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diff --git a/old/68725-0.txt b/old/68725-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1c30e4f..0000000 --- a/old/68725-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9557 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Snap, by C. Phillipps-Wolley - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Snap - A legend of the lone mountain - -Author: C. Phillipps-Wolley - -Illustrator: H. G. Willink - -Release Date: August 10, 2022 [eBook #68725] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SNAP *** - - - - - - - - SNAP - - A LEGEND OF THE LONE MOUNTAIN - - - BY - - C. PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY - - AUTHOR OF 'SPORT IN THE CRIMEA AND CAUCASUS' ETC. - - - -[Illustration: Snap] - - - - _WITH THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. G. WILLINK_ - - - - NEW EDITION - - - LONDON - LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. - AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET - 1892 - - - _All rights reserved_ - - - - - _TO SMALL CLIVE._ - - _I suppose that you'll cost me the deuce of a lot, - I suppose I must pay and look pleasant, - Though you're only a small insignificant dot-- - My three-year-old warrior--at present._ - - _But if ever you need the paternal 'tip,' - If ever you sin and must suffer, - Be brave and go straight, or I'll 'give you gyp'-- - If I don't you may call me 'a duffer.'_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER - - I. FERNHALL V. LOAMSHIRE - II. 'MOP FAUCIBUS HÆSIT' - III. SNAP'S REDEMPTION - IV. THE FERNHALL GHOST - V. THE ADMIRAL'S 'SOCK-DOLLAGER' - VI. THE BLOW FALLS - VII. LEAVE LIVERPOOL - VIII. THE MANIAC - IX. 'THAT BAKING POWDER' - X. AFTER SCRUB CATTLE - XI. BRINGING HOME THE BEAR - XII. BRANDING THE 'SCRUBBER' - XIII. WINTER COMES WITH THE 'WAVIES' - XIV. A NIGHT OF ADVENTURE - XV. FOUNDING 'BULL PINE' FIRM - XVI. BEARS - XVII. IN THE BRÛLÊ - XVIII. THE LOSS OF 'THE CRADLE' - XIX. THE GAMBLERS 'PUT UP' - XX. LONE MOUNTAIN - XXI. AT THE TOP - XXII. AT THE END OF THE ROPE - XXIII. READING THE WILL - XXIV. SNAP'S SACRIFICE - XXV. THE FLIGHT OF THE CROWS - XXVI. SNAP'S STORY - XXVII. CONCLUSION - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS. - - -IN THE CHIMNEY . . . _Frontispiece_ [missing from source book] - -THE ADMIRAL FISHING - -'GOOD-BYE' [missing from source book] - -SNAP AND THE MADMAN - -TONY AND THE SCRUBBER - -IN THE WOOD - -IN THE BRÛLÉ - -'HANDS UP' - -ON THE FACE OF THE CLIFF - -'GOOD-BYE, PARD' - -SNAP'S SACRIFICE - - - - -SNAP - - - -CHAPTER I - -FERNHALL _v._ LOAMSHIRE - -'What on earth shall we do, Winthrop?' asked one of the Fernhall -Eleven of a big fair-faced lad, who seemed to be its captain. - -'Do! I'll be shot if I know, Wyndham,' he replied. 'It is bad -enough to be a bat short, but really I don't know that we _can_ spare -a bowler.' - -'Ah, well,' suggested another of the group, 'though Hales did very -well for the Twenty-two, it isn't quite the same thing bowling -against such a team as Loamshire brings down; he might not "come off" -after all, don't you know.' - -A quiet grin spread over the captain's face. No one knew better than -he did the spirit which prompted Poynter's last remark. - -Good bowler though he was, Poynter had often been a sad thorn in -Winthrop's side. If you put him on first with the wind in his -favour, Poynter would be beautifully good-tempered, and bowl -sometimes like a very Spofforth. Only then sometimes he wouldn't! -Sometimes an irreverent batsman from Loamshire who had never heard of -Poynter's break from the leg would hit him incontinently for six, and -perhaps do it twice in one over. Then Poynter got angry. His arms -began to work like a windmill. He tried to bowl rather faster than -Spofforth ever did; about three times as fast as Nature ever meant -John Poynter to. The result of this was always the same. First he -pitched them short, and the delighted batsman cut them for three; -then he pitched them up, and that malicious person felt a thrill of -pleasure go through his whole body as he either drove them or got -them away to square leg. Then Winthrop had to take him off. This -was when the trouble began. Sullenly Poynter would take his place in -the field--and it was not every place in the field which suited him. -If you put him in the deep field, he growled at the folly which -risked straining a bowler's arm by shying. If you put him close in, -he grumbled at the risk he ran of having those dexterous fingers of -his damaged by a sharp cut or a 'sweet' drive. For of course he -always expected to be put on again, and from the time that he reached -his place until the time that he was again put into possession of the -ball he did nothing but watch his rival with malicious envy, making a -mental bowling analysis for him, in which he took far more note of -the hits (or wides if there were any) than he did of the maiden overs -which were bowled. - -But Frank Winthrop was a diplomatist, as a cricket captain should be, -so, though he grinned, he only replied, 'That's true enough, Poynter, -but I must have some ordinary straight stuff, such as Hales's, to -rest you and Rolles, and put these fellows off their guard against -your curly ones.' - -'Yes, I suppose it is a mistake to bowl a fellow good balls all the -time. It makes him play too carefully,' replied the self-satisfied -Poynter. - -'Well, but, Winthrop,' insisted the first speaker, 'if you don't do -without a change bowler, what will you do? That other fellow in the -Twenty-two doesn't bowl well enough, but there are lots of them -useful bats.' - -'I know all that, but I've made up my mind,' replied the young -autocrat. 'I shall play a man short, if I can't persuade Trout' (an -irreverent sobriquet for their head-master) 'to let Snap Hales off in -time.' - -When a captain of a school eleven says that he has made up his mind, -the intervention of anyone less than a head-master is useless, so -that no one protested. - -As the group broke up Wyndham put his arm through Winthrop's, and -together they strolled towards the door of the school-house. - -'Are you going up to see "the head," Major?' he asked. - -'Yes,' replied Winthrop. - -'What! about Snap Hales?' demanded Wyndham. - -'Yes,' again replied Winthrop, 'about that young fool Snap.' - -'What has he been up to now?' demanded his chum. - -'Oh, he has been cheeking Cube-root again. It seems old Cube-root -couldn't knock mathematics into him anyhow, so he piled on the -impositions. Snap did as many lines as he could, but even with three -nibs in your pen at once there is a limit to the number which a -fellow can do in a day, and Master Snap has so many of these little -literary engagements for other masters as well as old Cube that at -last he reached a point beyond which no possible diligence would -carry him.' - -'Poor old Snap!' laughed Wyndham. - -'Then, as he had just got into the eleven,' continued Winthrop, 'he -didn't like to give up his half-hour with the professional; the -result of all which was that yesterday old Cube asked him for his -lines and was told-- - -'"I haven't done them, sir." - -'"Haven't done them, sir: what do you mean?" thundered Cube. - -'"I hadn't time, sir," pleaded Snap. - -'"Not time! Why, I myself saw you playing cricket to-day for a good -half-hour. What do you mean by telling me you had not time?" asked -Cube. - -'"I had not time, sir, because----" Snap tried to say, but Cube -stopped him with that abominable trick of his, you know it. - -'"Yēēs, Hales, yēēs! Yēēs, Hales, yēēs! So you had no time, Hales! -Yēēs, Hales, yēēs!" - -'"No, sir, I was obliged to----" - -'"To tell me a lie, sir! Yēēs, Hales, yēēs." - -'Here Snap's beastly temper gave out, and instead of waiting till he -got a chance of telling his story properly to old Cube, who, although -he loves mathematics and hates a lie, is a good chap after all, he -deliberately mimicked the old chap with-- - -'"Nōō, sir, nōō! Nōō, sir, nōō!" - -'Of course the other fellows went into fits of laughter, and old Cube -had fits too, only of another kind, and I expect I shall get "fits" -from the Head for trying to get the young idiot off for this match. -But I really don't see how we can get on without him,' Winthrop -added, as he left his friend at the door, and plodded with a heavy -heart up to the head-master's sanctum. - -What happened there the narrator of this truthful story does not -pretend to know. The inside of a headmaster's library was to him a -place too sacred for intrusion, and it was only through the foolish -persistence of certain unwise under-masters that he was ever induced -to enter it. Whenever he did, he left it with a note of -recommendation from that excellent man to the school-sergeant. It -was not quite a testimonial to character, but still something like -it, and always contained an allusion to one of the most graceful of -forest trees, the mournful, beautiful birch. I am told that this is -the favourite tree of the Russian peasant. I dare say. I am told he -is still uneducated. It was education which, I think, taught me to -dislike the birch. - -But I am wandering. The only words which reached me as I stood -below, wondering if my leave out of bounds would be granted or -not--and I had very good reasons for betting on the 'not'--were these: - -'Very well, if he is no good as a bat it won't much matter. I'll do -what I can for you, only win the toss and go in first.' - -He was a good fellow, our Head, and from Winthrop's face as he came -downstairs I expect that he thought so. - -I was quite right about that leave out of bounds. The head-master -felt, no doubt quite properly, that on such a day as the day of the -Loamshire match, when there were sure to be lots of visitors about, -it would not do for one of the school's chief ornaments to be absent. -It was very hard upon me because, you see, I could only buy twelve -tarts for my shilling at the tuckshop, whereas if I had got leave out -of bounds I could have got thirteen for the same money, only four -miles from school! That sense of duty to the public which no doubt -will lead me some day to take a seat in the House of Commons enabled -me to bear up under my trouble, and about two o'clock I was watching -the match with my fellows on the Fernhall playing fields. - -Ah, me! those Fernhall playing fields! with their long level -stretches of green velvet, their June sunshine and wonderful blue -skies! What has life like them nowadays? On this day they were -looking their very best, and, though I have wandered many a thousand -miles since then, I have never seen a fairer sight. Forty acres -there were, all in a ring fence, of level greensward, every yard of -it good enough for a match wicket, and the ring-fence itself nothing -but a tall rampart of green turf, twelve or fourteen feet high, and -broad enough at the top for two boys to walk upon it abreast. - -Out in the middle of this great meadow the wickets were pitched, and -I really believe that I have since played billiards on a surface less -level than the two-and-twenty yards which they enclosed. The lines -of the crease gleamed brightly against the surrounding green, and the -strong sun blazed down upon the long white coats of the umpires, the -Fernhall eleven (or rather ten, for Snap was still absent), and two -of the strongest bats in Loamshire. - -But, though fourteen figures had the centre of the ground to -themselves, there was plenty of vigorous, young life round its edges. -There, where the sun was the warmest, with their backs up against the -bank which enclosed the master's garden, sat or lay some four hundred -happy youngsters, anxiously watching every turn of the match, keen -critics, although thoroughgoing partisans. Like young lizards, -warmed through with the sun, lying soft against the mossy bank, the -scent of the flowers came to them over the garden hedge, and the soft -salt breeze came up from the neighbouring sea. You could hear the -lip and roll of its waves quite plainly where you lay, if you -listened for it, for after all it was only just beyond that green -bulwark of turf behind the pavilion. Many and many a time have we -boys seen the white foam flying in winter across those very -playing-fields, and gathered sea-wrack from the hedges three miles -inland. By-and-by, when the match was over, most of the -two-and-twenty players in it would race down to the golden sands and -roll like young dolphins in the blue waves, for Fernhall boys swam -like fishes in those good old days, and such a sea in such sunshine -would have tempted the veriest coward to a plunge. - -But the match was not over yet, although yellow-headed Frank Winthrop -began to think that it might almost as well be. He was beginning to -despair. It was a one-day match: the school had only made 156, while -the county had only two wickets down for 93; of course there was no -chance of a second innings; the two best bats in Loamshire seemed set -for a century apiece; Poynter had lost his temper and seemed trying -rather to hurt his men than to bowl them, and everyone else had been -tried and had failed. What on earth was an unfortunate captain to -do? Just then a figure in a long cassock and college cap, a fine -portly figure with a kindly face, turned round, and, using the back -of a trembling small boy for a desk, wrote a note and despatched the -aforesaid small boy with it to the rooms of the Rev. Erasmus -Cube-Root. A minute or two before, Winthrop had found time to -exchange half-a-dozen words with 'the Head' whilst in the long field, -and now he turned and raised his cap to him, while an expression of -thankfulness overspread his features. The two Loamshire men at the -wickets were Grey and Hawker, both names well known on all the -cricket-fields of England, and one of them known and a little feared -by our cousins at the Antipodes. This man, Hawker, had been heard to -say that he was coming to Fernhall to get up his average and have an -afternoon's exercise. It looked very much as if he would justify his -boast. He was an aggravating bat to bowl to, for more reasons than -one. One of his tricks, indeed, seemed to have been invented for the -express purpose of chaffing the bowler. - -As he stood at the wicket his bat was almost concealed from sight -behind his pads, his wicket appeared to be undefended, and all three -stumps plainly visible to his opponent. Alas! as the ball came -skimming down the pitch the square-built little athlete straightened -himself, the bat came out from its ambush, and you had the pleasure -of knowing that another six spoiled the look of your analysis. If he -was in very high spirits, and you in very poor form, he would indulge -in the most bewildering liberties, spinning round on his heels in a -way known to few but himself, so as to hit a leg ball into the -'drives.' Altogether he was, as the boys knew, a perfect Tartar to -deal with if he once got 'set.' - -Grey, the other bat, was quite as exasperating in his way as Hawker, -only it was quite another way. He it was who had broken poor -Poynter's heart. You did not catch _him_ playing tricks. You did -not catch _him_ hitting sixes, or even threes; but neither did you -catch him giving the field a chance, launching out at a yorker, or -interfering with a 'bumpy' one. Oh, no! It didn't matter what you -bowled him, it was always the same story. 'Up went his shutter,' as -Poynter feelingly remarked, 'and you had to pick up that blessed -leather and begin again.' Sometimes he placed a ball so as to get -one run for it, sometimes he turned round and sped a parting ball to -leg, and sometimes he snicked one for two. He was a slow scorer, but -he seemed to possess the freehold of the ground he stood upon. No -one could give _him_ notice to quit. Such were the men at the -wicket, and such the state of the game, when a tall, slight figure -came racing on to the ground in very new colours, and with fingers -which, on close inspection, would have betrayed a more intimate -acquaintance with the ink-pot than with the cricket-ball. Although -it would have been nearer to have passed right under the -head-master's nose, the new-comer went a long way round, eyeing that -dignitary with nervous suspicion, and raising his cap with great -deference when the eye of authority rested upon him. As soon as he -came on to the ground he dropped naturally into his place, and anyone -could have seen at a glance that, whatever his other merits might or -might not be, Snap Hales was a real keen cricketer. When a ball came -his way there was no waiting for it to reach him on his part. He had -watched it, as a hawk does a young partridge, from the moment it left -the bowler's hands, and was halfway to meet it already. Like a flash -he had it with either hand--both were alike to him--and in the same -second it was sent back straight and true, a nice long hop, arriving -in the wicket-keeper's hands at just about the level of the bails. - -But Winthrop had other work for Snap to do, and at the end of the -over sent him to replace Rolles at short-slip. - -'By George, Towzer, they are going to put on Snap Hales,' said one -youngster to another on the rugs under the garden hedge. - -'About time, too,' replied his companion; 'if he can't bowl better -than those two fellows he ought to be kicked.' - -'Well, I dare say both you and he will be, if he doesn't come off -to-day. I expect it was your brother who got him off his lines -to-day, and he won't be a pleasant companion for either of you if the -school gets beaten with half-a-dozen wickets to spare.' - -Towzer, the boy addressed, was brother to the captain of the eleven, -and his fag. Snap Hales, when at home, lived near the Winthrops, so -that in the school, generally, they were looked upon as being of one -clan, of which, of course, Frank Winthrop was the chief. Willy -Winthrop was Towzer's proper name, or at least the name he was -christened by; but anyone looking at the fair-haired jolly-looking -little fellow would have doubted whether his godfathers were wiser -than his schoolfellows. No one would ever have dreamed of him as a -future scholar of Balliol, nor, on the other hand, as a sour-visaged -failure. He was a bright, impertinent Scotch terrier of a boy, and -his discerning contemporaries called him Towzer. - -But we must leave Towzer for the present and stick to Snap. Everyone -was watching him now, and none more closely or more kindly than the -man whom Snap considered chief of his born enemies, 'the Head.' -'Yes, he is a fine lad,' muttered that great man, 'I wish I knew how -to manage him. He has stuff in him for anything.' And indeed he -might have, though he was hardly good-looking. Tall and spare, with -a lean, game look about the head, the first impression he made upon -you was that he was a perfect athlete, one of Nature's chosen -children. Every movement was so easy and so quick that you knew -instinctively that he was strong, though he hardly looked it; but his -face puzzled you. It was a dark, sad-looking face, certainly not -handsome, with firm jaw and somewhat rugged outlines, and yet there -was a light sometimes in the big dark eyes which gave all the rest -the lie, and made you feel that his masters might be right, after -all, when they said, 'There is no misdoing at Fernhall of which "that -Hales" is not the leader.' - -At any rate he appeared to be out of mischief just now. - -'Round the wicket, sir?' asked the umpire as Snap took the ball in -hand. - -'No, Charteris, over,' was the short reply, as Hales turned to -measure his run behind the sticks. - -'What! a new bowler?' asked Hawker of the wicket-keeper as he took a -fresh guard; 'who is he?' - -'An importation from the Twenty-two; got his colours last week,' -answered Wyndham, and a smile spread over Hawker's face, as he saw in -fancy a timid beginner pitching him half-volleys to be lifted over -the garden hedge, or leg-balls with which to break the slates on the -pavilion. - -But Hawker had to reserve his energy for a while, being much too good -a cricketer to hit wildly at anything. With a quiet, easy action the -new bowler sent down an ordinary good-length ball, too straight to -take liberties with, and that was all. Hawker played it back to him -confidently, but still carefully, and another, and another, of almost -identical pitch and pace, followed the first. 'Not so much to be -made off this fellow after all,' thought Hawker, 'but he will get -loose like the rest by-and-by, no doubt.' Still it was not as good -fun as he had expected. The fourth ball of Snap's first over was -delivered with exactly the same action as its predecessors, but the -pace was about double that of the others and Hawker was only just in -time to stop it. It was so very nearly too much for the great man -that for a moment it shook his confidence in his own infallibility. -That momentary want of confidence ruined him. The last ball of the -over was not nearly up to the standard of the other four; it was -short-pitched and off the wicket, but it had a lot of 'kick' in it, -and Hawker had not come far enough out for it. There was an ominous -click as the ball just touched the shoulder of his bat, and next -moment, as long-slip remarked, he found it revolving in his hands -'like a stray planet.' - -Don't talk to me of the lungs of the British tar, of the Irish stump -orator, or even of the 'Grand Old Man' himself! They are nothing, -nothing at all, to the lungs we had in those days. It was Snap's -first wicket for the school, and Snap was the school's favourite, as -the scapegrace of a family usually is, and caps flew up and fellows -shouted until even Hawker didn't much regret his discomfiture if it -gave the boys such pleasure. He was very fond of Fernhall boys, that -sinewy man from the North, and, next to their own heroes, Fernhall -liked him better than most men. Even now they show the window -through which he jumped on all fours, and many a neck is nearly -dislocated in trying to follow his example. - -In the next over from his end Hales had to deal with Grey, and he -found his match. He tried him with slow ones, he tried him with fast -ones, he tried to seduce him from the paths of virtue with the -luscious lob, to storm him with the Eboracian pilule or ball from -York. It was not a bit of good, up went the shutter, and a maiden -over left Snap convinced that the less he had to do with Grey the -better for him, and left Grey convinced that Fernhall had got a -bowler at last who bowled with his head. Was it wilfully, I wonder, -that Snap gave Grey on their next meeting a ball which that steady -player hit for one? It may not have been, and yet there was a grin -all over the boy's dark face as he saw Grey trot up to his end. That -run cost Loamshire two batsmen in four balls--one bowled leg before -wicket, and the other clean-bowled with an ordinary good-length ball -rather faster than its fellows. - -Those old fields rang with Hales's name that afternoon, and at 6.30, -thanks chiefly to his superb bowling, the county had still two to -score to win, and two wickets to fall. One of the men still in was -Grey. At the end of the over the stumps would be drawn, and the game -drawn against the school, even if (as he might do) Snap should bowl a -maiden. That, however, could hardly be; even Grey would hit out at -such a crisis. At the very first ball the whole school trembled with -excitement. The Loamshire man played well back and stopped a very -ugly one, fast and well pitched, but it would not be altogether -denied, and curled in until it lay quiet and inoffensive, absolutely -touching the stumps. - -Ah, gentlemen of Loamshire! if you want to win this match why can't -you keep quiet? Don't you think the sight of that fatal little ball, -nestling close up to his wicket, is enough to disconcert any batsman -in the last over of a good match? And yet you cry, 'Steady, -Thompson, steady!' Poor chap, you can see that he is all abroad, and -the boy's eyes at the other end are glittering with repressed -excitement. He is fighting his first great battle in public, and -knows it is a winning one. There is a sting and 'devil' in the -fourth ball which would have made even Grace pull himself together. -It sent Thompson's bails over the long-stop's head, and mowed down -his wicket like ripe corn before a thunder-shower. - -And now the chivalry of good cricket was apparent; Loamshire had no -desire to 'play out the time.' Even as Thompson was bowled, another -Loamshire man left the pavilion, ready for the fray. If it had been -'cricket,' Hawker, the Loamshire captain, would have gladly played -out the match. As it was, his man was ready to finish the over. As -the two men passed each other the new-comer gave his defeated friend -a playful dig in the ribs, and remarked, 'Here goes for the score of -the match, Edward Anson, duck, not out!' - -As there was only one more ball to be bowled, and only two runs to be -made to secure a win for Loamshire, I'm afraid Anson hardly meant -what he said. Unless it shot underground or was absolutely out of -reach, that young giant, who 'could hit like anything, though not -much of a bat,' meant at any rate to hit that one ball for four. By -George, how he opened his shoulders! how splendidly he lunged out! -you could see the great muscles swell as he made the bat sing through -the air, you could almost see the ball going seaward; and yet--and -yet---- - -The school had risen like one man; they had heard that rattle among -the timber; they knew that Snap's last 'yorker' had done the trick; -cool head and quick hand had pulled the match out of the fire, and -even his rival Poynter was one of the crowd who caught young Hales, -tossed him on to their shoulders, and bore him in triumph to the -pavilion, whilst the chapel clock struck the half-hour. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -'MOP FAUCIBUS HÆSIT' - -Boys in the fifth form at Fernhall shared a study with one companion. -Monitors of course lived in solitary splendour, with a bed which -would stand on its head, and allowed itself to be shut up in a -cupboard in the corner. Small boys who had not attained even to the -fringe of the school aristocracy lived in herds in bare and -exceedingly untidy rooms round the inner quads. Even in those days -there were monitors who were worshippers of art. Some of them had -curtains in their rooms of rich and varied colouring; one of them had -a plate hung up which he declared was a piece of undoubted old -Worcester. Tomlinson was a great authority on objects of _virtù_, -and a rare connoisseur, but we changed his plate for one which we -bought for sixpence at Newby's, and he never knew the difference. -Then there was one fellow who had several original oil paintings. -These represented farmyard scenes and were attributed indifferently -to Landseer, Herring, and a number of other celebrated artists. -Whoever painted them, these pictures were the objects of more -desperate forays than any other property within the school limits. I -remember them well as adorning the room of a certain man of muscle, -to whom, of course, they belonged merely as the spoils of war. The -rightful owner lived three doors off, but I don't think that he ever -had the pluck to attempt to regain his own. - -However, in the small boys' rooms there were none of these luxuries -of an effete civilisation. There was a book-shelf full of ragged -books, none of which by any chance ever bore the name of anyone in -that study; there was a table, a gas-burner, a frying-pan, and a -kettle. These last-named articles might have been seen in every -study at Fernhall, from the study of the monitor to that of the -pauper, as we called that unfortunate being who had not yet emerged -from the lower school. In the long nights of winter, when the wild -sea roared just beyond the limits of their quad, and the spray came -flying over the sea-wall to be dashed against their study windows, -all Fernhall boys had a common consolation. They called it brewing: -not the brewing of beer or of any intoxicating liquor, but of that -cheering cup of tea which consoles so many thousands, from the London -charwoman to the pig-tailed Chinaman, from the enervated Indian to -the half-frozen Russian exile in Siberia. At first the headmasters -of Fernhall tried hard to put down this practice. Sergeants lurked -about our passages, confiscated our kettles, carried away the -frying-pans full of curly rashers from under our longing eyes, and -'lines' and flagellations were all we got in exchange. At last a new -era began. A great reformer arrived, a 'Head' of liberal leanings -and wide sympathy. This man frowned on coercion, and, instead of -taking away our kettles, gave us a huge range of stoves on which to -boil them. From a cook's point of view, no doubt, the range of -stoves was a great improvement on the old gas-burner, but, in spite -of the liberality of the 'Head,' small clusters of boys still stood -night after night on those old study tables and patiently fried their -bacon over the gas. - -Unfortunately this was not the worst of their misdoings. Besides the -appetising smell of the bacon and the delicious aroma of chicory or -tea, there was too often a strong flavour of 'bird's-eye' or -'latakia' about the passages. Almost to a man, the school smoked. -How it had crept in I don't pretend to know, but the habit had been -growing in the school for years until it was almost universal. This -was the one thing which our new head-master would not tolerate at any -price, and it was pretty well understood throughout the school that -his dealings with the first offender detected in the act would be -short and severe. About the time of the Loamshire match he had taken -to beating up our quarters in person, not, I think, from any desire -to detect the smokers in the act, but from a hope that the fear of -his coming might act as a deterrent. About a week after Snap Hales's -great bowling feat, Fernhall was brewing as usual. The dusk had -fairly set in; a crowd of boys were jostling one another with the -cans and frying-pans at the great public stoves, and Snap and many -others were breaking school-rules as usual in their own studies. -Mind, I am pledged to serve up my boys _au naturel_ and not smothered -in white sauce, so that if you don't like my menu you had better take -warning in time. The bacon had been finished, the hot rolls from the -tuckshop had been submitted to digestions which were capable of -dealing even with hot rolls and butter, and now Snap Hales, Billy -Winthrop, and one Simpson were desperately endeavouring to enjoy, or -appear to enjoy, the forbidden pleasures of tobacco. Billy had an -elaborately carved meerschaum between his teeth, while Snap lay full -length on an extemporised divan, making strange noises and strange -faces in his endeavours to get on terms with a 'hubble-bubble.' -Billy's jaws ached with the weight of the meerschaum, and Snap was as -blown with trying to make his instrument of torture draw as if he had -been running the school mile. Simpson was in a corner cutting up -some 'sun-dried honeydew,' which he had procured in a cake--'such,' -he said, 'as the trappers of the North-West always use.' To tell the -truth, he liked 'whittling' at that cake of tobacco with his knife a -great deal better than smoking it, for the first two or three whiffs -invariably sent a cold chill through his frame and a conviction that, -like Mark Twain, he had inadvertently swallowed an earthquake. - -Suddenly the boys stopped talking; there was a heavy rap at the door, -preceded by a vain attempt to open it, and followed by the command, -in deep tones, to 'open this door.' - -'Nix! by Jove!' whispered Simpson, whiter now than ever with fright. - -'Rot!' replied Snap unceremoniously. 'It's only that fool Lane, up -to some of his jokes. Go to Bath, Legs,' he added at the top of his -voice. - -'Open this door at once,' thundered someone on the other side, while -lock and hinge rattled beneath the besieger's hands. - -'Don't you wish you may get it, old chap,' 'Shove away, and be hanged -to you,' 'Try your skull against the panel, blockhead,' and several -similar remarks, were now hurled at the enemy by those in the study. -Meanwhile, preparations for repelling an assault were rapidly being -made. - -'Boys, open this door, don't you know who is speaking to you?' said -the voice once more. - -'Oh yes, we know,' laughed Snap, 'and we are getting ready to receive -you, sir.' - -'Deuced well old Legs imitates the Head, doesn't he?' whispered Billy -Winthrop. - -'Not badly,' answered Snap in the same tone. 'Have you got -everything ready?' he added. - -'Yes,' said Billy; 'but let me try my fire-arm first,' and, dipping -the nose of a large squirt into the inkpot, he filled it, and then -discharged it at a venture through the key-hole. The result was -satisfactory. From the sounds of anger and hasty retreat in the -passages the boys guessed that the shot had told, and indulged in a -burst of triumphant laughter in consequence. But the enemy was back -again in a minute wrenching furiously at the door, which now began to -give. - -'Let us die in the breach,' cried Snap, catching up a large mop, -which he had used earlier in the day to clean his study floor, and -emptying over it the remains of the cold coffee. 'Billy, stand by -with your blunderbuss. Simpson, at the next shove let the door go!' -he whispered, and the boys took up their places--Snap with his mop in -rest opposite the entrance, Simpson with his hand on the key, and -Billy's deadly weapon peeping over his leader's shoulder. At the -next assault Simpson let the door go, and Hales rushed headlong out -to meet the foe, getting the whole of Billy's charge down the back of -his neck as he went. Someone knocked up the mop, so that it cannoned -from him to another of the attacking party, whom it took fairly in -the face, plastering him up against the opposite wall, a full-length -portrait of 'the Head!' - -For once Snap's spirits deserted him. The mop fell from his -nerveless hand. He even forgot to say that he did not do it. It was -too gross a sin even for a schoolboy to find excuses for. Nor had -'the Head' much to say--partly, perhaps, because 'mops and coffee' -was not a favourite dish with him, and he had had rather more of it -at his first essay than he cared to swallow, and partly, no doubt, -because (diplomat though he was) for the life of him he could not -remember what was the dignified thing to do under such unusual -circumstances. The Sergeant recovered himself first. - -'They've all been smoking, Sir!' he asserted maliciously. 'I suppose -I'd better take their pipes.' - -'Yes, Sergeant, and their names,' replied the Head. - -'No need of that,' muttered our implacable foe. 'I know this here -study better nor ever a one in Fernhall.' - -'Hales, and you, Winthrop minor, report yourselves to me in my -library after morning school to-morrow,' said the Head, and, slowly -turning, the great man went, his mortar-board somewhat on one side, -while down the long cassock which he wore the streams of coffee ran. - -Two minutes after his departure, No. 19, the scene of the fray, was -full of friends and of sympathisers. - -'You'll get sacked, of course,' remarked one of these, 'but,' he -added, 'I don't see that there is anything worse than that which Old -Petticoats can do.' - -'You don't think he could hang us, for instance, eh, Legs?' asked -Snap sarcastically. 'Well, you are a nice, cheerful chap, you are!' -he added. - -'Never mind, old fellow,' urged another, 'they will give you a good -enough character for Sandhurst, and what do you want more?' - -'You want a good deal for Sandhurst now, Viper!' replied Snap; -'they'd rather have a blind mathematician than a giant who didn't -know what nine times nine is.' - -In spite of their comforters our friends felt for at least five -minutes that there was something in their world amiss. Then suddenly -Snap began to laugh, quite softly and to himself at first, but the -laugh was infectious, so that in half a minute every boy in the -passage was holding his sides, and laughing until the tears ran down -his cheeks. By-and-by inquiries were made for Simpson, who had not -been seen since the opening of the door. In answer to the shouts -addressed to him, a sepulchral voice replied, and after some search -the unfortunate wretch was produced from behind the door, white with -fear and tobacco-smoke, flat as a cake of his own beloved honeydew, -his knees trembling, and his hair on end with terror. Luckily for -him, he had drawn the door back upon himself, and had remained -unnoticed behind it ever since. - -In spite of the tragedy with which it had begun, the remainder of the -evening was spent in adding one more to the works of art which adorn -Boot Hall Row, to wit, one life-size portrait of the Very Reverend -the Head-master of Fernhall, drawn upon the wall against which he had -so recently been flattened, in charcoal, by one Snap Hales; while -underneath was written, to instruct future generations: - - IN MEMORIAM, JUNE 22, 1874. - 'MOP FAUCIBUS HÆSIT' - - - - -CHAPTER III - -SNAP'S REDEMPTION - -It was all very well to keep a stiff upper lip when the other boys -were looking on, but when Snap and Towzer got up to their dormitories -they began to give way to very gloomy thoughts indeed. Snap Hales -especially had a bad time of it with his own thoughts. It did not -matter so much for young Winthrop. His mother was a rich woman and -an indulgent one. His expulsion would grieve her, but he would coax -her to forgive him in less than no time, he knew. It was very -different for Snap. He had no mother, nor any relative but a -guardian, who was as strict as a Pharisee, and too poor himself to -help Snap, even if he had had the will to, which he had not. Over -and over again Snap had been told that his whole future depended on -his school career, and it appeared to him that that career was about -to come to a speedy and by no means honourable end. - -But that was not all. Snap's greatest friend on earth was his -school-chum's mother. Mrs. Winthrop had always been almost a mother -to Snap, and had won the boy's heart by the confidence she showed in -him. Snap didn't like being expelled; he didn't like Towzer being -expelled; but still less did he like the prospect of being told that -he, Snap Hales, had led the young one into mischief. And yet that -was what was before him. Snap was sitting on the edge of his bed, -half undressed, and meditating somewhat in this miserable fashion, -when a bolster caught him full in the face. Looking up quickly, he -caught sight of a face he knew grinning at him over his partition. -It was one of B. dormitory. B. had had the impertinence to attack F. -That bolster was the gage of battle. Silently Snap slipped out, -bolster in hand. Someone had relit the gas and turned it up as high -as he dared. Round and under it were ten or a dozen white-robed -figures, armed with what had once been pillows, but now resembled -nothing so much as thick ropes with a huge knot at the end. - -A week ago Snap had crept into B. dormitory and driven a block of -yellow soap well home into the open mouth of the captain of B. That -hero's snores had ceased, but he had sworn vengeance as soon as he -was able to swear anything. This then was B.'s vengeance, and the -blows of the contending parties fell like hail. At first, respect -for their master's beauty-sleep kept them quiet, and they fought -grimly and quietly like rats in a corner. Gradually, though, their -spirits rose, and the noise of battle increased. 'Go it, Snap, bash -his head in,' cried one. 'Let him have it in the wind,' retorted -another, and all the while even the speakers were fighting for dear -life. - -Suddenly a diversion occurred which B. to this day declares saved F. -from annihilation. Unobserved by any of the combatants, a short man -with an enormous 'corporation' had stealthily approached them, the -first intimation which they had of his presence being the stinging -cuts from his cane on their almost naked bodies. No one stopped for -a second dose, so that the little man was pouring out the vials of -his wrathful eloquence over a quiet and orderly room, when his gaze -suddenly lit upon an ungainly figure trying to sneak unobserved into -B. room. It was the miserable Postlethwaite, butt and laughing-stock -of both rooms, who, having no taste for hard knocks, had been quietly -learning his repetition for the next day by the light of a -half-extinguished gas-jet in the corridor. Like a hawk upon its -prey, the man with the figure pounced upon poor Postlethwaite. - -'What brings you out here, sir?' he cried. 'What do you mean by it, -sir? Why aren't you in bed, sir?' - -'Please, sir,' began Postlethwaite. - -'Don't answer me, sir,' thundered the master. 'You don't please me, -sir! you're the most impertinent boy in the school, sir! Do me a -thousand lines to-morrow, sir!' - -'Please, sir----' - -'Please, sir, please, sir, didn't I tell you not to say, please, -sir?' cried the now furious pedagogue, fairly dancing with rage, -butting at the trembling lout with his portly stomach, and driving -his flaming little nose and bright eyes almost into his victim's face. - -Poor 'Postle' was now a trembling white shadow nearly six feet high, -penned in a corner, with the solid round figure of his foe dancing -angrily in front of him. - -'Please, sir, please, sir,' continued the master savagely. 'I'll -please you, sir. I'll thrash you within an inch of your life. I'll -cane you on the spot, sir!' - -'Please, sir,' whined the miserable Postle, and this time he would be -heard. 'Please, sir, I haven't got a spot, sir!' - -An uncontrollable titter burst from all those hitherto silent beds, -and the fiercest-mannered and kindest-hearted little man in Fernhall -retired to his room, to indulge in an Homeric laugh, having set a -score of impositions, not one of which he would remember next day. -As for Postle, he crept away, quite ignorant that he had made a joke, -but terribly nervous lest his enemy should again find him out. - -Next morning, after lecture, Snap Hales was preparing with Billy -Winthrop to meet his doom. They had hardly had time to exchange a -dozen words with Frank Winthrop since the event of the night before, -and now as they approached the Head's house they saw him coming -towards them. His honest brown face wore a graver look than usual, -and even Snap felt his friend's unspoken rebuke. - -'You fellows need not go up to the Head,' he said quietly, 'the -monitors have leave to deal with your case.' - -That was all, and our school-hero passed on; but his words raised a -world of speculation in our minds, for the whole school, of course, -knew at once of this message to Snap and Towzer. Of course we -understood that the monitors could, in exceptional cases, interfere, -and from time to time used their privilege, but this was mostly in -such disgraceful cases as were best punished privately. A thief -might be tried and punished by the upper twelve, but not a mere -breaker of school-rules. Even expulsion need not carry more than -school disgrace with it, but the sentence of the monitors' court -meant the cut direct from Fernhall boys, now and always, at Fernhall, -and afterwards in the world. And what had even Hales or Towzer done -to merit this? - -The half-hour before dinner was passed in speculation. Then someone -put up a notice on the notice-board, and we were told by one who was -near enough to read it that it was to the effect that the monitors -would hold a roll call directly after dinner in place of the usual -first hour of school, and at this every Fernhall boy was specially -warned to be present. There was no need to enforce this. Every name -was answered to at that roll-call, and, for once, in every case by -the boy who bore it. - -The roll-call was held in the big schoolroom, a huge and somewhat -bare building, full of rough ink-stained desks and benches, with a -raised platform at the further end. On this, when the roll-call was -over, stood the whole Sixth, with their prisoners, Snap and Towzer. -Frank was there (the captain of the Eleven), and beside him even a -greater than he, the School captain, Wyndham--first in the schools, -first in the football-field, and first in everything, except perhaps -cricket, at which his old chum Frank Winthrop was possibly a little -better than he. I think that, much as we admired Winthrop, Wyndham -was first of our school heroes. He could do so many things, and did -them all well. - -After everyone had answered his name a great hush of expectation fell -upon us all. Then Wyndham came to the front and spoke. We had none -of us heard many speeches in those days; would that at least in that -respect life in the world were more like old school times! Perhaps -it was because it was the first speech that we had ever heard that it -roused us so. Perhaps it was a very poor affair really. But I know -that we thought none of those old Athenians would have 'been in it' -with Wyndham, and I personally can remember all he said even now. -There were no masters present, of course, so that he spoke sometimes -even in school slang, a boy talking to boys, and plunged right into -the middle of what he had to say at once. - -'You know,' he said, 'the scrape into which Hales and Winthrop minor -have got themselves, and you probably know what the punishment is for -an offence like theirs. What the punishment ought to be, I mean. -Your Head-master is going to leave it to you to say what their -punishment shall be; it is for you to say whether they shall go or -stay. - -'Oh yes, I know,' Wyndham continued as he was half of us with our -hands raised, or our mouths open, 'you are ready to pronounce -sentence now. But it won't do. You must hear me out first. I am -here by Mr. Foulkes's permission to plead for Hales and Winthrop, and -I had to beg hard for that permission, for the breach of school rules -was as bad as it could be. Not, mind you, that our Head cared -twopence about the mop; he laughed, when he told me of that, as much -as you fellows could have done; but he won't have smoking at any -price, and he is justly annoyed, because, in spite of the serious -scrape they were in, two of the boys reported to him for the -disturbance in F. dormitory last night were Hales and Winthrop. You -know the Head remembers quite as well as we do how splendidly Hales -pulled the Loamshire match out of the fire' (cheers), 'and he wants -to keep him at Fernhall; but you know discipline is more essential in -a school than a good bowler in an eleven. - -'Now, then, as to this smoking. I am not going to talk any soft -rubbish to you fellows. We have all smoked. I have certainly, and I -told the Head that if Hales went I ought to go. It was a great deal -worse in us than in you fellows. We ought to have set an example and -did not. As to the sin of smoking I haven't a word to say. My -father smokes, and he is the best man I know. There is no mention of -tobacco in the Bible, so the use of it can't have been forbidden -there. It isn't bad form, whatever some folks say, for the first -gentleman in Europe sets us the example; but (and here is the point) -it is a vice in a Fernhall boy because it is a breach of discipline. -Now, that ought to be enough for boys half of whom want commissions -in the army, the very breath of whose life is discipline; but, as we -are discussing this thing amongst ourselves quietly, I'll tell you -why I think the Head considers smoking a bad thing for us. We are -all youngsters and have our work to do. To do it well, we want clear -heads and sound minds. Tobacco is a sedative, and sends the brain to -sleep--soothes it, say the smokers. Quite so, by rendering it -torpid. Men don't paint or write with their pipes in their mouths. -They may dream with them there before beginning the day's work, or -doze with them there when the work is done, but down they go when the -chapter has to be written or the portrait painted. As to the effect -of tobacco on your bodies, you know as well as I do whether the men -who win the big races are heavy smokers. Why! I would as soon eat a -couple of apples before running the mile as smoke a pipe. Besides -all this, we can't afford to smoke good tobacco, and bad tobacco is -poison. We don't want loafers, and smoking means loafing. You don't -play football or cricket with a pipe in your mouth, do you? No! and -I want more players and fewer smokers. Old Fernhall has never yet -taken a back seat in school athletics' (here the cheering silenced -the speaker). 'Very well, then don't let her now; but, mind you, -"jumpy" nerves won't win the Ashburton shield, or short winds break -the mile record. - -'I want the school to give up smoking. I've been here now longer -than any of you, and I love the old school more than any of you can -love her. She has made me, God bless her, and I want to do her one -good turn before I leave' (here Wyndham's voice got quite husky, but -I suppose it was only a touch of hay-fever). 'I believe most of you -fellows would like to do me a good turn' (shouts of applause). 'I'm -sure that there is no Fernhall boy to whom I would not do one' (here -the very oak benches seemed in danger of being broken. The -enthusiasm was getting dangerous). 'If that is so,' he continued, -'give up smoking until you leave Fernhall. The Head is sick of -trying to stop smoking by punishment. He says that the whip is not -the thing to manage a good horse with, and he believes heart and soul -in his boys. He does not want to see the school fail in its sports. -He doesn't want to sack Towzer and Snap' (dear old chap, he even knew -our nicknames), 'but as head of this school, as colonel of our -regiment, he must and will have discipline. So he puts it to you in -this way, and he puts you on your honour as gentlemen to keep to his -terms if you accept them. - -'If you choose voluntarily to pledge yourselves to give up smoking as -a body, he on his part will ignore the events of last night -altogether' (wild excitement in the pit). 'Now, Fernhall, will you -show you're worthy of such a brick as our Head? Will you do me one -good turn before I leave? Will you keep Towzer and Snap, or your -pipes?' - -'Towzer and Snap! Towzer and Snap!' came the answer from four -hundred boys' voices, in a regular storm of eager reply. - -'Very well, hands up for the boys,' said the Captain, and a forest of -hard young fists went up into the air. - -'Hands up for the pipes,' cried Wyndham with a grin. Not a hand -stirred. - -'Bravo, gentlemen. I accept your promise. The monitors have handed -over all their own pipes, cigars, and other smoking paraphernalia to -the Head. We did that before coming to you. Now we want you to hand -over all your pipes to us, to be labelled, stored, and returned when -you leave. It is agreed, I suppose,' and not waiting for an answer -he turned and shook hands with Snap and Towzer, and then, pushing -them off the platform, he said, 'There, take them back, you fellows; -they are a bad lot, I'm afraid, but I think you have bought them a -bargain.' - -Snap and Towzer hardly realised what had happened to them for the -first few minutes. When they did they bolted up to the Head to thank -him. No one ever saw Hales so subdued as he was that afternoon. He -had pulled steadily against the powers that be ever since he had come -to school, yet when he came down from the library all he could say -was, 'By George, he's a trump. Why! he chaffed me about the mop, and -wanted to know if we all used mops to clean out our brew-cans.' - -The array of pipes, ranging from the black but homely 'cutty' to a -_chef d'œuvre_ in amber and meerschaum, which filled one of Mr. -Foulkes's big cupboards, was a sight worth seeing, and if the time of -our mile was not better next year it certainly was not worse: there -were more players in the football field, and the fact that they had -bought back their two favourites by a piece of self-denial did much -to elevate the character, not only of the redeemed ones, but of the -School itself. - -For one whole term (until Wyndham left) not a pipe was smoked within -the school limits, and if smoking ever did go on again it certainly -never again became the fashion, but was looked on rather as a -loafer's habit than as the badge of manhood. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE FERNHALL GHOST - -For a week after the reprieve recorded in the last chapter Snap and -Towzer went about like cats who had been whipped for stealing cream. -They honestly desired not to be led into temptation, and hoped that -no one would leave the jug on the floor. For a week, perhaps, even -if this had happened, these two penitent kittens would have made -believe that they did not see it. - -The holidays were now rapidly approaching, and the glorious July -weather seemed expressly sent for the gorgeous frocks and sweetly -pretty faces which would soon adorn playground and chapel during -'prize week.' - -Snap and Towzer were in Frank Winthrop's study, Towzer getting his -big brother's tea ready, and Snap looking on. After a while the -conversation turned upon a subject of immense interest, just then, to -all Fernhall boys. - -'Major,' said Snap to Winthrop the elder, 'what do you fellows think -of the ghost?' - -'Think!' replied the monitor with wonderful dignity, 'why, that you -lower school fellows have been getting out of your dormitories and -playing tunes upon combs, jew's-harps, and other instruments of -music, when you ought to have been asleep, with a lump of yellow soap -between your jaws to keep you quiet.' - -'Oh, stow that,' replied Snap, 'fellows don't play such tunes as the -Head has heard for the last week on jew's-harps and combs. Either -those fellows who belong to the "concert lot" had a hand in it, or -there is something fishy about it. I say, Frank, be a good chap and -tell us, are the Sixth in it?' - -'The Sixth in it, I should think not,' replied Winthrop; 'but I can't -answer for all the monitors, even if I wanted to.' - -Snap winked at Towzer at this rather cautious denial, remarking: - -'Well, it is a good thing the ghost has not forgotten his music. He -has been here every year since Fernhall was a school.' - -'Yes,' broke in Billy, lifting his snub nose from the depths of an -empty coffee-cup, 'and to-night is the night of the Ninth; the night, -you know, on which it walks round the Nix's garden and across the -lawn.' - -'Does it?' quoth Frank. 