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diff --git a/old/52810-h/52810-h.htm b/old/52810-h/52810-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 5fce391..0000000 --- a/old/52810-h/52810-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8813 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Border Boys in the Canadian Rockies, by Fremont B. 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Deering - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Border Boys in the Canadian Rockies - -Author: Fremont B. Deering - -Release Date: August 15, 2016 [EBook #52810] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BORDER BOYS *** - - - - -Produced by Giovanni Fini, Roger Frank and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<div class="limit"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="transnote p4"> -<p class="pc large">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:</p> -<p class="ptn">—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="350" height="533" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/fr.jpg" width="400" height="628" - alt="" - title="" /> - <div class="caption"><p class="pc400">He glanced down the rifle barrel and then as his -finger pressed the trigger the report roared.<br /> -<span class="wn">(<i>Page <a href="#Page_219">219</a></i>)<span class="vh">————</span>(<i>The Border Boys In the Canadian Rockies</i>)</span></p> -</div></div> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="bord1 p4"> - -<h1>THE BORDER BOYS<br /> -<span class="reduct">IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES</span></h1> - -<hr class="d1" /> - -<p class="pc large">By FREMONT B. DEERING</p> - -<hr class="d2" /> - -<p class="pc mid"><span class="smcap">Author of</span></p> - -<p class="pc1 reduct">“The Border Boys on the Trail,” “The Border Boys<br /> -Along the Frontier,” “The Border Boys with the<br /> -Mexican Rangers,” “The Border Boys with the<br /> -Texas Rangers,” “The Border Boys Along<br /> -the St. Lawrence.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/logo.jpg" width="200" height="210" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="d1" /> - -<p class="pc"><span class="mid">A. L. BURT COMPANY</span><br /> -Publishers<span class="vh">————————</span>New York<br /> -<span class="reduct">Printed in U. S. A.</span></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<p class="pc4 reduct">Copyright, 1913<br /> -BY<br /> -HURST & COMPANY</p> - -<p class="pc4 reduct">MADE IN U. S. A.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CONTENTS</h2> - -<table id="toc" summary="cont"> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></td> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="small">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Boy from Nowhere</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Torrent</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">In Peril of His Life</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Jimmie’s Pluck</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Start for the Rockies</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Along the Trail</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Treed by a Lynx</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Walking Pincushion</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mountain Mystery</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Ponies Vanish</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ralph’s Volcano</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Just in Time</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Boys and a Grizzly</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Cavern of Mystery</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Hut in the Woods</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XVI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">“Underground!”</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XVII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Desperate Chance</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XVIII.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Facing Grim Death</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Storm and Its Consequences</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Prisoners!</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Indians</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">An Encounter with “Bloods”</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Fighting Mountain Lions</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXIV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">“Bitter Creek Jones”</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Outlaw Ranch</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXVI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Carthew of “The Mounted”</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXVII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Trooper’s Story</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXVIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">After Mountain Goats</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXIX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Jimmie Finds a Father</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XXX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Mystery Solved</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> - </tr> - -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="pc4 xlarge">The Border Boys in the<br />Canadian Rockies</p> - -<h2 class="p2">CHAPTER I.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE BOY FROM NOWHERE.</p> - -<p>“Hold on there a minute! Don’t you think -you’re being unnecessarily rough with that boy?”</p> - -<p>“Naw, I don’t. And if I am, it ain’t none of -your business that I can see.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I mean to make it so.”</p> - -<p>“Aw run along and play, kid. Don’t bother -me.”</p> - -<p>The brakeman glared angrily at the tall, well-built -lad who had accosted him. In so doing, he -for an instant ceased belaboring a dust-covered, -cowering lad in pitifully ragged clothing whom, -a moment before, he had been cuffing about the -head without mercy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Take that, you young tramp!” he had hurled -out savagely, as each blow fell on the quivering -form.</p> - -<p>The boy receiving this unmerciful punishment -had been discovered riding the blind-baggage on -the long, dust-covered train of Canadian Pacific -coaches that had just come to a stop.</p> - -<p>Of course the boy had been summarily ejected, -and the brakeman was now engaged in what he -would have termed “dusting the young rascal’s -jacket.”</p> - -<p>It was a pitiful sight, though, to see the slender, -emaciated lad, whose rags hardly covered his thin -body, and who could not have been much above -sixteen, cowering under the punishment of the -burly trainman. The brakeman was not of necessity -a brute. But in his eyes the lad was “a -miserable tramp,” and only getting his just dues. -To more humane eyes, though, the scene appeared -in a different light.</p> - -<p>Some of the passengers, gazing from the windows,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -had ventured to cry, “Shame,” but that was -all that had come of it till Ralph Stetson, who -had been standing with a group of his friends at -the other end of the platform of the Pine Pass -station, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, -happened to see what was going forward. Without -a word he had hastened from them and come -to the rescue. Ralph was a boy whose blood always -was on fire at the sight of cruelty and oppression, -and it appeared to him that the brakeman -was being unnecessarily rough. Besides, -there was something in the big, appealing eyes -of the sufferer, and his ragged, ill-clad form, that -aroused all his sympathies. So it came about that -he had tried to check the punishment with the -words quoted at the beginning of this chapter.</p> - -<p>Now he stood facing the brakeman who appeared -quite willing for a minute to drop the lad -he was maltreating and turn on the newcomer. -Perhaps, though, there was something in Ralph’s -eye that held him back. Old “King-pin” Stetson’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -son looked thoroughly business-like in his -broad-brimmed woolen hat, corduroy jacket and -trousers, stout hunting boots and flannel shirt, -with a handkerchief loosely knotted about the -neck. Evidently he had come prepared to rough -it in the wild country in the midst of which the -train had come to a halt.</p> - -<p>His life and experiences in the strenuous country -along the Mexican border had toughened -Ralph’s muscles and bronzed his features, and he -looked well equipped physically to carry out the -confidence expressed in his cool, clear eyes.</p> - -<p>“Who are you, anyhow?” the brakeman hurled -at him, growing more aggressive as he saw some -of his mates running toward him from the head -of the long train where the two big Mogul locomotives -were thundering impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Never mind that for now. Drop that boy and -I’ll pay his fare to wherever he wants to go.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you are a softy! Pay a tramp’s fare? -Let me tell you, mister——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Say, going to hold this train all day?” demanded -the conductor bustling up. “What’s all -this?”</p> - -<p>“This kid got on the train in the night some -place. Bin ridin’ the blind baggage. I was giving -him ‘what for’ when this other kid butts in,” -explained the brakeman.</p> - -<p>“I said I was willing to pay this boy’s fare -rather than see him abused,” struck in Ralph, -flushing slightly.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s fair and square,” said the conductor, -“so long as he pays his fare, that’s all I -care. But I ain’t goin’ to hold my train. Where -d’ye want to go, boy?”</p> - -<p>“This is Pine Pass, ain’t it?” demanded the -ride stealer, whom the brakeman had now released.</p> - -<p>“This is the Pass,—yes. Come, hurry up.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ve come all the fur I’m goin’.”</p> - -<p>As if to signify that his interest was over, the -conductor waved his hand to the engineers peering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -from their cabs ahead. The brakemen scampered -for their cars. The locomotives puffed and -snorted and the long train began to move. As -the conductor swung on he called back sarcastically:</p> - -<p>“Sorry we couldn’t wait while you fixed it up. -Wish you joy of your bargain.”</p> - -<p>In another instant the train was swinging -around into a long cut between deep, rocky walls. -In yet another instant it was gone, and Ralph -Stetson, with a rather puzzled expression on his -good-looking face, stood confronting the scarecrow-like -object he had rescued from the brakeman. -In the tenement-house district of any large -city the pitiful figure might not have looked out -of place.</p> - -<p>But here, in the Canadian Rockies, with a boiling, -leaping torrent racing under a slender trestle, -great scraps of rocks and pine and balsam-clad -mountains towering above, and in the distance -the mighty peaks of the Selkirks looming against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -the clean-swept blue, the spectacle that this waif -of the big towns presented seemed almost ludicrous -in its contrast. Ralph felt it so at least, for -he smiled a little as he looked at the disreputable -figure before him and asked:</p> - -<p>“What are you doing at Pine Pass?”</p> - -<p>The question was certainly a natural one. Besides -the tiny station, no human habitation was -in sight. Above it, threatening to crush it seemingly, -towered a precipice of dark colored rock. -Beyond this rose mighty pines, cliffs, waterfalls -and, finally, climbing fields of snow. Everywhere -peaks and summits loomed with a solitary -eagle wheeling far above. In the air was the -thunderous voice of the torrent as it tumbled -along under the spidery trestle beyond the station, -and the sweet, clean fragrance of the pines.</p> - -<p>“What’m I doin’ at Pine Pass?” The ragged -youth repeated the question. “I-I’m sorry, mister, -but I can’t tell yer.” He paused, and a -strange, wistful look came into his eyes as he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -gazed at the distant peaks, “I thought some time -I’d get up among them mountains; but there’s a -heap more of ’em than I calculated on.”</p> - -<p>“How did you get here? Where did you come -from?” pursued Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Frum Noo York.” And then, answering the -unspoken question, he continued, “You kin call -me Jimmie, and ef you want ter know how I got -yere, I jes’ beat it.”</p> - -<p>“Beat it, eh? Tramped it, you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Yep. Stole rides when I could. Walked -when I couldn’t. Bin two munts er more, I -reckin. Steamboats, freights, blin’ baggage, anyting.”</p> - -<p>“And what did you think you’d do when you -got here?”</p> - -<p>“Work till I got some coin togedder. But it -don’t look much as if there was any jobs fer a -kid aroun’ here, does it?”</p> - -<p>“It does not. What can you do?”</p> - -<p>“Anyting; that’s on the level.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Hum; you wait here a minute, Jimmie. I -don’t quite understand what brought you here, -and if you don’t want to tell me I won’t ask you. -But you wait here a minute and I’ll see what I -can do.”</p> - -<p>“Say, you will? Kin you put me to woik? -Say, you’re all right, you are, mister. I’ll bet -you’d have put that braky away in a couple of -punches, big as he wuz.”</p> - -<p>And the boy gazed admiringly after Ralph’s -athletic form as the latter hastened toward the -group at the end of the platform. They were -standing beside what appeared to be a small -mountain of baggage and they had just noticed -his absence.</p> - -<p>“Well, what under the sun——?” began Harry -Ware, whose full name, H. D. Ware, was, of -course, shortened at Stone fell College to Hardware.</p> - -<p>“Simpering serpents, Ralph,” broke in Percy -Simmons, who, equally, of course, was known to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -his boyish chums as Persimmons, “grinning gargoyles, -we knew this was to be a collecting trip, -but you appear to have started by acquiring a -scarecrow!”</p> - -<p>“Hold on a minute, boys,” cried Ralph, half -laughingly, for Persimmons’ odd way of talking -and explosive exclamations made everyone who -knew him smile. “Hold on; listen to what happened.”</p> - -<p>The eldest member of the group, a tall and -angular, but withal good-natured and kindly -looking man with a pair of shell-rimmed spectacles -perched across his bony nose, now -struck in.</p> - -<p>“Yes, boys; let us hear what Ralph has been -up to now. I declare, since our experience along -the Border I’m prepared for anything.”</p> - -<p>“Even what may befall us in the Canadian -Rockies, eh, Professor Wintergreen?” asked -Ralph. “Well, that lad yonder, if I’m not much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -mistaken, is our future deputy cook, bottlewasher, -and midshipmate.”</p> - -<p>They all stared at him. Persimmons was the -first to recover his voice.</p> - -<p>“Giggling gophers,” he gasped, “as if Hardware -hadn’t brought along enough patent dingbats -without your adding a live one to the collection!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER II.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE TORRENT.</p> - -<p>Vacation time had rolled around once more at -Stonefell College, which accounts for our finding -Professor Wintergreen, Ralph Stetson, and the -latter’s chums at this isolated spot in the heart of -the Canadian Rockies. Readers of former volumes -of this series will at once recall the eccentric -professor and his young companion Ralph. -Harry Ware and Percy Simmons, however, we -have not met before. Jack Merrill and Walt -Phelps, the two young ranchmen who shared -Ralph’s adventure on the Mexican border, could -not be with him on the present vacation, both -boys being required at their western homes.</p> - -<p>So it had come about that when Professor -Wintergreen received a commission to hunt specimens -in the Canadian Rockies, Ralph jumped at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -the chance to accompany him. His father, the -railroad magnate, and Ralph’s mother had -planned a trip to Europe, but the boy, being -given the choice of the Rocky Mountain expedition -or the trip across the Atlantic, had, with -his characteristic love of adventure, chosen the -former without hesitation. His mother grieved -rather over this, but his father approved. “King-pin -Stetson,” as Wall Street knew the dignified -railroad magnate, approved of boys roughing it. -He had seen how much good Ralph’s western experiences -had done the boy. His shoulders had -broadened, his muscles hardened, and his eyes -grown brighter during his strenuous times along -the border. Not less noteworthy had been his -mental broadening. From an indolent attitude -toward studies, a condition caused, perhaps, by -his former rather delicate health, Ralph’s appetite -for learning had become as robust as the rest -of him.</p> - -<p>There is no space here to detail all that had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -happened during Ralph’s vacation on the Mexican -border. But briefly, as told in “The Border -Boys on the Trail,” it included the exciting experiences -attendant upon the capture of his -chums and himself by a border bandit, and their -sharing many perils and adventures on both -sides of the frontier. In the second volume, -called “The Border Boys Across the Frontier,” -the boys discovered the Haunted Mesa, and stumbled -by the merest accident upon a subterranean -river. The finding of this latter plunged them -into a series of accidents and thrilling adventures, -exciting beyond their wildest dreams. It is no -laughing matter to be captured and suspected as -spies by Mexican revolutionists, as the boys -found out. But they managed to stop the smuggling -of arms across the Border, as readers of -that volume know.</p> - -<p>“The Border Boys with the Mexican Rangers” -showed how courage and skill may be more than -a match for villainy and duplicity. With the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -“Rurales” the boys lived a life brimming to the -full with the sort of experiences they had grown -to love. The finding of a hidden mine, too, enriched -them all and gave each lad an independent -bank account of no mean dimension. The following -book, which was entitled “The Border -Boys with the Texas Rangers,” found the three -lads sharing the perils and hardships of the body -that has done so much to keep law and order in -a much vexed region. Brave, resourceful, and -skillful, as their former experiences had trained -them to be, the boys found full scope for all their -faculties with the Rangers. A band of cattle -thieves made trouble for them, and Jack Merrill’s -climb out of the Hidden Valley furnished -the most thrilling experience of his life.</p> - -<p>Dearly would Ralph have loved to share with -his former companions the exciting times which -he was sure lay ahead of him in the Canadian -Rockies. But it was not to be, and so, when -young Ware and Percy Simmons both begged to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -be “let off” from Bar Harbor and Newport, Professor -Wintergreen had, on their parents’ request, -decided to allow them to come along. The -professor’s interests in the Canadian Rockies -were purely scientific. His duty was to collect -specimens of minerals, and also of animal life, -for one of the best known scientific bodies in the -east. Ralph, with his knowledge of hunting and -woodcraft, was to be relied upon as a valuable -aide. Young Ware and Percy Simmons were -more or less Tenderfeet, though both had been -camping before.</p> - -<p>When Ralph had finished relating Jimmie’s -story to the others, the professor said:</p> - -<p>“I’ll talk to the lad myself. If he proves all -that he appears to be from your description, -Ralph, we might manage to use him. A boy willing -to make himself useful around camp might -come in handy.”</p> - -<p>So the professor stalked off on his long legs -to interview Jimmie, who viewed his approach<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -with awe, while the boys stood in a chattering -group about the pile of baggage. It was to be -remarked that most of it bore the initials H. D. -Ware, of which more anon.</p> - -<p>“Wonder what’s become of that guide and the -ponies?” spoke up Ralph, while the Professor -interrogated the awe-struck Jimmie.</p> - -<p>“Don’t know,” responded Hardware, gazing -at a dusty track that wound itself up the cliff back -of the station for a few yards, and was then lost -around a scrap of rock that glittered with “fool’s-gold.” -“Ought to be here by now, though.”</p> - -<p>“Fiddling fish,” struck in Persimmons at this -moment, “there ought to be trout in that stream -below there, boys. I’m going down to have a -look.”</p> - -<p>“All right. We’ll wait for you and give you -a hail when the ponies show up. Look out you -don’t fall in, though. Those rocks look slippery -where the water has dashed over them,” warned -Ralph.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I’m all right,” responded Persimmons airily, -and he set out, clambering down the rocky path -leading to the brink of the foaming, brown torrent -that roared through Pine Pass.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterward, the Professor came back -with his arm on Jimmie’s shoulder. The man of -science, childlike in some things and absorbed -in study for the most part, was yet a fairly accurate -reader of human nature.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been talking to Jimmie, boys,” he said, as -he approached, “and he’ll do. He’s been officially -engaged as general assistant to our guide with -the Wintergreen expedition.”</p> - -<p>“Good for you, Jimmie,” smiled Ralph, “and -so now your troubles are at an end for a time, -anyhow.”</p> - -<p>The eyes of the waif filled with tears.</p> - -<p>“I dunno jes how ter thank you, boss,” he said, -addressing all of them, “but I kin promise you -that I’ll make good.”</p> - -<p>“Sure of that,” said the Professor kindly, “but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -I can’t make out why you won’t tell us what -brought you to such an out-of-the-way, not to -say remote, part of the world as this.”</p> - -<p>“I’d tell yer if I could; honest I would, boss,” -spoke Jimmie; “but—but I can’t jes’ yet. Some -time maybe——”</p> - -<p>The lad broke off, and once more his wistful -eyes sought the distant peaks.</p> - -<p>“Is them the Selkirks over yonder?” he asked -presently.</p> - -<p>“Yes; those far peaks are,” said the Professor, -also gazing toward the giant ranges in the distance -whose crests glimmered with the cold gleam -of never-melting snow, “those are the Selkirks.”</p> - -<p>“Goin’ that way?” asked Jimmie, his eyes still -riveted on the far-flung ranges.</p> - -<p>“Yes; we hope to penetrate as far as that. -Why?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, nuttin’. I hoped you was, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>A smile played over Ralph’s lips. He was -about to ask Jimmie some bantering question<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -about what he, the New York waif, expected to -find in the distant mountains, but at that instant -there came a piercing cry.</p> - -<p>“Help! Guzzling grasshoppers! H-e-l-p!”</p> - -<p>“Gracious! It’s Persimmons!” cried Ralph, -an alarmed look coming over his countenance. -Well did he know his friend’s capacity for getting -into trouble.</p> - -<p>“Run, boys, run! He must be in a serious predicament!” -cried the Professor, as the cry came -once more.</p> - -<p>At top speed they ran toward the end of the -platform and the rocky path leading to the thundering -mountain torrent.</p> - -<p>“If he’s fallen in that creek, he’s a goner!” -shouted the station agent, rushing out of the -depot. “The falls are right below, and he’ll be -swept into them!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER III.</h2> - -<p class="pch">IN PERIL OF HIS LIFE.</p> - - -<p>Just how they clambered down that rocky, slippery -track none of the party was ever able to -recall in after life. But, burned deep on each -boy’s mind for as long as he should live was the -picture they saw as they came in full view of the -swirling, madly dashing torrent. Above a foam-flecked -eddy, beyond which the main current -boiled and seethed, towered the black, spider-like -outlines of the trestle. On the other shore was -a rocky steep covered with big pines and balsams.</p> - -<p>Between the two, his white, frightened face -showing above the current as he clung with might -and main to a log, was Persimmons. This log, -evidently the trunk of a tree which had fallen -from its foothold beside the path on the depot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -side of the torrent, reached out some twenty feet -above the devil’s caldron of the stream. The -roots and the main part of the trunk rested on -the shore. That portion that projected over the -water was nothing more than a slender pole. The -freshets of spring had swept it clean of branch -or limb. It was as bare as a flag-staff.</p> - -<p>Under it the green water rushed frantically on -toward a fall that lay beyond the trestle. The -voice of the cataract was plainly audible in their -ears, although in the extremity of their fear for -Persimmons they gave it no heed. It was almost -at the end of this frail support that the boy was -clinging. Only his head and shoulders were -above the water, which dragged malignantly at -him, trying to tear loose his hold. It was plain -at once that flesh and blood could not stand the -strain long. If they did not act to save him, -and that quickly, Percy Simmons was doomed -speedily to be swept from his hold and hurtled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -the falls and—but they did not dare dwell upon -that thought.</p> - -<p>How the boy could have got where he was, was -for the present a mystery. But there he was, almost -at the end of the slender tree trunk, which -whipped under the strain of his weight.</p> - -<p>“Can you hold on?” shouted Ralph, using the -first words that came into his head.</p> - -<p>They saw Persimmons’ lips move, but could -not hear his reply.</p> - -<p>“Don’t make him speak; he needs every ounce -of breath he has,” said the professor, whose face -was ashen white under his tan. The boys were -hardly less pale. They looked about them despairingly.</p> - -<p>“We must find a rope and get it out to him,” -cried Harry Ware.</p> - -<p>“But how? Nobody could maintain a foothold -on that log,” declared Ralph.</p> - -<p>“We might drift it down to him,” suggested -the station agent; “get on the bank further up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -and allow the current to carry down a loop that -he could grab.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a good idea,” cried the professor, hailing -any solution of their quandary with joy, -“have you got a rope?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in the shack above. I’ll get it in a jiffy.”</p> - -<p>Before he had finished speaking, the man was -off, racing up the rocky path as fast as his legs -could carry him.</p> - -<p>“Hold on, Perce!” cried Ralph encouragingly, -waving his hand. “We’ll get you out of that in -no time.”</p> - -<p>They saw poor Persimmons’ lips try to frame -a pitiful smile, but the next instant a wave of -foam dashed over him. After what seemed an -agony of waiting, but which was in reality only -a few minutes, the agent reappeared with several -yards of light but strong rope.</p> - -<p>“Now we shan’t be long,” he said encouragingly, -as he rapidly formed a loop in it.</p> - -<p>No sooner was this done, than Ralph seized the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -rope and tried to throw it over Persimmons’ head -like a lasso. He had learned to throw a rope like -a cowboy on the Border, but this time either the -feat was beyond his skill, or he was too unnerved -to do it properly. At any rate, at each attempt -the throw fell short, and the current whirled the -lifeline out of their comrade’s reach.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, Persimmons had managed, by -this time, to brace his feet against an out-cropping -rock, and so give his overstrained arms some -relief. But it was obvious that, even with this -aid, he could not hold on much longer.</p> - -<p>Nothing remained but to try the plan that the -agent had suggested, namely, to carry the rope -up the bank a little and try to drift it down -stream. With a prayer on his lips, Ralph made -the first cast. The rope fell on the water in what -appeared to be just the spot for the current to -carry it down to the boy they were trying to rescue.</p> - -<p>But their joy was short lived. Having carried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -the loop a short way, a viciously swirling eddy -caught it and sucked it under the surface. It -became entangled in a rock, and they had much -ado to get it back ashore at all.</p> - -<p>A sigh that was almost a groan broke from -Ralph as he saw the futility of his cast. It -looked like the last chance to save the boy whose -life depended on their reaching him quickly. It -was out of the question to get out on the slender, -swaying end of the trunk to which young Simmons -was clinging. Not one of them but was too -heavy to risk it. And, in the event of the trunk -snapping, they knew only too well what would -ensue. A brief struggle, and their comrade -would be swept to the falls, from which he could -not possibly emerge alive.</p> - -<p>“We must save him!” panted Ralph, “but how—how?”</p> - -<p>“The only way is to get the rope to him,” said -the professor.</p> - -<p>“And we can’t accomplish that unless—I think<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -I can do it, professor,” broke off Ralph suddenly.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean to do?”</p> - -<p>“To straddle that log and get the rope out to -him in that way.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, it would not bear your weight even -if you could balance on it.”</p> - -<p>But Ralph begged so hard to be allowed to put -his plan into execution that the professor was at -last forced to give way and consent to his trying -the perilous feat.</p> - -<p>“But come back the instant you are convinced -you are in danger,” he commanded; “remember, -I am in charge of you boys.”</p> - -<p>Ralph eagerly gave the required bond. Fastening -the rope to his waist, he straddled the narrow -trunk and gingerly began working himself forward -toward his imperiled chum.</p> - -<p>He got along all right till he was in a position -where his feet began to be clawed at by the -hurrying waters below. He swayed, recovered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -himself by a desperate effort, and then once more -began his snail-like progress. The sight of Persimmons’ -blue lips and white cheeks, for in that -land the waters are almost as cold in midsummer -as in the depth of winter, gave him fresh determination -to continue his hazardous mission.</p> - -<p>But even the most determined will cannot always -overcome material obstacles. A chunk of -driftwood was swept against Ralph’s feet. He -was almost overbalanced by the force of the blow. -The watchers on shore saw him strive wildly for -an instant to recover his equilibrium, and then a -cry of alarm broke from their lips as they saw -the boy suddenly lose his balance completely and -topple off the trunk into the stream.</p> - -<p>“The rope! Haul on the rope!” shouted the -professor, as Ralph vanished, to reappear an instant -later fighting for his life in the relentless -torrent.</p> - -<p>Well it was for the boy then, that he had tied -the rope to his waist. Had he not done so, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -moment might have been his last, for even the -strongest swimmer that ever breasted water -would have been but a helpless infant in that -titanic current.</p> - -<p>They all laid hold of the rope and pulled with -every ounce of muscle their combined forces -could command. But, even then, so strongly did -the swiftly dashing stream suck at its victim that -it was all they could do to get him ashore. Blue -and shivering from cold, however, Ralph finally -found footing and scrambled up the bank. Then, -and not till then—such had been the strain—did -they recollect Persimmons.</p> - -<p>For an instant they hardly dared to look up. -They feared that the end of the long log might -prove to be tenantless. But, to their unspeakable -relief, Persimmons still was clinging there. But -even as they gave a shout of joy at the sight of -him, another thought rushed in. Of what avail -was it that the boy was there, when there appeared -no possible way of getting him out of his -predicament?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> - -<p>Were they to stand there helplessly and see -him swept to his death before their very eyes? -Was there nothing they could do? No untried -way of getting that precious rope to him?</p> - -<p>It appeared that the answer to these questions -must be in the negative.</p> - -<p>“Great heaven!” burst from the professor’s -pale lips, and his voice sounded harsh and rough -as if his throat was as dry as ashes. “Can’t we -do anything? Can none of you suggest a way?”</p> - -<p>“I tink I can get dat rope out dere, if you’ll -gimme a chanct, boss,” piped a voice at his elbow.</p> - -<p>They all looked around. It was Jimmie, whom, -in the stress of the last minutes, they had forgotten -as completely as if he had never existed. But -now here he was, repeating, with calm assurance, -but no braggadocio, his offer:</p> - -<p>“I tink I can get it to him, if you’ll gimme a -chanct.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER IV.</h2> - -<p class="pch">JIMMIE’S PLUCK.</p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> can get that rope to him?”</p> - -<p>The professor’s voice held a note of amazement -and possibly one of unconscious incredulity, -for Jimmie colored under his gaze.</p> - -<p>“Sure I can.” He spoke rapidly, for it was -no time to waste words. “I used ter be wid a -circus for a time, see. I learned ter do a balancin’ -act wid a troupe. I’ll jes’ take dat long -stick dere fer a balancin’ pole, and I’ll snake -him out fer youse, er—er I’ll go up de flume meself.”</p> - -<p>Strange as it may appear, there was something -in the manner of the waif that instilled a new -confidence into their hearts. Under other circumstances -they might not have felt it, but now, -with Persimmons’ life in such danger, they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -in the mood of drowning men who grasp at -straws.</p> - -<p>Jimmie was such a straw, and his self-confident -manner formed to a not small degree the -basis of their trust in his ability to carry out -what he said he could accomplish. Carefully the -rope was transferred from the dripping, half-frozen -Ralph to Jimmie’s waist. This done, the -lad carefully balanced a longish branch he had -picked up, and appeared to find it suitable for use -as a balancing pole; for, after one or two trials, -he stepped out on the log and began such a “rope -walking” act as has seldom if ever been witnessed.</p> - -<p>Before starting, he had kicked off his ragged, -broken boots,—stockings or socks he had none,—and -was now barefooted. The rough bark of -the tree trunk afforded a certain stability of footing, -but they held their breath as they watched -the waif’s slender, pitifully thin figure painfully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -making its way on that narrow bridge above the -swirling, leaping waves of the torrent.</p> - -<p>Once he hesitated and swayed, and a gasp went -up from the watchers on the bank. Involuntarily -they took a tighter grip on the rope. But it was -only the green rush of waters under his feet that -had momentarily caused Jimmie’s head to swim.</p> - -<p>He swiftly recovered himself and, forcing his -eyes to remain riveted on a definite object, he -forged steadily ahead. Now he was only five -feet from where Persimmons, with a sub-conscious -strength, was hanging on to his precarious -hold, now but four feet intervened, then three, -two,—one! How the slender trunk swayed! It -appeared impossible that anything human could -keep its footing upon it.</p> - -<p>But at last the young acrobat reached a point -beyond which he dared not go. Holding his balancing -pole with one hand, he undid the rope -from his waist with the other. Bending, very -slowly, very cautiously, he formed a loop and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -dropped it over Persimmons’ head. The numbed -boy had just strength enough to work it under -his armpits.</p> - -<p>Then his strength gave out completely. He -would have been swirled away had not Jimmie -taken the precaution to pass the rope around the -opposite side of the tree trunk to that on which -the current was pulling. But Persimmons was -safe. The rope held him firm. He took a brief -interval for a breath, and then managed to work -his way along the trunk while the others hauled.</p> - -<p>As for Jimmie, he crouched low for a time, -using his balancing pole with wonderful adroitness. -Then, walking backward along that swaying, -treacherous trunk, he reached shore just as -they dragged young Simmons out. It was in the -nick of time, too, for he could not have lasted -much longer. As it was, when they laid him on -the bank he collapsed utterly.