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THE GOLDEN CANON
BY
G. A. HENTY
AUTHOR OF "TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG," "WITH ISM
IN VIRGINIA," "WITH WOWE IN
CANADA," ETC.
NEW YORK
HURST & COMPANY
Publishers


Copyright, 1899,
BY
THE MERSHON COMPANY.



CONTENTS.
CHAPTER _ PAGE
THE GOLDEN CANON.
I. A Run Ashore 1
II. Dick's Escape, 11
III. The Gold-Seekers 19
IV. More Plans, 28
V. The Search for the Canon, ... 35
VI. The Map Again 4*
VII. The Scarcity of Water, ... 49
VIII. The Golden Valley, .... 55
IX. The Tree on the Peak, .... 62
X. Watched, ,68
XI. Hard at Work 76
XII. Retreat 84
XIII. The Redskin, . . . . . .9°
XIV. In the Ravine, 97
XV. Rifle-Shots, I04
XVI. On the Return, 112
XVII. Conclusion,
HI


Iv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER FAGS
THE STONE CHEST.
I. A Mystery of the Storm, . . . 125
II. Off for Zaruth, 134
III. Among the Icebergs, .... 143
IV. The Escape from the Icebergs, . . 148
V. The Arctic Island, 153
VI. The Madman, .... .161
VII. A Fearful Fall 172
VIII. A Remarkable Story 178
IX. The Volcano of Ice, .... 184
X. The Escape of the " Dart," . . .189
XI. Among a Strange Foe 195
XII. Bob's Discovery, 200
XIII. The Big Polar Bear 205
XIV. The Finding of the Stone Chest, . . 210
XV. Bob Rescues His Father—Conclusion, . 218


PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION.
George Alfred Henty has been called
"The Prince of Story-Tellers." To call him
"The Boy's Own Historian " would perhaps be
a more appropriate title, for time has proved
that he is more than a story-teller; he is a pre-
server and propagator of history amongst
boys.
How Mr. Henty has risen to be worthy of
these enviable titles is a story which will
doubtless possess some amount of interest for
all his readers.
Henty may be said to have begun his pre-
liminary training for his life-work when a boy
attending school at Westminster. Even then
the germ of his story-telling propensity seems
to have evinced itself, for he was always
awarded the highest marks in English com-
position.
From Westminster he went to Cambridge,


vi publishers' introduction.
where he was enrolled as a student at Caius
College. It is a decided change of scenery
and circumstances from Cambridge to the
Crimea, but such was the change which took
place in Mr. Henty's career at the age of
twenty-one.
An appointment in connection with the
commissariat department of the British army,
took him from the scenes of student life into
the excitement of the Muscovite war.
Previous to this, however, he had written
his first novel, which he has characterized as
"Very bad, no doubt, and was, of course,
never published, but the plot was certainly a
good one."
Whilst engaged with his duties at the
Crimea he sent home several descriptive let-
ters of the places, people, and circumstances
passing under his notice. His father, think-
ing some of those letters were of more than
private interest, took a selection of them to
the editor of the Morning Advertiser, who,
after perusal of them, was so well pleased with
their contents that he at once appointed


publishers' introduction. vii
young Henty as war correspondent to the
paper in the Crimea.
The ability with which he discharged his
duties in the commissariat department at that
time soon found for him another sphere of
similar work in connection with the hospital
of the Italian forces. After a short time this
was relinquished for engagement in mining
work, which he first entered into at Wales,
and then in Italy.
Ten years after his Crimean correspond-
ence to the Morning Advertiser he again took
to writing, and at this time obtained the posi-
tion of special correspondent to the Standard.
While holding this post, he contributed let-
ters and articles on the wars in Italy and
Abyssinia, and on the expedition to Khiva.
Two novels came from his pen during this
time, but his attention was mostly devoted to
miscellaneous letters and articles.
It is a specially interesting incident in the
career of Mr. Henty how he came to turn his
attention to writing for boys. When at
home, after dinner, it was his habit to spend


publishers' introduction. ix
There is in this incident a glimpse of the
character of our author which endears him to
us all. The story of his kindly interest in his
own children surely creates a liking for him
in the hearts of the children of others. The
man who can spend an hour in telling stories
to his little ones, and retain their attention
and interest, has an evident sympathy with,
and power over, the youthful nature. Time
has proved such is the case with G. A. Henty,
for up to the present he has written close on
fifty stories for boys, which have been received
with unbounded joy and satisfaction by all.
As an indication of the reception which his
books have met with, the following may be
quoted from an English paper:
"G. A. Henty, the English writer of juve-
niles, is the most popular writer in England
to-day in point of sales. Over 150,000 copies
of his books are sold in a year, and in America
he sells from 25,000 to 50,000 during a year."
"All the world" is the sphere from which
Mr. Henty draws his pictures and characters
for the pleasure of the young. Almost every