'Well, if it is wise, it won't walk across -that lawn to-night. If it does, it will get snuff, I can tell you.' - -'Why, Major, why should it get "bottled" to-night more than any other -night, and who is to "bottle" a ghost?' inquired Snap indignantly. - -'Never you mind, young 'un, but you may bet your bottom dollar that -if the ghost walks to-night it will be walking in the quad at -punishment drill for the rest of this term.' - -As this was all the boys could get from their senior, they had to be -content with it, and before long took their departure. At the bottom -of the stairs Snap took Billy's arm, and conferred earnestly with him -as to what the great man's prophecy might mean. - -'Well, you see,' said Towzer, looking abnormally wise, 'old Frank is -precious thick with the Beauty' (a daughter of 'the Head'), 'and -after the match the other day I saw them having a long talk together, -and, unless I am mistaken, he was showing her just the way the ghost -ought to come.' - -'By Jove, Towzer,' cried Snap, 'Scotland Yard won't have a chance -with you when you grow up. One of the "Shilling Shocker" detectives -would be a fool to you. You've got it, my lad; there is a deep-laid -and terrible plot on foot, as the papers say, and one aimed at a -time-honoured and respected institution, our friend the ghost. Let's -go and see Elizabeth.' - -Now Elizabeth was a lady, if a kind heart and gentle ways with small -boys could make her one, although the humble office which she held -was that of needlewoman at Fernhall. In these degenerate days a -maid-servant and a wife together are supposed to mend me, tend me, -and attach the fickle button to the too often deserted shirt. But -they are only supposed to. They don't as a matter of fact, and -indeed the manner of life of my buttons is decidedly loose. But in -those old days the ancient needle-woman of Fernhall wielded no idle -weapon. Her needle and thimble were the sword and shield with which -she attacked and overcame the untidiness of four hundred boys, and in -spite of the wild tugging at buttons and collars as the Irishman of -the dormitory sang out 'Bell fast,' 'Double in,' while the last of -the chapel chimes were in the air, no clean shirt at any rate came -buttonless to the scratch. - -To Elizabeth, then, the boys betook themselves, and, being special -favourites, she took them into her own little snuggery, and they had -tea again. Oh no, don't feel alarmed, gentle reader: two teas, ten -teas if you like, matter nothing to Fernhall boys--their hides are -elastic, and even the pancakes of Shrove Tuesday merely cause a -slight depression of spirits for the next twenty-four hours. - -'Now, 'Lizabeth, you dear old brick, we want you to tell us -something. What's up to-night at "the house"?' - -'Nothing that I know of, Master Winthrop, except that some of them -officers is a coming up from their barracks to dinner with Miss -Beauty and the other young ladies as is staying here.' - -'Oh! o--o--oh, as the man said when the brickbat hit him where he'd -meant to put his dinner; and what, Lizzie darling, may they be going -to do after dinner?' - -'Piano-punching, I suppose, dear, and a little chess with the -governor; and then what----?' - -'Bed? It will be slow for them, won't it?' - -'No, Master Hales, piano-punching indeed, when Miss Beauty plays -sweet enough to wake the blessed dead.' - -'Did wake them, "Grannie," the other night, didn't she, and they seem -to have taken an active share in the musical part of the -entertainment?' - -'There's no talking with such a random boy as you, but there, if you -want to know, that's just what they have all come about. They say -that when Miss Beauty was going to bed the other night she heard that -soft, wailing music, like what we hear here every year just about -this time, and she was so sure that there was something really -unnatural about it that the Professor has given her leave to sit up -with the other guests, and Captain Lowndes, and the rest in the -monitors' common room, to see if they can catch the ghost, and for -goodness sake don't you say as I told you, but if you knows the ghost -tell him not to walk to-night, as the Professor says such nonsense -must be stamped out for good. There now!' - -Poor old Elizabeth looked as if she had committed a crime, and puffed -and blew and pulled at her two little chin tufts (for, alas, she was -bearded like the pard) in a way that nearly sent the boys into -convulsions at her own tea-table. But they contained themselves (and -about three plates full of muffins), and by-and-by departed. - -There was a long and earnest conversation in a certain study that -night. There was a surplice missing from amongst the properties of -the choir, and then the four hundred wended sleepily from chapel to -their dormitories. - -In half an hour the lights were out in all windows save those of the -head-master's house; stillness fell upon Fernhall; a big bright moon -came out upon the scene and made those long grass meadows gleam like -the silver sea just beyond them; a bat or two whirled about above the -master's orchard, and but for them, and the merry party up at the -house, Fernhall, once the smuggler's home, now the busy public -school, slept to the lullaby of the summer waves. - -* * * * * * - -Fernhall slept, its busy brain as quiet as if no memories of an evil -past hung thickly round that grey old house by the sea. Could it be -that such evil deeds were done there in the storied days of old? At -least there was some ground for the country folks' legends and -superstitions. Not a rood of ground under or around the 'House' was -solid; it was all a great warren, only that the tunnelling and -burrowing had been done by men and not by conies. - -Under the basement of the head-master's house were huge cellars, such -cellars as would have appeared a world too wide even for the most -bibulous of scholars. A cupboard of very tiny dimensions would have -held all the strong liquors which our Head drank in a year. These -cellars had two entrances, one from the house, and the other half a -mile away, below what was now low-water mark. For year by year the -waves encroach upon Fernhall, and in time those old smugglers who -made and used these vaults will get their own again. They, no doubt, -many of them, have gone to Davy Jones's locker, but their chief -sleeps sound on shore, in a stately vault, which blazons his name and -his virtues to the world. In his day smuggling was a remunerative -and genteel profession, and he and all his race were past masters in -the craft. Living far from the great centres of life, upon a bleak -and dangerous coast, little notice was taken of the quiet old squire -who yearly added acre to acre and whiled away the cheerless days with -such innocent pursuits as sea-fishing and yachting. - -Fernhall yokels say that the last squire and his wife did not agree. -She was not a native of the Fernhall moorland, but a soft -south-country thing with a laugh in her eye and bright clothes on her -back when she first came amongst them; a parson's daughter, some -said, but no one knew and few cared. Very soon she grew, like the -rest of the people round her, silent, serious, or sad--a quiet grey -shadow, with the laugh and bright clothes stored away perhaps -somewhere with her memories of that sunny south. All at once her -face was missed from church and market, but no one cared to ask -whither she had gone. Someone, with grim Fernhall humour, suggested -that the Squire had added to the 'spirits' in his subterranean vaults. - -That was all, then, and to-night was the anniversary of her strange -disappearance. There are nights when the world is still and you can -feel that she is resting. There are other nights when the stillness -is as deep, nay, deeper; but it is not the stillness of rest. The -silence is throbbing and alive with some sad secret, and the -listening earth is straining to catch it. This was such a night. -The whitely gleaming grass stretched away until it reached a vague -land of moonlit shadows. The waves were almost articulate in their -meanings. The leaves of the poplars kept showing their white -underside in the moonlight, until the whole trees swung in the night -breeze, a grove of sheeted spectres. Anyone watching the scene was -at once seized with the idea that something was going to happen, and, -like the watchful stars and bending trees, strained every nerve to -listen. - -At last it came, faint and far off, sad but unutterably sweet, a low -wail of plaintive music--so low that at first it seemed the mere -coinage of an overwrought fancy. Nearer it came, and nearer, now -growing into a full wave of sound, now ebbing away--the mere echo of -a sigh, but always coming nearer and nearer, until it seemed to pause -irresolutely by the gate which divides the master's garden from the -monitors' lawn. Was it another fancy, or were there for a moment a -crowd of white, eager faces pressed against the window which looks -upon that lawn? Fancy assuredly, for the moon now gleamed back -blankly from the glass. For a moment a little cloud no bigger than a -man's hand passed over the moon, and as it cleared away a deep-drawn -sigh attracted the watcher's eyes to the garden gate. The moon was -full upon it; you could see it shake if it shook ever so little. In -that listening midnight you could almost hear the flowers whispering -to each other, but the gate neither creaked nor shook, and yet -someone had passed through it, someone with bent head, and slow, -tired feet, who sighed and told the beads of her rosary as she -passed. The moonlight played strange tricks that night; it seemed to -cling to and follow that silent figure, leaving a white track on the -dew-laden grass. And now it paused for one moment before that -window, through which those tear-dimmed eyes had so often and so -longingly turned towards her own loved south, and as she paused the -silence broke, the window was dashed open, and three athletic -figures, figures of men who feared neither man nor devil, sprang out -with shouts of laughter, surrounded that white figure, still so -strangely quiet, and demanded--its name! At the open window from -which the three had issued were now gathered half a dozen ladies, -looking half amused, half frightened. Among them was Beauty, the -Head's daughter. - -With boisterous laughter, that jarred harshly upon the stillness of -that midsummer night, the three had dashed upon their prey. Why, -then, do they pause? It seemed to those who watched that some -whisper had reached their ears and chilled their courage. For one -moment the figure's arms were raised aloft, and then the men -recoiled, and it passed on as if unconscious of these things of clay, -steady and stately, with head bent, slow feet, and hands which still -told the rosary beads. For a moment it stood large and luminous on -the skyline of that hill which overhangs the sea, the favourite -'look-out' of the old lords of Fernhall; for a moment it raised its -sheeted arms as if calling down a curse upon the fated mansion, and -then floated seaward and was gone. - -The chapel-bell tolled one, and again the Fernhall ghost had baffled -the inquisitive investigations of disbelieving men, and had asserted -itself in spite of the nineteenth century, the --th Regiment, and the -new Head-master. In vain Beauty sought an explanation from her -discomfited cavaliers; all she could elicit was that there was -something uncanny about it, something not fit for ladies to hear, and -she had better go to bed and think no more about it. It would not -come again for a year, anyway. So, at last, mightily dissatisfied, -the ladies went, and when the men were driving home to barracks long -and heartily pealed their laughter and gallant Captain Lowndes vowed -again and again that 'That boy would make a right good soldier, sir, -hang me if he wouldn't! What was it he said again, the young -scoundrel? "I've not a rag on except this surplice, Captain, and, by -Jove, if you don't take your hands off I'll drop that. If the ladies -don't like me in the spirit, I must appear in the flesh."' - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE ADMIRAL'S 'SOCK-DOLLAGER' - -'Well, Snap, how are you this morning? You look very down in the -mouth.' - -'Yes, sir, I don't feel very lively,' replied Snap. - -The speakers were Admiral Christopher Winthrop and our old friend -Harold, or Snap Hales. The mid-summer term had come to an end, and -the boys were all at home at Fairbury for the holidays. Frank and -Billy Winthrop were somewhere about the home-farm, and the old -Admiral was down at the bottom of the lawn, by the famous brook, -intent on the capture of a certain 'sock-dollager' who had been -fighting a duel with the sailor for the last three weeks. So far the -cunning and shyness of the trout had been more than a match for the -skill and perseverance of the red-faced, grey-haired old gentleman on -the bank, but the Admiral had served a long apprenticeship in all -field-sports, and it would go hard with him if that four-pounder did -not, sooner or later, lie gasping at his feet. - -'Try an alder, sir,' suggested Snap, who, though no fisherman -himself, had long since learnt the name of every fly in the Admiral's -book. - -'No,' replied that worthy disciple of Walton, 'I'll give him just one -more turn with the dun,' and, so saying, he proceeded with the -greatest care to strain the gut of another of Ogden's beautiful -little flies. - -'But what is the matter with you, Snap, that you are not, as you say, -very lively?' urged the Admiral, speaking with some difficulty, his -mouth being at the moment full of dry gut. - -'Characters came to-day, Admiral,' replied Snap; 'didn't you get -Frank's and Billy's?' - -'Yes, and a precious bad one Master Billy's was; the only good part -of it was the writing. Mr. Smith writes:--"Hand-writing shows great -improvement; is diligent and anxious to improve." Unfortunately -Billy's writing speaks for itself, even if, like me, you can't read a -word of it.' And the old man chuckled to himself at his own -shrewdness. - -'Frank's was good enough, I suppose, sir?' asked Snap. - -'Yes, Hales, as good as it could be. Frank is one of the right sort. -He can work like a--like a Winthrop (and the old boy swelled with -pride), and play like a----' - -'Vernon,' said a soft, sweet voice behind the Admiral, who, turning, -found himself face to face with his sister-in-law, a slight, graceful -woman, who was beautiful still, in spite of the grey in her hair and -the lines which showed that trouble had not spared even sweet Dolly -Vernon, as her friends had called her before she married the dead -squire of Fairbury. - -'Ah, Chris! Chris!' she cried, shaking her finger at him, 'what a -vain old sea-dog you are! So, all my boy's virtues are Winthrop, and -all his vices Vernon, are they? For shame, sir!' - -The Admiral had been supreme on his own quarterdeck; he was still -supposed to be supreme about the home farm and in the coverts. As a -matter of fact, he was nothing of the kind, but simply his fair -sister's most loyal henchman and most obedient slave. When his -brother had died, leaving Mrs. Winthrop with two great boys to bring -up and the estate to manage, the Admiral had at first acted as his -sister-in-law's agent from a distance. As the years went on, and the -boys grew up, the Admiral found that the management of the estate -from a distance was more than he could undertake, so that at last he -had settled in a little cottage in the park, and practically lived -with his sister-in-law at the Hall. - -'Yes, sister, yes,' replied the old gentleman apologetically, '"plays -like a Vernon," of course that's what I meant; and you know,' he -added slyly, 'that Dr. Foulkes said that his cricket was, if -anything, better than his classics.' - -'And how about his vices?' persisted Mrs. Winthrop. - -'Pooh! Frank hasn't got any,' asserted her brother-in-law. - -'Hasn't he?' she asked with a little doubtful smile; 'and what do you -say to that, Harold? You are his bosom friend.' - -Snap reddened up to the eyes. - -'No, Mrs. Winthrop, I don't think he has. Dr. Foulkes seems to think -they all belong to me. My uncle says that according to my character -I have a monopoly of all the qualities undesirable in a boy who has -his way to make in the world.' - -Although he spoke jestingly, Mrs. Winthrop knew enough of Snap to see -that there was a good deal of earnest in his jest. His guardian, Mr. -Howell Hales, a solicitor in large practice, had never had time or -inclination to do more than his bare duty by his fatherless nephew, -so that Fairbury Court had become the boy's real home, and Mrs. -Winthrop almost unconsciously had filled the place of mother to him. - -'What is it, Snap,' she said now, laying her hand on his strong young -arm, and looking up into his face inquiringly, 'have you got a worse -character than usual?' - -'Yes! worse than usual,' laughed Snap grimly; and then, seeing that -his hard tone had hurt his gentle friend, his voice softened, and he -added, 'Yes, Mrs. Winthrop, it is very bad this time, so bad that the -Head doesn't want me to go back next term.' - -'Not to go back next term? why, that's expulsion,' blurted out the -Admiral. - -'No, sir, not quite as bad as that; it's dismissal,' suggested Snap. - -'I don't see any difference. Chopping straws I call that,' said old -Winthrop. - -'Splitting hairs don't you mean, Chris?' asked Mrs. Winthrop with a -half-smile; 'but I see the difference, Snap. There is no disgrace -about this, is there?' - -'No, I didn't think so,' replied Snap, 'but my uncle says I am a -disgrace to my family and always shall be.' - -'He always did say that,' muttered the Admiral. 'Never mind what -your uncle says; I mean,' added the old gentleman, correcting -himself, 'don't take it too much to heart. You see he has very -strict ideas of what young lads should be.' - -'What is it that you have been doing, Snap? Is it too bad to tell -me?' asked Mrs. Winthrop after a while. - -For a moment the boy hung his head, thinking, and then raised it with -a proud look in his eyes. - -'No, dear,' he said, dropping unconsciously into an old habit, 'it -isn't, and so it can't be very bad!' And with that he told the whole -foolish story of his share in the smoking orgy, of his reprieve, of -the mop incident and the bolster fight, and, last of all, of that -Fernhall ghost. - -At this part of the recital of his wrongdoings the Admiral's face, -which had been growing redder and redder all the time, got fairly -beyond control, and the old gentleman nearly went into convulsions of -laughter. 'Shameful, sir; gross breach of discipline, sir; ha! ha! -ha! "Don't like me in the spirit, had better take me in the flesh." -Capital--cap--infamous, I mean, infamous. Your uncle never did -anything like that, sir, not he,' spluttered the veteran; 'couldn't -have done if he had tried,' he added _sotto voce_. - -'But,' said Mrs. Winthrop, after a pause, 'what are you going to do, -Snap?' - -'My uncle wants me to go into the Church or Mr. Mathieson's office,' -replied the boy. - -'The Church or Mr. Mathieson's office--that is a strange choice, -isn't it?' asked his friend. 'Which do you mean to do?' - -'Neither,' answered Snap stoutly; 'I'm not fit for one, and I should -do no good in the other. I shall do what some other fellows I know -have done. I'll emigrate and turn cow-boy. I like hard work and -could do it,' and half consciously he held out one of his sinewy -brown hands, and looked at it as if it was a witness for him in this -matter. - -'What does your uncle say to that, Snap?' asked the Admiral. - -'Not much, sir, bad or good. He says I am an ungrateful young wretch -for refusing to go into Mr. Mathieson's office, and that I shall -never come to any good. But, then, I've heard that from him often -enough before,' said Snap grimly, 'and I think he will let me go, and -that is the main point.' - -'And when do you mean to start?' asked the Admiral. - -'Oh, as soon as he will let me, sir. You see, my father left me a -few hundred pounds, so that I dare say when Mr. Hales sees that my -mind is made up he will let me go. You don't think much worse of me, -I hope, sir, do you?' - -'Worse of you?' said the old sailor stoutly, 'no! You are a young -fool, I dare say, but so was I at your time of life. Come up to -lunch!' And, planting his rod by the side of the stream, he turned -towards the house, Mrs. Winthrop and Snap following him. - -At lunch Snap had to tell the whole story again to Billy and Frank, -but when he came to the point at which he had decided to 'go west,' -instead of eliciting the sympathy of his audience, he only seemed to -rouse their envy. - -'By Jove,' said Frank, 'if it wasn't for this jolly old place I -should wish that I had got your character and your punishment, Snap!' - -For a week or more both the Admiral and his sister had been very -unlike their old selves, so quiet were they and _distrait_, except -when by an effort one or the other seemed to rouse to a mood whose -merriness had something false and strained in it, even to the -unobservant young eyes of the boys. Why was it that at this speech -of Frank's Mrs. Winthrop's sweet eyes filled with sudden tears, and -that piece of pickle went the wrong way and almost choked the -Admiral? Perhaps, if you follow the story further, you may be able -to guess. - -After lunch they all wandered down again to the trout-stream, where -'Uncle's Ogden,' as they called the Admiral's rod, stood planted in -the ground, like the spear of some knight-err ant of old days. It -was a lovely spot, this home of the Winthrops--such a home as exists -only in England; beautiful by nature, beautiful by art, mellowed by -age, and endeared to the owners by centuries of happy memories. The -sunlight loved it and lingered about it in one moss-grown corner or -another from the first glimpse of dawn to the last red ray of sunset. -The house had been built in a hollow, after the unsanitary fashion of -our forefathers; round it closed a rampart of low wooded hills, which -sheltered its grey gables from the winter winds; and in front of it a -close-cropped lawn ran from the open French windows of the -morning-room to the sunlit ripples of the little river Tane as it -raced away to the mill on the home-farm. - -For five centuries the Winthrops had lived at Fairbury, not -brilliantly, perhaps, but happily and honestly, as squires who knew -that their tenants' interests and their own were identical; sometimes -as soldiers who went away to fight for the land they loved, only to -come back to enjoy in it the honours they had won. It was a fair -home and a fair name, and so far, in five centuries, none of the race -had done anything to bring either into disrepute. No wonder the -Winthrops loved Fairbury. - -[Illustration: THE ADMIRAL FISHING] - -But I am digressing, and must hark back to the Admiral, who has -stolen on in front of his followers and is now crouching, like an old -tiger, a couple of yards from the bank of the brook. Above him, -waving to and fro almost like that tiger's tail, is the graceful, -gleaming fly-rod, with its long light line, which looks in the summer -air no thicker than gossamer threads. In front of the old -gentleman's position, and on the other side of the stream, is a -crumbling stone wall, and for a foot or two from it, between it and -the Admiral, the water glides by in shadow. Had you watched it very -carefully, you might, if you were a fisherman, have detected a still, -small rise, so small that it hardly looked like a rise at all. -Surely none but the most experienced would have guessed that it was -the rise of the largest fish in that stream. But the Admiral was -'very experienced,' and knew almost how many spots there were on the -deep, broad sides of the four-pounder whose luncheon of tiny -half-drowned duns was disturbing the waters opposite. At last the -fly was dry enough to please him, and Admiral Chris let it go. A -score of times before, in the last few days, he had had just as good -a chance of beguiling his victim, and each time his cast had been -light and true, so that the harshest of critics or most jealous of -rivals (the same thing, you know) could have found no fault in it. -Each time the fly, dry as a bone and light as thistle-down, had lit -upon the stream just the right distance above the feeding fish, and -had sailed over him with jaunty wings well cocked, so close an -imitation of nature that the man who made it could hardly have picked -it out from among the dozen live flies which sailed by with it. But -a man's eyes are no match for a fish's, and the old 'sock-dollager' -had noticed something wrong--a shade of colour, a minute mistake in -form, or something too delicate even for Ogden's fingers to set -right--and had forthwith declined to be tempted. But this time fate -was against the gallant fish. The Admiral had miscalculated his -cast, and the little dun hit hard against the crumbling wall and -tumbled back from it into the water 'anyhow.' - -Though a mistake, it was the most deadly cast the Admiral could have -made. A score of flies had fallen in the same helpless fashion from -that wall in the last half-hour, and as each fell the great fish had -risen and sucked them down. This fell right into his mouth. He saw -no gleam of gut in the treacherous shadow, he had seen no upright -figure on the bank for an hour and a half; he had no time to -scrutinise the fly as it sailed down to him, so he turned like a -thought in a quick brain, caught the fly, and knew that he too was -caught, almost before the Admiral had had time to realise that he had -for once made a bad cast. And then the struggle began; and such is -the injustice of man's nature that even gentle Mrs. Winthrop did not -feel a touch of compassion for that gallant little trout, battling -for his life against a man who weighed fifteen stone to his four -pounds, and had had as many years to learn wisdom in, almost, as the -fish had lived weeks. No doubt she would have felt sorry for the -fish if she had thought of these things, but then you see she didn't -think of them. - -'By George! I'm into him,' shouted the Admiral. - -Anyone only slightly acquainted with our sporting idioms might have -taken this speech literally, and wondered how such a very small whale -could have held such a very large Jonah. But the Admiral never -stopped to pick his words when excited, as poor Billy soon -discovered. An evil fate had prompted Billy to snatch up the net as -soon as his uncle struck his fish, and now, as the four-pounder -darted down stream, the boy made a dab at him with it. - -'Ah, you young owl! You lubberly young sea-cook,' roared the -infuriated old gentleman. 'What are you doing? Do you think you're -going to take a trout like a spoonful of porridge? Get below him, -and wait till I steer him into the net.' - -Frightened by Towzer's futile 'dab,' the trout had made a desperate -dash for the further side of the stream, making the Admiral's reel -screech as the line ran out. Skilfully the old man humoured his -victim, now giving him line, now just balking him in his efforts to -reach a weed-bed or a dangerous-looking root. People talk of salmon -which have taken a day to kill; it is a good trout which gives the -angler ten minutes' 'play.' The Admiral's trout was tired even in -less time than that, and came slowly swimming down past a small -island of water weeds, beyond the deep water on the house-side of the -stream, submissive now to his captor's guiding hand. Gently the -Admiral drew him towards the shallows, and in another moment he would -have been in the net, when suddenly, without warning, he gave his -head one vicious shake, and, leaping clear out of the water, fell -back upon the little island, where he lay high and dry, the red spots -on his side gleaming in the sun. It was his last effort for freedom, -and now, as he lay gasping within a few inches of the clear stream, -of home and safety, the treacherous steel thing dropped out of his -mouth, the current caught the belly of the loose line and floated it -down stream, and the Admiral stood on the further bank dumb with -disgust, the last link broken which bound his fish to him. In a -moment more the fish would recover from his fall, and then one kick, -however feeble, would be enough to roll him back into the Tane, and -so good-bye to all the fruits of several weeks' patience and cunning, -and good-bye, too, to all chance of catching 'the best trout, by -George, sir, in the brook!' It was hard! - -But there was another chance in the Admiral's favour which he had not -counted upon. Even as the fish fell back upon the dry weeds Snap -slid quietly as an otter into the stream. A few strong, silent -strokes, and he was alongside the weeds, and as the fish's gaping -gills opened before he made what would have been to the Admiral a -fatal effort Snap's fingers were inserted, and the great trout -carried off through his own element as unceremoniously as if it -really was an otter which had got him. - -'I'm not a bad retriever, sir, am I?' asked the hoy as he laid his -prize down at old Winthrop's feet. That worthy sportsman was -delighted. - -'No, my boy,' he replied, 'you are first-rate, though perhaps Mr. -Hales would call you a sad dog if he saw you in those dripping -garments. Be off and change into some of Frank's toggery.' - -'All right, sir; come on, Frank,' replied Snap, and together the -three boys raced off to their own domain in one of the wings of -Fairbury Court, given over long ago to boys, dogs, and disorder. - -Meanwhile the Admiral retired to weigh his fish, which he did most -carefully, allowing three ounces for its loss of weight since -landing--an altogether unnecessary concession, as it had not been out -of the water then more than five minutes. However, he entered it in -his fishing journal as 3 lbs. 11 ozs., caught August 2, and retrieved -by Snap Hales. As he closed the book he sighed and muttered, 'That -is about the last trout I shall take on the Tane.' - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE BLOW FALLS - -The day after the Admiral's triumph over his fishy tenant he and his -sister called a meeting in the morning-room after breakfast. It was -an informal meeting, but, as he said that the business to be done was -important, the young squire restrained his impatience to go and see -the men about rolling the cricket pitch in the park, and waited to -hear what his uncle had to say. - -'I'm sorry, Frank,' the old man said, 'that you will have to put off -"the Magpies" for next week, but I am afraid we can't have any -cricket here this August.' - -'Why, uncle,' expostulated Frank, 'it is the very best fun we have, -and the Magpies are capital good fellows as well as good cricketers.' - -'Yes, I know,' replied his uncle gravely, 'but even cricket must give -way sometimes, and now it happens that your mother and I are suddenly -called away on business, on very important business,' and here he -looked sternly at his sister-in-law, who turned her face from the -light, and appeared to busy herself with the arrangement of a vase of -flowers on the old oak over-mantel. - -'But, uncle,' put in Towzer, 'couldn't Frank take care of the Magpies -even if you and mother were not here? Of course it would not be half -such fun as if you were here to score and Mother to look on, but -Humphreys (the butler) would see that the dinners were all right. -I'm sure he could,' added the boy more confidently, catching at a -sign of approval in his brother's face. - -'It wouldn't do, my boy,' asserted Admiral Chris, 'it would not do at -all; it would be rude to your guests, you wouldn't be able to manage, -and besides,' he added, as if in despair for a convincing argument, -'we might be able to get back, and then neither your mother nor I -need miss the match.' - -This was quite another story, and so the boys consented, albeit with -a very bad grace, to postpone their cricket. - -'What I propose now instead of the match,' continued the Admiral, 'is -a little travel for you two, and I've asked Snap Hales's uncle to let -him go with you. I want you to go off and try a fishing tour in -Wales, whilst your mother and I finish our business in London, and -then we'll all meet again in a fortnight's time.' - -'Bravo, uncle!' cried Frank, 'but what am I to do for a rod?' - -'Oh, if yours is broken you had better take mine,' replied the -Admiral. - -'What, your big Castle Connel? Thank you, sir; it would be as much -good to me in such cramped places as you used to tell us about as a -clothes-prop!' replied Frank. - -'No, not the Castle Connel, the Ogden; I shan't want it, and you will -take care of it, I know,' was the unexpected reply. - -'Your Ogden, sir!' said Frank; 'why, I thought no one might look at -it from less than ten paces.' - -'You're an impertinent young monkey, Frank,' laughed the Admiral, -'but still you may have it.' - -And so it was settled that the Magpie match should be given up, and -Frank and Billy be packed off on a fishing tour in Wales, whilst -their mother and the Admiral went up to town and transacted the -troublesome business which had had the bad taste to demand their -attention during the Midsummer holidays. - -A little later in the day a man came up from the village with a note -from Mr. Hales for the Admiral. The boys did not see it, but it was -understood to contain his consent in writing 'to the proposal that -Snap should join the expedition.' For the rest of that day all was -excitement and bustling preparations for a start. It seemed almost -as if they were preparing for something much more important than a -fortnight's trip into Wales. Snap was up at the house all day. That -with him was common enough. His own packing had not taken him long. -The boy was keener-eyed than his young companions, and, in spite of -an apparent roughness, was more sensitive to external influences than -either of them. Hence it was perhaps that he noticed what they -overlooked; noticed that Mrs. Winthrop's eyes followed her sons about -from room to room, that she seemed to dread to lose them from her -sight, that the dinner that night was what the boys called a birthday -dinner, that is, consisted of all the little dishes of which Mrs. -Winthrop knew each boy was specially fond, and what struck him more -than anything was that two or three times he was sure her eyes filled -with tears at some chance remark of Frank's or Willy's which to him -had no sad meaning in it. He was puzzled, and, worse than that, -'depressed.' - -The start next morning was even less auspicious than 'packing-day' -had been. The midsummer weather seemed to have gone, and the gables -of the old house showed through a grey and rainy sky; rain knocked -the leaves off the roses, and battered angrily at the window-panes. -The pretty Tane was swollen and mud-coloured, and, altogether, -leaving home on a fishing trip to Wales felt worse than leaving home -the first time for school. - -The Admiral had determined on seeing them on their way as far as the -county town, and drove to the station with them in the morning. If -it had not been so absolutely absurd, Snap would have fancied once or -twice that the old gentleman did not like any of the boys to be alone -with his neighbours, or even with the servants. It would have been -very unlike him if it had been the case, so of course Snap was -mistaken. - -'Towzer,' asked Frank in a whisper as they drove away, 'what was the -Mater crying about?' - -The Admiral overheard him, and replied: - -'Crying, what nonsense, Frank; your mother was waving good-bye and -good riddance to you with that foolish scrap of lace of hers; that's -all. Crying, indeed!' and the old seaman snorted indignantly at the -idea. - -It was all very well for the Admiral to deny the fact, and to go very -near to getting angry about it, but Snap at any rate knew that it was -a fact, and that Admiral Chris knew it too. It was the first untruth -he had ever heard from the upright old gentleman by his side, and -Snap's wonder and dislike to this journey grew. As Snap looked back -a turn in the road gave him another rain-blurred glimpse of Fairbury, -with a little drooping figure which still watched from the Hall -steps, and a conviction that something was wrong somewhere forced -itself insensibly upon him, though as yet he was not wise enough to -guess where the evil threatened. - -The rain had an angry sound in it, unlike the merry splash of heavy -summer showers: there seemed a sorrow in the sigh of the wind, unlike -the scent-laden sigh of summer breezes after rain. Nature looked -ugly and unhappy, and the boys were soon glad to curl themselves up -in their respective corners of the railway carriage, with their backs -resolutely turned upon the rain-blurred panes of the carriage window. - -At the station the Admiral had met his favourite aversion, Mr. -Crombie. What Mr. Crombie had originally done to offend the Admiral -no one knew, but he had done it effectually. Crombie gave Admiral -Chris the gout even worse than '47 port or the east wind. - -Crombie was on the point of addressing Frank when the Admiral -intervened and carried off the boys to get tickets. A little to -Frank's surprise, his uncle took third-class tickets, for, although -on long journeys the old gentleman invariably practised this wise -economy, Frank had been accustomed to hear him say, 'Always take -"firsts" on our own line, to support a local institution.' - -As the Admiral took his tickets the voice of his persecutor sounded -behind him. Crombie had followed his foe. - -'What!' he said--and the sneering tone was so marked that it made the -boys wince--'an Admiral travelling third!' - -'Yes, Sir,' retorted the Admiral fiercely. 'God bless me, you don't -mean to say there is a "fourth" on? Only persons who are afraid of -being mistaken for their butlers travel first nowadays,' and with an -indignant snort the old gentleman squared his shoulders, poked out -his chin, and walked down the platform with a regular quarter-deck -roll, leaving Mr. Crombie to meditate on what he was pleased to call -'the "side" of them beggarly aristocrats.' - -At Glowsbury, the county town for Fairbury, Admiral Chris left the -boys, hurrying away with an old crony of his, who, in spite of nods -and winks, would blurt out, 'I'm so sorry, Winthrop.' But the -Admiral let him get no further. 'Good-bye, lads,' he sang out, and -then away he trotted, holding on to his astonished friend, whom he -rapidly hustled out of earshot, so that the boys never knew the cause -of that old gentleman's sorrow. - -It didn't trouble them much either, for, once in Wales, the weather -grew fine again--provokingly fine, the boys thought. If ever you go -to dear little Wales, O Transatlantic cousin, to see the view, you -may bet your bottom dollar that you won't see it. You will be like -that other tourist who 'viewed the mist, but missed the view.' If, -however, you can jockey the Welsh climate into a belief that you are -going there solely for fishing, you may rely on such weather as the -Winthrops got, that is to say, clear skies, broiling suns, and tiny -silver streams calling out for rain-storms to swell their diminished -waters, and crying out in vain. The waters will be clearer than -crystal, the fish more shy than a boy of fourteen amongst ladies, and -the views perfect. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to -jockey anything Welsh: Wales is very unbelieving, and especially does -it disbelieve anglers. - -The boys opened their campaign on the Welsh borders, fished -successfully for samlets--bright, silvery little fellows, which had -to be put back--and with a miserable want of success for the brown -trout, which they were allowed to keep if they could catch them. -Sometimes they walked from point to point, but then they found that -their expenses in gingerbeer were almost as great as if they had -spent the money in a third-class ticket; once they tried a long run -by rail on the--well, I dare not tell you its real name--so I'll say -the Grand Old Dawdler's line. They bought third-class tickets, but -travelled first, because the line had only three coaches in at that -time, and they were all first. Two rustics travelled with them; it -was rather a busy day with the Grand Old Dawdler's line. The -station-master at the starting-point, who sold them their tickets, -went with them as engine-driver and guard, and at each of the little -stations which they passed he acted as station-master. This system -of centralising all the service in one person had its advantages: -there is only one person to tip, and if he is sober the travelling, -if slow (say seven miles an hour), is very fairly safe. - -Once, and once only, they tried tricycles. Wales is not as level as -a billiard-table. Towzer, careless of the picturesque, wished that -it was. On tricycles, he explained, if you were not used to them, -you could travel on the flat rather faster than you could walk; -uphill you had to get off and shove, and downhill you were either run -away with, or, if you put on the brake, the tricycle stopped, you -didn't--on the contrary, you proceeded upon your journey by a series -of gyrations through the air, until suddenly planted on your head in -the next county but two. Besides all this it cost more to send back -your tricycle by rail than a first-class ticket would have cost, -whereas if you didn't send it back you were liable to be tried at the -next assizes. - -A letter which I insert here, and which Mrs. Winthrop still keeps, -for the sake, not of its melodious metre, but for the sake of auld -lang syne, will give the reader some idea of the Winthrops' fishing -adventures. I am inclined to think that Frank wrote it. Big, strong -fellow as he was, he had a habit of constantly writing to the Mater, -and I happen to know that Snap was too bad-tempered at that time to -write anything. He had passed all that morning in trying to cast on -a certain wooded reach. He had caught the grass; he had cracked his -line like a coach-whip, and lost a score of flies by so doing; and -had at last settled solemnly down to dig up with his penknife a great -furze-bush on the bank which appeared to his angry imagination to -rise from behind at every fly which he tried to throw. - - -'Aug. 12, 1874. - -'DEAR MATER,--- - - 'Snap Hales arose, from his night's repose, - In the midst of the Cambrian mountains, - Where from cliff and from crag, over peat-moss and hag, - The Tanat shepherds her fountains. - -(_Observe here the resemblance to Shelley._) - - 'He rolled in his tub, and tackled his grub, - He booted and hatted in haste, - Then said, "If you're wishing, boy Bill, to go fishing, - There isn't one moment to waste." - - 'He strode to the brook, and with lordly look - Quoth, "Now, little fish, if you're in, - Let some grayling or trout just put up his snout - And swallow this minnow of tin." - - 'As if at his wish, up bounded a fish, - Gave one dubious sniffle or snuff, - Thought 'It's covered with paint, I'll be hooked if it ain't, - And the fellow who made it's a muff." - - 'Then Harold had tries with all sorts of flies, - Which were brilliant, gigantic, and rare, - But among them were none which resembled a "dun," - So the fish were content with a stare. - - 'To a tree by that brook many flies took their hook, - Many more were whipped off in the wind; - One fixed in the nose, several more in the clothes - Of that angler before and behind. - - 'Then his cast-line broke, and Harold spoke, - Right wrathful words spoke he, - "Very well! you may grin, but I'll just wade in - Where there's neither briar nor tree." - - 'With naked foot, without stocking or boot, - Right into the stream he strode-- - With a splash and a splutter, with a murmur and a mutter, - And he frequently "Ah'd" and "Oh'd." - - 'Alas, as he tripped his bare feet slipped, - They slipped on those slimy stones, - And down he came (I forget the name - Of the very identical bones - - 'Upon which he sat); but he'd flies in his hat, - And as he went down the stream - The fish arose, and tugged at his clothes, - Until he began to scream. - - 'Round his hat's broad brim they began to swim, - And into his face did stare. - His mouth they eyed, they peeped inside, - Much wondering who lived there. - - 'Their victim cried, "In vain I've tried - To snare these fishes free. - Alas, for my sin, as they've got me in, - I fear they'll swallow me." - - 'But, "Alack, this Jonah's a fourteen-stoner," - 'Twas thus that the fishes cried. - "If we gape till we split, there will still be a bit - Of the monster left outside." - - 'So Will landed him safe, our fisherman waif, - In safety he landed him; - With gobble and munch he chawed up his lunch, - He was hungry after his swim. - - 'He has sworn he will never again endeavour - Those innocent fish to hurt, - For all he can get is thundering wet, - And any amount of dirt. - - 'Your truthful - 'FRANK.' - - -After this, perhaps, it is not surprising that the boys voted fishing -very poor fun, and took to mountaineering instead. They had climbed -Cader Idris (a very pretty climb from its more difficult side) and -Snowdon, and were resting at a first-rate hotel not far from -Snowdon's foot, when they found the following letter on their -breakfast-table from the Admiral:-- - - -'DEAR FRANK,--As your mother is not very well, I intend to bring her -down to Dolgelly for a few days. Take some nice quiet rooms where we -can all be lodged together at less expense than at an hotel. - - 'Your affect. uncle, - 'CHRISTOPHER WINTHROP. - -'P.S.--I have some important news to give you, and should like you -all to be at home when we arrive by the 12.50 train to-morrow.' - - -Frank read the letter out to the rest at breakfast, and then laid it -quietly down by his plate. - -'Snap,' he said, 'there is something wrong at home. I can't make out -what the Admiral is always harping on economy for. Surely our -mother' (and unconsciously there was a tone of pride in that 'our -mother') 'can afford to go to any of these wretched little hotels if -she likes. I shan't take rooms. It's all nonsense; I'm not going to -have her murdered by Welsh cooks, especially if she is ill.' - -No one having any explanation of the Admiral's letter to offer, or -any objection to staying where they were, the conversation dropped, -but the boys were restless and unhappy until the 12.50 train was clue -in. - -When that train pulled up with a jerk at the platform the three had -already been waiting for it half an hour, for their impatience had -made them early, and long habit had made the train late. As soon as -they could find their mother and Admiral Chris the boys pounced upon -them, and in the first burst of eager welcome the cloud vanished. -But it reappeared again before the party reached the hotel, and the -Admiral was as nearly angry as he knew how to be on finding that the -rooms taken for himself and sister were, as usual, just the best in -the hotel. - -The dinner was a poor and spiritless affair, and Snap noticed that -the old gentleman, instead of lighting a cigar after leaving the -table, took at once to a pipe. - -'Why, sir,' remonstrated Snap, 'you are false to your principles for -the first time in my experience of you; I thought that you always -told us that the cigar was a necessary appetiser, to be taken before -the solid comfort of the evening pipe.' - -'Nonsense, my boy, nonsense, I never said that. A cigar is a poor -thing at best. Nothing like a pipe for a sailor,' blurted out the -Admiral, looking annoyed at Snap's innocent speech, and glancing -nervously in Mrs. Winthrop's direction, while over her sweet face a -cloud passed as she too noticed for the first time this little change -in her brother-in-law's habits. - -Coming up to her eldest boy's chair, and leaning caressingly against -him, the little mother turned Frank's head towards her, so that she -could look down into his honest blue eyes. - -'What is it, little mother; do you want a kiss in public? For shame, -dear!' laughed Frank. - -'Tell me, Frank,' she said, taking no notice of his chaff, 'do you -want very much to go to Oxford?' - -'Right away, mother? No, thank you. I am doing very well here.' - -'But when you leave Fernhall, Frank?' - -'Well, yes, mother! You wouldn't have me go to Cambridge, because, -you see, all my own friends are at the Nose,' replied Frank. - -'The Nose?' asked Mrs. Winthrop, looking puzzled. - -'Brazen Nose, dear, Brazen Nose!--the college, you know, at which -Dick and the Rector's son now are.' - -'But what should you say, Frank, if you could not go either to Oxford -or Cambridge?' persisted his mother. - -'Conundrum, mother. I give it up,' answered the boy lazily; 'call me -early, dear, to-morrow, and ask me an easier one.' - -Poor little lady, the tears came into her eyes as the smile grew in -his, and at last Frank saw it. Jumping up and putting his arm round -her, he asked: - -'Why, mother dear, what is it? I was joking. I'll go anywhere you -want.' - -'Yes, my boy, I know,' sobbed the little woman, 'but you can't go -either to Oxford or Cambridge. There, Chris, tell them the rest,' -and, slipping out of Frank's arms, she left the room. - -After this beginning the whole story was soon told. The Admiral's -pipe had gone out, his collar seemed to be choking him, but, now that -he was fairly cornered, he didn't flinch any longer. - -'Yes!' he said, 'that is about the truth of it. We are all ruined. -Fairbury was sold three days after you left it. That is why we sent -you down here. We wanted to spare Frank the wrench, and we didn't -want any of you punching the auctioneer's head, or any nonsense of -that sort. We have all got to work now, lads, for our living.' - -Here the old man rose and put his strong hands on Frank's shoulders, -and looked him full in the face. - -'With God with them, my boys aren't afraid, are they?' - -Frank gripped the old man's hand, and Billy crept up close to him, -while Snap, watching from a distance, felt hurt to the heart that he -had not lost and was not privileged to suffer with them. - -And yet 'Fairbury sold' seemed too much for any of them to realise -all at once. Fairbury seemed part and parcel of themselves. It was -to them as its shell to an oyster. The Winthrops (the whole race) -had been born in it, and it had grown as they grew. After a while -Towzer broke the silence. - -'Then, uncle, where are we going home to?' he asked. - -'Home, my lad! Well, I suppose we must make a new home somewhere. -It should not be difficult at our age, should it, Frank?' added the -gallant old man, as if he were the youngest of the young as well as -the bravest of the brave. - -'But, uncle, won't mother's tenants pay their rent?' asked Frank. - -'My boy, your mother has no tenants,' said Mrs. Winthrop, who had -re-entered the room, 'and you'll never be Squire of Fairbury, as you -should have been. It does seem hard.' - -And so it did, and one young heart, of no kin to hers, felt it almost -as much as she did, and Snap swore then, though it seemed a ludicrous -thing even to himself, that, if ever he could, he would put back that -sweet woman and her boy in their own old home. - -But I must hurry over this part of my story. Sorrow and tears are -only valuable for the effects they leave behind. Without the rain -there would be no corn; without misfortune and poverty there would be -very little effort and achievement in the world. But it is more -pleasant to dwell on the happy results than on the causes. - -When Frank had insisted on seeing his mother to her bedroom, with a -quaint assumption of authority which she never resisted, the Admiral -explained how all their troubles had arisen. A friend to whom Mrs. -Winthrop had lent 500_l._ had repaid that sum to her agent in -Scotland. The agent (a lawyer), acting on the Admiral's instructions -with regard to small sums paid in the absence of Mrs. Winthrop on the -Continent, had invested the 500_l._ in some bank shares. The shares -were bought, he believed, much under their value. Alas, the public -knew better than that lawyer. The bank was an unlimited affair, and -broke soon after he had bought its shares, and Mrs. Winthrop became -responsible for the payment of its debts to the last penny which she -possessed. Without any fault of theirs, without warning, the -Winthrops had to give up their all. This is one of the dangers of -civilised life, and, unfortunately, company promoters, swindling -bankers, and such like are not yet allowed to hang for their sins. - -Luckily, the Admiral was not involved in the general ruin, and was as -staunch and true as his kind generally are in the time of trouble. -'My dear,' he had said to his sister, when he had finished abusing -the bank, the bankers, the Government, and every person or thing -directly or indirectly connected with banking, 'it was my fault for -not looking after the money myself. Nonsense! of course it was. -What should a poor devil of a lawyer know about banking, or law, or -anything except bills? However,' he added more calmly, 'there is my -little property and pension for you and the boys, and, as for me, I -dare say that I can get a secretaryship to a club or something of -that sort in town.' - -The Admiral had a hazy idea that the letters E.N. behind his name -were sufficient qualification and testimonial for any public office, -from the directorship of a guinea-pig company to the secretaryship of -the Royal Geographical Society. - -'And now, lads,' he was saying an hour after Mrs. Winthrop had -retired for the night, 'think it all well over. There is a stool in -an office for one of you, if you like. No place like the City for -making money in; or, if you don't like that, Frank, we can find money -enough somehow to send you to the Bar. We have employed attornies -enough in our time, and of course some of them would send you briefs -enough to give you a start' (would they? poor Admiral!); 'or there is -young Sumner's craze--cattle-ranching or farming in the far West--a -rough life, no doubt, but---- Ah, well, it's not for me to choose. -I'm not beginning life. I wish I was--as a cowboy,' and the old man -picked up his candle and trotted off to bed with almost enough fire -in voice and eye to persuade you that he was still young enough to -begin another round with Fate. - -That night the boys sat up on the edges of their beds until long -after midnight, talking things over. Frank was very grave, and -inclined to persuade his younger brother to take to the office-stool. - -'And you, Major?' asked Towzer; 'are you going to the Bar?' - -'Well, no,' replied his brother, 'I don't think that I could stand -being buried alive in those dim, musty chambers yet, and I've no -ambition to conquer Fortune with the jawbone of an ass.' - -'Very well, then, if you won't set me an example, let's drop London -and talk cattle-ranching,' said Towzer. 'Snap, you've got an old -"Field" in your bag, haven't you?' - -'Yes, here you are,' replied the person addressed, producing an old -copy of that one good paper from his portmanteau. - -'Look in the advertisement-sheet,' suggested Frank, 'there is always -something about ranching there.' - -'"Expedition to Spitzbergen,"' read Snap; 'that won't do. "Wanted -another gun to join a party going to the Zambesi." Ah, here you are, -"Employment for gentlemen's sons. The advertiser, who has been -settled at Oxloops, on the north fork of the Stinking Water, for the -last ten years, is prepared to receive two or more sons of gentlemen -upon his ranche, and instruct them in the practical part of this most -lucrative business, a business in which from 35 to 50 per cent. can -easily be made, whilst leading that open-air, sportsmanlike life so -dear to English country gentlemen. All borne comforts found, and -instruction given by the advertiser in person. Premium, 200_l._"' - -'There!' cried Towzer, 'what do you think of that? The 200_l._ will -be part of the start in life which Uncle talked about, and after the -first year we can just buy cattle and start for ourselves. You'll -come, of course, Snap?' - -'Well, I don't know,' replied Snap; 'I've not got the 200_l._ in the -first place, and in the second place, if cattle-ranching pays so -well, I don't see why this cattle-king wants to bother himself with -pupils for a paltry 200_l._ a year; besides, I fancy Sumner said that -you could learn more as a cowboy than as a pupil, and the cowboy is -paid, while the pupil pays for learning. I'll come if you go, but -not as a pupil.' - -'I half suspect that Snap is right, Billy,' said Frank; 'but, anyhow, -we must talk this over with the Admiral.' - -'Very well,' assented that young enthusiast; 'but I say, Major, -wouldn't it be jolly if it was true? Fifty per cent., he says. -Well, suppose the mother could start us with 1,000_l._ apiece, that -would be 1,000_l._ profit between us the first year. Of course we -would not spend any of it. Clothes last for ever out there, and food -costs nothing. By adding what we made to our capital we could make a -fortune and buy back Fairbury in no time.' - -'Steady there, young 'un; optimism is a good horse, but you are -riding his tail off at the start, and I expect that cattle-ranching -wants almost as much work and patience as other things,' replied his -more sober brother. - -But Billy's enthusiasm had won the day in spite of reason, and they -all turned in to dream of life in the Far West, and easily won -fortunes. - -Only one of them lay awake for long that night, watching the clouds -drift across the mountain, and, if anyone had put his ear very close -to Snap's pillow, he might have heard him mutter, as he tossed in his -first restless slumbers, 'Poor little mother! it has almost broken -her heart. If we could only win it back! If we could only win it -back!' - -And yet Snap was no kith or kin of the Winthrops, Fairbury was no -home of his, nor the gentle lady of whom he dreamed his mother. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -LEAVE LIVERPOOL - -This tale is written for boys, and if the writer knows anything at -all about them they like sunshine as much as he does. That being so, -we will skip, if you please, a certain foggy morning in Liverpool, -when the heavy sky over the Mersey seemed as full of gloom and rain -as men's eyes of tears and sorrow. The great lump in the old -Admiral's throat kept getting up into his mouth in a most confusing -way, and required a good many glasses of something which he never -drank to keep it down. Poor Mrs. Winthrop, strong in a woman's -courage to bear suffering, seemed to be thinking for everyone. There -was no tear of her shedding on her son's check, and her pretty lips -were firm if they were white. 