</p> - -<p>“Jimmie, if you ever were an acrobat, and -there’s no room to doubt that, you must have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -a marvel!” cried Ralph throwing his arms about -the boy’s neck, while the professor and Hardware -congratulated him hardly less enthusiastically, -and the agent danced a jig.</p> - -<p>“Gee!” exclaimed Jimmie, when he released -himself, “if you tink I was a wonder, ask Sig. -Montinelli, who trained me. I was so good dat -he used to beat the life out uv me. Dat’s de reason -I ran away frum de show and came up here,—dat -and annudder reason.”</p> - -<p>There was no time just then to ask him what -he meant, for they were all immediately busied -in chafing poor Persimmons’ body and bringing -life back to him. The agent had rushed off up -the rocky path for hot coffee, for he had been -preparing his breakfast when the train came in. -What with this stimulant and a brisk rub-down, -Persimmons soon recovered and was able to sit -up and thank his rescuer, which he did characteristically -and warmly, despite the latter’s embarrassment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -and frequent interruptions of “It -wasn’t nawthing.”</p> - -<p>“Howling handsprings!” exclaimed Persimmons -to Ralph, as the latter helped him up the -rocky path, “and to think that I classed that kid -in with Hardware’s dingbats! But that’s what -he is, too,” he added with a sort of an inspiration; -“Hardware’s got his bags and boxes full of -fool fishing dingbats and cooking dingbats and -chopping dingbats, but this one of yours, Ralph, -is the greatest ever, he’s a life-saving dingbat. -What can I give him?”</p> - -<p>“Not money, if you take my advice,” said -Ralph dryly. “While you were down and out -there the professor offered him some, and his -eyes blazed and he turned quite pale as he refused -it. ‘I’ve joined this expedition to be generally -useful, and that was only one of my jobs, -see,’ was what he said.”</p> - -<p>“Waltzing wombats! I hope he never has to -be useful in just that way again,” breathed Persimmons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -fervently, as they reached the top of the -trail.</p> - -<p>“I hope not. But how did you ever come to -get in such a fix?”</p> - -<p>Persimmons explained that he had been looking -at some wonderful trout disporting themselves -in a pool some distance above where the -tree trunk stretched out over the waters of the -torrent. In some way his foot had slipped, and -before he knew what had happened he was -whirled out into midstream.</p> - -<p>Hurried along, brushed by out-cropping rocks -and bits of drift timber, he had caught at the -first thing that offered, which happened to be the -trunk that so providentially stretched out above -the torrent.</p> - -<p>“Bounding beetles! but it was a close shave, -I tell you,” he concluded fervently. “I don’t think -I could have held on a minute longer when Jimmie -got that rope to me; but when I felt it, new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -strength seemed to come to me and I could help -you fellows drag me ashore.”</p> - -<p>For a consideration, the agent drew on his -stores, and they made a hearty breakfast after -this adventure. Jimmie, of course, was the hero -of the occasion, although no one could have accused -him of seeking honors. The boy looked -actually embarrassed as they each, in turn and in -chorus, told him over and over what they thought -of his plucky act.</p> - -<p>They were still eating when there came a clatter -of hoofs on the cliff above.</p> - -<p>“Something comin’ down the trail,” observed -the agent; “shouldn’t wonder if that’s your man -now.”</p> - -<p>“I hope so, indeed,” said the professor, “this -delay is most annoying.”</p> - -<p>Emerging from the depot they saw a strange -cavalcade coming down the dusty trail. In advance, -on a wiry buckskin cayuse, rode a figure -that might have stepped out of a book. His saddle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -was of the gaily rigged ranger’s type. But it -was the person who sat in it with an easy grace -that was more striking to the eye than any of -his caparisons.</p> - -<p>He was of medium height, it appeared, but of -so powerful a build that his breadth of chest and -massive loins seemed better fitted for a giant. -His hair and beard were curly and as yellow as -corn silk, his face fiery red by constant exposure -to sun and wind and snow, while his eyes, deep-set -in wrinkles, were as blue as the Canadian sky -above them. His clothes were of the frontiersman’s -type, and on his massive head was a colorless -sombrero, badly crushed, with several holes -cut in its crown.</p> - -<p>Behind him came, in single file, four wiry looking -little cayuses, saddled and bridled ready for -their riders. These were followed by three pack -animals of rather sorry appearance, but, as the -party was to learn later, of proved ability on the -trail.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You Professor Summered?” he hailed, in a -deep, hearty voice, as he saw the professor and -the boys standing in a group outside the little -depot, eying him with deep interest and attention.</p> - -<p>“Wintergreen, sir! Wintergreen!” exclaimed -the professor rather testily.</p> - -<p>“Oh, ho! ho! Beg your pardon. I’m Mountain -Jim Bothwell, at your service. Sorry to be -late, but the trail up above is none too good.”</p> - -<p>He struck his pony with his spurs, and the -whole procession broke into an ambling trot coming -down the trail in a cloud of yellow dust toward -the waiting group of travelers.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER V.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE START FOR THE ROCKIES.</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland!”</p> - -<p>Mountain Jim Bothwell uttered the exclamation -as he gazed at the immense pile of baggage -labeled H. D. Ware.</p> - -<p>“Say, who <i>is</i> H. D. Ware, anyhow? He goin’ -to start a hotel hereabouts? When’s the wagons -comin’ for all this truck?”</p> - -<p>“That’s my camping equipment,” struck in -“H. D. Ware,” looking rather red and uncomfortable -under the appraising blue eye of Mountain -Jim.</p> - -<p>“Young feller,” spoke Jim solemnly, “you’d -need an ocean liner to transport all that duffle. -We ain’t goin’ to sea; we’re goin’ inter the mountains. -What you got in there, anyhow?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Dingbats,” said Ralph quietly, a mischievous -smile playing about his mouth.</p> - -<p>“Dingbats? Great Bells of Scotland, what’s -them?”</p> - -<p>“The things that the sporting goods catalogues -say no camper should be without,” exclaimed -Ralph; “we told him, but it wasn’t any good.”</p> - -<p>“Well, my mother said I was to have every -comfort,” said poor Hardware, crimsoning under -the guide’s amused scrutiny. “When we were -camping in Maine——”</p> - -<p>“When you were camping in Maine, I don’t -doubt you had a cook——”</p> - -<p>Hardware nodded. He had to admit that, like -most wealthy New Yorkers, his parents’ ideas of -“a camp” had been a sort of independent summer -hotel under canvas.</p> - -<p>“Well, young fellow, let me tell you something. -From what the professor here wrote me, you -young fellers came up here to rough it. I’m goin’ -to see that you do. The cooking will mostly be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -done by you and your chums; your elders will—will -eat it, and that’ll be sufficient punishment for -them.”</p> - -<p>“But—but I’ve just engaged a lad to aid with -the cooking and help out generally,” struck in the -professor.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” responded Mountain Jim -airily, eying Jimmie, whose clothes, since they -had been dried by the agent’s cook stove, looked -worse than before, “that kid seems all right, and -he can take his turn with the others. In the -mountains it’s share and share alike, you know, -and no favors. That’s the rule up this way.”</p> - -<p>The boys looked rather dismayed. Already the -standards of the city were being swept aside. -Evidently this mountaineer looked upon all men -and boys as being alike, provided they did their -share of the work set before them.</p> - -<p>Ralph, alone, whose wild life on the Border -had already done for him what the Rockies were -to perform for his companions, viewed the guide<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -with approval. He knew that out in the wilderness, -be it mountain or plain, certain false standards -of caste and station count for nothing. As -Coyote Pete had been wont to say in those old -days along the Border, “It ain’t the hide that -counts, it’s the man underneath it.”</p> - -<p>“First thing to do is to sort out some of this -truck and see what you do need and what you -don’t,” decided Mountain Jim presently. “Most -times it’s the things that you think you kain’t get -along without that you kin, and the things you -think you kin that you kain’t.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” agreed Ralph heartily. “Daniel -Boone, on his first journey into Kentucky, -managed to worry along on pinole and salt, and -relied for everything else on his old rifle and -flint and steel.”</p> - -<p>“Never heard of the gentleman,” said Mountain -Jim, “but he must uv been a good woodsman. -Now let’s get to work and sort out this -truck.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ruthlessly the travelers’ kits were torn open, -and it was amazing, when Mountain Jim got -through, what a huge pile of things that he declared -unnecessary were heaped upon the depot -platform. As for poor Hardware’s “dingbats,” -a new kind of compass and a hunting knife that -met with Jim’s approval, alone remained.</p> - -<p>“All this stuff can stay here till you get ready -to come back,” said Jim; “the station agent will -look after it and see that it is put in the freight -shed.”</p> - -<p>But it is an ill wind that blows nobody any -good. Out of the rejected “Dingbats” a fine -hunting suit, axe, knife and compass were found -for Jimmie, who, indeed, stood sadly in need of -them. When the boy had retired to the station -agent’s room and dressed himself in his new -garments, the change in him was so remarkable, -when he reappeared, as to be nothing less than -striking. In the place of the ragged looking -Bowery boy, they saw a well set-up lad in natty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -hunting outfit. A trifle emaciated he was, to be -sure, but “We’ll soon fill him out with hard work -and good grub,” declared Mountain Jim, who -had been told the boy’s story, and who had -warmly praised his heroism in rescuing Persimmons.</p> - -<p>The latter had also changed his wet garments -and was in his usual bubbling spirits when they -were ready, in Ralph’s phrase, to “hit the trail.” -This was not till nearly noon, however, for the -rejection of the superfluous “Dingbats,” of which -even Ralph and the professor were found to have -a few, had occupied much time. Then, after -hearty adieus to the station agent, who had incidentally -been the recipient of a generous gratuity -from the professor, they mounted their -ponies and, with Mountain Jim in the lead, -started on their long journey into the wilds. -Jimmy, whose circus experience had taught him -how to ride, was mounted on one of the pack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -animals, for, such had been Mountain Jim’s ruthless -rejection of “Dingbats,” only a tithe of the -expected “pack” remained.</p> - -<p>Up the trail they mounted at an easy pace under -the big pines that shook out honey-sweet -odors as the little cavalcade passed beneath them. -At the summit of the rocky cliff that towered -above the depot, the trail plunged abruptly into -a dense, black tunnel of tamarack, pine and -Douglas firs.</p> - -<p>As the horses’ hoofs rang clear on the rocky -trail and echoed among the columnular trunks -that shot up on every side like the pillars of some -vast cathedral roof, Mountain Jim broke into -dolorous song:</p> - -<p class="pp6q p1">“Hokey pokey winky wang;</p> -<p class="pp6">Linkum, lankum muscodang;</p> -<p class="pp7">The Injuns swore that th-e-y would h-a-n-g</p> -<p class="pp6">Them that couldn’t keep w-a-r-m!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p1">Over and over he sang it, while the shod hoofs -clattered out a metallic accompaniment to the -droning air.</p> - -<p>“Can we ride ahead a bit?” asked Ralph after -a while, for the monotony of keeping pace with -the pack animals and the constant repetition of -Mountain Jim’s song began to grow wearisome.</p> - -<p>“Sure; go ahead. You can’t get lost. The -trail runs straight ahead. The only way to get -off it is to fall off,” said Jim cheerfully, drawing -out and filling with black tobacco a villainous-looking -old pipe.</p> - -<p>“Don’t get into any trouble,” warned the professor, -who had been provided with a quiet horse, -and who was intent, as he rode along, on a volume -dealing with the geological formation of the -Canadian Rockies.</p> - -<p>“We’ll be careful! So long! Come on, boys,” -shouted back Ralph, as he struck his heels into -his pony.</p> - -<p>Off they clattered up the trail, the rocks ringing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -with their excited voices till the sound died -away in the distance. Jimmie alone remained behind. -He felt that his duty as general assistant -demanded it. When the last echo of the ponies’ -hoofs had died out, Mountain Jim turned to the -professor with a profound wink.</p> - -<p>“I can see where we have our hands full this -trip, professor,” he remarked, as they ambled -easily along.</p> - -<p>The professor looked up from his book and -sighed.</p> - -<p>“Really, I wonder my hair is not snow white,” -he said mildly. “But surely that is a fine specimen -of Aethusa Cijnapium I see yonder!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that,” said Mountain Jim, gazing at the -feathery plant indicated, which grew in great -profusion at the trail side, “that’s ‘fool’s -parsley.’”</p> - -<p>“O-h-h!” said the professor.</p> - -<p>He might have said more, but at that instant -from the trail ahead, came a series of shouts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -and yells that made it appear as if a troop of -rampant Indians was on the war-path. The -sharp crack of a rifle sounded, followed by -silence.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER VI.</h2> - -<p class="pch">ALONG THE TRAIL.</p> - -<p>When they left the main body of the party -behind, Ralph, Harry Ware, and young Simmons -had kicked their ponies into a brisk “lope,” which -speedily carried them some distance ahead. As -they rode along, they gazed admiringly about -them at the beauties of the rugged trail. The -rough way soon left the tunnel-like formation of -spruce and tamarack, and emerged on a muskeg, -or patch of swampy ground, where rank, green -reeds and flowers of gorgeous red, yellow and -blue grew in the wetter places.</p> - -<p>As they cantered into the midst of this pretty -bit of scenery, a striped animal sprang from behind -a patch of brush with a snort, and dashed -off into the timber on the hillside beyond.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> - -<p>With a whoop and yell the boys, headed by -Ralph, were after it.</p> - -<p>“A wild cat!” shouted Ralph. “After him, -boys!”</p> - -<p>Their lively little ponies appeared quite to -enter into the spirit of the chase. At any rate, -they needed no urging, but darted off as nimbly -as mountain goats among the trees. The gray -and reddish form of the wild cat was speedily -lost sight of; but Ralph, who had slipped his rifle -from its holster, still kept on under the shadows -of the forest, followed by the others.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he thought he saw an elusive form -slipping among the timbers ahead of him. Flinging -the reins of his pony over the creature’s head, -in Western fashion, he dismounted. Hardware -and Persimmons followed his example. The eyes -of all three boys were shining with the excitement -of this, their first adventure in the Canadian -wilds.</p> - -<p>“Cantering cayuses, boys, but we’ll have a fine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -skin to take home before we’ve been on the trail -ten minutes!” exclaimed Persimmons under his -breath, as they crept along behind Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Don’t count your skins before you get ’em,” -was Hardware’s advice.</p> - -<p>At this moment there was a sudden commotion -among the ponies. They snorted and sniffed as -if in terror of something, and Ralph rightly -guessed that they had just scented the wild cat.</p> - -<p>“You fellows go back and quiet ’em; I’ll keep -on,” he said.</p> - -<p>Dearly as his two companions would have liked -to continue on the trail of the wild cat, there was -nothing for them to do but to obey; for if the -ponies stampeded they knew that Mountain Jim -would have something to say that might not -sound pleasant.</p> - -<p>“Be careful now, Ralph,” warned Hardware, -as their comrade kept on alone. “Wild cats are -pretty ugly customers sometimes.”</p> - -<p>But Ralph did not reply. With a grim look on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -his face and with his rifle clutched tightly, he -slipped from trunk to trunk, his feet hardly making -any noise on the soft woodland carpet of -pine needles.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, from a patch of brush right ahead -of him, came a sort of yelping cry, not unlike -that of a dog in pain or excitement.</p> - -<p>“What on earth is up now?” he wondered to -himself, coming to a halt and searching the scene -in front of him with eager eyes.</p> - -<p>Then came sounds of a furious commotion. -The brush was agitated and there were noises as -if two animals were in mortal combat in front -of him. But still he could see nothing. All at -once came distinctly the crunching of bones.</p> - -<p>“It’s that wild cat and she’s made a kill of -some sort, a rabbit probably,” mused Ralph. -“Well, I’ll catch her red-handed and revenge poor -Molly Cottontail.”</p> - -<p>He cautiously tiptoed forward, making as little -noise as possible. He was well aware that a cornered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -wild cat can make a formidable opponent, -and he did not mean to risk wounding the animal -slightly and infuriating it. He was raising his -rifle with a view to having it ready the instant -he should sight the savage wood’s creature, when -he stepped on a dead branch.</p> - -<p>It emitted a sharp crack, almost like a pistol -shot, and Ralph bit his lip with vexation.</p> - -<p>“That cat’s going to run now, taking its prey -along, and I’ll not get within a mile of it,” was -his thought.</p> - -<p>But no such thing happened. Instead, from -the bushes, there came an angry, snarling growl -as the crunching of bones abruptly ceased. -Ralph’s heart began to beat a little quicker. It -appeared that the cat, far from fleeing, was going -to show fight. But Ralph, after his first surprise, -did not worry: He knew his automatic would -be more than a match for the wild cat if it came -down to a fight.</p> - -<p>With this thought in his mind he pressed boldly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -forward, parting the bushes as he went. He -had not advanced more than a few yards when -he came upon a curious sight. A lithe, tawny -creature of reddish color, with oddly tufted ears, -was crouched over the dead and torn body of a -rabbit. It had been savagely rending the smaller -animal, and as Ralph took all this in he realized, -too, another fact. It was no wild cat that he -had disturbed, but another and a far more formidable -animal.</p> - -<p>“Great juniper! A Canadian lynx, and a -whumper, too!” gasped the boy to himself as he -gazed at the creature which was almost as large -as a good sized dog.</p> - -<p>For a moment the realization that he was face -to face with an animal that some hunters have -described as being more formidable than a mountain -lion, made Ralph pause, while his heart -thumped in lively fashion. The great yellow eyes -of the lynx, whose tufted ears lay flat against -its head, regarded him with blazing hatred. Its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -teeth were bared under its reddened fangs, and -Ralph saw that it was ready to spring at him. -It was only waiting to measure its distance accurately.</p> - -<p>“I’ll give her all I’ve got in the gun,” thought -Ralph, bringing the weapon to bear; “my only -chance is to finish her quick.”</p> - -<p>His finger pressed the trigger, but, to his -amazement, no report followed.</p> - -<p>“Great guns! The mechanism has stuck and -I’ve not got an instant to fuss with it,” was the -thought that flashed through his mind as the rifle -failed to go off.</p> - -<p>He had no time for more. With a growl and -snarl the tawny body was launched into the air, -as if propelled toward him by chilled steel springs. -Ralph gave a hasty, almost involuntary step -backward. His foot caught in an out-cropping -root and the next instant he measured his length -on the ground.</p> - -<p>As he fell he was conscious of a flash passing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -before his face and caught a glimpse of two yellow -eyes blazing with deadly hate and anger. -The next instant there was a crash in the brush -just beyond where he lay, and the boy realized -that his fall had been the luckiest thing in the -world for him. The lynx had overleaped him; -but he knew that the respite would not last the -fraction of a minute. He was in as great peril -as before unless he acted and that quickly.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER VII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">TREED BY A LYNX.</p> - -<p>There was but one thing to do and Ralph did it. -In the molecule of time granted to him, he got on -his feet. At the same time he uttered a yell -which had the intended effect of checking the -second onslaught of the lynx for an instant.</p> - -<p>Of that instant Ralph took good advantage. -He bounded at full speed toward the nearest tree -which looked as if it might sustain his weight. -Luckily, there was one not far off—a dead cedar. -He managed to reach it just ahead of the lynx -and began scrambling into the low growing -branches. The rifle that had failed him in that -critical moment, he abandoned as useless; anyhow -he could not have climbed, encumbered with -the heavy weapon.</p> - -<p>“If I ever get out of this I’ll stick to the old-fashioned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -repeater,” was his thought as he flung -the weapon full at the head of the lynx, missing -her, in his agitation, by a good foot.</p> - -<p>Under the circumstances, Ralph had done what -he thought best in making for the tree. In -reality, though, had he had time for reflection, -he would better have taken his chances in a race -toward his companions, for of course a lynx can -climb as well as any wild cat. In fact, Ralph -had hardly gained a second’s security before the -creature flung herself furiously against the foot -of the tree and began climbing after the boy.</p> - -<p>“She’s coming after me, sure as fate!” gasped -Ralph desperately. “Gracious, look at those -claws! I’ve got to stop her in some way; but -I’d like to know how.”</p> - -<p>By this time he had clambered some distance -up the tree, an easy task, for the branches grew -fairly thick, and as the tree was dead there were -no leafy boughs to encumber his progress. But -unfortunately, this made it equally easy for his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -assailant to pursue him. Ralph saw that unless -he did something decisive pretty quickly, he -would be driven to the upper part of the tree -where it would be unsafe for his weight.</p> - -<p>Just above him, at this juncture, he spied a -fairly heavy branch which, it seemed, he might -break off easily. Reaching above him, the boy -gave it a stout tug, and found that he had at least -a good, thick club in his possession.</p> - -<p>The lynx was just below him. Ralph raised -his luckily found weapon and brought it down -with a resounding crack on her skull.</p> - -<p>With a howl of rage the creature dropped; but -caught on a lower branch and clinging there, -glared up at him more menacingly than before. -Far from injuring her as the boy had hoped, the -blow had only served to infuriate the creature.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, as if determined to bring the contest -to a speedy termination, the lynx began -climbing again. Once more Ralph raised his club<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -and as the animal came within striking distance -he brought it down again with all his force.</p> - -<p>“I hope I crack your ugly head,” he muttered -vindictively as he struck.</p> - -<p>But by bad luck, Ralph’s hopes were doomed -to be blasted. He had struck a good, hard blow -and one that sent the lynx, snarling and spitting, -scurrying down the tree. But with such good -will had he delivered the blow that his club had -broken in two. The best part of it went crashing -to the ground, leaving him with only a stump -in his hand.</p> - -<p>“If she comes back at me now, I’m done for,” -thought Ralph, as he looked downward.</p> - -<p>But for the moment it appeared that the creature -had no such intention. Perhaps the two -blows had stunned and confused her. At any -rate she lay on one of the lower boughs seemingly -stupefied. As Ralph gingerly prepared to -descend, however, hoping to pass by the brute, -she gave a snarl and slipped with cat-like agility<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -to the ground. There, at the foot of the tree she -lay, gazing upward with malicious eyes. Evidently -she had given up her first method of attack, -but meant to lie there like a sentinel and -let Ralph make the next move.</p> - -<p>“Gracious!” thought the boy as he saw this, -“I am in a fine pickle. I can’t fire any shots to -attract the attention of the bunch and I guess -shouting won’t do much good. They may come -to look for me, but they won’t know in what direction -to search.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Ralph inhaled a good, deep -breath and shouted with all his lung power. But -no result was manifest, except that the lynx -growled and snarled and lashed its stumpy tail -angrily. Once it set up a dreary howl and the -unpleasant thought occurred to Ralph that the -creature might be calling its mate.</p> - -<p>“If two of them come at me—” he thought; -but he didn’t dwell on that thought.</p> - -<p>Instead, he cut himself another club and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -sitting back, thought the situation over with all -his might. As if in search of an inspiration he -began rummaging his pockets. How he wished -he had brought his revolver along, or even the -ammonia “squirt-gun” that he carried occasionally -when traveling as a protection against ugly-natured -dogs. All at once, in an inside pocket, -his hand encountered a small bottle. Ralph almost -uttered a cry of joy. A sudden flash of -inspiration had come to him. In the bottle was -some concentrated ammonia. He had filled his -“squirt-gun” that morning before placing it in -the pack, and in the hurry of leaving the train at -Pine Pass had shoved the bottle into his pocket.</p> - -<p>“It’s an awfully long chance,” he thought as -he drew out the bottle, “but, by Jove, I’ll try it. -Desperate situations call for desperate remedies, -and this is sure a tough predicament that I’m in.”</p> - -<p>His movements had attracted the attention of -the lynx, and it reared up on its hind legs and -began clambering toward him once more. With<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -trembling fingers Ralph drew the cork of the -bottle, and a pungent odor filled the air. The -reek of the ardent drug made the boy’s eyes -water; but he was glad the stuff was so strong. -It suited his purpose all the better.</p> - -<p>What he had to do now was nerve-racking in -the extreme. He did not dare to try to put his -plan into execution till the lynx got closer to him, -and to sit still and watch the ugly brute clambering -toward him was enough to upset the stoutest -nature. Ralph waited till the animal was on a -branch directly below him and was glaring up at -him as if making up its mind for the final onslaught.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly he cried out:</p> - -<p>“Take that, you brute!”</p> - -<p>With a swift, sure aim he doused the contents -of the ammonia bottle full in the face of the lynx. -The effect was immediate and startling. With a -scream of rage and pain the blinded animal -dropped, clawing and scratching through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -dead limbs, to the ground. Landing on all fours -she began clawing up the earth in a frenzy of -pain. The sharp, pungent ammonia was eating -into her eyes like a red-hot flame.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, above the yelps and howls of the -maddened creature, there came another sound, a -hail off in the woods.</p> - -<p>“Ralph! oh, Ralph!”</p> - -<p>“Here I am, fellows! This way! Come on -quick!” shouted Ralph at the top of his voice.</p> - -<p>Then as they grew closer, still shouting, he -added a word of caution:</p> - -<p>“Have your guns ready! I’m treed by a lynx!”</p> - -<p>Through the trees the two boys burst into -view. At the same instant the lynx dashed madly -off toward the trail. As she dashed along she -pawed her tingling eyes, trying in vain to rid -them of the smarting fluid that Ralph’s lucky -throw had filled them with.</p> - -<p>Ralph slid to the ground and picking up his -faithless rifle joined his chums in a wild chase<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -after the animal. Yelling like Comanches they -dashed after, making the uproar that had -alarmed and startled the professor and Mountain -Jim and their young companion. But it was not -till they reached the trail, beyond the now tethered -horses, that they came within shooting distance -of it. Then Persimmons raised his rifle -and fired.</p> - -<p>As the shot echoed across the muskeg the lynx -bounded into the air, turned a somersault, and -just as the rest of the party rode up, lay twitching -in death with Persimmons bending proudly -over it.</p> - -<p>“Larruping lynxes,” he was shouting, “I guess -we’ve got at least one skin to take home!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER VIII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">A WALKING PINCUSHION.</p> - -<p>Ralph’s story was soon told, with the accompaniment -of a running fire of sarcasms from -Mountain Jim concerning automatic rifles and all -connected with them. An examination of Ralph’s -weapon showed that a cartridge from the magazine -had become jammed just at the critical instant -that he faced the lynx.</p> - -<p>“There ain’t nuthin’ better than this old Winchester -of mine,” declared Mountain Jim, taking -his well-oiled and polished, albeit ancient -model rifle from its holster and patting it lovingly. -“I’ve carried it through the Rockies for -fifteen years and it’s never failed me yet.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the boys did not condemn their -automatics on that account. In fact, Ralph -blamed his own ignorance of the action of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -new weapon more for its failure to work than -any fault lying with the rifle itself.</p> - -<p>With a few quick strokes of his knife and a -tug at the hide, Mountain Jim had the lynx -skinned with almost incredible rapidity. Salt -was sprinkled liberally on the skin, and it was -rolled up and tied behind Persimmons’ saddle, to -be carefully scraped of all fat and skin later on.</p> - -<p>It was sunset when they left the well-traveled -trail, along which, however, they had encountered -no human being but a wandering packer -on his way to an extension of the Canadian Pacific -Railroad with provisions and blasting powder, -borne by his sure-footed animals.</p> - -<p>In the brief twilight they pushed on till they -reached a spot that appeared favorable for a -camp. A spring gushed from a wall of rock and -formed one of an almost innumerable number of -small streams that fed a creek, which, in turn, -was later to pour its waters into the mighty Columbia. -Ralph needed no instructions on how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -to turn the horses out, and while he and the rest, -acting under his directions, attended to this, -Mountain Jim got supper ready. By the time -the boys had completed their “chores” and the -tents were up, the guide had their evening meal -of bannocks, beans and bacon, and boiling hot -tea ready for them. For dessert they had stewed -dried prunes and apples, and the boys voted the -meal an excellent one. Indeed, they had been -hungry enough to eat almost anything.</p> - -<p>Supper despatched, it was not long before they -were ready to turn into their blankets, which were -of the heavy army type, for the nights in the -Rockies are cool. To the music of a near-by -waterfall, they sank into profound slumber, and -before the moon was up the camp was wrapped -in silence.</p> - -<p>It was about midnight that they were aroused -by a loud wail of distress from the tent which -Persimmons shared with his two chums. Mountain -Jim rolled out of his blankets—he disdained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -tents—and Jimmie, who likewise was content -with a makeshift by the fire, started up as -quickly. From the door of the professor’s tent -appeared an odd-looking figure in striped pajamas.</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland! What’s up?” -roared Mountain Jim.</p> - -<p>“Wow! Ouch! He’s sticking me! Ow-w-w-w!” -came in a series of yells from Persimmons. -“Ouch! Prancing pincushions, come quick!”</p> - -<p>“Is that boy in trouble again?” demanded the -professor, as he slipped on a pair of slippers and -advanced with Mountain Jim toward the scene -of the disturbance. The air was now filled with -boyish shouts, echoing and re-echoing among -the craggy hills that surrounded the small canyon -in which the camp was pitched.</p> - -<p>As they neared the tent, from under the sod-cloth -a small dark form came shuffling forth. It -grunted as it went, like a diminutive pig. Jim -jerked his old Winchester to his shoulder and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -the death struggle of the small animal immediately -followed the rifle’s report.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, the three boys clad in their -underclothing, dashed out of the tent door.</p> - -<p>“Is it Indians?” shouted Hardware.</p> - -<p>“A bear?” yelled Ralph, who had his automatic -in hand.</p> - -<p>“More like a walking pincushion,” yelled Persimmons, -dancing about and nursing one of his -hands, “look here!”</p> - -<p>He held out his hand and they saw several objects -which, in the moonlight, looked like so many -knitting needles projecting from it.</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed Mountain Jim, whose -mirth aroused Persimmons’ secret indignation, -“I reckon it was a walking pincushion, all right. -Boy, don’t never put your hand on a porcupine -again, they always leave souvenirs.”</p> - -<p>“A porcupine!” cried the professor.</p> - -<p>“Sure enough,” rejoined the guide, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -rolled to their feet with his rifle barrel the body -of the small animal he had shot.</p> - -<p>It was surely enough one of those spiny and -familiar denizens of the north woods.</p> - -<p>“Nodding needles! No wonder I felt as if I’d -struck a pincushion,” cried poor Persimmons, -who had, by this, drawn the last of the offending -quills from his hand. “I heard something grunting -and nosing about my blankets, and when I -put my hand out I got it full of stickers.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll put some peroxide on,” said the professor, -hastening to his tent for the medicine chest.</p> - -<p>“They aren’t poisonous, are they?” asked -Ralph, referring to the quills.</p> - -<p>“No; just sharp, that’s all,” responded Mountain -Jim. “Porcupines are the greediest and -stupidest cusses in the woods. I reckon this one -smelled grub and was investigating when he ran -into Master Simmons here.”</p> - -<p>“You mean that Persimmons ran into him,” -corrected Ralph.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Guggling geese, no!” expostulated Persimmons, -holding out his hand to be dressed, for the -wounds made by the sharp quills were bleeding, -“he ran into me, don’t ever mistake that.”</p> - -<p>It was some time before the camp quieted down -again, but finally peace was restored and a tranquil -night, undisturbed by any more nocturnal -adventures, was passed.</p> - -<p>Bright and early the next day they set out once -more, traveling now off the beaten track and -making for their destination, the Big Bend of the -Columbia River. The professor was on the lookout -for what he called metamorphic specimens of -rock, which, in plain English, means bits of -stone and so forth that show traces of the new -world in the making. For, as he had explained -to the boys, the Canadian Rockies are, from a -geologist’s standpoint, of recent formation. Unlike -many chains of like character, they are not -supposed to be volcanic in formation. The final -cause of the uplifting of their giant crests is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -generally attributed to the shrinkage of the -earth’s interior by loss of heat or some other action. -It is also supposed that eons ago the -Rockies were as lofty as the Himalayas or the -Andes, but that the various destructive forces -that worked and still work amidst their rugged -bosoms, have diminished their stature by thousands -of feet.</p> - -<p>It was at the close of their second day’s travel -that the first of a series of mysterious happenings, -destined to puzzle them greatly in the future, -occurred. Ralph, who had been disturbed -by the noise of some nocturnal animal trampling -about in the brush, rose from his blankets and -emerged into the moonlight with his rifle, his -thoughts centered on the notion that his long-cherished -hope of shooting a grizzly had materialized.