anticipate a most pleasant winter." - -Thus was this odd arrangement made by which I, who by right should have -been attending a public school in St. Louis, became the private pupil of -an eminent German professor, pursuing my studies in a little log cabin -tucked away in a snow-encumbered valley of the Rocky Mountains--about as -queer a piece of topsyturviness, to my notion, as ever happened to a -boy, and one very unlikely to happen to any other boy, unless he chanced -to be endowed with an Uncle Tom cut out on the same pattern as mine. - -"There's one thing, Frank," said my guardian, as we made our way down to -camp later in the day, "there's one thing I didn't mention in Dick's -presence, and that is that the professor laid great stress on the -pleasure and advantage it would be to Dick to have a companion of his -own age for once, and it was that which turned the balance with -me--after the educational question had been got out of the way. For I -owe Dick a good turn if I can do him one without hurting anybody else; I -told him I wouldn't forget his service in coming down through the storm -yesterday, and I haven't forgotten. I'm uncommonly glad to think that in -consenting to your taking part in this expedition--which I believe will -be a great thing for you, mentally as well as bodily--we shall be doing -a service to Dick and to the old professor at the same time." - -"Well, Uncle Tom," said I, "you may be sure I am glad enough to stay, -and I hope it will not only prove a good thing for Dick and me, but for -you as well." - -"I hope so, too. And it will, if you can locate that old copper mine, -and if it should prove to be anywhere near as good as it sounds." - -As things turned out, I was destined to begin my winter's schooling -somewhat earlier than we had expected, for, five days after the storm, -Uncle Tom received from his Boston employers a telegram, forwarded by -mail from the end of the line, saying, "Come here at once. Important," -when, without demur, he forthwith packed up his things and away he went; -while I, taking leave of our kind host, the assayer, moved up to Herr -Bergen's house. - -I need not go into the details of our daily life on Mosby Creek; it is -enough to say that the winter was one of the pleasantest I had ever -spent. Time flew by, as was only natural, for there was not an idle -moment for either of us. Herr Bergen proved to be a most able -instructor, not only in the matter of scholarship but in general -training as well. He had served in the German army in his younger days, -and the habits of orderliness, precision and promptness remained with -him. We boys were made to toe the mark, and no mistake; there was a time -for work and a time for play, and whether for duty or pleasure, we had -to be on hand to the minute. - -I do not wish to imply that the professor was harsh, or anything of the -sort; very far from it: he was most considerate of our shortcomings, -which were doubtless plentiful enough, and with infinite patience would -go over the ground again and again whenever Dick or I got ourselves -tangled up; a condition of things which happened on the average about -once a day to each of us. Then, every marked advance we made in any of -our studies was so obviously gratifying to the kindly old gentleman that -that fact alone was enough to spur a fellow on to doing his extra-best. -As a consequence, I, for my part, made very notable progress, and it was -with great pleasure, as you may suppose, that I was able later on to -write to Uncle Tom my conviction that I had gained rather than lost by -my winter's work. - -One thing, at least, which I should not have acquired in school, I -gained by my association with the professor's household: I learned to -speak Spanish. Herr Bergen made a great point of it that I should do so, -as it would be pretty sure to come in useful during the ensuing summer. -He and Dick--and Romero, of course--all spoke it very well, so that my -opportunity for picking it up was excellent, and I made rapid progress; -my knowledge of Latin, which, though very far from profound, was up to -the average of a schoolboy of my age, being an immense help. - -All this time we did not lack exercise--the professor was just as -particular about that as he was about our work--and Dick and I had many -a jolly outing on our snow-shoes, the management of which was another -thing I learned. I should not omit to mention also that I spent a good -deal of time and a liberal number of cartridges practising with a rifle, -thereby becoming a very fair shot; though, of course, I could not -compete with Dick, who, having learned as a mere child, seemed, almost, -to shoot straight by nature. - -The weather on the average was splendid that winter, and there were but -few days when we could not get out. Four or five times, perhaps, during -the months I spent in the valley a snow-storm came raging down on us, -shutting us up for a day or two, after which the jovial sun would turn -up smiling again just as though nothing had happened. - -It was toward the end of April that Dick and I began to get ready to -leave. The increasing power of the sun had cleared off all the snow -below eleven thousand feet, the green grass was beginning to show in -many places, and it was fair to suppose that by the time we reached the -Dos Hermanos we should find pasturage enough for our animals--two ponies -and a mule. - -Dick already had his own pony, while the mule, a tough little beast by -name Uncle Fritz, was provided by the professor, both animals having -passed the winter on a ranch about a couple of thousand feet lower down. -Before he left, Uncle Tom had suggested hiring them for the season, but -the professor would not consent to his paying anything, saying that the -animals might just as well be put to some use as to waste their time -doing nothing all summer. Consequently, about the only expense to which -my guardian was put, besides furnishing provisions and tools for the -expedition, was the purchase of a pony and a rifle for me. This was a -very moderate outlay, and I was glad to think that Uncle Tom would get -off so cheaply, if our search should turn out a failure; and no one was -more ready to recognize that possibility--probability, I should rather -say, perhaps--than Uncle Tom himself, to whom the many stories in -general circulation of lost Spanish mines of fabulous richness were -familiar, and who knew very well how little foundation there was for -most of them. The present case, though, was different from the -generality, in that there existed documentary evidence that there had -been such a mine; a fact which altered the conditions entirely. For it -is safe to say that without such documentary evidence Uncle Tom would -never have consented to our undertaking such an enterprise, and Dick and -I, in consequence, would never have run into the series of adventures -which were destined to befall us before we were many weeks older. - -It was on the first day of May that we at last took leave of our good -friend, Herr Bergen, and rode off down the valley, passing on our way -through the town of Mosby, where our appearance on horseback, driving -our pack-mule before us, excited among the citizens much speculation as -to our destination; a matter concerning which we had said not a word to -anybody. That it was a prospecting expedition any one could see, for the -pick and shovel could not very well be concealed, but where we were -bound for nobody knew, Uncle Tom having cautioned us that if we let a -word escape about an old Spanish mine we should have a hundred men at -our heels in no time; the very idea of such a thing having an -irresistible fascination for some people, especially for the -inexperienced newcomer. - -[Illustration: "PASSING ON OUR WAY THROUGH THE TOWN OF MOSBY."] - -Our reason for taking our way through town rather than crossing the -Mosby Ridge, back of the professor's house, and going down the -Mescalero valley, was that the latter course, cut up by many deep -cañons, would be much the more difficult of the two; for by following -down the eastern side of the ridge, as we proposed to do, we should -presently come to a point where that barrier, which up near Mescalero -began as a mountain range, became first a line of round-topped hills, -and then, about forty miles below town, came to an end altogether in a -little conical eminence known as The Foolscap. We could therefore pass -round its southern end without difficulty, when we should find ourselves -in the Mescalero valley at its wide part, and by heading southwestward -should arrive in about another twenty miles in the neighborhood of the -village of Hermanos--a route somewhat longer, but very much easier for -the animals, than the other one. - -About five miles below town we abandoned the road, which there turned -off to the left to join the main stage-road, and continuing our -southward course up and down hill over the spurs of the Mosby Ridge we -made camp early in the afternoon; for our animals being as yet in rather -poor condition, we thought it advisable to give them an easy day for the -first one. - -Selecting a sheltered nook among the pine trees, we unpacked the mule -and unsaddled the ponies, and then, while Dick cooked our supper, I -busied myself cutting pine boughs for our beds and chopping fire-wood. -Soon after sunset we rolled ourselves in our blankets, and in spite of -the novelty of the situation--for I had never before gone to bed with no -roof overhead nearer than the sky--I slept soundly until Dick's voice -aroused me, crying, "Roll out, old chap! Roll out! The sun will catch -you in bed in a minute," when I sprang up, fresh as a daisy and hungry -as a shark, as one always seems to do after sleeping out under the stars -in the keen, pine-scented air of the mountains. - -Continuing our journey, we presently rounded the end of the Mosby Ridge, -and turning to the right saw before us the twin peaks of the Dos -Hermanos, standing there, as it seemed to me, like two faithful -sentinels guarding the secret of the King Philip mine. - -"Now, Frank," said my companion, as we sat at supper on the little hill -with which the Ridge terminated, "we have a tough day of it before us -to-morrow. The valley down at this end, you see, is just a sage-brush -plain; there are no cañons down here like there are at the upper end; -and there is no water either, unfortunately--this side of the -mountains, I mean. The streams which come down from Mescalero and the -Ridge take a westerly turn and go off through a deep gorge to the north -of the peaks--you can see the black shadow of it from here." - -"What do the people at Hermanos do for water, then?" I asked. - -"There is a little stream which comes down from the saddle between the -Dos Hermanos peaks and runs eastward through the village. But it sinks -into the soil soon afterward, for the country down that way becomes very -sandy; it is the beginning of the Little Cactus Desert, across which the -pack-trains and the soldier escort used to travel, you remember, headed -for the Mosca Pass--that low place in the Santa Claras that you see down -there, due south from here." - -"I see. So the nearest water is the stream running through the village. -Do you propose, then, to make for Hermanos?" - -"No, I don't," replied Dick. "We want to avoid the village, if possible: -it is no use exciting the curiosity of old Galvez, if he happens to be -there. What I propose is that we make straight from here to the north -side of the peaks, leaving the village three or four miles on our left; -find a good camping-place, and make it a base for our preliminary -operations." - -"That's all right," I assented. "But how much of a day's ride will it be -to the north side of the peaks? Further than to Hermanos, I suppose, and -that is over twenty miles." - -"Yes," replied Dick, "twenty-five miles certainly and perhaps thirty--a -long stretch without water. But we can do it all right. I propose that -we get off by four in the morning, which ought to bring us to the -foothills of the Dos Hermanos by two or three o'clock in the afternoon." - -"That's a good idea," I responded. "And if, by bad luck, we should find -that we can't make it, we can always turn off and head for the village -if we have to." - -"Yes. So let us get to bed early. It will be a hard day at best, and we -may as well get all the sleep we can." - -As my companion had predicted, the morrow did turn out to be a tough -day, and it began early, too. It was about half-past three in the -morning that I was awakened by the crackling of the fire, and sitting up -in my blankets, I saw Dick squatted on his heels, frying bacon over some -of the hot embers. - -"Time to turn out, Frank," said he. "Breakfast will be ready in two -minutes; feeling pretty hungry this morning?" - -By way of reply, I opened my mouth with a yawn so prodigious that Dick -laughingly continued: - -"Hungry as all that, eh? Well, old man, if the size of your mouth is an -indication of the size of your appetite, I'll slice up another -half-pound of bacon!" - -At this I laughed too, and jumping up, I ran to the creek, where I -soused my head and face in the cold water, which wakened me up -effectually. - -By four o'clock we were under way, steering by compass; for, though the -stars were shining and the waning moon, then near its setting, furnished -some light, there was not enough to enable us to distinguish objects at -any distance. Our progress at first was pretty slow, for horses and -mules do not like traveling by night, but presently there came a change, -the sky behind us took on a rosy hue, and pretty soon there appeared on -the western horizon two glowing points, like a pair of triangular red -lamps hung up in the sky for our guidance--the summits of the Dos -Hermanos caught by the rising sun. - -It was an inspiring sight! The very animals, seeming to feel its -influence, brisked up at once and stepped out gaily, while Dick and I, -who had been "mouching" along in silence, straightened up in our saddles -and fell to talking. - -"I've been thinking, Dick," said I, "about what our first move should be -after we have found a good camping-place. My idea is that we should ride -down to the neighborhood of Hermanos and see if there is any sign of an -old trail leading from the village to the mountains." - -"That's a good idea," Dick responded. "It is pretty certain that the -copper was brought down from the mine on the backs of burros, and the -supplies carried up in the same way, and if that was kept up for several -years there must have been a well-defined trail worn in this soft soil, -which may be visible yet." - -"On the other hand," was my comment, "as the travel ceased so long ago, -isn't it probable that the trail will have been blown full of sand and -covered up?" - -"That is likely enough--in many places, at least," replied my companion, -"though it is very possible, I think, that there may be some traces -left, for it is surprising how long such marks on the ground continue to -show. At any rate, we'll try it. Here's the sun; it's going to be -pretty hot, I expect." - -Slowly we plodded along, hour after hour, until presently we had come -opposite the village, the mud-colored buildings of which, though not -more than three miles away, were barely distinguishable against the -gray-tinted plain upon which they stood. The green fields and gardens -surrounding the houses we could not see, they being below the general -level, but that they were there, and that the Mexicans were at that -moment engaged in irrigating them, we felt very sure. A light wind was -blowing from the south, and Dick declared that he could "smell the wet"; -but though I sniffed and sniffed, I could not conscientiously say that I -could detect it myself. - -Our animals, however, very evidently smelt it, for they evinced a -decided inclination to bear to the left, and we had a good deal of -difficulty in keeping their heads straight--the slightest inattention on -our part, and they were off the line in a moment. As is so often the -case, they had not cared to drink in the cool of the morning before we -started, and consequently, what with the heat of the sun and the alkali -dust they kicked up, they had become eager for water and would have -made a straight shoot for Hermanos if we had let them. - -But we were nearing the mountains, an hour or two more and we should -reach water, probably, so, though it was painful to deny the poor -beasts, we kept right on, until about four in the afternoon--for it had -taken us longer than we had anticipated--when all three of them suddenly -lifted their heads, pricked their ears and wanted to run forward. They -smelt water ahead of them. - -Pressing on at an increased pace, we were presently brought to a halt by -coming upon the brink of a cliff, at the base of which was a large pool -of clear water. The pool lay in a little grass-covered valley about half -a mile long, encompassed on all sides by the precipitous wall of rock. -We could not see that there was any way of getting down. - -In order to get a better view, Dick and I dismounted and walked to the -edge, when the first thing we saw was a little bunch of half-a-dozen -scrawny Mexican cattle down near the pool. - -"Then there is a way down," cried Dick. "Whoop!" he yelled, clapping his -mouth with his hand. - -The cattle looked up, and seeing two horseless human beings on the -sky-line above them, away they went up the valley, vanished for an -instant among the fallen rocks at the foot of the cliff, and in another -moment appeared again on our level, going off southward with their tails -in the air, wild as deer. - -"Come on!" cried Dick, jumping upon his horse. "Where they came up we -can get down." - -Riding forward, we presently found the cow-trail, when, dismounting once -more, for it was too steep to ride without risk of breaking one's neck, -we led our horses down. Within another half-hour Dick and I, comfortably -seated in the shade of the rock, were enjoying a much-needed dinner, -while the three animals, their waist-lines enormously distended with the -gallons of water they had swallowed, were eagerly snapping up the young -green grass with which the valley was covered--all the troubles of the -day completely forgotten. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -ANTONIO MARTINEZ - - -As we wished to give the animals a good rest, we decided to stay where -we were for the remainder of that day and on the morrow move to the foot -of the mountain and look out for a good camping-place from which to make -our preliminary explorations. - -The spot where we were then encamped would not serve, for we were yet at -least three miles from the lowest spurs of the twin mountains. The -stream beside which we were seated issued from the northernmost of the -two peaks, and after running out into the plain for some distance made a -great bend and went back almost to the point of departure, when, turning -to the northward, it poured its waters into the deep cañon cut by the -streams which came down from Mescalero and the Ridge. It was just at the -bend that we had struck it. - -"What we want, Frank," said my companion, "is a good place in the -foothills, and when we have found one, I propose that we take our -ponies, skirt along the base of the mountains from north to south, and -see if we can't cut across that old trail we were talking about this -morning. It is extremely important that we should do so; it might save -us weeks of useless searching." - -"Yes," I assented, "it would be a great help, of course; though all we -can hope to find is some mark in the soil which will point us generally -in one direction or another." - -"Yes; and that's just it. If we can find any indication of the direction -the trains used to take when they started from the King's House, it will -lighten our task tremendously. Look here," taking a pointed stick and -drawing a rough plat of the country in the sand. "Here are the two -peaks, lying north and south of each other; here, between them, the -creek comes down which runs two or three miles out on to the plain to -the village here. Now, when the trains used to start out from the _Casa -del Rey_ they took to the right of that stream or they took to the left -of it, one or the other, and if we can do no more than find out which it -was it will be a great help." - -"Of course," I responded. "I see that. It would show us whether it was -the north mountain or the south mountain that we had to explore." - -"That's it, exactly. And if you stop for a moment to consider, you will -see that that would be a pretty big item all by itself. The two -mountains cover a space about fifteen miles long by, perhaps, ten miles -wide--a hundred and fifty square miles--a pretty big piece of country, -old man, for you and me to scramble over; but if we can find a trail -which will show us which of the two mountains is the right one, that -hundred and fifty miles will be chopped in half at one blow--and if that -isn't a pretty big item all by itself, I should like to know what is." - -With that, Dick, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, stuck his -stick point downward into the middle of his map, planted his hands on -either knee, and with a defiant jerk of his head, challenged me to deny -his conclusion. - -I could not help laughing at his emphatic manner, but I could not help, -either, admitting that his point was a good one. - -"It certainly would make an immense difference," said I, "and it will -pay us to find that old trail if it takes us a week to do it. So, let us -dig out first thing to-morrow, Dick, and find a good camping-place as a -base." - -Accordingly we broke camp again early next morning, and following along -the rim of the cañon we presently drew near the foothills. As we -approached the mountain we were able to distinguish with more clearness -the details of its form, and the more clearly we could distinguish them -the more were we impressed with the difficulty and the magnitude of the -task we had undertaken. It was not going to be the simple, -straightforward matter I had at first imagined. - -Seen from a distance the north peak looked smooth and symmetrical, but -when you came close to it you found that it was broken up into cliffs -and cañons, some of them of great height and depth. On its northern -face, a thousand feet or so below the summit, our attention was drawn to -a great semicircular precipice which looked very like the upper half of -an old volcanic crater, the lower half, presumably, having broken away -and fallen down the mountain. - -"A pretty tough piece of country, Frank," said my companion, "and a -pretty large stretch of it, too, for us to tramp over; for, by the look -of it from here, our horses won't be much use to us--at least, when we -get up above the lower spurs. Let us try this gully to the left: -there's probably water up there; I see the tops of two or three -cottonwoods." - -Turning in that direction, therefore, we presently came upon a -diminutive stream which ran down and fell into the cañon, and passing -between two high rocks, which looked as though they had been split apart -with a wedge to let the water out, we found ourselves in a little -park-like valley, flanked on either side by high ridges. - -"This ought to do, Dick," said I, "at any rate for the present; plenty -of grass, plenty of wood and plenty of water. Just the place." - -"Yes, this is all right; couldn't be better. Let's unsaddle at once, -make our camp, and after dinner we'll ride down in the direction of -Hermanos and do a little prospecting." - -Having chosen a good spot, we arranged a comfortable camp, and after a -hasty dinner we started out; first picketing Uncle Fritz to keep him -from coming trailing after us. - -Immediately to the south of our camping-place, forming one of the -boundaries of the little ravine, in fact, there stretched down from the -mountain a great, bare rib of granite, almost devoid of vegetation, -which projected a long way out into the valley, and as it lay square -across our course we decided, instead of going round the end of it, to -ride up to the top in order to get a good lookout over the country we -proposed to examine. From the summit of this ridge, at a point about -four hundred feet above the plain, we were able to get a very good view -of all the wide stretch of comparatively level ground below us, -including the village of Hermanos and the green irrigated fields around -it, which from this elevation were distinctly visible. Except for this -tiny oasis, the whole plain, bounded on the east by the Mosby Ridge, and -on the south by the Santa Clara mountains, appeared to be one uniform, -level stretch of sage-brush desert--dull, gray and uninviting. - -"What a pity," remarked Dick, "that there is no water here. If only one -could get water upon it, this sage-brush plain could be turned into a -wheat-field big enough to supply the whole State with bread, besides -furnishing labor and subsistence for a good-sized population of -farmers." - -"It would be fine, wouldn't it?" I assented. "And I don't see why it has -never been done: there must be many streams coming down from these -mountains." - -"Yes, no doubt; but the difficulty is that all the streams of any -consequence have cut cañons for themselves and are too far below the -general level to be of any use. To get water out upon the surface of -this valley one would have to go high up on the mountain, find some -good-sized stream, head it off--building a dam for the purpose, -perhaps--and then conduct the water down here by a ditch several miles -long possibly. Far too big an undertaking, you see, for these penniless, -unenterprising Mexicans." - -"I see. It would take a great deal of work and a great deal of money, -probably, but it would be a fine thing to do, all the same." - -"Yes, it would; and some day it will be done. It won't be so very many -years before all the 'easy water' in the State will have been -appropriated, and then people will begin to look out for a supply in the -more out-of-the-way places, building reservoirs to catch the rainfall -which now runs to waste after every thunder-storm, and carrying the -water long distances to sell it to the ranchman. The professor says that -some day the business of catching and distributing irrigation water will -be the most important industry in the State, and that a good -ever-flowing stream will be more valuable than any silver mine." - -"I can understand that," I replied. "The best mine will some day come -to an end, for when the silver is once dug out it is gone--you can't -plant more; whereas, a good stream of water applied on the soil will go -on producing forever and ever." - -"That's it, exactly. And some day that is what will happen here. This -fine stretch of level land, which now grows only grass enough to support -about three cows and a burro, won't always lie idle. Some enterprising -fellow will come along, climb up into this mountain, catch one of those -streams which now go running off through the cañons, turn it down here, -and a couple of years later this worthless desert will be converted into -farms and orchards." - -"A fine undertaking, too!" I exclaimed. "I should like to have a try at -it myself." - -"So should I. But our object in life just now is 'copper,' so come on, -old chap, and let us ride down to the point of this ridge. What is that -black speck down there toward the village? Man on horseback? Ah! He has -disappeared again. Well, come on now, Frank. Let's get started." - -Getting down upon the plain again, we turned southward, skirting the -base of the mountain, winding our way through the sage-brush, which was -large and very thick, when, after riding barely a quarter of a mile in -that direction, Dick suddenly pulled up. - -"Frank!" he exclaimed. "Look here! Doesn't it seem to you that there is -a depression in the soil going off to the right and the left? Look away -a hundred yards and you will see what I mean. It seems to lead straight -up into the mountain one way, and straight out upon the plain the other -way." - -At first I could not detect anything of the sort, but on Dick's pointing -it out more particularly it did appear to me that there was a depression -going off in both directions. - -"Let us turn to the left, Dick," said I, "and follow it--if we can--out -into the valley and see what becomes of it." - -"All right," responded my companion. "Let's do so." - -The mark on the ground was by no means easy to follow, it was so -overgrown with sage-brush, and in many places altogether obliterated by -drifting sand, but, though we frequently lost it, by looking far ahead -we always caught the line again. Presently we found that it went -curving off to the right in the direction of Hermanos, and our hopes -rose. - -"Dick!" I cried. "This is no accidental mark in the soil! It is a trail, -as sure as you live!" - -"It does begin to look like it," replied my more cautious friend. "I -believe it---- Hallo! Who's this coming?" - -As he spoke, I saw about half a mile away a horseman coming toward us at -an easy lope from the direction of the village. He was riding a handsome -gray horse, very superior to the little bronchos we ourselves bestrode. - -"He rides well," said I. "I wonder how he got so close to us on this -flat country without our seeing him." - -"The country is probably not quite so flat as it looks," replied my -companion. "I expect the man has been keeping in the hollows so that he -might slip up on us unobserved. It is probably old Galvez coming to find -out what we are doing prowling around his domain. He must be the -horseman I saw just now, and I've no doubt he saw us, too, cocked up on -that bare ridge--for all these Mexicans have eyes like hawks." - -Meanwhile the rider continued to approach, and as he came nearer we -observed, rather to our relief, that it could not be the padron, for the -stranger was a well-dressed young Mexican, only three or four years -older than ourselves, a handsome, intelligent-looking young fellow, too, -with a trim little black moustache and bright black eyes--evidently one -of a class superior to the ordinary cow-man or farm-hand. - -Watching him closely as he came up, wondering what sort of a reception -we should get from him, it appeared to me that he, too, looked both -surprised and relieved when he perceived that instead of the two rough -and sturdy prospectors he had probably expected to meet, it was only a -couple of boys, younger than himself, with whom he had to deal. - -And it is likely that he did feel relieved, for at that time the white -men--or, at least, very many of them--dwelling on what was then the -outer edge of civilization, were apt to look down upon all Mexicans as -people of an inferior race, frequently treating them in consequence in a -rough, overbearing manner by no means calculated to promote friendly -feeling. - -The young Mexican doubtless "sized us up" favorably; at any rate, no -sooner had he come near enough to see what we were like than he rode -straight up to us, and addressing us politely in Spanish, said: - -"Good-day, sirs. Are you going down to Hermanos? I shall be glad to ride -with you if you are." - -It happened that I was the one to whom he addressed this salutation, -Dick being a little further back. Now, though I had acquired enough of -the language to understand and speak it fairly well, the Spanish I had -learned was good Castilian, whereas the young Mexican spoke a kind of -_patois_, such as is commonly used among all the natives of these -outlying settlements. The unexpected difference of pronunciation, though -slight, caused me to hesitate an instant in making reply--I have no -doubt, too, my face looked rather blank--whereupon the young fellow -instantly jumped to the conclusion that we did not speak Spanish at all, -and he therefore repeated his remark in English. - -It was without any thought of misleading him that I replied, very -naturally, in the tongue which came easiest to me, and as the stranger -spoke English quite as well as I did, it was very natural again that the -conversation should be continued in that tongue. Thus it happened that -we accidentally deceived him--or, rather, he deceived himself--into the -belief that we did not understand any language but our own, and as no -opportunity cropped up during our talk for setting him right, he -continued in this mistaken idea; a fact which, a little later, caused us -considerable satisfaction--not on our own account, but on his. - -Replying to his question therefore in English, I said: - -"No, we were not bound for Hermanos in particular. We have come down -here to do a little prospecting, and were just riding around a bit to -take a look at the country. Do you live here?" - -"No," he replied, "I live in Santa Fé. My name is Antonio Martinez. I am -on a visit here to my uncle, Señor Galvez, the padron of Hermanos. He is -my mother's brother, and as she had not seen him for many years, and as -he has always declined to come to us, she sent me here to make his -acquaintance. For myself, I had never even seen him until I arrived here -two weeks ago, and----" - -He checked himself suddenly, looking a little confused; I had an idea -that what he was going to say was that he did not much care if he never -saw him again. - -"And are you expecting to stay here?" asked Dick. - -"No, I go back in a day or two. Where do you, yourselves hail from, if I -may ask? From Mosby?" - -"Yes, from Mosby," replied Dick. "We came down, as my friend said, to do -some prospecting up in one or other of these two peaks--we don't know -which one yet. How is the country up there? Pretty accessible? You've -been up, I suppose." - -"No, I haven't," replied the young Mexican. "You think that rather -strange, don't you? And naturally enough. Here have I been for two weeks -hanging around this village with absolutely nothing to do; I should have -been glad enough to make an expedition up into the mountains--in fact, I -had a very particular reason for wishing to do so--but when I suggested -the idea to the padron, explaining to him why I was so anxious to go, he -not only refused emphatically for himself, but declined to let me go -either." - -"Why, that seems queer!" cried Dick. - -"It does, doesn't it? And his reason for refusing will appear to you -queerer still--he's afraid!" - -"Afraid!" we both exclaimed. "Afraid of what?" - -"Afraid of The Badger," replied the young fellow, breaking into a laugh -as he noted the mystified look which came over both our faces. - -"What do you mean?" I asked. "Why should he--or anybody--be afraid of a -badger?" - -"I said _The_ Badger," replied our friend. "You have never heard of him, -evidently--El Tejon, The Badger." - -We both shook our heads. - -"What is he?" I asked. "A man?" - -"Yes--or a wild beast. It is hard to say which. He is a Mexican who once -lived in the village here, I believe. For some reason which I cannot -understand--for my uncle won't talk about it, though I have asked him -several times--for some reason The Badger conceived a violent hatred for -the padron; whether he went crazy or not, I don't know, but anyhow he -committed a murderous assault upon him, hurting him badly--knocked out -all his front teeth with a stone, for one thing--and then escaped into -the mountains. That was twelve years ago, and as far as any one knows he -is there yet, if he is still alive." - -"And wasn't any attempt ever made to capture him?" asked Dick. - -"Once," replied Antonio. "According to the padron's story, he went out -with six of his cow-men to try to run The Badger to earth; but the -attempt was a failure, as was only to be expected, for the cow-men were -very unwilling to go. They trembled at the very name of El Tejon, who -was a man of immense strength and a great hunter, and they feared that -instead of catching him, he would catch one of them. And the event -showed that they had reason. They had been out several days, had ridden -all over the lower part of the north mountain without seeing a sign of -their man, and were coming back, single file, down a narrow gully, when -the padron's horse suddenly, and seemingly without cause, fell down, -stone dead. The rider, of course, fell too, and striking his head -against a stone he lay for a moment stunned. No one could think what had -happened to the horse, until presently one of the men noticed blood upon -the rocks, and turning the animal over they were all scared out of their -wits by seeing the head of an arrow sticking out between his ribs." - -"An arrow!" we both cried. - -"Yes, an arrow," continued the narrator, not noticing the glance Dick -and I exchanged. "They knew well enough where it came from, for The -Badger had always hunted with a bow and arrow, with which he was -extraordinarily expert. The instant the cow-men saw what had happened -they stuck spurs into their horses and away they all went, -helter-skelter, leaving their leader lying on the ground." - -"That was a pretty shabby desertion," said I. "How did the padron -escape?" - -"That is one of the things I can't understand," replied Antonio. "Why -the man, having him so entirely in his power, didn't kill him at once is -a puzzle to me. As it was, when the padron recovered his senses, he -found El Tejon calmly seated on the carcase of the horse, waiting for -him to wake up. He quite expected, he says, to be murdered forthwith, -but instead, the man merely held up the arrow, which he had drawn out of -the horse's body, and said: 'For you--next time'; and with that he arose -and walked off. The padron is no coward, but he knows when to let well -enough alone: he has never been up on the mountain since." - -"That's a curious story," said Dick. "What sort of a looking man is this -El Tejon?" - -"I've never seen him myself, of course," replied our friend, "but the -padron describes him as a very remarkable man to look at: less than five -feet high, with an immense body, very short legs and very long arms." - -Dick and I exchanged glances again. - -"Whether the man is yet alive," continued the young fellow, "nobody -knows. It is nearly twelve years ago that this happened, and since then -he has never been seen nor heard of. The chances are, I expect, that he -has been long dead." - -"On that point," remarked Dick, "we can give _you_ a little information. -He is not dead--at least he wasn't last fall." - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE PADRON - - -"What do you mean?" cried Antonio. "How do you know? I thought you said -you had never heard of him." - -"We hadn't," replied Dick, "until you mentioned his name, but from your -description we have no doubt we saw him some months ago up here at the -head of the valley." - -With this by way of preface, my companion related to our new -acquaintance the particulars of our "interview" with the "little giant," -as he called him. - -"It must be the same man," said Antonio. "I wonder what he was doing so -far away from his own mountain. You say he shot the wolf with a -copper-headed arrow? That's something I should like to investigate, if -only the padron were not so dead set against my going up into the -mountain. Where does he get his copper? In fact----" He paused to -consider, and then went on: "Yes; I don't see why I shouldn't tell -you--my uncle won't go himself, and he won't let me go, so I may as -well tell _you_. The truth is that the reason why I was so anxious to -make an excursion up there was just that--to find out where El Tejon -gets his copper. And not only he, but the villagers down here. Every -house in Hermanos has its copper bowl and dipper. They are hammered out -of lumps of native copper; some of them must weigh five or six pounds. -Where did they come from? Lumps of copper of that size were not washed -down the streams--they were dug up. But by whom, and where?" - -I felt a great inclination to tell him. He had been so friendly and -communicative that I began to feel rather uncomfortable at the thought -that we were drawing all this information from him under what might be -regarded as false pretences. - -I was pretty sure that Dick would be feeling much the same--for among -boys, as I have many a time noticed, there is nothing more catching than -open-heartedness--and I was right; for, glancing at him to see what he -thought, I caught his eye, when he immediately raised his eyebrows a -trifle, as much as to say, "Shall I tell him?" - -"Yes," said I, aloud. "I think so. Though we must remember, Dick, that -it isn't altogether our secret." - -Dick nodded, and turning to the young Mexican, who was gazing at us -open-eyed, wondering what we were talking about, he said: - -"Senor Antonio, my friend and I agree that it isn't quite fair to you to -let you go on telling us these things without our telling you something -in return. As Frank says, it is not altogether our own secret, but at -the same time we don't think it is quite a square deal to get all these -particulars from you and to keep you in the dark about ourselves. I can -tell you this much, anyhow: that our object in coming down here was to -find out where those same lumps of copper did come from." - -"Why, how did _you_ know anything about them?" cried Antonio, opening -his eyes wider still. - -"I passed through Hermanos about eighteen months ago," replied Dick, "in -company with a German naturalist, Herr Bergen, when we noticed the great -number of copper bowls and things, and the sight of them reminded the -professor of a story he had heard of an old copper mine, abandoned more -than a hundred years ago, supposed to be somewhere down in this -country. The story the professor told us is the story which we think we -have no business to repeat, but I can tell you this much, at least, that -it seemed to indicate the Dos Hermanos as the site of the old mine; and -so we got leave to come down here to see if we couldn't trail it up." - -"Is that so? What fun you will have. I wish I could go with you. But -that, I know, is out of the question: the padron would not consent, and -I could not go against his will. But if I can help you I shall be very -glad. Does the story you refer to indicate which of the two peaks is the -right one?" - -"No, it doesn't," replied Dick. "We suppose that the copper used to be -brought down to the _Casa_ on pack-burros, and we thought there might be -the remains of a trail down here in the valley. That is what we were -doing when you rode up:--looking for the trail; and we thought perhaps -we had found it when we discovered this indentation in the soil that we -have been following." - -"And I believe you have!" cried Antonio. "That's just what you have! It -goes on straight southward from here, very plain, to within half a mile -of the _Casa_ and then seems to die out for some reason. But, that it is -the old trail I feel certain. Your copper mine is up there on the north -peak as sure as----" - -He stopped short, his enthusiasm suddenly died out, and pulling a long -face, he gazed at us rather blankly. - -"Well?" asked Dick. - -"I was forgetting. There's something else up there on the north peak." - -"What's that?" - -"The Badger!" - -"That's so!" cried Dick. "I'd forgotten him, too. Do you suppose he -would interfere with us?" - -"That's more than I can say. From what the padron has told me, I imagine -it is only to him that El Tejon objects, and perhaps also to me as one -of the family; but I'm not sure about that. Look here! I'll tell you -what I'll do. I'll just ride home and ask him what he thinks. You stay -here. I'll be back in half an hour." - -"You are very kind," said my partner. "But why should we trouble you to -come back here? We'll ride down with you." - -To our surprise the young fellow flushed and looked embarrassed, but -recovering in a moment, he said: - -"Come on, then. But before we go, let me tell you something. The reason -I hesitated was that I feared you might not receive a very hearty -welcome from the padron. The truth of the matter is--to put it plainly, -once for all--he hates strangers, and above all he hates the Americans. -I am sorry it should be so, but so it is. The feeling is not uncommon -among the older Mexicans: those who went through the war of '46; and if -you stop to think of it, it isn't altogether unreasonable. According to -the padron's view of the matter, his native country was invaded without -cause or justice; he, himself, fought against the invader; his own -brother and many of his friends were killed; and finally, he saw the -land where he was born torn away from its old moorings and attached to -the country of the enemy." - -This defence of his fellow-countryman, which the young Mexican delivered -with much earnestness and feeling, was a revelation to me. Hitherto I -had only considered the war with Mexico from our side, glorying in our -success and admiring--very rightly--the bravery of our soldiers. That -the Mexicans, themselves, might have a point of view of their own had -never occurred to me, until this young fellow thus held up their side of -the picture for me to see. - -"That's a matter I never thought of before," said I; "but when you do -stop to think of it, it is _not_ surprising that the older generation of -Mexicans should have no liking for us." - -"No," Dick chimed in; "and I don't think you can blame them, either." - -"I'm glad you see it that way," said Antonio. "It makes things all -comfortable for me. So, now, let us get along. And if the padron doesn't -seem best pleased to see you, you will know why." - -Following along the line of the supposed trail, which continued in -general to be pretty plain, we presently passed alongside of a high bank -of earth to which our guide called our attention. - -"Just ride up here a minute," said he. "Now, do you see how this -earth-bank forms a perfect square, measuring about two hundred yards -each way? What do you make of that?" - -"It was evidently built up," said I; "it can't be a natural formation. -But what the earth was piled up for, I can't see." - -"I think I can," remarked Dick. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the site -of an old pueblo." - -"Just what I think," responded Antonio. "An old pueblo which probably -stood here before ever the Spaniards came to the country, and has been -melted down to this shapeless bank by the rains of centuries. This -valley must have supported a good-sized population once--very much -larger than at present." - -"It looks like it," Dick assented. "I wonder where they got their water -from--for I suppose they lived mostly by agriculture, as the Pueblos do -still. Hasn't the padron ever tried to find the old source of supply?" - -The young Mexican shook his head. "No," said he. "The source of supply, -wherever it was, was up in the mountains somewhere, and in spite of the -fact that if he could find it, it would increase the value of the grant -a thousand times, he daren't go to look for it." - -"My! What a chance there is here"--Dick began, when he suddenly checked -himself. "Here's some one coming," said he. "Is this the padron?" - -"Yes; he must be coming to see who you are. I hope he won't make himself -unpleasant." - -As Antonio spoke, there came riding toward us a square-set, gray-haired -Mexican, at whom, as he approached, we gazed with much interest. He was -a man of fifty, or thereabouts, harsh-featured and forbidding, who -scowled at us in a manner which made me, at least, rather wish I had not -come. To put it shortly and plainly, the Señor Galvez had, in fact, the -most truculent countenance I had ever seen; and his first remark to his -nephew, as the latter advanced to meet him, was on a par with his -appearance. - -"What are you bringing these American pigs here for, Antonio?" he -growled, in Spanish. "You know I will have nothing to do with them." - -Poor Antonio flushed painfully under his brown skin. He half raised his -hand with a deprecatory gesture, as though to beg the speaker to be more -moderate, while he glanced uneasily at us out of the corner of his eye -to see if we had understood. - -It was then that Dick and I congratulated ourselves on having -accidentally deceived our friend into the belief that we did not speak -Spanish. Suppressing our natural desire to bandy a few compliments with -the churlish padron, we put on an expression of countenance as stolid -and vacant as if we had been indeed the American pigs -aforesaid--immensely to the comfort of the younger man, as it was easy -to see. - -"Do not be harsh, señor," said he. "They are only boys, and they are -doing no harm here. Moreover," he went on, "they have brought you a -piece of information which you will be glad to have:--El Tejon is still -alive." - -The elder man started; his weather-beaten face paled a little. - -"How do they know that?" he asked, suspiciously. - -Antonio briefly told him our story. - -"Hm!" grunted the padron, glowering at us from under his bushy eyebrows. -"But what are these boys skulking around here for? They don't pretend, I -suppose, that they have come all the way down from Mosby just to tell me -they have seen El Tejon." - -"Not at all," replied Antonio, with considerable spirit. "They are -gentlemen, and they don't pretend anything. That bigger one of the two, -the freckled one with the hook-nose and red hair"--it was Dick he meant, -and intense was my desire to wink at him and laugh--"that one passed -through here before; he noticed how every house contained its copper -bowl and dipper--just as I did--and he has come down here with his -friend--just as I wanted to do--to try to find out where the copper -came from. We have had a long talk about it, and we have concluded that -it probably came from somewhere up on the north peak. What I brought -them down here for was to ask you whether you thought The Badger would -let them alone if they went up there--that's all." - -"That's all, is it? Well, perhaps it is. But I'm suspicious of -strangers, Antonio, especially since----" - -He paused, seemingly considering whether he should or should not mention -the subject he had in mind, but at length--evidently supposing that we -could not understand what he was saying--he went on: - -"I had not intended to say anything to you about it, but three days -ago--the day you rode over to Zapatero to spend the night--something -occurred here which makes me rather uneasy. I had been away all day -myself that day and on my return I found a young man in the village who -had come, he said, from Santa Fé. For a young man to come to this -out-of-the-way place, all alone, from Santa Fé, or from anywhere else, -for that matter, was a strange thing: it made me suspicious that he was -after no good. And I became more than suspicious when I found that he -had spent the day going from one house to another inquiring after El -Tejon!" - -"Inquiring after El Tejon!" repeated Antonio. "That was strange; -especially considering that El Tejon has been practically dead for a -dozen years. Did he offer any explanation?" - -"No. To tell the truth, I did not give him the opportunity. When I found -out what he was doing, how he had slipped into the village during my -absence and had gone prying about among these ignorant peons, asking -questions concerning my enemy, I was so enraged that I threatened to -shoot him if he did not depart at once. I made a mistake there, I admit; -if I had curbed my anger, I might have found out what his object was. -But I did not, so there is no more to be said." - -"That was unfortunate," said Antonio; "but, as you say, it can't be -helped now. So the stranger went off, did he? Did he return to----" - -"No, he didn't," Galvez interrupted, "or, at any rate, not immediately. -I'll tell you how I know. I was so distrustful of him that I followed -his trail next morning--it was dark when he left, and I couldn't do it -then. It was an easy trail to follow, for his horse was shod, and ours, -of course, are not. It led eastward for a mile and then turned back, -circled round the village and went up into the north mountain. I have -not seen him, nor a trace of him since." - -"It is a strange thing," said Antonio, thoughtfully. "What was the young -man like? How old? Was he a Mexican or an American?" - -"I don't know. He looked like an American, though he spoke Spanish -perfectly. He might be twenty years old. It is an odd thing, -Antonio--and it is that, perhaps, which made me speak so sharply when I -first saw these new friends of yours--but the young man was something -like the bigger one of these two boys: the same hook-nose and light-gray -eyes, though his hair was black instead of red." - -"A strange thing altogether," said Antonio, reflectively. "I don't -wonder you feel a little uneasy." - -"As to these boys here," the padron went on, jerking his head in our -direction, "you may tell them that they need not fear The Badger. It is -only I who have cause to fear him, and perhaps you, as my nephew. These -boys may go where they like without danger. The chances are they won't -see El Tejon--they certainly won't if he doesn't want to be seen. And, -Antonio, just thank them for bringing me their information, and then -send them off." - -So saying, old Galvez turned his unmannerly back on us and rode away. - -The interview, if it can be called such--for the padron had not -addressed a single word to us--being plainly at an end, we shook hands -with our friend, Antonio, and having thanked him very heartily for his -service, we set off for camp, riding fast, in our hurry to get back -before darkness should overtake us. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE SPANISH TRAIL - - -"Dick," said I, as we sat together that evening beside our camp-fire, -"what do you make of it? That was a queer thing, that young fellow -coming inquiring for El Tejon. I confess, for my part, I can't make head -or tail of it." - -"I can't either," replied Dick; "at least, as far as this stranger is -concerned. I'm quite in the dark on that point. As to the padron and The -Badger, though, that seems to me simple enough. It is some old feud -between the two which concerns nobody but themselves." - -"That is how it strikes me. You don't think, then, that there is any -danger to us?" - -"No, I don't. In fact, I feel sure of it. It is just a personal quarrel -of long standing between those two--that's all. I have no more fear of -El Tejon than I have of any other Mexican. All the same, old chap, if -you have any doubt about it, I'm ready to quit and go home again." - -"No," I replied, emphatically. "I vote we go on. And I'll tell you why, -Dick. For one thing, I always did hate to give up." - -My partner nodded appreciation. - -"For another thing, I have gathered the notion that this Badger is not a -bad fellow; not at all the kind that would murder a man in his sleep or -shoot him from behind a rock. The fact that he let old Galvez go that -time when he had him helpless, seems to me pretty good evidence that he -is a man of some generosity and above-boardness." - -"That's a fact," Dick assented; "it was rather a fine action, as it -seems to me. And unless I'm vastly mistaken, Frank," he went on, "if the -cases had been reversed, and the padron had caught The Badger as The -Badger caught the padron, it would have been all up with El Tejon. I -never saw a harder-looking specimen in my life than old Galvez. I know, -if he were my enemy, I should be mighty sorry to fall into his hands." - -"So should I; and the less we have to do with him the better, to my -notion. I think we shall do well to steer clear of him." - -"Yes; and there won't be any temptation to go near him, anyhow, -especially as Antonio won't be there to act as a buffer. So, we decide -to go on, do we?" Dick concluded, as he arose to put two big logs on the -fire for the night. "All right. Then we'll get out to-morrow morning. -We'll take the line of the old trail and follow it up into the mountain -as far as it goes--or as far as we can, perhaps I should say." - -"Very well," I agreed. "And we may as well abandon this camp, take old -Fritz and all our belongings with us, and find another place more -suitable higher up the mountain." - -"Yes; so now to bed." - -We were up betimes next morning, and having packed our traps away we -went, Dick in the lead, Fritz following, and I bringing up the rear. -Climbing over the big ridge from whose crest we had surveyed the valley -the day before, we rode down its other side to the line of the old -trail, and there, turning to the right, we followed it as it gradually -ascended, until presently at the head of the ravine the trail, greatly -to our perplexity, came to an end altogether. - -The ravine itself had become so narrow and its sides so precipitous that -there appeared to be no way of climbing out of it, and we began to have -our doubts as to whether it could really be an old trail that we had -been following after all, when Dick, spying about, discovered a -much-washed-out crevice on the right-hand side, so grown up with trees -and brush as to be hardly distinguishable. - -"Frank," said he, "they must have come down here--there's no other way -that I can see. Wait a moment till I get up there and see if the trail -isn't visible again up on top." - -It was a pretty stiff scramble to get up, but as soon as he had reached -the top my partner shouted down to me to come up--he had found the trail -once more. - -If it had been a stiff climb for Dick's horse, it was stiffer still for -old Fritz with his bulky pack. But Fritz was a first-rate animal for -mountain work, having had lots of practice, and being allowed to choose -his own course and take his own time he made the ascent without damaging -himself or his burden. - -As soon as I had rejoined him, Dick pointed out to me the line of the -trail, which, bearing away northward now, was much more distinct than it -had been down below. For one thing, the ground here was a great deal -harder; and for another, being well sheltered by the pine woods, the -trail had not drifted full of sand as it had out on the unprotected -valley. There were, it is true, frequent places where the rains of many -years had washed the soil down the hillsides and covered it up, but in -general it was easily distinguishable as it went winding along the base -of the mountain proper, at the point where the steeper slopes merged -into the great spurs which projected out into the valley. - -The distinctness of the old trail was, indeed, a surprise to me, its -line was so much easier to follow than I had expected. If it continued -to be as plain as this, we should have no trouble in keeping it; and so -I remarked to my companion. - -"That's true," Dick assented, adding: "I'll tell you what, Frank: this -must surely have been a government enterprise. Just see how much work -has been expended on this trail--and needlessly, I should say--no -private individual or corporation would have taken the trouble to make a -carefully graded road like this--for that is what it really was -apparently. It must have been some manager handling government funds and -not worrying himself much about the amount he spent." - -"I shouldn't wonder," said I. - -"Just notice," Dick continued, pointing out the places with his finger. -"See what useless expenditure they made. Whenever they came to a dip, -big or little, instead of going down one side and up the other, as any -ordinary human being would do, they carried their road round the end of -the gully--just as though a loaded burro would object to coming up a -little hill like this one, for instance, here in front of us." - -"It does seem rather ridiculous," I assented. "And they must have laid -out their line with care, too, for, if you notice, Dick, it goes on -climbing up the mountain with a grade which seems to be perfectly -uniform as far as we can see it. It is more like a railroad grade than a -trail. It isn't possible, is it, Dick," I asked, as the thought suddenly -occurred to me, "it isn't possible that they can have used wheeled -vehicles?" - -"Hm!" replied my companion, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "No, I think -not. It would be extremely improbable, to say the least. No, I think it -is more likely to be as I said: some lordly government official, -spending government funds, and not troubling himself whether the income -would warrant the expenditure or not." - -"I suppose that was probably it," said I. "There's one thing sure, -Dick," I added: "if the income did warrant the expenditure, that old -copper mine must have been a staver and no mistake." - -"That's a fact. Well, come on; let us go ahead and see where the trail -takes us." - -This following of the trail was a perfectly simple matter; the animals -themselves, in fact, took to it and kept to it as naturally as though -even they recognized it as a road. So, on we went, climbing gradually -higher at every step, when, on rounding the shoulder of a big spur, we -were brought to a sudden and most unexpected halt by coming plump upon -the edge of a deep and very narrow cañon. Right up to the very brink of -this great chasm the trail led us, and there, of necessity, it abruptly -ended. - -This gorge, which was perhaps a thousand feet deep, and, as I have said, -extremely narrow--not more than thirty feet wide at the point where we -had struck it--came down from the north face of the mountain, and, as we -could see from where we stood, ran out eastward into the plain. It was -undoubtedly the stream upon which we had camped when we had come across -the valley two days before. - -Looking the other way--to the left, that is: up stream--our view was -limited, but from what we could see of it, the country in that -direction bade fair to be