'Don't forget, boys, your father's -last written words--'Bring up my boys as Christians and gentlemen,' -he wrote. You're out of my keeping now, but, whatever your work, -remember you are Winthrops.' - -And then the last signal to those aboard sounded, and those who had -only come to say 'good-bye' hurried off the ship. A party of -schoolboys who had come to see a chum leave for the great North-West -struck up 'For he's a jolly good fellow' as the steamer left her -moorings, and, carried off their balance by the heartiness of the -chorus, the Admiral himself and everyone not absolutely buried in -pocket-handkerchiefs took up the refrain. The last the boys could -remember of England was that busy, dirty pier, a crowd waving adieus, -and the dear faces of mother and uncle with a smile on them, in which -hope and love had for the moment got the better of sorrow. - -And then they were out on the broad bosom of old Ocean, with -limitless stretches of green waves all round, and all life in front -of them. As the ship sped on, the air seemed to grow clearer and -more buoyant, the possibilities of the future greater, and success a -certainty. Everyone on board seemed full of feverish energy. If -they talked of speculations or business they talked in millions, not -in sober hundreds, and before they were half across the Atlantic the -boys were beginning to almost despise those who stayed behind in slow -and sober England--all except Snap, at least, who annoyed them all by -his oft-repeated argument, 'If it is so good over there, why do any -of these fellows come back?' - -The voyage itself was an uneventful one; that is to say, no one fell -overboard, no shipwreck occurred, and, thanks to the daily cricket -match with a ball of twine attached to fifty yards of string, the -Atlantic was crossed almost before our friends had time to realise -that they had left England. - -On landing, the two Winthrops had to make their way to the ranche of -a Mr. Jonathan Brown in Kansas County, to whom the Admiral had sent -something like 300_l._ as premium for the two boys. For this they -were promised 'all home comforts, and a thoroughly practical -education in cattle-ranching and mixed farming, together with the -benefit of Mr. Brown's experience in purchasing a small place for -themselves at the end of their educational period.' Snap, not having -money to waste, or faith in 'ranching and mixed farming,' was to -proceed further west and try to find employment along the new line -until he could obtain day labourer's work on a ranche. The Admiral -had insisted on paying the railway fare for the three of them, and, -contrary to his custom, had paid first-class fare, arguing that thus -they might possibly make a useful friend on the way, and at any rate -sleep soft and warm until the moment came for the final plunge. - -So the boys entered upon their first overland stage together, gazing -with big eyes of wonder at the fairy land which seemed to slip so -noiselessly past their carriage windows. It was almost as if the dry -land had taken the characteristics of the ocean, all was so big, so -boundless, around them. First there seemed to come a belt of great -timber near the sea; then they passed through that and came into an -ocean of yellow corn, of which from the windows of the train they -could not see the shore. Most of the time the lads sat in the -smoking-car, not because they smoked, but because the smokers were -friendly and told such marvellous yarns and amused them. - -On the third day there was an addition to the little party in the -smoking-saloon, a very 'high-toned' person in a chimney-pot hat and -gloves. This gentleman was a great talker, and, having tried in vain -to got up an argument on the merits of some politician, whom he -called a 'leather-head' and a 'log-roller,' with the big-bearded man -or his two hard-bitten companions, who until then had shared the room -with the boys, the new-comer expectorated politely on either side of -Snap's feet, evidently enjoying the boy's look of annoyance, and then -opened fire on him thus: - -'Say! I guess you're a Britisher now, ain't you?' - -'I am, sir,' answered Snap with a good-tempered smile. - -'Getting pretty well starved out over there, I reckon, by this time?' - -'Well, no! we haven't had to take to tobacco-chewing to stop our -hunger, yet,' replied Snap, with a wink at Winthrop. - -'Wal,' retorted the Yankee, 'you look mighty lean, fix it how you -will. If it's all so bully in England, why do you come over here?' -This the Yankee seemed to think a clincher, but Snap was ready for -him. - -'Well, you see, sir, we are only following the examples of our -forefathers, who came over and made America, and founded the race you -are so justly proud of.' - -'Founded the race! fiddlesticks! The American race, sir, just grew -out of the illimitable prairie, started, maybe, by a few of the best -of every nation, but with a character of its own, and I guess the -whole universe knows now that our Republic can lick creation, as it -licked you Britishers in 1781. Perhaps you'll tell me we didn't do -that?' - -By this time the other occupants of the carriage were all watching -Snap Hales and the top-hatted one, a curled and smooth-looking fellow -('oily,' perhaps, would describe him better than smooth) of thirty or -so. The Yankee cattle-men were looking on with a grin at seeing the -English boy's 'leg pulled' as they called it--the other two English -boys in blank amazement at the quiet good-temper of fiery Snap Hales, -under an ordeal of chaff from a perfect stranger. Could it be that -the sight of that ugly little revolver, which the stranger had -exhibited more than once, had cowed their chum already? Whatever the -reason, Snap's unexpected answer came in his sweetest tones. - -'Oh no, I'll not deny that; it's historical, and, besides, it served -us right. We didn't recognise that a big son we ought to have been -proud of had grown up.' - -'Oh, then, you'll allow we licked you at Sarytogy and Yorktown?' - -'Yes, certainly.' - -'And perhaps you'll allow that if you tried it on again we'd lick you -again?' persisted poor Snap's enemy, whilst the glance Snap gave -Frank could hardly keep that indignant Briton quiet on his seat. - -'Yes, I'll allow that too, if we came to invade your big country at -home with a mere handful of men of the same breed from over the seas.' - -Somehow, Snap's quiet way was rousing the American's temper, and he -retorted hotly: 'That's the way you talk, is it; and I tell you, and -you'll have to allow, that, man to man, an American citizen can -always whip a blooming Britisher.' - -Snap gave an actual sigh of relief, or so it seemed to the boys, and -his eyes lit up with a glad light, that those who know the breed -don't always like to see. He had done his duty; had kept his temper -as long as he could be expected to; and now he might fairly follow -his natural instincts. Still quite cool, although his knees were -almost knocking together with eagerness, which others might have -mistaken for funk, the boy took up the challenge. - -'Are you a good specimen, sir, of an American citizen?' The man -looked puzzled, but replied, unabashed: - -'Wal, as citizens come, I guess I'm a pretty average sample.' - -'I'm sorry for that, sir,' answered Snap, 'as I'm only a very poor -specimen of those Britishers of whom you speak so politely; but I'll -tell you what I'll do. I never fired a revolver in my life, but you -said just now that Heenan had whipped all England with his fists, and -America could lick the old country at that as she can at everything -else. Well! we stop at Bismarch for twenty minutes soon, I see. It -isn't time for lunch yet, so, if you'll give your revolver to that -gentleman to hold, I'll fight you five rounds, if I can last as long, -and these gentlemen shall see fair play. Only, if you lick me, mind -I am not a typical Britisher.' - -The American looked from one to another in an uncomfortable, -hesitating way, and then at the long, slight, boyish figure before -him. He had gone too far to draw back--he was three stone heavier -than his young adversary--so with a blasphemous oath he handed the -derringer to his bearded fellow-countryman, adding: - -'It don't seem hardly fair, but, if you will have the starch taken -out of you, you shall.' - -As the pistol-holder left the smoking-room to put the property with -which he had been entrusted into his valise he gave Frank Winthrop a -sign to follow him. When he and the boy were alone he turned quietly -round and said: - -'Can your pal fight?' - -'Like a demon,' answered Frank; 'he was nearly cock of our school, -young as he was.' - -'All right, then, I'll not interfere. He is a good plucked one, but -tell him to keep out of the man's reach for the first round or two. -I don't suppose he has much science, but one blow from a man so much -bigger would about finish your friend.' - -'I don't believe it,' answered Frank hotly; but the kindly cattle-man -only smiled, and, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, led him -back into the smoking-car. - -In another ten minutes the warning-bell on the engine began to toll, -and the train ran through a street of rough wooden shanties and -pulled up just outside the 'city' (a score of houses sometimes make a -city out west), by a little prairie lake. In such a city as -Bismarch, in the early days of which I am speaking, even half a dozen -pistol shots would not have attracted a policeman, principally -because no policemen existed. Sometimes a scoundrel became too -daring in his villainies even for such tolerant people as the -citizens of Bismarch. When this happened someone shot him, though -probably he shot several other people first. At the back of the -little group of shanties there used to be a long row of palings about -eight feet high. 'Hangman's palings' they called these, because upon -them, for want of trees, the first vigilance committee had nine -months previously (the 'city' was only fifteen months old) hanged its -first batch of victims to the necessities of civilised law and order. -In such a city as this a quiet spar would cause no sensation, and -certainly would not be interrupted, so Snap quickly stripped, as if -he was behind the old School chapel, and Mr. Rufus E. Hackett, his -opponent, did the same. Stripped of gloves and hat, Hackett looked -less at his ease than his young enemy, and would probably be still -waiting to begin if the boy had not stepped in and caught him on the -point of the nose with a really straight left-hander. - -Now, the writer of this story has been hit very frequently upon the -nose. After years and years of practice the sensation is still -annoying in the extreme. Your eyes fill with water as if you had -inadvertently bolted the mustard-pot; the constellations of heaven -are seen with alarming clearness; and if you are one of the right -sort you come back after that blow like a racquet-ball from the walls -of the court. If this is the effect on a nose inured to the rough -usage of five-and-twenty years, what must you expect from the owner -of a delicately tip-tilted organ, which had been held all its life -high above the brutalities of a vulgar world? - -Like a wounded buffalo, with his head down and blind with rage, the -Yankee went for Snap, and, in spite of a well-meant upper cut from -that youngster, managed to close with him, and by sheer weight bore -him to the ground. There Snap was helpless, and before the big -cattle-man could interfere the boy had a couple of lumps on his face, -which bore witness to the good-will with which Mr. Hackett had used -his beringed fists. But for Snap himself, Mr. Rufus E. H. would -there and then have received a sound hiding from the cattle-man, but, -though somewhat unsteady on his feet, Snap pleaded that he might have -his man left to himself. - -Again Hackett tried the rushing game, this time only to meet the -boy's left and then blunder over his own legs on to his nose. As the -fight went on, Snap recovered from his heavy punishment. Quick as a -cat on his feet, he never again let the big man close with him. -Every time he stirred to strike, Snap's left hand went out like an -arrow from the bow, true to its mark, on one or other of Hackett's -eyes. Not once did the boy use his right--that quick-countering left -was all that seemed necessary; and, though the American was more game -than his appearance would have led his friends to believe, it was -evident before the end of the third round that he was at the boy's -mercy. From that moment Snap held his hand, simply taking care of -himself and getting out of his enemy's way, and carefully abstaining -from administering that brutal _coup de grâce_ which a less generous -nature would have inflicted. - -'Say, mate,' quoth one of the cowboys who was Hackett's second, 'it's -not much use foolin' around here, is it? You can't see the -Britisher, and he don't seem to cotton to hitting a blind man. Let's -have a drink and be friends.' - -Almost before he could answer, Snap had the fellow by the hand with a -hearty English grip. - -'You'll allow we're the same breed now, Mr. Hackett, won't you?' he -said. 'It wasn't really a fair fight, you know, because I've learnt -boxing, and you haven't.' - -In spite of a bumptiousness which acts on a Britisher like a gadfly -on a horse, your real American is a right good fellow at bottom; and -for the rest of the two days during which Hackett and Snap travelled -together nothing could exceed the kindness of the beaten man and his -fellow-countrymen to the three English lads. - -'He isn't much account,' apologised one of the cattle-men, 'just a -school-teaching dude from the Eastern States, I reckon; but you -mustn't bear him any malice for hitting you when you were down; there -ain't any Queensberry rules out here in a row, and it's no good -appealing to the referee on a Western prairie.' - -Snap had no intention of bearing malice, nor, indeed, of fighting any -more fights, either according to Queensberry rules or the -rough-and-tumble rules of the prairie, if he could avoid it, though -this one fight was for him an exceedingly lucky event. - -Soon after leaving the scene of his encounter the train pulled up at -Wapiti, and was met by a man in the roughest of clothes, driving the -rudest of carts. He had come for the 'farm pups' from England, he -said, and if they weren't blamed quick with their luggage he was not -going to wait for them. An offhand sort of person, thought Snap, -but, no doubt, when his master, Mr. Jonathan Brown, is near, he will -be a good deal more civil. It was not until months later that Snap -learnt that this dirty rough, a common farm-labourer in all but his -ignorance of farming, was Mr. Jonathan Brown, 'professor of ranching -and mixed farming in all its branches.' - -When Frank and Towzer had vanished out of sight Snap turned from the -window with a sigh, and found the good-natured eyes of the bearded -cattleman fixed inquiringly upon him. - -'So you are not going to learn farming, my lad?' he inquired. - -'Not with my friends, I can't afford it,' answered Snap. - -'Don't think me rude, but what are you going to do?' - -'Try to get work at Looloo, on the line, until I can find out how to -get paid work as a cowboy up country.' - -'Have you any money to keep you from starving till you get work?' -asked the American. - -'A little; but I mean to earn my food from the start if I can.' - -'Well, you've the right sort of grit, my lad,' replied the -cattle-man, 'and you're 200_l._ richer than your friends now, poor as -you are, for they have thrown their premium clean away. Look here, -my name is Nares, and I own the Rosebud ranche in Idaho. I like the -look of you, lad, and I'll give you labourer's wages if you can earn -them, and grub anyway, if you like to try.' - -'Like to try?' of course Snap liked to try. It was just a fortune to -him, and he said so. - -'But,' added his friend, 'when you write home tell your friends not -to fool away premiums, but to give a lad enough to live on for the -first six months, whilst he is looking for work. You would, maybe, -have got nothing to do at Looloo for long enough.' - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE MANIAC - -Winter is not, perhaps, the best time to introduce a boy to the Far -West, fresh from all the cosy comforts of home--at least, if he is a -boy of the 'cotton wool' kind. To a boy like Snap the keen air was -worth a king's ransom; the forests of snow-laden pines through which -the train passed were full of mystery and romance; his eyes ached at -night from straining to catch a glimpse of some great beast of the -forest amongst their tall stems, or at least a track on the pure snow. - -The day upon which Frank and Towzer left him was too full of incident -for him to find much time to sorrow after his old friends. The train -was passing through a district in which great lakes--unfrozen as yet, -except just at the edges--lay amongst scattered rocks and pine -forests bent and twisted by the Arctic cold and fierce storms of -former winters. Inside the cars all was warmth and comfort, although -the gaiety of the travellers was sobered down by the presence amongst -them of a poor fellow who had lost his wife and two children in a -railway accident a week before this. He was now returning from the -rough funeral which had been accorded to them at the station of -Boisfort. A strong, gaunt man, his days had been spent as a Hudson -Bay runner, and later on as a watcher upon the railway, or manager of -Chinese labour. In spite of his harsh training, even his strong -nature had succumbed temporarily to the blow from which he was now -suffering. His lost family seemed ever before his strained, wild -eyes, and the throbbing and rattle of the engine and its cars seemed -to beat into his brain and madden him. From time to time he would -spring to his feet, clap his hands wildly to his head, and peer out -into the snow. Then, moaning, 'No, it's not them, it's not them,' he -would sink down again into his seat, limp and lifeless. Snap had -been watching the man, fearing he was going mad, until his friend -Nares touched him and said, 'Don't keep your eyes on the poor chap -like that, maybe it fidgets him.' - -Ashamed of what he at once considered an unintentional rudeness on -his part, Snap withdrew into another corner of the compartment, and -had just wandered off into day-dreams, in which Fairbury and 'the -little mother' took a prominent place, when he was recalled to -himself by a scream and a shuddering exclamation of horror which -seemed to pass all along the compartment. Looking up quickly, he had -just time to see a wild figure, hatless and grey-haired, hurl itself -from the footboard at the end of the cars into the snow, and to hear -a wild cry, 'I am coming, chicks, I am coming.' In spite of -air-brakes and patent communicators it was some minutes before the -train could be brought up all standing, and the passengers who -hurried out to see after the unfortunate suicide had a good many -hundred yards to go before they reached the spot at which he threw -himself from the train, and when they reached the spot an expression -of wonder spread over every face. Although the embankment upon which -he alighted was considerably below the level of the train, although -the train was travelling at express speed for an American line, there -was no dead man to pick up from the snow, no man even with fractured -limbs or strained sinews, but just the mark of a falling body, and -then the tracks of a running man leading straight away through the -silent snows to the lake-edge. - -Close to the point at which the man had sprung from the train was a -labourer's shanty, just one of those rough wooden structures which -the Irish out West set up alongside their labours on the line. Round -this, when Snap and Nares came up, was gathered an excited little -group of passengers and railway-men. - -'Are you sure Madge isn't in the house?' someone asked of a little -boy of seven, the Irishman's child. - -'No, Madgy ain't in the house; I heerd her hollerin' just when the -engine went by; hollerin' as if someone had hurted her badly,' the -child added. - -'Where's your father, little man?' asked Nares, pushing his way to -the front. - -'Down the line at the bridge, working; father won't be back till -night, and mother's gone this hour or more to take him his dinner.' - -Nares turned to the men round him, and, speaking in low, quick tones, -said: - -'We must follow that poor devil; he is stark mad, and heaven only -knows what he will do with the child.' - -'With the child! why, you don't mean to say he has got the child?' -cried one. - -Nares was busy arranging something with the guard and didn't answer, -but it was evident that the men agreed with him, and were prepared to -obey him. - -'Then you'll hand over Mr. Hales to Wharton, my stockman at Rosebud,' -Nares said to the guard, 'and tell him to leave a horse at the -station shanty for me. I'll be in, most likely, to-morrow.' - -'You know this labourer is a relation of Wharton's, boss?' asked one -of the railway men. - -'No! is he?' was the reply. - -'Yes, a nephew, they tell me, or something of that sort. Wharton -will be wanting to come and help you, I guess.' - -'Well, then, I'll tell you what to do. Don't say anything to my man. -Mr. Hales can stay here at the cottage until I come back, and we'll -come on together to-morrow. Good-bye.' - -The guard shook hands, the crowd moved back to the train, the bell -tolled as the cars began to move off, and in another minute Snap and -Nares were left with one labourer, named Bromley (who had volunteered -to help Nares); a solitary little group, with a crying child and an -empty hut as the only signs of life around them, except for those -ominous tracks leading away into the silence and the snow. - -After some demur it was determined that Snap should be one of the -search-party, and that a message should be left with the boy for his -father, telling him to follow on Nares' track as fast as possible -with food and blankets. - -This done, the three started at a swinging trot; first Nares, then -Bromley, following the man's tracks, and making the road easier for -the boy jogging along in the rear. From the moment of starting the -silence of the forest seemed to settle down upon the three. No one -spoke; no bird whistled; the bushes stood stiff and frozen; no animal -rustled through them; all the little brooks were jagged with frost; -the only sound was the regular crunch, crunch of the snow beneath -their feet, and the laboured breathing of Bromley, who, though -willing enough, was not such a 'stayer' as either Nares or Hales. It -was late when the child was stolen, and they had already been some -two hours on the trail. The tracks still led steadily on towards the -Thompson River, the day was fast darkening and Bromley 'beat.' Nares -called a halt and proposed that they should stop where they were -until Wharton came up with food and blankets, and then (prepared with -these necessaries) follow the madman by starlight. - -Just as they were discussing this course of action a rustling in the -bush ahead drew Snap's attention. 'There he goes, there he goes,' -cried the boy, dashing forward, as with a crash a tall grey form with -something in its arms rushed through the forest on the other side of -a broad dell by which the party were sitting. If an indistinct shout -of warning reached Snap he neither understood nor heeded it. From -time to time he saw the hunted man ahead of him, and once he -distinctly saw the little girl in his arms. Surely he was gaining on -him. At any rate he was leaving his own companions far behind. Even -the tough cattleman's frame had no chance against the legs and lungs -of a schoolboy of eighteen. - -How long Snap ran the madman in view he never knew, but at last he -lost him. Panting and tired, he pulled up; climbed first one knoll -and then another, and still no sight of the man or of his own -comrades. It was now so dark that he could hardly see the tracks in -the snow; the forest a few yards from him was dim and indistinct, and -every minute the darkness deepened. He shouted. His shout seemed -hardly to travel further than his lips, it seemed so faint and -feeble. It was for all the world like standing by the seashore and -trying to cast a fly on the ocean. It fell at his feet. Again he -cried, and this time an answer came, but such an answer! First a -laugh, and then a wild eldritch screech. The boy was no coward, but -a cold chill crept up to the very roots of his hair, and his heart -froze and stood still at the sound. And, after all, it was only -Shnena, the night owl, calling to her mate. - -Being a level-headed and cool lad, Snap soon realised that he had -outrun his friends, and that they had (thanks to the darkness) missed -his trail and lost him. He had often read of lonely nights in the -forest, and envied the heroes of the story, but somehow he did not -care about the reality as much as he had expected. The typical -'leather-stocking,' he remembered, always had matches, made a fire -and sometimes a bush shelter, lit a pipe, and ate pemmican. Now Snap -felt that, though extremely hot now, he would soon be bitterly cold, -but he had no matches, did not know how to build a shelter, had no -pemmican, and did not smoke. As for that buffalo robe, of which so -much is always made in dear old Fenimore Cooper's books, there might -be one within a few miles, but if so its four-footed owner was -probably still wearing it. Snap remembered that a trapper who had no -matches rubbed bits of wood together until he had got a light by -friction. This was a happy thought, and, taking out his knife, he -carefully cut a couple of pieces of dry pine from a stump hard by, -and then collected as big a bundle as possible of twigs and dead -wood, which he deposited on a spot previously cleared of snow. Then -he rubbed the wood, and rubbed the wood, and continued to rub the -wood, but nothing came of it. Presently he tried a new piece; rub, -rub, rub, he went, and a large drop of perspiration dropped off the -tip of his nose with a little splash quite audible in the intense -stillness. Then he gave it up, voted Fenimore Cooper a fraud, or at -any rate came to the conclusion that his receipts for kindling fire -were not sufficiently explicit. - -For a time he sat still and listened. He has confided to a friend -since that he could 'hear the silence.' Certainly he could hear -nothing else, unless it were the sudden creaking of some old tree's -bough weighted with too much snow. And then his thoughts went after -the madman. A thought struck him, and even Snap never fancied that -it was the cold alone which made his knees knock together and his -teeth rattle so. What if, now that he was alone, the madman should -turn the tables and hunt him? Was not that him he saw sneaking over -the snow in the dim light of the rising moon? Snap sprang to his -feet with a crackle, accounted for by the fact that part of his -clothing had frozen to the log on which he had been sitting, and had -elected to remain there. Snap put his hand ruefully behind him. It -was very cold even with clothes, it would be colder without! -However, as he rose the shadow moved rapidly away, taking the -semblance of a dog to Snap's eyes as it went. By-and-by a long -blood-curdling howl told the boy that the shadow he had seen was -sitting somewhere not far off, complaining to the moon that the plump -English lad wasn't half dead yet, and looked too big for one poor -hungry wolf to tackle all alone. 'Confound these forests,' thought -Snap, 'and all the brutes in them, their voices alone are enough to -frighten a fellow,' and then he began to wonder if he would soon go -to sleep and never wake any more, and hoped, if so, that Nares would -find him and send a message home to Fairbury. - -At any rate the boy thought, before going to sleep for the last time, -he would keep up the practice he had observed all his life, and for a -few minutes the hoary pine-trees and the cold, distant stars looked -down on an English boy bending his knees to the only power in Heaven -or earth to which it is no shame for the bravest and proudest to -bend. Like a son to a father he prayed, just asking for what he -wanted, and pretty confident that, if it would not be a bad thing for -him, he would get it. When he rose to his feet the forest seemed to -have put on a more friendly air, the trees didn't look so rigid and -funereal, the stars were not so far off. Who knows, perhaps Nature, -God's creation, had also heard the boy's prayer to their common -Creator. - -For hours and hours, it seemed to him, Snap tramped up and down, like -a sentry on his beat, beneath the pine at whose foot lay his unlit -fire. After a while he began to dream as he walked, for surely it -was a dream! Somewhere not far off from him he could hear a human -voice, and hear it moreover so distinctly that the words of the song -it sang came clearly to his ears. Snap shook himself and pinched -himself violently to be sure he was awake, and then stood still again -to listen. Yes, there was no mistake at all about it. - - Hush-a-by, baby, on the tree-top, - When the wind blows the cradle will rock, - -crooned the voice, and its effect in the stillness of the night was -to frighten Snap more even than Shnena or the wolf. Creeping in the -direction from which the sound came, so stealthily that he did not -even hear himself move, Snap got at last to a point from which he -could see the strange singer. Crouching under a log sat the wretched -lunatic, naked to his waist, his grey hair hanging in elf-locks over -his eyes, and in his arms a bundle, wrapped round in his own coat and -shirt, which the poor fellow rocked as a woman rocks her child, -singing the while a snatch of a song which he had heard in happier -days sung to his own little ones. There were tears in Snap's eyes as -he looked, and he longed to go to the man's help, but he dared not. -Alone he would have no strength to compel the lunatic to do what was -reasonable, and to talk to him would be idle. At that moment the man -looked up and sat listening like a wild beast who hears the hounds on -his scent. 'They want to take you too, my darling,' he whispered, -and Snap could hear every word as if it had been yelled into his -ears, 'but they shan't, the devils! they shan't; we'll die together -first!' Muttering and glancing back, the man crawled on hands and -knees into the scrub and was gone. Snap rubbed his eyes; it seemed -like a dream, so noiselessly did the madman creep away and disappear. -As he stood, still staring at the place, Snap heard a bough crack -behind him, then another and another, and the tread of men -approaching in the snow. In another minute Nares had the boy by the -hand, the weary night-watch was over, and a match inserted amongst -the twigs sent up a bright flame as cheering as the voice of his -friends. Having partially thawed, and eaten as much as he could, -Snap told Nares and his two companions what he had just seen, and as -morning was just breaking, and active exercise seemed the boy's best -chance of ever getting warm again, the four once more took up the -trail. - -Stooping down over the tracks made by the maniac as he crawled into -the scrub, Nares uttered an ejaculation of horror. 'Poor wretch,' he -said, 'look at that,' and he pointed to a huge track, which looked -half human, half animal, in its monstrous shapelessness. 'It's his -hand, frost-bitten and as big as your head,' said Bromley; 'he can't -go much further, I'm thinking.' But he did, and it was full day when -the pursuers came out upon a bit of prairie and saw in front of them -the broad flooded waters of the Thompson River, and a short distance -ahead of them a miserable hunted man still staggering on with his -load. As he saw him the child's father uttered a cry and dashed to -the front. The madman heard it, looked back, and fled wildly towards -the river. Madness uses up the life and strength rapidly, no doubt, -but the wasting flame burns fiercely while it lasts, and this last -effort of the frost-bitten dying man seemed likely to make pursuit -hopeless. 'He is going for the river, heaven help the child!' gasped -Nares. About four hundred yards before reaching the river, a broad -but slow-running watercourse ran parallel to the Thompson. This was -frozen over owing to its shallowness and the sluggishness of its -waters. Even the Thompson had a thin fringe of ice on its edges. -Without pausing, the madman dashed on to the ice of the stream, which -swayed and broke beneath his weight. Crash, crash, he went through, -first here, then there, but somehow, though the whole surface of the -ice rocked, he struggled on hands and knees from one hole to the -other, and reached the farther side in safety. But his troubles in -crossing had given his pursuers time to close upon him, and as he -gained the shore Snap saw the child's father draw a revolver with a -curse and fire at his child's would-be murderer, for that the madman -meant to plunge into the Thompson with his victim, and so elude his -pursuers, seemed now beyond a doubt. For some reason, for which he -could not account, Snap's sympathies were with the wretched madman, -and without pausing to think he knocked up the Irishman's revolver -before he could fire a second shot, and dashed on to the weak and -broken ice. 'I never gave it time to let me in,' Snap explained -afterwards, and, indeed, with his blood up as it had never been -before, and strong with years of Fernhall training, the boy seemed to -skim across the ice like a bird. - -And now they were on the flat together, with the strong black river -ahead. Death the penalty, the child's life the prize. If Snap's -friends wished to, they could not get to him soon enough to save him, -had the madman turned. Luckily for Snap, the hunted man never looked -behind him, but naked, frost-bitten, bleeding, struggled on for his -terrible goal. If Fernhall boys could have seen Snap then they would -have remembered how that young face, white and set, once struggled -through a Loamshire team just at the end of a match, and won the day -for Fernhall. Football, unconsciously, was perhaps what the lad was -thinking of at the moment, as step by step he gained on his prey, and -yard by yard the black river drew nearer. At last it was but thirty -yards away, and with a final effort Snap dashed in. 'Take 'em low,' -the Fernhall captain had said in old days, 'never above the waist, -Snap,' and Snap remembered the words now. With a rush he was -alongside, down went his head with a scream that he couldn't repress, -his long arms wrapped round the madman's knees, and pursued and -pursuer rolled headlong to the ground on the very edge of the angry -flood. How long they struggled there Snap didn't know. It was worse -than any 'maul in goal' in old days, but, like the bull-dog of his -land, once he had his grip, Snap would only loose with life. In vain -the madman bit and struck, rolling over and over, shrieking with rage -and fear. Hiding his head as much as possible, Snap held on, getting -comparatively very few serious injuries, before strong hands dragged -his opponent down, and as prairie and river and sky seemed to fade -away a kindly voice said 'Thank God, the boy's all right." - -[Illustration: SNAP AND THE MADMAN] - -When Snap recovered from the swoon which fatigue and hunger, cold and -blows, had ended in, he found himself rolled in blankets, under just -such a shelter as twelve hours ago he had longed to make for himself; -a little yellow-haired girl was sleeping near him, and a huge fire -throwing its rosy gleams on both, and on the kindly, bearded face of -Nares, the cattleman, busy over a kettle of soup. The unfortunate -cause of all their trouble was happier even than Snap. When Nares -and Bromley, and the father of the little girl, had come up and -overpowered him and released Snap, life seemed almost to leave the -poor maniac. Blood was streaming from his side where the first -revolver bullet had entered; his hands were swollen and dead to all -feeling; his body was frost-bitten, but his mind was happily a blank; -and before they could make a fire or do anything for his comfort, a -more merciful Friend than they looked down and took the poor fellow -to meet 'his chicks' in a kingdom where frost-bite and railway -accidents are unknown. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -'THAT BAKING POWDER' - -'Well, boss, we did think as you'd took root in Chicago, or mebbe -that the Armours had put you through their pork-making machine.' - -'Well, no, not quite that, Dick, you old sinner. How are the boys?' -replied Nares to a grey-headed old man, who was sitting complacently -on the driver's seat of a cart, and watching 'the boss' put his own -luggage on board. There are no porters and no servants, even for a -big cattle-man, out west. - -'How air the boys, you said. Well, right smart and active at -meal-times, thank ye, and pretty slack at any other. But what's -that, anyway, that you're bringing along?' and the old man's eyes -rested with a look of no little disgust on the English-dressed and -(to Western eyes) soft-looking lad, Snap Hales. - -'That!' replied the boss, 'that is just--well, let me see, a colt I -want you to break; a child I want you to nurse, Dick,' replied Nares. - -'Nuss? I'll nuss him,' growled the old man. 'We don't want no -loafers up at Rosebud.' - -Poor Snap coloured up to his eyes, but felt more comfortable as Nares -gave him a wink and a hand-up into the cart. - -'Now then, air you fixed behind?' cried Dick. - -'We are,' replied Nares. - -'Then git,' yelled his foreman, bringing his whip across his horses' -flanks, and for the next five minutes Snap and Nares, and the boxes, -bags, &c., of each of them, bounded about like parched peas in a pan. - -As the old man gradually steadied his horses to a trot, he turned -round with a grin. - -'That's pretty well sorted you, I reckon,' said he, 'and may be took -the first coat off your tender-foot's hide.' - -Luckily for the tender-foot (our friend Snap), it is one of the laws -of nature that, given a lot of objects of various weights shaken up -together, the lightest invariably comes to the top. During the last -five minutes he had varied his seat frequently from the -uncompromising corner of a trunk to the yielding and comfortable -person of the burly Nares, from whose waistcoat (being of a pliant -and springy character) the next bump would have removed him to a seat -upon the prairie. Luckily, that bump never came. - -Mile after mile of prairie rolled by, yellow where the snow (very -thin hereabouts) left it uncovered, and apparently too sterile to -feed a goat. Further on it improved, and great tufts of golden bunch -grass showed through the thin sprinkling of snow, and here and there -a sage-hen fluttered up or a jack rabbit scuttled away. - -About noon our friends crossed a river, on the further side of which -were the feeding-lands of Nares's ranche. Some miles again from the -river was a range of low rolling hills and broken lands, the shelter -provided by Nature for the beasts of the field against blizzards and -snowstorms. Nares used to boast his ranche had every advantage -obtainable in America--plenty of water, river-lands to cut hay upon -for winter feed, hills and broken land for shelter in storm-time, and -a railway handy to take produce to market. There are very few such -ranches nowadays in America, as even its great prairies are not -boundless--a fact much overlooked by its go-ahead citizens. - -'I reckon the cows sold pretty well, boss, this year,' suggested the -old man when he had unhitched the team and kindled a bit of a fire -for lunch. - -'Yes, they sold well, Wharton, and none of them got damaged on the -way down. There won't be much to do on the ranche now till spring,' -added Nares. - -'Guess that's why you're bringing an extra hand along,' snapped the -old man. 'Why! Jeehoshaphat! what's the matter with you now?' he -shouted. - -Poor Snap had tried first one side of the fire, then the other, with -an equal want of success. On one side the smoke nearly choked and -blinded him, on the other worse things awaited him. A blanket, which -just accommodated 'the boss' and Wharton, was stretched on the -windward side of the fire. With a weary sigh Snap threw himself down -beside it. With a yell of pain he bounded up again, holding first -one foot, then the other, in the air, and all the time applying his -hands sorrowfully to the softest part of his person. The old foreman -had laid a trap for the tender-foot, and he had sat upon it, the 'it' -being a bed of what the natives call prickly pears, a peculiarly -vicious kind of cactus about the size of a small potato, which -unobserved spreads all over the ground, and sends its long thin -spines through everything which presses upon them. When, at last, -the good-natured Nares understood his friend's sorrows, and had -managed to stop laughing, he gave Snap a place on the blanket, and, -turning him over on his face, proceeded tenderly to pluck him. It is -no fun to be converted at a moment's notice into a well-filled -pincushion. - -At lunch Nares told old Wharton the story of the maniac-hunt recorded -in the last chapter. As he told the story of little Madge's danger -and salvation Wharton's eyes wandered from 'the boss' to the boy -beside him. At last, when the story was over, he sighed softly -'Jee-hosh-a-phat.' Then he rolled his quid and expectorated. Then -he got up and held out his great fist to Snap with these words, 'Say! -were them pears prickly? Well, never mind. I guess you needn't sit -on no more now. I'm a-gwine to be your "miss," Britisher;' and it is -only fair to add, the old man kept his word. - -An hour or two afterwards Nares and Snap got out at Rosebud, and our -hero entered his new home, a big one-storied house built of rough -logs dovetailed into each other, the cracks filled up with moss and -covered over with clay. Indoors, the floor was covered with skins. -On the walls were antlers of deer and wapiti and mountain sheep, from -which hung half a dozen rifles, hunting-knives, &c. There was a -bench or two about the place, a big table, at one end a huge open -stove, and along the walls were ranged a dozen shelves or bunks not -unlike those you see on board ship. A small room opened off from the -main apartment, and in this Nares himself slept and kept his -accounts. Outside were some few smaller buildings--a cook-house, a -forge, and so on. A huge piece of land enclosed with rough timber -fencing ran alongside the house. This was a corral for horses or -weak cattle. A smaller corral for horses likely to be wanted at a -short notice also adjoined the ranche. - -'Now, Snap,' said Nares, 'this is Rosebud. Rosy enough for a worker, -what we call a "rustler" out here, but not a bed of roses for a -loafer. There's your bunk when you are up here, but I expect you'll -be wanted out on the feeding-grounds most of your time. Anyhow, for -the first day or two you can help me with the books, and try your -hand at the cooking.' - -So Snap tried his hand at bread-making and failed; flour and water -won't make bread of themselves, and, even when you have made your -dough, if you don't flour your hands the compound will stick to them. -However, old Wharton set the boy right and gave him the soup to look -after. - -'Put some salt in it,' said the old chap, 'you'll find it in a tin up -there,' pointing to a shelf over his head. 'You'd better just taste -it to see as you get it right. The boys don't like no fooling with -their broth.' - -So Snap got down the tin and put a couple of spoonfuls into the broth -and tasted it; two more, and tasted again; and still the compound did -not seem salt enough. - -'I say, Wharton,' said Snap, after tasting the salt itself, 'this is -very weak salt of yours.' - -'Guess it is,' replied the old man, 'table-salt the boss calls it; I -call it jist rubbish. But never mind, shove in the lot if it don't -taste strong enough.' So in it went, and Snap stirred vigorously, -added some onions, and himself looked forward to a share of his _chef -d'œuvre_. - -By-and-by the 'boys' trooped in, tall, bronzed fellows in great -wideawake hats, loose shirts, and huge spurs. Each brought his -saddle with him and chucked it into a corner as he entered. 'How do, -boss?' they remarked; 'How do, Wharton?' and then most of them added, -staring at Snap, 'Why, who the deuce are you anyway?' This question -having been satisfactorily answered, all sat down to food, and Snap -thought he had never seen such a rapid and wholesale consumption of -meat and drink in his life. - -'Where are the rest of the boys?' asked Nares of one of the three who -had come in. - -'Gone after a band of cattle which we found after you left, boss. I -guess we'll have 'em in to-morrow. There are several want branding: -one old scrub bull in partickler.' - -'Yes,' added another, 'and I'm thinking he'll go on wanting for some -time yet. You can't hold him with any ropes on this ranche.' - -Gradually even the cowboys' appetites seemed satisfied, and one by -one they stretched themselves out on rugs by the fire, and puffed -away silently at their pipes. They were long thin men for the most -part, and tightly belted at the waist. - -'Mighty good soup that to-day,' said one. - -'Glad you liked it,' said Snap proudly; 'I made that. I don't think -it was bad for a first attempt.' - -'Satisfying, anyhow,' said Nares, 'I never felt so full before.' - -'Yes, I'm full up,' added someone else, and then silence again ensued -for a space. Presently there was a crack and the tinkle of falling -brass, and a button flew on to the hearth. - -'Bless me,' cried old Dick Wharton, 'if I don't feel as if I was -getting fuller every minute.' This seemed to be the general feeling; -even Snap shared it. - -'Why, what in thunder's the matter?' cried Frank Atkins, leanest and -hardest of hard riders. 'This yere belt has gone round me with six -holes to spare these two years, and now it won't meet by an inch.' - -It certainly was odd. They had sat down like Pharaoh's lean cattle, -they had risen like his fat cattle, and they had gone on 'rising' -ever since, until now they were all portly as aldermen. Suddenly a -light dawned upon Wharton. - -'Say, boy, what did you put in that broth?' - -'Nothing,' said Snap, 'except salt and onions.' - -'Where did you get that salt?' - -'Why, out of the tin over your head,' said Snap. - -'This 'un, eh?' inquired the old man, holding up a small round tin. - -'Yes, that's it.' - -'Wal,' said the old man slowly, 'I've heerd of Houses of Parliament -being blowed up by dynamite, but I never heerd tell of a ranche being -bust up by Borwick's baking-powder afore!' - - - - -CHAPTER X - -AFTER SCRUB CATTLE - -That first night Snap was glad enough to get to bed. Not that he was -sleepy; on the contrary, tired out as he was, he was preternaturally -wideawake. Everything was so new to him, and, besides, that horrible -Borwick was still an unquiet spirit within him. The cowboys of the -North-West are probably the only possible rivals to the ostrich in -the matter of digestion still extant. Like the ostrich, they could -safely dine on door-nails and sup on soda-water bottles, so that they -had already forgotten Borwick and were snoring peacefully. Snap -wished he could imitate them. The bed in which he found himself -combined all the advantages of a bed and a thermometer. Founded upon -pine boards, it consisted of five pairs of blankets. In summer heat -you slept on one blanket out of doors. In temperate weather you -slept under one indoors. As it grew colder the number of blankets -above you increased, until four above (with a buffalo-robe) and one -below indicated blizzards and frostbite on the prairie. - -It seemed to Snap that just as he was going off to sleep someone -struck a match, lit a pipe, and then began lighting the fire. This -was old Wharton, but he let the boy lie (being a charitable old soul) -until he roused him up with: - -'Now, lazybones, you can wash in the crik outside if you've a mind -to, only breakfast is ready.' - -Snap hopped out of his blankets and ran down to the crik, although no -one else seemed to care about it, and so biting was the cold that he -felt it would have been worth his last dollar to be allowed to take a -hand at the wood-chopping going on outside. The worst of it was that -he couldn't chop 'worth a cent,' as big Frank Atkins informed him, -and indeed, although he hit the log all over and with every part of -the axe, it seemed even to Snap that he made very small progress. -The sense of his own uselessness was getting absolutely oppressive to -the boy as it was borne in upon him more and more that even cooking, -chopping, and such like, want learning, and don't come naturally to -any of us. - -Breakfast was a short ceremony--bacon and jam--'trapper's jam,' that -is, made from bacon grease and a spoonful of brown sugar, washed down -with a huge draught of weak tea. After this everyone lit his pipe, -and old Wharton, turning to Snap, said: - -'You may as well go along with the boys to meet Tony and the rest -with them scrub cattle. They're a bit short-handed, and I can't go -myself; the boss will be making things hum here up at the ranche for -the next day or two.' - -A few minutes later Atkins came up with a dun-coloured pony, 'a -buckskin' he called it. - -'Theer,' said Wharton, 'if I'm your nuss, Shaver, that theer's your -cradle; and you'd better get in right now.' - -There was a grin on everyone's face, but Snap, though afraid of being -laughed at, was afraid of nothing else, and had ridden a little since -he was a very small boy, so he climbed unhesitatingly into the great -cowboy saddle. As he did so his amiable 'Cradle' laid back her ears, -and tried to get hold of his toe in her teeth. Being frustrated in -this, she curled herself into a hoop, and began to 'reverse' as the -waltzers call it. Then she stood still and waited. Atkins threw -himself into the saddle and cracked his whip, Snap touched his mare -with the spurs, and then the Cradle began what Wharton called -'rocking,' _i.e._ bucking, in a way that only prairie-reared horses -understand. To his credit be it said, Snap sat tight for the first -'buck,' at the second he went up into very high latitudes with his -legs almost round his horse's neck, at the third he 'came south,' -reposing gracefully on the buckskin's quarters like a costermonger on -his 'moke,' while at the fourth he sat promptly down upon the -prairie, from whence he watched 'that cayouse' finish her performance -by herself. When Atkins and Wharton and the rest had finished -laughing, which took longer than finishing breakfast, they picked up -the crest-fallen Snap and put him upon a quieter beast. - -'That's one of yourn too,' laughed Wharton; 'you'd better have the -six buckskins for your string, my lad, but I'd keep old White-foot -just for Sundays or any time as you feel lonesome and want amusement.' - -Snap didn't reply, but thought to himself that if indeed the six -horses in the little corral were set aside for his use, it should not -be long before he was master of the good-looking, bad-tempered brute -which had just grassed him so ignominiously. - -'Not hurted much, are you, young 'un?' asked Atkins. - -'No.' - -'That's right, let's get,' and, so saying, Atkins led off at a -canter, Snap's new steed following at a gait easy as a rocking-chair. - -The early morning is always the very best of the day, even in our -begrimed and foggy English cities; on the plains of the North-West -the morning air is as exhilarating as champagne. Every living thing -feels and acknowledges the influence of the young day. Horses toss -their heads and strain their strong muscles in a glorious 'breather' -without encouragement from the rider, while the rider feels his blood -racing through his veins, his heart beating, his brain quick and -clear, and the whole man full of unconscious thankfulness to God for -the delight of merely living. All that day Atkins and Snap rode -towards and through the foot-hills, and at night camped where someone -had evidently camped not long ago. Being handy and anxious to learn, -Snap soon made friends with his companion, found the poles on which -the last wanderers had hung a blanket in lieu of a tent, found some -wood for firing, fetched the water for the billy, and learned how to -hobble the horses. - -That night he felt, as he watched the stars through the tops of the -big bull-pines, he had really begun life out west, and might after -all learn to hold his own with the strong men round him. It was an -improvement on the night before, when everything seemed very hopeless -and strange. - -Early on the second morning, Atkins and Snap heard a distant roaring -in the hills. Snap's thoughts at once reverted to bears and suchlike -beasts, and foolishly he gave utterance to his thoughts. Atkins -laughed heartily. - -'No, no, them's the cows a-coming. Didn't you know as we were near -them last night?' - -'Not I,' said Snap; 'how did you know?' - -'I heerd 'em just afore we camped, but I knew if we'd kep' on we -shouldn't have struck 'em till after dark, so I guessed we'd just -camp by ourselves.' - -By-and-by the lowing of the beasts, which the winding glens and -resounding woods had so magnified and distorted to Snap's ears, came -quite close, and Atkins told him to come 'well off the track, in here -among the bull-pines, and light down, hold your horse, and for -goodness' sake hold your jaw, for if old Tony hears you speak he'll -not stop swearing till he has cussed all the breath out of his body.' -So Snap 'lit down' and held his tongue, and presently he started as -he found a pair of big brown eyes fastened on him from the bush by -his side. Then there was a little frightened snort, the first sound -he had heard; a beast's tail was whisked in the air, and with a -plunge half a dozen, mostly yearlings, crashed past him parallel to -the trail. It took nearly half an hour for the whole band, nearly -sixty all told, to straggle past, feeding as they went, and it -entered into Snap's mind to wonder how anyone ever heard or saw a -real wild beast if these half-tame parti-coloured oxen could go so -quietly through brush and timber. - -Last of all came the drivers; three cowboys they would have been -called, though Snap thought the term 'boy' fitted them as badly as -'cow' fitted at least one-half of the stock in front of them. Still, -on a cattle range all bulls, however old and fierce, are 'cows' to -the end of their days, and all those who deal with them 'boys,' no -matter how grey their hair. - -That night Snap had his first turn of what he considered 'active -service,' being told off to keep the cattle together for the first -half of the night, another man lending him a hand to prevent -accidents. Although ordered so peremptorily to keep his mouth shut -on the trail, lest the sound of a strange voice should scare the -beasts, he was now told that he had better sing or shout from time to -time, letting the beasts hear his voice, the human voice seeming to -inspire them with a certain amount of confidence. - -Snap found it necessary to sing or do something of that sort for -other reasons as he led his horse about or rode him slowly on his -solitary rounds. After such a day as he had had his eyes were more -inclined to sleep than watch, and he envied the drowsy cattle as one -by one they lay down with a contented 'ouf' upon the prairie. At -last all the great shadows had sunk down to rest, and all you could -see in the starlight was an indistinct dark mass upon the prairie. -From time to time a shadow would appear a hundred yards or so outside -the group, moving silently and slowly away. Quick as thought, when -this occurred, another shadow (Snap's companion) would dash from his -post and turn back the truant, feeding away from his companions, to -the rest he had deserted. Snap soon learnt the game, and was getting -very interested in it, when suddenly he noticed all the shadows move -then rise to their feet, and, before even his galloping companion in -the night-watch could get near them, they were dashing in wild, -headlong flight into the darkness. - -'Wake the boys and follow,' roared his companion, vanishing into the -darkness after the flying beasts, and like a dream herd and herdsmen -were gone, and Snap left alone. The 'boys' didn't need much waking. -By the time Snap was at the camp they were up, and in an incredibly -short time their horses were caught and saddled, and they were -galloping after the panic-stricken beasts. - -'What stampeded them, rot them?' asked Atkins as he tightened his -girths. - -'I don't know; they were still as stones one moment and gone the -next,' answered Snap. - -'Bar! I reckon,' growled another cowboy; 'there always are bar about -this forsaken camp.' - -'You stay here till we come back, and if we aren't back by to-morrow -noon make tracks for Rosebud,' shouted Atkins as he galloped off, -leaving Snap alone in camp without an idea where Rosebud was or how -he was ever going to get there. - -However, as there was nothing to be done, he had a look first to see -if his horse was all right, and then, being reassured upon that -point, kicked the embers of the camp fire into a blaze, put the -frying-pan, with some cold bacon in it, left over from supper, -somewhere handy for breakfast, and lay down in his rugs. In five -minutes he had forgotten his loneliness, and was in as sweet a sleep -as innocence and hard work ever won for a weary mortal. It was -almost dawn when he woke with a start, hearing his buckskin snorting -and crashing about in the bushes close to him. As he jumped to his -feet he heard the frying-pan rattle, and as he glanced in that -direction he saw a huge, heavy beast slope off into the forest. I -say 'slope' advisedly, although it is slang. What a bear does, I -suppose, is to gallop, but that word gives you an idea of great -speed, which would be wrong. If I had said 'canter,' the graceful -pace of a lady's hack is at once conjured up before your mind's eye, -and there is very little grace in Bruin's movements. He doesn't -trot, and he only 'shuffles' when he is walking. If I had said -'roll,' which in some degree describes his action, the word would not -have necessarily implied the use of feet at all, so I must stick, -please, to 'slope,' as being the best word to express the smooth, -quiet way which a bear has of conveying himself with a certain -rapidity out of harm's way. - -The light was very dim, as the time was that mysterious season -between midnight and dawn, and Snap knew very little about rifles, -but, being thoroughly English, without counting the cost he snatched -up a Winchester repeating rifle, and proceeded to 'pump lead' at the -vanishing bear as long as he could see him. Then all was still -again, and remained so until two cheeky little 'robber-birds,' in -coats of grey and black, came hopping round the dead embers with -their heads on one side, complaining noisily that the upturned -frying-pan was quite empty. Snap, too, was sorry for this, and -wished that he had interrupted Bruin a little earlier in his midnight -pilfering. - -When the dawn had fully come, and the great red sun was climbing up -into the heavens, the boy went to look at the bear's tracks. Later -on, when he had learnt some of the secrets of wood-craft, those -tracks would have been plain enough to him--a story written in large -print, which he could easily read from his saddle. Now, groping -about with his nose almost on the ground, he could not make much of -them, and hardly knew the bear's tracks from his pony's. At last -(and not very far from the camp fire) Snap came upon a great splash -of blood. Even he (inexperienced though he was) understood this, and -rightly concluded that the bear was hit. 