</p> - -<p>Not far from the camp, and overlooking it, a -lofty rock towered above the floor of the valley -through which they were then traveling. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -moonlight its dark form was silhouetted blackly -against the night sky. Ralph’s heart gave a leap -as he saw, or thought he saw, something moving -on the summit of the great boulder.</p> - -<p>He raised his rifle to fire and stood with beating -pulses awaiting the opportunity.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a form moved into view on the summit -of the rock. The boy’s finger was just about -to press the trigger, when he gave a gasp of astonishment -and the rifle almost fell from his -hands.</p> - -<p>It was the form of a man that had appeared, -blackly outlined against the moonlight. For one -instant the figure stood there and then, as Ralph -hailed it in a quavering voice, it wheeled, and like -an alarmed wild beast, slipped off into the forest.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER IX.</h2> - -<p class="pch">A MOUNTAIN MYSTERY.</p> - -<p>Ralph said nothing of his adventure of the -night till the next morning. As he had expected, -his young chums put it down to a feverish imagination. -Even the professor suggested a dose of -quinine; but Mountain Jim walked over after the -morning meal to where the boy had seen the apparition, -which, Ralph was beginning to believe, -the figure must have been.</p> - -<p>The lad accompanied the mountaineer, who -had expected to find some tracks or traces by -which Ralph’s adventure might be verified. But -the ground was rocky, and the soft bed of the forest -beyond held no tracks, so that they were disappointed -in their anticipation of finding some -clew to the strange appearance of the night.</p> - -<p>“You’re certain sure, dead certain sure that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -you did see something. Didn’t just dream it?” -questioned Mountain Jim as they made their way -back to camp where the others were busy packing -the ponies, even Persimmons being by this -time able to cast a “diamond hitch.”</p> - -<p>“I’m positive,” declared Ralph firmly; “if I -hadn’t been so certain that what I saw was a -man, I would have fired. But who could it have -been?” he added in a perplexed voice. Jim shook -his blond head.</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, I dunno, boy,” -he said, thoughtfully puffing at his pipe. “You -ain’t the sort of lad to dream things, I can see -that. But it’s got me. If we’d been in the gold -country now it might have been a prospector, but -nobody goes through here, not even hunters, for -right where we are now is a bad place for game.”</p> - -<p>So, for the time being, the mystery of the midnight -visitor was unsolved and almost forgotten. -It was destined to be recalled later in a startling -manner, but for the present even Ralph began to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -believe that he might have been the victim of -some sort of an hallucination, caused, possibly, -by the fact that he was only half awake when -he had beheld the figure on the rock.</p> - -<p>As Mountain Jim had said, the country -through which they were now traveling was indeed -a bad section for hunters. Although the -boys made several detours after game, not so -much as a rabbit did they see. The day following -the night on which Ralph had seen, or -thought he had seen, the figure of the watching -man, they encountered, for the first time, a tract -of country common enough in the Canadian wilds -but particularly unpleasant to travel through, -namely, a <i>brulee</i> or vast tract of woods through -which a forest fire has swept, leaving desolation -in its path.</p> - -<p>Nothing more depressing can be imagined than -these burned forests. Naked, blackened trees, -with rags of scorched bark peeling from their -bare trunks, tower out of a desert expanse of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -gray-black ash. Horses or foot travelers passing -through, churn up clouds of this ashen dust -which chokes the nostrils, burns the eyes and -blackens everything with which it comes in contact.</p> - -<p>Our travelers found themselves on the outskirts -of such a place some time before noon on -the day mentioned. Mountain Jim had at first -thought of making a detour up a mountain side, -but after a consultation it was decided to press -on through the desolate waste, where charred -trunks stuck up like the blackened stumps of -teeth in an old man’s jaws.</p> - -<p>As they plunged into the <i>brulee</i> they found -their ponies sinking over the fetlocks in the ashes. -In places, huge piles of trunks, burned through -at the base, lay like barriers across their path, -and it was necessary to go around them to find a -passable way. Long before they were out of the -wretched place the water in their canteens was -gone, and their throats were clogged and lips<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -cracked from the dry, acrid dust that rose in -clouds. From time to time the boys were compelled -to rub their eyes to relieve the tingling -smart in them, and speedily their faces were -blackened like those of coal heavers. A more -sorry-looking party it would be hard to imagine -than that which, hour after hour, painfully wended -its way through the burned forest. Not a -sprig of green, not a rill of water refreshed their -sight. No birds or animals could be seen or -heard. On every side was nothing but black -desolation.</p> - -<p>Ralph and young Ware rode ahead, side by -side, while behind straggled the rest of the party. -Mountain Jim brought up the rear behind the -pack animals, which needed urging with whip -and voice through the desolation of the <i>brulee</i>. -Now and then, far off, they could hear the crash -of some forest giant as its burned-through trunk -gave way and it came smashing to the ground<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -with a roar like thunder, not infrequently bringing -two or three of its mates with it.</p> - -<p>Jim had warned the boys and the professor -to be on the lookout for such things, and as Ralph -and Harry Ware rode along they kept a bright -and vigilant watch for any tree that looked as if -its fall was imminent.</p> - -<p>“Gee whiz! I feel like an ant that has lost its -way in the ashes of a camper’s fire,” was the -graphic way in which Hardware expressed his -feelings, as for the twentieth time that morning -he tried to clear his throat of ashes.</p> - -<p>They ate a hasty lunch, of which, the boys declared, -ashes formed the chief ingredient, for the -dry, implacable gray dust appeared to sift into -every mouthful they tasted. A long stop was out -of the question. There was no knowing how far -the <i>brulee</i> extended and they must push on and -get to water, for already the ponies were beginning -to show signs of distress. The poor animals’ -sweaty sides were caked with gray dust till they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -all appeared of one uniform drab color. For the -matter of that, the travelers themselves were no -better off. Like a dull monochrome, they were -cloaked in ashen gray from head to foot.</p> - -<p>Hardly speaking, for their spirits were at the -lowest ebb in this ghastly ruin of a majestic forest, -they pushed on. The only life in the <i>brulee</i> -appeared to be the black flies and mosquitoes -which bit till they drew blood, further annoying -them.</p> - -<p>“I thought I’d rough it in the West,” muttered -Ralph once as his pony tumbled over a -blackened trunk that lay across the trail, “but -this beats anything I’ve ever experienced,—pah!” -and he spat out a mouthful of ashy dust.</p> - -<p>The afternoon wore on, and still they stumbled -along through the <i>brulee</i> without any signs of its -coming to an end. As far as they could see the -forest of blackened trunks extended, the same -carpet of ashen dust was everywhere. The sun, -growing lower, hung like a glowing ball of copper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -in a red sky, seen through the dust that they -kicked up as they moved painfully along.</p> - -<p>The horses were driven half mad by the biting -flies, and their fetlocks were cruelly bruised -and cut by the charred logs and rocks. It was -heartbreaking traveling, but of a kind that must -befall sooner or later everyone who ventures -into the wilds of the Canadian Rockies.</p> - -<p>Tired, choked and irritable, Harry Ware was -lagging behind Ralph, who was now riding in advance -alone. Behind him he could hear the voice -of Mountain Jim unceasingly urging on the pack -animals. Mountain Jim never swore, but his -range of words which were forceful and expressive -without being profane, was amazing. Evidently, -too, his adjurations had their effect on the -jaded ponies, for they stumbled bravely on leaping -logs and dodging stones with renewed agility -every time the guide’s voice boomed through that -blackened, fire-swept wilderness.</p> - -<p>Ralph had fallen into a semi-doze. The deadly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -monotony of the half-calcined columns on -every hand, the close heat of the <i>brulee</i> made him -drowsy. The voice of Mountain Jim fell more -and more faintly on his ears. Harry Ware, kicking -his pony viciously, passed him.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to be the first out of this beastly -place,” he remarked with emphasis as he rode by.</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t kick any more dust in my face -than you can help,” rejoined Ralph, only a shade -less irritably.</p> - -<p>“Oh, shut up!” snapped Harry, ordinarily the -best and most even-tempered of boys.</p> - -<p>Ralph flushed angrily for an instant and his -hand clenched as a cloud of choking dust was -spurned in his face by the heels of Harry Ware’s -mount. But the next instant he gained control -of himself.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw! I guess we’re all losing our tempers,” -he murmured to himself, “and it’s a fact that -this place would make a saint cross—Hold up -there, pony! Not much longer now.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p> - -<p>Content with his spurt ahead, Hardware slowed -his pony down to a walk a few paces in front -of Ralph. He did not apologize for his unthinking -act of smothering Ralph with dust. Instead, -he gazed sullenly straight ahead of him.</p> - -<p>He was hot, thirsty, and bitten mercilessly by -black flies. The lad was in no mood to go around -obstacles. Rather was he in that savage humor -that rushes recklessly on, although he had been -warned of the dangers of the <i>brulee</i>. In fact, the -frequent crashing of half burned-through trees, -as a vagrant wind caught them and snapped them -off, would have been sufficient indication that a -sharp lookout was necessary to anyone in a less -irritable mood. But Harry didn’t think of this. -Instead, he urged his tired pony viciously over -blackened logs with quirt and heel.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Ralph, whose vigilance had not relaxed -although he was fearfully drowsy, thought -he saw a great blackened trunk directly ahead of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -them lean over a trifle. He was sure of it in another -moment.</p> - -<p>“Pull out!” he yelled to Harry, who was driving -his pony straight in a path which would -bring him under the swaying trunk.</p> - -<p>“Oh, mind your own business!” flung back -Hardware crossly, and drove his little mount -right on.</p> - -<p>Ralph did not hesitate a minute. He wore -spurs, the same blunt-rowelled pair he had used -on the border. He drove these into his pony’s -side and brought down his quirt with a crack -that made the little animal snort angrily and -plunge forward.</p> - -<p>In front of him he saw the mighty column -sway and oscillate as though in a vain attempt to -recover its equipoise. Directly under it was Harry -Ware, sullenly riding on with his eyes on the -ground. Once more Ralph yelled and his pony -gave a wild leap forward.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the mighty trunk rushed earthward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -Simultaneously Ralph’s hand fell on Hardware’s -bridle. He gave a tug that brought the latter’s -pony up on its haunches. It reared wildly, almost -toppling backward.</p> - -<p>At the same instant a cold wind fanned both -boys as the trunk swept down. There was a -deafening crash almost under the feet of the -plunging ponies, and both lads were shrouded -in a cloud of black dust that rose up like a dark -veil.</p> - -<p>“Good heavens! They’re killed!” shouted the -professor dashing forward.</p> - -<p>About the two boys the dust whirled and eddied. -The ponies plunged wildly, almost unseating -them, but Ralph held on till he had dragged -Hardware’s mount out of the black dust cloud.</p> - -<p>As he did so, from ahead of them, came crash -after crash with a startling suddenness. The -<i>brulee</i> was filled with shocks of sound that rang -in thunderous reverberations along the steep -rocks. The echoes flung back and forth till the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -uproar was deafening. In the meantime the party, -including the two lads who had been saved -from what appeared certain death, stood fast.</p> - -<p>They hardly breathed till the crashes grew less -and less frequent and a brooding silence settled -down over the <i>brulee</i> once more.</p> - -<p>Then Hardware, shaking all over, gazed at the -great trunk lying recumbent not two yards from -them. His eyes filled with tears. He held out a -blackened hand to Ralph, who smiled at him -through his mask of gray ash.</p> - -<p>“I—I—I don’t know how to thank you, Ralph, -old man,” he choked out. “If it hadn’t been for -you, in my silly temper I’d have gone right on -without minding you, and—and——”</p> - -<p>He could not go further, but Ralph’s fingers -closed on his out-stretched hand.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right, old man,” was all he said; -but between both boys a thrill ran as their fingers -clasped. Hardware had learned a lesson -there in the <i>brulee</i> that all the schools in Christendom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -couldn’t have taught him, and he knew it.</p> - -<p>“A mighty near thing,” said Mountain Jim, as -the others rode up, “I guess I’ll have a smoke.”</p> - -<p>His voice was steady enough, but his hands -shook as he filled his old brier. Death had swept -by too closely for any of them to recover their -nerve for half an hour or more. By that time, -as they rode on, the charred trunks were fewer -and fewer, and an hour before sundown they -came out of that “Valley of Desolation” into a -wide canon, carpeted with lush, green grass and -watered by a crystal clear stream. On each side -towered rocky scraps of cliff clothed with dark -pines and balsams.</p> - -<p>Boys and men broke into a cheer, and even the -dispirited ponies fell into a brisk gait without -urging. The travelers forgot their trials as they -laved in the fresh, cold water of the mountain -stream and watched Jim getting supper, assisted -by Jimmie, while the ponies ravenously cropped -the fresh, juicy grass. But it was days before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -the last trace of ashes was removed from their -belongings, and one at least of the party was destined -never to forget that <i>brulee</i> in the Rockies as -long as he might live.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER X.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE PONIES VANISH.</p> - -<p>Ralph’s first act on wakening the next morning -was to pull open the flap of the tent and gaze -out. His next was to utter a shout of surprise. -Of the ponies which had been turned out to graze -the evening before, not a sign was to be seen. -As usual, they had been driven out with old Baldy, -the leader of the pack horses, as the “bell” -pony. Like most ponies in the wilds, they had -hitherto stuck closely to Baldy who, for his part, -was usually quite content to remain around camp -so long as the grazing was good.</p> - -<p>But although Ralph listened closely, he could -not catch even the familiar tinkle of the bell that -would have told him that Baldy and the rest were -somewhere near at hand.</p> - -<p>“Well, this is a nice pickle,” he thought, as he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -set off to stir Jim into wakefulness, “it means a -day’s delay while we hunt for the ponies; however, -there appears to be plenty of rock in this -vicinity for the professor to explore and hammer -away at, so I suppose he’ll be happy.”</p> - -<p>Jim greeted Ralph’s news without much surprise. -It appeared that in years of packing he -had grown used to such eccentricities on the part -of ponies.</p> - -<p>“We’ll track ’em down after breakfast,” he -said, rolling out of his blanket and pulling on his -boots.</p> - -<p>In the meantime Ralph had aroused the others, -and they set off for a cool plunge in the -stream. The water was icy and made them -gasp, but they felt a hundred per cent. better -after their bath. As Persimmons put it, “They -began to feel as if the world was made of something -else than ashes.” While the professor -made less strenuous ablutions, the boys rubbed -each other into a warm glow and then indulged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -in a merry game of tag on the springy turf, and -yet they were ready to respond eagerly to Jim’s -breakfast call of:—“Come and get it!” accompanied -by a vigorous solo on the wash tin performed -by Jimmie.</p> - -<p>It was wonderful what a difference there was -in the New York waif already. The crisp mountain -air had reddened his pale cheeks and the -rough but plentiful “grub” had had its effect in -nourishing his skinny frame. The old wistful -look still lurked in his eyes, and all the boys’ attempts -to drag from him the reason for his desire -to penetrate the Rockies were in vain. So, -perforce, they had to allow it to remain a mystery -till such time as the lad himself chose to -enlighten them. Bits of his history he had already -imparted to them. The lad had enlivened -many a camp fire with stories of his experiences -in the saw-dust ring, and in selling papers in -New York. Besides this, he had worked at peddling -soap powder and household goods, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -had some amusing narratives of his experiences -among the farmers of the Catskills where he had -worked as an “agent.” And as he lived with the -boys, he adopted their language and ways as -though he had been born to them.</p> - -<p>“There’s a treat for you fellows this morning,” -said Jimmie with a mysterious air, as the hungry -boys squatted down and prepared to pass up -their tin plates for their shares of bacon, bannocks -and beans.</p> - -<p>“What may that be, Jimmie?” inquired Ralph, -while Mountain Jim grinned expansively.</p> - -<p>Persimmons sniffed the air anticipatively.</p> - -<p>“Seems to me I do smell something good,” he -remarked.</p> - -<p>“How would pancakes go?” inquired Jimmie.</p> - -<p>“Great! Jimmie, you ought to be in Delmonico’s,” -cried Hardware hungrily.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been on the outside lookin’ in, many a -time,” said Jimmie with a grin, as he turned to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -the “spider” and began dishing up the thin, brown -batter cakes.</p> - -<p>Mountain Jim was on hand with a tin of maple -syrup fashioned like a miniature log-cabin, -the chimney forming the spout.</p> - -<p>“Eat hearty, boys,” he said, as he passed it -along, “and try to forget the black flies for a -while.”</p> - -<p>Early as the hour was, those pests were already -at work, in spite of the “smudge” that -Mountain Jim had built.</p> - -<p>“Wish I’d put some of that black-fly dope on -my hands,” muttered Hardware, “it’s great -stuff.”</p> - -<p>“Even if it does smell like cold storage eggs -with the lid off,” laughed Ralph.</p> - -<p>As he spoke he poured a liberal amount of -syrup on his cakes. With hearty appetite he cut -off a big slice of the top cake and eagerly took it -into his mouth. For an instant a puzzled expression<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -played over his features, and then he gave -a yell.</p> - -<p>“Wow! Oh!” he ejaculated, and bolted from -the “table.”</p> - -<p>“What’s up? What’s the trouble?” asked the -others.</p> - -<p>“Been bit by a snake?” asked Mountain Jim -apprehensively. “Better get out your medicine -chest, professor.”</p> - -<p>Ralph was frantically gulping down several -dipperfuls of water from the bucket Jimmie had -brought from the creek. They watched him with -some alarm, holding bits of pancake suspended -on their forks.</p> - -<p>“Oh-h-h-h!” sputtered Ralph, and then turned -to Jimmie, who stood looking on with undisguised -amazement.</p> - -<p>“Say, you,” he gasped out, “did you put any -of that fly dope on your hands this morning?”</p> - -<p>“Y-y-y-yes,” stammered Jimmie, a guilty flush -spreading over his face, “I did and——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And you forgot to wash it off before you mixed -the batter for these cakes,” sputtered Ralph. -“Fellows, pancakes flavored with fly dope are the -worst ever.”</p> - -<p>“Shucks!” grunted Hardware, “and I was -counting on pancakes!”</p> - -<p>“Dancing dish rags!” growled Persimmons. -“What sort of a cook are you anyhow, Jimmie? -Flavored with fly dope,—wow! wow!”</p> - -<p>Jimmie looked ready to cry, and sniffed his fingers -remorsefully.</p> - -<p>“Guess you’re right,” he admitted dolefully. -“I’m sorry, fellows, but I reckon as a cook I’m a -failure.”</p> - -<p>“I hope it isn’t poison, that’s all,” groaned -Hardware, with a glance at Ralph. “Feel any -symptoms, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“None that can’t be stopped by plenty of coffee -and a big plateful of grub,” laughed Ralph -good-naturedly.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XI.</h2> - -<p class="pch">RALPH’S VOLCANO.</p> - -<p>Mountain Jim’s examination of the trails left -by the errant ponies showed that they had scattered -in three distinct directions. This confirmed -him, he said, in a belief he had previously -formed that the animals had been frightened during -the night by a bear or mountain lion, the latter -called, in that part of the country, a cougar.</p> - -<p>No tracks of either wild beast was to be seen, -but that by no means proved that they had not -been in the vicinity. Horses can scent either a -cougar or a bear at a considerable distance when -the wind is toward them, and there are few things -that more terrify a pony than the near presence -of one of these denizens of the northern wilds.</p> - -<p>Jim assigned himself to one trail, Persimmons -and Hardware to another and Ralph to a third.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -The professor and Jimmie were to remain in -camp and wash dishes and set things to rights, -and then Jimmie was to assist the professor in -gathering specimens of rock from the cliffs in -the vicinity.</p> - -<p>It was odd to see how, in an emergency, a -man like Mountain Jim, who probably had little -more scholarship than would suffice to write his -own name, took absolute leadership over the -party. The professor, whose name was known -to a score of scientific bodies all over the country -as a savant of unusual attainments, obeyed the -son of the Rockies implicitly. Such men as Jim -are natural leaders, and in situations that call for -action automatically assume the supremacy over -men of theory and book learning.</p> - -<p>Jim explained his reason for assigning Ralph -to follow a lone trail while the other two lads had -been ordered to accompany each other. Ralph -had plainly shown his skill as a ranger and had -the experience of his life on the Border behind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -him. The other two, while self-reliant and -plucky, had not had the same experience, and -therefore the guide deemed it best not to send -either out alone.</p> - -<p>With hearty “So-longs” the three searching -parties set out, striking off in a different direction -up the mountain side. It was rough country, -with beetling masses of gray rock cropping -out now and then amidst the somber green of the -Douglas firs and great pines. Here and there -cliffs of great height and as smooth as the side -of a wall, towered sharply above the forest, and -beyond lay a “hog-back” ridge of considerable -height. Beyond this, although they could not see -them from the valley, the boys knew that mountain -range after mountain range was piled up like -the billows of an angry sea, with the higher -peaks of the Rockies raising their crests like -snow-crowned monarchs beyond and above all.</p> - -<p>Each boy carried a canteen of water, his rifle, -and a supply of bread and chocolates. Of course<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -they also carried their small axes, slung in canvas -cases at their belts, and matches in waterproof -boxes. These same waterproof match -safes were, in fact, among the few “Dingbats” -approved by Mountain Jim.</p> - -<p>“Dry matches have saved many a man’s life,” -he was wont to say.</p> - -<p>It was lonesome in the deep woods into which -Ralph plunged, after bidding adieu to his comrades. -The trail, too, was hard to follow, and -kept the lad on the alert, which was as well perhaps, -for it kept him from thinking of the solitude -of the mountain side. No one who has not -penetrated the vast solitudes of the Canadian -Rockies can picture just what the boding silence, -the utter solitude of the untrodden woods is like. -And yet the life in the wilds grows upon men -till they love it, as witness the solitary prospectors, -packers and trappers to be met in all the -wilder parts of the American continent.</p> - -<p>As he trudged along toilsomely, Ralph kept a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -look out for game as well as for the trail, for the -camp larder needed replenishing with fresh meat, -and he was anxious to bring home his share. In -this way he covered some three or four miles, -now losing the elusive trail, now picking it up -again. The mountain side was steep and rocky -and strewn with the fallen trunks of forest -giants. But Ralph’s muscles were tough, and -clean living and athletics had given him sinew -and staying power, so that he was conscious of -but little fatigue after a long stretch of such -traveling.</p> - -<p>Almost as skillfully as Coyote Pete might have -done in those days in the southwest, the boy read -the trail. Here the ponies had galloped. There -they had paused and nibbled grass; in other -places, broken boughs or abrasions on a fallen -tree trunk marked their path. There were two -of the ponies; but just which pair they were, -Ralph had, of course, no means of determining.</p> - -<p>One thing was plain, they must have been badly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -frightened; for as has been said in the mountain -solitudes, as a rule, ponies will stick close -to camp. They appear to dread being separated -from human companionship, and few packers or -trailers ever find it necessary to tether their animals.</p> - -<p>At last the ridge was topped and beyond him, -by clambering on a rock, Ralph looked into a -deep valley with ridge on ridge of mountains rising -beyond it, and beyond them again some snow-capped -peaks of considerable height. He -scanned the valley as closely as he could, but big -timber grew thickly on its sides and bottom and -he was not able to see much. There were some -open spaces, it is true, but in none of these could -he see anything of the missing ponies.</p> - -<p>Ralph sat himself down on the flat-topped rock -he had climbed, and pulling a bit of chocolate out -of his pocket, began to nibble it. He was munching -away on his lunch when he saw an odd-looking -gray bird, not unlike a partridge, sitting in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -a hemlock not far from him. The bird did not -appear to be scared and regarded the boy with -its head cocked inquisitively on one side.</p> - -<p>“Well, here goes Number One for the pot,” -thought Ralph to himself.</p> - -<p>He raised his rifle, and taking careful aim fired -at the gray bird. But his hand was shaking -somewhat from the exertions of his climb, during -which he had had to haul himself over many -rough places by grabbing branches, and his bullet -flew wide.</p> - -<p>“Bother it all,” exclaimed the boy impatiently. -“I am a muff for fair.”</p> - -<p>But to his astonishment, although the bullet -had nicked off some leaves and showered them -over the bird’s head, it had not moved. It still -sat there giving from time to time an odd sort of -croaking sound, not unlike the clucking of a barnyard -“biddy.”</p> - -<p>“I know what you are now,” chuckled Ralph -to himself, for the fact that the bird did not stir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -helped him to recognize its species from a description -given the night before by Mountain -Jim, “you’re a ‘fool-hen,’ and you are certainly -living up to your name.”</p> - -<p>He fired again, and this time the “fool-hen” -paid the penalty of its stupidity, for it fell out -of the tree dead. Ralph ran forward, picked it -up and thrust it into the hunting pocket of his -khaki coat.</p> - -<p>“It was a shame to shoot you,” he muttered to -himself; “too easy. I believe the stories that Jim -told about knocking fool-hens out of trees with -stones, now that I’ve seen what dumb birds they -are. But this isn’t finding those ponies,” he -went on to himself. “Guess I’ll strike off down -in the valley. There may be some sort of pasture -there where they’ll have stopped to feed.”</p> - -<p>Suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air suspiciously. -An odd, rank odor was borne to him -on the light wind.</p> - -<p>“Sulphur spring!” he exclaimed half aloud.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -“Reckon I’ll take a look at it. It can’t be far -off; it’s strong enough to be right under my feet. -At any rate I shan’t need any other guide than -my nose to find it.”</p> - -<p>Sniffing the tainted air like a hound on the -trail, Ralph set out down the mountain side. As -he went the odor grew more pronounced. A few -minutes later he came upon a pile of rocks heaped -in an untidy mass on the mountain side. From -the midst of them a stream of yellowish white -fluid was flowing.</p> - -<p>“Phew!” exclaimed the boy, “here’s my sulphur -spring, sure enough. I guess if it was near -to civilization there’d be a big health resort here. -Smells bad enough to be good for anything that -ails you; but—not for me, thank you.—Hullo! -What in the world was that?”</p> - -<p>Ralph paused and listened intently. Through -the forest came a dull booming sound, and the -earth appeared to shake as if agitated by a small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -earthquake. The boy looked about him apprehensively.</p> - -<p>“Well, what in the world!” he began. And -then, “It can’t be anybody blasting. Mountain -Jim said there was no mining hereabouts. What -can it be?”</p> - -<p>For some odd reason the recollection of the -man on the rock recurred to him. His heart began -to pound rather faster than was comfortable.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw!” he exclaimed, to quiet his nerves, -“I’ve got nothing to fear. I’ve got my rifle and—Great -Scott! It’s raining!”</p> - -<p>That was the boy’s first thought as a gentle -pattering resounded amidst the trees about where -he stood.</p> - -<p>He looked upward; but the sky was clear; the -sun shining brightly. Clearly the pattering was -not caused by rain.</p> - -<p>“What in the world can it be?” he exclaimed, -considerably startled. “Sounds as if somebody -was throwing stones or gravel at me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> - -<p>The next minute a large globule of mud struck -him in his upturned face. Apparently it had fallen -from the sky. It was followed by a perfect -storm of the mud dobs. They pattered about -him in a shower, spattering his clothes and hands.</p> - -<p>“It’s raining mud!” gasped the astonished boy, -completely at a loss to account for the phenomenon.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">JUST IN TIME.</p> - -<p>Once more the odd booming sound was borne -to Ralph’s ears. It came from off to his left. -The mud fell again in showers all about him.</p> - -<p>“It’s some sort of a boiling spring!” exclaimed -Ralph suddenly. “I’ll bet a doughnut that’s -what it is. What a chump I was to think that the -man on the rock had anything to do with it. Yet -it did give me a scare for a minute, too.”</p> - -<p>He dashed off in the direction of the booming -sound, eager to see what he was certain now had -caused the shower of mud. He soon came upon -it. In a little clear space amidst the pines he -found himself in marshy ground. Rank green -grass and flowers of bright colors grew here, and -brilliantly colored dragon-flies shot hither and -thither through the moist, warm air. The atmosphere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -held a steamy, unwholesome sort of -dampness.</p> - -<p>Suddenly there came a rumbling sound which -quickly changed to a roar like that of a locomotive -blowing off steam, and from the center of -the clearing there shot up a clear stream of -steaming water. But in a flash its purity was -sullied and it turned a dark muddy color. The -rumbling increased in violence and a miniature -geyser of mud and steaming hot water was shot -upward to a considerable height.</p> - -<p>Ralph made a swift dash for the shelter of a -Douglas fir and looked on curiously while the -convulsion of nature lasted. Then he ventured -out to examine the geyser more closely. To his -disappointment he found that he could not approach -the depression from which the mud and -water had been spouted upward. The ground -was far too swampy to permit such a proceeding -and the boy was compelled to look on at the -strange sight from a distance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - -<p>The convulsions occurred with almost clock-like -regularity, at intervals of about ten minutes. -As he watched, Ralph thought of the professor, -and how delighted the man of science would have -been to behold such a sight. He made careful -mental notes of the operations of the mud geyser, -however, so that he could be sure to give an -accurate account of it to the professor when he -returned.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, behind him, he heard an odd, rustling -sort of noise and noticed a movement in the -tall grass. He parted the vegetation to see what -could be causing the disturbance. The next instant -he leaped backward with a spring that -would have done credit to a gymnast.</p> - -<p>He had almost stepped on a huge rattlesnake -that was coiled in the grass. All at once he became -aware that in his backward spring he had -nearly landed on another of the reptiles, a snake -fully five feet in length. This caused the boy to -beat a precipitate retreat, choosing open ground<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -for the purpose. It was not till then that he began -to notice that the entire vicinity of the hot -springs was fairly alive with the scaly reptiles. -Undoubtedly they had been attracted there by -the warmth of the ground and had a den in the -neighborhood.</p> - -<p>“Ugh!” exclaimed the boy with a shudder, “I -never did like snakes. I guess I’ll get out of this -as quickly as possible. Some of those fellows -beat anything I saw in Arizona. I don’t fancy -their company.”</p> - -<p>He retraced his steps to the point where he -had left the trail of the missing ponies and took -it up once more. It led down into the valley and -Ralph, thinking of the scores of serpents that -must haunt the vicinity of the geyser, followed -it with a thankful feeling that he had seen the -rattlers in time to avoid them.</p> - -<p>The traveling down the side of the ridge on -which he was now was almost as hard as his -clamber up the opposite acclivity. To make matters<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -worse he encountered several muskegs smelling -strongly of sulphur, and undoubtedly fed by -the sulphurous springs higher up the hill. But -the boy was grateful for one thing that the softer -ground did for him. It made the traveling -harder, but, at the same time, it held the prints of -the runaways’ hoofs as clear as day; and as well -as Ralph could judge from the look of their -prints they were fairly fresh, and told him that -he could not be far from the strays.</p> - -<p>This encouraged him greatly, and he made -good time down the hillside, strewn though the -way was with obstacles. He was traveling forward -thus, when from a patch of flowering -shrubs ahead there came a rustle and a crackling.</p> - -<p>Ralph’s heart jumped into his mouth. Mountain -Jim had declared that the ponies had been -scared by a cougar or a bear. Could the creature -be just beyond him in that clump of shrubs?</p> - -<p>He examined his rifle carefully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I don’t want to be treed again,” he said to -himself.</p> - -<p>So far as he could see, the rifle was in perfect -working order. He stood stock still and waited -for a recurrence of the disturbance in the bushes.</p> - -<p>But following the rustling that had first attracted -his attention no sound came. Ralph’s excited -imagination showed him a tawny side a dozen -times or more, only to be followed by the discovery -that it was some dead or faded leaves and -not the flank of a bear or cougar that he had -spied.