X PUBLISHERS' introduction.
country in the world has been studied to do
service in this way, with the result that within
the se: ';3 of books which Mr. Henty has pro-
duced for the young we find such places dealt
with as Carthage, Egypt, Jerusalem, Scot-
land, Spain, England, Afghanistan, Ashanti,
Ireland, France, India, Gibraltar, Waterloo,
Alexandria, Venice, Mexico, Canada, Vir-
ginia, and California. Doubtless what other
countries remain untouched as yet are but so
many fields to be attacked, and which every
lad hopes to see conquered in the same mas-
terly way in which the previous ones have
been handled.
As a rule much of what boys learn at school
is left behind them when classes are given up
for the sterner work of the world. Unless
there is a special demand for a certain subject,
that subject is apt to become a thing of the
past, both in theory and practice. This, how-
ever, is not likely to be the case with history,
so long as G. A. Henty writes books for boys,
and boys read them. History is his especial
forte, and that he is able to invest the dry facts


publishers' introduction. x!
of history with life, and make them attractive
to the modern schoolboy, says not a little for
his power as a story-teller for boys. It is
questionable if history has any better means
of fixing itself in the minds of youthful readers
than as it is read in the pages of G. A. Henty's
works. There is about it an attraction which
cannot be resisted; a most unusual circum-
stance in connection with such a subject. All
this of course means for Mr. Henty a vast
amount of research and study to substantiate
his facts and make his situations, characters,
places, and points of time authentic. To the
reader it means a benefit which is incalculable^
not only as a means of passing a pleasant
hour, but in reviving or imparting a general
knowledge of the history and geography, the
manners and customs of our own and other
lands.
There is a noticeable element of "Free-
dom" which runs through Mr. Henty's
books, and in this may be said to lie their in-
fluence. From them lads get an elevating
sense of independence, and a stimulus to pa-


xii publishers' introduction.
triotic and manly endeavor. His pages
provide the purest form of intellectual excite-
ment which it is possible to put into the hands
of lads. They are always vigorous and
healthy, and a power for the strengthening of
the moral as well as the intellectual life.
In the present work, " The Golden Canon,"
a tale of the gold mines, Mr. Henty has fully
sustained his reputation, and we feel certain
all boys will read the book with keen interest.


2
THE GOLDEN CANON.
tween San Francisco and the mouth of the
'Gulf of California. Two or three other ships
which were, like the Northampton, engaged in
shipping hides, lay near her. A sickening
odor rose from the half-cured skins as they
were swung up from boats alongside and low-
ered into the hold, and in spite of the sharp
orders of the mates, the crew worked slowly
and listlessly.
"This is awful, Tom," a lad of about six-
teen, in the uniform of a midshipman, said to
another of about the same age as, after the
last boat had left the ship's sides, they leaned
against the bulwarks; "what with the heat,
and what with the stench, and what with the
captain and the first mate, life is not worth liv-
ing. However, only another two or three
days and we shall be full up, and once off we
shall get rid of a good deal of the heat and
most of the smell."
"Yes, we shall be better off in those re-
spects, Dick, but unfortunately we shan't
leave the captain and mate behind."
"No, I don't know which I like worst of


A RUN ASHORE. 3
them. It is a contrast to our last ship, Tom.
What a good time we had of it on board the
Zebra! The captain was a brick, and the
mates were all good fellows. In fact, we have
always been fortunate since the day we first
came on board together up to now. I can't
think how the owners ever appointed Collet
to the command; he is not one of their own
officers. But when Halford was taken sud-
denly ill I suppose they had no others at home
to put in his place, so had to go outside. My
father said that Mr. Thompson had told him
that they heard that he was a capital sailor,
and I have no doubt he is. He certainly
handled her splendidly in that big storm we
had rounding the Cape. I suppose,they did
not inquire much farther, as we took no pas-
sengers out to San Francisco, and were com-
ing out to pick up a cargo of hides here for
the return journey; but he is a tyrant on
board, and when I get back I will tell my
father, and he will let Thompson know the
sort of fellow Collet is. It doesn't do one any
good making complaints of a captain, but vayl


4 THE GOLDEN CANON.
father is such friends with Thompson that I
know he will tell the other partners that he
hears that Collet isn't the sort of man they
care about having commanding their ships,
without my name coming into it. If he does
I can't help it. I know Thompson will see
that I don't sail with Collet again, anyhow,
and will get you with me, as he has often met
you at my father's, and knows what chums we
are. Collet brought Williams with him, and
they were a nice pair. I believe the second
and third are just as disgusted as we are, and
as Allen is a nephew of one of the partners he
will put a spoke in their wheel too, when he
comes back."
"Well, we might be worse off in some re-
spects, Dick. We have two good officers out
of the four, and we have a very fair crew, and
we have good grub; and the company always
victual their ships well, and don't put the offi-
cers' messing into the hands of the captain, as
they do in some ships."
Presently Mr. Allen, the second officer,
came up with the two lads.