inaccessible, for horses, at least; while as -to the cañon itself, it curved first to the left and then to the right -in such a manner that we could not see to the bottom. Moreover a large -rock, rising from the edge of the gorge, and in fact overhanging it a -little, cut off our view up stream. - -On the opposite side of the chasm the ground rose high and rocky, an -exceedingly rough piece of country; for though it was in general well -clothed with trees, we could see in a score of places great bare-topped -ridges and pinnacles of rock projecting high above the somber woods. - -"Dick," said I, "this looks rather like the end of things. What are we -to do now?" - -"The end of things!" cried Dick. "Not a bit of it! Don't you see, on the -other side of the cañon, exactly opposite, that little ravine which goes -winding up the mountain until it loses itself among the trees? Well, -that is the continuation of the trail. Come down here to the edge and -I'll show you." - -Dismounting from our horses, we advanced as near the rim of the chasm as -we dared, when Dick, pointing across to the other side, said: - -"Look there, Frank, about a foot below the top. Do you see those two -square niches cut in the face of the rock? This place was spanned by a -bridge once, and those two niches are where the ends of the big -stringers rested." - -"It does look like it!" I exclaimed. "If there are other similar niches -on this side, that would settle it. Take hold of my feet, will you, -while I stick my head over the edge and see?" - -With Dick firmly clasping my ankle by way of precaution, I crept to the -rim and craned my neck out over the precipice as far as I dared venture. -As we had expected, there were the two corresponding niches, while about -ten feet below them were two others, the existence of which puzzled me. -Squirming carefully back again, I rose to my feet and told Dick what I -had seen. - -"Two others, eh?" said he. "That's easily explained. Look across again -and you will see that there are two in the face of the opposite cliff to -match them. Those people not only laid two big stringers across the -cañon, but they supported them from below with four stays set in those -lower holes." - -"That must be it!" I exclaimed. "They did things well, didn't they--it -is on a par with the work they expended on the trail. The trail itself, -of course, went on up that little ravine and has since been washed out -by the rains." - -"Yes; and the bridge has rotted and fallen into the stream; unless they -destroyed it purposely when they abandoned the mine." - -"Well, Dick," said I. "It seems fairly sure that the mine was over -there, somewhere in the rough country on the other side of the cañon. -The question is, how are _we_ to get over there?" - -"Yes, that's the question all right. We can't get down here. That is -plain enough. We shall have to find some other way. And that there is -another way is pretty certain. See here! This cañon comes down from the -north side of the mountain, runs out into the valley to the point where -we struck it day before yesterday, doubles back, and joins the streams -coming down from Mescalero, as well as those others which flow down from -the north side of the peak." - -"Well?" - -"Well, this piece of country before us is therefore a sort of island, -surrounded, or nearly surrounded, by cañons." - -I nodded. "Yes," said I. "Or more like a fortress with a thousand-foot -moat all round it." - -"Well," continued my partner, "the original discoverers of the mine, -whether Indians or Spaniards, did not cross here by a bridge, of course; -they climbed up from the bottom of one of these cañons somewhere, and at -first, probably, brought out the copper the same way, until, finding how -much easier it would be to come across here, they built a bridge and -made this road for the purpose." - -"That sounds reasonable," I assented. "So if we want to find the place -where they used to get up, we must climb down into the bottom of the -cañon ourselves and hunt for it." - -"Yes," replied Dick. "And from the look of it, I shouldn't wonder if we -don't have to go all the way back to our old camping-place in order to -get down!" - -"Hm!" said I, puckering up my lips and rubbing my chin. "I hope we don't -have to go that far; but if we must, we must. Anyhow, Dick, before we go -all the way down to the bottom of the mountain again, let us climb up -above this big rock here and take a look up stream. It is just possible -there may be a way down in that direction." - -"Very well," replied my partner. "I don't suppose there is, but we'll -try it anyhow." - -Leaving our horses standing, we went back a little way along the trail, -and climbing upward, presently reached a point level with the top of the -big rock which rose above the edge of the gorge. There we found several -little gullies leading down to the ravine, and Dick taking one of them -and I another, we thus became separated for a few minutes. Only for a -few minutes, however, for very soon I heard my partner hailing me to -come back. From the tone of his voice I felt sure he had discovered -something. - -"What is it, Dick?" I asked. "Found a way down?" - -"That's what I have, Frank, I'm pretty sure. Come here and look!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE BADGER - - -A short distance down Dick's gully was a great slab of stone standing on -edge, which, leaning over until its upper end touched the opposite wall, -formed a natural arch about as high as a church door. Through this -vaulted passage Dick led the way. In about twenty steps we came out -again upon the brink of the chasm, and then it was that my partner, with -some natural exultation, pointed out to me the remarkable discovery he -had made. - -In the face of the cliff was a sort of ledge, varying in width from ten -feet to about double as much, which, with a pretty steep, though pretty -regular pitch, continued downward until it disappeared around the bend -in the gorge. Unless the ledge should narrow very considerably we should -have no trouble in getting down, for there was room in plenty not only -for ourselves but for our animals also--even for old Fritz, pack and -all. - -"Why, Dick!" I cried. "We can easily get down here! I wonder if this -wasn't the original road taken by the pack-trains." - -"It was," replied Dick; "at least, I feel pretty sure it was--and it was -used for a long time, too." - -"Why do you think so?" I asked. "You speak as though you felt pretty -certain, Dick, but for my part I don't see why." - -"Don't you? Why, it's very plain. Look here! Do you see, close to the -outer edge of the shelf, a sort of trough worn in the rock? Do you know -what that is? If I'm not very much mistaken, it is the trail of the -pack-burros. There must have been a good many of them, and they must -have gone up and down for a good many years to wear such a trail; -though, of course, it has been enlarged since by the rain-water running -down it." - -"Well, Dick," said I, "I still don't see why you should conclude that -this is the trail of a pack-train. It seems to me much more likely to be -due to water only. In the first place, though there is room enough and -to spare on the ledge, your supposed trail is on the very outer edge, -where a false step would send the burro head-first into the cañon; and -in the next place, it keeps to the very edge, no matter whether the -ledge is wide or narrow." - -"That's exactly the point," explained Dick. "It is just that very thing -which makes me feel so sure that this is the trail of a pack-train. -You've never seen pack-burros at work in the mountains, have you? Well, -I have lots of times: they are frequently used to carry ore down from -the mines. If you had seen them, you could not have helped noticing the -habit they have of walking on the outside of a ledge like this, where -there is a precipice on one side and a cliff on the other. A burro may -be a 'donkey,' but he understands his own business. He knows that if he -touches his pack against the rock he will be knocked over the precipice, -and he has learned his lesson so well that it makes no difference how -wide the ledge may be--he will keep as far away from the rock as he can. -As to a false step, that doesn't enter into his calculations: a burro -doesn't make a false step--there is no surer-footed beast in existence, -I should think, excepting, possibly, the mountain-sheep." - -"I never thought of all that," said I. "Then I expect you are right, -Dick, and this is an old trail after all. What is your idea? To follow -it down, I suppose." - -"Yes, certainly. Our animals won't make any bones about going down a -wide path like this. They are all used to the mountains. So let us get -them at once and start down." - -Dick was right. Our horses, each led by the bridle, followed us without -hesitation, while old Fritz, half a burro himself, took at once to the -trail which one of his ancestors, perhaps, had helped to make. - -Without trouble or mishap, we descended the steeply-pitching ledge down -to the margin of the creek, crossed over to the other side, and -continued on our way up stream over the slope of decomposed rock fallen -from the towering cliff which rose at least a thousand feet above -us--the cliff being now on our right hand and the stream on our left. - -This sloping bank was scantily covered with trees, and among them we -threaded our way, still following the trail, which, however, down here -had lost any resemblance to a made road, and had become a mere thread, -more like a disused cow-path than anything else. - -Presently, we found that the cañon began to widen, and soon afterward -the cliff along whose base we had been skirting, suddenly fell away to -the right in a great sweeping curve, forming an immense natural -amphitheatre, enclosing a good-sized stretch of grass-land, with -willows and cottonwoods fringing the nearer bank of the stream. - -As we sat on our horses surveying the scene, we found ourselves -confronting at last the imposing north face of the mountain. Up toward -its summit we could see the great semi-circular cliff which we supposed -to be the upper half of an old crater, while the country below it, bare, -rocky and much broken up, was exceedingly rough and precipitous. - -Starting, apparently, from the neighborhood of this crater, there came -down the mountain a second very narrow and very deep gorge, whose -waters, when there were any, emptied into the stream we had been -following; the two cañons being separated by a high, narrow rib of -rock--a mere wedge. Curiously enough, however, this second cañon did not -carry a stream, though we could see the shimmer of two or three pools as -they caught the reflection of the sky down there in the bottom of its -gloomy depths. - -"Well, Dick," said I, "I don't see any sign yet of a pathway up to the -top of this 'island' of yours. This basin is merely an enlargement of -the cañon; the walls are just as high and just as straight-up-and-down -as ever." - -"Yes, I see that plainly enough," replied Dick. "Yet there must be a -way up somewhere. Those pack-trains didn't come down here for nothing. -We shall find a break in the wall presently--up in that gorge, there, it -must be, too. So let us go on. Hark! What's that?" - -We sat still and listened. The whole atmosphere seemed to vibrate with a -low hum, the cause of which we could not understand. It kept on for five -minutes, perhaps, and then died out again. - -"What was it, Dick?" said I. "Wind?" - -"I suppose it must have been," replied my companion; "though there isn't -a breath stirring down here. If the sky had not been so perfectly clear -all morning I should have said it was a flood coming. It must have been -wind, though, I suppose." - -Satisfied that this was the cause, we thought no more of it, but, taking -up the trail once more, we followed it down to the mouth of the second -cañon, and there at the edge of the watercourse all trace of it ceased. - -"That seems to settle it," remarked Dick. "You see, Frank, the walls of -this cañon are so steep and its bed is so filled with great boulders -that even a burro could get no further. The copper must have been -carried down to this point on men's backs, and if so, it was not carried -any great distance probably. The mine must be somewhere pretty near now; -we shan't have to search much further, I think, for a way up this -right-hand cliff. Let us unsaddle here, where the horses can get plenty -of grass, and go on up on foot." - -The ascent of the chasm was no easy task, we found, but, weaving our way -between the boulders which strewed its bed, up we went, until presently -we came to a place where some time or another a great slice of the wall, -about an eighth of a mile in length, falling down, had blocked it -completely, forming an immense dam nearly a hundred feet high. It must -have been many years since it fell, for its surface was well grown up -with trees, though none of them were of any great size. It seemed -probable, too, that the base of the dam must be composed of large -fragments of rock, for, though there was no stream in the bed of the -gorge, it was very plain that water did sometimes run down it. If so, -however, it was equally plain that it must squeeze its way through the -crevices between the foundation rocks, for there was no sign at all that -it had ever run over the top. - -Scrambling up this mass of earth and rocks, we went on, keeping a sharp -lookout for some sign of a pathway up the cliff on our right, but still -seeing nothing of the sort, when presently we reached the upper face of -the dam, and there for a moment we stopped. - -Beneath us lay a stretch of the ravine, forming a basin about two -hundred yards long, in the bottom of which were three or four pools of -clear water. At the upper end of this basin was a perpendicular cliff, -barring all further advance in that direction, over which, in some -seasons of the year, the water evidently poured--sometimes in -considerable volume apparently, judging from the manner in which the -sides of the basin had been undermined. The sides themselves continued -to be just as unscalable as ever; in spite of Dick's assurance that we -should find a way up, it was apparent at a glance that there was neither -crack nor crevice by which one could ascend. - -"Well!" cried my partner, in a tone of desperation. "This does beat me! -I felt certain that the trail would lead us to some pathway up the -cliff; but, as it does not, what does it come down here for at all?" - -"There is only one reason that I can think of," I replied, "and that is -that they must have come down here for water--there is probably none to -be found up on top of the 'island.'" - -"That must be it, Frank. Yes, I expect you've struck it. And in that -case the pathway we have been hunting for must be down stream from the -site of the old bridge after all." - -"Yes. So we may as well go back to-morrow morning, I suppose, and start -downward. It is rather late to go back now--and besides, there is no -water up there: we had better camp here for to-night, at any rate." - -"That's true. Well, as we have some hours of daylight yet--if you can -call this daylight down here in this narrow crack--let us climb down the -face of the dam and examine the basin before we give up and go back, so -as to make quite sure that there is no way up the side." - -Accordingly, having clambered down, we walked up the middle of the -basin, our eyes carefully scanning the wall on our right, when, having -traversed about three-quarters of its length, we suddenly heard again -that humming noise which we had taken for a wind-storm among the pines. -With one accord we both stopped dead and listened. The noise was -decidedly louder than it had been before, and moreover it appeared to -be increasing in volume every second. - -"Frank!" exclaimed my companion. "I don't like the sound of it! It seems -to me suspiciously like water! Let us get out of here! This is no place -to be caught by a flood!" - -We turned to run, but before we had gone five steps we heard a roar -behind us, and casting a glance backward, we saw to our horror an -immense wall of water, ten feet high, leap from the ledge at the end of -the basin and fall to the bottom with a prodigious splash. - -In one second the whole floor of the basin was awash. In another second -our feet were knocked from under us, when, without the power of helping -ourselves, we were tumbled about and swept hither and thither at the -caprice of the rapidly deepening flood. - -Happily for myself, for I was no swimmer, I was carried right down to -the dam, where, by desperate exertions, I was able to scramble up out of -reach of the water. Dick, however, less fortunate than I, was carried -off to one side, and when I caught sight of him again he was being swept -rapidly along under the right-hand wall--looking up stream--in whose -smooth surface there was no chance of finding a hold. As I watched him, -my heart in my mouth, he was carried back close to the fall, where the -violence of the water, now several feet deep, tossed him about like a -straw. - -Half paralyzed with fear lest my companion should be drowned before my -eyes, I stood there on the rocks, powerless to go to his aid, hoping -only that he might be swept down near enough to enable me to catch hold -of him, when, of a sudden, there occurred an event so astounding that -for a moment I could hardly tell whether I ought to believe my own eyes -or not. - -Out from the wall on the left, up near the fall, there shot a great dark -body, which, with a noiseless splash, disappeared under the water. The -next moment a man's head bobbed up, a big, shaggy, bearded head, the -owner of which with vigorous strokes swam toward Dick and seized him by -the collar. Then, swimming with the power of a steam-tug, he bore down -upon the dam, clutched a projecting rock, drew himself up, and with a -strength I had never before seen in a human being, he lifted Dick out of -the water with one hand--his left--and set him up on the bank. - -Running to the spot, I seized hold of my partner, who, almost played -out, staggered and swayed about, and helped him further up out of reach -of the water. Then, turning round, I was advancing to thank his rescuer, -when, for the first time, I saw that the man was almost a dwarf--in -height, at least--though his astonishing strength was indicated in his -magnificent chest and arms. - -"The Badger!" I cried, involuntarily. - -At the sound of that name the man turned short round, and without a word -leaped into the water again. Sweeping back under the right-hand wall, he -presently turned across the pool and struck out for the opposite side. -Ten seconds later he had disappeared, having seemingly swum through the -very face of the cliff itself! - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE KING PHILIP MINE - - -I think it is safe to say that Dick and I were at that moment the two -most astonished boys in the State of Colorado. - -Where had the man sprung from? And how had he disappeared again? There -must be, of course, some opening in the rock which we had failed to -notice; a circumstance easily explained by the fact that we had not gone -far enough up the basin, and by the added fact that our attention had -been fixed upon the opposite wall. - -Then, again, though the identity of the man could hardly be doubted, why -should he take offence, as he seemed to do, at being addressed as "The -Badger"? - -This was a question to which we could not find an answer; and, indeed, -for the moment we postponed any attempt to do so, for our attention was -too much taken up by the action of the water, which, continuing to rise -with great rapidity, forced us to retreat higher and higher up the dam. - -For about half an hour it thus continued to rise, until there must have -been at least fifteen feet of it in the basin, by the end of which time -we noticed a sudden diminution in the amount coming over the fall. A few -minutes later the flow had ceased altogether, when the water in the pool -at once began to subside again, though far less rapidly than it had -risen. - -Our first impulse after our narrow escape from drowning had been to run -to the other end of the dam and get back forthwith to our horses, but -this we had found to be rather too risky an undertaking to attempt, for -the water, coming out from under the dam, was rushing down the bed of -the cañon, seething and foaming between the obstructing boulders in such -a fashion that we decided that discretion would be a good deal the -better part of valor--that it would be an act of wisdom to wait a bit. - -Moreover, when the flood, leaping from the cliff, had bowled us over in -such unceremonious style, we had had our rifles in our hands, and as -those indispensable weapons were at that moment lying under fifteen feet -of water, there was nothing for it but to wait till the pool drained off -if we wished to recover them. - -As there was no telling how long we might have to wait, and as we were -both wet through and very cold--Dick being besides still shaky from his -recent buffeting--I collected a lot of dead wood and started a roaring -fire, before whose cheerful blaze our clothes soon dried out and our -spirits rose again to their normal level. - -It was then that I first fully appreciated the value of my partner's -habit of carrying matches in a water-tight box--a habit I strongly -recommend to anybody camping out in these mountains. - -For three hours we waited, by which time as we guessed there remained -not more than a foot of water in the pool. I had gone down to measure it -with a stick, and was leaning with my hand against the smooth, wet wall -on my right, when I heard sounds as of a human voice speaking very -faintly and indistinctly. The sounds seemed to come from the rock where -my hand rested, and putting my ear against it, I plainly heard a strange -voice say, "Hallo, boys!" - -"Hallo!" I called out, at the top of my voice, startled into an -explosive shout. "Who are you? Where are you?" - -"Who's that you're talking to?" cried Dick, springing to his feet and -looking all about. - -"I don't know," I replied. "Come here and put your ear to the rock." - -Dick instantly joined me, when we both very clearly heard the voice say: - -"You needn't shout. I can hear you. Do you hear me?" - -"Yes," said I; and repeating my question, I asked: "Who are you, and -where are you?" - -"Before I tell you that," replied the voice, "I want to ask _you_ a -question, if you please. Are you Americans?" - -"Yes," I replied. "Two American boys." - -"Thank you. One more question, please: Did old Galvez send you up here?" - -"No!" I replied, with considerable emphasis. "We never saw old Galvez -till yesterday." - -"Good! Then I'll come down if you'll wait a minute." - -It was less than a minute that we had to wait, when from behind a slight -bulge in the left-hand wall, up near the head of the basin, there -appeared the figure of a young fellow, seemingly about twenty years old, -who, with his trousers tucked up, carrying a rifle in one hand and his -boots in the other, came wading down to us. - -With what interest we watched his approach will be imagined. Neither of -us doubted that it was the young fellow whom Galvez had mentioned as -having visited Hermanos during his absence, and as soon as he had come -near enough for us to distinguish his features, I, for one, was sure of -it, for, with his hook nose and his gray eyes, he did indeed bear a -curious resemblance to my partner. - -Standing on the bank at the edge of the water, we waited for him to come -near, when, having advanced to within six feet of us he stopped and eyed -us critically. He was a good-looking young fellow, not very big, but -with a bright, intelligent face which at once took our fancy. Apparently -his judgment of our looks was also favorable, for, smiling pleasantly, -he said: - -"Good-evening, boys. Which of you is Dick?" - -"I am," replied the owner of that name. - -"I just wanted to congratulate you, that's all, on your escape just now. -It might have gone hard with you if it hadn't been for my good friend, -Sanchez." - -"Sanchez?" I repeated, inquiringly. "Is that The Badger's proper name?" - -"Yes," replied the stranger. "Pedro Sanchez. The name of El Tejon was -bestowed upon him by old Galvez, and consequently he objects to it. -Your use of that name just now made him suspicious that you might be -emissaries of the padron, and it was that which caused him to jump back -into the water so suddenly." - -"I see. I'll take care in future. Here! Give me your hand"--seeing that -he was about to come up the bank. - -"Thank you," replied the stranger, reaching out his hand to me and -giving mine a shake before he let go--a greeting he repeated with Dick. -"I'm very glad to find you are a couple of American boys and not a pair -of Mexican cut-throats, as we rather suspected you might be. Let us go -up to your fire there and sit down. The water will take another -half-hour yet to drain off completely." - -Accordingly, we walked up to the fire, where the stranger dried his feet -and pulled on his boots again. - -"Why did you suspect us of being Mexican cut-throats?" asked Dick. "Did -you think that old Galvez had sent us up here on a hunt for you or for -El--for Sanchez, I mean?" - -"Yes, that was it. We've been watching you for two days past. We saw you -go down to Hermanos yesterday and start up the trail this morning. From -the fact of your having gone down to the village, Pedro was inclined to -believe you were hunting him or me; but, for my part, I rather inferred -from your actions that you were hunting the old copper mine." - -"The old copper mine!" we both cried. - -"Yes. Did I make a mistake? Weren't you?" - -"No, you didn't make any mistake," replied Dick. "What surprised us was -that you should know anything about it." - -The young fellow laughed. "Do you suppose, then," said he, "that you are -the only ones to notice the pots and pans down there at Hermanos?" - -"No, of course not," replied Dick. "The professor was right, you see, -Frank," he continued, turning to me, "when he said that the first white -man who came along would notice those copper utensils and go hunting for -the mine." - -"Yes," said I; and addressing the stranger again, I added: "So it was -the copper mine you were seeking after all, was it? Old Galvez thought -you came up here looking for Sanchez." - -Thereupon I related to him what the padron had said on the subject, when -the young fellow, smiling rather grimly, remarked, with a touch of -sarcasm in his voice: - -"Nice old gentleman, the Señor Galvez. So he professed not to know my -name, did he? He's a bad lot, if ever there was one. He was right, -though, in supposing that I came up here to look for Pedro. That was my -main object, though I intended at the same time to keep an eye open for -the old mine." - -"And have you seen any indication of it?