'A deuced lucky fluke,' he -said to himself honestly enough, as he went back to the fireside, his -eyes brightening, as far away on the plain outside the clump of -bull-pines he saw two of the cowboys cantering towards him. They -were soon alongside and listened to his story, after which they went -to look at the tracks. - -'Wal,' said one, 'you've got the right sort o' grit, lad, but it's -tarnation lucky for you that that bar as you shot at warn't the -critter as stampeded them cows last night.' - -'Why?' asked Snap. - -'Why? wal,' replied the cowboy, 'them tracks is the tracks of a black -bar, and they ain't of no account. The bar as stampeded them cattle -last night was a grizzly, and if you'd happened to take it into your -head to do a little rifle-shooting at him with that thing--wal! you -wouldn't have been here this morning.' - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -BRINGING HOME THE BEAR - -'I reckon you mout as weel go along o' the boy and fetch in that -"bar,"' said old Tony to Atkins. 'I guess he won't travel far, by -the froth in the blood.' - -'Right, pard,' replied Atkins; 'come along, Snap, and leave your -horse with the boys.' - -Snap did as he was bid, and strode manfully after Atkins into the -bush, although, from the unusual amount of riding which he had done -lately, he was 'as stiff as starch' as he expressed it. Moreover, -although he had simply to follow Atkins, whilst Atkins had to find -and follow the trail which Snap had long since lost, he found it -impossible to keep pace with the cowboy, or in any way to imitate the -long, silent stride of that worthy. Snap's pace was neither swift -nor silent, and I regret to say he very soon became furiously hot and -desperately angry. It did not seem to matter how much he tried to -avoid them, his shin was always coming in contact with dead logs over -which the luxuriant ferns had grown in summer. At every stride he -trod upon a dry twig, which cracked as loudly as a stock whip, and to -finish his discomfiture every hazel in the forest swung back and -lashed him across his eyes or nose. If he kept his temper through -all this, he found himself up to his knees in a bog hole, or a briar -tweaked his cap off, or a creeper coiled round his ankle and let him -down with a terrific thump. At last Atkins turned round with a -compassionate grin: - -'You ain't much used to "still-hunting," shaver; suppose you just -wait here awhile, and I'll go on and see if that "bar" of yourn has -any travelling left in him.' - -Snap did not much relish the idea, but even he felt that if the bear -was to be approached unawares he, Snap Hales, ought not to be one of -the stalking party. So he sat down on a log and wondered how long it -would be before he too would be able to steal swift and silent -through the forest, like the tall, lean figure which had just left -him. There is, no doubt, a good deal to annoy a tender-foot at first -in big-game shooting in America. For a grown man to realise that he -has not yet learned to walk is a rather bitter experience, and yet -not one man in a thousand can walk or 'creep' decently to game in -timber, even after a good many seasons' experience. - -Though not nearly as cold on the Rosebud as it had been in that other -forest, in which Snap passed a night a week previously, our hero was -beginning to feel quite 'crisp' about the ears and nose before -anything occurred to break the monotony of his watch. - -Listening intently, every sound in the forest came clearly to his -ears. The loud bell-like note of a raven far overhead interested -him. He always had thought at home that a raven had but one note, -that hoarse funereal croak which, together with his colour, has got -the bird such a bad name. And yet here was an unmistakable raven -with quite a musical voice! Then a chipmunk came out of a hole in a -log, the very one on which Snap was sitting, and regarded the -intruder rigidly for a good five minutes, after which the pretty, -impertinent little beast poured out a volley of chipmunk billingsgate -at him, and with a whisk of his tail shot back into his house again. -Snap saw the little squirrel-like head peeping at him again and again -after that, curious, apparently, to see the effect of its oratory; -but, being a decent lad, Snap didn't even shy his cap at his pretty -reviler. By-and-by Snap heard a bough swing with a grating sound in -the distance, and then, ever so softly, he heard, 'plod, plod,' -'plod, plod.' He could only just hear it, but he guessed in a moment -whose slow, even tread that must be, and, brave lad as he was, the -blood mounted up into his face, and his heart beat until it sounded -as loud as the old dinner-gong at Fairbury. 'Ah!' he thought, -'Atkins has put up the bear after all, and here he comes, wounded and -desperate, straight for me.' - -So noiselessly that even the chipmunk did not notice him, Snap -slipped off the log and knelt down behind it, resting the barrel of -his Winchester on the log, determined to begin to shoot as soon as -the feet of the foe, now drawing rapidly nearer and nearer, should -bring him into an opening amongst the big trees. Crunch! crunch! -came the steps, and Snap's finger was on the trigger. Next moment a -big black mass would push through the bushes, the report of the rifle -would ring out, and then through the smoke what would Snap see: his -first bear rolling on the ground, or a great and hideous death, all -teeth and claws, coming straight at him, rather faster than the -'Flying Dutchman?' - -As these thoughts coursed through his brain, and his heart ached with -suppressed excitement, a voice sang out, 'Halloh, don't you shoot! -Bust my gizzard, why, what in thunder do you take me for?' and the -next minute Atkins, hot and tired, plodded out into the open, and let -a great black skin slide heavily down on to the ground at his feet. - -To those who have never had a chance of comparing the footfall of a -bear with that of a man, Snap's mistake may seem ridiculous; but even -Atkins, whose life had been in serious danger, readily forgave the -boy, stipulating only that for the future he should never 'draw a -bead until he knew not only what he was shooting at, but what part of -it he was trying to hit.' Many a grievous accident would be avoided -in this way, and not one head of big game lost per annum by it; for, -even if the coat you see passing through the thick timber be that of -a beast of chase, it is almost a certainty that a snap-shot at it -will only end in a useless wound given to some unfortunate hind, or a -scratch with very bad results to the shooter if it happen to be given -to a bad-tempered old grizzly. - -If, by ill-luck, the coat is that of a man, it is 'a mountain to a -molehill' that you shoot him dead on the spot. If any boy ever goes -big-game shooting after reading my book, let him take an old hunter's -advice, 'Know what you are shooting at before you shoot.' - -'How many times did you shoot at this fellow, Snap?' asked Atkins. - -'About three times at him, and twice where I thought he ought to be,' -replied the boy, turning over the skin of his first bear with a -loving hand. The skin was bright and in good order, and the fur deep -and thick. - -'Well,' laughed Atkins, 'I guess you hit him quite as often as was -necessary, though, according to what you say, you must have missed -him four times. I reckon you must have hit him when you were -shooting at the place where he ought to have been, for the bullet has -gone in behind and travelled all up him. Never mind,' he added, 'it -will make a rare good robe for you this winter!' - -'You have had a good tramp, Atkins, let me carry the skin,' said -Snap, and Atkins, with a smile, consented. - -'By George,' cried Snap, 'come up. Why, I say! Atkins, I'm bothered -if I can carry it,' and, indeed, as Atkins knew very well, the green -skin with the head on was more than anyone but a strong man could -pack with comfort. However, between them they got it through the -timber to the 'crik,' as Tony called a small stream by which he had -tied up their horses. - -'But where is Tony,' asked Snap, 'and the cattle?' - -'What, the cows, you mean?' asked Atkins. - -'Yes.' - -'Why, bless my stars, you don't suppose that Tony is such a tarnation -fool as to let them critters stop to smell this here skin, do you? -Wait till you see what our cayouses say to it,' Atkins added. 'Now -then, steady, will you, quietly,' he said, approaching his own pony. -'Here, Snap, get in front of him and don't let him look round,' he -added, and as Snap obeyed him he slipped the rolled-up skin behind -his saddle, lashed it firm into its place, and leapt into the saddle -as with a snort and a bound the pony shook itself free from Snap's -hold. - -Then Snap saw some real riding for the first time. Perhaps that pony -never got quite six feet off the ground, and perhaps he had not -lunched freely on earthquakes, but, to see the way in which he -performed, you would have thought so. First, down came his nose -between his knees, in spite of his rider's strong hands and the cruel -curb; out went his heels like twin cannon balls; and away he went -over the prairie, travelling apparently all the time on his forelegs, -when he was on the ground at all, which was not often. Really, it -did not seem possible that his limbs should remain united. No -muscles, you would think, could stand the strain of those furious -bucks and kicks. Every moment Snap expected to see the strange -figure part in flying fragments, the legs one way, the body another, -and Atkins in a third direction. But, though for the second time -since his arrival upon the prairie Snap himself got unseated, the -cowboy sat tight until he was out of sight of our hero, who, having -luckily stuck to his bridle, managed to recover and remount his -horse, which had become almost as unmanageable as the one which -carried the bear-skin. - -Once again in the saddle, Snap made the best of his way after his -friend, and some time before nightfall was agreeably surprised to see -the ranche in the distance. It must be confessed that he had had no -idea that he was near home until he saw the smoke from the ranche -chimneys, having been completely 'turned round' as Yankees say. -Atkins had been home some time, and the skin was pegged out to dry. -Old Wharton laughed until his sides ached at the boy's rueful plight -and his very apparent stiffness. 'Ah,' he said, 'I guess the Cradle -don't work very easy yet, but my word, boy, if you do want a donkey -to gallop or a cayouse to kick, just you put a carrot in front of one -or a bear-skin behind the other, and you won't have to wait long, you -bet.' In the big corral was a band of about thirty-seven cattle, -quite enough after their long drive, and, as Tony said, 'likely to -give anyone a nice day's work, branding them to-morrow.' - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -BRANDING THE 'SCRUBBER' - -A rancher's life is not an easy one. The hardest work comes in -spring and autumn, when the cattle are 'rounded up,' or gathered -together from their feeding-grounds all over the place, and parcelled -out amongst the different owners. As the great pastures have no -fences to mark off one from another, of course the cattle stray, and -the Rosebud herd and the Snake River herd mix with one another, and -with individuals belonging to ranches even more distant than these. -At the great annual round-up a certain number of cowboys from each -ranche in the district meet, and proceed to drive the whole of the -neighbouring ranges, collecting a vast mass of cattle as they go. - -Each cowboy has about a dozen ponies with him, and in the work of the -round-up even this large string is very often used up. For horse and -man the work is as severe as human muscle and horseflesh can stand. -During the day the men ride round by the banks of every crik, -investigate every quiet glen among the hills, sweep over the rolling -plains, and little by little gather up the waifs and strays into a -huge herd. At night this herd has to be watched, as well as the big -band of horses accompanying it. - -From time to time along the route the occurrence of one of the big -home ranches causes a delay. Here a great corral or enclosure of -rough logs has been erected, and smaller pens of a like nature. The -whole party camp near the ranche, and the cattle are herded beside -it. In the morning comes the chief work of the year. Every cow with -a calf at her heel is the subject of careful scrutiny. If she bears -the Rosebud brand, the calf belongs to the Rosebud ranche, and has to -be caught there and then and branded. If not branded whilst still a -calf, the little beast will be lost to the owner, for, once grown up, -with no ever-present nurse to point out to whom she belongs, the -unmarked heifer belongs to anyone who can catch and brand her. There -are always a few scrub cattle on every range--beasts like some of -those whose capture has been described in the last two chapters--who -had succeeded so far in escaping the cowboy's hot iron. - -The work of 'cutting out,' that is, separating, the beasts to be -branded from the rest of the herd, is to the cowboy what Rugby Union -is to the schoolboy. It is full of excitement, tries every muscle of -the horse, every quality, mental or physical, of the rider. This, on -a small scale, was the work awaiting Snap on the morrow of his -bear-hunt. Amongst the beasts driven in were a few which required to -be branded, and, though their capture was mere child's play to the -old hands, used to following a dodging heifer through a herd a -thousand strong, it was intensely exciting to Snap. How the ponies -twisted and turned amongst the crowding beasts, never for one moment -losing touch of the animal which they wanted to cut out, was a marvel -to him for many a day. Polo on a quick pony is trying to a man's -seat, but cattle-driving on a pony which twists like a snipe and -doubles like a hare, without any warning to the rider, is even more -so. - -Having cut out, lassoed, and branded all that were unmarked save one, -Tony and Wharton held a consultation as to that one. The men had not -much to do; they had just had work enough in the crisp air to 'get -their monkey up,' and were ready for anything. - -'Say, Dick,' said Tony, 'shall we brand that old bull? the old -varmint has had the laugh of us long, enough. Let's scar his rump -for him this time, anyway!' - -The scrub bull alluded to by Tony was an old acquaintance of the men -at Rosebud ranche. More than once had he been thrown and tied, -always to break away and set the branders at defiance. Whilst the -men were talking he was gradually drawing away from the herd, a -strong, heavy-built beast, fierce and long-horned as a Texan bull, -strong and sturdy as an English shorthorn. A short, crisply curled -coat of a dull brown made him look, but for his more graceful build, -more like a buffalo than a domestic beast. - -'All right, boys, let's have another go at him,' assented Wharton; -and Wharton, Tony, Snap, and another rode quietly out to surround and -drive in the veteran. The ponies certainly entered into the spirit -the thing. Anything more meek and more innocent than 'the Cradle' as -he wandered casually out with Snap on his back, now and then stopping -for a mouthful of grass, and again turning his back completely on the -bull, Snap thought he had never seen. And yet somehow the ponies -were all round the bull, and, unless he had the pluck to run the -gauntlet, he had only one way open to him, and that led into the -small corral. Little by little they drew in, pushing their victim so -slowly in front of them that he must still have believed that he was -choosing his own course, and only moving at all because he wished to. -By quiet, clever generalship old Wharton and his boys got the bull -within a short run of the corral. Then the bull began to hesitate. -He evidently 'smelt a rat,' and did not mean to go another yard. -This was the critical moment. Swinging their lariats round their -heads, the four riders dashed at the bull with a yell which would -have turned a party of Zulus white with envy. Snap, not to be -outdone, yelled in chorus what was really a relic of the old hunting -days at Fairbury, and clashed forward with the rest. For a moment -the grand old beast lowered his great shaggy front, and looked as if -he meant to stand the charge. If he had done so, the band of -horsemen must have split upon him as waves upon a rock. But the yell -and the swinging lassoes were too much for his nerves. Turning -slowly, he galloped into the corral, the horses dashed after him, the -huge bars of the fence were put back into their places, and the scrub -bull was fairly caged. So far, so good. But this same bull had -often been caged before, and was still unbranded. - -'Will you rope him, Tony?' asked Wharton. - -'You bet,' replied that worthy, divesting himself of pretty nearly -everything except his lasso, so as to be 'pretty handy over them -rails, if so be as it's necessary,' he explained. - -In the corral was a post, firm-set in the ground, and stout as heart -of oak. Round this Tony coiled his lasso, leaving lots of loose line -and the fatal noose free. Meanwhile the bull kept his eye on Tony -just as Tony kept his eye on the bull. Snorting and pawing the -ground, the beast backed against the rails, and then, finding that -there was no escape, lowered his head and came with a perfect roar of -rage at his self-composed enemy. Tony stood his ground just long -enough to throw his lasso, and then darted away. The long loop flew -straight enough to its mark, but by some ill-luck failed to fix upon -the bull, who, free and savage, fairly coursed poor Tony round the -ring. But the cowboy 'didn't reckon to be wiped out by one of them -scrubbers, no-how,' and, seizing his opportunity, scrambled over the -rails of the corral like a monkey up a lamp-post, remarking, when he -reached the other side in safety: - -'Jeehoshaphat! I did think he would have ventilated my pants for me -that time, anyways.' - -At the next attempt Tony's lasso settled round the great beast's -horns, tightened as he plunged past the post, and as he reached the -end of his tether brought him with a stunning crash to the ground. -As Snap said afterwards, 'those cowboys hopped over the fence like -fleas, and had the old bull's leg tied up, and his head made fast to -the pole with the strongest green hide-rope on the ranche, before you -could say Jack Robinson.' - -For a while the great beast stood trembling, and still dazed by his -fall, but the sight of Tony with the branding-iron roused him to -fresh fury. The huge quarters seemed to contract for a mighty -effort, the shaggy neck bent down with irresistible force, the thongs -of green hide creaked and then snapped, as snapped the withy bands -which bound the wrists of Samson. - -There were four men and a bull in the corral when those ropes broke; -there was one man and a bull still left in thirty seconds after that -event. With a furious charge the monster scattered his tormentors, -who fled in every direction, two over the rails and a third just in -time to fling himself flat on his face and roll out underneath the -bottom bar, with those sharp horns, 'straight as levelled lances,' -only just behind him. - -When they had time to turn they saw a sight which, if it had not been -so full of peril for a dear old comrade, must have elicited peals of -laughter. 'Bust me if you shall lick us,' said Tony, grinding his -teeth as he heard the straining thongs begin to give; and when the -bull charged the brave old fellow held on to his branding-iron and -waited. Of course the flying forms of Tony's companions drew the -bull's attention, and his great horned front plunged past the one foe -who disdained flight without observing him. With a shattering crash -the bull dashed against the corral-fence just too late to pound a man -to pieces with his horns, and as he reeled back himself, half stunned -by the tremendous collision with those unyielding oaken bars, the -bull was aware of a fresh indignity. Tony had him by the tail!! - -Yes, it's all very well to plunge and roar with rage, to swing the -lithe, active foe clean off his feet, and dash him against the oak -rails of your prison, O gallant Texan bull; but that foe, half Yankee -as he is now, was bred in gallant Yorkshire, and, once he has his -grip, will let go when a bull-dog does, that is, when he is dead; -just then and no sooner. - -[Illustration: TONY AND THE 'SCRUBBER'] - -And so the scrub-bull found. In vain he dashed about like a beast -possessed, tore up the earth, and rent the air with furious -bellowings. Tony had no idea of letting go; his life depended on his -holding on; his muscles were like iron, and his nerves were English, -hardened by a rough life in America. The absurd part of it was that -at every breathing-time Tony made a fresh effort to brand his victim, -for he had stuck to his iron with his one hand as tenaciously as to -the bull with the other. The story takes long in the telling, but in -the doing it did not take half as long. Before anyone could -intervene to help the foolhardy old man the end had come. In dashing -round the ring in a cloud of dust (no one quite saw how it happened) -the old man's head must have struck against the post or against a -railing. As the dust cleared, the horrified spectators saw Tony -standing in the ring, his head hanging, his eyes vacant, still -clinging instinctively to his iron. For a moment the bull paused, -almost crouching like a cat, then, with a roar of rage, hurled -himself forward. The old man didn't move, didn't seem to understand, -and it flashed through the minds of the helpless and horror-stricken -spectators that, though still standing, Tony was 'all abroad,' his -wits temporarily scattered by collision with the post. - -There was a muffled shock: the man was flung, like foam from the -crest of a breaker, half across the corral. Three other men's forms -were in the ring, a couple of revolver shots rang out, and then, side -by side, Tony and the bull lay upon that sandy battlefield, reddened -with the life-blood streaming slowly from each. As his companions -closed round him Tony managed to struggle to his elbow, saying, with -a smile which spoke volumes for his pluck: - -'Sorry you killed the scrubber, boys, he'd a been kinder like a -monument for me, 'cos you see he has got the Rosebud brand now; you -bet, he's got the Rosebud brand----' - -Poor Tony! those were his last words, and as his comrades carried him -off his last battlefield they felt that the best rough-rider and the -gentlest, most kind-hearted giant amongst them had done his last -day's work. - -A few days later, when the sun was setting on the prairie, making the -whole sky crimson, and flooding the world with its last rays of -light, they buried him by the river's edge, Nares reading the funeral -service over him, who, though perhaps he had said less of religion -than most men, had lived a life so close to Nature, and face to face -with God and His works, that he must have learnt the great secret and -loved the Creator, as he undoubtedly in his own rough way loved all -His beautiful creation. Over Tony's grave the men set up a rough -headstone, or cross, rather, of timber, and on it they nailed the -bleached skull and bones of his dead enemy; while underneath Snap -burned with a hot iron some words which he remembered from Bret -Harte:-- - - A roughish chap in his talk was he, - And an awkward man in a row; - But he never funked, and he never lied, - I guess he never knowed how. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -WINTER COMES WITH THE 'WAVIES' - -The loss of Tony was a loss which the whole ranche felt. Had he died -in the full swing of work, the machine must almost have broken down. -But Toby never wanted his spell of rest except when there was nothing -much to do, and he had chosen to take his 'big spell of rest' in the -same way. Still, even in the winter season, his loss made a great -deal of difference to Snap. With Tony the ranche was full-handed, -and the boy was really more or less superfluous. Now he had his -hands full. There was a man's place to supply, and he worked hard -and uncomplainingly to fill it. There are a thousand things to be -done about a ranche in winter: cattle to feed and water, wood to hew, -repairs about the ranche which want attending to, supplies to be -fetched from the nearest town. At all these things Snap took his -turn. No one cares to turn out first in the morning with a bitter -frost outside and make up the fire for the benefit of the rest. Even -strong, hard men will lie watching to see if someone else won't -volunteer, and hug themselves for their smartness when someone else -turns out before them, so that they may get up in the glow of a fire -which others have made. The 'boys' might well have insisted on -Snap's doing this, but he was popular, and no one fagged him. They -knew he was a good plucked one, so nobody bullied him. That being -so, Snap set himself the work to do, and nine mornings out of ten it -was Snap who raked up the ashes and blew the fire into a blaze, who -woke the sleepers with a joke, and had coffee ready for the elder -men. It was Snap, too, who sang the best song round the wood-fire at -night; and be sure there was nothing that went straighter to the -hearts of the cowboys than his fresh young voice rattling out the -well-remembered words of 'The Hounds of the Meynell' or Whyte -Melville's 'Place where the old Horse died.' - -Some of the boys had never been in England, and knew nothing of -fox-hunting, but all loved a good horse and entered heartily into the -spirit of the song. And so it was that in the early morning, and -late in the fire-lit evening, Snap won his way to his companions' -favour. Though gently bred, they recognised him as being not only -game to the backbone, but ready and willing to do a man's work. That -once understood, they were his friends through thick and thin, always -ready to teach him anything, to make room for him in a hunting-party, -or to chaff his head off if he made a hash of either work or play. -By spring Snap was in a fair way to be a useful hand upon the ranche. - -And now winter was coming down upon Rosebud in real earnest. The -first 'cold snap,' as it is called, had caught our friends as they -crossed the Rockies, and, intensified by the height at which they -were travelling, had seemed very bitter indeed. After the cold snap, -which only lasted from a week to ten days, came as it were an -aftermath of summer, a second season of sunshine and delight, which -the natives call the Indian summer. Snap began to think that the -severities of a Canadian winter were all bunkum, invented as a -background for all the terrible stories of the fur-traders of old -days. This Indian summer was just the loveliest October weather -which a healthy man could wish for, a little crisper and keener at -night than our own Octobers, but in the day so bright, so clear, so -sunny, that life (however hard the work) seemed to go to dance-music -all day long. Later on, however, there began to be signs of a -change. One by one and in little groups all the cattle had come in -of their own accord from the distant ranges. Some of them had been -feeding above the foot-hills on the sweet grass of the mountain -slopes, where in two months' time even the bighorn would not be able -to exist. As Snap rode out to shoot for the pot, or on any work -about the ranche, he would meet fresh companies of them, feeding -slowly downhill towards the low land and the river bottoms. They -were in no hurry, picking the tenderest 'feed' as they strolled -along, and camping every night wherever they happened to find -themselves, but still pressing steadily on to the warmer lands below. -As the beasts stopped and stared at the boy with great, solemn, brown -eyes of inquiry, he used to wonder at them at least as much as they -at him. How came it, he thought, that they knew the bitter white -winter was coming, although the sun was still so bright, and the -uplands flooded with golden light? Who told them? or did they -remember from the years before? - -Nature, too, had put on her last robe but one. In a month, save for -the dark green of the funereal pines, it would be white everywhere. -Now, just for a season, there was colour everywhere as bright as -rainbow tints, and as short-lived. The maples were clear gold or -vivid crimson; the sugar maples often showing both colours side by -side in one gracefully pointed leaf. The hazels were red and gold, -or, like the long oval leaves of the sumach-bush, had already turned -from brilliant lake to a dull, blackish purple. They were all ready -to drop and die, but their death would be as beautiful and becoming -as their birth in spring-time, when birds were mating and woods a -tender green, or as their life among the flowers and cool, green -shadows of the luxurious summer. - -As Snap lay awake at night he heard far up among the stars the clang, -it seemed to him, of trumpets, as if an army passed by to battle; or, -again, a strange, solemn cry, not from quite such a height, smote his -ear: 'honk, honk, ha, ha,' it seemed to say--a strange, unearthly -call, from things passing and unseen. - -At morning, too, before dawn, he heard these cries, and a strange, -swift, whistling sound would rush over the roof of the log-house. -The sky seemed haunted in these late autumn days. One morning as the -mists rose Snap got a glimpse of these passing armies of the air. -Far away up in the clouds was a great V-shaped body of birds, the -point of the V a single swan cleaving his way westward from his -summer haunts in the Arctic Circle to the warmer regions of British -Columbia and the mud-flats of the mouth of the Frazer River. On -other days he saw Canada geese in thousands, and snow geese (or -wavies) in hundreds of thousands, all passing on the same great -high-road from Hudson Bay to the West. - -'Snap,' said old Wharton one morning, 'hurry up, I've just seen a -gang of wavies go up the crik, flying pretty low down. I reckon they -aren't going far, and young wavy is mighty good eating.' - -Snap was not long getting the big duck-gun down from its peg on the -beam, nor long in loading it with a great charge of shot as big as -small peas. - -'It ain't like shooting quail, you see,' said Wharton, 'these wavies -want almost as much killing as a grizzly.' - -'What are you going to take, Dick?' asked Snap. - -'Oh, I'll just take the Winchester,' replied his friend; 'you let me -have the first cut at them with a ball, and then as they get up let -'em have both barrels of your blunderbuss right in the thick of them.' - -'All right, come along,' urged Snap. - -'No hurry, my boy; they have come a longish way, those wavies, and I -guess they'll take a goodish time lunching on them mud-flats and -beaver meadows,' replied his less excitable companion, whose eyes -nevertheless gleamed with all the excitement of a genuine wild-fowler. - -By-and-by, as the two hurried down the river-bed, they could hear a -loud and excited gabbling, a thousand geese all talking at once. - -'Talking like senators,' muttered old Dick; 'one would think they -were paid for the job, but I expect as they've seen some country to -talk about in the last day or two, between this and Hudson.' - -'Last two or three days! why, how fast do they fly, Dick?' whispered -Snap. - -'Wal,' replied he, 'I guess I never travelled with them much, but I -should say about sixty miles more or less an hour, and they'll keep -it up too; but dry up now, for the cunning varmint put out regular -scouts, and they'll hear us talking a quarter of a mile off.' - -Round the mud-flats and hollows which the geese were on was a fringe -of brush and reeds. Through this the two gunners forced their way. -As they did so the gabbling ceased as if by magic. - -'Quick, quick,' whispered Wharton, pressing forward, and as they -reached the edge Snap caught a glimpse of a huge bunch of geese, all -drawn together on a little bare island in the stream, their long -necks stretched to the utmost, their whole attitude one of suspicion -and anxiety, and the wings of one or two of them half lifted for -flight. Old Dick's rifle rang out the signal for them to go--all but -two, that is to say--for the old man's bullet stopped the wanderings -of two of them for ever. As they rose in a cloud Snap clapped the -big gun to his shoulder and let drive amongst them. - -'Not bad, my boy,' cried Wharton, 'but why in thunder don't you shoot -again? Hulloa! well, I am sugared, ha, ha, ha!' laughed the old man -as, turning round, he saw Snap slowly picking himself up out of a -mud-hole in which he had lately lain full length. 'Why, does that -gun kick,' continued Wharton, 'or what's the matter? How much had it -in it, I wonder?' - -'Well,' replied Snap, 'I put about three and a half drams of powder -and a good lot of shot into it, but I've fired as big a charge before -at home.' - -'You put a charge in, did you?' asked Dick; 'then that explains it, -because I put one in too when you went back into the house for caps. -I didn't know as you'd loaded her. No wonder she kicked; the wonder -is that she didn't bust.' - -Remembering the charge which he had put in for the benefit of the -geese, Snap quite agreed with his friend, and, rubbing his shoulder -somewhat ruefully, proceeded to collect the dead. Five geese lay -outstretched on the mud island, one with his head cut clean off by -Wharton's bullet, and another knocked into a cocked hat by the same -missile. Three were Snap's birds, and three or four more 'winged' -ones were scattered about on the stream and river-banks. - -Having retrieved these, they turned home, well loaded and highly -pleased with themselves. On the way back Snap noticed two more geese -floating down with the stream, close under the bank. In spite of the -kick he had received from his gun at the last discharge, Snap could -not resist the temptation to bag another brace, and was creeping up -for a shot when Wharton stopped him with: - -'Hold hard, you've shot them birds once; they are both winged birds, -and if we can catch 'em alive they will be worth a lot to us.' - -It was soon evident that Wharton was right, for, though the geese saw -their enemies and tried to hide their heads under the opposite bank, -they could not rise from the water. And then began a chase which -wore out Dick's temper and Snap's wind before it was over. Although -the men plunged into the water, and kept both sides of the stream -guarded, they couldn't for the life of them get hold of the wily -ganders, who flapped and swam, dodging cleverly, or hissing with -outstretched necks and angry yellow eyes, unceasingly. When they had -caught them at last it was late in the afternoon, and by the time -they had gone back to fetch the dead geese which they had abandoned -during the chase, and walked with them to the ranche, it was already -getting dark. As they left the river a whistling sound overhead made -them look up. - -'More geese,' said Wharton: 'I guess they're making for them -mud-flats too--please the pigs, we'll have a good time to-morrow -evening.' - -And so they had for a good many evenings, the two winged geese being -used as decoys, and Snap and Wharton (the latter now armed with a -gun) being hidden carefully in reedy ambushes hard by. It was -intensely exciting work, sitting there waiting until one of the many -legions of birds which passed incessantly overhead lowered to the -water on which the decoy sat. At first Snap could make nothing of -the shooting, and, to tell the truth, Wharton was not a bit better. -He wasn't used, he said, 'to these blessed scatter-guns,' which -'weren't of no account alongside of a rifle.' If a single duck came -along, Snap never hit it. If a long string passed over him, and he -fired at the leading bird, sometimes nothing happened, but oftener -the fourth or fifth bird, at an interval of several yards, came down -with a thump, gratifying to the pot-hunter, but not complimentary to -the young gunner, who felt that he had missed his mark by as many -yards as there were birds in front of the one which he bagged. After -a good deal of practice he began to learn not only how far to shoot -in front of the swift-flying birds, but how to swing with them, -_i.e._ to keep his gun moving as he fired. Being younger than -Wharton, and having shot a little at home, he soon learnt to beat the -old man, who, if he could possibly help it, would not waste powder on -a flying shot at all. - -What most astonished Snap in this wonderful migration was that all -the birds killed in the first day or two were young birds. Later on, -flocks of old ones began to arrive, but all the advance guard, as it -were, of the bird army, whether wavies or brent, swans or duck, were -birds of that season only; birds who had never, could never, have -travelled that road before. 'It is wonderful enough,' thought Snap, -'to see the cattle all come wandering in with no one to drive them -from the pastures, which will soon be all snow and ice; it is -wonderful that the birds should know that winter is coming, and be -able to find their way from the bleak, frost-bound north to the more -genial climates in which they winter; but that the bird-babies, born -this summer only, should lead the way, is most wonderful of all. -They can't remember! Who is it who leads them?' And, so thinking, -the boy lay down to rest, and the loud clanging of the swans, and the -call of the geese, and sharp whistling of the ducks' wings all told -the same story, and if even a sparrow can't fall to the ground -without His knowing, Snap thought he didn't fear the future so long -as the One who guided the swans through the night and the darkness -would guide him too. - -This migration, which took place in November, lasted only a week or -ten days, though a few late detachments kept passing perhaps for a -week after the main body had gone over. - -There were ten 'wavies,' or snow-geese, for every other bird which -passed, and next to them in number were the Canadian geese and brent. -The brent we know at home, or at least all dwellers by the shore know -him, for he is the chief object of the punt-gunner's pursuit, and was -at one time so common in England that up in Lancashire, where they -thought he grew from the barnacles which cover ships' bottoms and -breakwaters, a brace of brent were sold for three-pence. If he was -as good then as a corn-fed Canada goose is now, I should like to have -lived in those days, but I fancy he never was so dainty a bird as his -Canadian cousin. The wavy, or snow-goose, is so numerous that the -Canadian Acts of Parliament, which protect all other ducks and geese, -leave this poor fellow unprotected; but then the snow-goose is like -the sands on the sea-shore for number, and most of the year he dwells -either in the frozen North or on Siberian tundras where gunners can't -get at him. - -He is a handsome bird, the snow-goose, and the older he gets the -handsomer he is. As a youngster he is white all over, except his -head and the tips of his wings, his head being yellowish-red and his -wing-tips black. As he grows older his head grows whiter, until at -last there is nothing to mark him out from the icebergs and snow -amongst which his life is passed, except those two or three black -feathers in his wing. - -The Canada goose is almost as black as his fellow-traveller is white; -a dark, smart-looking, and jauntily moving bird, not much unlike a -brent, with a neat white collar round his neck. - -These two species, together with swans of two sorts, 'trumpeters' and -'whistlers,' and half a dozen kinds of duck--widgeon and shoveller, -pochard, pintail, and wood-duck--kept Snap, gun and mind, busy for a -fortnight, and if the bag was not always heavy the pleasure was -great, for Snap was what every really good sportsman is, more a -naturalist than a mere shooter, and loved to watch the birds, even -though they never came within range. - -One evening the darkness came on without even a single wing to break -the stillness. As he came down to the 'hide,' as his ambuscade was -called, he put up one of those quaintly-named little ducks, a -'buffle-headed butter-ball,' but, disdaining to fire at this, he -never fired a shot all night. - -It was the final warning that winter was coming at last. Next day -the clouds were low and yellow. Towards evening the big flakes came -floating down. Next morning the world was white from river to -mountain-top. The pines were snow-plumed, the rivers frost-bound; a -bitter cold seemed to sting you as you put your face out of doors; -the whole five blankets and the rug were wanted above you at night. -Winter had come! - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A NIGHT OF ADVENTURE - -Because in this story of Snap's life there are so many adventures I -don't want my boy readers to go away with the idea that life out West -is all fun and frolic, for of course I know, as well as anyone, that, -to a hot-blooded English boy, roughing it, and facing dangers which -he just manages to overcome, are fun and frolic. In the summer, the -cowboy has a pretty idle time of it. If he is a fisherman, and there -are trout-streams handy, he may while away the hours with a rod, but -the rivers of the plains on which he and his cattle live are oddly -enough very destitute of fish. Up in the hills, in the tarns and -mountain streams, there is plenty of lovely _Salmo fontinalis_, or -Canadian trout, strong and game fish, which take a fly as well as -their English cousins, and make a really good fight before the angler -manages to land them, bright bars of quivering purple and gold, on -the grass at his feet. There are, too, towns sometimes near enough -to attract the 'boys,' who think nothing of a fifty-mile ride across -the prairie, and in these a good deal of the money advanced by -parents at home is apt to be spent on billiards (of a very poor -quality), gambling, and worse. - -Luckily the autumn 'round-up' necessitates everyone's presence on the -ranche, and from that time until summer there is constant, and -occasionally severe, work to be done. - -Snap found the worst time was from Christmas, when the really hard -weather set in, until March. Luckily, the Rosebud people had laid in -a very large supply of hay for winter use. Nares's rule was, 'Get in -as much as can possibly be needed for the worst winter men ever saw, -even though you may not want a quarter of it.' - -And it was well in Snap's first year that such ample provision had -been made, for not only did the snow fall continuously for many days, -but it packed, thus preventing the beasts from getting at the -sun-dried, self-cured prairie hay below. In the bitterest weather -Snap and the other men had to go out and feed; had to visit the -different bands sheltering in the coulees and hollows of the -foot-hills; look alter the young and the feeble; get the beasts out -of the timber, where, if left alone, they would shiver and starve -rather than face the bitter wind which drove them back from the -feeding-ground on the bare lands below; keep an eye on the coyotes -and wolves; and perform a hundred other duties which required -strength and hardihood, and which were certain either 'to kill a boy -or make a man,' as Wharton put it. - -Nature must have meant Snap for a cowboy. His long, lean figure, -broad shoulders, and red-brown skin made him look a typical cowboy, -almost before he was one. Enduring as a wolf, he made up by -staying-power what he lacked in muscles, and day by day these -developed through constant use. - -The severe weather had brought down other beasts from the hills -besides the patient oxen. Now and again, as Snap went his rounds, he -saw in the snow a track into which both his own feet would go without -destroying its outline. Sometimes, after following this track for a -while, he would find patches of blood on the trail, and then a dead -steer, torn by the huge claws and mangled by the teeth of 'old -Ephraim,' as the trappers used to call the grizzly. If the beast had -been killed some time, there would be other tracks near--wolf and -coyote--showing that others had finished what the fierce king of the -forest had begun. A dose of arsenic hid in the flesh that was left -would generally enable the cowboys to cry quits with the wolves, and -go some way towards compensating for the death of the steer by the -acquisition of three or four handsome skins, but the grizzly himself -never touched a 'doctored carcase.' - -When Christmas came round it brought letters for Snap which kept his -imagination busy all day. One was from the Admiral, another from the -little mother, and a third from the guardian. The Admiral's -accompanied a pair of field-glasses which had belonged to the dear -old fellow for ages, and through which he had looked over many a -stormy sea and sunny land. Through them he had seen the edges of all -the world, the ports of every country, the shattered, shot-torn -rigging of the enemy's fleet, and perhaps the powdered faces of many -a European prima donna. 'Now,' he wrote, 'they are no good to me. -Even these glasses won't help you to see through a London fog, and -it's hardly respectable for the Chairman of the 'Company associated -for the Culture and Civilisation of Puffin Islands' to be seen at a -theatre. So, Snap, I send them to you. I wish I could look through -them, my boy, and see you tending the cattle on a thousand hills.' - -So the old gentleman was the director of a company, and Snap, knowing -him well, thought that the shareholders in that company were luckier -than their director, for, if downright honesty would insure the -payment of a dividend by Puffin Islands, Puffin Islands, under the -command of the Admiral, would pay. Poor old gentleman, it was a -change to him, trudging into the City through sludge and fog to talk -about guano and its prospects, instead of with gun and spaniel -pottering about Fairbury coverts on the off chance of a 'cock.' - -Then there was a letter from the 'mother,' concealing the miserable -life she and her gallant old brother were leading in a dingy London -back-street--a letter full of thanks to Snap for looking after her -'other two boys' on the way out, and regretting that the three could -not be all together. She sent Snap what she imagined would be useful -Christmas presents, and the tears came into his eyes as he thought of -the weary hours which she must have spent stitch-stitching in the -gloom of a London parlour to make those useless white robes for him. -For, indeed, they were useless. Two of them were night-shirts--linen -night-shirts!--to sleep in in a country where, if you touched an axe -out of doors, the cold made it cling to your hand until either the -skin came away on the axe or you put axe and hand together into hot -water to thaw and dissolve partnership. He treated them very -reverently at first, but, long after, Snap confessed that they had -been very useful '_as overalls_, with a pudding-bag used as an -extempore night-cap, _for stalking wild-fowl in the snow-time_.' - -Then there was a long letter from his guardian, reminding Snap that, -'had he only been advised by him, he might now be occupying an -honourable position in commerce or the law, and making his way to a -fair competency in his maturer years.' - -'Yes,' muttered Snap, 'and supping on blue pills, with a breakfast of -black draught, or (if very well) only Eno, to follow. No, thank you, -my worthy relative,' muttered the boy. 'I prefer these "Arctic -solitudes and uncultured men," as you civilly call them, to a -solicitor's office, any day.' - -Snap's guardian fell into a common error. Civilised himself, he -couldn't understand the beauties of barbarism. Snap could; and of -the two, barbarism and civilisation, thought barbarism the better -horse. - -The odd thing that Christmas was that there was no letter from Frank -or Towzer, to whom Snap had already written more than once. Later -on, Snap got a letter, but, as we will ourselves visit the other boys -shortly, it is unnecessary to refer further to that here. - -The Admiral's glasses nearly led Snap into a bad scrape, though the -glasses were in no way to blame for it. As he stood trying them from -the door of the ranche-house one morning, he said to Wharton, who was -beside him: - -'Dick, I believe I can see a band of cattle making up towards the -line.' - -'Like enough,' replied Dick, 'for there is, maybe, some little feed -up that way; but you had better turn them, if you can, we don't want -to lose any that way.' - -'What way, Dick?' - -'Why, if they get on the line the train may catch them before we do, -and the C.P.R. won't stop for a beast or two; the "cow-catcher"' (a -great iron fender in front of the engine) 'will just pick them up and -chuck them off the rails in heaps.' - -'The deuce,' muttered Snap, 'then I'd better go; the boys are out, -and if the silly brutes go on as they are going now they'll just -about get on to the line by the time the passenger train comes along.' - -So saying, Snap threw his big Mexican saddle on his pony and started -in pursuit, although it was already late in the day. - -It soon became evident that his guess had been a correct one. He had -lost sight of the beasts for a while, it is true, as they had passed -through a thin belt of timber which temporarily hid them from him, -but their tracks led straight on for the line. Still, there was lots -of time, and, after all, the cattle would not be such fools, he -thought, as to climb on to the line itself, where, of course, there -could be no feed. - -But they did. When Snap next saw them there were about two dozen -beasts wandering aimlessly up 'the track' itself, towards the great -trestle-bridge which spans the canyon (or gully) of the 'Elk Horn -Crik.' The line here runs along a cutting in a hillside, and Snap, -leaving his pony below, climbed painfully up to the level of the line. - -Once up there, his work was only begun. Do all that he would, he -could not get the beasts to leave their perilous pathway. They would -not let him get up to them, but steadily jogged on in front of him -towards the trestle-bridge. Having tried in vain to get round them, -Snap looked at his watch. He had still nearly twenty minutes to -spare before the train was due. If he could run the brutes up to the -trestle-bridge they would never try to cross that, and he would be -able to turn them down the bank, which, terribly steep as it was, was -in places just practicable for the sure-footed, prairie-reared cattle. - -So he pressed on, driving the cattle against time, as the dark grew -ever darker, and the train nearer and nearer to the bridge. At last -he thought as he ran that he could hear it far away in the hills, a -low, distant, rattling noise, heard plainly for a moment, and then -lost again as some high ground was brought by a twist of the line -between him and it. The trestle-bridge, however, was in sight, and -in another minute he had the satisfaction of seeing the stupid beasts -trot up to it, stop, and then, first one, then another, turned and -scrambled in headlong fashion down the bank. All except one. One -perverse brute, a thorough Texan, 'all horns and tail,' would not -follow his companions, but elected to try the bridge. - -Perhaps my readers do not know what a trestle-bridge is. To -understand the story, it is necessary that they should do so. A -trestle-bridge, then, such as the one before Snap, is a bridge of -timber, the beams laid at right angles to the line, and each beam -about two feet from its neighbour. Across the beams run the iron -rails, and between the beams is nothing at all but emptiness. The -whole bridge is supported on a huge scaffolding, which rises from the -sides of the canyon crossed, and in some cases these bridges are as -much as 150 yards from end to end, and 250 feet above the stream -which generally races along below. To walk over these bridges by -daylight requires a clear head and steady nerves, for, though it is -easy enough to stride from beam to beam for a few yards, it becomes -more difficult as you proceed: the light gleams off the water below, -flickers through the open spaces and dazzles you, while the sight of -the vast profound underneath, and the knowledge that one false step -will send you whirling between those beams to eternity, has not a -steadying effect upon you. - -These bridges are, most of them, very narrow, and on the one in -question there was but a single line, the shunting station -immediately preceding the bridge, which was not considered equal to -the weight of two trains at the same time. And on this bridge the -black Texan steer had elected to ramble. Clever as a goat, it -stepped from beam to beam; then, as the light flickered up into its -eyes, it grew nervous and stopped, afraid to come back, and afraid to -go on. - -Again Snap heard the warning rattle of the coming train amongst the -hills, a faint whistle, and then again silence. He had saved all the -herd but one. Should he leave that one? - -'No, I'm blowed if I will,' muttered the boy, setting his teeth and -feeling just as stubborn as the steer in front of him. 