</p> - -<p>“If something doesn’t happen pretty quick, I’m -going to blow up!” exclaimed the boy to himself -as he waited, hardly daring to breathe.</p> - -<p>All at once there came from the patch of bushes -a renewed rustling. It was coming toward -him. Ralph clutched his rifle tightly and bit his -under lip to keep his nerves under control. The -sound was growing nearer now. Was it a bear, -or a stealthy, cat-like cougar that was destined<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -to emerge in an instant from its place of concealment?</p> - -<p>“It’s coming,” thought Ralph, with a bound of -his heart, “I hope I can shoot straight and finish -it with one shot.”</p> - -<p>He threw up his gun in anticipation and the -next instant burst into a loud laugh.</p> - -<p>From the bush had emerged, not a bear nor -a mountain lion, nor even a deer.</p> - -<p>Facing Ralph, and quite as much astonished -as he, to judge by its attitude, was a large Canada -hare. For an instant boy and hare stood looking -at each other, while Ralph shook with laughter -over his feelings of trepidation as to what the -brush would bring forth.</p> - -<p>“Talk about the mountain and the mouse,” he -chuckled to himself. “This sure is a modern version -of the old fable.”</p> - -<p>“Skip along, bunny,” he added the next instant, -as the hare, with a spring and a whisk of its -stumpy tail, vanished down the mountain side<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -seeking cover, “I wouldn’t take as easy a shot as -that, especially when I was looking for big game.”</p> - -<p>But the next minute he was destined to get another -surprise. Something was coming toward -him from another direction, from his right. He -could hear its footsteps as it advanced somewhat -heavily, cracking branches and twigs.</p> - -<p>Then among the tree trunks and underbrush -he saw something move. A brown object it appeared -to be.</p> - -<p>“A deer!” flashed through Ralph’s mind. “I’m -in luck to-day.”</p> - -<p>With eager eyes riveted on the spot where he -had last seen the brown object, Ralph raised his -rifle. His hands trembled but he steadied them -with an effort, fighting off the attack of “buck -fever,” as a hunter’s excitement at the prospect -of big game is termed.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the brown object appeared again, -bobbing about behind a clump of brambles.</p> - -<p>“It’s a deer’s head, sure!” breathed Ralph.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - -<p>He drew a careful bead on the object, devoutly -hoping that his sights were adjusted right for -the range, which was about a hundred yards.</p> - -<p>“Now for it,” he said to himself, as he prepared -to press the trigger.</p> - -<p>But the shot was never fired, for just as Ralph -was about to send a bullet crashing from his -weapon there stepped into view from behind the -brush, <i>the figure of a man</i>!</p> - -<p>Ralph shook as if from a fever. Another instant -and he might have been a murderer! The -man had revealed himself in the nick of time. -But hardly had Ralph discovered his mistake -when the man saw him. Without a word he -dashed off like a wild animal, crouching and diving -as he went, and in a flash was out of sight.</p> - -<p>In the brief interval that Ralph had had to -scrutinize the man he had so nearly shot, he had -not received more than a general impression as -to what he looked like. But this impression was -startling enough. It was of a creature bearded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -with a hairy growth that reached almost to his -waist, half naked and with long, unkempt hair -and wild eyes.</p> - -<p>But even so, he had a queer intuition that this -half wild creature and the silent watcher on the -rock were one and the same individual.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XIII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">BOYS AND A GRIZZLY.</p> - -<p>Hardware and Persimmons found pretty much -the same traveling as Ralph. But not as experienced -as he in following a trail, they did not advance -so fast. Luckily, as it so fell out for them, -the pony that they were trailing was one known -as White-eye. He was a harum-scarum sort of -a brute, and for that reason Mountain Jim had -fastened round his neck, the night before, a lariat -with a heavy stone attached to it. The stone -had left a plainly swept path through the woods, -and except in one or two baffling places the boys -had followed it without much difficulty.</p> - -<p>Instead of keeping to the open mountain side, -like Ralph’s quarry, White-eye had made his way -up a gully that cut deep into the hills, leading in -a diagonal slash to the north. The two lads followed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -the bottom of the gully as far as it led and -then, still following the trail of the stone attached -to White-eye’s neck, they made their way -up a rough, rock-strewn slope to the summit of -the ridge.</p> - -<p>Unlike the country Ralph had struck, Hardware -and his companion found themselves, on the -summit of the ridge, in a forest of white birch -and shady green timber, amidst which the sunlight -filtered down cheerfully. Passing through -this they emerged on a rocky hillside thickly -grown with “scotch-caps,” or sackatoons, Rocky -Mountain blueberries and snake berries, while -under foot was a carpet of red heather.</p> - -<p>The boys ate heartily of the blueberries and -scotch caps, but one taste of the snake berries -was enough for them. They were bitter and -nauseating to a degree, although Mountain Jim -had told them that bears preferred them to any -other berry.</p> - -<p>“No accounting for tastes,” commented Hardware<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -in this connection, “and speaking of bears, -I wonder if there are any hereabouts?”</p> - -<p>“Bucking blueberries, I hope not,” exclaimed -Persimmons, looking about him in some trepidation. -“I’d like to have Mountain Jim along if we -are going to run into anything like that.”</p> - -<p>“This looks like the sort of country he said -bears frequented,” was Hardware’s response. “I -don’t see why we should be scared to meet one, -either.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you’d go right up and say ‘Goodmorning, -bear,’” snorted Persimmons.</p> - -<p>“Well, we’ve got our rifles, and they are supposed -to be powerful enough to bring down any -bear, and——”</p> - -<p>“Howling hammerheads, what’s the matter -now?”</p> - -<p>The question was a natural one, for Hardware -had stopped short and was staring ahead of them -down the steep hillside.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Why, something’s moving down there. It -may be a bear. Get your rifle ready.”</p> - -<p>Hardware’s face took on a determined expression -and he looked to the mechanism of his rifle -and slipped a magazine into place. Persimmons -did the same, muttering to himself as he did so -that it was no use fighting a bear, and that they’d -better give Bruin a wide berth.</p> - -<p>But the next instant their anxiety was relieved -and gave place to high good humor. The object -Hardware had spied moving among the rocks -and brambles was not a grizzly, but the recreant -White-eye, cropping the grass as he moved about.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he looked up and saw the boys. With -upraised head and pricked ears he watched their -advance.</p> - -<p>“Goodness! I hope he will let us get near him,” -said Hardware. “I don’t much fancy a chase -through this sort of country.”</p> - -<p>“He looks as wild as a hawk,” was his companion’s -response.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> - -<p>Indeed White-eye did not appear as if he meant -to be docilely captured.</p> - -<p>As the boys cautiously crept forward, trying -to avoid any action that might startle him, the -pony rolled his eyes back in the manner that had -given him his name and extended his nostrils, -sniffing the air suspiciously. Both boys had -brought along some grain in their pockets, out -of the supply carried for emergencies, and now -Hardware dipped his hand into his pocket and -extended it, full of oats, for White-eye’s inspection.</p> - -<p>But seemingly, the pony had no mind to be -caught just then. He gave a plunge and snort -and dashed off.</p> - -<p>“Oh, gracious!” groaned Hardware. “There -he goes, lickety-split; it doesn’t look as if we’d -ever catch him.”</p> - -<p>“Howling hen-roosts, no!” gasped Persimmons, -who had just barked his shin on a sharp -rock. “And I tell you one thing, Hardware, I’m<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -not going to chase very far after him. Hullo, -what’s he doing now?”</p> - -<p>White-eye had paused with startling suddenness -in his mad career, and the next minute the -boys realized what had caused his abrupt stoppage. -His long tether, with the stone attached, -had caught around the stump of a sage bush as -it bounded down the hill, and twisted round the -stump two or three times had captured the runaway -as effectually as if he had been tied by human -hands.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s what I call luck,” declared Hardware -fervently.</p> - -<p>“It’s all of that and then some,” responded -Persimmons puffingly.</p> - -<p>“Let’s hurry up, he may get loose again,” -urged his companion, and the two boys hastened -forward regardless of brambles or rocks.</p> - -<p>In a jiffy they had the lariat untied and were -holding tightly on to it, prepared for another -wild dash on the part of White-eye. But now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -that they had hold of the rope, the pony appeared, -with equine wisdom, to perceive that further -resistance was useless. He followed docilely -enough while they led him up the hillside.</p> - -<p>“I hope the others have had as good luck,” remarked -Hardware as they trudged along.</p> - -<p>“I hope so, too,” responded Persimmons, “I -wouldn’t wish my worst enemy any more of this -kind of work than could be helped.”</p> - -<p>But just as they were congratulating themselves -on the easy capture of the stray a sudden -demon appeared to enter White-eye’s being. He -started leaping and bucking and snorting as if -possessed.</p> - -<p>“What on earth is the matter with him now?” -gasped Hardware in wonderment.</p> - -<p>“Bucking beefsteaks, he acts like he had a bad -tummy ache,” exclaimed Persimmons; “maybe -he’s been eating some of those snake berries. -They’re enough to make anybody cut up if he -takes too many of them, and one’s a-plenty—wow! -Look! Harry! Look there!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/ill-132.jpg" width="400" height="495" - alt="" - title="" /> - <div class="caption"><p class="pc400">... a great brown form arose on its hind legs and stood -looking at them.—<span class="wn"><i>Page <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</i></span></p> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> - -<p>The cause of White-eye’s sudden alarm became -startlingly apparent. From a patch of blueberries -just ahead of them, where he had evidently -been feeding, a great brown form arose on -its hind legs and stood looking at them.</p> - -<p>“A g-g-g-g-grizzly!” yelled Hardware, quite -forgetting his rifle that was slung over his back -by a bandolier.</p> - -<p>“Run! Run for your life!” shouted Persimmons, -equally forgetful of his weapon, which, in -order to lead White-eye, he had been compelled -to sling over his shoulders in a similar way.</p> - -<p>The bear dropped on all fours and began coming -toward them without undue haste, but with -a sort of deadly deliberation.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XIV.</h2> - -<p class="pch">A CAVERN OF MYSTERY.</p> - -<p>Snorting and plunging, White-eye wheeled and -dashed off down the hillside. When they had -first re-captured him, the two boys had, for greater -ease in leading him, fastened the rope through -their belts. They were heartily sorry for this -now.</p> - -<p>As the pony turned and plunged off, they only -managed to keep their feet by an effort, and the -next instant they were perforce flying down the -steep mountain side attached to the leading rope -of the frightened pony.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, the going was too rough for -White-eye to be able to make his full speed, otherwise -they might have been dragged off their -feet and seriously injured. As it was, their united -weight and the rugged hillside both combined<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -to slacken the pony’s runaway gallop and enabled -them to keep upright. But even so, they were -hauled through brambles and brush, scratching -their hands unmercifully and tearing even the -stout fabric of their hunting clothes.</p> - -<p>It was an extraordinary situation. First came -the terrified pony, making every effort to escape -from the bear. Behind him, towed at the end of -the rope and helpless to relieve the stress of their -predicament, came the two boys. Behind them -again lumbered the bear, apparently not in any -particular hurry, but still getting over the ground -uncomfortably fast for those he was pursuing.</p> - -<p>The two boys had no opportunity to exchange -words as they were remorselessly hastened along. -Hardware made an effort to reach his knife, but -he was unable to do so and carry out his intention -of cutting the rope. Even if he could have done -this, their situation would not have been much -improved. There would still have remained the -bear to be reckoned with, and both boys were so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -badly flustered that it is doubtful if they could -have used their rifles effectively.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Harry Ware, who had cast a glance -behind him, gave a yell. “He’s coming faster!”</p> - -<p>The bear had quit his leisurely rolling canter -and was now advancing at a pace that appeared -incredibly swift for so cumbrous and awkward -an animal. He looked like a flying ball of fur as -his short legs flashed under his heavy body.</p> - -<p>It seemed inevitable that the chase was to come -to a sudden termination. Every instant the -frightened boys expected to feel the creature’s -great claws pull them down.</p> - -<p>But suddenly, something as startling as it was -entirely unexpected occurred.</p> - -<p>White-eye vanished from view ahead of them.</p> - -<p>One instant they had seen him straining and -tugging on the rope by which they were being so -unwillingly towed along. The next minute the -earth appeared to open and swallow him.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously both boys were jerked off their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -feet by a sharp tug on the rope. They felt themselves -being rushed forward over the rough -ground and yanked through a clump of scratching -“scotch-cap” bushes.</p> - -<p>A moment later they both gave a shout of terror -as they felt themselves falling into a dark -hole. Then came a plunge and a sudden bump as -they fetched up their career through space by -abruptly alighting on something soft and warm.</p> - -<p>For a time, so badly shaken were they by their -fall and by terror, that neither spoke. Then Persimmons’ -voice came through the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Rocketing radishes! are you dead, Hardware?”</p> - -<p>“No, are you?” came the answer in a quavering -voice.</p> - -<p>“Not even scratched. But where under the sun -are we?”</p> - -<p>“At present we are lying on White-eye’s body. -Poor brute, I guess he’s dead.”</p> - -<p>“But he saved our lives. If he hadn’t fallen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -first to the bottom of this hole, or whatever it is, -we’d have been killed or had our bones broken, -sure.”</p> - -<p>“Not much doubt of that. But what are we -going to do now?”</p> - -<p>“Get out of this place.”</p> - -<p>“But how? Can you suggest a way? Look -up above.”</p> - -<p>Peering over the top of the hole, which was -some twenty feet above them, was a shaggy head. -As he gazed over into the hole down which his -prey had so unexpectedly vanished, the bear gave -a growl and shook his great head, while his red -jaws slavered and dripped.</p> - -<p>“Well, this hole in the ground, or cave, or -whatever it is, saved us from that bear at any -rate,” declared Persimmons.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but it looks as if we had got out of the -frying pan into the fire,” retorted his companion -disgustedly. “Why didn’t we think to use our -rifles? We’re a fine pair of hunters, we are.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We couldn’t have used them, anyhow,” was -Persimmons’ response.</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Because, like Mazeppa, we were hitched to a -fiery steed, only we trailed along instead of being -on his back. Poor beast, he must have been -killed instantly by his tumble.”</p> - -<p>“I guess so. His head is doubled under his -body. His neck must have been broken.”</p> - -<p>“Well, this is a fine end to our horse hunt. I -guess we’ll have to wait here till they come along -and find us.”</p> - -<p>“Looks that way,” was the moody reply. “At -any rate I’m going to have a shot at the cause -of all our trouble.”</p> - -<p>“All right, if you miss, give me a chance at -him.”</p> - -<p>Harry Ware raised his rifle and fired directly -at the bear’s head as the great, shaggy creature -peered down into the dark hole. His shot was -echoed almost simultaneously by a report from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -Persimmons’ rifle. There was no need for a -third.</p> - -<p>The great head sank lifelessly and hung limply -over the edge of the hole above them.</p> - -<p>“Good work!” cried young Simmons. “Now, -if we can only get out of here we can bring back -a pelt that will astonish them.”</p> - -<p>“True enough; but the problem is how to get -out.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s light up and see what sort of a place -we have got into.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke Persimmons struck a match from -his pocket case and a yellow glow illumined their -surroundings. They had fallen into a sort of rift -in the hillside with a narrow opening in it -through which poor White-eye had plunged, -dragging them with him. But the light of the -match, even in the brief period it endured, -showed them that it would be impossible to clamber -out by the way they had so unceremoniously -entered. The hole, or rift, was larger at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -bottom than the top, and they would have had to -be able to walk upside down, like flies on a -sloping ceiling, to regain the mouth of the hole.</p> - -<p>It was plain that they must find some other -means of egress. But how this was to be accomplished -was a puzzling question.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XV.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE HUT IN THE WOODS.</p> - -<p>Following his first flush of surprise at the -strange reappearance and vanishment of the mysterious -man, Ralph was conscious of a feeling -closely akin to hot indignation.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to catch him,” thought the lad -fiercely. “What does he mean by going on like -this? What’s he following us for and spying on -us? I’d like to find out what sort of tricks he -is up to, and I’m going to.”</p> - -<p>So saying he set off through the woods at a -good pace, following as nearly as he could the -direction the man had taken. But it soon dawned -on him that he had undertaken an almost hopeless -task. Judging from the man’s appearance, -he had been a denizen of the woods for a long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -period, although just how he lived was not apparent.</p> - -<p>At any rate, before he had gone far Ralph was -compelled to admit that there did not appear to be -much chance of his catching up with the man. -No sign of him was visible, and no crackling of -brush or sound of footsteps betrayed in what -direction he had gone.</p> - -<p>“Guess I’ll have to give it up,” mused Ralph -disgustedly. “At any rate I’m sure of one thing -now, I’ve got nothing to fear from this strange -customer, whatever may be his object in hanging -about us like this. He must have followed us -and——”</p> - -<p>Ralph paused abruptly. He had last seen the -man on the other side of the <i>brulee</i>. It was -hardly likely that he could have passed through -such a tract of country. Yet, on the other hand, -the boy could not doubt that the man he had -seen on the rock overlooking their camp and the -wild figure of the valley were one and the same.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -There was a deep mystery about it all. One too -deep for the boy to fathom, for he broke off his -meditations with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“It’s no use keeping up the chase to-day,” he -declared to himself with emphasis, “but if that -fellow keeps on dodging our tracks he’s going to -hear from me in no uncertain fashion.”</p> - -<p>He rose from the stump on which he had sat -down to think things over and resumed his search -for the stray ponies. As he moved along he -munched his bread and chocolate, taking his -lunch “on the hoof,” so to speak.</p> - -<p>Before long he struck the trail of the missing -ponies once more. This time it soon led him into -a swampy country and he followed it rapidly. -Along the floor of the valley he went till suddenly, -on coming around a pile of great rocks, -hurled from the summit of the ridge in some -prehistoric convulsion, he saw something that -gave him a big surprise. In a little clearing stood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -a ruinous log cabin, and tethered outside it was -one of the missing ponies!</p> - -<p>Of the other there was no trace. All at once -Ralph heard a scrambling and clambering among -the rocks above him on the steep hillside. He -glanced quickly and just in time to see the mysterious -man remounted on the other pony, rapidly -urging it away from the hut.</p> - -<p>“Stop thief!” yelled Ralph, carried away by -excitement. “Come back here!”</p> - -<p>“Stop or I’ll shoot!” he shouted the next instant -throbbing with indignation.</p> - -<p>He had no intention of hitting the fugitive, but -he did mean to frighten him into stopping if he -could. For an instant the form of the stolen -pony and its rider became visible among the trees -through which the afternoon sun was sending -down oblique shafts of light.</p> - -<p>Ralph raised his rifle, sighted it to carry a -bullet well above the fugitive’s head and fired.</p> - -<p>“The next will come closer,” he warned; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -the next minute all other thoughts were rushed -abruptly out of his mind when a bullet whizzed -by his head close enough to fan his ear. The -ping-g-g-g-g-g-g of the ball as it sped by, ruffling -his hair, did not appeal to Ralph. Evidently -the fugitive was a dead shot and was not -inclined to be pursued if he could avoid it by putting -his tracker out of the way.</p> - -<p>“Jove!” exclaimed Ralph as he slipped behind -a tree trunk, “that bullet was a message meant -for me, all right. I don’t care to be at home to -such callers.”</p> - -<p>He listened an instant and then came the sound -of the pony’s hoofs making off at a good pace -through the trackless forest.</p> - -<p>“He’s escaped me again,” exclaimed Ralph -angrily. “Confound him, he’s worse than a -mystery now. I’ll bet that it was he who stampeded -the ponies last night and now he turns out -to be a miserable horse thief. Wonder if I can’t -get a clew to him at that hut yonder? At any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -rate there’s Baldy tied up and safe and sound as -ever. I suppose I ought to thank our mysterious -friend for leaving him behind.”</p> - -<p>The boy slipped from behind his tree trunk and -made his way toward the hut. Baldy whinnied -as the boy approached. It was plain that the -pony was glad to see him.</p> - -<p>“Good Baldy! Good old pony,” exclaimed -Ralph, slapping the animal’s thigh and then giving -him some bread. “I wish you could talk, -old fellow, and then maybe you could throw some -light on what in creation all this means anyhow.”</p> - -<p>Ralph then looked all about him with much -curiosity. The hut was moss-grown and moldering -into decay. Judged from its exterior it had -not been lived in for many years. At the rear -of it a spring bubbled into a rusty iron pot beside -which lay a rust-eaten dipper.</p> - -<p>The door of the shack—windows it had none—hung -on one crazy hinge made of raw-hide.</p> - -<p>“Guess I’ll take a look inside,” said Ralph, feeling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -a very lively curiosity, “but from general appearances -I don’t think our mysterious friend and -horse thief actually lives here. Looks to me more -as if he used it as a temporary camping place. -Yet he could hardly have found his way here -unless he previously knew of its existence.”</p> - -<p>Cautiously, and with his rifle ready for a surprise, -for he did not know what he might encounter -next, Ralph entered the hut. It smelled -moldy and stuffy, and in the dim light he could -not at first see very much of its interior.</p> - -<p>Bit by bit the details began to grow out of -the gloom. In the center of the shack was a -rough board table and on it stood some rusted -plates and cups. In a corner hung some old garments -and a few moldering furs, skins of raccoons -and minks. A rusty stove stood in another -corner, one leg missing and sagging drunkenly.</p> - -<p>By the door Ralph now noticed a yellow bit of -paper tacked up, with some writing on it. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -came closer to read it and made out in faded -characters:</p> - -<p>“Gone on April 16, 1888, Jess Boody, Trapper.”</p> - -<p>This inscription made one thing plain to Ralph. -The hut had once been occupied by one of those -solitaries of the wilds whose trap lines are sometimes -forty or fifty miles long. This Jess Boody -had been such a man and had either “made his -pile,” or getting disgusted with the location as -a source for peltries had, as he tersely put it, -“gone on.”</p> - -<p>There were no traces of more recent occupancy -of the hut, and Ralph was compelled to come back -to his first theory; the mysterious man had used -the place simply as a convenient shelter from time -to time. Some ashes in the stove, that looked -fairly fresh, appeared to lend color to this belief. -Probably the horse thief had spent the night -there.</p> - -<p>“Well, if this hasn’t the makings of a first-class<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -mystery about it,” gasped Ralph, pushing -back his sombrero and running one hand through -his curly hair.</p> - -<p>As there seemed to be no use in making any -further investigation of the tumble-down shanty, -Ralph untied the pony left behind by the horse -thief, and mounting it rode back toward camp -in a thoughtful mood. He was deeply puzzled, -and small wonder, by the events of the day.</p> - -<p>He reached camp that evening shortly before -dusk, and found that Mountain Jim had returned -with the ponies that he had been after and which -he had found in a glade across another ridge. -The professor, and Jimmie, too, had had a successful -day, having gathered in almost a sackful -of what the professor called “specimens,” and -Mountain Jim “rocks.” But of Harry Ware -and Percy Simmons there was no sign.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XVI.</h2> - -<p class="pch">“UNDERGROUND!”</p> - -<p>Harry Ware struck another match. This time -the two imprisoned lads did not bother to look -above them. They knew that escape in that -direction was an impossibility. Instead, they -turned their attention to their immediate surroundings.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Percy Simmons gave a cry of -triumph.</p> - -<p>“Look! See there, Hardware, old boy, isn’t -that a crack or fissure in the rock?”</p> - -<p>“Sure enough,” responded his companion, who -had just time to notice the crack in the rock wall -of their prison before the light of the match died -out.</p> - -<p>“Maybe we can get out that way,” sputtered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -Persimmons, all agog at the thought that a -means of escape had been opened to them.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we can, but it looks pretty narrow,” -responded Hardware dubiously. “Anyhow, it’s -worth trying. Strike another match and we’ll -have a good look at it.”</p> - -<p>A second inspection showed the boys that the -fissure, though narrow, was sufficiently wide for -them to squeeze into in all probability. Although -in the event that it grew smaller further on, they -would be as badly off as before. Still, as Harry -Ware had said, it was worth trying, and the -two boys clambered off the body of the unfortunate -pony and began forcing their way into -the fissure. Harry Ware went first and Percy -Simmons, who was stouter, followed close behind.</p> - -<p>For a distance of some five feet they managed -to forge ahead. But suddenly Persimmons gave -a grunt.</p> - -<p>“I’m stuck, Harry, I can’t get any further.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Too bad; I guess we’ll have to turn back,” -Hardware started to say, when he gave a cry of -delight.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right. It broadens out beyond here. -Come on, Percy, you can squeeze through alright.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll try,” declared the stouter of the two -youths valiantly, and, with a violent effort, he -forced himself forward. It cost him almost all -the breath in his body, but he succeeded in passing -the narrow place and then found himself -beside his companion in what appeared to be a -much larger space beyond. Another match was -struck which revealed the place into which they -had forced their way as a circular cave with a -dome-like roof from which water dripped in a -constant shower.</p> - -<p>It was cold and damp and the boys shuddered -as the water, which was icy cold, pattered about -them as if a violent rainstorm was in progress.</p> - -<p>“Ugh! What sort of a place have we landed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -now, I’d like to know,” muttered Percy Simmons. -“Shivering snakes, it’s like a Cave of the Rains, -or something of that kind.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so. We can’t stay here; it’s like being -in a damp ice box. We must find some way -out.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you suppose we are, anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“Evidently in some subterranean cavern or -passage that runs under the hillside.”</p> - -<p>“The question is, where does it come out?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what we’ll have to see. There must be -a way out.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, of course,” assented Persimmons with -suspicious eagerness.</p> - -<p>Neither boy dared to admit, even to himself, -that it was altogether a possibility that there -might not be any way out; in which case they -would be in as bad a fix as before. As for waiting -at the bottom of the hole down which White-eye -had pulled them, it was beginning to grow -painfully apparent that they might stand a good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -chance of remaining there till Doomsday without -anyone discovering their whereabouts.</p> - -<p>Once more matches were struck and they -gazed eagerly about them. They fully realized -now that it was becoming a matter of life and -death to them to find some means of escape from -this underground prison into which, through no -fault of their own, they had blundered.</p> - -<p>But rigidly as they inspected their prison, it -was some time before they found that on one -side of the cavern a low archway in the rock led -into what appeared to be another rift in the -rocky formation underlying the mountain side.</p> - -<p>“Shall we try it?” asked Hardware as his -sixth match fluttered out.</p> - -<p>“Unanimous unicorns, yes!” was the energetic -reply. “We can’t stay here, and it’s no use going -back.”</p> - -<p>“Good, the word is forward, then.”</p> - -<p>Hardware, as he spoke, bent low to get under -the archway of living rock, which, centuries before,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -had been tunneled out during some disturbance -of the earth, and once more the boys -found themselves in a narrow rift through which -they could barely squeeze.</p> - -<p>“Gracious, if this gets any narrower we are -stuck for fair,” gasped Persimmons, as they -shoved and panted through the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Don’t think of that; just say to yourself, -‘We’ve got to get out of this,’” urged young -Simmons’ companion.</p> - -<p>In this way they went forward for some distance -further when the rift began to widen once -more. Suddenly they collided with a solid wall -of rock. It appeared that the rift had come to -an end.</p> - -<p>“Shivering centipedes, we’re stuck!” groaned -Persimmons abjectly.</p> - -<p>“Hold on a minute,” counseled his companion, -“wait till I strike another match. Thank goodness, -we brought a good supply of them.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s a lucky thing that Mountain Jim insisted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -on our filling the match safes. We’d be in -an awful fix without them.”</p> - -<p>To the huge delight of the boys, the light -showed them that the rift branched off in two -directions at the point they had reached. They -had bumped into the rocky wall that formed the -apex of the triangle at which the two new passages -met the old one.</p> - -<p>But now they faced a fresh problem. Which -passage would they take? They tossed a coin. -Heads would be the right-hand one, tails the -left. The coin indicated the right-hand rift -and into it, accordingly, they struck off. The -floor of the passage appeared to rise abruptly and -they soon found their further progress blocked -by a rocky wall.</p> - -<p>“Perishing panhandles, what’ll we do now?” -gasped young Simmons.</p> - -<p>“Try the other one,” was his companion’s brief -response.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XVII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">A DESPERATE CHANCE.</p> - -<p>The other passage proved to be much the same -as the one they had tried.</p> - -<p>“I hope this doesn’t end in nothing,” muttered -Hardware as they made their way along it.</p> - -<p>They took a few steps more when Harry -Ware gave a sudden yell of alarm and surprise.</p> - -<p>“W-w-what’s up now?” gasped out Persimmons; -but before Harry could reply both boys -found themselves tumbling downward. The -bottom appeared suddenly to have dropped out -of the cavern passage.</p> - -<p>“We’re lost!” choked out Persimmons as he -felt his feet go from under him.</p> - -<p>Neither boy knew anything more till they -found themselves lying on the ground, Persimmons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -stretched across Hardware’s recumbent -body.</p> - -<p>“Whew! The second tumble to-day,” gasped -out young Simmons, “this place is as full of holes -as a porous plaster. Are you hurt, Harry?” -For poor Hardware had given a groan.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is, I don’t know. Ouch! I’ve bust -my ankle, I think.” The boy gave a loud moan, -which rang hollowly against the walls of the dismal -place.</p> - -<p>“Is it badly hurt?” gasped Persimmons in a -dismayed tone.</p> - -<p>“Get up off me and I’ll try to stand up. Give -me a hand to rise. That’s it—wow, but it’s painful!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think you can use it, Harry?”</p> - -<p>“Y-y-y-yes,” came bravely from poor Hardware, -who was suffering excruciating pain, “but -it feels as if a million little dwarfs were poking -needles in it.”</p> - -<p>“Lean on me a minute. If we could only find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -some water, I’d bandage it. Say, we seem to be -the two most unlucky kids on earth!”</p> - -<p>“That’s what. I wonder if we’ll ever get out -of this?”</p> - -<p>Young Simmons made no reply. For the life -of him he could not have found words just at -that moment. It was all he could do to choke -back his sobs. He was a plucky enough lad, yet -he could hardly be blamed for feeling a pang of -black despair clutching at his heart as he revolved -in his mind their truly desperate situation. -After a minute he regained control of -himself, however.</p> - -<p>“We’ll light up and have a look around,” he -said, as cheerily as he could. “I want to see what -sort of place it is that we’ve dropped in on so -unceremoniously.”</p> - -<p>He struck a match; but it was instantly blown -out. Both lads now noticed for the first time -that quite a stiff breeze was blowing against their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -faces. The air felt fresh and chilly and evidently -came from some opening further along.</p> - -<p>“Well, this breeze is a good sign,” declared -Hardware; “it means that this place must open -out somewhere along the route.”</p> - -<p>“Blithering blizzards, that’s so!” cried young -Simmons with a gleam of his customary cheerfulness. -“Do you think you can walk, old man?”</p> - -<p>“Oh; I’ll hobble along somehow,” declared -Harry Ware bravely.</p> - -<p>“Lean on me and that will make it easier. -We’ll have to go slow, though. I’ve a notion -that one more drop would finish us.”</p> - -<p>“Like aviation liniment,” responded Harry.</p> - -<p>“How’s that?”</p> - -<p>“One drop is enough,” responded Harry with -a chuckle, despite his pain.