--if we may ask." - -"Oh, yes," he replied, with unaccountable indifference. "There was no -trouble about that. Pedro discovered it years ago and he took me -straight to it." - -At this unlooked-for blow to all our hopes and plans, Dick and I gazed -at each other aghast. At one stroke apparently, our expedition was -deprived of its object. We might just as well turn round and go home -again, as far as the King Philip mine was concerned. Our hopes had been -so high; and here they were all toppled over in an instant. Intense was -our disappointment. - -For half a minute we sat there speechless, when our new acquaintance, -observing our crestfallen looks, remarked: - -"I'm afraid that is a good deal of a disappointment to you, isn't it? -But, perhaps you will be less disappointed when I tell you that the old -mine is valueless to me or you or anybody else." - -"How's that?" exclaimed Dick. - -"Why, it's---- But come and see for yourselves," he cried, springing to -his feet. "That's the best way. You'll understand the why and the -wherefore in five minutes." - -"What! Is it near here, then?" asked my partner. - -"Yes, close by. Behind the bulge in the wall on the left here." - -"On _that_ side!" cried Dick. "Not on the right, then, after all? Well, -that is a puzzler!" - -"Why is it a puzzler?" asked the stranger. "I don't understand you." - -"Why, if the mine is on the _left_ of the creek, what was that bridge -for up above here, crossing over to the _right_?" - -"Bridge! What bridge? What do you mean?" - -Upon this we told him of the niches in the rock up above, which we -supposed to have been receptacles for bridge-stringers. - -"That's queer," remarked our friend. "I had not heard of those before. -I wonder if Pedro knows anything about it. It is a puzzler, as you say." - -"Yes, I can't make it out," continued Dick; and after standing for a -minute thinking, he repeated, with a shake of his head: "No, I can't -make it out. I can't see what that bridge was for. Well, never mind that -for the present; let's go and see the old mine." - -"Come on, then. But before we go, I'll just speak to Pedro, or he may be -going off and hiding himself somewhere up in the old workings. Do you -notice," he asked, "how smoothly the swirl of the water has scoured out -a sort of half-arch at the base of the cañon-wall all the way from the -end of the dam here, under the waterfall, round to the bulge on the -other side? It forms a perfect 'whispering gallery.' Hallo, Pedro!" he -called out, putting his face close to the rock. "It is all right. We are -coming up now." - -Descending to the bed of the pool, whence all the water except three or -four permanent puddles had now drained away, we first searched for our -rifles, and having recovered them, followed our guide around the bulge -in the wall, and there found ourselves confronting the old -mine-entrance. - -About ten feet above the floor of the pool was a big hole in the rock, -evidently made by hand--for it was square--leading up to which were -several roughly-hewn steps, more or less rounded off and worn away by -the water. On top of the steps, framed in the blackness of the opening -behind him, stood the squat figure of Pedro Sanchez--in his rough shirt -of deer-skin representing very well, I thought, the badger in the mouth -of his hole. - -[Illustration: "BEHIND HIM, STOOD THE SQUAT FIGURE OF PEDRO SANCHEZ."] - -"Pedro," said our new friend, "these gentlemen were seeking the old -mine, as I thought. You have nothing to fear from them." - -"On the contrary," cried Dick, bounding up the steps and holding out his -hand, "we have to thank you for your good service just now!" - -Stretching out his long arm, the little giant smiled genially, showing a -row of big white teeth. - -"It is nothing," said he; adding, with a twinkle in his eye: "The -señores will remember that I owed to them some return for their -assistance against the wolves." - -"That's a fact!" cried Dick. "I'd forgotten that. So you remember us, do -you? I wonder at that--you didn't stay long to look at us." - -"No, señor," replied Pedro, laughing. "I was out of my own country and -was distrustful of strangers." - -Turning to our new friend, who was wondering what all this was about, -Dick explained the circumstances of our former meeting with Pedro, -adding: - -"So, you see, we are old acquaintances after all. In fact, if we had not -met Pedro before we should not be here now, for it was his copper-headed -arrow which brought us down, oddly enough." - -"That was odd, certainly. Well, Pedro, get the torch and show your old -friends over the mine. We must be quick, or it will be getting dark -before we can get back to our camp." - -Pedro disappeared into the darkness somewhere, while we ourselves -climbed up into the mouth of the tunnel. It was very wet in there: we -could hear the _drip_, _drip_ of water in all directions. - -"Were you in here when the flood came down?" asked Dick. "How is it you -weren't drowned--for I see the water stood five feet deep in the -tunnel?" - -"Oh," replied the other, "there was no fear of drowning. There are -plenty of places in here out of reach of the water. Wait a moment and -you'll see." - -True enough, we soon heard the striking of a match, and next we saw the -Mexican standing with a torch in his hand in a recess about ten feet -above us. - -"That is where we took refuge," said our friend. "Far out of reach of -the water, you see. Come on, now, and I'll show you how this old mine -was worked, and why it was abandoned." - -Leading the way, torch in hand, he presently stopped, and said: - -"The place where we came in was the mouth of the main working-tunnel. It -follows the vein into the rock for about a thousand feet, which would -bring it, as I calculate, pretty near to the other cañon--for the rock -between the two cañons is nothing more than a spit, as you will -remember. Above the tunnel they have followed the vein upward, gouging -out all the native copper and wastefully throwing away all the less -valuable ore, until there was none left. If you look, you can see the -empty crevice extending upward out of sight." - -"I see," said Dick, shading his eyes from the glare of the torch. "It -seems to have been pretty primitive mining." - -"It was--that part of it, at least. But having exhausted all the copper -above, they next began the more difficult process of mining downward. -Come along this way and I'll show you." - -Walking along the tunnel some distance, our guide pointed out to us a -square pool in the floor, measuring about eight feet each way. - -"This," said he, "was a shaft. There is another further along. How deep -they are, I don't know." - -"But, look here!" cried Dick. "How could they venture to sink shafts, -when at any moment a flood might rush in and drown them all?" - -"Ah! That's just the point," said our friend. "Come outside again and -you'll understand." - -Returning once more to the bed of the pool, we faced the hole in the -wall, when our guide continued: - -"Now, you see, the floor of the tunnel is about ten feet above the -creek-bed, and before the cliff fell down, forming the dam, the water -ran freely past its mouth. But some time after the miners had got out -all the copper overhead and had begun sinking shafts, this cliff came -down, blocked the channel, and caused the water to back up into the -workings. As you remarked just now, it filled the tunnel five feet deep, -and, as a matter of course, filled the shafts up to the top." - -"I see," said Dick. "You think, then, that the cliff fell in -comparatively recent times. I believe you are right, too. That would -account for there being no trees of any great size upon the dam." - -"Yes. And as a consequence the mine was abandoned; for it would have -taken years to dig away this dam, and as long as it existed it would be -impossible to go on with the work with the water coming down and filling -up the tunnel once every three days, or thereabouts." - -"Every three days!" we both exclaimed. "Is this a regular thing, then, -this flood?" - -"Why, yes. I'd forgotten you didn't know that. Yes, it's a pretty -regular thing, and a very curious one, too. Pedro says that up in that -old crater near the top of the mountain there is a great intermittent -spring which every now and then rises up and spills out a great mass of -water. The water comes racing down this gorge, and half an hour later -leaps over the fall here, fills up the pool and the mine, and gradually -drains off again under the dam." - -"That certainly is a curious thing," Dick responded. "And it also -furnishes a reason good enough to satisfy anybody for abandoning the -mine. Well, Frank," he went on, "this looks like the end of our -expedition. We've done what we set out to do:--found the King Philip -mine; and now, I suppose, there's nothing left but to turn round and go -home again." - -"I suppose so," I assented, regretfully. "I hate to go back; but I'm -afraid we have no excuse for remaining." - -"You think you must go back, do you?" asked our friend. "I'm sorry you -should have to do so, but if you must, why shouldn't we travel the first -stage together? I start back to Santa Fé to-morrow, and from there home -to Washington." - -"You live in Washington, do you?" said Dick. "Then, why do you go round -by way of Santa Fé? It would be much shorter to go to Mosby--and then we -could ride all the way together." - -"I wish I could, but I have to go the other way. I left my baggage -there, for one thing; and besides that I have some inquiries to make -there which my mother asked me to undertake." - -Dick nodded. "And then you go straight back to Washington?" he asked. - -"Yes. Then I must get straight back home as fast as I can and report to -my father. I had two commissions to perform for him:--one was to look -into the matter of this old mine; the other concerned the present -condition of the Hermanos Grant. The first one I consider settled, but -the other, I find, is a matter for the lawyers: it is too complicated a -subject for me, a stranger in the land and a foreigner." - -"A foreigner!" I cried. "Why, we supposed you were an American." - -"No," said he. "I am a Spaniard." - -"A Spaniard!" we both exclaimed this time. - -"Yes," laughing at our astonishment. "A Scotch-Irish-Spaniard--which -seems a queer mixture, doesn't it? Though I was born in Spain, my -forefathers were Irish, my mother is Scotch, and I have lived for -several years first in Edinburgh and then in London; and now my father, -who is in the Spanish diplomatic service, is stationed in Washington." - -"And what----?" I began, and then stopped, with some embarrassment, as -it occurred to me that it was not exactly my business. - -"And what am I doing out here? you were going to say. I'll tell you. My -father was out in this part of the world a good many years ago, having -business in Santa Fé, where he got track of this old copper mine; but -his idea of its whereabouts was very vague until, about a year ago, a -gentleman whom he had met when he was out here wrote him a letter -telling him of the number of copper utensils to be found down there at -Hermanos---- What's the matter?" - -That he should thus exclaim was not to be wondered at if the look of -surprise on my face was anything like the look on Dick's. - -"Well, of all the queer things!" exclaimed the latter; and then, -advancing a step and addressing our friend, he said, smiling: "I think -we can guess your name." - -"You do!" cried the young fellow. "That seems hardly likely. What is -it?" - -"Blake!" replied Dick. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A CHANGE OF PLAN - - -If the young Spaniard had provided us with two or three surprises during -the day, I think we got even with him in that line when Dick thus -disclosed to him the fact that we knew his name. For a moment he stood -gazing blankly at us, and then exclaimed: - -"How in the world did you guess that?" - -"I don't wonder you are puzzled," replied Dick, "but the explanation is -very simple. The Professor Bergen who wrote to your father--that's the -right name, isn't it?" - -Young Blake nodded. "That was the name signed to the letter," said he. -"'Otto Bergen.'" - -"Well, this Professor Bergen is my best and oldest friend; I have lived -with him for thirteen or fourteen years. We left his house to come down -here less than a week ago. It was he who told us of his meeting with a -Spaniard of the remarkable name of Blake, who, while hunting through the -records in Santa Fé, had come across mention of this old mine. And when -he and I passed through Hermanos last year and saw all those old copper -vessels there, the professor wrote at once to your father to tell him -about them. I mailed the letter myself." - -"Well, this is certainly a most remarkable meeting!" cried our new -acquaintance. "Why, I feel as if I had fallen in with two old friends!" - -"Well, you have, if you like!" cried Dick, laughing; whereupon we shook -hands all over again with the greatest heartiness. - -"My first name," said young Blake, "is Arturo--Arthur in this -country--the name of the original Irish ancestor who fled to Spain in -the year 1691, and after whom each of the eldest sons of our family has -been named ever since. But not being gifted with your genius for -guessing names," he continued, with a smile, "I haven't yet found out -what yours are." - -"That's a fact!" cried Dick. "What thoughtless chaps we are! My friend -here, is Frank Preston of St. Louis; my own name is----" - -"Señores," said Pedro, cutting in at this moment, "with your pardon, we -must be getting out of this cañon: it will be black night down here in -another ten minutes." - -"That's true!" our friend assented. "So come along. We camp together, -of course. How are you off for provisions? We have the hind-quarter of a -deer which Pedro shot three days ago; pretty lean and stringy, but if -you are as hungry as I am we can make it do." - -"Hungry!" cried Dick. "I'm ravenous. We've had nothing to eat since six -o'clock this morning. How is it with you, Frank?" - -"I'll show you," I replied, snapping my teeth together, "as soon as I -get the chance." - -With a laugh, we set off over the dam, and half an hour later were all -busy round the fire toasting strips of deer-meat on sticks and eating -them as fast as they were cooked, with an appetite which illustrated--if -it needed illustration--the truth of the old saying, that the best of -all sauces is hunger. - -Our supper finished, we made ourselves comfortable round the fire, and -far into the night--long after Pedro had rolled himself in his blanket -and had gone to sleep--we sat there talking. - -The reasons for our own presence in these parts were briefly and easily -explained, when our new friend, Arthur--with whom, by the way, we very -soon felt ourselves sufficiently familiar to address by his first -name--Arthur related to us the motives which had brought him so far -from home. - -"It was not only to hunt up this old mine," said he; "in fact, that was -quite a secondary object. My chief reason for coming out was to look -into the condition of the Hermanos Grant, and to find out why it was we -had been unable for the past twelve years to get any reports from -there." - -"Why _you_ hadn't been able to get reports!" exclaimed Dick. "What have -_you_ got to do with the Hermanos Grant, then?" - -"It belongs to my father," replied Arthur, smiling. - -We stared at him with raised eyebrows. - -"But what about old Galvez, then?" asked my partner. "We supposed it -belonged to him. In fact, his nephew told us as much, and he evidently -spoke in good faith, too." - -"I dare say he did," replied Arthur. "All the same, the grant belongs, -and for about a century and a half has belonged, to our family. It was -my ancestor, Arthur the First, who 'bossed' the King Philip mine and who -built the _Casa del Rey_. Old Galvez is just a usurper. I did not even -know of his existence till I reached the village three days ago. It is a -long and rather complicated story, but if you are not too sleepy I'll -try to explain it before we go to bed." - -It was a long story; and as our frequent questions and interruptions -made it a good deal longer, I think it will be wise to relate it, or -some of it, at least, in my own words, to save time. - -The original Arthur Blake having rendered notable service in the great -battle of Almanza, the king of Spain rewarded the gallant Irishman by -making him "Governor" of the King Philip mine, at the same time, in true -kingly fashion, bestowing upon him a large tract of land, comprising the -village of Hermanos with the inhabitants thereof, as well as the desert -surrounding it for five miles each way. - -The mine having ceased to be workable, for the reason we had seen, -Arthur the First was preparing to return to his adopted country, when he -died out there, alone, in that far-off land of exile. In course of time -the existence of the King Philip mine passed entirely out of everybody's -recollection, as would probably have been the case with the Hermanos -Grant itself, had not the agent or factor, or, as he was locally called, -the _mayordomo_, placed in charge by the old Irishman, continued from -year to year to send over to the representative of the family in Spain -certain small sums of money collected in the way of rents. - -They were an honest family, these factors, the son succeeding the father -from generation to generation, and faithfully they continued to send -over the trifling annual remittances, until the year 1865, when the -payments suddenly and unaccountably ceased. - -It was two or three years before this that Señor Blake, having the -opportunity to do so, had come out to Southern Colorado to take a look -at the old grant, which, since the discovery of gold in the territory, -might have some value after all. - -As a part of this trip he visited Santa Fé, with the object of searching -through the records for some copy of the original royal patent; for what -had become of that document nobody knew. It was possible that it had -been destroyed when the French burnt the family mansion during the -Peninsular war; again it was possible that old Arthur the First had -brought it with him to America for the purpose of submitting it to the -inspection of the Mexican authorities--for that part of Colorado was in -those days under the rule of the viceroy of Mexico. - -In the limited time at his disposal, however, Señor Blake had found no -trace of it; a circumstance he much regretted, for though hitherto there -had never been any question as to the title, should the tract some day -prove of value, such question might very well arise, when the Blake -family might have difficulty in proving ownership. - -For about three years after his visit things continued to jog along in -the old way, until, as I said, in the year 1865 the annual remittances -suddenly ceased and all communication with Hermanos appeared to be cut -off--for reasons unknown and undiscoverable. - -Such was the state of affairs when the elder Blake took up his residence -in Washington, when Arthur, having solicited permission from his father, -came west to find out if possible what was the matter. - -"When I got to Hermanos," said Arthur, continuing his story, "I found -the people in such a down-trodden, spiritless condition that I had great -difficulty in getting any information out of them--they were afraid to -say anything lest evil should befall. By degrees, however, I gained -their confidence, when I found that the Sanchez family, by whom, for -generations past, the office of _mayordomo_ had been held, was extinct, -except for a certain Pedro, a member of a distant branch, and that the -present owner of the grant was one, Galvez, who, seemingly, had come -into possession about twelve years ago. - -"As I could not understand how this could be, and as nobody seemed able -to enlighten me, I decided, of course, to wait till Galvez came home in -order to question him. - -"Meanwhile, I inquired about this man, Pedro Sanchez, who, I was told, -was the only one likely to be able to explain, meeting with no -difficulty in ascertaining where he was to be found; for, though Galvez -himself did not know whether Pedro was alive or dead, every other -inhabitant of the village knew perfectly well, and always had known, not -only that he was alive but where to find him. - -"Presently, about dusk, Galvez came riding in, when I at once made -myself known to him. At the mention of my name he appeared for a moment -to be rendered speechless, either with fear or surprise, and then, to my -great astonishment, with a burst of execration, he snatched a revolver -out of its holster. Luckily for me, he did it in such haste that the -weapon, striking the pommel of the saddle, flew out of his hand and fell -upon the ground; whereupon I ran for it, jumped upon my horse and rode -away. - -"After riding a short distance, I bethought me of Pedro, so, circling -round the village, I came up here, and following the directions of the -peons, I easily found him next morning. Through Pedro, as soon as I had -succeeded in convincing him of my identity, I quickly got at the rights -of the case." - -"Wait a minute," said Dick, who, together with myself, had been an -attentive listener. "Let me put some more logs on the fire. There!" as -he seated himself once more. "That will last for some time. Now, go -ahead." - -Leaning back against a tree-trunk and stretching out his feet to the -fire, Arthur began again: - -"Did you ever hear of the Espinosas?" he asked. - -"No!" I exclaimed, surprised by the apparently unconnected question; but -Dick replied, "Yes, I have. Mexican bandits, or something of the sort, -weren't they?" - -"Yes," said our friend. "They were a pair of Mexicans who, in the year -'65, terrorized certain parts of Colorado by committing many murders of -white people. This man, Galvez, who then lived in Taos, hated the -Americans with a very thorough and absorbing hatred, and the exploits of -the Espinosas being just suited to his taste, he decided to join them. -But he was a little too late; the two brigands were killed, and he -himself, with a bullet through his shoulder, would assuredly have been -captured had he not had the good fortune to fall in with Pedro Sanchez. - -"Pedro had been a soldier, too, and coming thus upon a comrade in -distress he packed him on his burro, and by trails known only to himself -brought him down to Hermanos, entering the village secretly by night. - -"The occupant of the _Casa_ at that time was another Pedro Sanchez, a -forty-second cousin or thereabouts of our Pedro. He was a very old man, -the last of his immediate family, a good, honest, simple-minded old -fellow, who for thirty years or more had been factor for us. With him -Pedro sought asylum for his comrade--a favor the old man readily granted -to his namesake and relative. - -"It was pretty sure that there would be a hue and cry after Galvez, so, -to avoid suspicion as much as possible, they arranged to give out that -it was Pedro who lay sick at the _Casa_, while Pedro himself went off -again that same night up into the mountain to hide till Galvez thought -it safe to move. He had done everything he could think of for his -friend, and how do you suppose his friend requited him? It will show you -the sort of man this Galvez is. - -"For six weeks the latter lay hidden, when in some roundabout way he got -word that his description was placarded on the walls of Taos and a -reward offered for his capture. This cut him off from returning home and -he was in a quandary what to do, when one day his host, who, as I said, -was a very old man, had a fall from his horse and two days later died. - -"Then did Galvez resolve upon a bold stroke. He came out of his -hiding-place, and without offering reasons or explanations calmly -announced that he had become proprietor of the Hermanos Grant, and that -in future the villagers were to look to him for orders! The very -impudence of the move carried the day. The ignorant peons, accustomed -for generations to obey, accepted the situation without question; and -thus did Galvez install himself as padron of Hermanos, and padron he -has remained for twelve years, there being nobody within five thousand -miles to enter protest or dispute his title." - -"Well!" exclaimed Dick. "That was about the most bare-faced piece of -rascality I ever did hear of. And your father, of course, over there in -Cadiz or London or wherever you were then, was helpless to find out what -was going on in this remote corner." - -"That's it exactly; and at that time, too, this corner was far more -remote even than it is now--there were no railroads anywhere near then, -you see." - -"That's true. Well, go on. What about his treatment of Pedro?" - -"Why, Galvez, as padron of Hermanos--a place almost completely cut off -from the rest of the world--felt pretty sure that he would never be -identified as Galvez of Taos, the man wanted for brigandage; for the -villagers had no suspicion of the fact. The only danger lay in Pedro." - -"I see. Pedro being the one person who did know the facts." - -"Exactly. Well, Galvez was not one to stick at trifles, and -understanding that the simplest way to secure his own safety would be -to get rid of this witness, he came riding up into the mountain one day, -found Pedro, and while talking with him in friendly fashion, pulled out -a big flint-lock horse-pistol, jammed it against his benefactor's chest -and pulled the trigger. Luckily the weapon missed fire; Pedro jumped -away, picked up a big stone and hurled it at his faithless friend, -taking him in the mouth and knocking out all his front teeth. Then he, -himself, fled up into his mountain; and that was their last meeting, -except on the occasion when Galvez came up to hunt for him and Pedro -shot his horse with the copper-headed arrow. - -"There!" Arthur concluded. "Now you have it all. That's the whole -story!" - -"And a mighty curious and interesting story it is, too!" exclaimed Dick; -adding, after a thoughtful pause: "That man, Galvez, is certainly a -remarkable specimen; and a dangerous one. He is not an ordinary, -every-day, primitive ruffian. That move of his in declaring himself -padron of Hermanos was a stroke of genius in its way. It won't be a -simple matter to get him out of there, if that is what you are after." - -"That is what I am after," replied Arthur. "But, as I said, the -question of how to do it is too complicated for me. I know nothing of -American law, but it strikes me that, in spite of the fact that he -plainly has no right there, we may have considerable difficulty in -getting him out, for, as we can show neither the original patent nor a -copy of it, we have only our word for it that such a thing ever -existed." - -"That's true," said I. "And Galvez being in possession, it may be that -he would not have to prove _his_ rights: it would rest with you to prove -_yours._" - -"I should think that was very likely," remarked Dick. "It is a -complicated matter, as you say. What do you suppose your father will do? -Have you any idea?" - -"Yes, I have," replied Arthur, very emphatically. "I know exactly what -he will do. When I tell him how the grant has been 'annexed' by this -man--and such a man, too--he will never rest until he has got him out. -It may be that the old brigandage business may serve as a lever--that, I -don't know--but whatever is necessary to be done he will do, however -long it may take and however much it may cost." - -"As to the cost," said I, "that is likely, I should think, to be pretty -big. Is the grant worth it? Suppose, on investigation, your father -should find that the expense of getting Galvez out would be greater than -the value of the property--what then?" - -Arthur laughed. "You don't know my father," said he. "The value of the -grant--which, in truth, is nothing, or nearly nothing--makes no -difference whatever. It's the principle of the thing. To permit a robber -like Galvez to remain quietly in possession would be impossible to my -father. He will regard it as his duty to society to right the wrong, and -he will do it, if it takes ten years, without considering for a moment -whether the grant is worth it or not." - -"Good for him!" cried Dick, thumping his knee with his fist. "The law in -this new West is weak--naturally--and here in this out-of-the-way corner -there is none at all, but a few such men as your father would soon -stiffen its backbone. I hope he'll succeed; the only thing I'm sorry for -is that the grant has so little value." - -"That is unfortunate," replied Arthur; "though, as it happens, that -particular concerns my father less than it does me." - -"Is that so? How is that?" - -"It is an old custom in the family to bestow the Hermanos Grant on the -eldest son on his coming of age. I am the eldest son, and I come of age -next August, when, according to the custom, I shall become the owner of -this valueless patch of desert--if Galvez will be graciously pleased to -allow me." - -"What are the limits of the grant?" asked Dick. - -"North, south and east," replied Arthur, "it extends five miles from -Hermanos, but on the west it stops at the foot of the mountains." - -"So the only part of it which produces anything is that little patch of -cultivated ground surrounding the village." - -"Yes; and as the water-supply is very limited the place can never grow -any larger. In fact, it produces little more than enough to feed the -villagers; and even as it is, the boys as they grow up have to go off -and get work elsewhere as sheep-herders and cowmen, there being no room -for them at home. It is the padron's custom, I was told, to hire them -out, their wages being paid to him, in which case you may be sure it is -precious little of their earnings they ever get themselves." - -"He's a bad one, sure enough," remarked Dick. "But to go back to that -water-supply. Isn't there any way of increasing it?" - -"I'm afraid not," replied Arthur. "I wish there were: a plentiful supply -of water would make the place really valuable. There is land enough, and -excellent land, too; all that is needed is water. But that, I'm afraid, -is not to be had. I've talked to Pedro about it; he knows every stream -on these two mountains, but he says that they all run in cañons from -five hundred to two thousand feet deep, and there is no possible way of -getting any of them out upon the surface of the valley. What are you -thinking about, Dick?" - -My partner, who had been sitting with his elbows on his knees and his -chin in his hands, frowning severely at the fire, started from his -revery, and turning toward his questioner, he replied, speaking slowly -and thoughtfully: - -"If any one ought to know, it's Pedro; but, all the same, I believe -Pedro is wrong. I believe there _is_ a way of turning one of these -streams somewhere and bringing it down to Hermanos--if only one could -find the right stream." - -"Why do you think so?" asked Arthur. - -"I know it looks ridiculous for me to be setting up my opinion against -Pedro's," replied my partner, "but I can't help thinking that there is -such a stream. Look here!" he cried, jumping up, walking to and fro -between us and the fire once or twice, and then stopping and shaking his -finger at us as though he were delivering a lecture to two inattentive -pupils. "Where did those old Pueblos get their water from, I should like -to know? Up in these mountains somewhere, didn't they? Of course they -did: there's no other place. There was a big irrigation system down -there once, enough to support a population of three or four thousand -people probably. Well! What has become of that supply? That's what I -want to know. They had it once--where is it now?" - -For some seconds Dick stood in front of Arthur, pointing his finger -straight at him, while Arthur sat there in silence gazing steadfastly at -Dick. Suddenly, the young Spaniard jumped up, stepped forward, and -slapping my partner on his chest with the back of his hand, exclaimed: - -"Look here, old man! I believe you are right. I believe there is a -stream somewhere which those old Pueblos used for irrigating their -farms. It has somehow been switched off and lost. It ought to be found -and brought back. Now, look here! I can't stay here to hunt for it -myself: I _must_ get home right away. But I'll make a bargain with -you:--You find that stream and provide a way of getting the water back -to Hermanos, and I'll give you a half-interest in the grant--when I get -it. There, now! There's a chance for you!" - -"Do you mean that?" cried my partner. - -"I certainly do," replied Arthur. "The grant is without value as it -stands: if you can get water on to it and give it a value, it would be -only just that you should have a share in the profits. Yes, I mean what -I say, all right. If you'll supply the water, I'll supply the land. -There! What do you say? Is it a bargain?" - -For a moment Dick stood staring thoughtfully at our friend, and then, -turning to me, he exclaimed sharply: - -"Frank! Let's do it! Here we are, out for the summer. It's true we came -out to hunt for a copper mine, but that scheme being 'busted' at the -very start, let us turn to and hunt for water instead. What do you -think?" - -"I'm agreed!" I cried. - -"Good! Then we'll do it! And the very first move----" - -"The very first move," interrupted Arthur, laughing, "the very first -move is--to bed! It's after eleven!" - -"Phew!" Dick whistled. "I'd no idea it was so late. To bed, then; and -to-morrow we'll work out a plan of action. This has been a pretty long -day, and a pretty eventful one, too. So let's get to bed at once, and -to-morrow we'll start fair." - -In spite of the long day and the lateness of the hour, however, I could -not get to sleep at once. Dick, too, seemed to be wakeful. I heard him -stir, and opening my eyes, I saw him sitting up in bed with his arms -clasped around his blanketed knees, gazing at the fire. Suddenly, he -gave his leg a mighty slap with his open hand, and I heard him chuckle -to himself. - -"What's the matter, Dick?" I whispered. "Got a flea?" - -"No," he replied, laughing softly. "I've got an idea. Go to sleep, old -chap. I'll tell you in the morning." - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -DICK'S SNAP SHOT - - -The sun rose late down in that deep crevice, and for that reason, added -to the lateness of the hour at which we had gone to bed, we did not wake -up next morning till after six o'clock. We found, however, that Pedro -had been up a couple of hours at least, for he had a good fire going, -had made everything ready to start breakfast, and moreover he had been -up on the mountain and had brought down Arthur's horse and his own burro -from the little