'That train -won't be up for another quarter of an hour--you can hear it coming -for miles on a frosty night like this,' he argued, and boldly enough -he started on to the bridge, stepping freely from beam to beam. - -The steer, seeing him coming, moved slowly on, trembling in every -limb, but still determined not to be headed. - -'Confound the brute,' thought Snap, 'I shouldn't wonder if he means -me to follow him across the Rockies. I will head him, though!' - -Just then the steer made a false step. One leg went just short of -the beam on to which it had intended to step. It lurched forward, -and for one moment Snap thought it had gone over into the abyss. But -it recovered itself somehow, and stood trembling in every limb, and -bellowing piteously in its fear. - -Then, unfortunately, Snap himself looked down through the ribs of -that skeleton bridge. It was getting dusk now, and he could not see -very clearly; but below he could hear the roll of waters amongst the -boulders, he could see the tops of trees far below him, and -occasionally a white flash of foam where the river dashed against a -black rock. He didn't like it, 'you bet,' as he said afterwards, 'he -did not like it,' and the more he looked the less he liked it. - -For some reason, unexplained, his knees at this juncture acquired an -unhappy knack of knocking together, and grew weak and uncertain. -With a start he pulled himself together. This would not do at any -price. There was another hundred yards of bridge to traverse, and he -hardly thought, if the train was 'on time,' that he would be able to -coax that steer across before the train reached the bridge. - -At that moment a roar sounded behind Snap--the roar and rattle of a -huge engine, and then a piercing shriek from the steam-whistle--such -a shriek, so shrill, so wailing, that it sounds among the lone peaks -of the Rockies like the cry of some tortured spirit. - -Snap's heart turned to stone in that awful minute, as the red light -rounded the bluff not a hundred yards from the head of the bridge, -and rushed towards him. Then the blood came back to his cheek, and -the strength to his arm. Death was staring him in the face. Unless -he DID something, he had not ten seconds to live. He would have -raced for the other end of the bridge, but his brain was keener now -than ever in his life before, and he knew human speed would avail him -nothing in the time allowed him. In another few seconds the -cow-catchers would sweep him off the track and hurl him down, down, -rushing through the air over that narrow edge to the sharp, wet rocks -below. The rails themselves were so near the edge of the bridge that -a man could not stand outside the rails and escape. The foot-board -of the train would sweep him down, or the wind from the engine blow -him into space. There was only one thing to be done, and with a -muttered prayer he did it. Dropping on his knees in the middle of -the track, he seized a beam with both hands, lowered himself through -the opening, and hung by his hands, dangling over the depth below. -If he let go it meant death. His muscles were strong, his grip -desperate, but could he hold on when the timbers rocked beneath the -great mass of wood and iron which was even now upon them? - -It was all like a horrible nightmare. He could see and hear -everything so plainly, and think so clearly and so fast. Far down -below he heard a great tree crack with the frost; looking up, he -could see the Texan steer stupefied with terror. Then the bridge -rocked and his hands almost lost their grip; a blaze of lurid light -flashed in his eyes and blinded him; a breath as of a furnace licked -his face for one moment and made him sick with horror; two or three -great, bright sparks of fire dropped past him, down, down, into the -darkness; there was a dull thud, and a mass of broken limbs was shot -out into the dark night to fall with a faint splash into the river -below; and then the train had passed, and Snap hung there -still--saved from the very jaws of death. - -Then, and not till then, the full horror of the thing came upon him. -Then, and not till then, pluck, and coolness, and strength deserted -him. He had held firm to the beam when it shook like a leaf in the -blast, now he tried to draw himself up and he could not. He, Snap -Hales, to whom the horizontal bar in the gymnasium at school had been -a favourite plaything, could not, to save his life, draw himself up -to his chin, and for a moment his fingers began to let go and he -thought of dropping down, that he might have done with the struggle -and be still. - -Then he tried again. He felt that if he failed this time he would -never succeed afterwards; his strength was all going fast, and inch -by inch he dragged himself up with desperate effort, until at last he -lay with a gasp half-fainting along the bars. - -A long blood-curdling howl from somewhere in the mist-filled gorge -beneath brought him to himself. Was it possible, he thought, that -they had smelt the fresh blood already? Only five seconds more of -indecision--a little less strength to regain his position upon the -bridge--and his own shattered body might have made a meal for those -grim and hungry scavengers! It was a horrible thought, and as he -stepped clear of those dangerous timbers Snap looked up thankfully at -the bright stars and beyond. - -It was now dark save for the starlight; but that, reflected from the -snow, was already bright enough to travel by. Later on, when the -night was undisputed mistress of the earth, it would be light enough -to read a letter on the prairie. - -Unfortunately for Snap, he was likely to see a good deal of a -Canadian winter night before he got home to the cheerful fire in the -ranche-house. Misfortunes, they say, never come singly. In this -instance the proverb was justified, for on looking for his pony Snap -found it had broken away from the tree to which he had tied it, and -had gone back towards home. - -Snap was not only disgusted, but puzzled. A tramp home after his -recent experiences was not quite what he would have chosen, and that -the old 'Cradle' should have played him such a trick passed his -understanding. - -Just then a cry which reverberated amongst the great pines, and -seemed to fill the forest with horror, explained the mystery. It was -the cry of the hungry mountain lion seeking his prey by night. Snap -glanced at the pine to which his horse had been tied. Yes, thank -goodness, his rifle was there! it had not been strapped to his -saddle; and as the boy got hold of his weapon confidence returned to -him. If only he could get clear of the forest on to the open prairie -he had no fear of the cowardly, sneaking brute behind him. - -He tried to sing as he walked, to show his confidence and scare the -beast with the sound of the human voice. But it was no good, he -could not sing in that forest. Its awful silence rebuked him: the -cold stars looked down, it seemed to him, in stony scorn, and his -voice seemed so little and insignificant amongst all these mighty -children of mother Nature. - -Now and again the ice upon some stream, or the frozen limbs of some -great tree, cracked like a loud rifle-shot. All else was still, -except now and again for the voice of the red beast sneaking behind -the boy somewhere in the shadows, still following, still afraid to -attack. - -The silence and lifelessness of a North American forest in winter is -very impressive. The snow which covers the ground is lighter than -swansdown, drier than sand. It falls unheard, it gives place to the -foot without a sound. The birds are gone, or if not gone have -hidden. The bear has made him a bed in some hollow tree or cave, and -sleeps silently in the silent wood. The squirrel chatters no longer; -he, too, has retired to his little granary in some hollow trunk. The -rabbit and the weasel are still restlessly wandering about as usual, -but both have changed their coats, and assumed a white covering to -match the snows amongst which they live. Almost everything sleeps: -trees in their robes of snow, the bear in his cave, the streams in -their bonds of ice; even the winds are still. Nothing stirs. - -If you have ever made a long walk at night by yourself over some -lonely road or moor you may know that feeling which grows upon you, -that some one is following you, that you can hear other footsteps -than your own behind you. If this state of mind occurs to those who -walk alone in England, where silence is really unknown and solitude -impossible, where there are no mysteries (and very few, alas! of the -beauties) of nature left, you can imagine how anxiously Snap kept -gazing into the forest round and behind him for the owner of that -awful voice, about which there could be no mistake, which was not the -mere creation of any fancy. - -At last he could see the edge of the open prairie, and, breaking into -a run, he gained it. It was not a wise thing to do, for if anything -will encourage a wild beast to attack, it is the appearance of flight -in a man. And so it was in this case. As Snap gained the open he -looked back, and as he did so, saw the long snake-like figure of the -mountain lion come in long bounds across the snow. - -As the boy faced about, the great reddish brute paused for a moment, -crouching, its belly almost on the snow, for the last rush; its ears -flattened back, its yellow eyes ablaze with murder, and its white -fangs gleaming in the starlight. But a foe in the open can always be -tackled and fought outright, and the flash of the good Winchester was -redder than the anger in the wild beast's eyes, and the sharp, clear -ring of the little rifle was a more unerring presage of death than -even the scream of the mountain lion. - -Over and over the great beast rolled, dyeing the snow with his blood, -and Snap, standing beside him, guessed him at a good ten feet six -inches from the tip of his snout to the tip of his tail. - -Having skinned the panther (for in the West this animal is called -indifferently mountain lion, catamount, panther, and a good many more -names), Snap once more plodded homewards, utterly worn out with -fatigue and excitement. - -The sound of his rifle had attracted the notice of old Wharton, who -now rode towards him, leading a spare pony for his use. Although -there was much to tell, the two rode home almost in silence, for the -spell of the night was upon them, and, besides, their whole minds -were absorbed in the wonderful spectacle before them. - -[Illustration: IN THE WOOD] - -Suddenly great flames of rosy red had risen from behind the distant -mountains, and reached like the fingers of some great hand across the -heavens. The whole sky was full of the rosy light, the stars had -turned white and pale. The great spokes of flame seemed to tremble -with heat, like the hot air round a chimney on a day in June; then -gradually they grew paler and almost died out, only to flash out -again directly in brighter glory. It was the Aurora Borealis! - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -FOUNDING 'BULL PINE' FIRM - -I must ask my readers to skip nine months or so, during which time -Snap's hands were full of the varied work and sport of ranche life. -It was just before the autumn round-up, and he and Nares were riding -round the home ranche together. For a moment or two Nares pulled up -on a bluff from which you could see far afield, and, looking out over -his lands, sighed. - -'I shall be sorry to leave it all,' he said, 'but I must, Snap! You -did not know that I had sold the ranche?' - -'Sold the ranche! No, indeed! But do you mean it?' replied Snap. - -'Yes. This will be my last round-up, and I suppose I ought not to -grumble. I've got to go home and look after the brewery at home. My -brother's health has broken down, and I am the only other man fit for -the work in the family. You know I learnt the game before I took to -ranching, and, as I've made ranching pay, and sold the place and part -of the herd well, I, as I said before, ought not to grumble. But,' -he added after a while, 'I do. I shall leave my heart at Rosebud.' - -Then they touched their horses and rode on for a while. - -'Do the boys know?' asked Snap. - -'No. I've told old Dick. He has known all along. I shall tell the -boys, all of them, before the round-up, and of course I've made -arrangements for them to stay on with the new boss if they like,' -replied Nares. - -'What is Dick going to do?' was the next question. - -'Dick!' replied the cattle-baron; 'oh, Dick's an old fool. He says -he has had one boss, but he doesn't mean to have another. He goes -when I do. I think if he had any capital he would set up in a small -way for himself. You see, if he takes his pay in cows, as he very -likely will do, he could start from here with a little band of nearly -fifty. And you, Snap, will stop on, of course?' - -'I don't know. I don't think so,' replied the boy. 'I wonder----' - -'Wonder! What do you wonder? What is the conundrum?' asked Nares. - -'Well, just this: if Dick goes, would he take me along as a cowboy or -junior partner, and would he want two more boys who would be glad to -work for their grub?' - -'Two more boys!' cried Nares; 'why, where are they coming from? Are -you and Dick going to take all the boys off the ranche?' - -'No,' answered Snap; 'but I was just going to show you this letter -when you began about the sale of the ranche,' and as he said so the -boy drew a very bulky packet from his pocket. 'This,' he went on, 'I -got yesterday from the two Winthrops, the fellows, you know, who came -out with me and stopped at Wapiti.' - -'I remember,' replied Nares; 'stopped with a premium-snatcher, didn't -they? Well, I suppose they have got pretty well skinned?' - -'Pretty well,' replied his companion; 'but listen. I'll not read -their letter, but skim it for you. Frank writes--he, you know, was -the big one. He begins by "climbing down," says I was right about -not paying a premium, and all that sort of thing; then he goes on to -tell his story, says that Jonathan Brown's ranche was only 360 acres, -all told, and his men--"foreman, cowboys, helps, labourers, &c."--all -lived under one skin, and that a black one. One nigger did -everything until the Winthrops came, and when they came they were -expected to share the nigger's work, food, and bed.' - -'Oh, come!' cried the boss, 'I call that playing the game pretty low -down! Did the Winthrops stand that?' - -'Well, you see, Brown had the dollars, so what could they do?' -replied Snap. 'Of course they slept on the floor by themselves, but -they had to do the work. They learned to split rails and make a -fence, because Brown wanted his land enclosed. They learned to "do -chores" because there was no one else to do them; they helped to cut -the corn, and were kept at work at hay harvest until 9.30 P.M. more -than once. All this they bore unmurmuringly; but it seems old Brown -tells everyone that they are his "newies," that he has got them there -out of charity to his sister, whose ne'er-do-weel children they are, -and they don't like that; the old blackguard is always drunk, and -they don't like that. There is no ranching or farming in a large way -for them to learn, and they don't like that; and finally, though he -has had 200_l._ premium and a year's labour out of them, he won't -even now give them as much as he gives the nigger, and you bet they -don't like that. So they are coming out here to look for work,' -concluded Snap. - -'The deuce, they are! Have they any money?' asked Nares. - -'Not much, I should think; for, you see, they have thrown away their -premium.' - -'Well, I'll tell you what you had better do, if they are agreeable. -Get old Dick to take you in as working partners. The old boy is very -fond of you, and if you and the Winthrops could club together four or -five hundred pounds from home, now that you have had some experience, -and put it into a small lot of cattle, it might suit old Dick; and if -it suited him, and this range of which he talks really exists, it -would be a first-rate chance for you and your friends. I'll let you -have the cattle cheap,' Nares concluded. - -Snap had been looking very anxious during this conversation. Now his -keen young face brightened. He saw a chance for himself and his -friends. - -'But don't you think such an arrangement would be rather unfair to -Wharton?' he asked. - -'No, not a bit,' answered Nares stoutly. 'You are a really good man -about a ranche now, and those two boys looked really likely lads, -especially that big, fair-haired fellow; and then, too, Wharton has -no capital worth speaking of.' - -'I'll sound him anyhow, that can do no harm,' was Snap's comment; -'the boys will be here in a day or two.' - -'Very well, if they are here when the round-up is going on they can -lend a hand about the camp and make themselves useful, and after that -you and Wharton can go with them to find this ranche.' - -'Thanks,' replied Snap, and the man and boy bent from their saddles -and shook hands warmly. - -If Nares was going to leave the Rosebud, Snap was not going to stay. -That at any rate was clear to our hero's mind. More than that--if -old Wharton would only take him into his venture there was nothing -that he would like better. This, too, was clear to Snap's mind. - -At the first opportunity the boy sounded old Wharton on the subject. -He had not to beat about the bush long. - -'Why, lad,' the old fellow cried, 'that is just what I was wanting to -say to you, only I thought that the life might be a bit too hard, and -the profits come mighty slowly; for you know,' he added, 'we must -keep putting the income into the herd for a good many years before we -draw anything out for ourselves.' - -'Never mind that, Dick,' replied Snap; 'can you do with my two -friends?' - -'Well,' the old man answered, with anything but a cheerful face, 'I -don't go much on tender-feet myself, and I don't go for to say that I -make a specialty of home-reared aristocrats; but you say as they'll -work and have the dollars--I guess we mout as well try 'em.' - -And so that was settled. At last, after over a year, Snap wrote home -a request that 200_l._ (half of all he possessed in this world) might -be put to his credit at a Chicago bank, and advised the Winthrops to -do the same. - -Although strongly prejudiced against tender-feet as a class, Snap's -friends were lucky enough to make a very favourable impression at -Rosebud from the first, for, instead of driving over in a buggy from -the railway depot, Frank and Towzer trudged in on foot, brown as -berries, all their earthly goods in two small bundles which they -carried on their backs, and ten dollars apiece in their pockets, -earned by driving cattle up from the South, earning money by coming -over two or three States on foot, instead of paying money to come on -the cars. - -When they first landed in America, not much more than a year before, -the three lads who now stood, shaking hands and laughing, at Rosebud -were fair-skinned, soft-handed lads, full of pluck, but looking to -others for advice. Now they were men--hard and brown, with a quiet -tone of decision in their voices, knowing how hard a dollar is to -earn, and having some idea of the necessity of holding on to it when -earned. - -Wharton confessed that he liked the look of them, and the four set -about making arrangements for their journey at once. - -It seemed that years ago, when hunting in a range of mountains to the -west of Rosebud, Wharton had been snowed up and obliged to winter in -a certain valley which he christened Bull Pine Park, because it was -surrounded by a number of Scotch firs, called 'bull pines' by the -Yankees. Here, it seems, he noticed that hundreds and thousands of -deer came in to winter, finding ample food and shelter in what was a -sheltered basin of enormous extent, full of sweet, sun-dried, yellow -grass, and protected by the shape of the land and the timber. To the -old man's eye it was a type of what a range should be--a small range, -that is to say--and he had kept his own counsel and waited until he -had capital enough to stock his park and start on his own account. -His only doubt was as to the Indians. True, he had seen none when -there, or he might never have come back; but the valley was a long -way from the frontier ranches, was very full of game, and on the -stream which watered it he had noticed signs of what looked like a -large annual fishing-camp. It was Wharton's intention, after the -round-up, to revisit his valley with his three partners, to carefully -reconnoitre the feeding-grounds, build a shanty, and, if possible, -put up a corral, make certain about the nature and disposition of his -red-skinned neighbours, and then, if all was satisfactory, return to -Rosebud and drive in his cattle in the early spring. - -Nares had given his old foreman leave to run his cattle and -half-a-dozen of Snap's with the Rosebud herd until the spring, when -the Bull Pine Firm, as Snap proudly called it, would come over to -Rosebud and drive off about one hundred and twenty beasts as the -nucleus of their future herd. - -During the round-up the two young Winthrops won the good opinion of -everyone by their reckless riding, and still more by the songs they -sang over the camp fire at night. Towzer even had a banjo, the -parting present of Jumbo, Jonathan Brown's black factotum, and with -this he was kept uncommonly busy all night, being excused all share -in the cooking arrangements in return for his music. - -'Towzer, give us old Jumbo's own song,' said Frank one night, when -all the old favourites had been sung more than once. - -'Which?' asked Towzer, 'Jumbo had such a varied _répertoire_.' - -'Oh, the one for Saturday night, when Brown came back drunk from the -depot. You know,' he added, turning to the rest, 'this old nigger -used to amuse himself by ridiculing his "boss" in nigger melodies. -Play up, Towzer.' - -So adjured, Towzer twisted his face into a suitable grin, and sang: - - Oh, massa! him feel sickly, - Oh, massa 'gwine to die. - Him feel so awful empty, - Him feel so awful dry. - - Oh, den he take to whisky, - To whisky made from rye, - It make him feel so frisky, - It make him feel so spry. - - Oh, den he chuckle fit to bust, - An' next he almoss' cry. - Dat's how de whisky's in his nose, - De water in his eye. - - -'Poor old Jumbo!' added Towzer, 'unless Brown gets some more pups -soon, I'm afraid he will have no time for cultivating the Muses.' - -'Oh, never fear for Jumbo,' replied Nares; 'as long as there are -papers to advertise in, and no way of scourging these -premium-snatchers for obtaining money under false pretences, your -friend Mr. Jonathan Brown will have plenty of farm-pups, and Jumbo -plenty of unpaid 'helps.' - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -BEARS - -The round-up was over, and the boys had all gone to their different -ranges; Nares had left for England, and outside the ranche-house -stood half-a-dozen ponies saddled and bridled, and tied up to the -split-rail fence of the corral. Two more, loaded with flour-sacks, -pots and pans, a sack of beans, and a side of bacon, stood with them. -Amongst the ponies was the old Cradle, and beside him Dick Wharton's -favourite horse. The Bull Pine Firm was just going to start on its -travels, and Texan and 'the Judge,' as two of the other cowboys were -called, had agreed to accompany the expedition and bring back the -ponies after reaching the burnt-wood hills. Old Wharton had -determined only to take ponies thus far, except for a couple of -baggage-animals for which he carried feed, as by so doing the party -would be able to make a short cut through a grassless and difficult -mountain country. - -As the party stood round, drinking a stirrup-cup to old Wharton's -success, Texan was heard to remark: - -'Say! this pison's pretty strong.' - -'What's the matter with the pison, Texan? What in thunder air you -grumbling at now?' said the Judge. 'I reckon it's pretty good rye, -anyways.' - -'Well, pard, I ain't going to quarrel with the rye; but I ain't -drunk, am I? There's no skim milk got into my boots yet, is there?' -asked Texan. - -'Wal, no,' replied his friend, 'but what are you driving at?' - -'Thet's it,' replied Texan, pointing straight overhead, 'but if I -didn't think that it must be the "tangle-legs" that done it, I'd say -that theer were a balloon. It ain't an eagle, anyway.' - -They all looked up, and sure enough far overhead was a big round -bubble, as it were, floating rapidly to the north-west. There was no -doubt about it. By using their glasses they could even distinguish -the car of the balloon, but even Snap's glasses (the best of the lot) -could help them no further than that. They could not make out any -figure in the car. - -'I guess it's a runaway balloon from Chicago or St. Paul,' said -Wharton, 'and kicky no one's in it, too. I wish I had the dollars -that toy cost, but I reckon no one will ever catch it this side the -Rockies.' - -For a time they stood watching this ship of the sky drifting ever -further and further from their sight, and rising, it seemed to them, -ever higher and higher above the earth. At last it faded altogether -from their sight, and the sky looked as calm and unruffled as if no -lost bark had ever rushed through it. - -'It's going our way,' said Wharton, 'pretty straight. I wonder, now, -if those superstitious Johnnies one meets sometimes would call that a -lucky or an unlucky omen?' - -'A deuced unlucky one,' said Snap, 'if it makes us stand here talking -and star-gazing any longer. We've got fifty miles between us and our -night camp. Let's skip!' - -It was a formidable little party which left the ranche that day. Of -course, Snap and Wharton and the two Winthrops were armed for a -winter campaign. Each carried a Winchester repeating-rifle, and old -Wharton would not part with his six-shooter. The boys, not having -been brought up to the use of six-shooters, wisely contented -themselves with their rifles. Their two companions were also armed -with rifles, intending to do a little hunting to supply the ranche -with fresh meat on the way home. - -For the first few miles the pack-animals were hurried along briskly, -partly because everyone's spirits were too high to brook of a slower -pace, and partly in order to give those cunning beasts no chance of -returning to the home-ranche. In spite, however, of all precautions, -and the careful arrangement of a diamond hitch by Texan, one of the -ponies managed to get rid of his pack in the first mile. On -starting, this animal, a sorrel, had appeared as fat as a brewer's -horse, and, in spite of Texan's slaps and kicks, in spite of his knee -planted firmly against its barrel, whilst both his strong hands -tugged at the lash-rope, the sorrel's waist refused to contract an -inch. Once he was fairly on his way, his corpulence vanished as if -by magic. With both heels in the air, he shot through his drivers, -plunged amongst some timber, dived under a fallen tree which lay -across the path about three feet from the ground, left part of his -load here--frying-pans without their handles, and kettles with their -sides squeezed in--and then with a roll, a squeal, and a final kick -left pack and pack-saddle on the track, and departed homewards. - -'Guess it ain't much good following that beast,' said Wharton. 'If -you don't mind, Snap, your old Cradle is about the only horse in this -outfit that will carry a pack, and if you'll let us pack the load on -him you can ride my pony. I'll tramp it.' - -'Not a bit of it, Wharton,' replied Snap, 'I'm the youngest. I'll -walk.' - -'Well, we'll walk and ride in turns,' said the old man. 'I don't -know that there is much more fun in riding a walking horse in this -timber than in tramping it yourself.' - -This being arranged, the Cradle took up the load, Snap congratulating -himself that by this arrangement his old favourite would go with him -all the way to winter quarters. - -Upon the second evening the party camped early. You soon tire of -beans and bacon, especially when you can see signs of deer on all -sides, and the river looks alive with fish. - -At three our friends came to an excellent little prairie of -half-a-dozen acres, all bright and green with grass. Bound this -little forest oasis stood tall bull pines, and across the river, -which was within a stone's throw of the camping-ground, the belt of -burnt-wood, at which Texan and the Judge were to turn back, commenced. - -'I'll tell you what, Dick,' said Texan, 'it won't do to cross the -river to-night. We'll say good-bye right here to-morrow morning, and -some of us can just run round about and see if we can get any venison -for dinner, whilst the others fix the camp. I'll do the camp-fixing -myself, if you like. Who else will volunteer?' - -Of course everyone said that they would stop and fix the camp; but -eventually it was arranged that Wharton and the Judge should take one -beat to the west of the camp, while Snap, with young Towzer under his -wing, should go towards the east; the other two staying in camp. - -The youngest Winthrop begged so hard to go that Snap took compassion -on him, although he would infinitely rather have gone out alone. - -The course which Snap and Towzer took led them along a fair-sized -stream, which joined the main river not far from camp. Towzer had on -his first pair of mocassins, and, as the forest was open and the boy -light, he made very little noise as he went. Now and then, though, -you might have seen him flinch and almost come down with an -expression of agony upon his face. He had not yet learnt to feel -with his feet, as it were, before putting them down, and had suddenly -thrown all his weight on some sharp-pointed snag of dead wood, or -merciless flint, which reminded him that an English shooting-boot, -although noisy, has its advantages. - -Stooping down by the river, Snap looked long and fixedly at a track. - -'The cattle have been along here, haven't they, Snap?' asked Towzer. -'Whose cattle would they be?' - -'Cattle don't eat fish, as a rule, Towzer,' replied Snap in a -whisper, for some of the tracks were pretty fresh; 'and look here, -the beasts which made these tracks picked these bones,' and, so -saying, he held up the backbone of a large salmon, picked as clean as -if it had been prepared as an anatomical specimen. - -All along the bank of the stream a regular road was beaten down, one -track on another, until at last all was so confused and level that -Towzer's mistake was an easy one to make. But on one side of the -main path Snap had been able to distinguish a few distinct and -separate tracks, and it was as he looked up from one of these that he -said: - -'No, these aren't cattle, young 'un; these are bears, and a rare big -gang of them, too.' - -Towzer's first expression of delight rather faded away as he looked -behind and round him, where the great bull pines stood grey and -silent on all sides, and the further you peered into them the darker -looked the gloom of the forest. It was not a pleasant idea that the -gloomy, quiet forest might be full of unseen grizzlies. - -'Are they grizzlies, do you think, Snap?' asked the boy. - -'Can't say for certain,' replied that now experienced hunter, 'but I -expect there are some of all sorts about. You see the river is full -of salmon, which have run up to spawn, and the bears are down here -for the fishing season.' - -Leaving the river, Snap and his friend crossed two or three deep -dingles, or, as they would call them in America, little canyons, and -in half an hour's time were creeping very cautiously along the brow -of a ridge through the big trees, on which the light of the sun -gleamed redly. That sun was now low in the skies, and every moment -Snap expected to catch sight of a stately stag tossing his head and -leading his hinds in single file from the timber to the -feeding-grounds. - -'Halloo,' whispered he, suddenly holding up his hand as a sign for -silence to Towzer, 'what is the matter with the robber-birds?' - -Towzer listened. A lot of birds just over the ridge were chattering -noisily, like jays in an English covert when the beaters are coming -through. Snap signed to the boy to follow, and both crept cautiously -to the top of the ridge. - -On the very top was a kind of table-land, and, looking through the -trees with their backs to the sun, neither of our friends could see -anything. Creeping back again, Snap ran along the hill and came up -to the top of the ridge again in such a position as to have the noisy -jays between himself and the sinking sun. For a moment he could -still see nothing. Then a stick cracked under his companion's foot, -and the quick movement of a dark mass in amongst the pines caught and -arrested his attention. He had never seen a grizzly before, but he -needed no one to tell him what the great brute was before him, with -its whole body on the alert to detect the source of the sound it had -heard. - -The sun threw a red glow on the scene, which looked like blood about -the body of the deer on which the grizzly was feeding. The brute had -his claws on his victim's shoulder, from which he was tearing strips -of flesh as he lay muttering and growling by its side. As the twig -cracked he rose and sat looking over his shoulder in the direction -from which the sound came. - -Snap remembered old Wharton's words as he looked at the bear: 'Thet's -about his favourite position when he once glimpses you, and don't -know whether to come or go; but don't you shoot then, there's nothing -to hit but his jaw or his shoulder, and you won't kill him quick -enough to be safe that way.' Remembering these words, Snap kept his -hand off his rifle and waited until the bear should give him a better -chance; but before this happened there was a report, which deafened -our hero, right by his ear; the bear spun round with a roar, and then -stood tearing at the ground and tossing the earth in the air in a -paroxysm of rage. - -Snap hardly dared to breathe, but if his words were inaudible his -lips seemed to say to the reckless youngster beside him, 'Keep still -for your life, he may not see you.' - -Neither of the boys was well hidden--in fact, Snap was not hidden at -all; but by remaining rigid, as if he was cut out of stone, the -short-sighted beast did not distinguish him from the pines around -him. Luckily, too, he did not notice the smoke curling from Towzer's -rifle. - -To the boys the bear was plain enough with his back to the sunlight; -but they themselves were in shadow. - -'Good heavens, there's another!' cried Towzer, in a whisper so -audible that the huge, shaggy beast which the unfortunate boy had -wounded dropped on all fours and came a dozen yards towards them, -stopping again with his sharp, fierce snout in the air, trying to -catch the wind of his unseen enemies. - -At that moment Snap gave all up as lost, for not only had he seen the -bear which had drawn the exclamation from Towzer, but he had seen two -other great grey forms amongst the timber on his right. Gripping the -boy's arm with nervous hand, he drew him down beside him: - -'Towzer, is there any tree on your left that you could get up in less -than ten seconds to save your life?' - -Snap's white-drawn face showed that he was in earnest, and Towzer -looked desperately round. Like Snap, he had spent many a -half-holiday at Fernhall birds'-nesting, and with climbing-irons to -help him there were very few trees which he could not have climbed in -time; but to climb a tree in ten seconds for your life is quite -another matter. - -'There, there's the best,' cried Snap out loud, pointing to a young -bull pine with a lot of short stumps of branches not far from the -ground. Of course, they might break off, and then it would be only a -bare pole to swarm; but it was the smallest tree, and the best -chance, for all that. - -'Now run,' shouted Snap, 'run for your life, and don't look back,' -and as he spoke he pushed the boy from him and jumped up. - -With a roar that sounded like a curse, it was so human in its rage, -the bear saw both boys, and half turned towards the running figure. -In that moment Snap's rifle rang out and the bear rolled over. - -He knew, without looking, that the others had seen him; and one was -charging straight at him, while with low, angry growls the other two -had trotted into the open. A glance showed him Towzer halfway up his -tree. And yet all this was seen at once without an effort, whilst -all his strength and attention was devoted to pumping up another -cartridge into his Winchester repeater. - -There is only one fault in these excellent weapons, and that is a -terrible one. In some of the old-fashioned commoner rifles of this -sort the cartridges occasionally get jammed. This had happened now -to Snap. His rifle had jammed, the empty cartridge would not come -out, and there he stood defenceless with a charging bear almost on -the top of him. - -Grasping the barrel with both hands, he had just time to hurl the -useless weapon with all his strength at the head of the grizzly and -spring to one side. He had a glimpse of a devilish head, with ears -laid back, and fiery eyes, and long white fangs gleaming from a -shaggy mass of grey fur, going over him at railroad speed. -Instinctively he had rolled away as he fell, as a rider rolls from a -fallen horse, and the pace of the bear's charge and the downward -slope of the ground had taken the heavy beast past the prostrate boy. - -In a moment Snap was on his legs again, and, dodging behind the first -tree he came to, he scrambled up it. - -'Hurry, Snap, hurry!' shrieked Towzer in a voice of agony, and just -as our hero drew up his foot he heard a snort almost against his -heel, and a tearing sound as a great flake of bark was torn from the -stem of the pine by the claws of the bear. - -It was a sight to make any man's flesh creep which met the boy's eyes -when he looked down from a point of safety some twenty feet up the -pine. Reared on end, his huge claws stretching upwards, his red jaws -open, muttering and moaning after the prey which had escaped him, one -of the bears leaned against the pine to which Snap clung. Two -others, growling from time to time, prowled round and round the foot -of the tree, and in the middle of the little plateau the wounded bear -kept up a succession of moans and growls as it struggled to its feet -and fell back again time after time, dying, but bent on vengeance -still. - -Towzer was safe in his tree. Snap's rifle lay broken on the ground, -and Towzer's with a dozen undischarged cartridges in it lay not far -from the wounded bear. 'Ah!' Snap thought, 'if I only had that -here!' Towzer, of course, in his desperate flight had thrown away -his arms. Even had he had a sling to his rifle it would hardly have -been possible to climb with it, and without a sling, and with a -grizzly's teeth and claws behind, Towzer did well to drop his weapon -and trust to speed and Snap's self-devotion. - -'Snap,' Towzer called from his tree, 'I don't think much of this. I -can't hold on very long. Are those brutes likely to wait long?' - -'All night, I should think,' replied Snap. - -This seemed too much for Winthrop, and a silence ensued; the boys -clinging desperately to their uncomfortable perches, and the bears -prowling up and down like sentries on their beat. - -This went on for nearly an hour, and there was no change, and seemed -likely to be none. The sun's last red glow was on the forest floor; -the uncertain light made the great grey forms which went so silently -backwards and forwards look even more horrible and monstrous to the -eyes of their hapless victims, but two at any rate of the three were -still on guard. - -'Let's try a shout for help,' said Towzer; 'all together, Snap!' - -'Coo-èy! coo-èy!' cried the boys, and as they cried the great grey -forms paused in their silent walk, and sent a chorus of hollow growls -to swell the sound. Other growls from the forest shadows, too, told -the boys that, though they could only see the wounded bear and -another, the others were not far off. - -By-and-by the moon rose, and a silver light showed the scene in new -and horrible distinctness. The one bear was dead. Stark and stiff -he lay by his last victim, and silver light and ebon shadow were -distributed evenly over the bodies of bear and stag, murderer and -murdered. - -A breaking bough and a quick scraping sound broke the silence. - -'By Jove, that was a shave!' panted Towzer's young voice. - -'What are you at, you little idiot?' cried Snap. - -'Jolly nearly fell out of this tree,' replied the boy. - -'Went to sleep, I suppose?' said Snap in a tone of disgust. - -'I don't know about that,' said Towzer, in a piteous tone, 'but I -cannot hold on to these clothes-pegs much longer.' - -The clothes-pegs were the short stumps of boughs to which the boy had -been clinging. - -'Snap, couldn't we make a fight of it? I want my supper,' added -Towzer, 'and there's only one bear now.' - -'How are we to fight? I've got no rifle, and without that you are -more likely to satisfy the bear's appetite than your own,' replied -Snap. - -'Well, I'll tell you what,' said the reckless youngster, 'I can't -stay up here all night if you can, and, if you are game to come down -and try for that rifle, I am.' - -'How do you mean? The bear would get you before you could get to it. -Look at him watching you now. Nice, pleasant face for a photograph, -hasn't he?' added Snap. - -In spite of the danger and the eeriness of the whole thing, Towzer -laughed as he saw the great brute sitting half upright on its hams, -its ears cocked sharply up to listen. - -'I don't suppose the old brute will understand English,' said Towzer, -'so look here! My tree is an easy one to get up. I can almost swing -myself out of a bear's reach from the ground. If you will be ready -I'll come down and draw the brute after me. Whilst he hunts me to my -tree you dash in and get my rifle. If you are quick and lucky you'll -get back before he twigs you. Why, it will be just like prisoner's -base, when we were first-form boys at the Dame's school. - -'Yes,' muttered Snap, 'with our lives for forfeit if we are caught! -Well, all right, Towzer,' he cried aloud, 'are you sure you can get -back safely?' - -'Yes, never mind me,' sang out Towzer; 'look here!' - -And, sliding down, the boy just touched the ground, and as the bear -rose swung himself back again, chuckling, 'Don't you wish you may get -it?' - -'All right, then, if you have made up your mind let us do it now; -give me a moment to slide down close to the ground,' shouted Snap; -'keep the bear looking at you for a moment.' - -'All right,' answered the young 'un, rattling about amongst the -bushes with his leg as he hung from the lowest bough of his tree. - -The bear was up, and coming slowly towards Towzer, growling horribly. -The boy's blood ran cold, but he had given his word to Snap, and he -did not mean to go back. - -'Now!' shouted Snap. - -At the cry the bear turned round towards Snap, and as he did so -Towzer dropped to the ground and ran forward into the open with a -shout. - -For a moment the bear hesitated, then, with a roar that shook the -pines, dashed at him. Towzer turned, and never in all his life, not -even when he made his celebrated 'run-in' for the school-house with -the football under his arm, did he go so fast or dodge so nimbly as -he did that night. - -As Towzer turned, Snap's lithe figure slipped noiselessly through the -moonlight, and, not daring to look at anything else, dashed straight -at the rifle. - -Did the dead bear move, or was it only fancy? Fancy, surely! And -now he had his hand on the rifle and turned to see a ghastly sight. -Towzer stretched up at his bough and missed it. The bear was just -behind, there was no time for another effort, and the boy was driven -past his one chance of safety. Catching at the trunk of a big bull -pine, Towzer swung round it, dodged the bear, and once more tried for -his tree. This time he reached the bough, but even then, blown as he -was, the bear must have reached and pulled him down, had not a ball -from Snap's rifle broken the brute's spine as he reared up on end to -make his attack. - -Utterly spent, Towzer dropped back beside the bear and staggered -across to where Snap still lay, his rifle resting on the body of the -first bear, from behind which he had just fired. Together the boys -sat and looked at one another, too shaken and tired to speak. - -At last, Towzer, looking anxiously round, said, 'Those others won't -come back, will they?' - -'I don't know; if they do, I hope they will put us out of our misery -quickly. I didn't know that I had any nerves before, but they are -jumping like peas in a frying-pan to-night. Let's go.' - -And very cautiously they went, creeping through the dim aisles of the -forest, starting at every sound, and far more frightened at the -meeting than was even the big stag which met them face to face just -before they got clear of the timber. They never even thought of -firing at him, although he was so fair a shot, and his great sides -shook with inches of fat, until the camp-fire shone through the -trees, and then it was too late to remember that they had gone out -for venison and come back without any. - -'Well, Towzer, I suppose we must put up with beans and bacon again -to-night--unless,' with a grin, 'you'd care to go down and catch us a -salmon, or fetch a steak from the dead stag up there,' said Snap, -pointing back over his shoulder. - -But Towzer had had enough sport for one day, and did not volunteer; -and, indeed, it was not necessary, for the others had killed a hind, -and the boys told their story in short, broken sentences, with a -savoury rib in one hand and a pannikin of tea in the other. They -almost thought bear-shooting good sport by the time they had finished -supper. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -IN THE BRÛLÊ - -That was a very beautiful camp and a merry night, that last night -with the cowboys from Rosebud. The fire they had made was what they -called a nor'-wester. Timber was plentiful--to be had, indeed, for -the felling--and the men left in camp had found it better fun to -swing an axe than to do nothing. So whole trees lay across the fire, -and huge tongues of flame kept leaping out and shooting into the -darkness. Every now and then a log broke, and the ends fell in with -a crash, the flames roared more fiercely than ever, and a shower of -red sparks went away on the wind. - -The men left in camp, being in a luxurious mood and having lots of -time on their hands, had run up a shelter of boughs--two great props -and a crosspiece, with a lot of underbrush sloping from this -ridge-pole to the ground. Under this, with their feet to the fire, -lay the men smoking. - -'Wal, Dick,' said the Judge, 'I reckon I don't owe you no grudge. -You've been a good pal to us, and I hope, mate, you'll strike it rich -where you're a-goin'.' - -'Them's my sentiments to a dot,' said Texan, 'and if those boys of -yourn don't get their har raised by grizzly or Injun before they're -six months older, I shouldn't be much surprised if you made cowboys -of them.' - -'Thank you, Texan, old chap,' laughed Snap. 'If you don't do any -more mining amongst those gopher-holes before I come back, I'll bet -you my best saddle that the Cradle and I lick your head off at any -distance you like on old "Springheels." - -The laugh, for a moment, went against Texan, for in the round-up just -over it was commonly stated as a fact that, whilst riding at full -pace down a hill after cattle, his pony had put its foot in one -gopher-hole and shot its owner into another, from which, five minutes -later, he was extracted by a comrade, who said that he had found -Texan 'growing anyhow, just planted root up'ards in a gopher-hole!' - -'There's one thing agin you, Dick, and that's the weather,' remarked -the Judge; 'for all it's so fine now, I don't half like that fringe -round the moon.' - -'No, it does look watery, doesn't it?' said old Dick, looking up; -'but, hang it all, don't let us croak. Hand me another of those -fish, Snap, if you can spare one. Bust me! if you don't eat -half-pound trout as if they was shrimps,' he added. - -'There's summat I'm thinking,' said Texan after a pause, 'that's -worse nor weather. I don't want to croak, Dick, but air you sure -about them Injuns? I kem acrost their fishing-camp to-day, and there -isn't a soul in it. Do you calculate as they're on the war-path?' - -'Not they!' replied Dick; 'a Crow won't face a Blackfoot nowadays, -and, unless they're stealing horses or killing cattle, they aren't -doing any harm, you bet.' - -'How!' - -It was a sound between a human voice and a dog's bark, sharp, hoarse, -and guttural, and it appeared to proceed from the ground under Snap's -seat. Snap was round as if a wasp had stung him. There had been no -sound behind the camp-fire; no dry twig had cracked, no leaf rustled; -and yet there was this sudden 'How!' and behind Snap stood, stiff and -silent, a tall, grim-looking Redskin. - -A sort of pointed hat of rush was on his head, through the band of -which an eagle's plume had been stuck; round his shoulders was a -bright-coloured blanket, and wide trousers of deer-skin, with long -fringes of the same down the seams, reached to his ankles. - -'Not a beauty,' Snap thought, and he moved a little uneasily away -from the stranger, who stood quietly staring at the group. - -The Indian was certainly not a beauty, even for an Indian. His hair -was sleek and black--'snaky' Towzer called it. His eyes were small -and set close together in a big bull-like head, and he was -hare-lipped. His face, too, was full of lines and wrinkles. He was -as old as the hills apparently, but old as the oaks grow old--strong -and rugged, and nowhere near being worn out. - -'How!' said Dick, and he rose and gave the chief his hand, and -offered him a seat on his blanket, which he took. - -'Do you speak English?' asked Snap as the Indian sat beside him, but -the only answer he got was a stony stare. - -'I guess he does, for all that,' whispered Texan; 'these beggars -never let on how much they know. Say, Dick, you talk their lingo; -ask him where he comes from.' - -So adjured, old Dick Wharton supplied his guest with fish, bread, and -tea, all of which he took without a word, and then Dick began to -question him. - -The Indians had broken up their fishing-camp, the Redskin said; their -medicine-man had advised them to. Oh, yes, it was a good season, and -there were lots of fish there yet, but the medicine-man had seen a -bird, and the tribe could not stay any longer. - -'Seen a bird!' cried old Wharton; 'well, I reckon he sees a good many -birds in a day; but what kind of a bird was this to frighten the -whole tribe from fishing and gambling?' - -'The tribe was not frightened, O white-skin,' replied the Indian with -dignity; 'but they knew that the bird which Teeveevex saw was the -bird of doom, which preys on the tribes of men, and the Crows have -hidden until the danger is passed.' - -'But what sort of a bird is the bird of doom?' persisted Wharton. - -'Only Teeveevex has seen it,' replied the chief, 'but its white wings -are as the clouds which contain the rain-storms, and it rushes -through the sky like a star falling from its throne.' - -'Bunkum!' muttered Texan, and, low as he muttered it, a spark seemed -suddenly to kindle and as suddenly to die out in the watchful eye of -the savage. 'I'll bet the Blackfeet are going to have a lively time -of it, unless they're going to do a bit of horse-stealing at Rosebud.' - -'What is the name by which the braves call you?' asked Wharton. - -'The men call me the Great White Rabbit,' replied the chief proudly. - -'Not a bad name either for a hare-lipped one,' muttered Frank. - -The Indian could not have understood what was meant, but he saw the -smile, and gave Frank one of his ugly looks. - -That sturdy young Englishman stared coolly at him, remarking to Snap, -'It's an engaging young thing when it's pleased, isn't it, Snap? -And, oh Lord, what a mouth for a fish dinner!' he added as the savage -filled up the vacuum between his jaws with about half a pound of -trout. - -'Ask him how old he is,' said Snap, and Wharton repeated the question. - -The chief thought for a moment, and then held up five fingers -solemnly. - -'Oh, you be hanged!' cried Towzer. 'Why, the beggar's laughing at -us. A nice, tender, five-year-old you are, aren't you, my beauty?' -And the boys laughed in concert. - -'He is right enough, though,' said Wharton; 'with these chaps each -finger stands for ten, and I don't suppose that he is more than -fifty.' - -After eating everything which the whites had left, and begging for a -charge or two of powder, the cowboys' visitor got up and left without -a word either of thanks or adieu. - -'Well,' said Towzer, 'that twopence which I presume our friend's -mamma, Mrs. Doe Rabbit, spent on her son's manners doesn't appear to -have been a good investment.' - -'Lord bless you, you don't expect thanks from an Injun, do you?' -remarked Wharton; 'like enough that chap will put a ball in you if he -gets a chance, and I should be very much surprised if either of your -grizzlies has its hide on to-morrow. If it has, old Buck Rabbit, or -whatever he calls himself, won't be to blame, you bet!' - -And sure enough, when Snap and Texan went up next morn (rather late, -it is true), both bear-skins had gone, and the place, so Texan said, -'stunk of Injuns.' - -When Snap and Texan got back without their bear-skins old Wharton had -the ponies packed, and 'the Judge' had made all preparations for a -start. - -'So Buck Rabbit got those skins, did he?' asked Wharton. 'Well, I'll -forgive him, whatever Snap says, if that's all the hair he raises -this fall.' - -'Yes, you may say that,' Texan added grimly. 'I've been here some -while now, but I never knowed those Crows give up their summer -gamble, and bust me if I think they'll feel inclined to lie idle now -that they have been skeered out of their fishing-camp.' - -'That being so,' said Dick, 'it seems to me you mout as well lead -them off our trail a bit. Don't let them sight you between this and -Rosebud, and maybe, if Buck Rabbit didn't count the horses, he'll -think, when he sees the trail of all them ponies, that we've all gone -back to Rosebud.' - -'And how about Rosebud, Dick?' asked Texan. - -'Oh, I reckon Rosebud can look after itself, leastways it could when -I was theer,' replied the old foreman; and Texan and the Judge nodded -approvingly, and murmured with emphasis 'You bet!' - -'Then you'll be back in spring for the cows?' asked Texan. - -'Well, we'll do our possible,' replied Wharton, busy with the -Cradle's lash-rope; 'if we don't turn up you'll understand that we're -wiped out, and "the boys" can divide my band amongst 'em.' - -'The boys won't none of 'em hanker after their share of that band, -Dick,' replied Texan, shaking the old man's hand. 'Good luck to you!' - -'So long!' cried the Judge. 