</p> - -<p>Both boys laughed, and somehow, as is often -the case, it made them feel better. As they advanced, -cautiously, as you may imagine after -their experiences, the breeze grew stronger till<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -it fanned their faces in a regular gale. Their -clothes had got wet in the Cave of the Rains and -they felt chilled to the bone. But before long a -gray light sifted into the rift which presently -opened out above them, and looking up they could -catch a glimpse of the sky.</p> - -<p>“Hurray! We’ll soon be out of here now!” -cried Harry squeezing his comrade’s shoulder on -which he was leaning heavily.</p> - -<p>“I hope so,” was the response, “but hark! -what’s that?”</p> - -<p>A roaring sound, not unlike that caused by a -train rushing through a tunnel broke on their -ears as he spoke.</p> - -<p>“Goodness! Sounds like a den of wild beasts!”</p> - -<p>But the next instant they found out what it -was that caused the roaring sound, and at the -same time experienced a shock of disappointment -as their hope of speedy release was rudely -dashed.</p> - -<p>The rift terminated abruptly in a sort of rocky<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -basin with steep sides topped with big trees and -brush. The center of this basin was a sort of -whirlpool formed by a stream which rushed in -at a fissure at one side and out of a similar crack -in the rocky walls at the other. A groan fairly -forced itself from the lips of both boys as they -gazed at the smooth, steep sides of the rock basin -and realized the impossibility of scaling them, -even had Harry’s ankle not been injured.</p> - -<p>The stream entered the basin by a small waterfall -which tumbled in a foamy mass over great -rocks grown with green moss, and it was the -roaring of this that had caused the odd noise they -had heard in the tunnel.</p> - -<p>“Stuck!” was Harry’s exclamation as they -stood on the foot-wide strip of beach on the -marge of the pool.</p> - -<p>Percy Simmons could only echo his companion’s -exclamation. Utterly disheartened they -sank down on the strip of beach, the spray from -the waterfall dashing unnoticed in their faces.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -For the first time since the beginning of their -misfortunes the two boys were on the verge of -giving way utterly.</p> - -<p>How long they sat thus they didn’t know; but -it was Harry Ware who broke the silence. Both -boys were chilled to the bone, and their clothes -needed drying. Besides this, an idea had just -struck Harry. He thought that if any search -was made for them a column of smoke might be -a good thing to attract attention to their whereabouts, -and a good fire would serve a double purpose.</p> - -<p>The beach was littered with all sorts of drift -wood, from big logs to small sticks that the -stream had brought down probably during a -spring freshet and which had lodged there.</p> - -<p>When he had succeeded in rousing Percy from -his lethargy of despair, Harry limped briskly -about, helping his companion build a roaring fire. -The heat was grateful to their chilled skins, and -taking off their outer garments they spread them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -out to dry. It was while they were sitting thus, -discussing their situation with more cheerfulness -than hitherto they had been able to muster, that -Harry’s attention was caught by a partridge sitting -on a hemlock limb that overhung the rocky -basin on their side. Raising his rifle, which had -survived all accidents, he fired at it, and rather -to his surprise the bird came tumbling down, -landing almost at their feet.</p> - -<p>“Come on, we’ll have some broiled partridge, -bread and chocolate,” he cried, addressing the -woebegone Persimmons. “It’s no good starving, -even if we are in a tight fix.”</p> - -<p>He skinned and cleaned the bird and then -broiled it on a flat rock which he had previously -heated in the fire. The two boys ate the bird -hungrily, although it was not at all overdone, -being half raw, in fact. But their appetites were -too keen to be discriminating, and after despatching -it and eating some of their moist bread and -chocolate they felt much better.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span></p> - -<p>By this time it was midafternoon. Their -clothes were dry and after putting them on again, -they seated themselves on the margin of the pool -and discussed their plight.</p> - -<p>“If only we had a boat!” mused Harry, after -some discussion.</p> - -<p>“Jumping jellyfish, you’re right there, Harry,” -exclaimed Persimmons; “but just the same why -don’t you wish for an airship while you are -at it?”</p> - -<p>“Because we can’t get an airship and we <i>can</i> -have a boat.”</p> - -<p>“What! Have you gone crazy?”</p> - -<p>“Never more serious in my life. I mean what -I say.”</p> - -<p>“What, that we’ve got a boat?”</p> - -<p>“No; what I mean is, that we can make one.”</p> - -<p>“Go on,” said Persimmons, staring at his companion -as if to make sure that he was in possession -of his right senses.</p> - -<p>“It’s no use looking at me like that, Perce.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -I’m quite in earnest. The only question is, if -we make the boat, have you nerve enough to -ride on it?”</p> - -<p>“I’d ride on anything to get out of this place. -I wish that eagle up yonder would come down -and offer to carry me out. You’d see how quick -I’d take him up. But honest, Harry, do you mean -what you say?”</p> - -<p>“Surely. See that old log over there? That -one with the rope dangling from it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” rejoined his companion anticipatively.</p> - -<p>“Well, I reckon it drifted from some old lumber -camp or other and the rope came with it. -However, that’s not the point. The rope is on -it and we can ride on it out of this pool through -that rift in the rocks.”</p> - -<p>“But the log will roll over with us.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just where the rope comes in. We’ll -lash two of the logs together and then take our -chances. If we get spilled, why we can both<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -swim and I’m pretty sure that outside this pool -we can find a bank to land on.”</p> - -<p>“Inventive Indians! You’re a wonder, Harry. -I’d never have thought of that in a hundred -years. Come on, let’s get busy. The sun must -be getting pretty low, and if we do get out we’ve -got a long hike back to camp. I think”—he broke -off abruptly. “I forgot your ankle,” he exclaimed, -“you can’t walk far on that.”</p> - -<p>“No, but you can leave me some place and get -help. That part will be all right. The main -thing is to reach some place from which you -can strike back to camp.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. Well, let’s get busy and lash -two of the logs together and then try to chute -the chutes.”</p> - -<p>A log of about the size of the stick of lumber -to which the rope was attached was secured and -rolled alongside it on the shelving beach. By -using smaller logs as levers the boys raised the -large ones and lashed them together as firmly as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -they could, so as to form a sort of raft. The rope, -on testing proved to be lamentably old and rotten; -but the lads were not by this time in a mood -to be critical. They were crazy to escape from -their rock-walled <i>cul-de-sac</i>, and would have been -willing to dare almost anything that held out -even a remote hope of relief.</p> - -<p>At length all was ready, and using their levers -they got their crude raft into the water. Then -they selected two poles which they thought might -come in handy to shove the craft off any obstructions -that it might strike. This done, they -were ready to make their adventurous dash.</p> - -<p>“All ready?” asked Harry, wading out into -the water.</p> - -<p>“Ready as I’ll ever be,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Get aboard then.”</p> - -<p>Without further words both boys scrambled -upon the lashed logs and shoved off with their -poles. The next instant the raft was in deep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -water. An eddy caught it, whirling it swiftly -into the middle of the pool.</p> - -<p>“Wow! But it’s swifter than I thought,” -gasped Harry, as a wave swept over the raft.</p> - -<p>His companion did not reply. At the instant he -was poling hard to keep the raft from being -swept against a rock, for he knew that the force -of a collision would, in all likelihood, cause the -logs to break apart. For a second the raft -swung round dizzily, waves and spray breaking -over it and drenching the boys afresh. The next -minute it was caught in the main current of the -stream and, like a flash, it shot through the rocky -rift of the basin and was hurtled down a passage -between steep cliffs, through which the waters -boiled like a mill race.</p> - -<p>There was no opportunity to speak. The raft -was rushed onward with almost the speed of an -express train. Sick and dizzy from the violent -motion, drenched through, and thoroughly frightened, -the two boys could only crouch close and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -hang on for dear life. Once a sudden lurch almost -caused Harry to roll off, but young Simmons -caught him in the nick of time.</p> - -<p>All at once, above the roar of the waters that -shot along through the rocky chasm, there came -a deeper diapason—a loud, thunderous sound -that proceeded from right ahead of them. Louder -it grew and louder, till its deafening uproar -drowned out all other sounds.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” shouted Harry at the top of his -lungs, but to his comrade his voice sounded like -a whisper.</p> - -<p>Then came a sudden shout from young Simmons -who had raised his head and glanced beyond -the plunging, dizzily swaying raft.</p> - -<p>“Great goodness! We’re being swept toward a -waterfall. Get out the poles.”</p> - -<p>“Pole off! Pole off!” yelled Harry, forgetting -his ankle and seizing up his pole as he rose to -his feet.</p> - -<p>At the same instant there was a cracking,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -rending sound, and the two boys were swept -asunder on separate logs.</p> - -<p>The raft had parted under the strain and they -were carried helplessly toward the waterfall of -unknown height that boomed and thundered -ahead of them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/ill-173.jpg" width="400" height="643" - alt="" - title="" /> - <div class="caption"><p class="pc400">Then came a plunge into a breathless abyss.—<span class="wn"><i>Page <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</i></span></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">FACING GRIM DEATH.</p> - -<p>Of what occurred then, neither boy had in -the retrospect any clear idea. Over and over -they were rolled in a vortex of white water, each -clinging for dear life to his log. Then came a -plunge into a breathless abyss and, after what appeared -to be an eternity of submergence, they -rose to the surface, half-choked and blinded by -their immersion. There followed a fierce fight -with the boiling, foaming water at the base of -the fall, and then both boys found themselves -almost side by side in the quieter outer eddies of -the maelstrom.</p> - -<p>“Are—you—hurt?” gasped out Harry.</p> - -<p>“N-n-n-n-no. Are—you?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit. But—what—sort—of—a—place -is—this—anyhow?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Don’t know. It’s—awful—wet—though.”</p> - -<p>In spite of his peril, Harry could not help smiling -at Persimmons’ whimsical rejoinder.</p> - -<p>Dashing the water from his eyes he resumed -swimming, pushing the log before him, for in -some mysterious way throughout the awful buffeting -they had received in their tumble through -the water, both boys had retained their hold on -their logs.</p> - -<p>It was a rather difficult task to reach the shore, -for their wet clothing hampered them sadly and -they were greatly fatigued. At last their feet -encountered solid ground. Like two drowned -creatures they dragged themselves up the bank -of the pool beneath the fall and spread themselves -panting, on the grass, incapable for the moment -of either thought or speech.</p> - -<p>“Woof!” panted Percy Simmons at length, -gazing back and upward at the fall, “do you mean -to say that we came down that and are still -alive?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> - -<p>“So it seems. It’s a good thing we didn’t know -of the existence of that waterfall before we built -the raft.”</p> - -<p>“How’s that?”</p> - -<p>“Because in that case we would never have -had the nerve to use it.”</p> - -<p>“Cantering cascades, I guess you are right! -That was the wildest ride I ever took in my life.”</p> - -<p>“And the wildest you are ever likely to, I -reckon.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s hope so, anyhow. Hammering hummingbirds, -what a drop!”</p> - -<p>Both boys gazed at the fall, which thundered -and boomed its white waters from a height that -appeared to be fully fifty feet above where they -lay, although in all probability the drop was not -half that altitude.</p> - -<p>“Say, Persimmons,” murmured Harry presently.</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“Has it struck you that we are mighty lucky<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -to be lying here safe and sound after all we’ve -been through?”</p> - -<p>“You just bet it has,” was the hearty response. -“Walloping waterfalls, if it wasn’t that I’m so -hungry I’d think I was dead.”</p> - -<p>“We’d better be seeing about getting back to -camp,” said Harry presently. “It’s getting late -and they’ll be worried to death over us.”</p> - -<p>“Not half so worried as we were over ourselves -about twenty minutes ago,” breathed Persimmons -fervently.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about that. But look, the sun -is getting low. We’d better start.”</p> - -<p>“Right you are; but how about your ankle?”</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t hurt half so much now. I guess -I can make it all right.”</p> - -<p>“All right. But if it hurts you badly, I guess -I can carry you a way. Or maybe we can find -a hut of some trapper or something where you -can stay till I bring help.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Got your compass?” was Harry’s next question.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but the sun would give us our direction -in any event. The camp must lie over that ridge -to the east.”</p> - -<p>“Then we came under part of the hill and were -brought by that river down into the valley here.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what. It seems funny to think of all -we’ve been through since we left camp this morning, -doesn’t it? I wish we could have brought -back poor old White-eye, though.”</p> - -<p>“So do I. We’ll have to get another pony -some place, I guess.”</p> - -<p>Talking thus, the two boys began to climb the -hill under whose rugged surface they had traveled -by that strange subterranean route, bored or -shaken out there when the world was in its infancy. -It was a strange thought that theirs were -the first human feet that, almost beyond a -doubt, had ever trod those gloomy rifts beneath -the earth’s surface. But being boys, they did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -waste much time on speculations of this kind. -Instead, they munched what remained of their -chocolate, a sad, pulpy mess, and cheered themselves -as they trudged along by thoughts of a -camp fire and a hot supper.</p> - -<p>They did not make very rapid progress. Although -Harry’s ankle was much improved, yet it -gave him pain as he walked, and from time to -time they were compelled to sit down and rest -on a rock or a log. Both boys still carried their -rifles by the bandoliers, and an examination had -shown that the water had not injured the almost -waterproof locks. But the weapons, although -lightweight, felt as heavy as lead on their tired -backs as they toiled up the rugged steeps.</p> - -<p>“Well,” remarked Harry as they paused, not -far from the top of the ridge which they had -crossed that morning, “camping in the Canadian -Rockies isn’t all fun, is it?”</p> - -<p>“Galloping grasshoppers, no!” was the fervent -rejoinder. “If this is what the professor calls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -getting experience, I’d rather accumulate mine -in less strenuous fashion.”</p> - -<p>“I imagine, though, that after a good night’s -rest and some supper we’ll feel different about -it.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe. But to-day we’ve done nothing but -tumble in.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and we were lucky to get out again every -time as easily as we did.”</p> - -<p>“True for you. I guess there’s not so much -to grumble about after all.”</p> - -<p>“Anyhow, we got a fine bearskin. It will -help to remind us of this day every time we look -at it.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks. I don’t need any reminder. I can -recollect it all perfectly well without a souvenir.”</p> - -<p>They paused once more to rest Harry’s ankle, -when suddenly young Simmons gave a glad exclamation.</p> - -<p>“Look, Harry! Over yonder among those -trees! There’s a man on horseback coming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -toward us. Maybe we can get you a lift into -camp!”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it is some one from the camp. No; -it isn’t, though. Who can it be?”</p> - -<p>Just then the solitary horseman emerged from -the shadow of the white birches that stood ghost-like -against their dark back-ground of pine. The -red glow of the setting sun streamed full upon -him, bathing both rider and horse in a flood of -crimson light.</p> - -<p>“Why,—that’s—that’s one of our horses!” exclaimed -Harry suddenly.</p> - -<p>“So it is. Maybe that fellow’s been sent out -to search for us. Wow, but he’s a wild-looking -customer, though!”</p> - -<p>His shaggy hair, huge, unkempt beard and -ragged clothes did, indeed, give the horseman a -mysterious, almost uncanny look as, with head -bent down, he came riding out of the wood into -the sunset light. Suddenly he raised his head -and saw the two boys for the first time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Hey, mister!” cried young Simmons.</p> - -<p>The next instant, with a wild cry like that of -some animal, the uncouth figure wheeled his pony -and dashed off into the wood from whence he -had come.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you know about that?” gasped -Persimmons, gazing after him.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to make of it. He looked -like a wild man; but that was one of our ponies, -I’ll take my oath on that.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XIX.</h2> - -<p class="pch">A STORM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.</p> - -<p>Long after dark that same evening the two -lads came limping into camp to the no small relief -of the anxious watchers, who had built a -roaring fire to guide them back. After a fine -supper they told the story of their day’s adventures -which, as may be imagined, caused no -small astonishment among their hearers. The -fact that they had recognized the pony on which -the wild-looking man rode, together with their -description of the man himself, served quite sufficiently -to identify him as the same fellow who -had been seen by Ralph on the two former occasions. -But so far as solving his identity was -concerned, they were as far off as ever.</p> - -<p>After a late sleep the next day, a visit was paid -to the hole down which poor White-eye had terminated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -his career, thereby causing Harry Ware -and young Simmons so much trouble. The carcass -of the bear lay there, and although tracks -showed that animals—foxes and wolves in all -probability—had been sniffing around it, the body -had not been molested. When Mountain Jim had -skinned it, they had a fine “silver tipped” grizzly’s -skin to take back with them.</p> - -<p>Harry had remained in camp during this expedition -so as to rest his sprained ankle as much -as possible. Mountain Jim had collected various -herbs and pounded them into a paste which, when -laid on the injured member, did it more good -than all the liniments in the professor’s medicine -chest. But it was still painful, for the exertions -he had made in getting back to camp on the previous -evening had not improved it.</p> - -<p>After a consultation it was decided that the -party could not well continue to the bow of the -Columbia River without getting two more ponies -to replace the dead and stolen animals. Mountain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -Jim said that he knew of a ranch not more -than fifteen miles off across the mountains, at -which he could purchase the needed animals -cheaply. It was decided, therefore, that he and -Ralph should leave early the next day for the -ranch and bring back two ponies with them. The -others would have liked to go along; but in view -of the apparent hostility of the mysterious man -it was decided best to leave a strong guard in -camp.</p> - -<p>Bright and early the next morning the camp -was astir. But Mountain Jim was hardly out of -his blankets before he gave an angry exclamation -and pointed to where the stores had been -piled under a canvas.</p> - -<p>The cover had been raised during the night, -and by the disorder that prevailed among the -supplies it was plain that several articles had -been taken. But who or what could have done -the rifling?</p> - -<p>Bears were the culprits, according to Mountain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -Jim’s first declaration, but he revised his -opinion when Ralph’s quick eyes detected the -print of a foot in the soft ground near by. A -slight, misty rain had fallen in the night and -the ground showed plainly the impression of a -human foot, or rather of what was, apparently, -a very old and broken pair of boots.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” grunted Mountain Jim, “I guess -it’s your friend that’s been and done this, Master -Ralph. Yes, by hooky! there’s the hoof print of -the pony he stole. I’d know it among a dozen. -See here, that off fore shoe is broken.”</p> - -<p>“Well, of all the nerve!” gasped Ralph. “To -visit our camp on a thieving expedition mounted -on a stolen pony from our pack train; can you -beat it?”</p> - -<p>“You can’t,” chorused the boys.</p> - -<p>“Can’t even tie it,” commented Percy Simmons, -standing with his hands in his pockets and -legs far apart, surveying the scene of vandalism.</p> - -<p>An investigation showed that some flour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -beans, and a big hunk of bacon had been taken, -besides canned goods.</p> - -<p>“Say, I’d like to get my hands on that fellow -for just about five minutes,” declared Mountain -Jim angrily. “The skunk’s broken every law of -the woods. If he had been hungry and asked -for grub he’d have been welcome, but not to -sneak it off this way. I’d just like to get hold of -him.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t we notify the Northwest Mounted -Police?” asked the professor mildly.</p> - -<p>“There ain’t no station closer than MacLean’s,” -was the reply, “an’ that’s a good sixty -miles off the other way. Besides that, we don’t -go much on police in matters of this kind.”</p> - -<p>Mountain Jim’s face took on a grim look. It -was just as well for that mysterious individual -that he was not within reach of those clenched -and knotted fists right then. However, even -with the draught that had been made on their -stock of provisions, they still had a large enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -supply to last them to the Big Bend, where Mountain -Jim assured them they could get anything -they wanted “from a pin to a threshing machine” -at a store kept by a French-Canadian.</p> - -<p>However, as they all felt a desire to push onward, -they did not waste much time discussing -the visit of the thief in the night. Instead, Mountain -Jim and Ralph busied themselves with preparations -for their start, and soon after breakfast -they jogged off to an accompaniment of a chorus -of good-wishes and farewells. Their road lay -down the little valley in which they had camped, -and before long an elbow of craggy cliff shut -out the little canvas settlement from view.</p> - -<p>The road was level for a short distance and -they made good time, the ponies loping along as -if they enjoyed it. Soon Mountain Jim consulted -his compass and declared that the time had come -for climbing a ridge and making “across country” -for the ranch where he hoped to get the -ponies.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p> - -<p>Accordingly, they spurred up a steep mountain -side covered with dark and somber pines and -tamarack, among which the wind sighed dismally. -The going was much the same as Ralph was already -getting accustomed to in that rugged, little-traveled -country. Rocks, fallen trees and deep -crevasses crossed their paths in every direction, -causing frequent detours.</p> - -<p>Hour after hour they traveled through this -sort of country, making but slow progress. At -noon they stopped for a bite of lunch, and tethering -the ponies in some scant grass which grew in -a rocky clearing, they seated themselves on a log -for their meal. Their canteens of water came in -refreshingly, for they had not passed any -streams or springs.</p> - -<p>So engrossed had they been in making their -way over the difficult country that they had been -traversing, that up to this time they had not paid -any attention to the weather. They now saw that -great black clouds were rolling up beyond the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -snow-covered summits to the northwest of them.</p> - -<p>As they ate, the clouds spread out as if a sable -blanket had been drawn across the sky by unseen -hands. Before long the sun was blotted out and -the forest grew unspeakably gloomy.</p> - -<p>“Reckon we’re in for a change in the weather,” -said Mountain Jim dryly, looking up.</p> - -<p>“It seems that way,” was Ralph’s reply; “it’s -getting as dark as twilight. Hadn’t we better be -getting along?”</p> - -<p>Mountain Jim nodded.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to get across the bed of the valley -yonder before that hits in,” he said. “It looks -like it’s going to be a hummer, and in that case -the water will rise in the creek bed below, uncommon -sudden.”</p> - -<p>They finished their meal hastily and remounted. -Before them lay the steep mountain -side, at the bottom of which was the creek of -which Mountain Jim had spoken. At that time -of year it was probably dry, but if the storm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -proved to be a bad one it might fill with great -suddenness, and for a short time be transformed -into a roaring torrent, next to impossible to -cross.</p> - -<p>As they rode down the shaly mountain side, -their ponies slipping and sliding and scrambling -desperately to keep a footing, there came a low, -distant rumble of thunder. The sky to the northwest -turned from black to a sort of purplish -green. Through this ugly cloud blanket a shaft -of lightning zipped with a livid glare. The thunder -rolled and rumbled among the mountains, reminding -Ralph of Rip Van Winkle’s experiences -in the far-off Catskills.</p> - -<p>“She’ll hit in most almighty quick,” opined -Mountain Jim; “wish we’d brought slickers with -us.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t mind a wetting,” rejoined Ralph -stoutly.</p> - -<p>“It’s worse than a wetting you’ll get, if it’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -bad; half a drowning is more like it,” grunted -Mountain Jim. “Geddap, Baldy, shake a foot.”</p> - -<p>But hasten as they would, before they had -gone more than a few hundred yards further the -rain began to fall in huge globules; drops they -could not be called, they were too large. The -thunder roared closer and a sudden chill struck -into the air. The dark woods were lit up in uncanny -fashion by the blinding blue glare of the -lightning.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, there was a flash of brilliant intensity -and simultaneously a ripping crash of thunder, -followed by a sound like some mighty mass -crashing earthward.</p> - -<p>“Tree hit yonder,” said Mountain Jim laconically, -“reckon we’d better be looking for shelter. -We came close enough to getting hit in that <i>brulee</i>.”</p> - -<p>Ralph agreed with him. But where were they -to go to get from under the lofty trees that invited -the lightning to pass through their columnular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -trunks earthward? Suddenly Mountain -Jim gave a shout:</p> - -<p>“There we are yonder. <i>The Hotel de Bothwell</i>,” -he cried with a grin.</p> - -<p>Ralph looked and saw a small opening under -some rocks not far distant. It was only a small -cave seemingly, but at least, in case anything in -their vicinity was struck, it would keep them out -of harm’s way.</p> - -<p>Amidst incessant flashes of lightning and peals -of thunder they made for the place.</p> - -<p>“Have to hitch the ponies outside,” said Mountain -Jim. “Too bad there ain’t room to take ’em -in, too; but it can’t be helped.”</p> - -<p>However, the space in front of the cave mouth -was fairly open and free from trees, so that it -was not as bad as if they had had to tie their -mounts in the dense forest. In the downpour -the mountaineer and the boy made the terrified -ponies fast, and then made a dash for the dark -mouth of the cave. It appeared to be little more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -than a recess formed by the piling of a mass -of huge rocks one on top of another, reminding -one of a giant’s game of blocks. Had the -professor been there, he would have ascribed the -presence of the Titanic rock pile to glacial action; -but to Mountain Jim and Ralph, the place stood -for nothing more than a welcome means of shelter.</p> - -<p>They were just about to enter it when a low -moaning groan came from the back of the place -and a huge, tawny body flashed past them, almost -knocking Ralph over.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XX.</h2> - -<p class="pch">PRISONERS!</p> - -<p>“W-w-w-what under the canopy was that?” -stammered Ralph as soon as he had recovered -himself somewhat from his surprise.</p> - -<p>“Mountain lion, cougar, some calls ’em. Lucky -she didn’t claw you, boy,” responded Mountain -Jim. “If she hadn’t dived off so quick I’d have -shot her. But hullo, what’s that?”</p> - -<p>From the back of the cave came a plaintive -sound of mewing, as if there were a litter of -kittens concealed there.</p> - -<p>“Young ones, by the Blue Bells of Scotland!” -exclaimed Mountain Jim. “Say, we’re mighty -lucky that the old lioness didn’t attack us.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t she?” asked Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Dunno. There’s no accountin’ for the freaks -of wild things. At one time they’d attack a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -battleship, at another time they’ll run like cotton-tails. -But I reckon this old lioness is off looking -for her mate.”</p> - -<p>“And they will come back and attack us?”</p> - -<p>“That ain’t worryin’ me. We’ve got good -rifles, and cougars are mostly dumb cowards anyhow.”</p> - -<p>“I hope these are,” said Ralph fervently, “although -I’d like a shot at one, all right.”</p> - -<p>They went to the back of the cave to look at -the kittens. There were four of them, pretty little -fluffy, fawn-colored creatures, whose eyes had -apparently only just opened. They blinked as the -lightning flashed and the thunder roared outside -the cave.</p> - -<p>But the two did not bend over the litter of lion -cubs for long. The stench of decaying meat -around the den was terrible. The carcasses of at -least a dozen deer lay there, besides the bones -of smaller creatures.</p> - -<p>“The old man goes hunting and brings all that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -truck back,” said Mountain Jim as they sought -the front of the cave where the air was fresher.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to get one of those cubs and tame it,” -said Ralph.</p> - -<p>“What for? He’d get so savage when you -raised him that you couldn’t do much with him -’cept shoot him. Puts me in mind of a fellow -that used to live back of Bear Mountain long -time ago, and trained a grizzly so that he could -ride him. Like to hear the yarn?”</p> - -<p>There was a twinkle in Mountain Jim’s eye as -he spoke that warned Ralph to prepare for a -wonderful tale of some sort; but anything would -serve to pass the time, so as Jim drew out his old -brier and lighted up, the boy nodded.</p> - -<p>“Well, this here fellow, Abe Brown his name -was, Abe J. Brown, caught this grizzly young -and trained him so as he was most as good as a -saddle horse. Abe and his bear was known all -over the country thereabouts, and was accounted -no common wonder.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I should think not. Do you mean to say that -this fellow actually rode his bear just like a -horse?”</p> - -<p>“The very same identical way—Wow, what -a flash!—Well, as I was sayin, Abe, he’d ride this -bear all about, huntin’, fishin’, and all. Well, sir, -one day Abe goes up on the mountain after a -deer. The mountain was a famous place for -grizzlies in them days, and what does Abe do -but ride plumbbango right into the middle of a -convention of sixteen of them that was discussing -bear business.</p> - -<p>“Well, Abe and his bear got mixed up right -away, and Abe’s bear got killed in the scrap, being -sort of soft from having been raised a pet.”</p> - -<p>“But what happened to Abe?” asked Ralph.</p> - -<p>“He wasn’t no ways what you might call communicative -about what happened in that canyon -on the mountain, Abe wasn’t,” went on Mountain -Jim, fixing Ralph with his eye as if to challenge -any doubt in his story, “but the next day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -Abe come into Baxter’s cross-roads riding one -of them wild bears, and with sixteen skins, includin’ -that of his tame beast, tied on behind. He -was some hunter, Abe was.”</p> - -<p>“And some story teller, too,” laughed Ralph. -“Do you believe that, Jim?”</p> - -<p>“I ain’t sayin’ no and I ain’t sayin’ yes. I’m -jes’ relatin’ the facts as they was told to me,” -said Jim, with a twinkle in his eye.</p> - -<p>Ralph had half a mind to tell Mountain Jim -some of the staggering yarns he had heard along -the southwestern border during his experiences -in that country of tall men and tall stories; but -at that instant something happened that quite put -everything else out of his head.</p> - -<p>Just above the entrance to the cave there was -a huge rock which appeared, either from constant -frost and thaw or from some other cause, to -have slipped from its position among the other -giant boulders, for it was now perilously poised -just above the small entrance to the cavern. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -boy had noticed this rock when they slipped into -the cave, but with the excitement of the cougar -and the roar and crash of the storm, which was -now at its height, he had quite forgotten it.</p> - -<p>He now noticed that all around this rock the -water from the hillside above was pouring in a -perfect torrent. The rain was coming down so -hard that it fairly hissed on the ground as it fell. -Under these conditions the whole steep hillside -was a roaring sheet of water, but just above the -pile of rocks under which they crouched was a -small gully which, of course, attracted more -water than any part of the hillside in the vicinity.</p> - -<p>“That water’s coming down in a pretty considerable -waterspout,” remarked Mountain Jim, as -he followed the direction of Ralph’s eyes and noticed -the cascade of rain water that was pouring -like a veil in front of the cave mouth.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Jim, and I’ve noticed something else, too. -See that rock up there?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes, what of it? The water’s coming against -it and it is dividing the cataract so that it doesn’t -splash back in here.”</p> - -<p>“Not only that; but it’s doing something else; -something that may make trouble for us.”</p> - -<p>“How do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I’m certain that I saw the rock move.”</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, you’re dreamin’, -boy. That rock is as solid as the etarnal hills.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure. I’m sure I saw it quiver a -minute back, when that roll of thunder shook the -ground.”</p> - -<p>“Guess you’re mistaken, boy. Jumpin’ Jehosophat! -Come back here! Quick!”</p> - -<p>Ralph had stepped forward to gaze up at the -big poised rock. As he did so, there had come a -brilliant flash and an earth-shaking peal of thunder.</p> - -<p>The ground quivered and shook, and as it did -so the great stone gave a lurch forward. The -next instant it crashed downward right upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -spot where Ralph had been standing. But the -boy had been snatched back by Jim’s muscular -arm.</p> - -<p>“Safe! Thank the Lord!” gasped out Mountain -Jim fervently.</p> - -<p>“But look at the rock, Jim! It has blocked the -entrance to this place! We’re prisoners!”</p> - -<p>It was only too true. The big stone was lodged -in front of the small cave mouth, shutting out -the light and almost excluding the air except for -a small space at the top. To all intents and purposes -they were as much captives as if a jailer -had clanged a steel gate upon them and locked it -securely.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXI.</h2> - -<p class="pch">INDIANS.</p> - -<p>“Well, this is a fine fix!”</p> - -<p>“About as bad as it could be.”</p> - -<p>“What are we going to do?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know yet. But we’ll find a way out -somehow.”