valley where they had been left at pasture. - -When I, myself, awoke, I found that Dick was ahead of me. He was -standing by the fire, warming himself--for the mornings were still -cold--and talking to Pedro, who, I guessed, was explaining something, -for he was waving his long arms energetically, first in one direction -and then in another. - -"Well, Dick," said I, as we sat cross-legged on the ground, eating our -breakfast, "what is this idea of yours? Does it still look as favorable -as it seemed to do last night?" - -"Better," replied Dick, with his mouth full of bacon. "A great deal -better. I felt pretty confident last night that I was on the way to earn -that half-interest in the Hermanos Grant, and this morning, since -talking with Pedro, I feel more confident still." - -"Is that so?" cried Arthur. "I hope you're right. What is it you think -you have discovered?" - -"In the first place," replied Dick, "I have discovered that we are a lot -of wiseacres: we have been going around with our eyes shut." - -"How?" we both asked. - -"If we hadn't had our heads so full of the old copper mine, and if we -hadn't been so bent on finding the trail to it, we should never have -made the mistake we did." - -"What mistake?" I asked. "Hurry up, Dick! Don't take so long about it. -What are you driving at?" - -"Why, this!" replied my partner, suddenly sitting up straight and -wagging his finger at us. "This trail we have been following, all the -way from Hermanos up to the edge of the cañon, was not a trail at -all--it was a ditch!" - -"A ditch!" we both exclaimed. - -"Yes, a ditch. A ditch dug by those old Pueblo Indians to carry water -down to that wide, level stretch of ground at the back of the _Casa_. -I'm sure of it. If you give up the idea of a trail and consider it as a -ditch, all its peculiarities will be explained at once. It will account -for its uniform grade, for its unexpected distinctness, and more than -everything else, it will account for the fact that the 'trail' never -once dipped down a hill or climbed one either, but -always--invariably--went round the head of every gully, deep or shallow, -that came in its way." - -"Upon my word, Dick!" cried Arthur. "I believe you _have_ made a -discovery! I believe that it is the line of an old ditch, after all; -though the pack-trains doubtless used it as a convenient road as far as -the top of the cañon and then switched off down here by that shelf in -the wall." - -"That's my idea," said Dick, nodding his head. - -"But, look here, Dick," Arthur went on, after a moment's thoughtful -pause. "Suppose it is an old ditch--where did the water come from? -That's the question. A ditch without water isn't much use." - -Dick laughed. "No," said he. "I understand that well enough. The water -came from this 'island,' up here above our heads, and was carried across -the cañon in a flume!" - -"Ah!" I cried. "I see! What we at first supposed to have been a bridge -up there, built for the accommodation of the pack-trains, was in reality -a flume for carrying water." - -"That's what I believe," replied Dick. - -"Well, but see here, Dick," remarked Arthur again. "Suppose that there -was a flume there for carrying water--where's the water now? That's the -point. That's what I want to know." - -"Ah!" replied my partner. "And that was what I wanted to know, too. That -was the very question that bothered me until I talked to Pedro about it -just now. I asked him if he had ever seen or heard of a stream of water -coming down from the top of this high land, and I can tell you he eased -my mind of a load when he told me he had. He says there is a good big -waterfall which jumps off the cliff on the north side of the 'island' -and falls into this stream we are camped upon now, but about twelve or -thirteen miles below this point, following the bends of the creek." - -"Is that so? Then the chances are that that is the stream from which -the Pueblos used to get their water. Did you ask Pedro if he knew of any -way of getting up there?" - -"Yes, I did, and I'm sorry to say he doesn't know of any. He says that -this 'island' is really an island, being compassed about on all sides by -cañons of varying depths; that it includes a large tract of country, -part mountain and part plain; and that to the best of his knowledge, no -man has ever set foot on it. In that, though, I'm pretty sure he's -mistaken. In fact, it is as certain as anything can be that there is a -way up somewhere, or else, how did the Pueblos get over there in the -first place? They didn't fly across this gorge; and yet they must have -worked from both sides at once when they built their flume." - -"That's true. Well, Dick, it does look as though you had made a genuine -discovery, and one likely to be of great value. What's your idea, then? -You and Frank will stay here and hunt for the old Pueblo ditch-head, I -suppose, while I dig out for home by myself. I wish I could stay and -hunt with you, but there's no knowing how long it may take, and -meanwhile my father and mother will be worrying themselves to know what -has become of me. I've been here now a good bit longer than I intended. -I must get back at once and----" - -"Look here, Arthur," Dick interrupted. "Excuse me for cutting in, but -I'd like to make a suggestion. There is just a possibility--I don't -expect it, I own, but there is a possibility--that if Galvez were -informed that you know how he came to be padron of Hermanos, and also of -his connection with the Espinosas, he might get scared and skip out of -his own accord--which would simplify matters for you very much. Now, -here's what I propose--if you really are bound to leave at once." - -"Yes," Arthur interjected. "I mustn't stay a minute longer than I can -help." - -"Well, then, I propose that before you go--it will only make a -difference of a couple of hours--before you go, Frank and I will ride -down to Hermanos, see old Galvez, tell him what you have told us, and -recommend him to take his departure. Perhaps he'll be scared and skip -out; but if he won't, why, then you'll know where you stand. How does -that strike you?" - -"Hm!" muttered Arthur, doubtfully. "I don't much like the idea of -running you into danger. Galvez is such a treacherous fellow, there's no -knowing what he might do to you." - -"That's true enough," said Dick; "though I don't think he would attempt -anything on two of us at once, and in broad daylight, too. It might be -to his advantage to get rid of you or Pedro or both, but he would surely -have sense enough to see that he wouldn't gain anything by hurting -either of us." - -"That's a fact. Well, suppose you go, then. But be careful." - -"We'll be careful," replied my partner. "You needn't worry yourself on -that account." - -By this time we were ready to start, and accordingly we all rode -together up the ledge until we came out again at the point where the old -flume used to be--where we pointed out to Arthur the sockets in the -rock--and thence, continuing to the foot of the mountain, Dick and I, -leaving the others to wait for us, galloped off toward Hermanos. - -By good fortune, as we approached the village, we saw Galvez himself -down near the creek, where he was directing three of his _vaqueros_ who -were engaged in cutting out cows from a bunch of wild Mexican cattle. - -Further down stream, only a short distance from the houses, we noticed -half-a-dozen Mexican children, very busy making mud pies, quite -unconcerned, apparently, at the proximity of the herd of cattle. It -happened, however, that just as we came riding up to where Galvez sat on -his horse, shouting orders to his men, a gaunt, wild-eyed, long-horned -steer broke out of the bunch on the down-stream side. One of the cowmen -dashed forward to turn it, when, to his astonishment, the steer, instead -of running back into the bunch or attempting to dodge him, charged the -rider and knocked him and his little broncho over and over. Then, wildly -tossing its head, the beast made straight for the group of unsuspecting -and defenceless children. - -"Loco! Loco!" shouted Galvez. "Rope him, one of you!" - -The two other men galloped forward, swinging their lariats, but the -locoed steer, going like a scared antelope, had such a start that it -looked as though it would surely reach the children before the men could -catch it. Seeing this, Galvez pulled out his revolver and fired six -shots at it in quick succession. Whether he hit the steer or not, I -cannot say, but even if he did the range was too great for a revolver to -be effective--unless by a lucky chance. - -The children, hearing the shots, looked up, saw the steer coming, and -scattered like a flock of sparrows--all but one of them, that is to say. -He, a brown-bodied little three-year-old, without a scrap of clothing -upon him except a piece of string tied round his middle, stood stock -still, with his little hands full of mud, seemingly too frightened to -move, and straight down upon this little bronze statue the crazy beast -went charging. - -It looked as though a tragedy were imminent! - -It was at this moment that my partner and I came riding up behind -Galvez, who, sitting on his horse with his back to us, his body -interposed between us and the steer, had not seen us yet. It was no time -for ceremony. Without wasting words in greetings or explanations, Dick -jammed his heels into his pony's ribs; the pony sprang forward; Dick -pulled him up short, leaped to the ground, threw up his rifle and fired -a snap shot. Down went the steer, heels over head, gave one kick and lay -dead--shot through the heart! - -It was a grand shot! The three _vaqueros_, two on their horses and one -on foot, carried away by their enthusiasm, forgot for once their -habitual dread of the padron, and waving their hats above their heads -joined me in a shout of applause; while as for Galvez, himself, he sat -on his horse with his empty revolver in his hand, gazing open-mouthed -first at Dick and then at the dead steer, seemingly rendered speechless -for the moment. - -At length he turned to me, who had come up close beside him, and said: - -"Can he always do that?" - -"Just about," I replied, with a nod. "He is one of the best shots in the -State." - -"Hm!" remarked the padron, sticking out his lower lip and thoughtfully -scratching his chin with his thumb-nail; and though that was all he did -say, the muttered exclamation conveyed to me as much meaning as if he -had talked for five minutes. - -That Dick's remarkable shot had made a great impression on him I felt -certain, and it was a matter of much satisfaction to me to think that it -had; for if at any time he should entertain the idea of resorting to -violence against any of us, the recollection of how that steer had -pitched heels over head would probably cause him to think again. - -The whole episode had not occupied more than two minutes, at the end of -which time Galvez, recovering himself, turned to us and said, in his -usual gracious manner: - -"Well, you two, what have you come back here for?" - -"We have come down to speak to you," replied Dick, as he slipped another -cartridge into his Sharp's rifle. "We have just parted with Señor Blake -and El Tejon." - -The padron scowled at the mention of the two names. - -"Oh, you have, eh? Well, what then?" he asked. - -"Señor Blake," my partner continued, "wished us to say that he has -learned how you came to be padron of Hermanos. Pedro has told him the -whole story--everything--the Espinosa business and all." - -"Oh! And is that all?" - -"That's all," said Dick. - -The padron, I have no doubt, had been expecting some such communication -and had made up his mind beforehand what to say, for, after sitting for -a few seconds looking at Dick without a word, he smiled an unpleasant, -toothless smile, and said: - -"That's all, is it? Well, you go back to your Señor Blake and tell him -that here I am and here I stay, and if he thinks that three beardless -boys and a shiftless, half-crazy peon can make me move, why, he's -welcome to try. There! That's all on my side." He started to ride off, -but after a few steps stopped again to add: "Except this:--I recommend -you two boys to get along back home as fast as you can and leave this -young Blake--if that is really his name--to manage his own affairs. You -may find it dangerous to be mixed up with them." - -He said this in an aggressive, menacing tone; but I noticed, all the -same, that his eye wandered involuntarily toward the dead steer, and I -congratulated myself again on the lucky chance that had given Dick the -opportunity to show his skill with a rifle. Galvez, I was convinced, -would be exceedingly careful how he provoked a quarrel with any one who -could shoot like that. - -"Very well, señor," said Dick. "We will deliver your message. That is -all we came for." And with that we turned round and rode away again. - -In the course of an hour we were back at the foot of the mountain, where -we found Arthur sitting on the ground waiting for us. - -"Well, what luck?" he cried. "What did Galvez have to say?" - -We told him all about our interview with the padron, not forgetting the -episode of the wild steer, at hearing which Arthur expressed much -gratification. - -"That was a very fortunate chance," said he. "Galvez may profess to -despise three beardless boys, but after seeing one of them shoot a -running steer at three hundred yards, I expect he will think twice -before he stirs up a fuss with them. It is just the sort of thing--and -the only sort of thing, too--to make an impression on a man like that. -What is your idea, Dick? Do you think he intends to stick it out, or was -he only 'bluffing'?" - -"I don't know," replied my partner. "I'm afraid he means to hold on. But -though at present he puts on 'a brag countenance,' as the saying is, -when he has had time to reconsider he might change his mind and skip. My -impression is, though, that he means to hold on." - -"I think so, too," said I. "What is Pedro's opinion?" - -"Ah! Yes. Let us ask Pedro." - -"Señores," said the Mexican, when Arthur had explained the whole matter -to him in Spanish, "the padron is a pig, a mule. He will not move." - -"Then that settles it!" cried Arthur, jumping up, walking away a few -paces and coming back again. "I never really expected that Galvez would -move, though it was worth trying. So now I'll be off at once. As for -that old ditch-head, though I should have liked very much to stay and -help hunt for it, you three can, as a matter of fact, make the search -just as well without me. And whether you find it or whether you don't, -makes no difference in one way--the business of getting Galvez out of -Hermanos will have to proceed regardless of that or any other -consideration. We have two things to do, you see:--To turn out Galvez -and to find that ditch-head. The first is my business; the second is -yours; and the sooner I get about mine the better, if I am to give you a -clear title to your half-interest when you are ready to claim it." - -"As to that," remarked Dick, "I don't think we ought to hold you to that -bargain. It was made more or less in joke, anyhow." - -"No, no, it wasn't!" cried Arthur, emphatically. "Not a bit of it! I -meant it then and I mean it still. I'm quite content. You provide the -water and I'll provide the land, as I said. It's a fair bargain. I don't -want to be let off. But before I can perform my part of it I must prove -my own title, and as I can't do it at this end of the line I'll waste no -more time here, but get right back home as fast as I can and report the -conditions to my father." - -"Well," said Dick, after a moment's thoughtful silence, "I believe you -are right. I believe that is the best way after all, unless----" - -"Unless what?" - -"Unless we abandon the whole thing." - -"Abandon----!" cried Arthur; but he got no further, for Dick, holding up -his hand, said, laughingly: - -"All right, old man! All right! You needn't say any more. I only -suggested it just to see what you would say. So you are determined to go -through with this thing, are you? Very well, then, you may count on us -to do our part if it's doable. Eh, Frank?" - -I nodded. "We'll find that ditch-head," said I, "if we have to stay here -till snow flies." - -"Good!" cried Arthur. "Then that does settle it. I'll be off this -minute. Bring my horse, Pedro: I'm going to start at once." - -"Look here, Arthur," remarked Dick. "I think it would be a good plan if -Frank and I were to escort you to the other side of Hermanos. Galvez, I -expect, guessed what you were after when you first told him your name, -and now he'll be sure of it, and it might be pretty dangerous for you if -you should meet him alone; so we'll just ride part way with you and see -you safely started." - -"Thanks," replied Arthur. "I shall be glad of your company. Well, let us -get off, then. Good-bye, Pedro. I expect you'll see me back here before -very long. _Adios!_" - -Thus taking leave of the burly Mexican, Arthur started off, Dick and I -riding on either side of him. - -Keeping about a mile to the north of Hermanos, we circled round that -village, and were making our way southeastward toward the Cactus Desert, -when we saw off to our right a great cloud of dust, and in the midst of -it a bunch of cattle accompanied by three men. - -At first we were suspicious that Galvez might be one of them, but pretty -soon we discovered that they were the three _vaqueros_ we had seen that -morning. They, on their part, quickly detected us, when one of them -immediately turned his horse and came riding toward us. - -As soon as he had come pretty close I saw that it was the one whose -horse had been knocked over by the locoed steer. This man, advancing to -Dick, pulled off his hat, and speaking with considerable feeling, said: - -"I wish to thank the señor who shoots so straight. It was my little boy -who was in danger." - -"Was it?" cried Dick. "I'm very glad, then, that I happened to make such -a good shot. The steer was locoed, of course." - -"_Si, señor_," replied the man. "It happens sometimes. This one was very -bad. It should have been killed long ago, but the padron would not. I am -grateful to the señor, and if I can serve him at any time I shall be -glad." - -"Thank you," said Dick. "What is your name?" - -"José Santanna," replied the man. - -"Well, José," continued Dick, "I'm much obliged to you for your offer, -and if I need your help at any time I'll come and ask you." - -"_Gracias, señor_," replied the man; and with that he turned and -galloped after his companions. - -"That's a good thing for us," remarked Arthur. "We may find it very -handy to have an ally in the enemy's camp. And now, you fellows," he -continued, "you may as well turn back. I'm safe enough now, and there is -no need for you to come any further. I hope it won't be long before you -see me back again. Meanwhile you'll search for that ditch-head, and if -there is anything you can do toward getting the water down, you'll go -ahead and do it. That's the plan, eh?" - -"That's the plan," repeated my partner. - -"Very well. Then, good-bye, and good luck to you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE OLD PUEBLO HEAD-GATE - - -It was about two in the afternoon that we parted with our friend, and -wishing him the best of success, we watched him ride away until the -shimmering haze drawn by the heat of the sun from the surface of the -valley, finally obscured him from our view altogether. Then, turning our -ponies, we rode back up the mountain and once more descended to our -camp, where we found Pedro waiting for us. - -As it was then too late to begin any fresh enterprise, especially one so -difficult as the attempt to climb the cañon-wall was likely to be, we -determined to postpone the expedition until next morning. In order, too, -that we might be in good fettle for the adventure, we went to bed that -night as soon as it got dark; no more late hours for us; late hours at -night not being conducive to clear heads in the morning--and it was more -than likely that clear heads might be very essential to the success of -the task in hand. - -About an hour after sunrise we set off on foot down the left bank of -the stream, making our way along the steep slope of stone scraps, big -and little, which bordered its edge, and after a pretty rough scramble -we reached a spot about a mile below camp where Pedro had told us he -thought there was a possible way up--a narrow cleft in the rocky wall, -none too wide to admit the passage of the Mexican's big body--and -following the sturdy hunter, who acted as guide, we began the ascent. - -There was no great difficulty about it at first, for the crevice, though -still very narrow, was not particularly steep. After climbing up about -three hundred feet, however, the ascent became much more abrupt, and -presently we came to a place where the bed of the dry watercourse was -blocked entirely by a smooth, water-worn mass of rock, twenty feet high, -filling the whole width of the crevice, and overhanging in such a manner -that even a lizard would have had difficulty in climbing up it. - -We were looking about for some means of surmounting this obstacle, when -Pedro, who had stepped back a little to survey it, called our attention -to what appeared to be a number of steps, or, rather, foot-holes in the -rock about ten feet up, just above the bulge. - -"Hallo!" cried Dick. "This looks promising. Those holes were made with -a purpose. I believe we've struck the original Pueblo highway after -all." - -"It does look like it," I agreed. "But how are we going to get up -there?" - -"Señor," said Pedro to Dick, "if you will stand on my shoulders, I think -you can reach those holes." - -"All right," replied Dick. "Let's try." - -It was simple enough. Dick easily reached the lower steps, which, it was -hardly to be doubted, had been cut for the purpose, and scrambled up to -the top. Then, letting down the rope we had brought for such an -emergency, he called to me to come up. With a boost from Pedro, and with -the rope to hold on by, I was quickly standing beside my partner, when -up came Pedro himself, hand over hand. - -If this was really the road by which the Pueblos originally came up--and -from those nicks in the rock we felt pretty sure it was--it was the -roughest and by long odds the most upended road we had ever traveled -over. It was, in fact, a climb rather than a walk: we had to use our -hands nearly all the time. - -We had come within a hundred feet of the top, when, looking upward, I -was startled to see on an overhanging ledge a large, tawny, cat-like -animal calmly sitting there looking down at us. - -"Look there, Dick!" I cried. "What's that?" - -"A mountain-lion!" exclaimed my partner. "My! What a shot!" - -It happened, however, that we were at a point where it was necessary to -hold on with our hands to prevent ourselves from slipping back; it was -impossible to shoot. The "lion" therefore continued to stare at us and -we at him, until Dick shouted at him, when the beast leisurely walked -off and disappeared round a corner. - -"Well!" remarked my companion. "I never saw a mountain-lion so calm and -unconcerned before. As a rule they are the shyest of animals." - -"All the animals up here are like that," remarked Pedro. "Many times -since I have lived on the mountain I have seen them come down to the -edge of the cañon to look at me--deer and even mountain-sheep and -wolves; yes, many times wolves. They have no fear of man." - -"That's queer," said I. "I wonder why not." - -"Señor," replied Pedro, looking rather surprised at my lack of -intelligence, "it is simple: since the days of the Pueblos there has -been no man up here." - -"Why, I suppose there hasn't!" cried Dick. "That didn't occur to me -before, either. It will be interesting to see how the wild animals -behave, Frank. It will be like Robinson Crusoe on his island." - -He spoke in Spanish, as we always did when Pedro was in company, not -wishing him to feel that he was left out. It was Pedro who replied. - -"I know not," said he, "the honorable gentleman, Señor Don Crusoe, of -whom you speak, but for ourselves we must have care." - -"Why, Pedro. What do you mean?" - -"The wolves up here are many, and they will surely smell us out." - -"Well, suppose they do, Pedro. What then?" asked Dick, jokingly. "You -are not afraid of wolves, are you?" - -This seemed a reasonable question, remembering how boldly he had faced -them that time at the head of the Mescalero valley. - -"Most times I have no fear," replied Pedro, simply, "but up here it is -different. These wolves know not what a man is; they will smell us out, -and they will think only, 'Here is something to eat;' they do not know -enough to be afraid." - -"I suppose that is likely," Dick assented. "You are quite right, Pedro: -we must take care. I don't suppose there will be anything to fear from -them during daylight, but we'll keep a sharp lookout, all the same. Come -on, let us get forward." - -In another ten minutes we had reached the top, when, turning up-stream, -we presently came to the dry gully which led down to where the old flume -once stood. Thence, turning "inland," as one might say, we followed up -the bed of this gully, finding that it had its head in a little grassy -basin which looked as though it had once been a small lake. In crossing -this basin we stirred up from among the bushes a band of blacktail deer, -which ran off about fifty yards and then stood still to look at us; -these usually shy animals being evidently consumed with curiosity at the -sight of three strange beasts walking on their hind legs. Undoubtedly, -we were the first human beings they had ever encountered. - -We did not molest them, but pursuing our course across the little -basin, we were about to proceed up a narrow, stony draw at its further -end, when a sudden scurry of feet behind us caused us to look back. The -band of deer had vanished, and in their stead were four wolves, which, -when we turned round, drew up in line and stood staring at us! - -As Dick had said, the wild animals up here were making themselves -decidedly "interesting." - -Pedro had an arrow fitted to his bow in an instant, while Dick and I -simultaneously cocked our rifles and stood ready. The wolves, however, -remained stationary; it was evidently curiosity and not hunger that -inspired them. Seeing this, I picked up a pebble and threw it at them, -just to see what they would think of it. The stone struck the ground -close under their noses, making them all start, passed between two of -them and went hopping along the ground, when, to our great amusement, -the whole row of them turned, ran after the stone, sniffed at it, one -after the other, and then came back to the old position. It looked so -comical that Dick and I burst out laughing; whereupon the wolves, who -had doubtless never heard such a sound before, retreated a few paces, -where they once more turned round to stare at us. - -"Well, Pedro!" cried Dick. "They don't seem to be very dangerous. If all -the wolves up here are like that we needn't be afraid of them." - -"They are not hungry just now," replied Pedro, so significantly that our -merriment was checked; "and you see for yourselves," he added, "that a -man is a new animal to them. They know not what to make of us. It is -that which makes me uneasy. A big pack of hungry wolves would be very -dangerous, for the reason that they have never learned that we are -dangerous, too. For me, I am afraid of them." - -Such an admission, coming from such a man, one who, we knew, was not -lacking in courage, was impressive; so, in order that he should not -regard us as merely a pair of careless, light-headed boys, Dick assured -him in all earnestness that we had no intention of treating the matter -lightly; that we fully understood and agreed with his view of the -matter. - -"You are quite right, Pedro," said he. "We can't afford to be careless. -A pack of wolves is dangerous enough when you know what to expect of -them, but when you don't----! It will pay us to be careful, all right; -there's no doubt about that. Come on, now. Let us get ahead. Those -beasts back there have gone off--to tell the others, perhaps." - -Proceeding up the stony draw for about half a mile, we presently came -upon a most unexpected sight:--a little lake, covering perhaps a space -of twenty acres, its surface, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the trees -and rocks surrounding it, and dotted all over with hundreds of wild -ducks and geese. - -"Here's the head of the ditch!" cried Dick, exultingly. "Here's where -the Pueblos got their water! They drew from this lake down the gully we -have just come up. The mouth of the draw has been blocked by the caving -of the sides, you see, but it will be an easy job to dig a narrow trench -through the dam, and then the pitch is so great that the water will soon -scour a channel for itself. Don't you think so, Pedro? The water must -have run down here, filled the grassy basin where the deer were, flowed -out at its lower end down the gully to the flume, and then by the ditch -over the foothills to the valley. Wasn't that the way of it, Pedro?" - -It was natural that Dick should address his question to the Mexican -rather than to me, for Pedro, one of a race that had followed -irrigation for centuries, knew far more of its practical possibilities -than I did, and his opinion was infinitely more valuable than mine was -likely to be. In reply, he nodded his big head and said, gravely: - -"That is it. It is not possible to doubt. The Pueblos drew their water -from the lake at this point. That is very sure. But----" - -"But what?" asked Dick. - -"This lake is small, and I see nowhere any stream coming into it," -replied Pedro. - -"That's a fact," Dick assented. "Perhaps it is fed by underground -springs. Let us walk round the lake and see where the water runs out and -how much of a stream there is. That is what concerns us. Where it comes -from doesn't matter particularly--it's how much of it there is." - -Our walk round the little lake, however, resulted in a disappointment -which staggered us for the moment. There was no outlet. The lake was -land-locked; the one insignificant rivulet we found running into it -being evidently no more than enough to counterbalance the daily -evaporation. - -"Well," remarked Dick, after a long pause, "there is one thing sure: -the Pueblos never built a flume and dug that big, long ditch to carry -this trifling amount of water. This lake, after all, was not the source -of supply, as we were supposing. It was a reservoir, perhaps, but -nothing more. The real source was somewhere higher up." - -If Dick was right--and there could be hardly a doubt that he was--the -most promising direction in which to continue our search would be on the -west side of the lake, whence the