'Keep your eyes skinned at night, pard!' - -And with the bell of the leading pack-animal tinkling merrily the two -boys, and all the ponies save the Cradle and another, disappeared -among the trees on the back track. - -Dick and the boys stood looking along the trail for some time after -their friends were out of sight. Now and again they could hear the -bell or a cry from Texan or the Judge to one of the self-willed -ponies, but by degrees they passed out of earshot as out of sight. - -'I guess we'd better tramp,' said Dick, turning to the three young -Englishmen, over whom a certain sense of loneliness had been stealing. - -For the first time they realised what this adventure meant. They saw -now that for the next four months at any rate they were entirely -dependent upon their own efforts for all the necessaries of life. -They were only four men, armed and strong, it is true, isolated among -the great things of Nature--mountains and forests, and by-and-by ice -and snow and tempest--and cut off from railways and the civilised -world, and bound to die if they could not find food and make shelter -for themselves. Old Dick, used all his life to depend on his own -right hand for everything he wanted, probably only felt a bit of a -wrench at parting from his old comrades and saying good-bye to his -old position of foreman. - -The boys felt a good deal more than that. Those two rough-riders, -driving their string of pack ponies before them, were to them the -world, or at any rate their last glimpse of it. - -'You had better lead "the Cradle," Snap,' cried Wharton, 'but I -reckon we'll all have to swim at the ford. Your friends can swim, I -suppose?' - -'Like fish, Dick,' replied Frank for himself and brother. - -'Come on, then,' said the old man, and with a long, swinging stride -the four started on their hundred-mile walk. - -All four were in mocassins, flannel shirts, and pants of blue jean. -On their heads they wore the usual cowboy hat, a wide light-coloured -sombrero. Snap carried his rifle, as the best shot of the party, but -the others had tied their rifles with their coats and blankets on the -pack-animals' backs. - -The river when they reached it was not as full as Wharton had -expected, still for a few paces in the middle horses and men had to -swim. - -As they stood shaking themselves on the further bank, Towzer looked -ruefully at his own draggled appearance and remarked: - -'I believe I've got my stockings wet! Don't you think, Frank, mother -would like us to change them?' - -There was a laugh among the boys, and then as they tramped through -the grimy, burnt forest, with its charred stumps and black, leafless -branches, their thoughts went back to Fairbury. - -The thought acted on the different natures differently. Towzer felt -inclined to sit down and cry, and, as that would not do at any price, -he began to whistle an old nigger-minstrel melody. A hard, dogged -expression came into Frank's face. He would rather have been squire -of Fairbury, but he meant to do his duty here all the same. And -Snap! well, Snap's eyes lit up, and his head was very high in the -air. He didn't know that he was leading a pack pony, and that old -Wharton was wondering why the boy's eyes looked so bright and moist. -Snap didn't see the grey old forest, or think of the years of daily -labour, but he saw a bright picture with two sides to it: on the one -a wide stretch of country dotted everywhere with cattle which bore -his brand, and on the other the steps of the old hall at Fairbury, -and the Winthrops, dear old Admiral Chris, and the little mother; -Fairbury had been bought back, and that sweet, grey-haired woman had -her hand in his, and was saying, 'I trusted you, Snap, all along; I -knew my brown boy would go straight.' - -Well, it was a dream, and Snap an optimist and a bit of a poet, and -perhaps in nine cases out of ten such dreams only lead to -disappointment; but if you are prepared to meet with disappointment, -a beautiful dream is no bad thing to beguile a long march. - -The country through which the boys were now travelling was as -desolate and uncanny as anything which the world can show. They were -crossing a belt of forest between the forks of a great stream, one -arm of which they crossed in the morning. Between the two streams a -great fire had raged some years ago, and range after range of rolling -hills lay before them covered with tall trees charred to a cinder, -yet standing upright still--grey, unburied skeletons of the past. In -some places a tree which had once been nearly two hundred feet in -height still reared a great grey spire towards heaven, and yet a few -yards from the ground you could see that fire and weather between -them had eaten the trunk almost through, so that its balance alone -seemed to keep it upright. All through the brûlé, as this burnt -forest is called, the trails are blocked by fallen timber. At every -breeze a score of them come crashing down, and hardly a minute goes -by without a snap like a rifle-shot to remind you that it is merely -by an interposition of Providence that each of the great pines along -your path has not fallen upon you as you passed. The difficulty of -getting pack animals through a forest of this kind is considerable, -although they will jump and crawl like cats; and the walking is weary -work even for the strongest man, where at one moment you have to -balance along the stem of a fallen pine, or climb over a log ten feet -high, and the next have your pants caught by the point of a sharp -rampike which tears them to shreds and perhaps takes a foot or two of -skin with it. - -'I am afraid Texan was right,' said Dick as they plodded along, while -the sun was setting slowly in the west, 'those clouds are coming up -uncommon fast, and it's main dark for three o'clock.' - -Winthrop was leading 'the Cradle,' and Towzer was walking alongside -of him, and when Dick spoke he spoke to Snap, who had fallen a bit -behind. - -'Don't you agree, Snap?' he said after a pause, and as no answer came -he looked round. - -'Hulloh! Why, where in thunder have you got to?' he cried. 'Here! -hold on there in front. Where's Snap?' - -The boys pulled up and looked round. Not five minutes before they -had seen him; now, though they could see plainly amongst the grey, -bare poles, there was no sign of him. - -'Snap! hi, Snap!' they cried; and faint and far away an echo seemed -to say 'halloa.' - -'Was that an answer?' said Dick; 'here, dang your skin, hold up -there,' he added, giving 'the Cradle' an angry dig in the ribs, to -induce that animal to stop pawing the ground and snorting. - -'Now shout agin, Frank, and mebbe this brute will let us hear if he -answers.' - -'Snap! halloa, halloa there, Snap!' cried Frank, and again from far -away came an answering halloa, very feeble and faint, but still -recognisable as Snap's voice. - -'Why, he's underground,' said Towzer. - -'Yes, I reckon he is,' said Dick; 'I hope he ain't much hurt.' - -'Why, do you know where he is?' asked both boys. - -'Not exactly, but if you'll give me thet lash-rope we'll, maybe, find -him pretty soon. It's lucky we missed him so soon,' he added. - -Turning back, the old man walked along the trail, calling Snap by -name from time to time, the answer getting plainer as he advanced, -but still proceeding apparently from somewhere under their feet. - -'Here he is,' remarked Wharton at last, 'and a pretty dark hole it -is, too. Are you hurt any, Snap?' he inquired, leaning over a log -and looking down on the other side. - -'No, I'm all right,' said the voice, 'but I can't get out.' - -'Lay hold of that,' replied Wharton, lowering the rope, 'and we'll -pretty soon haul you out.' - -When the Winthrops came up this was what met their gaze. The whole -floor of the forest was composed of fallen trees and dead logs, in -most cases overgrown with moss and bushes, which in their turn had -been burnt or scorched. For centuries the trees had grown and -fallen, rotted or refused to rot, and over them the fresh forest had -grown, until in many cases they formed a solid soil of rotted wood -and debris. Here and there, however, where a few great trees had -fallen and had not yet rotted, a thin crust, as it were, of boughs -and soil and debris had formed above, and through such a crust as -this Snap had tumbled into what Towzer called the basement of the -forest, a dark, damp, underground hollow, in which in places you -could travel upright for thirty or forty yards under a bridge of -fallen timber. Out of a place of this kind Snap was hauled, very -black and grimy, and as hoarse as a crow with shouting, but otherwise -unhurt. - -'We had better push on at once,' said Wharton as soon as he was sure -that his friend was unhurt. 'I don't like the look of the evening a -bit, and should be thankful if we could get under the lee of some big -boulders I know of, a few miles further on, before the storm breaks.' - -'It does look bad, doesn't it?' said Frank; 'however, a little rain -would do no harm, as we shall not strike water to-night, and we all -want a wash badly, specially Snap.' - -'If this storm catches us in the brûlé, we shan't want washing any -more,' was Dick's gloomy reply; and, though the sky--covered with -long fleecy storm-clouds, and full of an angry yellow light--did not -look reassuring, the boys all thought that for once Dick was taking -an unnecessarily black view of their chances. - -The boys were still digesting Dick's last speech when there came a -tiny whisper through the trees. It was not anything more. Just a -faint little wind like a sigh; and yet three or four great trees, -which had kept their balance for years, came down before it with a -crash which made even Dick's cheek blanch. - -'Caught, by thunder!' cried he. 'Boys, we've only one chance; leave -them ponies and follow me.' - -[Illustration: IN THE BRÛLÊ] - -Not understanding the danger, the boys could not help seeing that it -was real, by the old man's manner, and the speed with which he darted -back along the trail. As he passed 'Cradle,' Snap noticed that that -intelligent beast turned of his own accord and followed his human -companions. As they ran, another faint wind came, and another -half-dozen great trees thundered down, and one of them right across -the path between Dick and his friends. One of its boughs flew up and -struck Frank across the face, leaving a long black mark and drawing a -bright stream of blood. - -For a moment the boys recoiled aghast; but Wharton's voice woke them -to a fresh effort. - -'Run, run, tear and ages! _will_ you run?' he shrieked, and one after -another the boys scrambled over the carcase of the great tree and -reached Dick's side. - -Dick was on his knees beside the hole from which he had extricated -Snap. The good old fellow, though he knew the danger, meant to see -everyone else safe before he thought of himself. - -'Here, young 'un,' he cried to Towzer, 'get hold of my fist. Now -then, down you go,' and he lowered the boy as far as he could into -the hole. - -'Let go and drop,' he cried. 'Are you all right?' he added. - -'All right,' said Towzer's voice from somewhere beneath their feet. - -'Now then, Frank,' said Dick; and one after another he let the boys -down, and a moment after dropped down amongst them. - -'Great Scott! how it shakes the wind out of you,' he muttered, -picking himself up, 'I didn't know it was so far.' - -Just then a peal of thunder drowned their voices, and after it came -the rain in torrents, driven by a perfect gale of wind. Even where -the boys were the rain came in bucketfuls, and the red lightning lit -up their subterranean shelter until they could see the black logs -above their heads, like the gigantic beams in some old English hall. -But the loud thunder echoing amongst the cliffs beyond the river, and -the hissing rain, and every other sound was drowned when the wind -arose, for after the first rush of the wind it seemed as if the end -of the world had come, or as if, at the very least, some great battle -like Hohenlinden was being fought right over their heads. Tree after -tree came crashing to the ground and, as it fell, dragged down others -with it. Now they would fall one after another with loud reports as -if a regiment of giants were file-firing, and again a great wave of -sound, a very volley of the heaviest artillery, would make the ground -rock with its awful roar. - -'Thank God, we got here in time,' said old Dick reverently; 'I guess -there won't be a tree standing when this storm stops, and those poor -wretched ponies will be pounded small enough for sausage meat!' - -'Do you think they can't escape, Dick?' asked Frank; 'our rifles -won't be good for much, then.' - -'No,' replied Wharton, 'except, maybe, for old iron or chips to light -a fire with. By the way, who has the matches?' - -'They are on the packs,' said Towzer. - -'What, haven't any of you a match about you?' asked Dick. - -'No, I haven't,' said Frank. - -'Nor I,' added Towzer. - -'Haven't you, Snap?' asked Dick. 'What are you thinking of, boy?' -Dick added. - -'No, I haven't a match, Dick. I was thinking what a cur I was to -leave poor old Cradle, and how piteous he looked as I passed him; but -I had no notion what I was leaving him to,' replied Snap sadly. - -'Yes, it is a pity. He was a good horse, but there are plenty -better, and, besides, we hadn't a rope strong enough to lower him -into this hole, even if we had had time to try it; and then I'm not -sure as he'd have let us do it,' said Wharton; adding, after a while, -'I guess the storm is stopping, but it's a poor camp we shall have -to-night, without a fire.' - -Before long the storm stopped; our friends down below could feel that -the air was fresh and sweet, and that the evening sun was shining -brightly over everything. By tying a little log on to the lash-rope -and throwing it over one of the beams which formed the roof of their -shelter, our friends made themselves a ladder, and one by one climbed -up from the darkness to daylight again. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE LOSS OF 'THE CRADLE' - -When they did so, what a change had taken place! An hour and a half -ago thousands of burnt trees, stretched upon all sides, blocked the -view and formed a forest of skeletons. Now every high head was -levelled, every tall grey spire laid low. Like a wheatfield beaten -down in autumn lay the burnt forest, but, unlike that, no sun could -ever raise it up again. When years should have passed and the dead -trees returned to earth, another forest would spring up where the -pines had stood--not a forest of bright larch and tall pines, but, -oddly enough, a forest utterly alien to the one which had so long -covered the ground. Beech and birch, and maple or poplar, would grow -green in spring and shed their leaves in autumn where the winds once -whistled and the snows lay amongst the great evergreens. - -As Snap looked at the levelled forest the words came somehow to his -lips, 'This is the Lord's doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes.' -Lifting his hat, he looked up to the bright sun, and even the grim -old cowboy was not ashamed to follow his example. - -Picking their way with difficulty among the chaos of fallen trees, -the boys' ears were greeted by a low whinny. - -'It's the Cradle, poor old chap!' cried Snap. 'Can it possibly be -that he is alive?' - -'It's a pity if he is, my lad,' said old Wharton, 'for he'll only be -calling you to shoot him out of his pain. He's most sure to have a -leg broke or his back smashed.' - -'But he hasn't, though, have you, old chap?' shouted Snap, who had -scrambled breathlessly over the logs to the spot from which his old -horse had called to him. - -'But, Dick,' the boy added, 'how on earth are we ever going to get -him out of this?' - -And he well might ask. 'The Cradle' couldn't stir, and no wonder. -He had seen the danger as well as his masters, and with that -wonderful instinct which sometimes serves a beast better than our -reason serves us had taken the best means he could to escape it. -Finding himself deserted, he crouched down on the lee-side of the -great pine which had fallen across Snap's path, and by tucking his -knees under him had managed to crawl almost under its projecting side -like a rabbit. Tree after tree had crashed over him, but the great -butt against which he crouched was solid, and now when Snap found him -he was absolutely untouched, but shut in as if in a cage by the great -fragments of trees which had broken just over his head. By taking -off his pack (which contained two out of the three rifles), and by -the free use of an axe, which was also attached to his pack, our -friends at last set the old pony free, and they all laughed heartily -as they watched him crawling almost on his belly amongst the timber, -even lying down and pushing himself under a log on his side, until -the cunning old rascal was rubbing his head on his master's sleeve -again. - -The other pony they found later on, but, as Dick said, no one but -Snap could have had such luck as not to lose his horse in the late -storm. The second pony was crushed to pieces. The first tree that -struck the poor brute had broken its spine as if it had been a dry -twig, and crushed it as a cart-wheel would crush a rat. The pack, -too, was crushed and buried under the trees, the only thing which had -escaped being Towzer's rifle, which had got torn away from its -lashings before the pony was killed. - -'Well, we might have done a lot worse,' said Wharton; 'there are all -the rifles safe, and old Cradle has the flour and a frying-pan, the -axe and the kettle. We shall do very well.' - -'Much good the kettle will be,' said Towzer; 'the tea is somewhere -under that dead horse, and so are the beans and bacon.' - -'Yes,' added Frank, who had been hunting about amongst the packs, -'and there isn't a match that will strike amongst us.' - -'Never mind that,' said Wharton. 'You have the only muzzle-loader -amongst us, haven't you, Frank? Hand it here. We'll camp just where -we are.' - -Frank obeyed, and the old man chose a spot where some fallen trees -formed a kind of square, the centre of which he cleared from debris, -and then, taking an axe, he just trimmed off the wet outside of one -of the great trunks, and made a big hollow in the dry, half-burnt -tinder. This done, he greased a piece of rag, and, having 'salted it -over,' as he expressed it, with grains of gunpowder, he rammed it -loosely into one of the barrels of Frank's muzzle-loader, and then -fired it into the hollow he had prepared. After one or two tries he -succeeded; the rag caught fire, and set fire to the dry wood, and it -kept the boys very hard at work with their axes and a rope to cut off -and separate the huge log which formed their camp-fire from the logs -around it. - -Whilst they were thus employed old Wharton had produced his knife and -skinned part of the pony's quarters, which were still protruding from -under the tree which had killed him. - -'What are you at, Dick?' asked Towzer. - -'Just cutting you a steak, my boy,' was the reply; 'it's a pity, -though, that this pony was born so long ago.' - -No one fancied his supper much that night, but, after all, the poor -old Cradle was the only one of the party who did not share in it. He -went supperless to bed; but all the boys confessed that Dick was not -a bad cook, and that pony-steak was very good eating when you had -nothing better. - -It took our friends two whole days to get out of that ruined forest, -and two days of such hard work that Dick, toughened by years of -hardship, was the only one who had strength or courage to attempt to -light a fire or cook at night. Indeed, if it had not been for Dick, -I doubt if even hunger would have induced the boys to make the effort -necessary to get themselves some food; and without a good meal at -night none of them would have had strength to escape from that -interminable tangle of twisted boughs and fallen trunks. - -All this time 'the Cradle' had no food. There was nothing to give -him, and, except for the rain-puddles, black and thick with charcoal, -the party had no water. The men drew their belts and old Cradle's -girth tighter every evening, and a more slender-looking or famished -party, black and wearied and ragged, never came out of a burnt forest -than the wanderers from Rosebud when on the morning of the third day -they issued from among the timber and plunged into the welcome stream -which made the north-west boundary of this land of desolation. - -On the far side were green forests and a stretch of yellow grass, -which seemed to revive all 'the Cradle's' worn-out energies. He -needed no persuasion to make him plunge into the stream, no hobbles -to keep him safe when he reached the further shore. - -A bundle of matches, some of which had escaped the rain, had been -found, so the men sat down, lit a fire, and as they baked themselves -cakes upon the coals they watched with pleasure the steady, -business-like way in which the old pony made up for lost time. - -When they had all washed and fed they made another march of about -fifteen miles, which brought them to the edge of that country in -which Dick hoped to feed his cattle. - -'Of course,' said he, 'we shall have to come a long way round; you -couldn't drive cattle through that wilderness,' pointing back to the -brûlé; 'but it is a good country, isn't it?' - -And it was! A few miles from where they were camped was a range of -high, rocky peaks, with little or no timber upon them. These peaks -were quite bare, and one in particular rose like a great pulpit high -above the rest, the centre of the highest group of peaks. Up to the -foot of this little group of mountains ran Dick's range, a succession -of rolling swells of grass-land, studded over with groves and bunches -of the red bull pines. It was a splendid, park-like country, and -many a group of deer cantered away from them as they rode through it. - -'You might as well shoot us something for supper, Snap,' remarked -Wharton; 'I guess you're tired like the rest, but you won't have any -trouble to speak of in getting a haunch of venison in this here Bull -Pine Park of mine.' - -'Of ours, Dick!' corrected Towzer, grinning. - -'Right you are,' replied the old man; 'but I'm not a-goin' to have -any sleeping partners in our firm, so just you get up off of your -back, young man, and get some bread made while I cut wood for the -night-fire.' - -Towzer made a grimace and rolled over on to his face with a yawn, but -eventually shook himself and began to make preparations for baking. - -'Snap ought to make the bread, by rights,' he grumbled, 'he is such a -stunner at the use of baking-powder.' - -'Had you there, Snap,' said Frank; 'the young 'un has got "a rise" -out of you this time.' - -'Quite fair, too,' said Dick. 'I guess Snap got a pretty -considerable rise out of the boys at Rosebud with that tarnation -Borwick of his.' - -But Snap pretended to be out of hearing, and was soon lost among the -timber. - -There was a good deal to do about the camp that afternoon. All the -pack wanted overhauling and cleaning. Charcoal and wood-ash took too -prominent a place in the composition of everything in the Cradle's -load, from tea to tobacco. The frying-pans had lost their handles, -and these had to be replaced by others extemporised from a split -stick; the spoons had been lost, so others had to be made from -birch-bark; the soup-kettle was lying as flat as a pancake under the -dead pony in the brûlé, so another had to be made, and this, too, was -of birch-bark. - -'How are you going to boil that, Dick, without burning a hole in the -bottom?' asked Frank. - -'By putting the fire inside instead of out, my lad,' replied he. - -'Oh yes, old boy, I twig, and the soup outside instead of in!' cried -Towzer. 'Quite simple, isn't it, Frank?' - -Dick laughed. Towzer's cheek amused him. - -'Here is my heating apparatus, anyway,' he said, raking some red-hot -pebbles out of the ashes. 'Now you fill the bark-kettle with cold -water.' - -Towzer obeyed. - -'Now, you see,' said Dick, suiting the action to the word, 'in go the -pebbles and the water begins to sing; as soon as the first lot get -dark and cool, out they come, and in goes another lot. If you pour -the water over your toes by accident, you'll find it piping hot, I -promise you; and when you've done doing that and can spare time to -look at the bottom of the kettle, you'll find that it ain't got no -hole in it.' - -'Bully for you, Dick,' assented Towzer, 'your youth doesn't appear to -have been as much wasted as I thought it had been.' - -'Why don't you give the brat a taste of the lash-rope, Dick? it would -do him a world of good.' - -'I make a practice never to squash a 'skeeter as long as it only -buzzes,' replied Wharton, laughing; 'when it stings, I'm theer, you -bet.' - -'Snap doesn't seem to be having any luck with the deer,' Frank -remarked after a while. - -'No,' replied the other; 'I've not heard his rifle myself, but I -reckon he's got a bluff between us and him, and then, like enough, we -wouldn't hear with that chatterin' young jay-bird anywheres near.' - -As the sun was setting, Snap was seen coming down a long glade -towards the camp. - -'Don't carry his tail in the air, does he?' remarked Towzer. 'I -don't believe he has got a thing.' - -'He can't have been out three hours here without getting a shot, I'll -lay a wager,' said Wharton. - -'He's all right, I can see something hanging on his shoulders,' said -Frank. - -'So can I now,' added Wharton, 'but it's not venison, it's only -fool-hens, I'm thinking.' - -'A jolly sight better too,' remarked Towzer, smacking his lips -greedily. - -'What sport, Snap?' they asked as he came up. - -'Well,' replied the hunter, throwing down three big blue grouse by -the fire, and leaning on his rifle, 'that's the bag.' - -'Wal! but you don't mean to say you didn't see any deer?' exclaimed -Wharton. 'Why, man, the park is full of them. Couldn't you hit -'ein?' - -Snap put his finger in the muzzle of his Winchester, and held it up -unsoiled. - -'Never fired a shot, Dick,' he said. 'I stoned those fool-hens -coming home, and my arm regularly aches with shying at them; but I -can't understand about the deer.' - -'Why, how do you mean?' someone asked. - -'Well, going from here towards what you call the "Lone Mountain," the -wind would be right for me, wouldn't it?' - -'Slap in your teeth; couldn't be better, what there is of it,' -replied Dick. - -'Well, and yet every deer I saw had its head up; almost every one was -going at a canter; and, though, I dare say, at one time and another, -I must have seen forty, I never got what I should call a fair shot. -You see, we've no cartridges to waste, and I wanted to kill clean, so -as to get back at once to camp.' - -'Didn't see no sign of bar or painter about, did you?' asked Wharton. - -'No,' replied Snap; 'I suppose that is what must have been the -matter, but I saw no sign.' - -Old Wharton looked grave for a minute or two, but presently, after -lighting his pipe, seemed to think better of it. - -'No,' he muttered, 'it can't be. This is Blackfoot territory if -anything; and, besides, them Crows could never have got here by this -time. If it's Blackfeet, they'll not hurt old Dick Wharton.' - -'Who will take the first watch?' asked Wharton two hours later, when -the last grouse-bone had been cleaned, and the old 'Cradle' hobbled -for the night. 'Perhaps I had better; I smoke and you lads don't; -and, besides, your young eyes are heavier than mine, I reckon,' he -added good-naturedly. - -The boys made no objection. Towzer, for one, never heard, having -gone to sleep some minutes before with a grouse-bone in one hand and -a chunk of slap-jack in the other. - -'Let the young 'un sleep until he wakes,' said Wharton; 'put him to -watch for an hour about midnight, and then one of you take the -morning watch, and let him sleep. He's very nearly played out, and -he's a game little chap,' said the grey old cowboy kindly. - -It was midnight before any one of the boys opened his eyes again, to -find old Wharton still watching and still smoking. Towzer had got -up, wakened by the chill night-air, to re-arrange his blanket. - -'Let me take a turn now, Dick,' he said; 'I've had my beauty sleep -and feel as fit as a flea.' - -'All right, I'll help you make up the fire,' said Dick, 'and when you -have watched for a couple of hours, wake your brother. Let Snap -sleep right away until dawn, if he will. He has done more than we -have--stalking deer, and so on.' - -In ten seconds Wharton was asleep. His tough old form seemed to -settle down as easily on to the turf as if it had been a feather-bed. -If there were roots or stones about, they didn't seem to incommode -him in the least. 'I guess I hurt the roots' is what he once said, -when Frank pointed out to him a peculiarly knotty point on which he -had been sleeping. - -Towzer thought he had never known a night so still. He could hear -'the Cradle' cropping the grass quite plainly. - -'What an appetite you have got for a late supper!' thought he as he -turned and saw the old pony hopping about in his hobbles. - -By-and-by the pony gave a snort, and, looking up with a start--for, -truth to tell, he had been nodding sadly--Towzer saw 'the Cradle' -standing, with ears keenly cocked, staring into the gloom by the -river. Gazing intently in the same direction, Towzer made out the -cause of Cradle's alarm. A big grey wolf was sneaking along by the -river's edge. The beast seemed to know that he was seen, for, -sitting up on his haunches, he gave a low howl and then slipped back -into the bushes. - -'I'd better drive the pony in,' thought Towzer, and he rose to carry -out his project. Just then the grey wolf cantered across the moonlit -space in which the pony was feeding, the pony made a furious plunge -to get away, and then it seemed to Towzer's startled eyes that the -wolf rose on its hind-legs, caught 'the Cradle' by the head, stooped -for a moment while something glistened in the moonlight round the -pony's fetlocks, and then sprang on to its back and dashed off into -the gloom, whilst a red flash came out of the darkness, and something -sent the white wood-ash and red embers of the fire right and left -over the sleepers. - -In a moment all were on their feet. Towzer's mind seemed a blank. -Surely the old German stories of were-wolves were not true in this -nineteenth century! Hurriedly he told Wharton what he had seen. - -'And why, in thunder, didn't you shoot when you saw him by the -river?' cried Dick savagely. - -'Well, I didn't think it was worth while waking you all for a wolf,' -replied Towzer. - -'A wolf, man! don't you know _now_ it were an Injun?' asked Dick. - -'But I heard him howl,' persisted the boy. - -'And don't you suppose an Injun can howl as well as a wolf? Listen -to that.' - -As he spoke a long-drawn wailing howl reverberated through the gloomy -pines, and from far away by the river came an answering note. - -'Crows on the war-path, but not many of 'em, or they would have wiped -us all out by now,' muttered Dick. 'Out with the fire, lads, pull -them big logs round in a square, and get inside and lie down with -your rifles, until we see if they mean to come back for our scalps.' - -It was all done in a few seconds. The boys worked as men can work -when they know that their lives depend on their own promptitude. Old -Dick's face and Snap's were worth studying now, if only anyone had -had time to study them. The old man snapped out his sentences short -and sharp, had an eye for everything, and worked with the quiet, -business-like promptitude of an old hand. Snap's eyes were gleaming -like coals, and if the light was not playing strange tricks with his -face that tightly shut mouth had more than a suspicion of a smile on -it. Old Wharton noticed it, and put his hand on his arm, kindly, but -firmly:' - -'I knows what you're thinking, lad; but mind, I'm boss to-night. If -they should come, you keep inside here and pot away until I give the -word. This sort of fighting isn't like "the ring." If someone hits -you once from behind a tree, the best plucked one in the world can't -hit him back.' - -But they did not come, and, when daylight lit up all the long glades -of Bull Pine Park, Wharton gave the boys leave to get up from their -impromptu fort. - -'Keep your rifles in your hands, and get back the moment a shot is -fired, but I reckon we are safe now until nightfall,' said he. - -After a while he called to Towzer. 'This is where you saw your wolf, -isn't it, young 'un?' he said. - -'Yes,' replied Towzer, going towards him. - -'Wal! I reckon you never saw a wolf make a track like that afore, -did you?' he asked, pointing to the soft mud by the river-bank, in -which, plainly visible, were the outlines of a man's hands and -feet--a full impression of the former, and just the toe-marks of the -latter. 'An Injun on all fours, with a wolf-skin on, that's the sort -of animal that was,' remarked Dick; 'but,' he added, as he noticed -Towzer's miserable expression, 'never mind, laddie, I've known deer -let an Injun walk among 'em in a stag's hide and antlers, so perhaps -we ought to forgive a tender-foot for being took in by the crafty -devils.' - -As soon as the pack which the lost 'Cradle' should have carried could -be divided amongst the party, Wharton led the way to the river. -Wading in knee-deep, the old man led them up stream for nearly a -couple of hours. The boys had thought struggling through the brûlé -bad enough, but this was a vast deal worse, and they were ready to -drop from fatigue. At last they could go no longer, and implored old -Wharton to choose some easier road. - -'Well, I guess this will do,' said he; 'it is pretty stony here, and -I don't think even our friends the Crows could pick up our trail on -this stuff.' - -So they landed, and stepped out as briskly as their numbed limbs -would let them over a stony slope on which hardly a blade of grass -grew, so hard it seemed to Frank that cart-wheels wouldn't mark it, -much less mocassins. - -The course which Wharton took led them towards the Lone Mountain, -within a short distance of which they camped that night, making for -themselves a rough fortress of boulders, and (intensely to Towzer's -disgust) doing without fire and tea. - -'Cold tommy after a day like this!' ejaculated he mournfully, holding -up a chunk of heavy dry bread as he spoke. - -'Better anyway than cold steel for supper!' said Dick, a little -grimly. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE GAMBLERS 'PUT UP' - -'Towzer, my lad, you mustn't take it unkindly, but I think you and -Frank had better watch together to-night. You see you ain't as used -to camping out as Snap and me, and there's a good deal of risk -to-night,' said Wharton. - -'Quite right, Dick!' said Frank; 'I know we're duffers, but Rome -wasn't built in a day.' - -'No, no, lad, I know that, and you'll be as good as any of us -by-and-by. Will you and Snap take the first watch till midnight?' - -'All right; wake up, young 'un!' cried Frank. - -'No fear of us both sleeping at once,' said Towzer sulkily to his -brother, 'you snore so.' - -After an hour or two spent in watching all the mysterious shadows -which begin only to move and live in the forest after the moon comes -up, Towzer noticed something which seemed to him more substantial -than the shadows creeping slowly up a glade towards the camp. Towzer -gripped his brother's arm and pointed silently towards it. - -'A hind feeding up this way, isn't it?' whispered Frank. - -'I don't know; that Indian was a wolf last night, it's likely enough -he'll be a hind to-night; but, hind or Indian, I'm going to put a -bullet into him as soon as he comes close enough to make certain,' -answered the boy savagely, and he sank slowly on to his stomach to -get a steady shot with his rifle. - -Just then the thing, whatever it was, came out into the moonlight. - -'Hold hard, Towzer, it's "the Cradle"; I can see his white fetlock as -plain as the nose on your face.' - -'Might be an Indian in his skin,' answered Towzer, only half -convinced. - -'No, no, I can see him quite plainly, can't you? And he is alone and -unsaddled. Let's see what he'll do.' - -Slowly the pony came along, smelling every now and then at the -ground, and at last walked boldly into the camp, and, bending his -neck, hung his wise old head over Snap's sleeping form, and rubbed -his velvet muzzle against the boy's cheek. - -Snap was on his legs in a minute. - -'Why, old chap, where have you come from?' he cried, and the pony -laid back his ears and whinnied ever so softly. It was a regular -pony whisper. - -Frank and Towzer came up and by this time old Wharton was sitting up -too, his hand upon his rifle. - -'Slipped them durned Redskins, hev you, old fellow?' laughed Dick -softly. 'Well, I've known you get rid of better men than they'll -ever be, before now; but bust me if I can guess how you found us out. -You haven't brought Frank's rifle along, I suppose,' he added, for -the shot fired the night before had been from Frank's rifle, which -the Indian had somehow managed to steal from the bough from which it -was hanging. Unfortunately, even 'the Cradle's' 'cuteness had not -gone as far as this. - -'I say, Snap,' said Wharton, coming out of a very brown study, in -which he had remained for nearly five minutes, 'it's a very bright -moon to-night, isn't it?' - -'Never saw a brighter,' said the boy. - -'That isn't the way "the Cradle" kem along, is it now?' asked -Wharton, pointing down the glade. - -'Yes, that's where I first saw him,' said Towzer, pointing. - -'Ah!' continued Wharton. 'Now, did it ever strike you that that haze -down theer wasn't altogether nat'ral, not on a night like this, -anyway?' and he pointed to a thin vapour which hung about the trees -some three miles away. - -The boys looked in the direction indicated, and saw the vapour -plainly enough. - -'Well?' said Snap, and waited. - -'Wal!' returned Dick, 'that's them durned Redskins. They don't think -we'll dare to follow them; the pony has slipped 'em, that shows they -are pretty careless, and' (with a vigorous slap on his thigh) 'if -you're game I'm going the way that theer Cradle came, and am goin' to -have Frank's rifle and an Injun's hair in camp right here before -daylight.' - -Here, in the heart of civilisation, Dick's speech, sounds -bloodthirsty, and his programme of amusement for that autumn night -anything but attractive. Out there, in those wild forests, the boys -only remembered that grey wolf changing in the moonlight into a -thieving savage; they remembered the rifle-ball that luckily -scattered the ashes of their camp-fire and not their brains; they -remembered the lost pony and lost rifle, and nothing more. Rising, -they stood, tall, silent, young figures in the moonlight, ready to -follow Dick Wharton anywhere. - -'Towzer, my lad,' said Dick, 'I am going to give you the worst work -of all. You must wait with "the Cradle"; and if anything happens to -us, if we aren't back in six hours' time, get on the pony's back, -turn his head for the river, and let him lead you. He'll take you -back to Rosebud somehow, and then you bring the boys on our trail. -Keep your rifle; I've got my six-shooter, and you'll, may be, want -it. Good-bye, lad, there's not much fear, but we'll see you again -soon.' - -There was a lump in Towzer's throat. It was hard to be the youngest -and miss all the fun; to be left alone, and have perhaps that -terrible ride home; but he could not help feeling that Dick was -right, for all that. Either of the others was twice the man that he -was for fighting, and then, too, if it came to a long ride, he was -three stone lighter even than Snap, and Frank was heavier than -either. So he shook hands as heartily as he could, and stood -watching his brother and his friend glide noiselessly down the glade -after old Wharton. - -What fine fellows they looked, to be sure! Snap was a perfectly -built athlete, if there ever was one--tall and wiry, with not an -ounce of spare flesh anywhere. Frank was the biggest of the three, a -huge bull-necked Englishman, a man who could have killed even Snap as -a terrier kills a rat if he got him in a railway-carriage or a -corner, but no match for his active friend in the open. As for Dick, -he was tough and old, 'old, with the might and breath of twenty boys.' - -In a few minutes they had all mingled with the shadows, and Towzer -and 'the Cradle,' alone, stood craning their necks after them in vain. - -But we have the fairy cap, and, my boys, with your leave, will follow -those three silent forms. Old Wharton had a true woodman's instinct -for direction, and, having once ascertained for what point he wanted -to steer, he kept his course truly and with no apparent effort. Now -and again he bent down as he crossed 'the Cradle's' tracks, but he -did not depend upon them for guidance. At last he paused, and, -beckoning the boys to his side, whispered: - -'Their camp is close to here. I'll creep on and have a look at it -first, and come back to you when I've seen how the land lies.' - -The two young Englishmen crouched down and waited. By some instinct, -when the old fellow had slid away like a snake in the grass, Snap -held out his hand silently to Frank, who gripped it hard in silence. -It was an Englishman's oath. They had silently sworn to do or die. - -It seemed hours before anything more happened, but at last a part -seemed to detach itself from one of the pine-trees at which Frank was -looking, and came gliding into the moon-lit space. It was old -Wharton returning. - -'They're all right,' he whispered; 'couldn't be better!' - -'What, are they all asleep?' asked Snap. - -'Better nor that, pard,' the old frontiersman chuckled; 'they're -gambling for all they're worth; come along!' and, signing to them to -follow, he glided away again from tree to tree, until at last the -boys could see the red gleams of a camp-fire on the pines in front of -them. - -Another half-dozen yards and the whole scene was presented to their -eyes. In a little hollow of grass burned the camp-fire, and in its -light sat half a dozen Redskins in a group, three facing the other -three. They were all squatting on their hams when Snap caught sight -of them, and all chanting a kind of song which sounded like a witch's -incantation more than like a decent expression of merriment, such as -a song should be. The fire lit up their ugly faces, painted with -bars of vermilion and black; gleamed on their long, snaky tresses, -and glittered in their bead-like black eyes. Much to old Wharton's -delight, too, it flickered back from a pile of rifles stacked under a -pine a good twenty paces from the group of gamblers. - -As the boys reached their point of view Buck Rabbit seemed the chief -actor in the game. He had his back to them, but there was no fear of -mistaking even his back, with its high, broad shoulders, heavy with -knots and lumps of muscle, and that great bullet-shaped head, which -seemed set right between them, with nothing but one great wrinkle of -fat to show where the neck should be. His hands as they looked at -him were the only moving things in the firelight, and they flitted -and flashed backwards and forwards until you grew dizzy as you -watched them, the old droning song rising and falling with the pace -of the hands. The three men facing him had their eyes fastened on -Buck Rabbit's hands all the while with an intensity which reminded -the spectators of a cat watching a mouse or a snake trying to -fascinate a bird. Suddenly, quick as a snake's stroke, one of the -Indians opposite to Buck Rabbit shot out his arm and laid a long dark -finger upon one of the chiefs hands. For a moment the song dropped. -As his hand was touched Buck Rabbit stretched it out across the -firelight, palm uppermost and empty! One of the three opposite to -him without a word stooped down, and, taking one from a bundle of -short sticks beside him, threw it across to Buck Rabbit's party, when -the song again rose and the hands again dashed backwards and forwards -in the firelight. - -'I wonder, now, what that stick were worth? A blanket or a -beaver-skin, you bet,' whispered Dick; 'or, may be, it's scalps -they're playing for!' - -'I don't understand the game,' answered Frank in the same low murmur. - -'Oh, it's simple enough. That handsome old friend of ours has got a -piece of bone in one of his hands. They've got to tell him in which -hand it is. If they are right, he pays. If not, they do,' replied -Dick. 'They'd go on at that game until this time to-morrow if we let -them,' he added; 'but I guess we'll rise the winners this journey.' - -'Now,' he whispered after a pause, 'you just be here and cover those -Crows with your Winchesters. You, Snap, draw a bead on a spot about -halfway between Buck Rabbit's shoulders, and you, Frank, cover that -old villain with a little tuft of hair on his chin and only one eye. -That's Teeveevex, the medicine-man, and the biggest scoundrel in the -whole lot. If one moves before you hear me speak, fire and keep -shooting as long as an Indian is left to shoot at.' - -This last sentence the old man hissed out with an energy which -impressed his hearers, and before it was well finished he had gone -again. The boys could hear their hearts beat, and the only wonder to -them was that the Indians could not hear them too, so loudly they -seemed to thump against their ribs. - -This time, it seemed, Teeveevex had been too many for old Buck -Rabbit. His long, skinny claws clutched the chief's wrist like a -vice, and when his palm was turned up the little ivory disc gleamed -in it. All the shiny, evil-looking heads were bent together, when a -voice rang out clear and hard in the stillness, 'Hands up! the man -who moves dies!' - -[Illustration: 'HANDS UP!'] - -The boys were as much startled as the Redskins. Looking up they saw -the Indians sullenly and in silence lift their hands above their -heads, red statues of wrath glaring fiercely but helplessly at a -tall, rigid figure in the moonlight, standing between them and their -rifles, its right arm raised, its vigilant eyes noting their every -breath, and in its ready right hand a revolver, on which the -moonlight rested cold and chill. That little weapon held the lives -of six men. If one dared to move, that one died before he could draw -another breath. They knew that. At ten yards old Dick Wharton could -not miss. How they must have cursed the madness which had riveted -their eyes on that glancing bone whilst this avenger stole between -them and their weapons! If all rose and dashed at him he would not -have time to kill more than one or two, but then he who led that -movement must die, and, even so, would the others back him up? It -was a hard question. No one was ready to make that first move and -pay the price, and so, as men always do when 'put up' by a resolute -man who 'has the drop upon them,' they sat still. - -'Boys,' said the voice again, 'you can git up now and take these here -rifles from behind me. Look sharp.' - -Frank and Snap needed no second bidding, though they felt the six -men's eyes following their movements. Their eyes were all they dared -to move, for they knew that even while he issued his orders Dick -Wharton's eyes never left them for a moment; like the muzzle of his -revolver, they rested on them unceasingly. - -'There's a Redskin tied up to a tree and gagged behind them rifles,' -the voice continued; 'cut his thongs and set him free; give him a -rifle and see as it's loaded; pick a rifle for me and see as that's -loaded; take all the cartridges as you can get your claws on, and -then smash up them other rifles against the handiest bull-pine. Do -you mind me?' - -'All right, Dick,' answered Snap, his knife already hacking at the -leather thongs which bound the captive Indian, a fine-looking fellow, -whose eyes glistened, but whose tongue said nothing even when Snap -took away the gag. - -He stretched his arms stiffly, and bent the joints of both legs and -arms backwards and forwards once or twice as if uncertain whether or -not he had lost the use of them, and when first set free he almost -fell from weakness or stiffness--and no wonder, for his bonds had cut -deep into his flesh and were dark with his blood. - -Crash! crash! went the butts of the good rifles against the -bull-pine. It seemed a sad waste, but they were Dick's orders and he -was in command. - -'Are you through there?' cried the voice again. - -'Yes,' cried Frank. - -'All the rifles broke, mine loaded, the Indian free and armed, and -the cartridges pouched?' he inquired again. - -'Yes, Dick,' they replied. - -'Very well; now keep your rifles ready if they try to rush me,' said -Wharton, and then added, to the figures by the fire: - -'Now, gentlemen, I'll not detain you any longer; you can skip;' and, -dropping his revolver, he turned on his heel and joined the boys. As -he did so a report rang out, and then another. The next moment Dick -Wharton had wrenched the smoking rifle from the hands of the Indian -whom Snap had released; but it was too late, one of the gamblers had -a bullet through his skull, and the great hare-lipped chief himself -reeled for a moment as the second bullet cut through the muscles of -his arm. With a curse, however, he recovered himself, and, dripping -with blood, followed his comrades into the forest. - -'Why does my brother spare these dogs?' cried the Blackfoot; 'we -should have taken six scalps to-night, and my brother has but one.' - -'We don't set much store by scalps, exceptin' our own, Warwolf,' -replied the cowboy; 'and whites don't care about shootin' men without -arms in their hands.' - -It took all Dick Wharton's eloquence, however, and tried Warwolf's -gratitude for his deliverance to the uttermost, before he could be -persuaded not to pursue the five unhappy Crows that night. It was a -clear waste of the good gifts of Providence, he thought, and, though -Dick Wharton might be a good fellow and a mighty warrior for a -whiteskin, he could not help feeling that he was something quite out -of the common as a fool. He followed his old friend Wharton back to -camp, however, and there dressed his wounds, and gave his deliverers -some account of what had been happening lately in Bull Pine Park and -its neighbourhood. - -Needless to say that for a night or so, at any rate, the three boys -and the old foreman, with Warwolf for an ally, had no fear of attack -from the disarmed Crows. Still they kept a good look-out, from habit. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -LONE MOUNTAIN - -When night closed in round the little camp in the forest, Warwolf lit -the pipe of peace, and after gravely puffing away in silence for a -few minutes began to tell his story. - -'It was when this moon was young, my brother, when it was no more -than a thin silver boat sailing through the dark night, that -Hilcomax, the medicine-man of the Blackfeet, warned the chiefs in -council of great events about to happen. Hilcomax the healer had -been away from the camp of his tribe for many suns, collecting herbs -and preparing great medicine against Okeeheedee, the evil one, when -one morning he saw the sky darkened by great wings, and, looking up, -he saw the destroyer pass over him far, far up among the shuddering -clouds of heaven. Slowly the great wings came down until their -shadow darkened the forest, and Hilcomax saw them glide towards the -burial-grounds of our fathers on the Lone Mountain. - -'In the darkness of night Hilcomax crept back towards the home of his -people, and warned the chiefs in council of what he had seen.' - -Here Warwolf paused for a moment or two, blowing out a great cloud of -blue smoke from his pipe, and watching it thoughtfully as it melted -away in the night air. - -'Youth, my brothers,' he continued, 'is light as that smoke, and -every wind carries it away. I would not listen to the medicine-man's -warnings, but came to the foot of the "Lone Mountain," trapping. For -my folly the Crows caught me--the white-hearted, hare-lipped chief of -the Crows--and would have taken me to his squaws to torture, had not -my brothers rescued me. He, too, has seen the bird which hovers over -the graves of the Blackfeet, and his woman's heart froze at the -sight.' - -'And has the chief seen this bird himself?' asked Dick Wharton. - -'Warwolf has seen it,' he replied. - -'And that is about all he means to tell you,' muttered Snap aside, -and Snap was right. - -In spite of all Wharton's ingenious pumping the Indian would tell no -more, except that the Lone Mountain was accursed, that the white -spirits of dead chiefs were wandering about it, bewailing the trouble -that was to come, and that far up above the graveyards of the Indians -brooded this great white bird. As to what the bird was like, though -he had seen it, he would say nothing. Indians are always very loth -to discuss what they call medicine, _i.e._ magic and things relating -thereto, and this bird was the spirit of evil incarnate. - -'All gammon, I suppose, Dick?' asked Frank later on. - -'Well, no, not altogether,' replied he; 'of course I can't explain -what he is driving at, but you may bet there is some truth at the -bottom of his story--a trick, most likely, of his own rascally -medicine-man; but, whatever it is, neither Crows nor Blackfeet will -be about here as much as usual for some time, and that's bully for -us.' - -The next three days were spent in looking for the most suitable spot -on which to erect the hut in which to pass the winter, and in hunting -and drying the flesh of the beasts they killed. Warwolf remained -with them, lending a hand and giving advice, whilst his strength -gradually returned, and the deep cuts made by the thongs of the Crows -healed over and disappeared. - -On the fourth day all were busy in camp, preparing the winter -quarters, except Frank, who had been sent out to get fresh meat, and, -being a poor and inexperienced hand at stalking, had apparently been -led far from home before getting his shot. Towards evening, however, -the crack of his rifle was heard again and again. - -'By Jove!' cried Towzer, 'Major has got amongst them now, at any -rate.' - -'Yes,' remarked Wharton; 'I wish as he'd remember that we haven't got -a cartridge factory handy, though.' - -'By George! how he is wasting them!' added Snap as report after -report rang out in the distance. - -All this time Warwolf stood still as a stone, listening. - -'My brothers had better be ready,' he now said; 'Frank fired once -half an hour ago. Warwolf heard him. Those last shots were not -fired by the white hunter.' - -'Who fired them then?' cried Towzer. - -'The Crows,' replied the chief. - -'The Crows! then----' and the boy stopped and his face fell. - -'Come, Dick,' said Snap, catching up his rifle. 'Warwolf is right, -but we may save him yet, and if not----' - -'No,' interrupted Warwolf, 'the white warriors will wait here. -Warwolf will go and find out what has happened. The white hunter -lives still. If the Crows had got a fair shot at him they would have -fired once and my brother would have died. If he had been surrounded -he would have fought, his rifle would have answered theirs, and we -should have heard it. But he escaped as soon as the Crows discovered -him; those shots were fired when our brother dashed into the forest. -I go to meet him.' And so the Indian glided away and was gone. - -'Best leave him have his own way,' said Wharton, 'he knows more than -we do, and he'll give his own hair to save Frank's.' - -The two boys could not deny the justice of what old Wharton said, but -the waiting for news was weary work for all that, and even Wharton -was making preparations to start on a search for his two comrades, -when they came back to camp, Frank pale and bleeding, leaning heavily -on Warwolf, whose hunting-shirt was soaked with the boy's blood. - -'Stand back, and don't worry him with questions,' commanded old Dick; -'and you, young 'un, if you want to help your brother, pile them rugs -up for us to bed him down on. What is it, Warwolf?' he added as he -lowered the boy, half fainting from loss of blood, on to the skins. - -'The white hunter shot a buck near a camp of Crows. An Indian would -have seen their camp-fire before he saw the buck, but the white man -had only eyes for the buck. The Crows heard the shot, and their -braves stole round the hunter. Had he not been fleeter than the -pronghorn on the prairie, they would have scalped him before dusk. -As it is, he has only got a bullet through his arm. To-morrow he -will be rested and well;' and, so saying, the chief went on preparing -some herbs and simple remedies which he had drawn from a sack of -beaver-skin which he carried about him. - -'Are there many of the Crows in camp?' asked Dick. - -'A large party on the war-path,' replied Warwolf, bandaging up -Frank's arm in a kind of herb-poultice. - -'What does my brother advise?' asked Dick. - -'If the young hunter was strong enough to travel,' replied the -Indian, 'we might escape to-night and perhaps reach my tribe before -the accursed Crows overtook us. As it is, we must wait and fight -here. We shall kill many of them.' - -'But,' said Snap, 'we cannot possibly beat off so large a party. It -will cost every one of us our lives.' - -'It will,' replied the Indian grimly; 'but it will cost the Crows -more.' - -'Oh, hang the Crows,' cried Dick, 'I don't think much of your plan, -chief, though I confess I can think of nothing better.' - -'I can though, Dick,' said Snap. - -'Out with it then, my boy.' - -'Well, didn't Warwolf say that it was only six or seven miles from -here to the Lone Mountain?' - -'That's so,' replied Wharton. - -'And,' continued Snap, 'since this terrible bird has settled there, -no Indian will put foot on the mountain.' - -'You've got it, Snap,' cried Dick enthusiastically, 'that's our -chance, we can carry Frank that far.' - -Warwolf's face had been a study while the boy spoke, and now he broke -in with vehement endeavours to dissuade the whites from their rash -undertaking. - -'No! no! Warwolf,' replied Wharton, 'you may believe in your great -bird if you like, but I guess the only birds as trouble me just now -are them tarnation Crows.' - -'My brothers must please themselves,' replied the chief; 'Warwolf -will die with them, if they wish, here at the hands of the Crows, but -to enter the Lone Mountain now is madness. If my brothers will, they -must go alone.' - -'Right you are, chief; this much you shall do for us,' said Snap: -'help us to take Frank on my pony to the foot of the mountain, then -do you take the pony and escape to your own tribe and bring them with -you to save us.' - -'To avenge you?' said the Indian. - -'Very well, to avenge us,' assented Snap, and so it was settled. - -Frank was put on the Cradle's back, and in silence, with rifles at -the ready, they broke up their camp and crept through the forest -towards the haunted mountain. - -The dawn was coming when the chief left them, his fine, fierce face -clouded with a sorrow which even his stoicism could not conceal. He -looked on his friends as going to their doom. He tried once more to -persuade them either to stop and fight the Crows in some extemporised -fort in the forest, or to trust to the Crows not catching them before -they could reach the Blackfoot village. - -'It's no good, Warwolf,' said Dick, 'with a party as big as ours they -would catch us before to-morrow midday. You and the Cradle may get -off if you are clever, and they won't follow us up there,' pointing -to the peak, now showing in places through the morning mists above -the great pines. - -Without a word the Indian turned and left them, backing the pony -carefully over the old trail; he had already risked more than a -thousand Crows in coming so near to the accursed spot, and he would -not wait to hear the air full of the rushing of wings and see -Okeeheedee stoop from his mountain crag and destroy the white men. - -Frank's strength was coming back a little by this time, so that with -Snap and Dick to help him he was able to walk with the rest. - -As the sun rose the little party emerged from the forest on to a -small prairie, from the further side of which rose the abrupt black -mass of the Lone Mountain, an isolated spur of the chain which -separated the land of the Crows from the hunting-grounds of the -Blackfeet. Round the foot of the great rock wound a rapid stream, -which had risen somewhere in the mountains beyond it, and perhaps a -thousand feet above the stream was a broad, grassy terrace covered -with tents, banners, and what looked in the faint light of dawn like -the figures of men. - -'Sink down!' cried Snap as he caught sight of this encampment. 