</p> - -<p>Mountain Jim spoke with his accustomed confidence; -but it was easy to tell by his puckered -brow and anxious eyes that he was by no means -quite so certain of finding a way out of their -unexpected trouble as he would have it appear.</p> - -<p>An examination of the rock showed that it -was a huge and heavy boulder that by ill luck -happened almost exactly to fit the opening of the -cave. Only the crack at the top, which was narrow -and irregular admitted light and air.</p> - -<p>“Well, we’re in a snug enough place now,” declared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -Mountain Jim, with a rueful grin, as he -completed his examination, “the only objection -is that we’re too blamed snug. I could do with -a thinner door, for my part.”</p> - -<p>Ralph agreed with him. The boy’s spirits were -considerably dashed by this misfortune which, indeed, -appeared to portend serious, even fatal results -if some way could not be found out of their -quandary.</p> - -<p>They tried shoving the great rock, but their -efforts were of no more avail than if they had -been a couple of puny babes.</p> - -<p>“That settles that,” grunted Mountain Jim, -wiping the sweat off his face as they concluded -their efforts. “‘No admittance,’ that’s the sign -we ought to have hung outside.”</p> - -<p>“‘No exit,’ would be more like it,” retorted -Ralph, “I don’t see why anyone would want to -get in here.”</p> - -<p>He spoke sharply and Mountain Jim looked at -him with a quizzical look.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Now don’t blow up, youngster,” he said, -“things might be a lot worse. For instance, you -might be under that rock at this blessed minute.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove! That’s so, and I owe it to you that -I’m not,” spoke Ralph quickly, flushing shame-facedly -over his exhibition of temper.</p> - -<p>“That part of it is all right,” responded Mountain -Jim easily, “but the point is that I’ve been in -a heap tighter places than this and got out with -a whole skin. Let’s form ourselves into a Committee -of Ways and Means—of getting out of -here.”</p> - -<p>“All right. You start off. Any suggestions?”</p> - -<p>“Yep. I’ve got one right hot off the griddle.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that?”</p> - -<p>“Well, the storm seems to have died down a -bit now, and you can go outside and take a look -and then report back on what you find.”</p> - -<p>“But how in the world am I going to get out?”</p> - -<p>“See that crack at the top there?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Hold on. You never know what a narrow -place you can squeeze through till you try. It’s -my opinion that you can slip through that crack -as easy as a bit of thread through the eye of a -darning needle.”</p> - -<p>Ralph eyed the crack between the top of the -stone and the roof of the cave dubiously.</p> - -<p>“I’ll try it,” he said, “but first I’ll take off my -coat. That’ll make me thinner.”</p> - -<p>He shed his stout hunting jacket and took the -axe out of his belt. Then, aided by Mountain Jim, -he clambered up and looked outside. The storm -was rolling away to the southeast, and before -long, as he could see, the sun would be shining -once more. If only they could get out they could -resume their journey without delay.</p> - -<p>As Jim had foretold, it was not a hard matter -for the lithe, slim boy to wriggle through the -crack, narrow as it had appeared to be from below. -Ralph stuck his head through and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -drew the rest of his body up. In a minute he -was on the outside of the cave and free.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Jim,” he called back, “can’t you make it, -too?”</p> - -<p>“Not me. My two hundred pounds would -never get through that mouse hole,” responded -Jim with perfect good humor. “I guess I’ll have -to stay here till I get thin enough to follow you.”</p> - -<p>Ralph slid down the rough face of the rock -and then fell to examining its base eagerly. It -rested on a small terrace just in front of the -cave, but it didn’t take him long to see that no -ordinary means would dislodge it.</p> - -<p>“How about you?” shouted Jim from within -his rocky prison.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid there’s no hope, Jim,” was the disheartening -reply. “It’s planted as solidly as Gibraltar, -outside here. A giant couldn’t move it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, as there’s no giants likely to happen -along, that don’t much matter,” said Jim in his -dry way, from within the cave.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p> - -<p>“But,” he added, “if we had some giant powder, -that would be a different thing.”</p> - -<p>“You mean blasting powder?”</p> - -<p>“Yep, ‘giant powder’ is what we call it up -here.”</p> - -<p>“If we can’t do anything else, I’d better ride -to some settlement and try to get some.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, unless any miner or prospector happens -along and that’s not likely.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“‘Cause this is in the Blood Indians’ reservation -and the Bloods don’t take kindly to strangers -roaming around on their property and hunting -and prospectin’.”</p> - -<p>“Are they bad Indians?”</p> - -<p>“Well, not exactly. Just ugly, I reckon ’ud be -about the name fer it. The guv’ment keeps fire -water away from ’em all it can, but they sneak -it in somehow and a Blood with whisky in him is -a bad proposition. They’ll steal ponies, rob -houses, do most anything.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know that I’d mind seeing even -a Blood Indian now,” said Ralph, “in spite of -their ugly name. Maybe they could help us or at -any rate ride for help.”</p> - -<p>“Son, a Blood would just as soon shove you -off a cliff if he saw you standing on the edge of -one, as he would tell you you were in danger of -a tumble. But say, get me a drink of water, will -you? I’m as dry as an old crust after shoving at -this bloomin’ rock.”</p> - -<p>Ralph went toward the ponies, where the canteens -hung to the saddle horns. But both were -almost empty and as the creek was raging and -roaring not far below him, he determined to go -down to it and refill their water containers.</p> - -<p>He found the creek much swollen by the rain, -and racing and tumbling on its boulderous bed -like a miniature torrent. But the water was clear -and cold, and he took a long drink before refilling -the canteens. This done, he pushed his way<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -among the alders back toward the blocked-up -cave.</p> - -<p>All at once, off to the right, he heard the -sound of hoofs and voices.</p> - -<p>“Good enough,” thought the lad to himself, -“here’s some one who can give us a hand to get -out of this precious fix we’re in.”</p> - -<p>He hurried forward, but the alders were thick -and his hands were occupied so that his progress -was slow. From time to time a whipping-back -branch would slap him a stinging blow across the -face, making it smart painfully.</p> - -<p>So it was that he did not emerge into the clearing -until the voices he had heard had grown quite -close. In fact, the appearance of the boy with -the canteens and the emergence of three horsemen -into the clearing were simultaneous. But -as Ralph beheld those horsemen his heart gave a -quick, alarmed bound, and then sank into his -boots.</p> - -<p>They were Indians! Evidently they had just<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -seen the tethered ponies of the white men and -were discussing them with animation.</p> - -<p>All three were mounted on wiry ponies. Two -wore blankets and soft hats, with much patched -trousers poking from under the folds of their -gaudy wrappings. The third, who appeared to -be some sort of a superior being, was garbed in -an old frock coat, several sizes too large for him, -and in his soft hat was stuck a long eagle feather, -as if to symbolize his rank.</p> - -<p>But in spite of their semi-civilized garb, all -three had cruel, savage faces and eyed the tethered -ponies with gluttonous eyes. As Ralph -watched them, the one with the frock coat drew -out a bottle and handed it in turn to his two -companions.</p> - -<p>“They’re Bloods and they’ve got hold of fire-water -some place,” murmured Ralph. “We’re in -for more trouble now, and I left my rifle in the -cave!”</p> - -<p>He crouched back among the alders, wondering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -if Jim was aware of what was going forward -outside the blockaded cave. So far the Indians -had not seen him, and Ralph was not particularly -anxious that they should.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">AN ENCOUNTER WITH “BLOODS.”</p> - -<p>The Indians appeared to be in no hurry, and -from the fact that the carcass of a deer lay across -the back of one of their ponies Ralph judged -that they were a hunting party. But the appraising -glances that they cast at the tethered ponies -were by no means reassuring.</p> - -<p>They looked about them cautiously for a time, -and exchanged some hasty words in their guttural -dialect. Then the one who wore the odd-looking -frock coat and the eagle feather slipped -from his pony and approached those that were -tied.</p> - -<p>It was high time to interfere apparently; but -still Ralph hung back. Unarmed as he was, he -was unwilling to show himself until actual necessity -called for it. But when the frock-coated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -Indian deliberately began to unknot the tie ropes -of their ponies his intention was only too plain -and the boy cast all prudence aside.</p> - -<p>“Hey, you, let go of that pony!” he exclaimed, -coming out from the shelter of the alders.</p> - -<p>The Indian started and turned, and his two -companions did the same. For a minute they -were considerably startled, for “red coats” -(mounted police) occasionally rode through that -part of the country.</p> - -<p>But when they saw that it was only a boy who -faced them, they quickly recovered their composure.</p> - -<p>“Hullo, white boy,” said the one that appeared -to be the leader, speaking a dialect that cannot be -reproduced on paper. “Hullo, white boy, what -you want, eh?”</p> - -<p>“I want you to leave those ponies alone,” spoke -back Ralph boldly, “they belong to me and my -partner.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That so, eh? Well, we take them ’long small -piece, savee?”</p> - -<p>The rascal coolly bent over the rope and went -on unfastening it. Ralph was, for a minute, at -a loss what to do. Then he bethought himself -of Jim in the cave.</p> - -<p>“Jim! oh, Jim!” he cried shrilly.</p> - -<p>“Hullo,” came a hearty voice in reply, “what’s -up?”</p> - -<p>“Some rascals are stealing——” began Ralph, -when one of the mounted Bloods slipped swiftly -from his pony and, before the boy could utter an other -syllable, grasped him by the throat. Ralph -was a powerful boy, but in the hands of the wiry, -muscular Blood he was no more than an infant -The man drew an ugly looking knife.</p> - -<p>“You keep quiet, eh? Me plentee stickee you, -you make any more chac-chac (talk).”</p> - -<p>Whether the Indian would really have carried -out his threat or not Ralph had no means of -guessing, but he deemed it most prudent under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -the circumstances to obey. The Indian smelled -most abominably of liquor, and was evidently in -no docile mood. A sort of reckless deviltry -danced in his eyes that warned Ralph not to cross -him.</p> - -<p>But the next instant, to his unspeakable relief, -he heard Jim’s voice again.</p> - -<p>“I’m trying to climb up the rock. I’ll be there -in a jiffy. Confound it, but it’s slippery!”</p> - -<p>Of course Ralph could not reply, but the words -cheered him. If Jim would only appear with his -rifle maybe he could scare the Bloods off. In -an agony of impatience he waited. Luckily the -rain had wetted the knots so that they were hard -to untie and the Blood leader was having a lot -of trouble with them.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Ralph heard a sharp cry from the -Indian that still remained on horseback. The one -that was bending over the knots heard the exclamation -and glanced up, as did the one that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -was threatening Ralph. The boy, too, looked -around and soon saw what had alarmed them.</p> - -<p>Creeping into the clearing were two immense, -tawny forms. The female cougar had returned -with her mate!</p> - -<p>The Indians gave a series of sharp cries, and -the one that held Ralph released his hold and -ran for his pony. So did the one that had been -bent on stealing the white men’s mounts.</p> - -<p>Lashing the ground with their tails the lions -began to give utterance to a sort of whining snarl.</p> - -<p>This was answered from within the cave by a -chorus of mewings and squeals from the cubs. -The sound of her young appeared to drive the -lioness to fury. She leaped full at the nearest -Indian, and landed on the haunches of his terrified -pony.</p> - -<p>One of the others snatched a rifle from his -saddle and fired at the animal, but before he -could aim properly the male cougar had attacked -him, and the bullet went wild. Evidently the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -lions thought the Indians were responsible for -keeping them from their cubs.</p> - -<p>The rifle was an old, single-barrelled one, and -having fired the one shot the Indian had no -chance to reload. But as the bullet sang by her, -the lioness had relaxed her hold on the terrified -pony’s haunches and slipped to the ground to face -this new antagonist. Ralph gazed on with fascinated -horror. The scene was unreal, fantastic -almost. The three Indians, an instant before -bent on thievery, were now fighting for their lives -against two creatures urged to fury by the most -powerful motive known to the animal kingdom—the -love of their young.</p> - -<p>“Cheysoyo tamya!” cried the one with the eagle -feather, and, urging their ponies to mad flight, -the Indians made off at top speed. The lions -made two or three bounds after them, but then -stopped to listen to the appealing cries of the -cubs inside the cave.</p> - -<p>They were a badly embarrassed pair of felines.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -Evidently the manner in which the cave had been -sealed up during their absence was a mystery to -them. They walked about in front of it sniffing, -growling and lashing their tails like gigantic cats -in a rage. Dangerous as his position was, Ralph -could not but admire the restless grace of the -tawny creatures with their smooth, yellowish -coats and great green savage eyes.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, and without any particular reason -that Ralph could see, although they had undoubtedly -smelled him, the two cougars came -bounding toward the alder thicket into which he -had crouched back when first they appeared. -Ralph’s heart almost stopped beating as they -came. He looked toward the cave despairingly.</p> - -<p>As he gazed he saw Jim’s rugged face appear -in the crack above the rock. The mountaineer -took in the scene instantly, and, although he could -not see Ralph, he called to him.</p> - -<p>“Come on the rock, boy! I’ll hold them back.”</p> - -<p>Ralph saw the muzzle of Jim’s rifle gleam in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -the afternoon sun as he thrust it through the -crack and sighted with his keen eyes along the -barrel.</p> - -<p>Instantly his mind was made up as to what -he would do. As the lions dived into the alders -not far from him he dashed out and made for -the rock. In the meantime the tethered ponies -were plunging and rearing as if they would break -their ropes. But the lions paid no attention to -them. Apparently they were only seeking those -who had invaded their den.</p> - -<p>As Ralph made his dart for safety the lions -spied him. With crashing bounds they came out -of the underbrush.</p> - -<p>Ralph felt a bullet whiz by his ear, but he -heard no howl to tell that one of the lions had -been hit. Instead, came Jim’s voice from above.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Lord! This plagued rock juts out too far -for me to aim down on ’em.”</p> - -<p>“Throw me down the rifle, quick!” cried Ralph, -an agony in his voice.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p> - -<p>He knew he could not clamber up the rock in -time to avoid the lions’ claws. His one chance -lay in the desperate plan he had formed as Jim’s -exclamation came to his ears.</p> - -<p>Jim let the rifle come sliding and clattering -down the rock and Ralph caught it up. The -strange noise of the weapon as it came to the -ground after the startling report halted the lions -for an instant. But as he turned to face them -Ralph saw that they were all ready for another -attack.</p> - -<p>He bravely prepared to meet it, although his -pulses throbbed and his breath came so fast that -he could hardly hold the rifle in the proper position.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">FIGHTING MOUNTAIN LIONS.</p> - -<p>“Steady, boy! Steady!” came Jim’s voice -from above, vibrant with agitation.</p> - -<p>He knew only too well that to the tyro at big -game shooting any large animal appears about -twice as large and ferocious as it really is. Many -lives have been lost and many painful and disfiguring -wounds carried to the grave because a -man’s nerve has failed him at the critical moment -when hunting dangerous game.</p> - -<p>“You’re only shootin’ at a mark, boy! That’s -all! Hold on ’em now! Hold on ’em!”</p> - -<p>Jim’s voice steadied Ralph’s nerves wonderfully. -He glanced down the rifle barrel and then, -as his finger pressed the trigger the report roared -and crashed through the valley.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Give it to ‘em! Oh, give it to ‘em!” yelled -Jim wildly.</p> - -<p>Following the two sharp, quick reports and -mingling with them came a scream full of -ferocious agony. Ralph saw a big, tawny body -leap high into the air and then, falling back, begin -to claw the earth and stones frantically.</p> - -<p>“Look out for the other!” roared Jim, and none -too soon, for the female, seeing that her mate was -stricken by the brave boy’s shot, now prepared -to spring.</p> - -<p>Ralph’s attention had been distracted from -her by the death agonies of the male cougar. -Jim’s warning shout recalled the boy to himself.</p> - -<p>He fired once more, but this time he did not -inflict a mortal wound. Instead, his bullet -pierced the lion’s shoulder. Apparently she did -not care for any more of that sort of punishment, -for with a yelp and a howl she turned and dashed -off, leaving her mate stark in death on the ground -in front of the cave.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ralph, white and shaking, now that it was all -over, reeled for a minute and then leaned against -the rock to recover himself a little.</p> - -<p>“Bravely done, lad!” came a voice from above.</p> - -<p>It was Jim, but Ralph felt almost too weak -from the ordeal he had just passed through to -answer.</p> - -<p>“The rifle just seemed to go off by itself,” he -stammered. “I was so scared I couldn’t see anything -plainly.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that. You did the trick, and -that’s what counts. Wish you’d got both of ’em, -though. That lioness wasn’t badly hurt and she’ll -be back for her young ones before long.”</p> - -<p>“Well, she can’t get into the cave,” said Ralph -with a rather shaky laugh, “any more than you -can get out,” he added ruefully.</p> - -<p>“That’s so. I declare for a minute I’d forgotten -all about our fix. Say, but those lions -served us one good turn when they drove off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -those Bloods. The fellows were ugly and meant -trouble.”</p> - -<p>“But won’t they be back?”</p> - -<p>“Not they. They’ve had time to think it over -by this time, and they’ll have come to realize that -these ain’t early days, and that horse stealing -would result in their whole reservation being -turned inside out till the culprits were found.”</p> - -<p>“Hark!” cried Ralph suddenly, “somebody’s -coming now. Maybe it <i>is</i> those Indians coming -back, after all.”</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, it’s someone on -a horse, sure enough. I’ll duck down into the -cave and get your rifle up.”</p> - -<p>For it was Jim’s “Old Trusty,” as he called -it, with which Ralph had despatched one lion and -wounded the other.</p> - -<p>But to Ralph’s unspeakable relief it was no -band of Bloods that rode into the clearing, but -a bearded man on a wild, shaggy pony leading -a pack mule by a hair rope. From the pack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -Ralph could see shovel and pick handles sticking -out and both rider and animals appeared to have -been roughing it for many months.</p> - -<p>The man wore rough buckskin garments, and -his stirrups were made of rope. On his head was -a battered old Stetson hat with a leather band -around it. Across his saddle bow he carried a -long-barrelled rifle, with the stock embossed with -silver. He glanced at Ralph in a quick, surprised -sort of way.</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, what in the ’tarnal’s bin goin’ on -here?” he demanded in a nasal tone, which Ralph -recognized as belonging to a native of the States.</p> - -<p>“Why, I—that is, we’ve been mixed up in a -sort of scrap with Indians and lions,” replied -Ralph hesitatingly.</p> - -<p>The man looked so wild and uncouth that he -did not know but he might have to deal with a -highwayman of some sort.</p> - -<p>“Do tell,” exclaimed the rough-looking -stranger, “and you’re only a kid, too! Yankee?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ralph nodded. Just then Jim reappeared at the -crack on the top of the fallen rock, and as his -eyes fell on the stranger he uttered a yell of -astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland,” he shouted, -“it’s Bitter Creek Jones!”</p> - -<p>“That’s me,” rejoined the stranger shifting in -his saddle, “but who may you be? Come out and -show yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t. My door is locked on the outside, -so to speak; but I’m Mountain Jim Bothwell—remember -me?”</p> - -<p>The stranger broke into a great roar of delight.</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, do tell. If this ain’t luck. Mountain -Jim! I ain’t never forgot that day on the Bow -River that you saved me from that bunch of -huskies that was goin’ to hold me up and take -my dust away frum me. But come on out. Let’s -shake your paw, old pal!”</p> - -<p>“Sorry, but I’m not receiving to-day,” responded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -Mountain Jim. He hastened on to explain -what had happened within the last few -hours, interrupted constantly by Bitter Creek -Jones’ astonished exclamations.</p> - -<p>“I heard an almighty firin’ an’ blazin’ away -frum over this neck of the woods,” he said, “and -I jes’ nacherally come over ter see what in Sam -Hill was goin’ forward. So ye’re all walled up, -hey? Jes’ wait a jiffy while I take a look at that -rock. It’ll be tough luck if Bitter Creek can’t -get you out’n that mouse-trap without’n you -havin’ ter ride fifty miles fer help.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think you can do anything, Mr. -Jones?” asked Ralph, as the odd-looking stranger -slipped off his sorry-appearing steed.</p> - -<p>“Say, Sonny, I’m plain Bitter Crik to my -friends. I’m Mister Jones to them that don’t like -me, see? So far as gittin’ Mountain Jim out’n -that hole, it’ll be hard luck if I kain’t do it. Bitter -Crik’s got gold out’n tougher places nor that, you -kin bet your last red. Lucky I came along this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -way, too. You see I’ve bin prospectin’ all through -here, but it’s a rotten country. I’m going back -to the States and ship to Alasky, when I git out’n -the Rockies.”</p> - -<p>Talking thus, Bitter Creek, who looked so -ferocious, but proved so good-natured, examined -the rock from all sides. As he carried on his investigations -he hummed to himself like a man -in deep thought.</p> - -<p>At length he straightened up and hailed Jim.</p> - -<p>“I’ll get you out’n here, Jim,” he said.</p> - -<p>“All right, old man, wish you would. These -cubs smell like a shoe factory on fire. I ain’t -particular, but I know a heap of smells that’s -sweeter, including skunk.”</p> - -<p>Bitter Creek turned to Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Know what I’m goin’ ter do, Sonny?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>Ralph shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Well, see here. That rock rests on this little -terrace or ledge, don’t it?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“And the ground all slopes away from it -toward the creek?”</p> - -<p>“It does,” rejoined Ralph, seeing that the odd -man expected some sort of a reply.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m going to put a slug of giant powder -in under that terrace and blow it out from under -the rock. Onless I mistake my guess, that’s all -that’s holdin’ it. When we blow that to Kingdom -Come that ol’ rock is jes’ nacherally goin’ ter -start rollin’ down ther hill, and out ’ull walk Jim -as large as life and twice as nacheral.”</p> - -<p>“But won’t the explosion hurt him?” asked -Ralph, to whom this appeared to be a dangerous -proceeding.</p> - -<p>“May shake him up a bit, but yer see, the force -of giant powder works downward, and I’ll drive -in under the rock for the shot.”</p> - -<p>The scheme was explained to Mountain Jim, -who entirely acquiesced in it. Bitter Creek -Jones wasted no more time, but hurried off to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -mule. From the pack he produced a small box -carefully wrapped in various soft cloths. This -proved to be filled with excelsior, amidst which -nestled sticks of giant powder. From another -box came caps and fuse.</p> - -<p>Then with a crowbar, the miner drove a deep -hole under the terrace on which the rock rested, -and this done, capped and fused two sticks of -dynamite and “tamped” them into place. Then -summoning Ralph they both retreated to a distance, -and Bitter Creek bent over and lit the fuse.</p> - -<p>“Look out, Jim!” he yelled as it sputtered and -sparked. “In about tew minutes there’s goin’ ter -be ‘Hail Columbia’ round these diggin’s.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> - -<p class="pch">“BITTER CREEK JONES.”</p> - -<p>A dull, booming crash that shook the ground -under their feet, followed within a few seconds. -A cloud of dust and rocks arose from the cave -mouth. Suddenly Ralph broke into a shout:</p> - -<p>“The rock! The rock! It’s moving!”</p> - -<p>“Hold on, boy,” warned the prospector, laying -a hand on Ralph’s shoulder. “Watch!”</p> - -<p>The big boulder hesitated, swayed, and then, -with a reverberating crash, as the blasted terrace -under it gave way, it rolled down the hillside. -An instant after, Jim Bothwell burst from the -cavern and ran toward them. It was all that -Ralph, in his joy, could do to keep from embracing -him, but just then a sudden shout from Bitter -Creek Jones caught and distracted his attention. -In their excitement they had forgotten all about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -the tethered ponies. The great rock was now -bounding toward them with great velocity.</p> - -<p>It shook the ground as its ponderous weight -rumbled down the hillside. The ponies whinnied -with terror and tugged and strained at their -ropes. But just as it appeared inevitable that -they must be crushed, the huge rock struck a -smaller one and its course was diverted. Down -it went, but on a safe track now, and terminated -its career in the clump of thick growing alders -that fringed the stream.</p> - -<p>“Wow, a narrow escape!” ejaculated Ralph -breathlessly.</p> - -<p>“Yep, we come pretty durn near killin’ two -birds—or ponies, rayther—with one stone,” -grinned Bitter Creek Jones; “but all’s well as -turns out all right, as the poet says.”</p> - -<p>“Bitter, you’re all right,” cried Jim, clutching -the hand of the prospector who had turned up so -opportunely.</p> - -<p>“Shucks! That’s all right, Jim. It wasn’t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -much to do fer you, old pal,” responded Bitter -returning the pressure. “And now,” he went on, -as if anxious to change the subject, “you’d better -skin that lion and be gettin’ on yer way. It’s -drawin’ in late, and this is a bad part of the -country to get benighted in, more specially with -a bunch of Bloods hanging about all lit up with -fire-water.”</p> - -<p>“Reckon you’re right, Bitter,” was the response -as Mountain Jim deftly made the necessary incisions -and he and his friend skinned the dead -cougar with skillful hands.</p> - -<p>It was not long after that they parted company. -Bitter Creek Jones continuing toward the south, -while Ralph and Mountain Jim swung on to their -ponies and resumed their journey toward the -northwest. The last they saw of Bitter Creek -Jones he was waving a hearty adieu to them and -shouting:</p> - -<p>“See you in Alaska north of fifty-three, some -time.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then a shoulder of mountain shut him out and -they saw him no more.</p> - -<p>“There’s a white man,” said Jim with deep conviction, -as the ponies carried them from the scene. -“He’s rough as a bear, is Bitter, but white right -down to his gizzard.”</p> - -<p>Ralph regretted that he could not have taken -one of the cubs along, but on the rough trip -that still lay before them it would have been extremely -difficult if not impossible to transport it. -So the little den of young cougars had to be left -behind to await the return of their wounded -mother, an event which, Mountain Jim declared, -would take place within a short time.</p> - -<p>“Maybe I ought to have killed the whole boiling -of them young termagents,” he said. “They’ll -grow up and make a heap of trouble for sheepmen, -but let ’em be. I ain’t got the heart to -make away with a lot of babies like them.”</p> - -<p>It was dark when, on topping a backbone of -desolate mountain, they saw in a valley below<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -them a light shining amidst the blackness. Jim -declared that this must be the ranch for which -they were searching, and they made their best -speed toward the lonely beacon. If it had been -hard traveling by daylight through the forest, it -was doubly difficult to make their way by night. -But Jim appeared to possess in a superlative degree -that wonderful sense of location peculiar to -persons who have passed their lives in the great -silent places of the earth. It has been noted by -travelers that a young Indian boy, who has apparently -not noted in the slightest the course -followed on a hunting expedition into the great -woods, has been able, without any apparent mental -effort, to guide back to camp the party of -which he formed a member. Such a faculty has -been ascribed as more due to instinct, the sense -that brings a carrier pigeon home over unknown -leagues, than to anything else.</p> - -<p>Through the darkness they blundered on, -through muskegs, fallen timber and swollen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -creeks—the latter due to the heavy rains of the -afternoon. At length, after it appeared to Ralph -almost certain that they must have lost their way, -they came out on a plateau and saw shining not -half a mile from them the light for which Mountain -Jim had been aiming.</p> - -<p>A sea captain, with all the resources of highly -perfected instruments, could not have made a -more successful land-fall. But as they drew -nearer to the light, a puzzled expression could -have been observed on Mountain Jim’s face had -it been clearly visible. Ralph, too, soon became -aware of a great noise of shouting and singing -proceeding from the vicinity of the light.</p> - -<p>“Must have some sort of a party going on,” -he observed to his companion.</p> - -<p>“I dunno,” was Mountain Jim’s rejoinder. -“Donald Campbell used to be a bachelor and no -great shakes for company. Maybe he’s married -and they’re havin’ a pink tea or something.”</p> - -<p>Soon after, they rode up to a rough looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -house, behind which, bulking blackly against the -darkness, were the outlines of haystacks. Several -horses were hitched in front of the place and the -door was open, emitting a ruddy stream of light -that fell full on one of the animals. Ralph recognized -the cayuse with a start. It was one of -those that had been ridden by the Bloods. There -was no mistaking the animal’s pie-bald coat and -wall-eye. He was what is known among cowmen -as a “paint-horse.”</p> - -<p>Ralph gasped out his information to Mountain -Jim. His companion only nodded.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been thinking for some time that there -is something queer about this place,” he said, “but -there’s no help for it, we’ve got to see it through -now.”</p> - -<p>And then a minute later he made an odd inquiry:</p> - -<p>“Where’ve you got the money for the ponies, -Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Right in my inside coat pocket. Why?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Oh, I dunno. Better put it in a safer place; -you might lose it.”</p> - -<p>Ralph could not quite understand the drift of -his companion’s remark, but he shifted the money—one -hundred dollars in bills—to his belt, which -had a money pocket for such purposes. By this -time they were up to the long hitching post where -the other ponies were tied and they dismounted -and secured their own animals.</p> - -<p>“Let me do the talking,” warned Mountain -Jim as they approached the door. The noise of -their arrival had been noticed within, and a short, -stocky figure of a man with a flaming red beard -blocked the light from the doorway as they approached.</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, that ain’t -Donald Campbell, by a long shot!”</p> - -<p>“Maybe he’s moved on,” said Ralph, recollecting -the phrasing of the notice in the deserted log -cabin.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Maybe,” responded Jim briefly. The next -minute the man in the doorway hailed them.</p> - -<p>“Evening, strangers.”</p> - -<p>“Evening,” responded Jim. “Donald Campbell -about?”</p> - -<p>“Naw. He ain’t lived here in quite a spell. -Gone up the valley ten miles or more. Lookin’ -for him?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I calculated on seeing him,” was Jim’s -response. “Can we stay here to-night?”</p> - -<p>The man hesitated an instant, but then spoke -swiftly as if to cover up his momentary vacillation.</p> - -<p>“Yep. Come right in. Guess we kin get you -supper and a shake-down. That’s all you want, -ain’t it?”</p> - -<p>“That’s all,” responded Jim as they passed the -threshold. Inside they found themselves in a -rough looking room lighted by a hanging lamp -which reeked of kerosene. At a table under it -some men had been sitting, but they vanished with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -what appeared suspicious haste as the two -strangers came in. The host left them alone soon -after, promising to give them some bacon and -eggs and coffee. The noise that they had heard -as they drew close to the ranch had died out, and -now all was as silent as a graveyard. Ralph -lowered his voice as he addressed Mountain Jim.</p> - -<p>“What sort of a place is this, anyhow?”</p> - -<p>In the same low tones Jim made his reply:</p> - -<p>“Dunno, but it looks to me like what they call -up in this section a ‘whisky ranch.’ It’s the resort -of bad characters and is stuck back here in the -woods so as to be beyond the ten-mile limit. You -see the Canadian government, knowing what -harm that stuff does, won’t let liquor be sold -within ten miles of a public roadway.”</p> - -<p>“Then that’s what brought those Indians -here?”</p> - -<p>“Looks that way. But this fellow would be -in mighty bad if it was found out by the mounted -police. But—hush! I reckon he’s coming now.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p> - -<p>Sure enough the red-bearded man re-entered -the room at this juncture. He bore a big dish -of bacon and eggs in one hand and in the other -he had a blackened tin pot from which came the -savory aroma of coffee.</p> - -<p>From a corner cupboard he got tin plates and -cups and wooden-handled knives and forks. He -asked them what their business was as he laid the -table, which required no cloth, being covered with -a strip of white oil-cloth.</p> - -<p>“We wanted to buy some ponies from Donald -Campbell,” spoke Ralph before Jim’s heavy foot -kicked him under the table. For an instant there -was a sharp glint in the red-bearded man’s eyes.</p> - -<p>“Buyin’ ponies, eh? Must have lots of money. -Ponies is high right now.”</p> - -<p>“In that case we can’t afford ’em,” said Jim, -taking the conversation into his own hands. He -had noticed the momentary flash in the man’s -eyes when Ralph spoke of buying ponies, and -rightly interpreted it. The man stood by them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -while they ate and told them that he had bought -the ranch some time before, but that it was a -poor place and he could make nothing out of it -He appeared anxious to impress them that he -was a rancher and nothing else, and spoke much -of crops and stock. Jim and Ralph listened, replying -at intervals.</p> - -<p>When they had finished eating, the red-bearded -man offered to escort them to bed. He wanted -to put them in separate rooms, but Mountain Jim -demurred to this.</p> - -<p>“My partner here is a heavy sleeper,” he said, -“and we’ve got to be up early to-morrow. I’d -rouse up the whole house waking him if you put -him in another room.”