little rivulet came down. An -examination of the ravine in which the stream ran showed evidence that -it had at one time carried much more water than at present, so, with -hopes renewed, we set off at once along its steep, stony bed. - -The country on that side was very rough and precipitous, and the ravine -itself, reasonably wide at first, became narrower and narrower, and its -sides more and more lofty, until presently it became so contracted that -we might have imagined ourselves to be walking up a very narrow lane -with rows of ten-story houses on either side. The sky above us was a -mere ribbon of blue. - -After climbing upward for about half a mile, we began to catch -occasional glimpses ahead of us of a frowning cliff which bade fair to -bar our further progress altogether, and we were beginning to wonder -whether we had not chosen the wrong ravine after all, when suddenly, -with one accord, we all stopped short and cocked our ears. There was a -sound of running water somewhere close by! - -There was a bend in the gorge just here, and we could not see ahead, but -the instant we detected the sound of water, Dick, with a shout, sprang -forward, and with me close on his heels and the short-legged Pedro some -distance in the rear, dashed up the bed of the ravine and round the -corner. - -What a wonderful sight met our gaze! Out of the great cliff I mentioned -just now there came roaring down a magnificent stream, which, falling -into a deep pool it had worn for itself in the rocks, went boiling and -foaming off through a second ravine to the right--a fine thing to see! - -But what was finer, and infinitely more interesting, was the original -Pueblo head-gate, so set in the narrow gorge in which we stood that the -water, which, if left to itself, would have flowed down our ravine, was -forced to run off through the other channel. - -It was a remarkable piece of work for such a primitive people to have -performed, considering especially the very inferior tools they had to do -it with. The walls of the gorge came together at this point in such a -manner that they were not more than five feet apart and were so -straight-up-and-down that they looked as though they had been trimmed by -hand--as possibly they had been to some extent. Taking advantage of this -narrow gap, the Pueblos had cut a deep groove in the rocks on either -side of the ravine, and in these grooves they had set up on end a great -flat stone about five feet high and three inches thick--it must have -weighed a thousand pounds or more. - -Against this stone head-gate, on its inner side, the water stood four -feet deep, and it was obvious that when the gate was raised the flood -would go raging down the gorge we had just ascended into the little lake -below, leaving the bed in which it now ran high and dry. - -Undoubtedly, it was this stone door with which the Pueblos used to -regulate their water-supply, prying it up and holding it in position, -perhaps, with blocks of wood, which, after the Indians deserted the -valley, had in time rotted away, allowing the gate to fall, thus -shutting off the water entirely. - -However that may have been, one thing at any rate was -certain:--Whenever our flume and our ditch were ready, here was water -enough for thousands of acres only waiting to be let loose. - -For a long time Dick and I stood with our hands resting on the top of -the head-gate and our chins resting on our hands, watching the water as -it went foaming and splashing down the other ravine, and as we stood -there, there came over us by degrees a sense of the real importance to -us of this discovery. We were only boys, after all, and we had gone into -this enterprise more or less in the spirit of adventure, but now it -gradually dawned upon us that we had in reality arrived at a point where -the roads forked:--Here, ready to our hands, was work for a lifetime, -and we had to decide whether we were going into it heart and soul or -whether we were not. Every boy arrives at this fork in the roads sooner -or later, and when he does, he is apt to feel pretty serious. I know we -did. - -With us, however, the question seemed to settle itself, for Dick, -presently straightening up and turning to me, said: - -"Frank! What will your Uncle Tom say? Will he be willing that you should -stay out in this country and take to wheat-raising and ditch-building -and so forth?" - -"If I know Uncle Tom," I replied, "he'll be not only willing but -delighted. If we make a success of this thing--as we will if hard work -will do it--just imagine how proudly he will point to us as proofs of -his theory that a fellow may sometimes learn more out of school than in -it. In fact, if I'm not much mistaken, he will be eager to help; and if -we need money for the work, as we certainly shall, I shan't hesitate to -ask him for it. I shall inherit a little when I come of age, and I'm -pretty sure Uncle Tom will advance me some if I need it. But how about -the professor, Dick? How will he fancy the idea of your settling down in -this valley? For if we _do_ go into this thing in earnest, that is what -it means." - -"I know it does," replied my companion, seriously. "And I'm glad of it. -I'll let you into a little secret, Frank. For some time past the -professor has been worrying himself as to what was to become of me: what -business or occupation I was fit for with my peculiar bringing-up--for -there is no getting over the fact that it has been peculiar--and the -professor, considering himself responsible for it, has been pretty -anxious about the result. Now, here is an occupation all laid out for -me, and nobody will be so pleased to hear of it as the professor. It -will take a burden off his mind; and I'm mighty glad to think it will." - -"I see," said I. "I should think you would be: such a fine old fellow as -he is. So, then, Dick, it is settled, is it, that we go ahead? What's -the first move, then?" - -"Why, the first move of all, I think, is to get back to the lake and eat -our lunch, and while we are doing so we can consult as to what work to -start upon and how to set about it. What time is it, Pedro?" - -"Midday and ten minutes," promptly replied the Mexican, casting an eye -at the sun; while I, pulling out my watch, saw that he had hit it -exactly, as he always did, I found later. - -"Then let us get back to the lake," said Dick. "Hark! What was that? The -water makes so much noise that I can't be sure, but it sounded to me -like wolves howling." - -Pedro nodded his big head. "It will be well to go down to where there -are some trees," said he. "This arroyo, with its high walls, is not a -good place." - -As we walked down the ravine and got further away from the water, we -could hear more distinctly the cry of the wolves. Pedro stopped short -and listened intently. - -"There is a good many of them," said he. "I think they come hunting us. -Let us get up on this rock here and wait a little." - -In the middle of the ravine lay a great flat-topped stone, about six -feet high, and to the top of this we soon scrambled--there was plenty of -room--and there for a minute or two we waited. The cry of the hunting -wolves grew louder and louder, and presently, around a bend a short -distance below, loping along with their noses to the ground, there came -a band of sixteen of them. At sight of us they stopped short, and -then--showing plainly that they knew of no danger to themselves--with a -yell of delight at having run down their prey, as they supposed, they -came charging up the ravine! - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE BRIDGE - - -As the pack came racing up the gulch, we waited an instant until a -narrow place crowded them into a bunch, when Dick called out, "Now!" and -we all fired together into the midst of them. Three of the wolves fell, -two dead--I could see the feather of Pedro's arrow sticking out of the -ribs of one of them--and one with its back broken. - -I had hoped that the strange thunder of the rifles would send them -flying--but no. They all stopped again for a moment, and then, maddened -seemingly at the sight of the broken-backed wolf dragging itself about -and screeching with pain--poor beast--they all fell upon the unfortunate -creature and worried it to death. Then, with yells of rage, on they came -again. - -The pause had given us time to re-load. Dick and Pedro, quicker than I, -fired a second shot, and once more two wolves fell writhing among the -stones. The next moment we were surrounded, and for a minute or two -after that I was too much engaged myself to note what the others were -doing. - -A gaunt, long-legged wolf sprang up on the rock within three feet of me. -I fired my rifle into his chest. Another, close beside him, was within -an ace of scrambling up when I hit him across the side of his head a -fearful crack with the empty rifle-barrel and knocked him off again. -Then, seeing a third with his feet on top of the rock, his head thrown -back in his straining efforts to get up, I sprang to that side, kicked -the beast under his chin and knocked him down. - -Meanwhile my companions had been similarly engaged and similarly -successful. Pedro in particular, having dropped his bow and taken in one -hand the short-handled ax he always carried with him, while in the other -he held his big sheath-knife, had laid about him to such effect that he -had put four of the enemy out of the fight--two of them permanently. - -Dick was the only one who had received any damage, and that was to his -clothes and not to himself. His rifle being empty, he had used it to -push back the wolves as they jumped up. In doing so he had stepped too -near the edge of the rock, and one of the watchful beasts, springing up -at that moment, had caught the leg of his trousers with its teeth, -tearing it from end to end and coming dangerously near to pulling my -partner down. Pedro, however, quick as a flash, had delivered a -back-handed "swipe" with his ax at the wolf's neck, nearly cutting off -its head, and Dick was saved. It was an unpleasantly close thing, -though. - -It was a short, sharp tussle, and at the end of it nine of the sixteen -wolves lay scattered about the bed of the ravine, dead or helpless. This -seemed to take the fight out of the remaining seven--as well it -might--who retreated down the arroyo, turning at the corner and looking -back at us with their lips drawn up and their teeth showing, seeming to -convey a threat, as though they would say, "Your turn this time--but -just you wait a bit." - -Such unexpected fierceness and such determination on the part of the -wolves--by daylight, too--scared me rather; Dick also, I noted, looked -pretty sober, as, turning to the Mexican, he said: - -"You were right, Pedro: these wolves _are_ dangerous--a good deal more -so than I had supposed. Our chances would have been pretty slim if we -hadn't had this rock so handy. If this sort of thing is going to happen -at any time, day or night, it will add very much to the difficulty of -the work up here. We shall have to be continuously on the lookout; it -won't do to separate; and wherever we are at work, we shall have to -prepare a place of refuge near at hand. I don't like it. I've seen -wolves by the hundred, but I never saw any before so savage and so -persistent as these. I tell you, I don't half like it." - -"And I don't either," said I, glad to find that I was not the only one -to feel uneasy. "Did you notice, Dick, how thin they all were? I've -often heard the expression, 'gaunt as a wolf,' and now I know what it -means. They seemed half-starved." - -"That is it, senor," remarked Pedro. "The wolves up here are very -many--too many for the space they have. Here they are, the cañons all -round them, they cannot get away. All the time they are half-starved, -all the time they hunt for food, all the time they are dangerous. Often -in winter they eat each other. It is well if we move away from here. -Pretty soon there will come another pack to eat up these dead ones." - -"Let us get out, then!" I cried. "I've had enough of them for one day!" - -The others were quite ready to move, so, jumping down from our fortress -we started along the ravine again, this time keeping our ears wide open -for suspicious sounds, and feeling a good deal relieved when, on the -edge of the lake, we sat down to our lunch with an old low-branching -pine tree close by, up which we could go in a jiffy if need be. - -But though the presence of so many wolves on the "island" was something -we had not anticipated, something, moreover, which was likely to add -very much to the difficulty of our undertaking, we did not for a moment -contemplate its abandonment. It meant the use of great caution in going -about the work, but as to backing out, I do not think the idea so much -as occurred to either of us. - -As soon as we had sat down to our lunch, therefore, we began the -discussion of the best method of procedure. - -"It is a big undertaking, Dick," said I, "a very big undertaking; but it -looks like a straightforward piece of work; and it seems to me that what -has been done once can certainly be done again, especially as we have -our line already laid out for us. Don't you think so?" - -"Yes, I certainly think so," replied my partner. "What those Pueblos -accomplished with their poor implements, we can surely do again with -our superior tools. And some of it, at least, we can do ourselves, I -believe--with our own hands, I mean. When it comes to digging out the -ditch on the other side of the cañon, it will pay us to hire Mexicans; -but the preliminary work of bringing the water down to the cañon, and, -perhaps, the building of the flume, I believe we can do ourselves." - -"The building of the flume," said I, "is likely to be a pretty big job -by itself. We can undoubtedly get the water down that far--that is -simple--but the building of the flume is quite another thing. A small -flume won't do; it has to be a big, strong, solid structure, and it -strikes me that the very first thing to be done--the laying of the two -big stringers across the cañon--is going to take us all we know, and a -trifle over. In fact, I don't see myself how we are to do it." - -"I think I do," rejoined my partner; "but we shall need tools for the -purpose. We can't build a big, solid flume with one pick, one shovel and -two axes." - -"No, we certainly can't," I replied. - -"We shall need, too, a large amount of lumber," continued Dick, "heavy -pieces, besides boards for floor and sides--two inch planks, at -least--three inch would be better. We shall need several thousand feet -altogether." - -"Well?" - -"Well, there is no lumber to be had nearer than Mosby, and to bring it -from Mosby is out of the question. In the first place it would cost too -much; and in the second place it is too far to pack it on mule-back." - -I nodded. "You mean we shall have to cut it out ourselves, here on the -spot." - -"Yes; and to do that we shall need a long, two-handled rip-saw, and a -saw-pit to work in. Besides this, the other tools we shall require, as -far as I can think of them on the spur of the moment, are two or three -pulley-blocks for placing the big timbers, hammers, nails, cross-cut -saws and a big auger; for I propose that we pin the heavy parts together -with wooden pins: it will save the carriage on spikes, and be just as -good, if not better. Don't you think so, Pedro?" - -Pedro approved of the idea, and we were about to continue the -discussion, when there broke out a great yelling and snarling of wolves -up the arroyo. Dick and I sprang to our feet, and instinctively cast an -eye up into the adjacent tree in search of a convenient limb; but -Pedro, unconcernedly continuing his meal, remarked: - -"It is only that they eat the dead ones." - -"Well, they're a deal too close to be pleasant," said Dick. "I vote we -move on down to the cañon and get a little further away from them." - -As I was heartily of the same opinion, we moved down accordingly, and -there on the brink of the gorge surveyed the scene of our future labors. - -"Look here," said Dick. "Here's where we shall have to cut our -timbers--on this side. See what a splendid supply there is right at -hand." - -He pointed to a scar on the mountain close by where a landslide had -brought down scores of trees of all sizes. - -"When did that come down, Pedro?" he asked. - -"Only last spring, señor," replied the Mexican. "And the trees are sound -and good." - -"Mighty lucky for us," continued my partner; "for, you see, on the other -side trees are scarce and they average rather small. But on this side, -there are not only seasoned trees of all sizes in abundance, but it will -be a down-hill pull to get them into place--a big item by itself. -Besides that, just back here on this little level spot we can dig our -saw-pit very conveniently. The only question to my mind is, whether we -should not move our camp over to this side. If it were not for the -wolves I should certainly say, 'Yes'; but as it is, I feel rather -doubtful. The nearest water is up there at the lake, and if we did move -over to this side that is where we should have to make our camp." - -"It's a long way up to the lake, Dick," said I, "and it might be -dangerous going to and from our work--especially going back in the -evening. In fact, it might easily happen that we couldn't get back at -all." - -"That's what I was thinking of," replied my partner. - -"On the other hand," I continued, "if we keep our present camp, it will -be very inconvenient, and will waste a great deal of time, to come to -our work every day by way of those stone steps we climbed this morning." - -"Yes, that's it. But there's yet another way which, I think, would get -us over both difficulties; one which would combine all the advantages -and at the same time do away with the danger--or, to say the least, the -inconvenience--of being harried by the wolves, and that is to build a -bridge here. Then, if we move our camp to that little 'park' just below -here, where we found that spring yesterday, it would only take us five -minutes in the morning to come up here, cross the bridge and go to work. -How does that strike you? What do you think, Pedro?" - -"It is good," replied Pedro. "First thing of everything a bridge; and -that is easy. We make it to-day before the sun set." - -"We do, do we?" cried Dick, laughing. "That will be pretty expeditious; -but if you think you know how, Pedro, go ahead and we'll follow." - -Pedro's eye twinkled. "The señor means it?" he asked. - -"Certainly," replied Dick. - -"_Bueno_," said Pedro, briefly. - -There was a little pine tree growing just on the brink of the chasm, and -without another word the Mexican drew his ax from his belt, stepped up -to the tree and cut it off about four feet from the ground, allowing the -top to fall from the precipice into the stream below. - -"What's that for, Pedro?" I asked, in surprise. - -Pedro grinned. "I show you pretty quick," said he. "Come, now. We go -back to the other side." - -Though we could not fathom his plan, having voluntarily made him captain -for the time being we could not do less than obey orders; so away we -went at a brisk walk back to the crack in the wall, down the steps in -the rock, along the bank of the creek to camp--where we picked up our -own ax--then up the ledge to the point opposite the one we had just -left--a two-mile walk to accomplish thirty feet. - -Here, the first thing Pedro did was to take his lariat, a -beautifully-made rawhide rope strong enough to hold a thousand-pound -steer, tie a stone to one end and throw the stone across the cañon. I -could not think what he was doing it for, until I saw that he was -measuring the width. We made it about twenty-seven feet, its remarkable -narrowness being accounted for by the great overhang of the cliff on our -side. - -[Illustration: "I COULD NOT THINK WHAT HE WAS DOING IT FOR."] - -"Now," said Pedro, "we go up the mountain here a little way and cut some -poles. It is just close by up here." - -We soon found the place, and there we cut off three poles about thirty -feet long and eight inches thick at the small end. These we trimmed -down to about the same thickness at the butt, and having roughly squared -them, we dragged them down to the edge of the gorge. - -So far it had been a simple proceeding, but what puzzled me was how -Pedro proposed to lay these sticks across the cañon. This, too, as it -turned out, proved to be a simple matter, but its first step was one to -make your hair stand on end to look at, nevertheless. - -It was now we found out why Pedro had cut off the little tree on the -other side. Taking his lariat, he swung the loop above his head a time -or two and cast it across the gorge. The loop settled over the -tree-stump, when the Mexican pulled it tight and then proceeded with -great care to tie the other end of the rope to a tree which stood very -convenient on our side. - -What was he up to? - -Dick and I stood watching him in silence, when he stepped to the edge of -the cliff, took hold of the rope with both hands, and swung himself off -into space! - -My! It gave me cold shivers all down my back to see him hanging there -with nothing but that thread of a rope to prevent his falling on the -rocks a thousand feet below! - -Motionless and breathless, Dick and I watched him as he went swinging -across, hand over hand--the rope sagging in the middle in an alarming -manner--and profound was our relief when he drew himself up and stepped -safely upon the opposite wall. - -But though this tight-rope performance had given us palpitation of the -heart, Pedro himself appeared to be absolutely unaffected. With perfect -calmness and unconcern, he turned round and said in the most -matter-of-fact tone: - -"Now undo the rope and tie it to the end of one of those poles." - -As Pedro evidently regarded his feat of gymnastics as nothing out of the -common, we affected to look upon it in the same light, so, following his -directions, we tied the rope to one of the poles, when the Mexican began -pulling it toward him, we pushing at the other end. Presently the pole -was so far over the edge that it began to teeter, when Pedro called to -us to go slowly. Then, while we pried it forward inch by inch, Pedro -retreated backward up the gully until the end of the pole bumped against -the wall on his side, when he came forward, keeping the rope taut all -the time, lifted the pole and set its end on the rocks. The first beam -of our bridge was laid. - -The other two poles we sent across by the same process, and then, -scraping a bed for them in the sand and gravel, we laid them side by -side, two with their butt-ends on our side, the other--the middle -one--reversed. - -Pedro then took from his pocket a long strip of deer-hide with which he -bound the three poles together, when we, at his request, having once -more tied the rope to the tree, he laid his hand upon it, using it as a -hand-rail, and walked across to our side, where with a second buckskin -thong he bound the poles together at that end. - -Next he walked back to the middle of the bridge, and holding the rope -with both hands, jumped up and down upon the poles, to make sure of -their solidity, and finding them all right, he went to the far end, -loosened the loop from the tree-stump, threw it across to us, and then, -without any hand-rail this time, walked back across the flimsy-looking -bridge to our side! - -What a head the man must have had! The bridge at its widest did not -measure thirty inches, and yet the Mexican--barefooted, to be -sure--walked erect across that fearful chasm without a thought of -turning dizzy. I suppose he was born without nerves, and had never -cultivated any, as we more civilized people do by our habits of life. -For years he had lived out-of-doors, always at exercise, used to -climbing in all sorts of dangerous places, and what perhaps may have -counted for as much as anything else, he was one of the few Mexicans I -have known who abjured that habit so common among his people--the habit -of smoking cigarettes. - -I know very well that I, though I did not smoke cigarettes either, and -though I thought myself pretty clear-headed, would never have dared such -a thing, unless under pressure of great and imminent danger. - -"What did you untie the rope for, Pedro?" I asked. "Why not leave it for -a hand-rail?" - -"Because the wolves will eat it," replied Pedro. "We will bring one of -your hempen ropes and tie there: the wolves will not trouble that." - -"By the way, Pedro!" cried Dick. "How about those wolves? Won't they -come across the bridge?" - -"I think not," the Mexican answered. "They are wary and suspicious--it -is the nature of a wolf--and I think they will fear to venture." - -At that moment the sun set behind the peak, and as though its setting -had been a signal, there arose in three or four different directions the -howls of wolves. They were coming out for their nightly hunt. - -"Señores," said Pedro, "we will see very soon if the wolves will cross -the bridge. It will not be long before they find our trail and then they -will come down here. Let us hide us and watch. Up here, behind these -rocks, is a good place." - -A little way up the bank, only a few steps back from the edge of the -gorge, we lay down and waited. Presently, from the direction of the -lake, there suddenly arose a joyous chorus of yelps, which proclaimed -that our trail had been discovered. And not to us only was the "find" -proclaimed. A second pack, hearing the call, hastened to join the hunt, -hoping for a share in the spoil; we caught a glimpse of them as they -came racing down one of the slopes which bordered the gully. The -swelling clamor drew nearer and nearer, and pretty soon, with a rush of -pattering feet, the wolves appeared; there must have been thirty of -them. - -Down to the edge of the cañon they came, and there they drew up. One of -them, a big, gray old fellow, the leader of one of the packs, probably, -advanced to the end of the bridge, sniffed at it and drew hastily back. -One after another, other wolves came forward, sniffed and withdrew. It -was evident that Pedro had guessed right: they dared not cross. - -At this balking of their hopes they set up a howl of disappointment. -Poor things! I felt quite sorry for them. They were _so_ hungry; and yet -they dared not cross. Nevertheless, though I might feel sorry for them, -I was more than glad that they feared to venture, for against such a -pack as that our chances would have been small indeed. - -"Señores," whispered Pedro, "I try them yet a little more. It is quite -safe. Stay you here and watch." - -With that, taking his ax in his hand, he rose up in full view of the -pack and walked down to the end of the bridge. - -Such an uproar as broke forth I never heard. Many of the wolves ran up -the banks on either side of the gully in order to get a sight of Pedro, -and every one of them, those in front, those behind and those on the -sides, lifted their heads and yelled at the man calmly standing there, -scarce ten steps away. - -But they dared not cross. - -One of them, indeed, crowded forward against his will by those behind, -was pushed out on to the bridge a little way, when, striving to get -back, his hind feet slipped off. I thought he was gone, but by desperate -scratching he succeeded in saving himself, when, rendered crazy by -fright and rage he attacked the nearest wolves, fought his way through -to the rear and fled straight away up the gully. - -This seemed to settle the matter. The whole pack, as though struck with -panic, turned and pursued him. In ten seconds not one of them was to be -seen. - -As Dick and I rose up from our hiding-place, Pedro came back to us. - -"You see," said he, "we are quite safe." - -"Yes," replied Dick. "It is evident we have nothing to fear from them on -this side--and I'm mighty glad of it. Well, let us get down to camp. I -think we've done a pretty good day's work, taking it all round, and I -shall be glad of a good supper and a good rest." - -"So shall I," was my response. "And as to our day's work, Dick, I'm much -mistaken if it isn't by long odds the most important one to us that -either you or I ever put in." - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE BIG FLUME - - -As the first step in restoring the old Pueblo irrigation system, we -moved camp next morning as arranged. Packing our scanty belongings upon -old Fritz, we rode up the ledge, past the site of the proposed flume, -and down the mountain a short distance to a point between two of the big -claw-like spurs, where, two days before, in riding down to speak to -Galvez, we had come across a little spring which would furnish water -enough for ourselves and our animals. - -Thence, walking back to the bridge, taking with us, besides our rifles, -the two axes and one of our long picket-ropes, Pedro first tied the -latter to the tree on our side, and then, taking the other end in his -hand, he walked across and fastened it to the stump on the far side. - -It was now our turn to cross, and very little did either of us relish -the idea. Dick, who had volunteered to go first, took hold of the rope, -set one foot on the bridge, and then--he could not resist it--did just -what he ought not to have done:--looked down. The inevitable consequence -was that he took his foot off again and retreated a few steps. - -"My word, Frank!" said he. "You may laugh if you like, but I'll be shot -if I'm going to walk across that place. Crawling's good enough for me." - -So saying, he again approached the bridge, and going down on his hands -and knees, crawled carefully over. - -For myself, I found it equally impossible to screw up my courage far -enough to attempt the passage on foot. In fact, even crawling seemed too -risky, so I just sat myself astride of the three poles and "humped" -myself along with my hands to the other side, where the grinning Pedro -gave me a hand to help me to my feet again. - -It was ignominious, perhaps, to be thus outdone by an ignorant, -semi-savage Mexican; but, as Dick said, "You may laugh if you like": I -was not going to break my neck just to prove that I was not afraid--when -I was. - -At that hour in the morning the wolves, I suppose, were all asleep. At -any rate we heard nothing of them. But knowing very well that they -might turn up again at any moment, we wasted no time in starting our -first piece of work, namely, preparing a place of refuge against them. - -Choosing a spot on the level near the point where we expected to dig our -saw-pit, we cut a number of good, heavy logs, with which, after -carefully notching and fitting them, we erected a pen, seven feet high -and about ten feet square inside. It was the plainest kind of a -structure: merely four walls, without even a doorway; but as it was not -chinked it would be a simple matter for us to clamber up and