'The -Crows are there before us.' - -'No, they aren't,' replied Dick; 'them's Blackfeet there.' - -'Then we're safe, aren't we?' asked Frank with a sigh of relief. - -'Not yet, my hearty,' replied Dick cheerily, 'but we soon shall be. -Them's dead Blackfeet up there, and I guess they'll skeer the Crows -more nor live 'uns.' - -'Dead Blackfeet!' ejaculated Towzer. - -'Yes, young 'un, just a graveyard, that's all!' replied Wharton. - -As they drew near, the boys saw that he was right. The figures were -monuments of wood, carved like men sometimes, at others like quaintly -devised demons. The pennons floated from what were but dead men's -headstones, and in the white tents with open doorways lay chieftains -sleeping the last long sleep and waiting 'till the flush of morning, -the morning of another world, should break along their battlefield.' - -Suddenly an exclamation from Towzer drew all eyes to a point a few -hundred feet above this camp of the dead. The boy's eyes were wide -open, and his jaw dropped in horror. His flesh crept as he looked. - -Above the graveyard the rock rose sheer and steep, a wall of rock -like the side of a house, and yet as the boys looked in the misty -light they saw one after another a long train of white figures slowly -passing across it. One by one they paced along, sedate and slow, -their snowy whiteness coming out in strong contrast to the gloom of -their surroundings. - -'What is it?' asked Snap in an awed under-tone. - -'Bust me if I knows,' said Dick with savage earnestness, 'but, ghosts -or no, I am a-goin' to hide up there. I guess ghosts don't hurt as -much as Crows, anyway.' - -Meanwhile Snap had brought his glass to bear on the rock. - -'All right, Dick,' he laughed, 'you were pretty near. If they aren't -ghosts they are goats, which sounds something like it, though I never -heard of goats like 'em before.' - -'Rocky Mountain goats! are they, by thunder?' ejaculated Wharton; -'wal, I've often heerd tell of 'em, but never seed any till to-day. -You're sure they are goats, Snap?' - -'Yes, quite sure; but look for yourself,' and he handed the glasses -to Wharton. - -'Well, they're rum-looking critters,' remarked Dick after a long -stare at the white procession now disappearing over a shoulder of the -rock; 'they're goats right enough, though they do look more like -little buffalo-bulls with that hump on their shoulders. But, all the -same, they're Warwolf's ghosts as well,' he added with a laugh. - -After tramping round the foot of the mountain for a while, Towzer, -who was ahead of the rest, called out, 'And there's Warwolf's bird, -by Jupiter! our old friend the balloon!' - -Even Frank managed to 'boil up' a trot when they heard this, to find -Towzer staring up to the highest peak, six or seven thousand feet -above where they then stood, over the very topmost stone of which a -great balloon seemed to hover. - -No wonder that that great mass of white silk, rising and falling as -if all a-tremble with life, now darting out a few yards from its -eyrie, now settling slowly back again, had filled the simple Indians -with fear and awe. Even to the whites, who understood it, it was a -marvel. What was it doing there? Who brought it, and why did he -anchor his sky-ship in such a harbour? Where, too, was he, its -master mariner? - -These, and a dozen questions such as these, passed through their -minds as they gazed. Reading his companions' unspoken thoughts and -answering them, Snap said at last: - -'I reckon we had better go and see.' - -'Yes!' said Dick, 'we should be pretty snug up there alongside -Okeeheedee as they call this bird of theirs; but it is a mighty stiff -climb, and I don't know how we shall get ourselves up, let alone -Frank here.' - -'Leave me here, Dick,' said Frank; 'the Crows won't dare to come as -near the peak as this, and in a day or two I shall be strong enough -to come to you, if they are not sick of waiting for us by that time.' - -'We'll see you sugared first, old fellow, and then we won't,' replied -Towzer. 'Come along out of that,' and, taking one arm, whilst Snap -took the other, he helped his brother along until they reached the -level of the graveyard. - -Here the road grew worse, and it soon became a question of -rock-climbing, pure and simple. Then it was that the forethought -which becomes habitual with the North-western hunter showed itself. -From his waist Old Dick unwound a long lariat, and at the first -seemingly impossible place got the party out of their difficulties -easily enough by throwing the loop over a projecting point a great -many feet above them and climbing up by the ladder thus extemporised -to the little point itself. The boys followed him one after another, -and then Snap and Dick, having instructed Frank to make the rope fast -under his arms, hauled him up alongside of them. From here, by using -the dizzy little gallery along which the wild goats had gone, the -party managed to get to that shoulder over which they had seen the -goats disappear. - -By this time the balloon was comparatively close to them. They could -see its car, and that it was anchored by a rope to the rocks over -which it hung. They could have seen a man, had one been there, but -they saw none. Hoping that if they could attract his attention he -would show them the road to his eyrie, the boys whistled again and -again. But no answer came, except the echo of their own whistles and -the shrill scream of a hawk which they had disturbed from its -look-out. - -'Deuced odd!' said Snap. - -'Asleep or dead, I should think,' said Frank, and the croak of a -great raven sailing by below them, so close that they could see its -bright yellow eye looking at them, seemed to echo 'Dead! dead!' - -'Not a cheerful locality, even for a graveyard,' muttered Snap as the -sun was hidden for a second behind the cliffs; 'however, for'ard on!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -AT THE TOP - -'Beat, I think,' said Snap a little later; and, indeed, it looked as -if man could go no higher than the point to which, by infinite toil, -the boys had now attained. - -'You two stay here a little,' he added to the two Winthrops, 'and -take care of the grub and the rifle,' for, in spite of the -difficulties of the ascent, Wharton had insisted on bringing one -rifle and his 'six-shooter,' as well as a handkerchief full of bread -per man. - -'Dick, you will come with me, won't you?' he asked, and, as the old -trapper nodded his head in assent, he added, 'Very well, then: do you -get a good grip of something so that you could hold my weight up if -necessary, and give me the other end of that lariat round my waist.' - -The place to which they had attained was a narrow ledge of granite, -ending in a niche in the rock, with an overhanging roof to it. Above -was a smooth needle of solid rock, broken and ragged at the summit, -but for two hundred feet as smooth and perpendicular as a pillar of -marble. There were no crannies in this into which to insert toes and -fingers, however strong and daring. The storms and snows of ten -thousand years had worn the granite until its face was polished like -the face of a jewel, and it was hard as a diamond. - -'I don't think even the Alpine Club could tackle that,' Frank had -said when they first saw the peak. - -'I'm not so sure of that,' Snap answered; 'they couldn't from here, -of course, but perhaps there's a way round. Remember, they climbed -the Dru.' - -And now, with the dogged pluck which characterised the boy, he was -going to look for what he called a way round. The position was this. -The hollow in which the party lay ended abruptly. Beyond it was the -polished rock, without a blade of grass or a twig upon it. Above was -two hundred feet of the same, bending, if anything, a little towards -the would-be climber, as if the giant spire were about to tumble over -into the gulf of clouds and mist which lay below. If any of our -little party toppled out of their nest they had a clean run for two -or three thousand feet, as old Dick said, and 'nothing of any -consequence to hinder 'em between that and the prairie.' - -The lariat was fast round old Dick's waist, and securely fastened, -too, to Snap's leather belt, which he had taken the precaution of -fixing well up under his armpits. A close scrutiny of the rock to -the right of the crevice had shown the boys that, though there was no -cranny big enough for a sparrow to perch upon above, there was just -one narrow, thread-like crack running from the end of their niche -towards the sharp edge of the needle, which, jutting out some fifteen -feet from them, formed a corner round which they could not see -anything. - -'That's our chance,' said Snap; 'I can get my fingers in here, and, -as I can see it all the way, I expect it gets larger further on.' - -All the party looked white and drawn except Snap; it was a desperate -risk, and all knew it, and old Dick would gladly have persuaded the -boy to rest content with their present quarters. But it was too late -now. As the old foreman knelt with his face inwards, gripping the -rock, ready at any moment to take the strain which Snap's fall would -put upon the rope, the latter was digging his fingers deeply into the -solitary crack. He had taken off his moccasins, and was barefooted -and in his shirt-sleeves. Even his cap was off. He wanted no -encumbrances, however slight, just now. Two or three times he tried -his grip, and then, clinging with his bare feet to the smooth rock, -he let himself go and hung spread-eagled against the granite wall. - -[Illustration: ON THE FACE OF THE CLIFF] - -As he hung dangling by the first joints of his fingers over the -horrid abyss a cold wind came and struck him. It blew his damp hair -back from his face, it seemed to chill his straining fingers, and to -threaten to tear him from his precarious hold. But not for one -half-second did he hesitate. He had considered the peril and braced -himself to meet it. Slowly, a foot at a time, he worked his way -along. The first foot or two was the difficult part of his journey, -for there, as he shifted his hold, his body hung literally upon four -fingers and no more. But he comforted himself with the thought of -the stout lariat round his waist and the strong arms which held it in -the niche he had left. After the first few feet he was able to get -more of his hands into the rock, and, though his eye had not noticed -them, his bare feet found little inequalities and rough spots to -which they clung like the feet of a fly to the ceiling. - -As he drew near the corner his excitement grew, hope and fear -alternating in his breast. At last he could look round it, and he -saw that the proverb was again justified, 'Where there's a will -there's a way.' - -'A precious bad way,' thought Snap, 'but still better than this,' -and, so thinking, he crept round the corner, and after what had -seemed an age to him again got his foot on a firm hold. For here -round the corner was a broad ledge, as if made by the falling away -from the cone of some great chip of granite when that convulsion had -taken place which had rent the cone from its very summit to where he -stood. Now too he saw clearly that, though solid on the other side, -a great crack ran down the peak on this side, just big enough for a -man to squeeze into at the bottom, and slowly widening, until at the -top the cone was divided into three distinct peaks, on the largest of -which the balloon was anchored. - -Snap had arranged with Dick that three sharp tugs at the lariat meant -'Come along, I can hold you.' First he passed a bit of the lariat -round a jutting corner of the broken rock, and then he gave the three -tugs agreed upon. - -With eyes shut and heart beating he clung to the rock, and prayed -that Dick might not slip. It seemed an hour of waiting until he -heard a loud gasp at his side, and Dick's voice panting out: - -'Wal, I reckon that's summat of a crawl, but blow me if I think -Natur' ever meant me to do them bluebottle tricks.' - -As he spoke it seemed as if a thaw had suddenly set in in Snap's -heart, the relief was so great, and, clinging hard to the rocks, they -both laughed until the boys in the crevice heard them, and wished -that they were there to share in the merriment. - -'Wal, now, Snap, what next? You couldn't set us an easier one this -time, now, could you?' asked Dick. - -'Yes, Dick, it's not so bad this time, it's only what mountaineers -call a chimney, and then we shall be there.' - -'Oh, only a chimney, he says,' muttered Dick; 'fust you turns -bluebottle, then you turns sweep--all quite natural, of course--and -then you're there. And, unless we turn balloonatics when we git -there, there, it seems to me, we'll stick!' - -'You follow me, Dick,' said Snap, 'and do as I do; shove your elbows -and knees against the opposite sides of the crack as soon as you have -room to, and wriggle up.' - -Dick obeyed, talking away to himself all the while, so that, had the -danger been less, the inclination to laugh would have taken the -strength out of Snap's arms and let him down with a crash. - -'Look out for stones, Dick!' cried Snap all at once, as a few great -fragments of granite came rattling down. - -'All right, sonny,' cried the voice from below; 'never mind the -"sut," but tell us when the top brick's a-comin'.' - -'Now, Dick,' said Snap, after about fifty feet of this work, 'you'll -have to shove your back and hands against one side and your feet -against the other, like this, and shove your way up so.' - -'All right, pard, I understand: I've got to sit on about 5,000 feet -of nothing at all and keep going up'ards. Quite simple. Go ahead!' - -'Hang it, Dick, do be serious,' replied Snap, laughing. - -'Well, so I am, ain't I?' replied the old man; 'you don't suppose I'm -here for enjoyment, do you?' - -Snap, looking down between his legs at the cowboy below him, would -have exploded with laughter had he dared to. The old chap was -growling away to himself, and puffing and blowing with the unusual -exercise, but gripping the rock with hands like eagles' claws, and -pushing with his strong legs until, as Snap told him afterwards, he -was in momentary dread of seeing the opposite wall come down. - -'Now hold on a bit, Dick,' cried the voice above after a pause, 'and -toss that lariat up my way if you can.' - -There was a good deal of grumbling, but at last the lariat lay across -Snap's legs, and, getting hold of it, he made cast after cast at a -little spike of rock some ten feet above him. It was difficult -shooting with a noose at such a mark in such a position, and he -heartily wished old Dick could change places with him. But that was -impossible. - -'I reckon my back 'll hold out about three more shies, Snap,' said -the voice from below; 'there ain't much starch left in it.' - -'All right, Dick,' replied Snap, 'I've lassoed the rock now, firm and -fast. One minute!' - -The old man saw the boy hang on to the rope and scramble by its help -to the point above mentioned. - -'Now, Dick!' he cried, and Dick caught the rope and scrambled up -after his companion. - -'All easy-going now, like going upstairs,' said Snap; and so indeed -it was, for the two were now on the last torn pinnacle of the summit, -which was so cracked and riven that a child could have climbed it. - -'Poor chap! So that's his story!' exclaimed Wharton ten minutes -later, as a great bird, gorged and heavy, rose sullenly from a -cup-like hollow in the top of the main peak and slid on silent wings -into the deep sky beyond. - -Where the bird rose, lay what had been a man, and that not many days -ago; but the elements and the fowls of heaven had not left enough of -the poor clay to tell whether he was white or red. On closer -inspection a grey Tyrolese hat with green riband, and tuft of -izzard's hair set in it as a plume, told Snap even his nationality, -and a broken pair of spectacles confirmed his guess and almost -enabled him to re-clothe those poor bones in his mind's eye with the -very flesh of the German professor which once covered them. - -The balloon, which was still well inflated, had dragged its anchor -amongst these rocks and at last struck a firm hold amongst them, and -still, as they reached it, tugged and strained at its mooring with a -semblance of life in ghastly contrast to the everlasting peace which -had fallen upon its helmsman and master. - -'The jerk when that there thing pulled up sudden chucked him out, I -guess,' said Dick, pointing at the bones; 'and look here, it's broke -his arm in two places, and his thigh. Poor wretch, pity but what he -didn't fall clear over the edge anyway!' - -'That's not what he thought, Dick,' said Snap, who had picked up a -log-book which lay by the dead man's side and bore on its cover of -calf-skin more than one mark of the vulture's prying beak. '"Gott -sei Dank," he begins--and it looks as if he had written it in his own -blood, poor fellow--"thank God," he says, "that I shall have time to -write----"' - -'Yes, well, never mind that now, pard; I guess we'll have lots of -time to read that by-and-by. There ain't much room up here, and I -guess we'd better go as near giving this foreigner Christian burial -as circumstances will allow; you don't happen to recollect a prayer -as will suit, do you now, Snap?' - -'What do you mean, Wharton? you can't dig a grave in this rock.' - -'No, lad, I know that,' he replied, 'and I ain't goin' to try. But -we've got to live here, maybe some days, and there's hardly room for -us as are alive, even if dead men's society was as attractive as it -ain't.' - -Whilst he spoke the old man had approached the figure, which half -lay, half sat, in the hollow, its limbs broken and its face torn away -by birds of prey. Reverently the old man lifted his hat, saying to -the thing at his feet: - -'You'll forgive us, pard, but we're kinder cramped for room up here, -and if so be as you're gone aloft a few thousand feet more or less -between you and these bones of yourn won't make no odds.' - -Snap looked at Dick in some horror, but the old man's manner was so -reverent and yet so determined that he did not interfere. - -Tearing a rug, which before his strength left him he must have got -somehow or other from the car of the balloon, into fine strips, Dick -spliced them together into a cord. Then he rolled the remains up in -the long cloak in which they lay, wound his cord of strips round and -round it, and then turned again to Snap: - -'Snap, my lad, don't take on at what I'm doing,' he said; 'there -ain't no place for the dead among the living, nor can be neither. -You don't believe as these bones is him, do you? Very well, then, I -want you to help me bury them down there,' and the foreman pointed -out over the brink of the precipice. - -The afternoon had passed now, and one or two stars were beginning to -show faintly in the sky. Down below, the mists were rising thickly -from the wet bottom-lands and from the bed of the stream, and were -drifting through the gorges of the mountains and up and up, until, -looking over from then: dizzy stand, Dick and Snap saw nothing but -heaving billows of heavy white clouds. It wanted but very little -fancy to imagine that those clouds were white waves breaking round -the base of the cliff on which they stood. - -'Take the other end of the pack, Snap,' commanded Wharton; 'now, boy, -have you got a prayer handy?' - -'No, Dick,' faltered Snap, 'I don't know what to say.' - -'Then just you do as I do,' said the old man, 'just say good-bye to -the poor chap; I remember a mate told me years agone that good-bye -meant "God be with you." I reckon that ain't a bad prayer.' - -With his head averted the boy did as he was told. - -'Good-bye,' said Dick, 'good-bye, pard!'--and 'good-bye' echoed -Snap--their voices sounding faint and strange as they stood up there -close to the stars, with the white clouds below and the dead man -between them. - -[Illustration: GOOD-BYE, PARD] - -'Swing it, Snap, and let go,' said Wharton, and the boy's hands let -go as the light burden which they bore flew outwards over the edge. - -By some fascination which he could not resist Snap looked down, and -saw the dreadful bale spin round and down with awful velocity, until -as it plunged into the billowy clouds of mist for a moment he fancied -an arm broke loose from its bandages and stretched up towards him as -the body disappeared from view. - -And then all was over. No sound came back to tell them that it had -reached its resting-place. The stars stood still in the heavens, and -Snap hated them for their cold, unsympathising stare. The granite -rocks looked cold and hard and terrible, and the sky itself looked as -hard and as merciless as the rocks. - -A strong hand gripped Snap's shoulder at that moment, and a kind, -strong voice was in his ear: - -'Come out of that, lad; if you look over them rocks any longer -they'll kinder draw you down after him.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -AT THE END OF THE ROPE - -'I guess our young 'uns will be feeling as if the old birds had -deserted,' said Dick after a time. 'How do you reckon to get them -up, Snap?' - -'Well, I've just been looking over the top of that other point,' said -Snap, indicating one of the other points of the peak, 'and I find we -can get down pretty easily to within about 150 feet of them, but from -there down it's like ice, the rock is so smooth.' - -'Let's see if we can pull this balloon in,' said Dick; 'may be, there -is a rope in the car;' and as he spoke he and Snap got hold of the -rope which held the captive balloon, and hauled on it. To their -surprise it came in easily, though now and then it gave a tug which -threatened to jerk them off their feet. When they had got it so -close that they could see into the car Snap was on the point of -getting in. - -'Steady, boy, hold on! If you let go I may not be able to keep her -down, and then there you'll be hung up like a bird in a cage,' roared -Dick. - -'Well, what are we going to do?' panted Snap. - -'Just pay out the rope again steadily, pard; don't let it go with a -jerk, whatever you do,' replied Wharton. - -'And now?' asked Snap when the balloon was once more at the end of -its tether. - -'Now,' replied Dick, 'we'll make another halter for that there airy -steed. Lend us the lariat.' - -Taking off his belt, which fastened with a great metal hook, Wharton -cut the latter off the belt and fastened it to one end of the lariat; -the other end he made fast to a rock. - -'Now, my lad,' said he, holding the hook in his teeth, 'haul him in -again,' and, yo-ho-ing like sailors at the capstan, they soon had the -balloon alongside. - -'Bear on the rope with all your might, pard!' said Dick, leaning back -and throwing all his weight on one hand, whilst with the other he -hitched the hook at the end of the lariat into one of the ropes round -the car. - -'Now let go, you can let her rip! I guess she'll not break away from -them moorings,' said Dick; 'and if you'll get in and look what there -is inside you'll have no trouble in getting out again and no fear of -being flown away with.' - -In another minute Snap was in the car, and cried out to Dick: -'Hurrah! here is everything we want; heaps of rugs and two coils of -rope; but it's very thin stuff,' he added. - -'Chuck it out, my boy!' cried Wharton, and two coils of new yellow -hemp came tumbling to his feet, followed by a buffalo-robe and two -blankets. - -'Four-point blankets!' remarked Dick, 'and a thirty-dollar robe, -anyway. Is there anything else?' - -'Yes,' replied the boy, 'some instruments--a dozen, I should think--a -big flask, a big pipe, and a lot of round tins of provisions with -"Silver, Cornhill" on them.' - -'Throw them down, Snap, I'll catch them,' cried Dick, 'and bring the -pipe and the flask with you, and then we'll try to get to the boys.' - -Snap obeyed, and in another minute swung himself out of the car and -dropped beside his companion. - -'It is pretty thin rope, this,' remarked Dick, handling one of the -coils which Snap had thrown to him, 'but it seems uncommonly strong -too. What is this, anyway?' he added, pointing to a thin red strand -which ran through the rope. - -Snap looked at it for a moment, and then, clapping his hand on Dick's -shoulder, rejoined, 'We're right now, old chap; that is an Alpine -Club rope, or at any rate made like them, and is as tough as wire. -Whales wouldn't break it or razors cut it, never fear; if it's long -enough we'll have Towzer and Frank up here in no time.' - -By splicing the ropes together Snap found that he could just reach -his friends, so that he and Dick started without more ado, and, -climbing down the chimney again for some time, got on to its other -wall, and thence to a point from which the rope could be lowered to -Frank's crevice. As it hung for some time unnoticed by the boys, -Dick began to fidget. - -'I reckon they've gone to sleep. That Towzer's a holy terror for -slumbering,' he remarked. - -'They can't have fallen out, can they, Dick?' asked Snap anxiously. - -'No, no, not they!' replied he; 'and I expect it's just because they -don't want to that we don't get a bite at our line. Swing it in a -bit if you can; you see they daren't reach out for it.' - -'True for you!' said Snap, and began vigorously to agitate the rope. -But he soon found that it requires time and considerable skill to -make the end of a rope 200 ft. long obey your bidding, and he was -almost in despair, when the rope suddenly began as it were of itself -to swing in the right direction. - -'At last!' he ejaculated as the rope after swinging in a little -further than usual failed to return. - -On the end of the rope they had fastened a note to Towzer in these -words: 'Tie Frank on to the line securely, give two tugs when you are -ready, and let him swing out gently; we'll haul him up.' - -It seems easy enough to do when you only read about it, but to a man -crouching in a cranny in the rock, with thousands of feet of a sheer -fall below him and no twig even for his hands to clutch, it is a -terrible thing to tie the rope under his arms and let himself go out -into space, one thin thread only connecting him with this world--a -mere atom swinging helplessly in space. What if the rope should -break? what if the friendly hands above should grow cramped, or even -if their strength should fail for a moment? What? Why, only a -short, sharp rush through the air, and then--long rest! The right -way to manage such an ascent is, of course, to have a bar at the end -of your rope. On this the person to be hauled up sits, one leg on -either side of the rope, and face inwards, so that by touching the -rock with the feet the climber may steer himself a little or at any -rate resist that tendency to spin round like a roasting-jack which is -so terrible. - -Never did a rope take more adjusting than that rope round Frank. -Towzer tried every knot and every strand again and again with -desperate care. He felt that his brother's life depended on him, and -when he said good-bye before giving those two terrible tugs the tears -rushed to the poor boy's eyes and his hands clung to Frank's as if -they would never leave them. - -Up at the top, too, those two strong men were gazing anxiously into -each other's faces. It was a long pull, and Frank a terribly heavy -fellow. If he began to swing, could they get him up? It was a heavy -responsibility, but one at least out of the two felt that, rather -than let go of the rope which held the man whose life was entrusted -to him, that rope should drag him too over the cliff to the hereafter. - -And then the tugs came, sharp and firm, Frank's brave old fist giving -them, and he even managed to make a poor little joke as he swung out, -although he knew it was useless, for Towzer had turned and was -cowering breathless, his eyes hidden against the back of the little -cave. The young one felt as if his brother had gone to execution and -his hand had sent him. - -Steadily foot by foot the rope came home, the two men coiling it -round a rough natural pillar of rock as they got it in, until they -saw Frank's hands grip the top; and then with one great pull they -dragged him roughly over, 'high and dry,' as Wharton said, out of the -great deep. What matter if that last pull tore his clothes on the -ragged granite and hurt his wounded arm? It was pleasant even to be -hurt by the solid rock beneath you after dangling so long in mid-air. - -Dick and Snap lay down, like dogs who have done a hard day's work, -flat on their bellies. Cold as it was, the perspiration poured from -their faces and their limbs trembled with fatigue and excitement, so -that they could not stand upright. To Frank they hardly spoke. -By-and-by each came and shook hands in silence--that was all. Then -Dick spoke: - -'Snap, we must get young Towzer up; there are three now, and he is -only a light weight.' - -Carefully they overhauled every inch of the rope and then let it down -again. This time it was soon caught, and they all stood back and -waited for the tug. When it came they all hauled with a will. - -'Why, he's no weight at all,' said Snap after taking in the first -handful or two of slack rope. - -'That's just it!' said Wharton, 'there is no one on the rope; you -hold hard whilst I go and look,' and as he spoke Dick went to the -edge and looked over. - -'No!' he sang out, 'there's no one on; let the rope go again, there -must be some mistake.' - -Again the rope swung into the crevice, was caught, held, and -returned, and again no one was on it. - -This time the men hauled it up, thinking Towzer must have found some -fault in the rope. All that they found was a note and these words: -'Dear Frank, forgive; I know I'm a little idiot, but I can't come. I -should go mad if I saw myself hanging by that thread. I'll stay here -until to-morrow, and then perhaps I can get down and up some other -way. Don't mind me, it's awfully jolly here.--TOWZER.' - -'"Awfully jolly here!" poor little chap, he's got the horrors, and if -we leave him he'll go looking over until he can't help throwing -himself down,' said Dick. 'Let's go to him, one of us.' - -'No!' said Frank, and his voice sounded hard and cruel, and his fair -skin was all aflame, 'we'll send this down, please;' and with shaking -hand he wrote: 'For shame, remember you are a Winthrop; will you let -these fellows see that you are afraid?' - -At his word the two sound men lowered the rope again, and this time -when the tugs came there was a weight at the end of it--a weight that -swung and spun and tried their strength more even than Frank had -done. At last they dragged him to the top, and as his head came over -the edge they looked to see his hands grip the ground, but in vain! -Like a log he rolled on the top and lay there, his head hanging -limply, like the head of a dead snowdrop, and Frank wrung his hands -as he thought that his pride had killed 'the little one.' - -'It's all right, pard, don't you take on like that,' said Wharton -cheerfully; 'he's swooned away or gone to sleep with dizziness. -He'll come round again directly.' - -Picking the boy up gently, they got him across to the nest, as Dick -called the hollow by the balloon. - -'Better carry him like this than if he was awake and mad with fright, -poor chap,' said Wharton; and then, when he had rolled his charge up -in a buffalo-robe, and poured some spirits from the flask down his -throat, he begged the other two to lie down and rest. - -'We shall want all our strength if we mean living through the next -few days,' said the old foreman, 'and I can't do with more nor one -invalid at a time.' - -By-and-by Towzer came round, but his eyes were wild and his mouth -twitched, so that he could hardly speak distinctly. Wharton noticed -Frank's face as he watched his brother, and, coming over to him, he -laid a great knotted fist on the elder Winthrop's shoulder: - -'Look here, my lad,' he said, 'I saw what you wrote, and I let it go, -because I knowed that if we didn't get the boy up to-night we'd never -see him again: but don't you get thinking hard things about your -brother. He's got grit enough for anything. Pluck's a matter of -constitootion, and his is just upon played out. He'll be better when -he has had some grub and a sleep. Now give us a match,' and, -selecting one from the bundle offered to him, he solemnly lifted a -leg, rubbed the match smartly on the seat of his trousers, and -applied it to the bottom of one of the provision tins before alluded -to. - -'Well,' Snap said, 'that's ingenious; how did you know how to manage -them?' - -'How?' replied Dick, 'I guess if you'd lived the life I have you'd -know all a man can know about tinned meat. Why, blow me if I don't -think you could start a dividend-paying tin-mine where we first lived -when we started ranching on the Rosebud, and all the tin you'd ever -find there came outside our grub.' - -'Oh, I've seen tinned meats before, Dick,' answered Snap, 'but a -tinned fire to cook it by, that's what gets over me.' - -The tin in question was an ingenious contrivance with a roll of wick -saturated with spirit underneath the tin pot, which held (in this -instance) an excellent curried fowl. A roll of soft lead covers the -saturated wick, and all the traveller has to do is to tear off the -lead and light the wick. In ten minutes' time the curry will be -ready, and if then he is not satisfied with his supper the traveller -must be very hard to please. Whoever invented these ingenious tins -deserves a monument to be erected to his memory by the hunters, -travellers, mountaineers, and others whom he has fed. - -After doing substantial justice to the fare before them, or, as Dick -put it, 'after wolfing two of them tins,' and drinking more whisky -neat than they had ever done at one sitting before, even Towzer began -to recover. But Dick wouldn't hear of his talking, and at the first -attempt rolled him up in a buffalo-rug and, sitting solemnly down on -his legs, lit the great pipe of the German professor. - -In ten minutes, to all intents and purposes, Dick was alone, for, -though the bodies of the three boys breathed at his side, their minds -were far away in the land of dreams and slumber. For some time the -old man puffed away in silence--the stars above winking solemnly down -at him as he kept that one bright spark alight with infinite care, -close to the end of his nose. - -'I'm jiggered if I don't think they're a-laughin' at us,' he -muttered, looking at the stars, 'and I don't wonder. It's been a -pretty tough job gettin' here, but how we're goin' to get out beats -me. Howsomdever, Dick, my lad, bed!--bed-rock it is, my hearty!' -and, grumbling and growling, he poked his finger into his pipe, -extinguished the ashes, and crawled under a corner of Towzer's robe. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -READING THE WILL - -A sudden rushing wind struck Snap upon the cheek, and he awoke; awoke -with a smell of carrion in his nostrils and a dark cloud floating -over his eyes. As he sprang to his feet it was gone, but the view -that suddenly confronted him--the narrow bed on which he had slept, -and the yawning abyss beneath--made him reel and stagger with horror. -Recovering himself as his faculties came back from dreamland, he -heard a harsh 'croak! croak!' and saw the cloud which had broken his -slumbers floating, on wings which scarcely moved, round and round the -summit, turning its ugly head enquiringly towards him every time it -passed. - -'You fiend!' he muttered, shaking his fist at the raven, 'I wonder, -after the hundred years you've lived about this peak and its -graveyards, that you don't know a live man from a dead one; perhaps -that will teach you,' and as the bird came by again he hurled a lump -of granite at it with an accuracy and energy which would not be -denied. - -The stone caught the bird full, and sounded hollow on its great wing. -For a moment it staggered, and two black feathers fluttered ever so -slowly down, until it made Snap sick to watch them going, going, as -if they never would stop; but the raven righted himself, and with a -fierce croak sailed on out of sight. - -'Sounded as if he was a cursing of you, didn't it, Snap?' said -Wharton's voice at the boy's side; 'a nice old party he is! But I -wish we had his wings.' - -'Yes, Dick,' replied Snap, 'even without those two pen-feathers I -knocked out of him.' - -'If Warwolf had seen you do that,' remarked Wharton, 'he would never -have been happy again, That bird is "Great Medicine" with the -Blackfeet.' - -'Great humbug,' retorted Snap indignantly. - -'Just so, that's the way as I always translate it myself,' replied -the foreman; 'but I say, I wonder if Warwolf got clear away?' - -'I hope he did,' said Snap, 'I should like to see the poor old Cradle -again.' - -'What, that horse?' answered Dick; 'wal, if the chief didn't get -clear away, I reckon neither you nor me will want any hoss again.' - -'No, I suppose not, Dick,' replied Snap grimly; 'I wonder if these -chaps realise what a corner we are in,' he added, pointing over his -shoulder to his sleeping comrades. - -'Frank may,' said Dick; 'I'm not rightly certain whether the young -'un understands anything yet.' - -'What do you mean, Dick? you don't mean that he has gone off his -head, do you?' replied Snap a little vaguely. - -'He wasn't sane when we pulled him up yesterday, but may be he'll be -all right to-day,' was the answer, and at that moment the object of -their solicitude woke and sat up. - -'Is that you, Dick?' asked Towzer's voice feebly. - -'Yes, my lad, that's me. Don't you try to get up yet, you've been a -bit ill. Mustn't let him look over that edge yet at any price,' he -whispered aside to Snap. - -'Lie still, old fellow,' added Snap soothingly as he bent over him, -'how do you feel?' - -'Oh, only a bit faint and as if I was sea-sick, Snap,' he replied, -'but I've had such a dreadful dream.' - -Snap didn't ask him what it was, he guessed that the boy half -remembered yesterday's experiences; but Towzer went on addressing -Frank, who was now sitting up beside him. - -'I dreamed,' he said, 'that I was a coward, that you called me one, -Frank, and then they put me on a roasting-jack for a punishment, and -hung me on to the bottom of the world, and I went round and round and -round----' - -'Here, dry up that soft talk,' interposed Dick roughly, 'we don't -want no talk of dreams here: you get a knife into that tin, Towzer, -and let's have breakfast,' and, so saying, the old man handed the boy -a tin of meat and a knife, 'just to prevent him thinking,' as he -explained later on. - -'I think he is all right now,' said Frank after breakfast, 'let's -tell him a little; we can't go on like this.' - -'Very well, but take care how you do it,' assented Dick. - -Then they told him, not all, but most of that last day's doings, -concluding with: 'And when we got you on the rope you must have -bumped your head against the rock, or spun round until you went -nearly silly and fainted; and so now you must keep quiet and promise -not to look over the edge again until we give you leave. Is that a -bargain?' - -'Yes,' sighed Towzer, 'I suppose it is; but I must be a terrible -nuisance to you fellows. What a little brute you must think me!' - -All that day and the next the boys lay in their narrow bed watching -the sun rise and set, and the clouds go hurrying by. Sometimes a few -rugged brown clouds would drift up, and then a little flurry of wind -and rain would almost wash them out of their exposed position, while -the balloon creaked and strained at her moorings in an alarming -fashion. - -'Snap,' said Dick on the second day, 'them Injuns can't see the -balloon from below, and they're getting more daring, now they think -the great bird has gone.' - -'How is that, Dick?' asked Snap. - -'Well, you see we have drawn the balloon out of sight by mooring it -close alongside among these crags. Leastways I reckon that's so, for -the Crows have come out of cover. Look for yourself.' - -Peering over the little parapet which ran round their resting-place, -Snap could see camp-fires on the prairie below, and through his -glasses he made out a line of sentries set all round the foot of the -mountain, not near it, but still hemming it in in such a way that -escape from it across the open prairie to the forest beyond the -camp-fires was impossible. - -'They know that we're trapped,' said Frank, 'and mean to starve us -out, though they are still afraid to put foot on the mountain.' - -'That's so,' replied Wharton, 'and young Towzer is opening the last -tin of meat but one. It must be only one tin between four to-night, -and if Warwolf doesn't bring his Blackfeet to-morrow we had better -try to run the gauntlet, and get away separately to-morrow evening -before hunger makes us too weak to fight.' - -'It wouldn't do, Dick,' whispered Snap, drawing him aside, 'Towzer -could never get down the mountain, and even if Frank got through he -could never find his way in the forest. But I have a better idea -than that.' - -'What is it, lad?' asked Wharton. - -'Never mind yet, old fellow, it will keep,' replied the boy; -'besides, I'm not quite sure yet if it is practicable, and if Warwolf -turns up I would much rather not try it. But look here,' he added, -turning to the others, 'I've got some interesting reading in this -poor old German's log-book.' - -'Let us have it after dinner, Snap,' said Frank. - -'Them's my sentiments exactly,' put in Dick; 'I never can hear -reading comfortably unless I've got a pipe in my mouth.' - -So after dinner, that is after everyone had played as long as he -could with his small share of the last tin but one, Snap took the -book and read, whilst Dick smoked a double allowance of tobacco to -console his ill-used stomach for the loss of at least three-fourths -of his share of the curry, which the good old chap had managed to add -to the boys' portions unobserved. - -'I don't call it kinder fair on you, boys,' he remarked, 'my doing -all the smoking; won't you try a pull? it's wonderfully satisfying.' - -Snap took the offered pipe and enjoyed the first few whiffs -immensely, but, as he remarked, 'almost at once struck ile.' - -'Thank you, Dick, kindly,' he said, handing the pipe back hurriedly, -'but I think my jaw will work without oiling. I'd rather read and -see you smoke.' - -Dick laughed and resumed his pipe, while Snap read as follows: - -'"Sunday, 15.--Thank God, I have still an arm left to write. It is I -who am in fault. The balloon was by me too suddenly stopped, and I -was at once outthrown, and my leg and arm altogether broken----" - -'Then there is a stop, as if the pen had fallen from his hand,' said -Snap. - -'Fainted from pain, I guess,' said Dick, taking his pipe out of his -mouth and blowing away a lot of little rings of smoke. - -This was a favourite trick of Dick's, and you might see him often -send three rings one through the other in succession. - -'The next entry is the 17th, and it is a long one,' continued the -reader. '"I know right well," he writes, "that I cannot much longer -stay. The end must soon come. Ach Gott! how it will good be. Now -hear I, day and night, the roaring of the winds of heaven, like the -beating of surf on the shore. If it were not that my limbs were so -heavy with pain, these winds would snatch me from my hard couch and -give me back to my native earth and peace. Ah me! how the clouds -spin, and the peak keeps bending, bending---- I have had no food -since my fall and die of hunger and weakness. God grant I die before -that foul black bird, which comes croaking nearer and nearer, tears -my eyes out! But I think death is very near now, the pain is gone, -and I can think clearly. I have one work to do, and then I die -peacefully. Some man may find me--when, God knows; who he will be, -He too knows--but, as He has put a thing into my mind, I would leave -it to my brother men. It is this. In the small box, A, in the car -of the balloon, is a paper. This paper contains a design for -steering balloons. All my life I have sought this, now have I found -it--too late. Henceforth the air shall be as navigable as the sea or -the dry land. But I would have this design patented and to bear my -name. So much earthly ambition clings to me still. Take, then, -thou, who mayest find these bones, this box, A, to Professor von -Bulberg of Berlin. There it shall be patented in my name. I would -have the honour; and for your service, since I have no kin, I leave -you as reward whatever I may die possessed of, here or in Potsdam: -here, a few priceless instruments; there, a little house or two, I -think, and, should there be any, half the proceeds of this my -invention; the other half to go to the Royal Society of Aeronauts, -Berlin." - -'By Jove!' said Snap at this point, 'it is just as well that he had -no more to write; if he had, I could not have read it, although his -shaky hand is very sharp and clear; but it is shaky towards the -end--just look at it,' and he passed it to Frank. - -'What luck it is that you took up German instead of Greek, Snap!' -said Frank. - -'Well, I don't know,' replied he, 'we could have read it anyhow. -Here is another paper, in another language, which I found tucked -under him when we lifted him up.' And, so saying, the boy handed his -companions the following: - -[Illustration: Diagram] - -'Let's have a look at that,' said Dick, stretching his arm out for -the paper. When he had studied it a little the old foreman handed it -back again to Snap, saying: - -'That's downright smart of the German: it's not the first time as -he's been amongst Injuns; I call that a lot easier to read than your -pothooks and up-and-down strokes, don't you, Snap?' - -'Well, it's not difficult, certainly. I suppose he means, if the -Indian takes Box A to any gentleman in a beard, breeches, and -sombrero, he will get rum and a rifle; if, on the other hand, he runs -off with Box A, the attractive-looking person with a spear will make -it hot for him--isn't that it?' replied Snap. - -'That's so, sonny!' replied Wharton, delighted at Snap's -intelligence, 'and, as Injuns don't generally wear beards, breeches, -or sombreros, that chap in the pictur' is a white man. The fellow -with a bear's head and a spear is Okeeheedee, the devil of the -Blackfeet.' - -'Well, if we ever get away we must try to take the poor fellow's box -and send it to Professor Bulberg at Berlin, though I don't expect to -become a millionaire out of my share of the profits under his will,' -said Snap. - -'Your share! Why, if there was any to take, Snap, it would be all -yours, of course,' remonstrated Towzer. - -'You don't understand, dear boy,' replied Snap. 'In the Bull Pine -Firm we have all things in common--fresh air and famine, for -instance, just at present--and, as we all got here about the same -time, we shall all be equally entitled under the will, as my uncle in -the Temple would say; isn't that right, Dick?' - -'Wal, share and share alike is prairie law, when you do make a find,' -Wharton answered, 'but I'd sell my share for a sight of Rosebud and a -square meal of beans and bacon right now!' - -After a pause the little party crept to the edge of their nest and, -looking over, could see the Indian watch-fires glowing in the -gathering gloom of night. Long columns of blue smoke rose up among -the pines, and a camp like the camp of an army was pitched on the -edge of the prairie. - -'I doubt if Warwolf would do much good even if he did get through,' -said Wharton. 'Those Crows we put up have just gone back to the -fishing-camp and brought the whole tribe about our heels. There are -a couple of hundred men there, if there is one.' - -No one had an answer to make to this speech, so they all lay there -watching. It seemed such a strangely cruel lot to be hung like -Mahomet's coffin halfway between heaven and earth, cut off from -both--still alive, and yet beyond reach of the living. Surely no -sailor on a desert island was ever so deserted as they; he at least -could swim in the element which hemmed him in, but for them there was -no way of escape. It was doubtful even whether the strongest of them -could ever climb down the way they came. For the other two such a -feat was certainly impossible. And what could swim in the element -which closed them in? The eagle, and the raven, and---- - -Snap stopped thinking, and broke the silence. - -'Dick, there is only one way out of this, and we've got to try it. -We can't stay here and starve,' he said. - -'Not pleasant, is it?' replied Wharton; 'but what are we going to do? -We can't eat bed-rock and we can't fly.' - -'Yes, we can,' was Snap's unexpected answer, 'at least that balloon -can; and if you are game we'll try it to-morrow.' - -'What! go up in that thing? not I, sonny,' replied the old cowboy; 'I -don't mind your hanging me out on a clothes-line again over them -rocks if so be as you think my constitution requires it, but I'll be -dog-goned if I'll go up in that thing.' - -Now, 'dog-goned' was a rare expression with Dick and was generally -supposed by his friends to mean that he had issued an ultimatum. If -in the old days at the ranche he had said that he would be -'dog-goned' if So-and-so shouldn't git next day, you might as well -say good-bye to So-and-so, for next morning, 'bright and early,' he -invariably 'got.' So, then, this rebellion of Dick's was rather a -formidable thing, and one not to be treated lightly. - -Snap tried to argue with the old man, but it was useless. Reason -against prejudice never had much chance. Dick never had been a -'blooming balloonatic,' he said, and didn't 'kinder cotton to -becoming one now.' - -'Well, Dick,' said Snap, 'it's just this. If we stay here it means -death--a long, lingering, painful death. If we try the balloon, of -course it may drop us like a stone, and then that's death too, but a -quick, painless one. We should be dead before we got to the bottom.' - -'That's right enough, lad,' persisted Wharton, 'but if that is all -that you are hankering after who is to hinder your jumping over the -edge here--that's death too, a pretty certain one, and painless, says -you!' - -'Quite so, Dick, but I don't think the balloon would let us down. -Why should it? There is a lot of ballast in. We'll throw that out, -and then away we go sailing over the heads of these Redskins until -somewhere or other we come softly and slowly down again, safe and -sound, and out of danger. I can't think why we have stayed here so -long,' Snap concluded, having succeeded, as many a man has done -before, in talking himself into belief in his own scheme. - -'I'm not a-goin' to say, Snap,' said Dick slowly, 'as there ain't -something in your idea; but sailing in that thing don't seem natural -to me somehow. Howsomdever, if we can't get away before this time -to-morrow in any other way, you boys can try it if you like, and I'll -jest try to wriggle through them reptiles down below in my own way.' - -And that was the most the boys could get out of Dick, and with it -they had to be content: though Snap had not the least intention of -going without the old man. 