</p> - -<p>“All right, I can put you in the attic,” said -the man, “but you’ll not be over comfortable.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s all right,” said Jim airily. “We’re -used to roughing it.”</p> - -<p>“You may be, but your partner don’t look over -and above husky,” said the red-bearded man,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -glancing at Ralph’s slender form, which rather -belied the boy’s real strength and activity. He -conducted them upstairs and left them in an unceiled -attic in which were two rough cots. He -took the lamp with him when he went, saying -that it was too dangerous to leave a kerosene -lamp up there so close to the rafters.</p> - -<p>“Don’t sleep too sound,” whispered Jim as they -got into their cots. “I’ve a notion that our friend -with the vermilion chin coverings isn’t any better -than he ought to be. I’m sorry you made that -crack about buying ponies; it’s given him the -idea that we are carrying a lot of money. I saw -it in his eyes as soon as he spoke.”</p> - -<p>Ralph hadn’t much to say to this. He realized -that he had made a bad mistake and blamed himself -bitterly. But he determined to try to retrieve -his error by keeping awake to watch for -any sudden alarm. But try as he would, his exhausted -eyelids drooped as if weighted with lead, -and before long, tired nature had asserted her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -sway and the lad was sound asleep on his rough -couch.</p> - -<p>Just what hour it was Ralph could not determine, -but he was suddenly awakened by a noise -as if someone had pushed a chair across the -room or had stumbled on it. Broad awake in -an instant he sat up in the cot, his every sense -alert and his heart throbbing violently.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXV.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE OUTLAW RANCH.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he was conscious that someone was -near his cot. He could hear hard breathing and -then he felt a hand creeping over the covers. In -a flash he grasped it and yelled aloud to Mountain -Jim. Now Jim, no less tired than Ralph, had -likewise dropped off to sleep despite his determined -efforts to keep awake. But Ralph’s cry -brought him out of his cot in a bound.</p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland! What’s up?” -he roared.</p> - -<p>“There’s someone trying to rob me!” yelled -Ralph, still clutching the wrist he had caught. -The next instant a hand was at his throat and a -knee on his chest and he was choked into silence. -But his cry had had its effect. Like a runaway<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -steer Mountain Jim came charging through the -darkness.</p> - -<p>“Who in creation are you, you scallywag? -What do you want?” he roared, grabbing hold of -Ralph’s antagonist, for by good luck he had come -straight in the direction of Ralph’s cry. Without -giving whoever the midnight intruder was any -chance to reply, Mountain Jim encircled him with -his iron arm and hurled him clear across the -room. They could hear a crash and grunt as -the fellow fetched up, and then a rush of feet -through the darkness followed by the crash of -a heavy fall, caused apparently by a violent tumble -down the steep stairs leading to the attic.</p> - -<p>They listened intently and heard somebody -picking himself up and limping off.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you think of that?” exclaimed -Mountain Jim. “Serves me right for sleeping, -though, Ralph. Are you hurt?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit, but I feel half choked. That fellow -had a half Nelson on my neck, all right.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I guess I had a whole one on his,” chuckled -Jim. “Strike a match, Ralph, and let’s see what -we can see.”</p> - -<p>The match showed a revolver lying on the floor -by Ralph’s bed apparently just as it had been -dropped by the intruder when Jim’s mighty arm -encircled him.</p> - -<p>“Humph! pretty good gun,” commented Jim -dryly, looking the weapon over. “I’ll bet a doughnut -that the owner never sees it again, though.”</p> - -<p>“Who do you think it was?” asked Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Old red-whiskers. We’ll look him over in the -morning, and by that same token it’s pretty near -dawn now. Hear the roosters? Well, as there’s -no more sleep for us to-night, we might as well -get up and see to the ponies. It would be just -like this outfit of scallywags to try to do them -some harm or even steal ’em, if your friends, the -Bloods, are about.”</p> - -<p>But the ponies, which had been turned into a -corral the night previous, were found to be all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -right, and by the time the stars paled they had -them saddled and re-entered the house. Jim -banged loudly on the table of the room where -they had had supper the previous night and demanded -breakfast. Before long the landlord -came shuffling into the room.</p> - -<p>In the pale light they could see that under his -left eye he had a big purple swelling. His hands -shook, too, and altogether he appeared to be very -ill at ease.</p> - -<p>“How’d you sleep?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Fine,” rejoined Jim heartily. “In the night a -mosquito or some other kind of low down critter -bothered me, but I guess I bunged him up tolerably -considerable.”</p> - -<p>He looked at the red-bearded man with a cheerful -grin, and stared him straight in the eyes. The -optics of the rascal dropped. He got breakfast -in sullen silence and took his pay without a word.</p> - -<p>“Oh, by the way,” Jim shouted back to him -as they rode off, “I found a gun in that attic last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -night. If the owner wants it, tell him to come -to me, will you?”</p> - -<p>The landlord looked at them for an instant and -his florid skin turned green. He swung on his -heel and fairly fled into the house.</p> - -<p>“I’ll turn it over to the Mounted Police,” -shouted Jim after him. “I guess they’ll be interested -in finding the owner.”</p> - -<p>They arrived at Donald Campbell’s new ranch -shortly afterward, riding over a fairly good road. -The old Scotchman told them that they were -lucky that nothing worse had happened to them. -The place was suspected to be a “whisky ranch,” -and its owner had been in trouble with the police -on two or three occasions.</p> - -<p>“I guess he’ll be careful who he tackles next -time,” remarked Jim with a grin.</p> - -<p>The bargain for two tough, hard-looking -ponies, broken to pack, was soon struck, and with -good wishes from the old Scotchman they rode -off. They reached the camp on the return<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -journey that night, and all hands sat up late -listening with absorbed interest to the story of -their adventures.</p> - -<p>The new ponies proved to be anything but -tractable the next morning, but eventually they -were subdued and their packs firmly “diamonded” -to their plunging backs. This done, the way lay -clear before the adventurers to the Big Bend of -the Columbia River. Mountain Jim had told the -boys that their route would skirt the bases of -some of the peaks covered with eternal snow, -among which the great white Rocky Mountain -goat ranges. There might even be a chance, he -declared, for a sight of the famous Big Horn -sheep, although these animals are now so wild -as to be almost inaccessible to hunters.</p> - -<p>They set out in high humor, the new ponies -being hitched to more sedate companions so as -to keep their spirits within bounds. But notwithstanding -this, the lively little animals plunged -and leaped about till it appeared as if their packs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -would come off. Throughout the morning they -progressed steadily toward the great snow-covered -peaks that shone and glittered like -diadems toward the northwest. Black ridges of -rock appeared among the white coverings of -their flanks, giving them an odd, striped appearance.</p> - -<p>A stop was made for dinner at the side of a -roaring torrent, whose green, cold waters came -from the snow-capped peaks toward which their -way now lay. While Jim cooked the meal, aided -by Jimmie, the boys scattered in every direction -gathering firewood or looking at the scenes about -them. All at once there came a wild whoop of -dismay from Persimmons, who had been entrusted -with the duty of tethering Topsy, one of -the new ponies.</p> - -<p>The little animal had taken fright at the smell -of the lion skin, which was rolled up on Baldy’s -back, and before anyone could stop her she was -off toward the torrent. Ralph was in his saddle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -in a second and after her, swinging his lasso in -true cowboy fashion.</p> - -<p>“Yip! yip!” he yelled, delighted at the prospect -of a brisk chase.</p> - -<p>But Topsy, although she hesitated a minute on -the brink of the torrent, did not, as Ralph had -surmised, turn and dash along the bank. Instead, -she plunged right into the seething waters, pack -and all, and struck out for the opposite shore.</p> - -<p>Ralph only paused a minute and then he was -into the stream after her, urging his unwilling -pony into the cold water. Reaching the middle -of the stream, he slipped off his pony and swam -beside him till shallower water was reached.</p> - -<p>The swift current carried them down stream -for quite a distance, but at last the struggling -pony’s feet found solid bottom, and he scrambled -out not more than a hundred yards behind Topsy. -All this had happened so quickly that those left -behind had hardly time to realize it before Ralph -gained the opposite shore. Then Jim hailed him:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Can you get her, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” hailed back the boy positively, and -clapping his big, blunt-rowelled spurs to his pony -he was off into the woods after the fleeing pack -animal. The wood proved to be only a strip -of pine and tamaracks, and beyond was a rocky -ledge leading up the side of a high mountain, for -by this time they had reached the heart of the -Rockies and big peaks towered all about them.</p> - -<p>“Yip! yip!” cried Ralph entering fully into the -spirit of the chase. As for Topsy, apparently not -feeling the weight of the heavy pack at all, she -dashed on like a lightning express. Ralph was -sorry that the chase was not among the trees, -for in the timber Topsy would have found it hard -to get along so quickly with the encumbering -pack on her back. But up the rocky ledge, which -zig-zagged like a trail up the mountain, she fairly -flew. The noise of her speeding hoofs was like -that of castanets.</p> - -<p>“Well, a stern chase is always a long one,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>” -thought Ralph, as he shook a kink out of his -rope and spurred after her as fast as his pony -was capable of going. The camp was soon left -far behind and still the boy found himself on a -narrow trail, or shelf of rock, that inclined steeply -up the mountain side. Below him the ground -dropped off to unknown depths, and on his other -hand a wall of rock shot up so steeply that hardly -a tree or a bush found footing on it. As they -rose higher Ralph experienced a sensation as if -he was riding into cloudland. Frequently he -would lose sight of Topsy, and then again he -could glimpse her as she darted around a shoulder -of the mountain, only to be lost to view again.</p> - -<p>“Gracious, this is like being slung up between -heaven and earth,” thought Ralph, as he loped -up the trail as fast as his pony could carry him. -Glancing down he saw that a sort of blue mist -veiled the depths of the abyss below him. He -was many feet above the tops of the tallest of -the big pines. Afar off, through the crisp, clear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -air, he could see more ridges, but he appeared -far above them. To anyone gazing at him from -below, the boy would have looked no larger than -a fly on some steep and lofty wall.</p> - -<p>“Fine place to meet anything,” he said to himself. -“This road was only built for one.”</p> - -<p>At the same instant another thought flashed -across him. Up to this time, in the heat of the -chase, he had cast reflection to the winds.</p> - -<p>The trail was narrowing. Unless it widened -further up, how was he to turn his pony around -and retrace his steps?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXVI.</h2> - -<p class="pch">CARTHEW OF “THE MOUNTED.”</p> - -<p>This thought had hardly occurred to him when -he was saved further pondering by the sight of -Topsy coming flying back along the ledge. Her -nostrils were distended in a frightened way and -her coat was flecked with foam. For a flash he -saw her as she turned a shoulder of rock, and then -she vanished again as the trail turned inward -toward the cliff face. Ralph had only a second -in which to act.</p> - -<p>He glanced about him. It appeared impossible -that two ponies could pass on the narrow trail. -Yet he would have to let Topsy get by or else be -backed off into the depths below. In emergencies -such as the boy now faced, the mind usually rises -to the occasion and works with the rapidity necessary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> -to dictate quick action. It was so in Ralph’s -case.</p> - -<p>He swung his pony in toward the cliff face, -clinging to it closely, as the only possible salvation. -In a flash Topsy came swinging around the -turn, going at full gallop. Ralph held his breath -as he felt her sides graze his right knee! But -she galloped safely by with hardly a fraction of -an inch to spare between her hoofs and the edge -of the trail!</p> - -<p>To his huge joy and relief the emergency was -passed, and without accident. In another minute -he had swung his pony around, its small, nimble -legs bunched together to make the turn, and was -off down the trail after the runaway. Almost at -the bottom several riders were advancing toward -the boy. The recreant Topsy was between him -and the newcomers, whom Ralph recognized as -his camp mates. Mountain Jim was at their head -and they had set out in search of Ralph a short -time before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> - -<p>Topsy, thus hemmed in, allowed herself to be -captured without making much resistance, and -a much chastened pony was led back into camp, -where the professor was awaiting the return of -the party.</p> - -<p>“Lucky thing that she turned,” was Ralph’s -comment, “for I don’t think that ledge went much -further up the mountain side.”</p> - -<p>“Reckon it didn’t,” was Jim’s reply, “and if -you had found a spot where it was much narrower, -you’d have been in an ugly fix.”</p> - -<p>“Not a doubt of it,” commented Ralph as he -thought of his feelings when he was uncertain -whether Topsy would be able to pass him or not.</p> - -<p>As to what had turned the runaway pony in -such a fortunate manner, opinions were divided. -Mountain Jim inclined to the belief that the trail -had come to an end and that the pony had had -sense enough to turn. Ralph, with the recollection -of the animal’s terror fresh in his mind, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> -positive that some wild beast had scared the -recreant Topsy and caused her to dash back.</p> - -<p>The discussion over the exciting incident had -hardly ceased, when hoof beats were heard coming -along the trail by which they had arrived at -their camping place. All looked up with interest, -for travelers were few in that wild part of the -Rockies. Their curiosity was not long in being -gratified.</p> - -<p>Through the trees came riding a stalwart figure -on a big bay horse. The newcomer was clean -shaven, bronzed and capable looking. He wore a -big sombrero, riding boots, and trousers with a -stripe down the sides. His appearance, for he -carried a carbine in a holster and pistols in his -belt, was somewhat alarming to the boys, who -exchanged hurried whispers. But Mountain Jim -soon quieted their fears.</p> - -<p>“It’s a trooper of the Northwest Mounted -Police,” he exclaimed, and then, as the rider drew -nearer, he cried out in a glad voice:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Great Blue Bells of Scotland, if it ain’t Harry -Carthew!”</p> - -<p>“By Jove! Jim Bothwell!” cried the new arrival -in a gratified tone. “Upon my word, I’m -glad to see you. But what brings you here?”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, he gazed with some curiosity -about the camp and at the youthful faces of the -young adventurers.</p> - -<p>“Sort of piloting these lads and Professor -Wintergreen through the Rockies, Harry,” was -the rejoinder. “Where are you mushing along -to?”</p> - -<p>“I’m bound for Muskeg Lake,” was the response, -“just coming through from Fort -Grainger.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t you rest here a while?” asked the professor.</p> - -<p>“Don’t mind if I do,” said the big trooper. -“The goin’s been rough and both I and Dandy -here”—he patted his horse—“are a bit fagged, -don’t you know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Sit down and have a bite to eat,” said Jim -hospitably. “I guess Dandy can shift for himself -all right.”</p> - -<p>The trooper unsaddled his mount and was soon -seated in the shade of a big tree, his back against -its trunk, while he dispatched with gusto the food -Jim placed before him. When he had finished, -he and Jim lit their pipes and began to talk, while -the boys and the professor listened interestedly. -The man was a new type to them. Self-reliant, -big-limbed, clear-eyed, and active as a cat in all -his movements, he appeared a fit person for the -hard and often dangerous work of the famous -Northwest Mounted.</p> - -<p>He and Jim, it seemed, were old friends, the -veteran guide having aided him in the years past -to corner and make prisoners of a band of cattle -rustlers. Jim told him about their experiences at -the outlaw ranch and the trooper promised to report -the matter to his superior officers at once.</p> - -<p>“That red-bearded fellow is a character we’ve<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -been after for a long time,” he said, “and thanks -to you, I guess we’ll be able to round him up -at last. Nevins of Ours almost had him once -years ago, but he slipped through his fingers.”</p> - -<p>“What became of Nevins?” asked Jim interestedly. -“That man always made me wonder -what a chap like him wanted to join the Northwest -for.”</p> - -<p>Trooper Carthew drew thoughtfully on his -pipe. Then after a minute he looked up and -spoke softly.</p> - -<p>“Nevins has gone on a trail he won’t come back -from, Jim.”</p> - -<p>“Dead?”</p> - -<p>The other nodded.</p> - -<p>“How’d it happen?”</p> - -<p>“What kills a lot of unseasoned men in the -service: snow madness!” was the rejoinder. -“It’s a thing I don’t often talk about, but if any -of your young men here,” he nodded toward the -boys, “think that life in the Northwest Mounted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -is any cinch it might be a good thing to tell ’em -the yarn.”</p> - -<p>“We wish you would,” said Ralph, scenting a -story out of the ordinary.</p> - -<p>“Well, it happened a dozen winters ago,” began -Trooper Carthew, “and it must be fifteen since -I’ve seen Jim. Time slips by here in the mountains. -Well, as Jim here said, Nevins was a -man who ought never to have gone into the -Mounted. He was a nervous, harum-scarum -kind of man. I don’t know where he came from -or what made him join, but anyhow there he was, -and it fell to my lot to look after him.</p> - -<p>“We were sent on detachment duty up to a -place called Bear Rock. Jim knows where it is, -and as you don’t, the best way I can describe it -to you is to say that a one-horse board-and-canvas -town anywhere in the wilds you’ve a mind to -place it, would have been a metropolis alongside -of it.</p> - -<p>“There were a few Cree Indians around—I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -forgot to say it was up in the Yukon Country—and -that was all the society we had. Not even -skin thieves or horse rustlers ever came up there. -It was too poor pickin’s even for them.</p> - -<p>“Things began to go wrong the first winter. -I saw that the loneliness of it all was beginning -to prey on young Nevins’ nerves. I call him -young, but I expect he was older than he looked. -Mind you, he never said anything in the way of -complaint, but I’d seen men go that way before, -and I saw that he was not built for the job. I -tried to get him to go back to division headquarters -and report sick, or ask to be transferred -or something. But he was a proud cuss, and ‘No,’ -says he, ‘I’ll stick it out.’</p> - -<p>“Well, if you’ve never been stuck off in the -Yukon, sixty miles from any place, with a man -whom you suspect is beginning to get snow madness, -you’ve no idea what a business it is. Nevins -had a nice little habit of getting up in the middle -of the night and saying that he saw faces looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -at him through the window, and voices calling -down the chimney, and little things like that.</p> - -<p>“By the middle of the second winter he got so -bad that it began to get on my nerves, too, and -I’d begun to look about and listen and think I -heard things. I soon saw that this wouldn’t do, -and so decided to ride into White Lake, the -nearest station, and explain matters. Besides, -Nevins was really in need of a doctor. His face -was drawn and pale and he could hardly be -trusted out by himself on the trail, for he was -always shooting at something or other that he -thought he saw, but which wasn’t there at all. -Oh, he was a bad case, I tell you. I began to -be scared that some night he might take a fancy -to get up and shoot at me. I began to lose sleep -and get pretty nearly as peaked as he was.</p> - -<p>“When I broke the news to him that we were -going back to the station he got mad as a hornet. -He was no kid, he said. He could stick it out. -All he wanted was to shoot the enemies that were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -after him, and then he’d be all right. I quieted -him down by telling him that our time at the -post was up anyhow, and that we were due to report -back at White Lake without delay.</p> - -<p>“As soon as he saw, as he thought, that we -were not leaving on his account he brightened -up wonderfully. He took an interest in getting -the shack in order for the next comers and talked -about our trip almost all night. I patted myself -on the back. He seemed like a cured man already, -and when we started out with our parkees on -our backs and our snow shoes on our feet, you’d -have thought that there wasn’t a thing the matter -with him.</p> - -<p>“Sometimes there was a queer glitter in his -eyes, though, that showed me that he wasn’t as -right as he seemed to be by any means, and that -a doctor and some companionship were needed -before a thorough cure could be effected. As we -left the shack he turned and shook his fist at it -without saying a word, but his face showed me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> -how much he had suffered there and how glad -he was to be saying good-by to it all.</p> - -<p>“Mushing, as they call traveling in the Yukon, -is slow work on a broken trail, and that one from -the shack to White Lake was about as bad a -specimen as I ever traveled over. But Nevins -didn’t seem to mind it. He was so eager to get -back to civilization—as if you could call White -Lake civilization—that he was always ahead of -me. But I didn’t like his gait. It was awkward, -zig-zaggy, not the trail of a man who is sure of -himself. Nevins was living on his nerves. I -caught myself praying they didn’t explode before -we reached White Lake!</p> - -<p>“Once I offered to take a turn at breaking the -trail. But, ‘No, what do you think I am? A -baby?’ says he angrily, and after that we plugged -along in silence. Nevins’ head was poked forward -and he appeared to be in a desperate hurry -to get along, almost as if he was afraid something -was after him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p> - -<p>“‘You’ll blow up if you don’t slow down, -Nevins,’ I said once, but he only made an irritable -reply and kept right on.</p> - -<p>“I began to be worried. If he did break down -I would be in a nasty fix. I’d seen snow madness -before and knew what it was. That night I -fairly forced him to halt. He was getting so -crazy that he wanted to keep on in the dark, but -I stuck out at that and he finally quieted down. -Yet every now and then as we ate our sough-dough -flap-jacks and gulped down our tea before -turning in, I saw him keep looking back along -the trail we’d come, as if he was scared somebody -or something was coming after him to take -him back to that shack.</p> - -<p>“The next day we mushed on, Nevins still in -the lead. We were due at the Lake that night, -but I began to doubt if Nevins would make it. -He started to talk and mutter to himself, and -finally he turned around on me and asked me if -I heard anything coming after us down the trail.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -I laughed the thing off as best I could, but I tell -you it’s no joke being out in those wilds with a -snow-crazed man, especially when he has a rifle, -and maybe might take a crazy notion to try his -marksmanship in your direction! I watched -Nevins mighty close, you can bet.</p> - -<p>“At noon we stopped and ate a half frozen -meal, with Nevins staring back up the trail. As -we resumed our march he was still muttering to -himself and I noticed that he was fumbling with -his rifle in a way that was not at all reassuring. -I tried to get him to give it to me, making the -excuse that it would lighten his load. He looked -at me cunningly.</p> - -<p>“‘I half believe that you’re in league with -those fellows that want to take me back to that -shack,’ says he, in a way that made me feel sick, -for I knew then that he was crazy, sure enough—and -me alone with an armed maniac and miles -from any human being!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXVII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE TROOPER’S STORY.</p> - -<p>“However, I put the best face I could on the -matter and even tried to talk cheerfully to Nevins. -But he would have none of my conversation and -zig-zagged along on his snow shoes with his -queer, swinging gait in the same silent way. It -began to grow dusk, and I saw that we should -never make the lake that night. I halted Nevins -and told him so.</p> - -<p>“He gave an odd kind of laugh.</p> - -<p>“‘Not make it? Man alive. I’m going to make -it’ he grated out in an odd, rasping sort of a -voice.</p> - -<p>“‘Don’t talk like a fool,’ said I. ‘Come, here’s -a place under this ledge that’ll make a good camp, -and bright and early we’ll hit the trail again.’</p> - -<p>“He whipped round on me with blazing eyes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -If ever a demon shone out of a man’s optics it -blazed out of his.</p> - -<p>“‘I’m going on, I tell you,’ he snarled, ‘and -what’s more, you’re going with me.’</p> - -<p>“I’ve been in some pretty tight places, but take -my word for it, right then I began to think that -I hadn’t begun to know what a tight corner was. -I could see by the way that poor crazy Nevins -gripped his rifle that he meant to have company -on his night ‘mush,’ even if he had to shoot him -to get it. I felt as if somebody had dropped a -chunk of ice down my back.</p> - -<p>“‘All right, Nevins,’ I said, ‘I’ll go along. -Don’t get excited.’</p> - -<p>“‘I’m not excited,’ he said. And then he -added, ‘It’s only that they’ll get us if we don’t -keep on going.’</p> - -<p>“‘Who’s them?’ I inquired.</p> - -<p>“‘Those things that have been following us,’ -he whispered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Then he came quite close to me and caught my -arm.</p> - -<p>“‘They live back there up in the snow, and -they’re trying to get me and take me back with -them, but they won’t.’ He broke into a wild -laugh that made my scalp tighten till I could -almost feel my hat lift on my hair.</p> - -<p>“‘Don’t talk nonsense, Nevins,’ I snapped. -‘We’re far ahead of them. They’ll never catch -us now.’</p> - -<p>“He looked sharply at me.</p> - -<p>“‘You’re more of a fool than I thought you,’ -he said contemptuously. ‘They’ve been following -us all day. They’re close behind us now!’</p> - -<p>“I confess that his manner was such that I -jumped nervously and looked behind me as he -spoke. Of course there was nothing there but -the trail, and I told him so, but a contemptuous -laugh was all that I got.</p> - -<p>“Well, in the course of my career as a trooper -I’ve handled some pretty bad characters and been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> -into some tight places and faced some situations -where things looked mighty bad, but I never felt -such a feeling of real scare as I had at that -moment. Having made this outburst, Nevins -started off again. After a while, when it began -to get dark, I determined to make a last try to -check his crazy plan. I stopped dead.</p> - -<p>“‘Here’s where I stop, Nevins,’ I said. ‘I’m -dead beat.’</p> - -<p>“He faced round like a wild man, and before -I could lift a hand he had his rifle raised, and -with the yell of a maniac he fired blindly in my -direction. I felt the bullet fan my ear.</p> - -<p>“‘What on earth are you trying to do, Nevins?’ -I asked in as firm a voice as I could assume, but -I’m afraid it was as wobbly as a dish of jelly. -‘Are you crazy?’</p> - -<p>“‘Crazy!’ he echoed with a wild laugh. ‘It’s -you that are crazy. Come on, follow me. I’ll -save you from those creatures that are after us.’</p> - -<p>“There was nothing to do but to obey. Up I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -got and started on again after Nevins, who went -staggering along, edging from side to side of the -trail like a dizzy man. I found myself wondering -how it was all going to end. I’m pretty tough -and hard to tire, but I felt almost all in, and -Nevins, not nearly so strong as I was, must have -been going solely on the unnatural strength lent -him by his insanity.</p> - -<p>“By and by it got dark, but Nevins kept on. -He kept shouting back at me, and I’d answer -him from time to time. I couldn’t let him go -on alone, although I was almost dead. After a -while his shouts grew less frequent and finally -they died out altogether. I guessed what had -probably happened. I thought that by and by -if I kept on I would stumble over his body lying -in the snow.</p> - -<p>“For a long time I walked slowly, every minute -expecting to come upon him, but he was nowhere -on the trail. I don’t like to recall that night nor -the next day when I went on staggering down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -the trail till I began to get crazy, too, and hear -odd things and voices.</p> - -<p>“If it hadn’t been that a party from the station -out hunting found me I don’t like to think of -what might have happened. I soon came round -and told all I could about Nevins. A search party -started out at once, but returned the next day -empty-handed. They had found and then lost -tracks of many snow shoes in the woods near the -trail. We always suspected that Nevins had -wandered off the trail when I missed him, been -found dead by Blood Indians, robbed and buried -in a drift.... And that, boys, is one incident -in the life of a trooper of the Mounted.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a ghastly story,” shuddered Ralph, while -the others looked grave and sober.</p> - -<p>“Chum around with a bunch of troopers some -time and you’ll hear stranger yarns than that,” -said Trooper Carthew. “And,” he added thoughtfully, -knocking the ashes out of his pipe, “the -worst of it is, they are all true. There’s no need -to do any fancy color work on ’em.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p> - -<p>Not long after, the trooper rose with the remark -that he must “mush along.” The party -intended moving on, too, so they rode with him -till their trails parted. The last they saw of -Trooper Carthew was his broad back as his horse -surmounted a brow of the trail and disappeared. -He turned in his saddle and waved, and then was -gone.</p> - -<p>It was a new experience to the boys and it was -long before they forgot his story, but such men -are met with frequently in the wild places. Real -heroes, worthy of world recognition, die fighting -a good fight, without hope of reward or praise -beyond that bestowed by their mates.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2> - -<p class="pch">AFTER MOUNTAIN GOATS.</p> - -<p>The two days following were unmarked by any -special incident. Jimmie rode with the boys, becoming -stronger and lighter-hearted every day. -And yet they noticed a curious thing about the -waif. Whenever the mysterious man was spoken -of he grew somber and silent. It was as if some -link existed between himself and this wanderer -of the mountains. The boys put this down to -the fact that possibly Jimmie felt that, like himself, -this outcast of the hills was friendless and -alone.</p> - -<p>It was on the evening of the second day that -they made camp beside one of those beautiful -little lakes that nestle in the bosom of the mighty -Rockies. Across the sheet of blue water the -color of turquoise, a ridge rose steeply from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -very water’s edge. The pines on it were thinner -than usual, and appeared singularly free from -underbrush. Far above the lake the smooth -ascent broke off abruptly, and there appeared to -be beyond it a rocky plateau intervening between -it and the farther wall of rock and snow that -piled upward till it seemed to brush the sky.</p> - -<p>While they were making camp Persimmons -was gazing about and suddenly he drew Ralph’s -attention to some moving objects on the snow-covered -crest above the plateau. Mountain Jim -was appealed to and decided that the objects were -mountain goats.</p> - -<p>“A big herd of them, too,” he declared.</p> - -<p>“Have a look through the binoculars,” urged -Ralph, borrowing the professor’s glasses which -he was far too busy with his rock specimens to -use. Indeed, he hailed Ralph’s excited announcement -with only mild interest, being at that -moment entering in his note-book a voluminous -account of his discovery of some metamorphic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -rock in a region where none was thought previously -to exist.</p> - -<p>The glasses revealed the objects as mountain -goats beyond a doubt. They were big, white -fellows with high, humped shoulders and delicate -hind quarters and black hoofs and horns. They -looked not unlike miniature bisons, although of -course the resemblance was only superficial.</p> - -<p>While they still gazed at the moving objects -on the snow-capped ridge, Mountain Jim suddenly -uttered a sharp exclamation.</p> - -<p>“Look close now,” said he, “for you’ll see something -worth looking at in a minute or two, or I -miss my guess.”</p> - -<p>The goats were at the summit of what appeared -to be an absolutely precipitous rock wall. From -where they watched it did not appear that a fly -could have found foothold on its surface. The -goats had paused. Ralph drew in a deep breath.</p> - -<p>“Gracious! I do believe they are going to try -to get down it,” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And that ain’t all,” declared Mountain Jim. -“They’re going to succeed, too. Watch ’em.”</p> - -<p>The leader of the goats gave a leap that must -have been fully twenty feet to a ridge which -was hardly perceptible even through the glasses. -He stood poised there for a second and then made -a breath-catching plunge off into space. The -place on the ledge that he had just vacated was -immediately occupied by one of his followers, -while he himself found footing on nothing, so -far as the boys could see. It was a thrilling performance -to watch the goats as they made their -way down that rock-face to the feeding grounds. -Sometimes the leader would take a leap that -would make the performance of a flying squirrel -seem tame by comparison. And his followers, -among them some ewes, were by no means behind -him in feats of agility.</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen ’em come down a gully that looked -like a chimney with one side out,” said Mountain -Jim as he watched. “Old hunters say that when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -they miss their footing they save their heads from -being caved in by landing on their horns, but I -don’t take any stock in that.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t they ever miss their footing?” cried -Ralph wonderingly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve traveled aroun’ these parts fer a -good many years,” replied Jim judicially, “and -I ain’t never found hair nor hide of a carcass -killed that way, and no more I reckon did anybody -else.”</p> - -<p>Jim went on to describe to the boys how wise -and cunning the mountain goats are, gifted with -an intelligence far beyond that possessed by most -wild creatures. He also related to them an -anecdote concerning an ewe whom he had seen -defend her kid from the attack of an eagle. The -eagle had swooped down on the kid and knocked -it head over heels. It was about to fix its talons -into the fleecy coat and fly off to its eerie with -the little creature, when the old mother became -aware of what was going on. Like a thunderbolt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -she charged down on the eagle, which tried in -vain to get away. But its own greediness proved -its undoing, for its talons were tangled in the -young goat’s coat and it could not rise, and the -mother speedily tramped and butted it to death. -While she was doing this some old rams looked -on as if it were no concern of theirs. They -seemed to know that the mother was quite able -to fight her own battles.