get inside; -whereas, for a wolf to do the same--with safety--would be far from -simple with us waiting in there to crack him on the head with an ax as -soon as he showed it above the top log. - -It may be that we were unnecessarily cautious in providing this refuge. -If the wolves should molest us--a contingency pretty sure to occur some -time or other--it was probable that we should hear them coming in time -to retreat by the bridge, which was not more than a hundred yards -distant. But on the other hand, if they should not give us timely notice -of their approach, it might be very awkward, not to say dangerous--for -Dick and me, at least. - -"For Pedro it might be all right," was my partner's comment, "but for -us--no, thank you. I have no desire to be hustled across that bridge in -a hurry. Just imagine how it would paralyze you to try to crawl across -those poles, knowing that there was a wolf standing at the far end -trying to make up his mind to follow you. No, thank you; not for me. -We'll have a refuge here on 'dry land.'" - -It was a long day's work, the building of this pen, for we were careful -to make it strong and solid; indeed, we had not yet quite finished it, -when, about four in the afternoon, we heard the first faint whimperings -of the wolves, a long way off somewhere. So, fearing they might come -down upon us before we were quite ready for them, we postponed the -completion of the job until the morrow, and re-crossing the bridge in -the same order and the same manner as before, we went back to camp, -where we spent the remaining hours of daylight in making things -comfortable for a lengthened stay. - -To this end we built a little three-sided shelter of logs about four -feet high, the side to the east, facing down the mountain, being left -open. This we roofed with a wagon-sheet we had brought with us in place -of a tent, dug a trench all round it to drain off the rain-water, -covered the floor with a thick mat of pine-boughs, and there we were, -prepared for a residence of six months or more, if necessary. - -"Now, Frank," said my partner, as we sat by the fire that evening, "we -have about got to a point where we have to have tools. One of us has got -to go to Mosby to get them, while the other stays here with Pedro. The -question is, which shall go. Take your choice. I'll stay or go, just as -you like." - -"Then I think you had better go, Dick," I replied. "You know better than -I do what tools we shall need; you are far more handy at packing a mule -than I am; and besides all that, it will give you an opportunity to see -the professor." - -"Thanks, old chap," said Dick, heartily. "That is a consideration. Yes, -I shall be glad to go, if you don't mind staying here with Pedro." - -"Not a bit," I replied. "He's an interesting companion; and if one -needed a protector it would be hard to find a better one. No; I'll stay. -I don't at all mind it." - -"Very well," said Dick. "Then I think I'll dig out the first thing in -the morning. It will take me, I expect, about six days: two days each -way and perhaps two days in Mosby. It depends on whether I can get the -tools there that I want." - -"I should think you could," said I, "unless it is the big rip-saw." - -"I don't think there'll be any trouble about that," replied my partner. -"Before the saw-mill came in, two or three of the mines used to cut -their own big timbers by hand, and I've no doubt the old saws are lying -around somewhere still. If they are, I'm pretty sure I can get one for -next-to-nothing, for, of course, they are never used now." - -"There's one thing, Dick," said I, after a thoughtful pause, "which -makes me feel a little doubtful about your going alone, and that is lest -Galvez should interfere with you. If he caught sight of you, either -going or returning, he might make trouble." - -"He might," replied Dick. "Though I don't much think he is likely to -trouble you or me. Anyhow, when I leave to-morrow, you can take the -glass and just keep watch on the village for an hour or so to see that -he doesn't make any attempt to cut me off. If he should, you can raise a -big smoke here to warn me and ride down to help." - -"All right. I will. But how about when you come back?" - -"Why, I'll arrange to leave The Foolscap, as we did before, at four -o'clock in the morning, which would bring me about half way across the -valley by sunrise. On the sixth morning, and every morning after till I -turn up, you can take the field-glass and look out for me. From this -elevation you would be able to see me long before Galvez could, and then -you might ride down to meet me." - -"That's a good idea. Yes; I'll do that." - -Our camp was so placed that we could not only see the whole stretch of -the valley between us and The Foolscap, but also the village and the -country beyond it for many miles, and for about two hours after Dick's -departure I sat there with the glass in my hand watching his retreating -figure, and more especially watching the village. For, though in reality -I had little fear that Galvez would attempt to play any tricks on him, -particularly after Dick's exhibition of rifle-shooting, I was not going -to take any avoidable chances. - -At the end of that time, however, I rose up, put away the glass, and in -company with Pedro went over to the other side of the cañon, where we -first finished up the building of the pen, and then, picking out a big, -straight tree suitable for a stringer, I went to work upon it, trimming -off the branches, while Pedro with the shovel began the task of digging -out the saw-pit. - -That evening, and each succeeding evening, just before the sun set, we -stopped work and retreated across the bridge in order to avoid any -trouble with the wolves, which, as a rule, did not come out in force -until about that hour. Once only during the time that Pedro and I were -at work there by ourselves did any of them venture on an attack. It was -a pack of about a dozen which came down on us one evening just before -quitting-time, but as we heard them coming, we retired into the pen, -whence I shot one of them before they had found out where we were; -whereupon the rest bolted. - -I think the survivors of the fight in Wolf Arroyo--as we had named the -ravine where we had had our battle--must have imparted to all the others -the intelligence that we were dangerous creatures to deal with, for the -wolves in general were certainly much less venturesome than they had -been that first day. At night, though, they came out in droves, and -continuous were the howlings, especially when the wind was south and -they could smell us and our animals only a hundred yards away on the -other side of the cañon. - -At sunrise on the sixth day, and again on the seventh, I searched the -valley with the glass to see if Dick was within sight, but it was not -until the morning of the eighth day that I saw him and old Fritz coming -along, not more than five miles away. He must have made a very early -start. - -Jumping on my pony, I rode to meet him, while Pedro remained behind to -watch the village. - -I was very glad to see my partner safely back again, and especially -pleased to hear the news he brought. - -The professor, he told me, was delighted with the turn of events which -bade fair to provide Dick with a settled occupation, and one so well -suited to his tastes and training; while as to Uncle Tom, Dick had -written to him an account of the present condition of the King Philip -mine, and had given him a full description of the undertaking upon which -we proposed to enter. In reply, my genial guardian had sent to me a -characteristic telegram, delivered the very morning Dick left Mosby. It -read thus: - -"Go ahead. Money when wanted. How about book-learning now?" - -"How's that, Dick?" said I, handing it over to my companion to read. - -Dick laughed. "You made a pretty good guess, didn't you?" he replied. - -It was a matter of intense satisfaction to both of us to find our -guardians so heartily in favor of the prosecution of our design, and it -was with high spirits and a firm determination to "do or die" that we -carried over the bridge the assortment of tools with which old Fritz was -laden, and that very afternoon went systematically to work. - -It was not until we really went about it in earnest that we fully -realized the magnitude of the task we had set ourselves when we -undertook to build that flume. We were determined that if we did it at -all we would do it thoroughly well, and in consequence the timbers we -selected for the stringers were of such size and weight that we should -have been beaten at the word "go" if we had not had for an assistant a -man like Pedro, who combined in his own person the strength of five -ordinary men. It was a pleasure to see him when he put forth all his -powers. Give him a lever, and let him take his own time, and the most -obstinate log was made to travel sulkily down hill when Pedro took it in -hand. - -After measuring with particular accuracy the space between the sockets -on either side of the gorge, we sawed off one big timber to the right -length, and getting it into position over the saw-pit we squared its two -ends and then sawed it flat on one side, leaving the other sides -untouched. - -I had always understood that working in a saw-pit was a disagreeable -job, but not till I had practical experience of it did I discover how -correct my understanding had been. I discovered also why the expression, -"top sawyer," was meant to indicate an enviable position. - -It fell to Pedro to be top sawyer, for the harder part of the work is -the continuous lifting of the saw; but for all that, the man below has -the worst of it, for if he looks up he gets a stream of sawdust into his -eyes, and if he looks down he gets it in the back of his neck. There is -no escape, as Dick and I found--for we took it in turns to go below and -pull at the saw-handle. - -However, we were not going to shirk the task just because it happened to -be unpleasant, and being fairly in for it, we made the best of it. - -Our first big timber being at length prepared, we got it down to the -edge of the cañon, and then were ready for the next move--the most -important move of all--getting it across the gorge. This could not be -done by main strength, as had been the case with our bridge-timbers, for -this stick, twenty-nine feet long and sixteen inches square, though -pretty well seasoned, was an immense weight. - -But what could not be done by force might be accomplished by -contrivance. The most bulky part of old Fritz's load had been composed -of ropes and pulley-blocks, and it was with these that we intended to -coax our big stick across the gap. - -Going over to the other side, we set up a framework of stout poles--a -derrick, we called it--to the top of which we attached a big pulley. -Threading a strong rope through this pulley, we carried it back and -fastened it to a windlass which Dick built; he having seen dozens of -them at work among the mines, having observed, fortunately, how they -were made, and being himself a very handy fellow with tools. The -windlass was securely anchored to two trees, when, the other end of the -rope having been carried over and tied to our big log, we were ready to -try the experiment of placing it athwart the chasm. - -With this object, Dick and Pedro turned the windlass, while I, crossing -the bridge once more, pried the log forward from behind. It was a slow -and laborious operation, but inch by inch the great log went grating and -grinding forward, until at length its end overlapped the further edge of -the gorge. Soon, with a sullen thump, my end fell into its socket, when -Dick lowered his end into the socket opposite, and our first big -stringer was successfully laid. - -It was a good start and greatly heartened us up to tackle the rest of -the work. - -Our second big stringer we prepared and laid in the same manner--flat -side up--and then came the most ticklish job of all--the placing of the -two supports beneath each stringer. Without Pedro, with his steady -nerves and his cat-like agility, we could not have done it. - -Tying a rope to the stringer, Pedro descended the face of the cliff and -set the butt-end of the supporting beam in its socket--the other end -being temporarily tied in place--repeating the same process on the other -side. These beams we had measured and prepared with great care, so that -when their bases were set, the beveled smaller ends, by persistent -pounding, could be tightly jammed into the notch previously cut for -their reception in the under side of the big stringer. It was a good -piece of work, and very thankful I was when it was safely accomplished; -for though to one with a clear head it might not be very dangerous, it -looked so, and I was, as I say, greatly relieved when it was done. - -It might seem that we made these stringers unnecessarily strong, and -perhaps we did. But we intended to be on the safe side if we could. Our -flume was designed to be eight feet wide and five feet deep, and though -the pitch was considerable and the water in consequence would run fast, -if it should by chance ever fill to the top there would be by our -calculation thirty-three or thirty-four tons of water in it. - -Having now our foundation laid, the rest of the work was plain, -straightforward building, in which there was no special mechanical -difficulty. One part of our task, however--the sawing of the lumber--we -soon found to be so slow that we decided, if we could get them, to -procure the assistance of two or three Mexicans from Hermanos, and with -that object in view we sought an interview with our friend, José -Santanna. - -To do this we supposed we should have to go down to Hermanos, but on -consulting Pedro, we found that there was another and a much easier -way. - -I had often wondered if Pedro, during all the years he had lived on the -mountain, had subsisted exclusively on meat, or whether he had some -means of obtaining other supplies, and now I found out. I found that he -had a regular system of exchange with the villagers, by which he traded -deer-meat and bear-meat for other provisions, and that by an arranged -code of signals, familiar to everybody in the village, with the single -exception of Galvez himself, he was accustomed to let it be known when -he desired to communicate with the inhabitants. - -Accordingly, Pedro that day at noon went down to a certain spot on one -of the spurs, and there built a fire, and piling on it a number of green -boughs he soon had a column of smoke rising skyward. This was the -signal, and that same evening he and we two boys, going down to the same -spot, sat down there and waited, until about an hour after dark, we -heard the sound of a horse's hoofs, and presently a man rode into sight. -It proved to be Santanna himself, much to our satisfaction. - -He, as soon as he learned what we wanted, engaged to send us up three -stout young Mexicans, an engagement he duly fulfilled--to the rage and -bewilderment of Galvez, as we afterward heard, who could not for the -life of him make out what had become of them. - -With this accession of strength we needed a second saw, and Dick went -off to Mosby to get one. In a few days he returned with two saws instead -of one, and with a load of dried apples, sugar and coffee with which to -feed our hungry Mexicans. Flour--of a kind--we could get from the -village, and deer-meat, though poor and tough at that season of the -year, we could always procure. - -Dick also brought back with him that commodity so necessary in all -business undertakings--some money. The professor had insisted on -advancing him some, while Uncle Tom had enclosed fifty dollars in a -registered letter to me. - -Thus armed, we procured two more Mexicans, and setting Pedro and his -five compatriots to work with the three saws, while Dick and I did the -carpenter work, we very soon began to make a showing. - -As it was obviously too dangerous to attempt to work on the bare -stringers, we first laid a solid temporary floor of three-inch planks, -and having then a good platform we could proceed in safety to set our -big cross-pieces--upon which the permanent floor was afterward laid--and -to go ahead with the rest of the building. - -There being no stint of timber, we could afford to make our flume -immensely strong--and we did. The framework was composed mostly of -ten-by-ten pieces, while the planks for the floor and sides were three -inches thick. The wings at each end of the flume were extended up stream -and down stream eight feet in either direction; and to prevent the water -from getting around these ends we built rough stone walls on the edge of -the gorge and filled in the spaces with well-tamped clay, of which we -were fortunate enough to find a great supply close at hand. - -I do not intend to go into all the many details of the work, or to -relate our mistakes or the accidents--all of them slight, -fortunately--which now and then befell us. There was one little item of -construction, however, which seemed to me so ingenious and withal so -simple and so effective that I think it is worth special mention. - -When we came to lay our floor and build the sides, the question of -leakage cropped up, when Dick suggested a plan which he said he had -heard of as being adopted by sheepmen on the plains in building -dipping-troughs. - -Each three-inch plank, before being spiked in place, was set up on edge, -and along the middle of its whole length we hammered a dent about half -an inch wide and half an inch deep. Then, taking the jack-plane, we -planed off the projecting edges to the same level. The consequence was -that when the plank became water-soaked, this dented line swelled up and -completely closed any crack between itself and the plank above or beside -it. It was an ingenious trick, and proved so successful that it was well -worth the time and trouble it took. - -In fact, by the expenditure of time and trouble, in addition to a very -modest sum of money, we did at length put together a flume which, I -think I may say, was a very creditable piece of work. It was strenuous -and unceasing labor, and at first it was pretty hard on me, but as my -muscles became used to the strain I enjoyed it more and more, especially -as every evening showed a forward step--a small one, perhaps, but still -a forward step--toward the accomplishment of our object. - -Week after week we kept at it, steadily and perseveringly pegging away, -and at last, one day near the end of July, summoning our six Mexicans to -witness the ceremony, Dick and I, in alternate "licks" drove the last -spike, and the flume was finished! - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -PEDRO'S BOLD STROKE - - -All this time the wolves had let us alone. Frequently, toward evening, -we would detect them standing on the hillsides watching us, but they -were afraid to come near: the hammering and sawing, the stir and bustle -checked them and they kept aloof--by daylight. - -Every night, though, they came down to the edge of the cañon to howl at -us, and as the flume neared completion there was danger that they might -summon courage to cross by it--the old bridge we had long ago tumbled -into the stream. To prevent this, we at first set up every night a -temporary gate across it, but later, we adopted a safer and better plan. -We set two doors in our flume, one in the down-stream end, the other in -the side, about the middle, so that by closing the former and opening -the latter, all the water could be made to fall into the stream below. -Our supply could thus be regulated at the flume instead of going all -the way up to the old head-gate for the purpose. - -These gates being set, Pedro and another Mexican went up and opened -connection between the lake and the low place where we had stirred up -the deer the first day we were up there, and very soon there was a -second little lake formed. Then, the flume being ready, we two and Pedro -went up and raised the stone head-gate three inches. The rush with which -the water came out was astonishing, and before the day was over it had -come on down to the flume and was pouring through the side gate into the -gorge--making a perfect defence against the wolves. - -During the two months, or thereabouts, that we had been engaged in this -work, Dick had made altogether three trips to Mosby, on which occasions -he had written to Arthur, detailing our progress. Arthur, on his part, -had written to us--or, rather, somewhat to our surprise, he had written -to the professor instead of directly to Dick--once from Santa Fé and -once from the City of Mexico, whither he had been sent to institute a -search of the records there. His last letter stated that up to that time -no trace of the old patent had been found, but that, in spite of that -drawback, his father was vigorously stirring things up at his end of the -line, and that we might expect to see "something doing" in the enemy's -camp at any time. He stated also that he had hopes of rejoining us some -time early in July. - -In consequence, we had been constantly on the watch for him for nearly a -month, but here was the end of July approaching and no Arthur had -appeared. - -As we were very anxious to know when to expect him, and as we were also -in need of new supplies, the moment the flume was finished Dick set off -once more for Mosby, while Pedro and I, transferring all our tools from -the far side of the gorge, picked out a new working-ground on our side. - -There was nothing further to be done on the "island," but though the -flume was finished and ready for use, we still had need of a large -amount of lumber in the construction of our ditch, for at the head of -every draw it would be necessary to build a short flume, or, in some -places, a culvert, to allow a passage for the rain-water which otherwise -during the summer thunder-storm season would wash our ditch full of -earth and rubbish. - -As it would be too inconvenient, unfortunately, to cut lumber in the -old place and carry it across the flume, we moved all the tools, as I -said, over to our side, and following along the line of the ditch for -about half a mile, we selected a spot above it on the mountain and there -set our Mexicans to work felling trees and digging new saw-pits. - -From the place selected we could see out over the plain in all -directions; a fact which had been one of our reasons for choosing that -particular spot. - -Indeed it had become a matter of great importance that we should be able -to keep a watch on the valley, for we believed we had more than ever -reason to fear some act of hostility on the part of the padron. Dick had -no more than gone that day, when we were surprised by receiving a -daylight visit from our friend, José Santanna, who informed us that -Galvez of late had been showing unwonted signs of unrest; that he was -growing more and more suspicious, irritable and evil-tempered. That the -evening before a man had ridden into the village and had handed Galvez a -paper--some legal notice, I guessed--upon receipt of which the padron -had at first broken into a towering rage; had then gone about for half -a day in a mood so morose and snappish that no one dared go near him; -and that finally he had ordered his horse and ridden away, saying that -he was going to Taos. - -"To Taos!" I exclaimed. "What has he gone to Taos for?" - -José shrugged his shoulders and spread out his hands, palms upward, as -much as to say, "Who knows?" - -"Have we scared him out after all, I wonder," said I. "Did he say -anything about coming back, José?" - -"He said he would return in four days," replied the Mexican. - -"And is that all you know about it?" - -"_Si, señor_, that is all. I know no more." - -From this conversation it was plain to me that the law was beginning to -work, and that Galvez was becoming uneasy. Knowing his character, I, -too, became uneasy, for, should he be rendered desperate, there was no -telling what tactics he might resort to. It was this consideration that -made me so anxious for the safe return of my two partners. - -From my vantage-point on the mountain I kept up a pretty constant watch -for the next few days; no one could come across the valley from any -direction without my seeing them--during daylight, that is--and unless -Galvez had slipped into Hermanos after dark I was sure he had not -returned, when, about three o'clock on the afternoon of the fourth day I -espied Dick, a long way off, coming back from Mosby. It was twelve hours -earlier than I had expected him, and wondering if he had any special -reason for making such a quick trip, I got my pony and hurried off to -meet him. - -I had a feeling that Dick was bringing news of some sort, and his first -words after shaking hands proved the correctness of my impression. - -"Well, old chap!" he exclaimed. "I've got news for you this time that -will make you 'sit up and take notice':--Arthur may be here any day; and -he has at last got track of that patent." - -"Got a letter from him, then, did you?" I asked. - -"Yes; written from Cadiz, in Spain, more than three weeks ago." - -"From Cadiz!" I cried. "What's he doing there?" - -"His father sent him over to go through a chest of old papers they have -in their house there. Arthur says--I'll give you his letter to read as -soon as we get to camp--he says that he spent a fortnight reading all -sorts of musty documents, without success, when at last he came upon an -old note-book with the name of Arthur the First on its fly-leaf, and in -that he found a single line referring to the patent--the only mention -that has turned up anywhere." - -"And what does that say?" - -"It says---- Here, wait a minute; hold my rifle. I'll show you what it -says." - -So saying, Dick took the letter out of his pocket, and finding the right -place, handed it to me. The passage read: "It was an old memorandum-book -in which my very great-grandfather used to note down all the particulars -of the copper shipments and other matters dealing with the K. P. mine; -but on the last fly-leaf was this entry, written in English: 'Mem. In -case of accident to myself: The King's patent and the King's commission -are in a hole in the wall above the door of the strong-room.' Where the -strong-room may have been," Arthur went on, "I don't know, unless it is -in the _Casa_. Ask Pedro." - -"What do you think of that?" asked Dick. - -"I think---- Well, I think we'll do as Arthur says: ask Pedro." - -In the course of an hour we had reached camp, when Dick, as soon as he -had greeted the faithful Mexican, at once propounded the important -question. - -"Pedro," said he, without any preface, "did you ever hear of the -'strong-room'?" - -"Surely," replied Pedro, with an air of surprise at being asked such a -question. "Everybody knows the strong-room. It is a little room on the -east side of the _Casa_; it has a door and no window; it is where one -time the copper was stored, waiting for the pack-trains to come and take -it away." - -"It is, is it!" cried Dick. "Then, Frank, I shouldn't be a bit surprised -if those deeds were in there now. How are we to find out?" - -"Go and look!" I exclaimed, springing to my feet. "Now's our chance! -Galvez is away--gone to Taos. Let us make a try for it at once. He's due -to be back to-day, and then it will be too late. Come on! Let's get out! -We haven't a minute to lose! Will you come with us, Pedro?" - -To my surprise, and, I must confess, to my disappointment also, Pedro -shook his head. I supposed he was afraid to leave his mountain, and for -a moment my opinion of his courage suffered a relapse. But I was doing -him an injustice, as I heartily owned to myself, when, pointing out over -the valley, he said, quietly: - -"It is too late already, señor. Look there!" - -Half a mile the other side of Hermanos, riding toward the village, were -three horsemen, one of whom we recognized as Galvez. Who the others -might be, and why the padron should be bringing them to Hermanos, we -could not guess. We were destined, however, to learn all about them -later in the day. - -As a matter of course, the sole subject of our thoughts and our -conversation was the King's patent, and whether or not it was still in -its hiding-place above the door of the strong-room. The only way to find -out was to get in there and search for it, but how to do that was the -question. Many plans did we discuss and discard, and we were still -discussing as we sat round the fire that night--our Mexican workmen -being encamped some distance away--when Pedro suddenly jumped up, and -signaling to us to keep quiet, stood for a moment with his head bent -forward, listening intently. His sharp ears had detected some sound -inaudible to our less practised hearing. - -Making a quick backward motion with his hand, he whispered sharply: -"Get away! Get away back from the light of the fire while I go see!" - -We speedily retreated up the hill a little way and hid ourselves among -the trees, while Pedro, with the stealth of a wild animal, slipped -silently off into the darkness. So quick and so noiseless were the -movements of the clumsy-looking Mexican that I thought to myself I had -rather be hunted by wolves than by that skilful woodsman, with his keen -senses, his giant strength and his deadly, silent bow and arrow. I did -not wonder any more that Galvez kept himself aloof. - -For two or three minutes silence prevailed, when we saw Pedro step back -into the circle of light, and with him another man. It was our friend, -José Santanna, again. - -"Well, José!" cried Dick. "What can we do for you?" - -"Señor," replied the Mexican, "I came up to tell you something--to warn -you. The padron is come back. He has been to Taos and he has brought -back with him two men. They are bad--like himself. I go up to the _Casa_ -this evening while they are at supper and I hear them talking and -laughing together through the door which is open. They say they like -now to see three boys and a stupid peon"--he nodded toward Pedro--"get -them out. They say if they catch Pedro they hang him, and if they catch -'that young Blake' they shoot him. They are dangerous, señor." - -"We shall have to keep our eyes wide open," said Dick. "Do you think -they'll venture up here, José?" - -"I think not," replied the Mexican. "One of the men say, 'Let us go up -on the mountain and catch them,' but the padron, he say very quick, 'No, -no. I do not go up on the mountain. While they are there they do no -harm, but if they come down here, then----!'" - -"I see," said Dick. "They mean to hold the fort against all comers. It -is pretty evident, I think, that Galvez has been back to his old haunts, -hunted out a couple of his old-time cronies, and brought them back to -garrison the _Casa_, meaning to defy the law to get him out." - -"That's it, I expect," said I. "And our chances of