'All or none' was his motto, and he meant -to stick to it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -SNAP'S SACRIFICE - -That night Snap slept little. Whenever he closed his eyes visions of -Fairbury floated before them, and of that kind, sweet face, with eyes -shining through their tears--the one face which had always had a -smile for him, which was always ready to confront those who said -'That young Hales is a thorough ne'er-do-weel, he'll never be good -for anything, mark my words.' She had always believed in him; had -always trusted her boys with him, though the neighbours shook their -heads and thought, as one old lady said, 'that those dear lambs would -never come to any good with that boy, always fighting and disgracing -himself.' And then, when the expulsion from Fernhall had thrown his -guardian into a white heat of virtuous indignation, and even dear old -Admiral Chris had looked askance, it was the same little woman who -had drawn out the whole story, had tried to look serious over it, and -finally re-told it to her brother in such a way that that old warrior -had forgotten his gout and roared with laughter till it sounded as if -a gale was blowing. - -Always Mrs. Winthrop. Whenever he opened his eyes there was the -great white balloon quivering and poising in the moonlight; and -whenever he closed them there was the face of the woman who had been -more than a mother to him, who had put every good thought into his -mind, and helped him, ever since he could remember, to grow up a -gentleman. And round him lay her sons, and in his heart he knew that -next to God she trusted him for their safety. - -Getting up softly, he climbed into the car of the balloon, which -rocked like a cradle as he sat in it. The addition of his weight -made no perceptible difference to it, except perhaps to steady it. -He noticed, as he sat there alone among the clouds, that, besides the -box A, there were quite a dozen heavy little parcels in the -car--scientific instruments for taking astronomical observations, and -such like. Besides these there were a number of lumps of what -appeared to be lead or iron, used obviously for ballast. Altogether, -Snap thought, there was a good deal to throw out, and even four such -men as Frank might possibly not be too much for the balloon. If the -crew eventually appeared to be too heavy, why, then Dick and he must -try to climb down, whilst the two Winthrops trusted to the ship of -the sky. - -That there had been a considerable escape of gas from the balloon -Snap saw only too plainly; its outlines were no longer full, rounded -curves, as they should have been. In places there was a deplorable -flatness and falling away from the true lines of beauty. Still, -knowing very little of these things, Snap thought it might do, and -crept back a good deal consoled to his lair alongside Dick Wharton. - -That old hero slept, like the proverbial weasel, with one eye open. - -'Been overhaulin' that craft of yourn, Snap?' he whispered. - -'Yes, Dick,' the boy answered in the same low tones, 'and I think she -will do.' - -The old fellow lay back again for a few minutes, and then began again: - -'I've been thinking, Snap,' he said. - -'Yes?' interrupted Snap, 'perhaps you have; I should get a better -chance of sleeping if you didn't think so loud.' - -'Never mind, sonny, I dare say I do breathe a bit hard at times, but -I never knowed a "high-blower" yet as wasn't a good horse; what I was -a-goin' to say is that if you mean goin' in that consarn I'll come -along. If you ever did get down again to prairie level, you'd be -like babies without Dick Wharton to tote you round.' - -Snap was not going to argue about his reasons, it was enough for him -that his old friend would come; so he sat up and shook hands upon it, -clinching the bargain there and then. - -Another day dawned, and saw the sun rise up and sink far towards the -west again, before old Wharton gave up all hope of relief. He had -been peering steadily down on the encampment for a couple of hours -before he turned to Snap with: - -'Sonny, it's got to be done. Them Redskins have almost got over -their skeer, and I guess poor Warwolf has been tortured and scalped -by this time.' - -'Yes, Dick,' said Snap quietly; 'then suppose we get ready.' - -'Why, what is there to do, pard, except get right in and go?' asked -his companion. - -'Well, first of all we must try whether the balloon will carry us -all. She certainly won't unless we take some of the cargo out.' - -'All right, bear a hand, Towzer. You are boss of this show, Snap,' -was the reply. - -Snap climbed into the car and handed out the instruments and a bag or -two of sand, the balloon straining wildly at its moorings as he did -so. - -'Come in with me, Frank,' he cried, 'and help me steady her.' - -Frank climbed in. - -'Now, Towzer!' Snap added; and Towzer joined the other two. - -'That is very nearly a load, I think,' said Snap, 'and there won't be -much fear of our going up too high when Dick gets in.' - -'No,' said Frank, 'we had better throw out something more.' - -'Very well,' said Snap, throwing out everything he could lay his -hands on, 'but if it won't carry us now I don't know what we shall -do. Come on, Dick.' - -Dick stepped in, and still the balloon strained upwards. - -'She'll fly all right,' cried Towzer. - -'Then cut the cord and take care that you don't roll out,' commanded -Snap. - -The cord was cut, and suddenly the earth and the mountain peak began -to recede from the balloon. At least so it seemed to the boys. As -for the balloon, it seemed exactly poised in the air, steady as an -eagle on widespread wings, and even as they sat and gazed the earth -drew back and faded until it was gone, and they hung alone, in a sad -and absolute silence, whither no voice of bird or insect ever -penetrated. - -The boys were smitten as it were with dumbness. No one spoke, -though, strangely enough, no fear possessed them--only a great -stillness and peace. The balloon had now apparently reached that -point at which it could rest in equilibrium, and hung motionless over -the peak from which the boys had risen. The cold had grown intense, -and the evening was approaching, though the sun's rays still spread -colour through the great cloudland below them. At last Frank broke -the silence: - -'What is this, Snap,' he said, 'floating round the car?' and he drew -in his hand covered with minute fragments of ice. - -'It looks like powdered ice,' replied Snap. - -'I don't much fancy this country to winter in,' broke out Dick; 'I -suppose, Snap, you couldn't get this craft of yours to go down a bit, -could you?' - -Even as Wharton spoke the balloon seemed to have heard him, or at any -rate the clouds seemed to be drawing nearer, and the storm of -ice-morsels grew thicker. - -'I guess this ice, or snow, or hoar-frost, or whatever it is, won't -make our shay any lighter,' remarked Dick; 'do you see how it rests -on the car and seems to thicken round the balloon?' - -'Yes,' said Frank, 'and if it rests on the edge of the car what must -it do on the broad top of the balloon?' - -'Dick,' whispered Snap at this moment, 'what is that?' and he pointed -to the side of the great bubble above them, from which a long wreath -of thin white smoke was trailing into space. - -Dick looked. - -'I'm blowed if I know,' he replied. - -'Then I'll tell you,' Snap hissed in his ear: 'the balloon has sprung -a leak, that is the gas escaping; the weight of this stuff' (touching -the snow) 'on the top has done it, and we are going down fast enough -even to suit you. Out with that sack of ballast,' he added, and -Wharton and Frank sent the only sand-bag over the side. - -This sent the balloon up again a little way, but they were now -comparatively near the earth. Round them a regular snow-storm was -raging. The particles of ice which they had met with in the higher -layer of atmosphere had now gathered into snowflakes. The storm, -such as it was, lasted but a few minutes, and then the sinking sun -lit up the scene below them. - -As they looked down, the boys saw a great billowy ocean of thick, -rosy fog. Wave upon wave it seemed to roll, opaque, soft, and -beautiful in colour, and as they looked it came up and up to meet -them. The snow upon the top of the balloon was still too heavy for -them, and they were sinking fast. In another minute the car was -engulfed in the rosy clouds, which were already turning to a more -sombre colour, and later on changed from rose to purple, and then to -sullen grey. - -As the balloon passed out of fog-land the sun set, and a quick -darkness began to settle on the land. All sounds of the earth had -long since been plain to them: indeed, when in the fog, it seemed as -if every sound was right alongside. Now they could see as well as -hear. They were comparatively close to the earth, much nearer than -they had been for days. They were skimming over the prairie some -1,500 feet from the ground, and drifting straight to the Indian -encampment, sliding as it were down a gentle descent, the end of -which seemed likely to be right amongst the enemy's watch-fires. - -'Dick,' cried Snap, 'if we don't lighten the balloon we are lost. -She is going to settle right amongst the Crows.' - -'Well, sonny, there's only our clothes left to throw away now. I -don't mind sacrificing my hat and boots,' said Dick, and, suiting the -action to the word, he denuded himself of everything except his -flannel shirt and trousers. All followed his example. - -'Wal,' he remarked, 'I never knowed it rain ready-made clothes afore. -Perhaps them Injuns didn't neither.' - -'It hasn't done us much good either, Dick,' said Frank, 'I fancy we -are still sinking.' - -'We are,' replied Snap; 'but if we could only manage to clear their -camp and fall a mile or two beyond them in the forest I should be -content to take my chance. We can't hope for much more, I am afraid, -now.' - -'Much more?' muttered Towzer, 'I shouldn't much care if we did fall -amongst the Crows, if they would give us something to eat before -scalping us.' - -Even at this supreme moment Towzer was true to his schoolboy -instincts: as for the others, they had almost forgotten their hunger -in the excitement of the scenes which they were passing through. - -At this moment they heard a loud shouting in the Indian camp. They -were dashing backwards and forwards among the tents, horses were -being caught, and the wild yells of the bloodthirsty savages rang in -their ears. - -'Encouraging sort of welcome to mother earth, isn't it?' said Snap. - -'It's strange too,' added Wharton; 'of course they've seen us and -know we are dropping like a ripe plum into their mouths, but I wonder -at their making such a noise about it. It's not like 'em!' - -'Snap,' said Frank, 'I think we can sell them now. If you fellows -tied me up a little so as to help my bad arm, we could all hold on to -the ring above the car or the cords it is fastened to, and cut the -car adrift.' - -I suppose most of my readers have seen a big balloon--if not, a word -of explanation may be necessary here. The body of the balloon is, of -course, a great sack or bag of some excessively fine and light -material, such as silk, or layers of india-rubber, between sheets of -linen covered with thick coats of varnish. Over the balloon is a -kind of net-work of rope. This is its harness and comes to a point -towards the bottom, where all the ropes are attached to a great -wooden hoop, from which again hang the ropes to which the car itself -is attached. Frank's idea was to climb up into the ring and cut the -car adrift. - -'You've hit the nail on the head, my lad, plum centre this time,' -said Wharton, 'but can you get up to the ring yourself?' - -'I'll try,' replied Frank, 'but there isn't a moment to lose. Give -me a hand, Towzer.' - -Between them the others got Frank up into the rigging of the balloon, -and tied him securely to the ring, so that he would not be entirely -dependent upon his one arm for support. - -'Are you all right?' cried Snap from his perch. - -'All right, old chap.' - -'All right,' came the answers. - -'Then cut the ropes near you all together, so as not to drag the -balloon, over on one side,' he cried. 'Now!' - -Each boy sawed away at the ropes near him with a will, but old Dick -did not get his rope cut through quite as soon as the others. The -result was that the balloon gave a furious plunge, and then, as the -last rope broke, righted herself and darted upwards once more. - -Snap looked white and scared, but the colour came back to his face -when he saw all his comrades in their places, and old Wharton chimed -in with: - -'Dang me if this here balloon hasn't got all the vices of a cayuse, -and more. Loses its wind and wants to stop, leastways come down, and -then, as for bucking, a half-broke cayuse is a fool to it!' - -For a while the balloon sailed along on a higher level, but all the -time the thin wreath of white vapour marked a leak and a constant -escape of gas. Besides this, the evening damp collected and settled -on the envelope of the balloon, and all tended to weigh it down. - -'We are sinking again,' cried Towzer, 'sinking faster than ever -before. Look how the prairie is rushing up to meet us!' and indeed -it seemed so, and there was absolutely nothing left to throw out. - -'Wal, you may as well go too,' said Dick with a sigh, and he drew his -revolver from his breast and dropped this his most precious -possession to the earth. - -The boys looked at it as it shot downwards swift and straight, -swifter and straighter than a skylark falls, and they thought of what -might any moment be their own lot, and it made the boldest of them -grip the ropes with fresh energy. - -'Dick,' said Snap, 'in another five minutes at most we shall drop -right among the Crows. They are so still now that one might fancy no -one was in camp, but there are the fires, and I can even in this -gloom make out the tops of the teepees. I wish something would break -the silence to tell us how far we are from the ground.' - -'Yes, pard,' replied Dick, 'one can't see much through this mist.' - -'If there was not such a crowd of them waiting for us,' said Frank, -'this fog might give us our best chance of escape.' - -'Listen!' said Dick, 'if we do come down amongst them, do each of you -run for your lives, and each one in a different direction. If anyone -gets safely through, let him try to make off to the dead-wood track -and hide where Snap fell down until he can get a chance of getting -clear back to Rosebud. But it ain't no good talking,' he muttered -with a sigh, 'who is a-goin' to get through that crowd of Crows -without even a six-shooter? Great Scott! if we could only get beyond -'em in this mist!' he added. - -[Illustration: SNAP'S SACRIFICE] - -'Yes, we could slip them well if we did, and all would be saved?' -said Snap in a questioning tone, with a strange little shake in his -voice which no one ever noticed before. 'Do you think, Dick, you -could get us all back to Rosebud if we did drift by the camp in this -fog to-night?' he asked again. - -'Sure, lad! but what's the good of talking?' he replied. - -'No, it isn't, Dick,' said Snap, his face strangely white and drawn, -and the big brown eyes looking misty and dim; 'but if any of us do -get through (it will be over in a minute now) let the others tell the -story at home. Frank, old boy, give the mother my love; tell her -Snap did his best.' - -The voice was so strange (there was almost a sob in it) that all -three turned their eyes from the scene below--the approaching tents -and fires, right below them--to Snap. It was too late! As they -turned they saw him slip from his seat on the ring; for one moment -the strong brown hands clung to it, the brave face looked at them; -the fearless lips murmured 'Good-bye, save them Dick!' and then the -balloon sprang up again, and, as poor, half-maddened Wharton said, -'twelve stone of the bravest flesh as God ever put breath into' -dropped through the darkness, there was a faint thud, heard even by -those in the rapidly rising balloon, and Snap had done his duty. He -had given his life for his friends. More than that no man can do. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -FLIGHT OF THE CROWS - -Up and up went the balloon. Twelve stone is a heavy weight to be -freed from, and the great globe of gas and silk and cord soared -upwards like a bird. Beneath it, in the strange grey light which had -come in these higher regions of air with the evening, three human -beings still clung to life, although for the moment all its sweetness -seemed gone for them. A minute ago a strong, resolute leader was -with them, and now their scared white faces stared and stared at the -empty place on the hoop, at the cords his hands had held; but his -place was empty, no sound came from above or below, the majesty and -the sadness of night and the high places of the earth were around -them, and the familiar earth and hope were out of reach and out of -sight. - -'Ah, Snap, it is well with you,' was perhaps the thought uppermost in -each one's heart as the dread stillness reigned around and the cold -grew, while a faintness and dizziness began to creep over them. In -another minute, had nothing been done to prevent their further -ascent, it is probable that Dick and Towzer would have been whirling -downwards through thousands of feet of air, until Nature's law had -been obeyed and earth had reached earth again. As for Frank, tied to -the ring and the ropes of the balloon, he had already succumbed, -owing probably to his weakness and recent loss of blood, and his -nerveless hands were hanging, like his head, weak and unconscious. -If brother and friend had fallen he would not have known, but would -have rushed higher and higher as the balloon shook off its human load. - -Luckily, old Wharton's frame was as tough as steel. Years of a -trapper's life, long, lonely nights with the cattle, had hardened him -until he hardly felt the cold and scarcely knew fatigue. Rousing -himself from the stupor into which Snap's death had thrown him, his -quick eyes took in everything. - -'Save 'em, Dick, was what he said,' muttered the old man; 'is this -saving of 'em, you old fool?' - -'Young 'un!' he cried, and a voice which came from the inside of the -balloon replied, 'Young 'un!' - -They were too high for earth echoes, but his voice was returned to -him as it were by the devil that was bearing them away. For so Dick -now considered the balloon. It had been their toy and their slave. -Men had given it life, they had trusted themselves to it, and now the -treacherous fiend had them in its grip and mocked at their puny -powers and impotent wills. - -'Young 'un,' he cried again, 'which is the rope as he said we was to -pull if we wanted to go down?' - -'This,' said Towzer dreamily, looking at one of which he had hold. - -'Pull it, then, for dear life!' roared Wharton, and a mocking echo -came back: 'for dear life!' - -'You devil!' cried the old man, his heavy black brows gathering -together like a thunder-cloud, 'I'd let your steam out if I'd my -six-shooter here.' - -'Can't you pull it, Towzer?' - -'No, Dick,' said the boy dreamily, 'my arm is too weak, and I can -hardly hold on with the other.' - -Shifting his seat rapidly, careless of all risk to himself, even at -this height from the earth, Wharton reached the boy's side, and, -putting one strong arm round him and the rope he clung to, with the -other tugged furiously at the gas-valve. The change of Dick's -position upset the balloon's equilibrium, and it was a sufficiently -horrible sight to see Frank's apparently lifeless body hanging -towards them from the opposite side of the ring, limp and helpless, -whilst above them leaned the great balloon, the gas going out now -with quite a perceptible whistle. It was very soon evident that -their upward course had been stayed, and in another minute that they -were sinking again fast--too fast, Dick feared, and shut off steam as -he called it. - -'Are you better now, Towzer?' he asked. - -'Yes, Dick, I'm all right now, but I felt very weak a minute ago, and -my hand was numb,' replied the boy. - -'Hold on while I tie you in,' said Dick, and, unfastening the -faithful lariat from his waist, he made the young one safe to the -balloon. - -'Now you look out for yourself,' he said. 'I'm going round to Frank; -he is coming round a bit, and when we get together this brute of a -thing will heel over again; so look out,' and, so saying, he edged -his way round to Frank. - -'Are we going down again, Dick?' he asked feebly. - -'Yes, sonny,' replied the old man. - -'Tell Towzer to pull the rope; let's go down to Snap and die, if -necessary, but don't go up there again,' and an expression of horror -indescribable grew in Frank's upward glance. - -'We're a-goin' down pretty smart now, sonny!' said Wharton; 'here, -give yourself a hoist-up. There, that's better,' he said, as Frank -reached a sitting posture on the ring again. - -It seemed almost as if, at last, a spirit of peace had entered into -the great creature above them. The air was brilliantly clear now, -and the first faint stars had come out. Down, down, the balloon kept -going, but steadily and evenly. The mists had cleared away now, and -in the starlight our voyagers could see the earth spread out like a -great map beneath them. It all looked level--almost hollow--as they -looked down upon it, and by no means gave them the idea of being part -of a solid sphere. - -The balloon must have risen into a current of strong wind, for in the -short time since they had risen from over the Indian encampment they -had passed over the forest-belt and were now descending upon the -prairie by the river whereon the Crows used to have their autumn -camp, until the Spirit of the Lone Mountain appeared and frightened -them away. From point to point it must have been a distance of -twenty miles, but what is that to a machine which has been known to -travel at the rate of ninety miles an hour? Dick could not help -exclaiming, when he saw the distance which they had passed over: - -'If you could only break these here critters to stop when you want -'em to, and to be a bit handy in turning, I reckon there would be a -considerable fall in railway shares.' - -'Yes,' replied Frank, 'if the old German's invention for steering -balloons is as good as his invention for keeping the gas in them, it -would have made a good fortune for us all. Poor Snap!' - -'Never mind Snap, sonny,' said old Wharton, roughly trying to hide -his emotion. 'You bet he don't want no fortunes where he's got took -to.' - -'I suppose it wouldn't do to jump out now,' said Frank after a while, -as the balloon swept slowly along, quite close to the ground. - -'Not unless you prefer hopping to walking for the rest of your life,' -said Wharton. 'You'd be lucky if you only smashed one leg.' - -Just at that moment the light of the moon flashed back from a small -prairie-lake. Before the buffalo had left the prairie it had been a -favourite wallow and drinking-place of theirs. Now it was drying up -for want of its old-fashioned visitors, who beat and trampled its mud -floor into such a solid substance that it held the water all through -the long summer months. Still, there was a very considerable sheet -of water left. - -'Dick!' cried Towzer, 'if we go over that I'll drop into it; it can't -hurt much, and I'm not going up again.' - -'Wal, no more am I, if I can help it, and I reckon Frank there -doesn't want another ascent all by himself; so, if so be as we go -anywheres near that water, let's all drop off at once, sonny.' - -This having been agreed upon, Frank and Towzer were hurriedly freed -from their cords. - -The balloon was so low now that every moment the boys expected to be -dashed against the earth, but, as luck would have it, she skimmed -along like a great white owl in the moonlight, and hung for a moment -over the pool. It was enough. There were three sharp plunges in the -cool water, and when Dick and his companions came panting to the -surface they had parted for ever from the ship of the skies. Looking -up when they had gained the shore, they saw her sailing higher and -higher, the moonlight seeming to gather about and rest upon her until -she was the centre of a great halo. - -'I ain't sure as them Injuns weren't right after all,' muttered Dick; -'dang me if I don't think as it is a sperrit.' - -'Dick! let us go back to Snap,' was Frank's first remark after -realising that once more they were masters, more or less, of their -own actions. - -'You're a good lad, Frank,' replied the old man heartily, 'but it -won't do. We could do no good; they'd just scalp us, and we could -not help Snap now anyway. Besides, do you think that lad could walk -twenty miles?' - -'Yes, Dick, yes, I could easily,' cried Towzer, struggling to his -feet, but even as he did so he staggered. - -The long fast, the peril and physical exertion of the last few days, -had utterly worn the boy out, and in spite of his plucky efforts he -could hardly stand. - -'I know as your heart is strong enough, little 'un,' said Dick, 'but -your legs have struck work. Just you lie right here with your -brother while I look around for some'at to eat. There's some -matches, Frank; see if you can make up a little fire;' and, so -saying, Wharton left them. - -After an absence of nearly an hour, during which Frank had contrived -to kindle a fire with grass and twigs and game droppings, and his -brother had fallen into a heavy, dreamless sleep, old Wharton -returned. Putting his hand into his shirt front he drew out about a -dozen roots, like small turnips. These he laid down by the fireside, -and after trimming them a little with his knife made a place for them -in the hot ashes, and set them therein to cook. - -'Them's _pommes blanches_, Frank,' said Dick, 'leastways that's what -the Crows call 'em. I reckon they learnt it from the French -Canadians. Turnips I call 'em, and mighty good they are. Try one.' - -Frank wanted no second invitation--cooked and uncooked was much the -same to him; anything would not come amiss which would fill up the -terrible vacuum which he felt inside him. - -'Shall I wake the young 'un, Dick?' he asked. - -'No, let him sleep a bit. When these things are cooked a bit we'll -wake him. He would make himself ill, bolting these _pommes blanches_ -raw, if you woke him now.' - -'Yes,' assented Frank, 'poor old Towzer! I expect, if he dined with -an ostrich to-day, he would eat his share even of mashed soda-water -bottles!' - -'His share!' exclaimed Wharton, 'he'd starve that ostrich.' - -By-and-by, the _pommes blanches_ being cooked, they woke the younger -Winthrop, and, if they did not manage to satisfy his appetite, at any -rate they finished the roots. - -'Aren't there any more, Dick?' he asked. - -'Not for supper,' replied the old man firmly. - -'Well, then, let's begin breakfast, it is nearly morning,' urged the -boy. - -'No, no, sonny, we'll all go to sleep now if you please, and -to-morrow we'll begin to work our way back to Rosebud,' said Wharton, -and, suiting the action to the word, he lay down where he was, and -slept or pretended to sleep. - -When the boys opened their eyes it was broad daylight. Birds and -insects hung over the pool, beasts had been down to it to drink in -the night and had turned away frightened and disgusted at the human -taint in the air. The hum and stir of life was all around them. It -was quiet, perhaps, for earth, but how different from that dead, -appalling silence through which they had sailed but yesterday! Frank -almost wondered that the very sun's rays were not chilled and -blighted in passing through so drear a region. - -But where was Wharton? He certainly was not in sight. Had the old -man gone for more food? if not, what had become of him? At the head -of Towzer's bed, if a lair on the rough prairie may be so called, was -a turnip cut in two, and on the smooth white surface was scratched -with a burnt stick, 'Wait here, I'll be back soon'--that was all. -Dick had guessed that the turnip would catch the hungry eye of Towzer -as soon as he awoke, so he had made it his messenger. But it did not -tell the boys much. - -'It's not much good keeping this letter, is it, Frank?' asked Towzer. - -'No,' replied his brother, 'why?' - -'Well, you see there isn't much else for breakfast,' was Towzer's -answer, 'let's halve it; do you prefer the page with the writing on, -or the other?' - -Frank laughed a very half-hearted and hollow laugh, and took the food -offered him. He was older, and could not forget, even for the -moment, as Towzer did. - -'I wonder where Dick has gone to, young 'un,' he said after a minute -or two of silence; 'I don't believe, now I come to think of it, that -he did go to sleep when he pretended to last night. He didn't snore.' - -'Well, then, he wasn't asleep,' asserted Towzer; 'but I can't tell -you anything about Dick, for if he was shamming I wasn't.' - -At that moment the quiet charm of the morning was roughly broken; a -dozen rifle-shots echoed through the woods. Again and again came the -sharp crack of the fire-arms and the rattling echoes and -reverberations among the timber. Faint and far off, too, but still -distinct, they heard the Indians' war-whoop, a sound weird as the -wolf's call, and fierce as the Highlanders' slogan when the Camerons -and Lochiels drove Leslie's pikes and Leven's troopers into the -Garry's deepest pool. Man's hate or wild beasts' rage has found no -note in which to express itself, more full of terror to those who -hear it than the Blackfoots' war-whoop. - -The boys sprang to their feet. - -'Dick! Dick!' cried Frank in an agony of apprehension, 'have they -got you too, old friend?' - -'No, no, Frank, they would not take so many shots to kill Dick. -Listen, it's a regular fight,' said Towzer practically. 'You bet -it's Warwolf and his Blackfeet giving "gip" to those Crows. I wish I -was there,' he added. - -For half an hour the firing continued and then gradually ceased, one -or two scattered shots telling the story of the retreat and the -pertinacious and vengeful pursuit. - -Towards midday a little band of horsemen emerged from the timber, and -came galloping towards the pool, their long hair and the scalp -trimmings of their deerskin shirts and trousers streaming behind them -as they rode. - -'It's all up, I suppose,' muttered Frank, and in his heart he was -abusing his ill-luck, which had left him to fight his last fight with -no weapons and a lame arm. - -Still it was pretty certain that, unless they shot him from a -distance, there would be one or two sturdy English blows struck -before the two Winthrop boys were bound and helpless. - -At that moment, however, there was no need of lighting. A loud shout -drew their attention to one of the riders, his head bandaged in a -piece of coloured cloth, which streamed behind him like the Indians' -head-dresses, and in his hand a tomahawk, which had done enough work -that day to make the reputation of a dozen Blackfoot chiefs. It was -Dick Wharton riding the Cradle, and next moment he was alongside the -Winthrops, together with Warwolf and half a dozen other long-haired -braves. - -After exchanging a few hurried sentences Wharton procured a lump of -pemmican (dried meat) from Warwolf, and proceeded to feed himself and -his young friends, the Blackfeet sitting silent and looking on -solemnly the while. - -'After I'd got you two to go to sleep,' began Wharton between the -mouthfuls of pemmican, 'I got up and crept off to the timber.' - -'Oh, then, you did play 'possum,' cried Frank; 'if you don't want to -be found out, you shouldn't forget to snore another time, Dick!' - -'Wal, you were too sleepy to try to stop me anyway,' continued Dick, -'and I couldn't rest in camp; I wanted to take a look at the Crows' -camp and see if I could find poor Snap's body.' - -Here a lump of pemmican seemed to go the wrong way and nearly choked -him. When he had swallowed the obstruction he continued: - -'About five miles from here I came on the Blackfeet--ran right into -them; painters couldn't go quieter nor they were going, and they were -all round me before I knowed rightly where I was.' - -Here Warwolf, who understood English, smiled gravely, and, turning, -repeated Dick's last sentence to his comrades, one of whom made a -reply which seemed to express the sentiments of the rest. - -'What are they grinning at, Dick?' asked Frank. - -'Oh,' replied Dick, 'old Bear's-tooth said as it was only pale-faces -who break twigs on the war-path. Wal, perhaps he's right. For -sartin, they broke none to-day, but they broke a good many heads an -hour or two later,' and the boys' eyes followed Wharton's to the gory -trophies which hung by their long black locks from the girdles of the -Blackfoot chiefs. - -'Had our brother, the white hunter, been as ready with his -scalping-knife as with his tomahawk,' interrupted Warwolf, 'there -would have been more scalps at his girdle than at ours.' - -It was a handsome speech from an Indian to a white warrior, and old -Wharton acknowledged it. - -'I don't spekilate much in that kind of fur,' he allowed; 'if I do -take a fancy to trimming my shirt or pants, I rayther prefer grizzly -to Crow.' - -'Then you were at the fight, Dick?' asked Towzer. - -'Oh, so you've time to make a remark, have you, young 'un?' said -Frank; 'I've been watching you some time, and didn't know which would -open widest, your eyes or your mouth.' - -'Yes, I was at the fight, you bet,' replied Dick, 'and did what I -could with this here handy little instrument; but I'd like to have -had my six-shooter. Howsomdever, there ain't many Crows to kill now; -we surprised them beautifully;' and the old man almost smacked his -lips over the grim memory. - -'If my brothers are ready,' said Warwolf when even Towzer had -finished eating, 'we will start. As it is, we shall hardly reach the -Crows' camp by the Lone Mountain before nightfall.' - -'Right you are, Warwolf,' said Dick; 'come on. Here, young 'un, you -get up on "the Cradle."' - -It now appeared that the Indians had two more led horses with them, -on which Dick and Frank mounted. - -In spite of their previous exertions all were eager to reach the -Crows' encampment, a hope of plunder urging on the Blackfeet, whilst -the voice of hope, which never dies out in the human breast, kept -whispering to the other three that it might just be possible--just -possible--that Snap still lived. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -SNAP'S STORY - -It was in the grey of the morning, at that mysterious time when the -earth is just beginning to think about awaking--before there is any -sunlight in the sky--although the shamefaced whiteness of the stars -suggests that a greater light than theirs is coming. All was still -misty and undefined, a land of shadowy dreams, and the camp of the -Crows was silent as a cemetery at midnight. The tall teepees, or -tents of deerskin, looked white and ghastly, and the long fringes of -scalp-locks which ran down their seams and fluttered from their poles -whispered vaguely horrible things to that little chill wind which -always precedes the dawn. By-and-by, if anyone had been listening -(and surely the Crows should have had some sentinels about), a bird -began to move restlessly among the dry leaves, which he rattled as -noisily as if his wee body was as big as an elephant's. With a quick -querulous chirp he fluttered away, and from time to time another bird -woke, chattered, and followed him. Then it seemed to the pale -morning star which was watching the camp, and which no doubt has seen -many such sights before, that some of the trees were double, for one -stem stood still whilst another parted from it, flitted for a moment -across an open glade, and then disappeared. Presently these moving -trees grew plainer, flitting hither and thither, swift and -silent-footed Indians, or the ghosts of Indians, their long hair -adorned with eagle-plumes and their lithe red bodies nearly naked. -Then a heavier and better-dressed figure appeared, and three or four -Redskins gathered round it. Bending down and listening, the star -heard Wharton (for it was he) whisper to Warwolf: - -'No! no! my brother, creep in like catamounts. These Crows are -cunning as Satan, and like enough them deserted-looking tents is full -of braves waiting to shoot you down as you charge. Scatter and come -in on all sides separately, so as not to give 'em a solid lump to -fire into.' - -'Our brother is a great warrior, wiser than the serpent,' said -Warwolf; 'let us take his advice;' and, so saying, he and his -comrades disappeared again amongst the pines. - -The Crows' camp looked for all the world as if animation had been -suddenly suspended in it, as if in the full swing and vigour of life -it had been frozen or paralysed. The teepees of beautifully tanned -white deerskin, painted with all manner of quaint devices in red -ochre and other bright pigments, stood with their flaps thrown back -as if the occupants had just entered them. They were fine teepees, -as well made and as big as any you will see on the North American -continent, standing as much as twenty feet high, and some of them -(one, at any rate) big enough to hold thirty men. On little rails of -rough-cut boughs still hung some long strips of deer-meat, drying for -winter use, while the hides of the beasts whose flesh this was, were -pegged out upon the ground near the tents. On one skin lay a -sharp-edged white instrument, the shoulder-blade of a wapiti, as if -just dropped by the squaw who had been cleaning the skin with it. -Over two fires in the open, hung big cauldrons. The fires were out, -and looked grey and cheerless enough, but the coyote, who had been -smelling round the camp all night, did not think that they were -empty. By-and-by, when he grew bolder, he would drag them down, and, -when he had upset them, feast on the meat inside. He had been -telling his troubles to the moon all night, and his note was not a -cheerful one; but even his coat stood bolt upright with terror, and -his tail dropped between his legs, at the hideous yell which suddenly -roused him from his lair amongst the rocks. - -It was the war-whoop of the Blackfeet, and with it came the ring of a -dozen rifles which had been fired at random into the silent tents. -But they only roused the echoes. There came no answer, either in -little jets of flame, or loud report, or dying groan. All was still. -The tents were deserted, or the enemy was strangely patient in -reserving his fire. - -And now from tent to tent flitted the quick figures, and as tent -after tent was entered and found empty the strange silence dissolved -and the harsh voices of the warriors shouting to each other gave life -and animation to the scene. Here a brave was dragging out a pile of -rugs from a deserted tent, there another cut down the scalps from his -enemy's tent-pole, or in rare cases laid hands on a rifle or tomahawk -which its owner had not had time to take with him in his flight. In -the midst of the camp stood one tent larger than all the rest, whiter -than all, and richer in that costly trimming which can only be shorn -from dead men's heads. Its sides were painted with demons and good -spirits, its flap was closed, and a kind of ensign marked it as the -tent of the tribal chief. - -With a revolver in his hand which one of the Blackfeet had lent him, -Dick Wharton approached this tent. Here, if anywhere, he would meet -with resistance. - -Kheelounha (the grizzly), greatest of all the Crow chieftains, was as -brave a man as ever stepped. Whatever had scared away his comrades, -he might well have returned, and be lying there behind the closed -entrance of his own lodge, prepared to die as he had lived, steel in -hand, and the warm blood of his enemies flowing round him in streams. - -Dick Wharton listened with straining ear and caught breath, but no -rustle of blankets, no breath, however faint, betrayed the presence -of a living being. Well! a sudden dash is safer than a deliberate -entry, thought Dick, and with a jerk he flung aside the skin-curtain -and darted into the gloomy interior. - -Quick as light a sinewy figure was upon him, its iron fingers fixed -like claws of steel into his throat, and before his finger could -touch the trigger of his beloved six-shooter a dexterous back-heel -sent him crashing upon his back. As he fell the revolver flew from -his grip, he saw the ugly steel flash above his head, while one hand -pinned his throat, gagging and choking the life out of him. For a -moment his eyes swam, and then a voice somewhere above, seemed to -say, 'Dick.' - -The old trapper was partially stunned by his fall, and as the word -reached his ear the thought that he was already dead flashed through -his mind, and this was Snap's first greeting on that further shore. -But the hand on his throat had relaxed, and was shaking him now to -rouse him, and, looking up half dazed, Dick Wharton saw, not Snap in -the spirit, but the strong, wiry figure of the lad he loved. - -'So you ain't Kheelounha, Snap! and I ain't a gone coon yet?' -remarked Wharton; 'and my har is on still. But, sonny, how in -thunder did you git here alive?' - -'I'll tell you that by-and-by, old man,' laughed Snap, shaking him -warmly by the hand, 'but why the deuce didn't you say who you were -just now?' - -'Wal!' replied Wharton, 'I dessay as I had oughter have sent in my -paste-board first to know if you was at home, but you see me and them -Blackfeet thought as the hull family had left for the season.' - -'Oh, you've got the Blackfeet with you, have you?' said Snap, 'and -all this time I've been skulking like a rat in a corner, shaking when -I heard their infernal war-whoop, and only wondering if I could kill -one or two before they whipped off my own scalp.' - -'Wal, my boy,' retorted Dick, 'I guess you'd have made it awkward for -some of 'em. It ain't a help to conversation to have them claws of -yourn round a fellow's windpipe.' - -'And now, where are the others, Dick?' said Snap. - -'All outside somewhere,' replied Wharton; 'you'll like enough find -Towzer seeing what he can find to eat. He hasn't got over his -appetite since we came back to earth.' - -I must ask my readers to let me skip the meeting between the three -boys. The truth is, it isn't an easy thing to describe. To people -who know nothing of Englishmen it would appear a very cold and -heartless proceeding. The Redskin, perhaps, understands it better -than other Europeans do. When he himself comes back from his very -longest travels and meets the wife whom he has not seen for a year he -never dreams of rushing into her arms, he doesn't even raise his hat -or shake hands, but he just sits down at some distance from the -family party and pretends not to know who they are. His relations -imitate his manner, and when an hour or so has passed and they have -got fairly used to each other's appearance he quietly mixes amongst -the tribe without greeting or comment, and life goes on as usual. - -A Russian would, of course, have wrapped his arms round Snap's neck, -kissed him on both cheeks time after time, would very likely have -done a little cry down the back of his neck, and then consoled -himself with neat vodka and let off steam in cigarette-smoke. The -boys simply said, 'Hulloh, Snap, old fellow!' and gripped his hand as -if they wanted to hurt it; were very anxious to get him something to -eat or drink or sit down upon, and very much ashamed of the colour -which came into their cheeks, and couldn't for the life of them -understand why the tops of the bull-pines had such a blurred and -misty appearance at this time of day. - -When the tents had all been ransacked and sentries and outposts -stationed by the careful Blackfeet, determined not to be surprised in -their turn, Dick Wharton re-lit one of the fires and warmed up the -savoury mess of deer's-meat which it contained. That unfortunate -coyote had missed his opportunity. - -When they had somewhat appeased their appetites Frank turned to Snap. - -'Now, old chap, if you don't mind, explain all this mystery to us. -The last thing we know is that you dropped out of the skies and gave -your life for ours. We aren't likely to forget that,' said Frank. - -'You bet!' remarked Wharton with an emphasis which made Towzer drop -the bone he was picking into the ashes. - -'Oh, that's all skittles,' replied Snap disingenuously. - -'I expect I must just have slipped off that ring somehow. You know I -never was much good on a trapeze or anything of that sort at school.' - -No one contradicted him. It wasn't necessary. Even the eloquence of -an Irish Queen's Counsel could not induce boys to disbelieve their -eyes. - -'You remember,' he continued, 'what a fog there was when I tumbled -out. I had just said, I remember, that I could make out the tops of -the teepees through it. Well, so I ought to have done. We were -quite close over the top of them, and when I fell, as luck would have -it, I came bang down on to the side of one of them, bounced off again -like a new ball from the wall of a racquet-court, and lay, I suppose, -stunned, for some time on the grass. When I came to I was a little -muddled, and what puzzled me more than anything when I began to -understand things at all was that I was free, no thongs on my limbs, -and not an Indian in sight. I tried my limbs one after another, in a -deadly fright lest I should be unable to lift one of them, but they -seemed all right, or at least I could use them. When I got up I -felt, of course, an ache in every muscle, but nothing was broken, -and, although even now I would rather sit on an air-cushion than on a -pine-log, I really hurt myself very little by my fall; of course, if -it had not been for the side of that friendly teepee, I should have -been jam by this time.' - -'Well, but, Snap, what about the Indians?' exclaimed Frank. - -'As for them,' said his friend, 'I could not understand at first, -and, although it seemed very unreasonable, kept suspecting a trap for -some time. Of course, what really happened was this. When we heard -the shouting of the warriors as the balloon bore down upon their -camp, it was not a gathering cry which we heard, but the sound of a -panic. They saw, not the balloon with their four enemies in it just -going to drop into their hands, but they saw, or thought that they -saw, the great white spirit of the Lone Mountain, incensed by their -insolence in approaching too near to his throne, swooping down -through the mists of evening like an eagle-owl upon his prey, -and--well, they bolted!' - -'That's it, Snap! that's it, sonny! You've read 'em like a book,' -ejaculated Wharton. 'Do you remember as I said I couldn't understand -them Injuns making such a tarnation row when they saw us a-coming?' - -'I do,' replied Snap, 'and you were right.' - -'I was, sonny, and I am going to be right this time, too, when I tell -you that Bull Pine Park is as good property now for the firm as if it -were fenced and railed in, with a regiment of Nor'-West police -picketed in every corner of it. Them Injuns--them confounded -Crows--will never put their hoofs inside our reserve again, you bet!' -and the old cowboy lay back and laughed long and low as he thought of -his enemies and the scare they had had. - -'Frank,' he said after a while, 'you couldn't draw a balloon, could -you? Just a rough outline, you know--a sort of a bubble with a boat -at the bottom?' - -'Yes, Dick, how will that do?' replied Frank, scratching out the -required figure in the ashes at his feet. - -'That's the ticket; leastways, if no one has any objection, that's -the brand of the firm. What do you say, Snap? It ain't easy to get -a new brand nowadays, and that will remind us of how we got our -range,' said Dick. - -'So be it, Dick,' replied he; 'but we must not forget about these -papers,' and, so saying, he drew from the inside of his shirt the -papers which had been taken by him from the German aeronaut's box A. - -'So you stuck to them all the time, did you, Snap?' asked Towzer; 'do -you think there is anything in it?' - -'Anything in what,' asked Snap; 'in the papers?' - -'No, I mean is it worth while bothering about what the old man asks? -Don't you think he was mad?' - -'Mad or sane,' was Snap's answer, 'I am going to do what he asks us. -It may not be a paying speculation to go over to Europe to carry out -his bequest on the chance of what we shall get out of his "few little -houses at Potsdam" and our share of the patents, but it is a plain -duty to the man whose death was, under Providence, the means of -saving all our lives.' - -'Snap is right,' assented Wharton, 'it don't do to go back on a pard -as is dead.' - -And so, on consideration, thought they all, and by the time the -Indian camp had been thoroughly ransacked, and the victorious and -heavily laden Blackfeet were ready to move, our friends had -unanimously resolved to make their way back to Rosebud before the -snows caught them and detained them for the winter. - -It was a very near race, that race between the snow-king and -Wharton's little party; but Wharton won, and until his return was -explained met with unlimited chaff for what his companions called his -want of 'sand.' However, his story put a new aspect on the matter, -and all agreed heartily with the old foreman that if he had married a -Blackfoot squaw and paid for the range in 'greenbacks' he would not -have been more secure of enjoying quiet possession of Bull Pine Park -than he was now. - -Nares had left, so that they could get no help from him; but the -cowboy is a generous and trustful fellow (it's not very safe to take -him in, by the way, unless you are an unusually quick revolver-shot), -and amongst the 'boys' at the ranche a purse was soon made up to take -one of the lads to Berlin to execute the old professor's wishes. - -Then arose a difficulty: who was to go? Clearly Snap ought to have -gone, but he would not. Towzer was ready enough to go--he did not -see much fun in getting up at dawn to feed frozen-out cattle--but -unluckily a want of confidence in Master Towzer's capacity was felt, -and, as old Dick said: - -'No, my lad, you had a lot better stay here. If anyone's hide wants -hardening it's yourn. Another six months here will do you no harm.' - -'Another six months, Dick!' grumbled the lad, 'why, as far as we can -see I am likely to grow up with the country as you call it.' - -'No, you aren't, sonny,' replied Dick sadly; 'I'm afeard as that old -German's inventions may steer a balloon after all, but they'll spoil -three likely cowboys.' - -'Not _three_ anyway, Dick,' said Snap's voice at his side; 'there is -one would rather be a cowboy here than a duke over there.' - -Finally it was arranged that Frank should go. - -'He is as level-headed as a Yankee lawyer,' said Dick, 'and, besides, -his arm isn't all right yet. I'm thinking the frost got into it a -bit.' - -So Frank went, and the boys saw him off, papers and all, and stood -for nearly a quarter of an hour looking along those bright metals -which led so straight towards the east, the iron link which binds the -old world to the new. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -CONCLUSION - -Just one more scene, readers, and then you must say good-bye to Snap -and Frank, Dick, Towzer, and the author. I don't call you 'gentle' -reader, as some fellows might do, because, though I like boys to grow -up 'gentlemen,' I am not very fond myself of gentle boys--youngsters -who sit in the drawing-room and do knitting and play the piano. I -dare say they are good enough in their way, but they will never enjoy -a merry bout with the boxing-gloves, or, when they grow older, a -breathless scurry after stampeded cattle or a pack like the old -Berkshire. And that last sentence brings me home again, of course. - -It was a November morning at Fairbury, and the way the thrushes were -whistling would have persuaded any but a hunting man that it was -balmy April instead of bleak November. Bleak it certainly was not. -The air was a little fresh and crisp, to be sure, and a good many of -the leaves had fluttered down already, but the covers were still too -thick to shoot, and the old cock-pheasants who were crowing lustily -in the shrubbery last night knew that as well as old Admiral Chris, -whose fingers had been itching ever since the first of October for a -'cut at a rocketer.' - -'Uncle Chris always does kill a few "magpies" about the end of -September,' had been Frank's verdict long ago, and I fear that the -allegation was true in fact, for that keen old sportsman, used to -shooting in an Indian jungle at everything he saw, from peacocks to a -native gun-bearer, could not always resist the attractions of a -precocious 'longtail.' - -It was just nine o'clock; morning prayers were over, and the sun -glanced off the old red brick and through the tree-boughs into the -windows of the breakfast-room of the Hall. There it lit on a snowy -cloth, glanced at a tempting pink ham and some cold game on the -sideboard, peeped over the top of the plate-warmer before the fire, -and discovered kidneys lying lovingly alongside little rolls of bacon -(for all the world like the ringlets of the last generation) and many -other good things. There was a pleasant aroma of coffee about the -room; a glow of firelight within, and a more glorious glow of -sunlight without. - -Altogether it was a room the very memory of which makes me feel -hungry and happy. - -In the room, at the moment at which I ask you to peep into it, are -four people: a little grey-haired lady in a dark dress, and a -quantity of pretty feathery white things about her, as becoming as -hoarfrost on an evergreen; and three men. You could not disguise the -Admiral if you tried, so I won't try; but it is hard to believe that -it is he indeed, for, instead of looking older, he looks positively -juvenile, in spite of the old-fashioned blue stock which he wears. - - Every friend will be there, - And all trouble and care - Will be left far behind----' - -he hummed. - -'And so will you, Chris, if you don't stop singing and rescue the -kidneys from Willie,' interrupts Mrs. Winthrop, with a smile in her -bright eyes. - -'Oh, don't, mother, that's too bad of you, and you know it's my last -chance before that North-west appetite arrives on the scene,' -expostulates that young gentleman, arrayed in all the glory of white -leathers, although an old shooting-coat still clothes the form which -in another hour will blossom into pink. - -'It's not like Snap to be so late,' said the Admiral, 'and the -morning of the opening meet too!' - -'You forget, Chris, that he didn't get here, could not have got here, -until three this morning. How would five hours' sleep suit you, my -brother?' - -'Well, mother, the Admiral started early,' put in Frank. 'I heard -the first gun ten minutes after you left the dining-room last night.' - -'Pooh, pooh! boy,' puffed the indignant veteran, and would probably -at that moment have conclusively proved to his disrespectful nephew -that no Admiral ever snores; but just then there came a tap at the -French window, and everyone rushed to open it. Another moment both -Mrs. Winthrop's hands lay in Snap's, and his tall young figure bent -as he kissed the little woman reverently on the forehead. - -'God bless you, Snap!' was all she could say, and his answer came -quite quietly: - -'He has, dear--aren't we all at home again?' - -And then, somehow, all settled quietly into their old places, only -that there was a tendency on the part of everyone to follow Snap's -every action with friendly eyes, anxious to discover something which -they could do for their hero. - -As for Snap, he was not such a prig as to think for a moment that -this great change, or any of it, was his doing. 'Deuced lucky' was -what he called it--in his own heart he had a more reverent way of -speaking of it. - -This November morning was just two years from the day when he and -Towzer had stood watching the Eastern train disappear along the line, -carrying Frank and the old German's papers with it. In Berlin Frank -had found that the professor's name was as well known as the -Kaiser's; more, that his name was known as well in London or Paris as -in Berlin. Von Bulberg, the professor's friend, had received Frank -with open arms, had gathered the scientists of the great city -together to fête him and listen to his story, had helped him to find -an honest and expert lawyer, and, between them, they had taken out -the patents and executed every wish expressed in that last will and -testament. - -As for the 'few little houses at Potsdam,' the worthy aeronaut -evidently set small store by the ordinary things of this earth. When -a young man he had come into a very considerable property, of which -he had spent very little, and ever since his inventions had been -adding one small fortune to another, all of which had been invested -in house property at Potsdam. The result was that when Frank's -lawyer laid the accounts before him he found that an income of nearly -10,000_l._ a year would fall to the share of himself and his friends, -as representing 'the few little houses at Potsdam.' - -As the professor had no kith or kin, the boys had no scruple in -taking the good things Providence had sent them, but I fancy that a -very considerable portion of their share of the royalties on the -professor's two patents finds its way to such institutions as Dr. -Barnardo's Home for Boys and the like. - -With their portion of the money Frank and Towzer had bought back the -old home, investing all they had to spare in Snap's ranche, for -neither persuasion nor anything else could tear him away from Dick -and the Bull Pine Range, upon which these two partners had now got -together as fine a herd as you will see in the North-west. After -much correspondence and two years of waiting his old friends had at -last induced him to come home for a winter's hunting. - -Out West, Dick was in command, and under him was as smart a lot of -riders as even he could desire. The cattle did well on the Bull Pine -Range, being well sheltered among the bluffs round the Lone Mountain, -so that during the winter there was no reason why 'the boss' should -not come over to the old country for a spin with the hounds if he -could afford it. And Snap could afford that, and a good deal more. -Ten per cent. for your money would be marvellously good interest in -any business in England; with luck, Dick and Snap did not think much -of twice that at Bull Pine. - -'So, Snap, I see your professor's patent is to be adopted by the -Army,' remarked the Admiral. - -'Yes, Lord W. has approved it, and what he approves is bound to "go" -nowadays,' replied Snap. 'I should think they would be very useful -for reconnoitring an enemy's position, for surveying the country -generally, and taking messages from point to point.' - -'That's all very well, but what are the other fellows going to do all -the time? wouldn't they put a bullet into your great gas-bag and -bring it down with a run?' demanded the Admiral. - -'I think not, sir,' said Frank; 'we had a hole or two in ours, and -she didn't come down as fast as we wanted her to always.' - -'Besides, you forget, uncle,' added Towzer, 'that she would be a -little "taller" even than the tallest rocketer, and you know they are -too tall even for you sometimes.' - -'Well, you may be right, Snap,' the Admiral allowed, taking no notice -of Towzer's insinuations, 'but I'm glad that I shall never be Admiral -of a fleet of those crafts.' - -'You agree with Dick, sir,' said Snap; '"give me a cayuse," he says, -"as'll buck itself out of its girths, as'll buck itself out of its -skin, if you like, but no more of them bally balloons for me!"' - -'Ah, well! here are our cayuses, Snap, and it is about time that we -got into the saddle. It is a good four miles to the Lawn,' remarked -Frank; while Towzer, always intent on creature comforts, was anxious -to know what Snap would have in his flask. - -'No spirits, thank you, old chap,' was the answer. 'I've brought a -large supply of good ones of my own. Neither, whisky nor "tip" could -compare to the spirits I am in this morning.' - -Five minutes later they were in their saddles, the Winthrops in pink, -dressed with all that scrupulous neatness which is essential for a -soldier or a fox-hunter, and which comes amiss to no one. Snap was -more quietly attired, but his was an easy figure for the tailor to -fit, and when he rode up with his friends, the connoisseurs of men -and of horses, who were chatting and smoking at the meet, decided -with one consent that, though there might be a bow where there ought -to have been a strap, a button too many or too few, yet, allowing for -the fact that he was 'only a colonist,' that young Hales looked a -good sort, and '_a workman_, sir, all over.' - -A 'workman all over.' It's hunting slang, I know, but it is the -keynote of the English character still, thank goodness. If you _can_ -work and _will_ work, and that work is honest and true, men will -respect you, women admire you, and even the most exacting of -relations forgive you what one may call vice, another mischief, an -indulgent old sailor 'go,' or a Nor'-West cowboy, like Dick, 'sand.' - - - -_Spottiswoode & Co. 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