</p> - -<p>“Think there’s any chance of our getting a -shot at them?” asked young Ware, vibrant with -excitement.</p> - -<p>“Don’t see why not,” responded Mountain Jim. -“It’s not a hard climb up there, and I reckon -they’ll stay there till to-morrow anyhow, as -there’s pasturage and grass on the plateau and -they’re working down to it.”</p> - -<p>The professor demurred at first at allowing the -boys to go hunting the goats, but after Jim had -promised to bring them back safe and sound he -gave his consent. Early the next day, therefore,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -the party set out, leaving only Jimmie and the -professor in camp. Jimmie had by this time become -quite a valuable assistant to the scientist, -and the quiet occupation of collecting specimens -appeared to suit him far better than the more -strenuous sports the rugged boys enjoyed.</p> - -<p>For a couple of hours, after skirting the little -lake, they climbed steadily. Up they went among, -apparently, endless banks of climbing pines, and -traversed strips of loose gravel here and there -that sent clattering pebbles down the slope under -their feet.</p> - -<p>Then they left the last of the dwindling pine -belt behind them and pushed along on a slope -strewn with broken rock and debris that made -walking arduous.</p> - -<p>“Great sport this, hunting mountain goats, -ain’t it, boys?” said Jim with a grin as the boys -begged him to rest a while, for Jim appeared to -be made of chilled steel and gristle when it came -to climbing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I’m all right,” declared Harry Ware stoutly, -although his panting sides and streaming face -belied his words, “but how about lunch?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, cantering crackers! I’m hungry as one -of those lions that tried to gobble up Ralph,” -declared Persimmons, who always had, as may -have been noticed, an excellent appetite.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be thinking of lunch yet,” admonished -Jim. “You’re a fine bunch of hunters. The first -thing we want to do is to get a crack at those -goats, ain’t it? If we don’t keep on, they will.”</p> - -<p>That settled the question of lunch, and after a -brief rest they kept pushing on up the mountain -side. A chill wind was now blowing from the -vast snowfields, and the cool of it fanned their -flushed cheeks refreshingly.</p> - -<p>They reached a stretch of rocky ground made -smooth and slippery by melting snow from the -ridges above. The scrap broke off on the verge -of an almost precipitous rift, in the depths of -which a torrent roared. They stopped for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -minute upon the dizzy ledge of rock and gazed -down above battalions of somber trees upon the -lake below. They could see the camp and the -ponies, dwarfed to specks, moving about far beneath. -Harry Ware and Percy Simmons shouted -and waved their hats, but Jim instantly checked -this.</p> - -<p>“Are you hunting goats or out on a picnic,” -he admonished the abashed boys.</p> - -<p>“Huh! Not much of a picnic about this,” -grunted Hardware in an audible aside.</p> - -<p>“Cheer up, it will get worse before it gets -better,” said Ralph with a laugh.</p> - -<p>A short distance further on they came upon -some green grass growing in a marshy spot, kept -damp by the constant running of silvery threads -of melted snow.</p> - -<p>“Now look to your rifles,” warned Jim. “We’ll -be using the shooting irons before long, or I miss -my guess.”</p> - -<p>They crept cautiously forward, taking advantage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -of every bit of cover they could find. They -were above timber line now, and only a few -scattered bits of brush or big rocks afforded them -the hiding places they desired.</p> - -<p>It was after they had been crouching behind -a big rock for some minutes that Mountain Jim, -who had just peered over the top, brought them -to their feet with a whisper that electrified them.</p> - -<p>“They’re coming,” he said, in a voice that was -tense with a hunter’s excitement, “don’t move or -make a sound, and they’ll come right on top of -us.”</p> - -<p>The wind was blowing from the goats toward -the hunters, and the magnificent animals appeared -to have no idea of what lay in store for -them beyond the rocks where the boys crouched. -There were twenty or more of the goats, including -several bucks, great snow-white creatures of -regal mien with splendid horns and coats. The -boys were conscious of an almost painful excitement -as they waited.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/ill-288.jpg" width="400" height="548" - alt="" - title="" /> - <div class="caption"><p class="pc400">Four rifles cracked and two of the goats sprang into the air -and crashed down again dead.—<span class="wn"><i>Page <a href="#Page_285">285.</a></i></span></p> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span></p> - -<p>But Jim, like a good general, knew when to -hold his fire. Peering through a crevice in the -rocks he watched the advance of the stately -creatures. They appeared in no hurry, and under -the mighty snow-covered shoulder of the -mountain they moved along serenely, cropping -the grass and from time to time skipping about -playfully.</p> - -<p>“Now!” shouted Mountain Jim suddenly.</p> - -<p>Like one lad the three boys leaped to their -feet. Four rifles cracked and two of the goats -sprang into the air and crashed down again dead. -Both Harry Ware and Persimmons had missed -their marks. The goats wheeled in wild confusion. -They snorted and snorted and mah-h-hed -in a terrified manner. With a whoop Percy Simmons -dashed toward them, yelling at the top of -his voice.</p> - -<p>“Come back!” roared Jim frantically, but the -boy was far too excited to heed him. He rushed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -after the fleeing goats at top speed, shouting -like an Indian.</p> - -<p>Suddenly one of the old bucks wheeled. The -creature was as big as a small calf, and almost -as powerful as an ox. It saw Percy and lowered -its head.</p> - -<p>“Gibbering gondolas! He’s coming for me!” -exclaimed the boy, and so indeed the infuriated -old buck was.</p> - -<p>“Fire at him!” roared the others, seeing the -boy’s predicament, but Persimmons could only -stare stupidly at the great buck, as with lowered -horns, it dashed toward him.</p> - -<p>“Run! Shoot! Do something!” came from Jim -in a volley of shouts.</p> - -<p>“Look out!” roared Hardware, as if such a -warning was necessary at all.</p> - -<p>“Get out of his way!” cried Ralph.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXIX.</h2> - -<p class="pch">JIMMIE FINDS A FATHER.</p> - -<p>The goat itself simplified matters for the -frightened boy. Its lowered head collided with -his rotund form like a battering ram, and the -next instant Persimmons described a graceful -parabola above the snowfield. As for the goat, -it dashed on, but came to a sudden halt as a -shot cracked from Jim’s rifle and the bullet sped -to its heart.</p> - -<p>The boys, however, paid little attention to this -at the time. Their minds were concentrated -upon poor Persimmons’ predicament. The boy -had been hurtled head foremost into a pile of -snow and all that was visible of him were his -two feet feebly waving in the air.</p> - -<p>“Gracious, I hope he’s not badly hurt!” exclaimed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> -Ralph, as he and the rest ran toward -the snow bank.</p> - -<p>Thanks to the soft snow, the lad was found -to be uninjured, and after he had been hauled -out, he sat down on a rock with a comically rueful -expression on his face, and picked the snow -out of his hair and eyes.</p> - -<p>“What do you think you are, anyhow,” demanded -Harry, “a bullfighter?”</p> - -<p>“Ouch, don’t joke about it,” protested the boy. -“I thought an express train had hit me. -Wh-wh-what became of the buck?”</p> - -<p>“There he lies yonder, dead as that rock, but -I don’t see where you come in for any credit for -killing him.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t, eh? Didn’t I attract him this way -so you could shoot him?” demanded the other -youth indignantly. “I’ll tell you, fellows, shooting -the chutes, the loop-the-loop and all of them -can take a back seat. For pure unadulterated, -blown-in-the-bottle excitement, give me a butt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> -by a mountain goat. It’s like riding in an airship.”</p> - -<p>“If you ever take another such ride it may -prove your last one, young man,” spoke Mountain -Jim severely.</p> - -<p>“Yes; I wouldn’t advise you to get the habit,” -commented Harry Ware.</p> - -<p>Not long after, they watched Jim separate the -fine heads of the three dead animals, and, as -it proved, there was one for Harry Ware, after -all. Mountain Jim had shot so many of the -goats in his time that a head more or less meant -nothing to him, and he gladly gave his to Harry -when he saw the latter’s rather long face.</p> - -<p>They took the choicest parts of the meat back -to camp with them. Not all of a mountain goat -is very good eating, some of the flesh being -strong flavored and coarse, so that they had no -more than they could easily carry amongst them. -That night, as you may imagine, Persimmons -“rode the goat” all over again amidst much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -laughter and applause, and the other young -hunters told their stories till they all grew so -sleepy that it was decided to turn in.</p> - -<p>Three days of traveling amidst the big peaks -followed, and they all helped the professor collect -specimens to his heart’s content. His note books -were soon bulging, and he declared that his trip -had added much to the knowledge of the world -concerning the Canadian Rockies.</p> - -<p>One evening as they mounted a ridge, Mountain -Jim paused and pointed down to the valley -below them. Through it swept a great green -ribbon of water amidst rocky, pine-clad slopes.</p> - -<p>“That’s it,” declared Jim.</p> - -<p>“What?” demanded Persimmons eagerly, not -quite understanding.</p> - -<p>“The Big Bend of the Columbia River,” was -the rejoinder.</p> - -<p>The party broke into a cheer. The end of one -stage of their journey was at hand, for they -were to return by a more civilized route. And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> -yet they were half sorry, for they had enjoyed -themselves to the full in those last days amidst -the great silences.</p> - -<p>It is at the Big Bend that the mighty Columbia -turns after its erratic northeast course and -starts its southern journey to the Pacific Ocean, -which it enters near Portland, Oregon.</p> - -<p>In the sunset light, which lay glowingly on -the great peaks behind them, the heart of whose -mysteries they had penetrated, they rode rapidly -down the trail, sweeping up to the store in a -grand manner. That night they had an elaborate -supper and related some of their adventures -to the store-keeper, a French Canadian, -who, in turn, told many of his experiences. They -were still talking when a man came in and announced -himself as Bill Dawkins from “up the -trail a ways.”</p> - -<p>“I heard that one of your party is a doctor or -suthin’ sim’lar,” he said, “and maybe he can do -suth’in for a poor cuss that’s just been throwed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -from his horse and had his head busted, up the -road a piece.”</p> - -<p>“I am not a doctor, but I have some knowledge -of medicine,” said the professor. “Where is the -man?”</p> - -<p>“In my cabin. I’ll take you to him.”</p> - -<p>They all streamed out into the night and followed -Bill Dawkins up the trail. It was not a -great way and they were soon standing at the -bedside of a well-built, but pitifully ragged-looking -man. His head was bandaged, but enough -of his face was visible to cause Ralph to give -a great start as they saw him.</p> - -<p>“It’s the mysterious man! The horse thief!” -he cried, clutching Mountain Jim’s arm.</p> - -<p>“Are you sure?”</p> - -<p>“Certain.”</p> - -<p>Jim turned to the man who had brought them.</p> - -<p>“Is the horse that threw him outside?” he -asked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Sure, pard’ner, right under the shed,” was -the reply; “good-looking pony, too.”</p> - -<p>Jim borrowed a lantern and he and Ralph -went out. There was no question about it. One -look was enough. It was the missing pony.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s what I call poetic justice,” said -Jim.</p> - -<p>“Hark!” cried Ralph suddenly. “What was -that?”</p> - -<p>“Somebody hollered,” declared Jim; “it came -from the hut. Maybe that scallywag is dead.”</p> - -<p>Ralph set off running. The cry had been in -Jimmie’s voice. He had recognized it. What -could have happened?</p> - -<p>Inside the hut there was a strange scene. -Jimmie was on his knees at the bedside of the -wild-looking man and was crying out:</p> - -<p>“Father! It’s me! Jimmie! Father, don’t you -know me?”</p> - -<p>But the man on the bed was delirious. He -shouted incoherently.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It’s silver! I tell you it’s silver! Jimmie? -Who says Jimmie? Why, that’s my boy. But -he’s dead, is Jimmie. Dead-dead-dead!”</p> - -<p>The cracked voice broke off in a wail. Suddenly -the delirious man thrust his hands into -his pockets and drew out some fragments of -rock.</p> - -<p>“Scramble for it, you dogs!” he cried. “It’s -silver! Jimmie’s dead and I don’t want it. But -they’re after me,—after me yet!”</p> - -<p>The professor picked up a bit of the rock.</p> - -<p>“It’s rich in fine silver!” he exclaimed. “This -man has found a mine somewhere.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but Jimmie called him ‘father.’ What -does it all mean?” demanded Ralph.</p> - -<p>“It must remain a puzzle for the present,” said -the professor. “This man has been badly injured -in his fall. I think he will live, but I can’t -answer for it. Bill Dawkins’ partner has ridden -off for a doctor. In the meantime. I’ll do what -I can.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p> - -<p>Soon afterward the doctor arrived and they -were all ordered from the room. It was then -that Jimmie told his story to the curious group -that surrounded him.</p> - -<p>His father, whom he had so strangely recovered, -had been cashier of a city bank many years -before, when Jimmie was a baby. Before that -he had followed the sea for a time, and sailor -fashion, he had had tattooed on his arms his -own initials,—H. R., Horace Ransom,—and the -initials of Jimmie’s mother,—A. S., Anna Seagrim. -There came a day when shortage was discovered -in the bank and Jimmie’s father, wrongfully -suspected, fled to Canada rather than face -the chance of being convicted, as he knew that -had happened to many another innocent man.</p> - -<p>Beyond the fact that he had gone to the Canadian -Rockies, then a wilder region even than -they are to-day, Jimmie’s mother knew nothing. -Time went on and it was found out that Horace -Ransom was innocent, but he could not be found.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> -Jimmie’s mother fell ill and died, but before she -passed away she left a paper with her son describing -the marks on his father’s arm and where -he had last been heard of.</p> - -<p>Jimmie was too young to understand what it -all meant then. He was sent to an orphans’ -home, but ran away as soon as he was old enough -to make his escape. He drifted about, selling -newspapers, performing with circuses and doing -many other things, but all the time he clung to -the precious bit of paper his mother had entrusted -to him. Jimmie’s one ambition had been -to find his father if he were alive, and to make -him happy. He saved and scrimped and at last -got money enough together for railroad fares -back to the States for his father and himself. -But he had, as we know, to make his way to the -Rockies without financial assistance, traveling -as best he could.</p> - -<p>The boys’ stories of the wild man had worked -on his imagination and a feeling that the man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -might be his father had come to possess him. -But, of course, he had no proof of the matter -till he knelt at the bedside of the raving man and -saw the tattoo marks. Such, in brief, was Jimmie’s -strange story.</p> - -<p>With this, our party had to be content for the -time being, and leaving Jimmie with the neighborhood -doctor at Bill Dawkins’ hut, they went -down the trail to pitch camp at the Big Bend. -They decided to remain at this place at least -until Jimmie’s new-found father was out of danger -and his plans for the future were made.</p> - -<p>Some days later Mr. Ransom rallied enough -to talk haltingly,—and to Jimmie’s joy he talked -rationally! The surgeon in attendance declared -that, as is not altogether unusual, the sudden -blow on the head had restored the man’s -senses. He felt assured that some particularly -severe experience during Mr. Ransom’s years of -loneliness and hardship in the Rockies had deprived -him temporarily of his mental poise, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -that he had been subject to periods of wildness.</p> - -<p>What the crucial strain was, no one could discover. -He seemed very uncertain when questioned -about his past and apparently was unable -to relate one incident to another as he recalled -them.</p> - -<p>It was left for Jimmie, who could hardly be -tempted to leave his father’s bedside, by day or -night, to tell him of his early history and to piece -together the later experiences as they fell from -the injured man’s lips.</p> - -<p>It seemed that Mr. Ransom had accidentally -blundered upon the boys’ camp on one of his lone -pilgrimages amidst the mountains, for doubtless -he had searched only during his sane periods for -gold or silver. The sound of boyish voices had -evidently stirred memories of his own son, Jimmie, -who he had realized must be a grown lad, -although he had left him a baby in arms.</p> - -<p>But the fear of being arrested for the crime -of which, as he supposed, he still stood accused,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> -always haunted him and had made him afraid of -meeting the travelers from the States face to -face. He had followed them at a distance, his -half-crazed brain fascinated by them. In the -terrible passage of the <i>brulee</i> his own pony had -died under him, and the next night he had stampeded -the travelers’ ponies and stolen one of -them. In the same way, when necessity arose, -he had stolen some of their provisions. He was -still on their trail when the accident that restored -to him his son, his senses and the knowledge of -his complete clearance of suspicion of the bank -shortage, had occurred to him.</p> - -<p>But still he could not account for years of his -past. Jimmie patiently went over with him the -story of his long-ago flight and of his recent -mining researches, but between the two experiences -yawned a baffling hiatus.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XXX.</h2> - -<p class="pch">THE MYSTERY SOLVED.</p> - -<p>One day the two were sitting in the doorway -of Bill Dawkins’ hut, where the hospitable owner -still made them welcome. They were looking -over the few specimens of rock “rich in fine silver” -that Mr. Ransom had produced that first -day, when the man thrust his hands into his -pockets to see if any more fragments remained -there. Finally from an inside pocket he added -to the growing pile of treasures a piece of flat, -tarnished metal. He gave a little shudder as his -fingers released it, and Jimmie glanced up in -time to see a sudden change in his father’s eye, -like a glimpse of suddenly remembered fear.</p> - -<p>“What is it, father?” Jimmie cried sharply.</p> - -<p>The man started, looked down and then smiled -foolishly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know, son,” he replied slowly.</p> - -<p>Jimmie picked up the bit of tarnished metal, -and gave a sudden start in his turn. Quickly -controlling himself, he asked as quietly as possible, -“Where did you get this, father?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, son,” repeated the man again. -“I don’t know. I must have had it a long time,—son,—a -long time.”</p> - -<p>Jimmie looked at the little dull article a moment -and then leaning forward fastened it to -the breast of his father’s coat. Mr. Ransom began -to look uneasy and a wild light sprang to -his eyes for an instant. Jimmie immediately detached -the metal piece and put it in his pocket. -Then he began to chat with his father about the -trees, the mountains, the hut and kindred matters, -and apparently forgot all about the incident.</p> - -<p>But the moment that Bill Dawkins returned -from his day’s hunting in the mountains, Jimmie -was off like an arrow from a bow for the camp -down on the Big Bend.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span></p> - -<p>The party were just enjoying a quiet evening -meal prepared under Mountain Jim’s tutelage, -when Jimmie burst in upon them.</p> - -<p>“See that!” he cried breathlessly, holding up -the piece of tarnished metal. “And that!” he -added, turning the article over so as to show its -blackened under side.</p> - -<p>“It’s a badge!” cried Persimmons.</p> - -<p>“A Northwest Mounted badge!” added Ralph.</p> - -<p>“And it has a name scratched on the back!” -reported the professor.</p> - -<p>“And the name—is—<i>Nevins</i>!” concluded -Mountain Jim in a tone of awe.</p> - -<p>“And <i>my father</i> had that in his pocket!” said -Jimmie, tears of excitement rolling down his -cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Could your father—possibly—be—Nevins?” -asked the professor slowly.</p> - -<p>“But Nevins died in the snow!” protested -Harry Ware.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> - -<p>“No, Carthew only <i>thought</i> he died. No one -<i>knew</i>,” said Mountain Jim reminiscently.</p> - -<p>“But the Indians?” suggested Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Maybe they saved him,—who knows?” said -Jimmie, his eyes shining. “And maybe they let -him wander away when he got stronger because -they saw he was crazy!”</p> - -<p>And so the talk went on, one suggestion and -one surmise following another until the long -evening was spent. The mystery could not be -fully solved, but all agreed not to remind Jimmie’s -father of the horrible experience that had -been his, if he were, indeed, the subject of -Trooper Carthew’s tale.</p> - -<p>The next day the faithful doctor approved this -decision. He also promised that he would get -word to the trooper of this strange sequel to his -story.</p> - -<p>To digress, for a moment, as we may not -linger much longer over the happy ending of -Jimmie’s search. Time and the trooper proved,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -that Mr. Ransom and “Nevins of Ours” were, -indeed, one and the same. The second name had -been assumed as a protection, and so had prevented -the finding of Jimmie’s father long ago. -A year or two after the incidents just related -there was a reunion of the two men who had -long before faced death together on the solitary -trail, and by that time the clouds of forgetfulness -had been so largely dissipated from Mr. -Ransom’s befogged brain that he was able to -thank the stalwart trooper for his efforts in his -behalf.</p> - -<p>Although much that had intervened between -the time of Mr. Ransom’s disappearance in the -snow and the time of his mental recovery was -never clearly known, yet flashes of memory recalled -to him Indians, warm blankets and good -food. And his friends concluded that the Indians -had really captured and saved him, but -through some superstitious regard for his crazed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -condition, had been kindly disposed toward him -and given him his freedom.</p> - -<p>But the silver? It was many days before -Horace Ransom was strong enough to compel -his brain to work backward to locate the spot -where he had found the rich ore. Finally he -succeeded, and the professor and the boys eventually -accompanied him to the recess in the hills -where the rich find had been made. The professor -declared that the vein was of great richness -and would yield a vast amount of silver, -and so it subsequently proved.</p> - -<p>The new Horace Ransom—the alert, middle-aged -man of property that had arisen from the -ashes of the mysterious derelict of the mountains—was -anxious for the boys and the professor -all to take shares in his mine, but they -refused. Instead they turned their interest, -which Mr. Ransom insisted they possessed, over -to Mountain Jim.</p> - -<p>All this, of course, did not take place in a day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -While Mr. Ransom was convalescing, the boys -had much sport on the great Columbia in native -canoes. They also had several adventurous -hunting trips and memorable mountain climbs. -But possibly of all their recollections of the Canadian -Rockies the remembrance of the strange -reunion of “the boy from nowhere” and his -father was destined to stand out as the brightest -and best. Little did they imagine when Ralph -rescued Jimmie from the hands of the brutal -brakeman, that before many years had rolled by -the waif would be partner in the “Border Boy” -silver mine, answering to the name “Mr. James -Ransom.”</p> - -<p>And here we will break off this tale. Another -volume might easily be written relating further -doings of these boys in the Canadian Rockies. -But space forbids, and we must defer further acquaintance -with our lads till we meet them once -more in the next volume of this series, <span class="smcap">The Border -Boys on the St. Lawrence</span>.</p> - -<p class="pc4 lmid">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-311.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 large"><b>The<span class="large"><br />Radio Boys Series</span></b></p> - -<p class="pc1">BY GERALD BRECKENRIDGE</p> - -<p class="pc1">A new series of copyright titles for -boys of all ages.</p> - -<p class="pc4">Cloth Bound, with Attractive Cover Designs</p> - -<p class="pc">PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH</p> - -<hr class="d3" /> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS ON THE MEXICAN BORDER</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS ON SECRET SERVICE DUTY</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE REVENUE GUARDS</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS’ SEARCH FOR THE INCA’S TREASURE</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS RESCUE THE LOST ALASKA EXPEDITION</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS IN DARKEST AFRICA</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RADIO BOYS SEEK THE LOST ATLANTIS</p> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-312.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 xlarge"><b>The<br /> -Boy Troopers<br /> -Series</b></p> - -<p class="pc4 lmid">BY CLAIR W. HAYES</p> - -<p class="pc">Author of the Famous “Boy Allies” Series.</p> - -<p class="pc">The adventures of two boys with the Pennsylvania -State Police.</p> - -<p class="pc1">All Copyrighted Titles.</p> - -<p class="pc1">Cloth Bound, with Attractive Cover Designs.</p> - -<p class="pc1">PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.</p> - -<hr class="d3" /> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY TROOPERS ON THE TRAIL</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY TROOPERS IN THE NORTHWEST</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY TROOPERS ON STRIKE DUTY</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY TROOPERS AMONG THE WILD MOUNTAINEERS</p> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-313.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 xlarge"><b>The<br /> -Golden Boys<br /> -Series</b></p> - -<p class="pc4 lmid">BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D.</p> - -<p class="pc1 reduct">Dean of Pennsylvania Military College.</p> - -<p class="pc1">A new series of instructive copyright stories for -boys of High School Age.</p> - -<p class="pc1">Handsome Cloth Binding.</p> - -<p class="pc1">PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH</p> - -<hr class="d3" /> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC CELL</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE FORTRESS</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLAGASH</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP</p> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-314.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 xlarge"><b>The<br /> -Ranger Boys<br /> -Series</b></p> - -<p class="pc4">BY CLAUDE H. LA BELLE</p> - -<p class="pc1">A new series of copyright titles telling of the -adventures of three boys with the Forest Rangers -in the state of Maine.</p> - -<p class="pc1">Handsome Cloth Binding.</p> - -<p class="pc1">PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.</p> - -<hr class="d3" /> - -<p class="pi1">THE RANGER BOYS TO THE RESCUE</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RANGER BOYS FIND THE HERMIT</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RANGER BOYS AND THE BORDER SMUGGLERS</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RANGER BOYS OUTWIT THE TIMBER THIEVES</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE RANGER BOYS AND THEIR REWARD</p> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-315.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 large"><b>The Boy Scouts Series</b></p> - -<p class="pc">BY HERBERT CARTER</p> - -<p class="pc">————</p> - -<p class="pc">For Boys 12 to 16 Years</p> - -<p class="pc">All Cloth Bound<span class="vh">——</span>Copyright Titles</p> - -<p class="pc">PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH</p> - -<p class="pc">New Stories of Camp Life</p> - -<p class="pc">————</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS’ FIRST CAMPFIRE; or, Scouting -with the Silver Fox Patrol.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE BLUE RIDGE; or, -Marooned Among the Moonshiners.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL; or, Scouting -through the Big Game Country.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE MAINE WOODS; or, -The New Test for the Silver Fox Patrol.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS THROUGH THE BIG TIMBER; -or, The Search for the Lost Tenderfoot.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS IN THE ROCKIES; or, The Secret -of the Hidden Silver Mine.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND; or, -Marooned Among the Game-Fish Poachers.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS DOWN IN DIXIE; or, The Strange -Secret of Alligator Swamp.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS AT THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA; -A story of Burgoyne’s Defeat in 1777.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA; -or, The Silver Fox Patrol Caught in a Flood.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS ON WAR TRAILS IN BELGIUM; -or, Caught Between Hostile Armies.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY SCOUTS AFOOT IN FRANCE; or, With -The Red Cross Corps at the Marne.</p> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-316.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc1 large"><b>The Boy Allies</b></p> - -<p class="pc reduct">(Registered in the United States -Patent Office)</p> - -<p class="pc large">With the Navy</p> - -<p class="pc">BY<br /> -ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE</p> - -<p class="pc">————</p> - -<p class="pc">For Boys 12 to 16 Years.<br /> -All Cloth Bound<span class="vh">————</span>Copyright Titles<br /> -PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH</p> - -<p class="p1">Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads, -meet each other in an unusual way soon after the declaration -of war. Circumstances place them on board the British cruiser, -“The Sylph,” and from there on, they share adventures with -the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert L. Drake, the author, -is an experienced naval officer, and he describes admirably the -many exciting adventures of the two boys.</p> - -<div class="font1"> - -<p class="pi1 p1">THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or, Striking -the First Blow at the German Fleet.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the -Enemy from the Sea.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The -Naval Raiders of the Great War.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEA; or, -The Last Shot of Submarine D-16.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing -Submarine.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields of -Ice to Aid the Czar.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLAND; or, The Greatest Naval Battle -of History.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH UNCLE SAM’S CRUISERS; or, Convoying -the American Army Across the Atlantic.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE SUBMARINE D-32; or, The -Fall of the Russian Empire.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE VICTORIOUS FLEETS; or, -The Fall of the German Navy.</p></div> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-317.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 large"><b>The Boy Allies</b></p> - -<p class="pc reduct">(Registered in the United States -Patent Office)</p> - -<p class="pc large">With the Army</p> - -<p class="pc">BY CLAIR W. HAYES</p> - -<p class="pc">————</p> - -<p class="pc">For Boys 12 to 16 Years.<br /> -All Cloth Bound<span class="vh">————</span>Copyright Titles<br /> -PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH</p> - -<p class="p1">In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads -unable to leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the -soldiers of the Allies, and decide to cast their lot with them. -Their experiences and escapes are many, and furnish plenty -of good, healthy action that every boy loves.</p> - -<div class="font1"> - -<p class="pi1 p1">THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of Steel.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days -Battle Along the Marne.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash -Over the Carpathians.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and -Shell Along the Aisne.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the Italian -Army in the Alps.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The -Struggle to Save a Nation.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES ON THE SOMME; or, Courage and Bravery -Rewarded.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN; or, Saving France from the -Enemy.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES; or, -Leading the American Troops to the Firing Line.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH HAIG IN FLANDERS; or, The Fighting -Canadians of Vimy Ridge.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH PERSHING IN FRANCE; or, Over -the Top at Chateau Thierry.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE GREAT ADVANCE; or, Driving -the Enemy Through France and Belgium.</p> - -<p class="pi1">THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH; or, The Closing -Days of the Great World War.</p></div> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span></p> - -<div class="floatleft"> - <img src="images/ill-318.jpg" width="150" height="199" - alt="" - title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="pc2 large"><b>The Jack<br />Lorimer Series</b></p> - -<p class="pc">BY WINN STANDISH</p> - -<p class="pc">————</p> - -<p class="pc">For Boys 12 to 16 Years.<br /> -All Cloth Bound<span class="vh">————</span>Copyright Titles<br /> -PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH</p> - -<p class="pc">————</p> - -<p class="font1">CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER; or, The Young Athlete of Millvale -High.</p> - -<p class="pbq">Jack Lorimer is a fine example of the all-around American -high-school boys. His fondness for clean, honest -sport of all kinds will strike a chord of sympathy among -athletic youths.</p> - -<p class="font1 p1">JACK LORIMER’S CHAMPIONS; or, Sports on Land and Lake.</p> - -<p class="pbq">There is a lively story woven in with the athletic achievements, -which are all right, since the book has been O. K.’d. -by Chadwick, the Nestor of American Sporting journalism.</p> - -<p class="font1 p1">JACK LORIMER’S HOLIDAYS; or, Millvale High in Camp.</p> - -<p class="pbq">It would be well not to put this book into a boy’s hands -until the chores are finished, otherwise they might be -neglected.</p> - -<p class="font1 p1">JACK LORIMER’S SUBSTITUTE; or, The Acting Captain of -the Team.</p> - -<p class="pbq">On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wrestling, -and tobogganing. There is a good deal of fun in this book -and plenty of action.</p> - -<p class="font1 p1">JACK LORIMER, FRESHMAN; or, From Millvale High to -Exmouth.</p> - -<p class="pbq">Jack and some friends he makes crowd innumerable happenings -into an exciting freshman year at one of the leading -Eastern colleges. The book is typical of the American -college boy’s life, and there is a lively story, interwoven -with feats on the gridiron, hockey, basketball and other -clean honest sports for which Jack Lorimer stands.</p> - -<hr class="d4" /> - -<p class="pc4 reduct">For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price -by the Publishers</p> - -<p class="pc large">A. L. BURT COMPANY</p> -<p class="pc lmid">114-120 EAST 23rd STREET<span class="vh">————————</span>NEW YORK</p> - -</div> - -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Border Boys in the Canadian Rockies, by -Fremont B. 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