getting into the -strong-room are a good deal slimmer than ever." - -It certainly did look so; yet, as it happened, I never made a greater -mistake. - -Who would have guessed how soon we were to get that chance? And who -would have guessed that the man who was to provide the opportunity--and -that by a plan so bold that I am astonished at it yet--was the man whom -I had that day mentally accused of cowardice? How I did apologize to him -in my thoughts! - -"José," said Pedro, "does the padron still go to bed every night at ten -o'clock, as he used to do?" - -"_Si_," replied the cowman. - -"Does he always come out to the well to get a drink of cold water just -before he goes to bed, as he used to do?" - -"_Si_," replied the cowman once more. - -"Those two men, are they to sleep in that room next the padron's?" - -"_Si_," replied the cowman for the third time. - -"Good!" exclaimed Pedro. "What time is it, señor?" turning suddenly to -Dick. - -"Half past eight," replied my partner, looking at his watch. - -"Good!" exclaimed Pedro once more. - -For a minute he sat silent, his lower lip stuck out, frowning at the -fire, while we sat watching him, wondering what he was thinking about, -when, with an angry grunt he muttered to himself, "Stupid peon, eh! -Humph! We'll see!" Then, jumping up, he said briskly: "Señores, get -your horses. We will search the strong-room to-night." - -Still wondering what scheme he had in his head, we saddled up and -followed him as he rode down the mountain and out upon the plain, too -much engaged for the moment in picking our way to find an opportunity to -ask questions. - -It seemed to me that our guide must have something of the wild animal in -him, for, though it was very dark, he never hesitated for a moment, but -went jogging along, threading his way through the sage-brush without a -pause or a stumble. Either he or his burro must have had the cat-like -gift of being able to see in the dark. - -In about an hour we saw dimly the walls of the _Casa_ looming up near -us, and passing by it, we went on down to the creek where we dismounted -and tied up our horses to the trees. Then, following down the creek for -a short distance, we presently came opposite the front gate of the -_Casa_, about a hundred yards distant. The village on the other side of -the stream was dark and silent, but in one of the rooms in the _Casa_, -facing the gateway, we could see a light burning. - -"That is the padron's room," whispered José. "He has not gone to bed -yet." - -Against the light of the open door we could see between us and the house -the long, black arm of the well-sweep, and advancing toward it, we had -come within about thirty steps of it when Pedro requested us to stop -there and lie down, while he himself went on and crouched behind the -curbing of the well. We could not see him; in fact we could see nothing -but the lights in the window and doorway, the well-sweep, and, very -dimly, the outline of the building. - -There we lay in dead silence for a quarter of an hour, wondering what -Pedro expected to do, when we heard voices, and the next moment the -figures of two men showed themselves in the lighted doorway. One of them -carried a candle, and the pair of them went into the next room--all the -rooms opened into the courtyard--and shut the door. For five minutes the -light showed through the little window and then went out. The padron's -friends had gone to bed. - -For another five minutes we waited, and then the padron himself -appeared. We could hear the jingle of his spurs as he came leisurely -down to the well to get his nightly drink of cold water. We lay still, -hardly daring to breathe. - -Presently, we heard the squeak of the well-sweep and saw it come round, -dip down and rise again. Then we heard the clink of a cup: Galvez was -taking his drink. He never finished it! - -At that moment Pedro's burly form rose up from behind the curbing; he -took two steps forward, and with his great right hand he seized Galvez -by the neck from behind, giving it such a squeeze that the unfortunate -man could not utter a sound. We heard the cup fall to the ground with a -clatter. - -Then, grasping the helpless padron by the back of his trousers, the -little giant swung him off his feet and hoisting him high above his -head, stepped to the rim of the curbing. The next moment there was a -muffled splash--Galvez had been dropped into the well! - -He had been dropped in feet foremost, however, and as the well was only -twelve feet deep with four feet of water in it, his life was not -endangered. - -At this point we all jumped up and ran forward, reaching the well just -as Galvez recovered his feet, as we could tell by the coughing and -spluttering noises which came up from below. As we approached, Pedro -leaned over the coping and said in a low voice: - -"Good-evening, Padron. This is Pedro Sanchez. If you make any noise I -drop the bucket of water on your head." - -This gentle hint was not lost upon Galvez, who contented himself with -muttered growlings of an uncomplimentary nature, when Pedro, turning to -Dick, whispered sharply: - -"Run quick now to the strong-room. I stay here to guard the padron." - -In company with the barefooted José, we ran into the courtyard, where -the Mexican pointed out to us the door of the strong-room, the first on -the right, and while Dick and I pulled it open, taking great care to -make no noise, José himself ran on to the padron's room, whence he -quickly returned with a candle in his hand. - -While Dick stood guard outside, in case the padron's two friends should -come out, I slipped into the little room, where, finding an empty -barrel, I placed it in front of the doorway, jumped upon it, and taking -my sheath-knife, I stabbed at the adobe wall just above the lintel of -the door. The second or third stroke produced a hollow sound and -brought down a shower of dried mud, when, vigorously attacking the spot, -I soon uncovered a little board which had been let into the wall and -plastered over with adobe. - -In a few seconds I had pried this out, when I found that the space -behind it was hollow, and thrusting in my hand I brought out a brass box -shaped like a magnified cigar-case. - -"Dick!" I whispered, eagerly. "I've found something! Come in here!" - -My partner quickly joined me, when we pried open the box, finding that -it contained a parcel wrapped up in a piece of cloth. Imagine our -excitement when on tearing off the wrapping we found that the contents -of the package consisted of two parchment documents, written in Spanish! -We had no time to examine them thoroughly, but a hasty glance convincing -us that we had indeed found what we sought, and there being nothing else -in the hole, I crammed the parchments back into the box, shoved the box -into my pocket, buttoned my coat, and away we went back to the well. - -"Find it?" whispered Pedro. - -I replied by patting my pocket. - -Pedro nodded; and then, having first lowered the bucket into the well -again, he leaned over the coping and said softly: - -"Padron, you may come out now as soon as you like." - -With that, leaving Galvez to climb out if he could, or to remain where -he was if he couldn't, we all turned and ran for it. - -Having recovered our horses, José bolted for home, while we went off as -fast as we dared in the darkness for camp. - -There, by the light of the fire, we examined our capture. One of the -parchments was the commission of old Arthur the First to the -"Governorship" of the King Philip mine; the other was the original -"Grant" of the Hermanos tract from Philip V, King of Spain, the Indies -and a dozen other countries, to his trusty and well-beloved subject, -Arturo Blake. - -"This _is_ great!" cried Dick. "This will settle the title without any -chance of dispute. Galvez may as well pack up and go now. I wonder what -he'll do?" - -"I don't know what Galvez will do," said I; "but I can tell you what -_we_ must do, Dick. We must cut and run. This patent must be put away in -a safe place--and it isn't safe here by any means. Galvez will be about -crazy with rage at having been dropped into the well; and for another -thing, he'll see that hole above the door, and he'll know that whatever -it was we took out of the hole, it must be something of importance to -have induced us to come raiding his premises like that." - -"That's true," said Dick, nodding his head. - -"And I shouldn't be a bit surprised," I continued, "now that he has two -other unscrupulous rascals to back him, if he were to come raiding us in -return. What do you think, Pedro?" - -"I think it is likely," replied the Mexican. "I think it is well that -you go, and stop the Señor Blake from coming here. Those men are -dangerous. For me, I have no fear: I can take care of myself." - -"Then we'll skip," said Dick. "It's safest; and it's only for a time, -anyhow, for, of course, Galvez's legal ejection is certain, sooner or -later, now that we have the patent in our hands. So we'll get out, -Frank, the very first thing to-morrow." - -It was the night of July 28th that we came to this resolution; though, -as a matter of fact, we were not aware of it at the time, for we had -lost track of the days of the month. It was the astounding event of the -day following that impressed the date so indelibly on our memories. - -Men plot and plan and calculate and contrive, thinking themselves very -clever; but how feeble they are when Dame Nature steps in and takes a -hand, and how easily she can upset all their calculations, we were to -learn, once for all, that coming day. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE MEMORABLE TWENTY-NINTH - - -Though we had intended to get off about sunrise we failed to do so, for -we found that Galvez was on the lookout for us. No sooner had we started -than we saw the three men ride out from the _Casa_ with the evident -intention of cutting us off, so, not wishing to get into a fight if it -could be avoided, we turned back again. - -Thereupon, the enemy also turned back; but, watching their movements, we -saw that soon after they had entered the house, the figure of one of -them appeared again on the roof, and there remained--a sentinel. -Plainly, they were not going to let us get away if they could help it. - -At midday, however, we saw the sentinel go down, presumably to get his -dinner, when we thought we would try again. Pedro therefore went off to -get our horses for us, but he had hardly been gone a minute when we were -startled to see him coming back with them, running as fast as his short -legs would permit. - -"What's the matter, Pedro?" cried Dick. "What's wrong?" - -"I see the Señor Arturo coming!" shouted the Mexican. - -"What!" cried Dick, and, "Where?" cried I, both turning to look out over -the plain. - -That man, Pedro, must have had eyes like telescopes to pretend to -distinguish any one at such a distance, but on examining the little -black speck through the glass I made out that it was a horseman, and -after watching him for a few seconds I concluded that it was indeed our -friend, Arthur, returning. - -"Frank!" cried my partner. "We must ride out to meet him at once! Pedro, -you stay here and watch the _Casa_. If those three men come out, make a -big smoke here so that we may know whether we have to hurry or not." - -"It is good," replied the Mexican; and seeing that he might be relied -upon to give us timely warning--for he at once began to collect -materials for his fire--away we went. - -Riding briskly, though without haste, we had left the mountain and were -crossing a wide depression in the plain, when, on its further edge, -there suddenly appeared the solitary horseman, riding toward us at a -hard gallop. Dick turned in his saddle and cast a glance behind him. - -"The smoke!" he cried; and without another word we clapped our heels -into our ponies' ribs and dashed forward. - -As Arthur approached--for we could now clearly see that it was he--we -observed that he kept looking back over his left shoulder, and just as -we arrived within hailing distance three other horsemen came in sight -over the southern rim of the depression, riding at a furious pace, their -bodies bent forward over their horses' necks. Each of the three carried -a rifle, we noticed, and one of the three was Galvez. - -At sight of us, the pursuers, seemingly taken aback at finding -themselves confronted by three of us, when they had expected to find -only one, abruptly pulled up. This brief pause gave time to Arthur to -join us, when Dick, slipping down from his horse, advanced a few steps -toward the enemy, kneeled down, and ostentatiously cocked his rifle. - -Whether the padron's quick ears caught the sound of the cocking of the -rifle--which seemed hardly likely, though in that clear, still -atmosphere the sharp _click-click_ would carry a surprisingly long -distance--I do not know; but whatever the cause, the result was as -unexpected as it was satisfactory. Galvez uttered a sharp exclamation, -whirled his horse round, and away they all went again as fast as they -had come. - -"See that!" cried Arthur. "What did I tell you, Dick? We have to thank -that locoed steer for that." - -"I expect we have," replied Dick. - -"Not a doubt of it," said I. "I was sure that Galvez was much impressed -by the way that steer went over, and now I'm surer. Lucky he was, too, -for those three fellows meant mischief, if I'm not mistaken." - -"That's pretty certain, I think," responded Arthur. "And it was another -piece of good fortune that you turned up just when you did. How did it -happen?" - -We explained the circumstances, but we had no more than done so, when -Arthur exclaimed: - -"Why, here comes old Pedro now! At a gallop, too! Everybody seems to be -riding at a gallop this morning." - -Looking toward the mountain, we saw the Mexican on his burro coming down -at a great pace, but we had hardly caught sight of him when he suddenly -stopped. He was on a little elevation, from which, evidently, he could -see Galvez and his friends careering homeward, and observing that the -affair was over and that his assistance was not needed, he forthwith -halted, and, with a mercifulness not too common among Mexicans, jumped -to the ground in order to ease his steed of his weight. - -There he stood, nearly two miles away, with his hand on the burro's -shoulders, watching the retreating enemy, while we three rode toward him -at a leisurely pace. - -As will be readily imagined, there was great rejoicing among us over the -safe return of our friend and partner, and a great shaking of hands all -round, when, hardly giving him time to get his breath again, Dick and I -plunged head-first into the relation of all we had done since we saw him -last: the finding of the head-gate and the building of the flume; -triumphantly concluding our story with the recovery of the patent the -night before. - -"Well, that was a great stroke, sure enough!" exclaimed Arthur. "That -will settle the business. The 'stupid peon' got ahead of the padron that -time, all right. But before we talk about anything else, Dick," he went -on, "I have something I want to tell you about, something in my -opinion--and the professor thinks so too--even more important--to -you--than the title to the Hermanos Grant." - -"What's that?" cried my partner, alarmed by his serious manner. "Nothing -wrong, is there?" - -"No, there's nothing wrong, I'm glad to say. Quite the contrary, in -fact. I'm half afraid to mention it, old man, for fear I should be -mistaken after all, and should stir you up all for nothing, but--why -didn't you tell me, Dick, that your name was Stanley?" - -"Why, I did!" cried Dick. - -"No, you didn't, old fellow. If you remember, you were going to do so -that first day we met, down there in the cañon by the opening of the -King Philip mine, when Pedro interrupted you by remarking that the -darkness would catch us if we stayed there any longer." - -"I remember. Yes, that's so. Ah! I see. That was why you addressed your -letters to the professor instead of to me." - -"Yes, that was the reason. It didn't occur to me till I came to write to -you that I didn't know your name." - -"That was rather funny, wasn't it?" said Dick, laughing. "But I don't -see that it made much difference in the end: I got your letters all -right." - -My partner spoke rather lightly, but Arthur on the other hand looked so -serious, not to say solemn, that Dick's levity died out. - -"What is it, old man?" he asked. "What difference does it make whether -my name is Stanley or anything else?" - -"It makes a great difference, Dick," replied Arthur. "I believe"--he -paused, hesitating, and then went on, "I'm half afraid to tell you, for -fear there might be some mistake after all, but--well--I believe, Dick, -that I've found out who you are and where you came from!" - -It was Dick's turn to look serious. His face turned a little pale under -its sunburn. - -"Go on," said he, briefly. - -"You remember, perhaps," Arthur continued, "how I told you that one -reason why I had to go back by way of Santa Fé was because I had some -inquiries to make on behalf of my mother. Well, as it turned out, Santa -Fé was the wrong place. The place for me to go to was Mosby, and the man -for me to ask was--the professor! - -"When I reached Mosby yesterday," he continued, "I rode straight on up -to his house, when the kindly old gentleman, as soon as I had explained -who I was, made me more than welcome. We were sitting last evening -talking, when I happened to cast my eye on the professor's book shelf, -and there I saw something which brought me out of my chair like a shot. -It was a volume of Shakespeare, one of a set, volume two--that book -which the professor found in the wagon-bed when he found you. I knew the -book in a moment--for we have the rest of the set at home, Dick!" - -Dick stopped his horse and sat silent for a moment, staring at Arthur. -Then, "Go on," said he once more. - -"I pulled the book down from the shelf," Arthur went on, "and looked at -the fly-leaf. There was an inscription there--I knew there would -be--'Richard Livingstone Stanley, from Anna.'" - -"Well," said Dick. His voice was husky and his face was pale enough now. - -"Dick," replied Arthur, reaching out and grasping my partner's arm, "my -mother's name was Anna Stanley, and she gave that set of Shakespeare to -her brother, Richard, on his twenty-first birthday!" - -For a time Dick sat there without a word, not at first comprehending, -apparently, the significance of these facts--that he and Arthur must be -first cousins--while the latter quickly related to us the rest of the -story. - -Dick's mother having died, his father determined to leave Scotland and -seek his fortune in the new territory of Colorado, whose fame was then -making some stir in the world. In company, then, with a friend, David -Scott--the "Uncle" David whom Dick faintly remembered--he set out, -taking the boy with him. - -From the little town of Pueblo, on the Arkansas, Richard Stanley had -written that he intended going down to Santa Fé, and that was the last -ever heard of him. At that time--the year '64--everything westward from -the foot of the mountains was practically wilderness. Into this -wilderness Richard Stanley had plunged, and there, it was supposed, he -and his son and his friend had perished. - -As for Dick, he seemed to be dazed--and no wonder. For a boy who had -never had any relatives that he knew of to be told suddenly that the -young fellow sitting there with his hand on his arm was his own cousin, -was naturally a good deal of a shock. - -If it needed a counter-shock to jolt his faculties back into place, he -had it, and it was I who provided it. - -In order to give the pair an opportunity to get used to their new -relationship, I was about to ride forward to join Pedro, when I saw the -Mexican suddenly commence cutting up all sorts of queer antics, jumping -about and waving his arms in a frantic manner. - -"What's the matter with Pedro?" I called out. "Look there, you fellows! -What's the matter with Pedro?" - -"Something wrong!" cried Dick. "Get up!" - -Away we went at a gallop, keeping a sharp lookout in all directions lest -those three men should bob up again from somewhere, while the Mexican -himself, jumping upon his burro, rode down to meet us. - -"What's up, Pedro?" Dick shouted, as soon as we had come within hearing. -"Anything the matter?" - -"Señores," cried Pedro, speaking with eager rapidity, "those men come -hunting us. I watch them ride back almost to the _Casa_, and then of a -sudden they change their minds and turn up into the mountain. They think -to catch us, but"--he stretched out his great hand and shut it tight, -his black eyes gleaming with excitement--"if the señores will give me -leave, we will catch them!" - -If his surmise was right, if those men were indeed coming after us as he -believed, there was no question that if any of us could beat them at -that game, Pedro was the one. Dick was a fine woodsman, but Pedro was a -finer--my partner himself would have been the first to acknowledge -it--and it was Dick in fact who promptly replied: - -"Go ahead, Pedro! You're captain to-day! Take the lead; we'll follow!" - -"_'Sta bueno!_" cried the Mexican, greatly pleased. "Come, then!" - -Turning his burro, he rode quickly back to camp, and there, at his -direction, having unsaddled and turned loose our horses, we followed him -to the flume, taking with us nothing but our rifles. - -There had been a little thunder-storm the day before, and the soil near -the flume was muddy. Through this mud, by Pedro's direction, we tramped; -crossed the flume on the gangway we had laid for the purpose, leaving -muddy tracks as we went; jumped down at the other end and set off -hot-foot up the gully to the little new-made lake and thence on up to -the old lake; in several soft places purposely leaving footmarks which -could not escape notice. - -"What's all this for, Pedro?" asked Dick. "What's your scheme?" - -"The padron will see our tracks crossing the flume," replied Pedro. "He -will think you take Señor Arturo up to show him all the work you have -done, and he will follow. If he does so, we have him! When he is safe -across, we slip back, and then I hide me among the rocks on the other -side and guard the flume. Without my leave they cannot cross back again. -Thus I hold them on the wrong side, while you ride away at your ease to -Mosby. Now, come quick with me!" - -So saying, Pedro turned at right angles to the line of the ditch, -climbed a short distance up the hillside, and then, under cover of the -trees, started back at a run, until presently he brought us to a point -whence we could look down upon the flume, its approaches at both ends, -and the line of the ditch up to the head of the little lake. - -Hitherto it had been all bustle and activity, but now we were called -upon to exercise a new virtue, one always difficult to fellows of our -age--patience. - -It must have been nearly an hour that we had lain there, sometimes -talking together in whispers, but more often keeping silence, when Dick, -pulling out his watch, said in a low voice: - -"If those fellows are coming, I wish they'd come. It's twenty minutes -past two; and we're in for a thunder-storm, I'm afraid. Do you notice -how dark it's getting?" - -"Yes," whispered Arthur. "And such a queer darkness. I'm afraid it's a -forest fire and not a thunder-storm that is making it." - -"I believe you're right," replied Dick. "It _is_ a queer-colored light, -isn't it?" - -We could not see the sun on account of a high cliff at the foot of which -we were lying, and if we had had any thought of getting up to look at -it, we were stopped by Pedro, who at this moment whispered sharply to us -to keep quiet. His quick eyes had detected a movement on the far side of -the cañon. - -Intently we watched, and presently the figure of a man stepped out from -among the trees. Advancing cautiously to the end of the flume, he -examined the tracks in the mud, climbed up to the gang-plank, inspected -the tracks again, and turning, made a sign with his hand; whereupon two -other men stepped out from among the trees. The three then crossed the -flume, jumped down, and set off up the gully. - -We watched them as they followed the ditch up to the new lake, and -thence to the draw which led up to the old lake. At the mouth of the -draw they paused for some time, hesitating, doubtless, whether they -should trust themselves in that deep, narrow crevice--a veritable trap, -for all they knew. - -Presumably, however, they made up their minds to risk it, for on they -went, and a few minutes later were lost to sight. - -By this time the darkness had so increased that the men were hardly -distinguishable, though they, themselves, seemed to take no notice of -it. The sun was behind them, and so intent were they in following our -tracks and keeping watch ahead, that they never thought to cast a glance -upward to see what was coming. - -"Pedro," whispered Dick, as soon as the men had vanished, "let us get -out of here. Either the woods are on fire or there'll be a tremendous -storm down on us directly." - -Pedro, however, requested us to wait another five minutes, when, jumping -to his feet, he cried: - -"Come, then! Let us get back! We have them safe now!" - -Down we ran, but no sooner had we got clear of the trees than Pedro -stopped short. In a frightened voice--the first and only time I ever -knew him to show fear--he ejaculated: - -"Look there! Look there!" - -Following his pointing finger, we looked up. The uncanny darkness was -accounted for:--a great semi-circular piece seemed to have been bitten -out of the sun! - -"The eclipse!" cried Arthur. "I'd forgotten all about it. This is the -twenty-ninth of July. The newspapers were full of it, but I'd forgotten -all about it!" - -"A total eclipse, isn't it?" asked Dick, quickly. - -"Yes, total." - -"Then it will be a great deal darker presently. We'd better get out of -this, and cross the flume while we can see." - -In fact, it was already so dark that the small birds, thinking it was -night, were busily going to bed; the night-hawks had come out, the -curious whir of their wings sounding above our heads; and then--a sound -which made us all start--there came the long-drawn howl of a wolf! - -"Run!" shouted Dick. "They'll be after us directly!" - -Undoubtedly, the wolves, too, were deceived into the belief that night -was approaching, for even as Dick spoke we heard in three or four -different directions the hunting-cry of the packs. Wasting no time, as -will be imagined, away we went, scrambled up on the gang-plank of the -flume, and there stopped to listen. - -"I hope those men"--Dick began; when, from the direction of the draw -above there arose a fearful clamor of howling. There was a shot! Another -and another, in quick succession! And then, piercing through and rising -above all other sounds, there went up a cry so dreadful that it turned -us sick to hear it. What had happened? - -The hour that followed was the worst I ever endured, as we crouched -there in the darkness and the silence, not knowing what had occurred up -above. - -At length the shadow moved across the face of the sun, it was brilliant -day once more, when, the moment we thought it safe to venture, down we -jumped and set off up the line of the ditch. We had not gone a -quarter-mile when we saw two men coming down, running frantically. In a -few seconds they had reached the spot where we stood waiting for them, -not knowing exactly what we were to expect of them. - -Never have I seen such panic terror as these men exhibited; they were -white and trembling and speechless. For two or three minutes we could -get nothing out of them, but at length one of them recovered himself -enough to tell us what had happened. - -The wolves had caught them in that narrow, precipitous arroyo, coming -from both ends at once. The two men, themselves, had succeeded in -scrambling up to a safe place, but Galvez, attempting to do the same, -had lost his hold and fallen back. Before he could recover his feet the -wolves were upon him, and then----! - -Well--no wonder those men were sick and pale and trembling! - -That the padron's designs against us had been evil there could be no -doubt--in fact, his shivering henchmen admitted as much--but, quite -unsuspicious of the coming of the midday darkness, and knowing nothing -of the fierce nature of these "island" wolves, he had run himself into -that fatal trap. It was truly a dreadful ending. - -Does any one wonder now that the date of the eclipse of '78 should be so -indelibly stamped on our memories? - - -There being now nothing to interfere with us, we went down to Hermanos -and took possession of the _Casa_, and from that time forward the work -on our irrigation system moved along without let or hindrance from -anything but the seasons. - -But though it was now plain sailing, and though we eventually got -together a force of twenty Mexicans to do the digging, the amount of -work was so great that we had not nearly finished that part of the ditch -which wound over the foothills when frost came and stopped us. We at -once moved everything down to the village and began again at that end, -keeping hard at it until frost stopped us once more, and finally for -that year. - -In fact, it was not until the spring of '80 that we at last turned in -the water--a moderate amount at first--but since then the quantity has -been increased year by year, until now we are supplying at an easy -rental a great number of small farms, many of them cultivated by -Mexicans, but the majority by Americans. - -The largest of the farms is that run by the two cousins and myself, and -its management, together with the supervision and maintenance of the -water-supply keeps us all three on the jump. - -As for old Pedro, he stuck to his mountain until just lately, when we -persuaded him to come down and take up his residence on the ranch; -though even now, every fall he goes off for a three-months' hunt and we -see nothing of him till the first snow sends him down again. - -He is a privileged character, allowed to go and come as he pleases; for -we do not forget his great services in turning this worthless desert -into a flourishing community of busy wheat-farmers and fruit-growers; -nor do we forget that it was really he who started the whole business. - -As to that, though, we are not likely to forget it, for we have on hand -a constant reminder. - -Above the fireplace in our house there hangs, plain to be seen, a relic -with which we would not part at any price--the "indicator" which pointed -the way for us when we first set out on this enterprise--the original -copper-headed arrow! - - -THE END - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Trail of The Badger, by Sidford F. 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