A RUN ASHORE. 5
"I am going ashore in an hour, Preston,"
he said to Dick; "if you like, you can come
with me."
"Thank you, sir; I should like it very
much."
"I wish you were coming too, Tom," he
went on when the officer moved away.
"That is one of the nuisances, Collet never
letting us go ashore together."
"It is a nuisance," the other said, heartily.
"Of course, Allen is a very good fellow, but
one can't have any larks as one could have if
we were together."
"Well, there are not many larks to be had
here, at any rate, Tom. It is about the
dullest place I ever landed at. It is a regular
Mexican town, and except that they do have,
I suppose, sometimes, dances and that sort of
thing, there is really nothing to be done when
one does go ashore, and the whole place
stinks of hides. Even if one could get away
for a day there is no temptation to ride about
that desert-looking country, with the sun
burning down on one; no one but a salaman-


6
THE GOLDEN CANON.
der could stand it. They are about the
roughest-looking lot I ever saw in the town.
Everyone has got something to do with hides
one way or the other. They have either
come in with them from the country, or they
pack them in the warehouses, or they ship
them. That and mining seem the only two
things going on, and the miners, with their
red shirts and pistols and knives, look even a
rougher lot than the others. I took my pistol
when last I went ashore; I will lend it you this
evening."
"Oh, I don't want a pistol, Tom; there is
no chance of my getting into a row."
"Oh, it is just as well to carry one, Dick,
when you know that everyone else has got
one about him somewhere, and a considerable
number of them are drunk; it is just as well to
take one. You know, it is small, and goes in
my breast pocket."
"I will take my stick, the one I bought at
San Francisco; it has got an ounce of lead in
the knob. I would rather have that than a
pistol any day."


A RUN ASHORE. 7
However, as Dick was standing with the
second officer at the top of the gangway, Tom
Haldane, as he passed by, slipped the pistol
into his hand and then walked on. Dick
thrust it into his pocket, and then descended
the ladder. It was almost dark now.
"I have two or three places to go to, Pres-
ton, and do not know how long I shall be de-
tained. It is just nine o'clock now. Sup-
pose you meet me here at the boat at half-past
ten. It will be pleasanter for you to stroll
about by yourself than to be waiting about
outside houses for me."
"Very well, sir. I don't think there is
much to see in the town, but I will take a bit
of a stroll outside. It is cool and pleasant
after the heat of the day."
They walked together to the first house
that Mr. Allen had to visit; then Dick strolled
on by himself. The place abounded with1
wine-shops. Through the open doors the
sound of the strumming of mandolins,
snatches of Spanish song, and occasionally
voices raised in dispute or anger, came out.


8
THE GOLDEN CANON.
Dick felt no inclination to enter any of them.
Had his chum been with him he might have
looked in for a few minutes for the fun of the
thing, but alone he would be the object of re-
mark, and might perhaps get involved in a
quarrel. Besides the freshness of the air was
so pleasant that he felt disposed for a walk,
for the moon was shining brightly, the stars
seemed to hang from the skies, and after hav-
ing been pent up in the ship for the last four
days it was pleasant to stretch the limbs in a
brisk walk. In ten minutes he was outside
the town, and followed the road for half an
hour.
"It is a comfort," he said to himself, "to
have got rid of the smell of hides. If ever
cholera comes this way I should think it
would make a clean sweep of San Diego."
Turning, he walked leisurely back; he en-
tered the town, and had gone but a hundred
yards or two when he heard a shout, followed
by a pistol shot, and then, in English, a cry
for help.
He dashed down the street toward a group


A RUN ASHORE. 9
of people who, he could see in the moonlight,
were engaged in a sharp struggle. One man
was defending himself against four, and the
oaths and exclamations of these showed that
they were Mexicans. Just as he reached
them the man they were attacking was struck
down, and two of his assailants threw them-
selves upon him.
Dick rushed upon the men, and felled one
with a sweeping blow of his stick. The other
man who was standing up sprang at him,
knife in hand, with a savage oath.
So quick was the action that he was upon
Dick before he had time to strike a blow with
his stick. He threw up his left arm to guard
his head, but received a severe gash on the
shoulders. At the same moment he struck
out with his right, full into the face of the
Mexican, who, as he staggered back, fell
across the three men on the ground. Dick
seized the opportunity to draw his pistol,
dropping his stick as he did so, as his left arm
was disabled. It was a double-barreled pistol
and as the three natives rose and rushed at


IO THE GOLDEN CANON.
him, he shot the first. The other two sprang
at him and he received a blow that almost
paralyzed him. He staggered against the
wall, but had strength to raise his arm and fire
again, just as the man was about to repeat his
blow; he fell forward on his face, and his other
assailant took to his heels. A moment later
Dick himself sank to the ground.


CHAPTER II.
dick's escape.
When Dick opened his eyes it was broad
daylight. He was lying in a barely furnished
room. A surgeon was leaning over him ban-
daging his wounds, while on the other side of
the bed stood three red-shirted men, whose
rough beards and belts with bowie knives and
pistols showed them to be miners. One of
them had his face strapped up and his arm in
a sling. An exclamation of satisfaction burst
from him as Dick's eyes opened.
"That is right, lad. You will do now.
"It has been touch and go with you all night.
My life aint no pertik'lar value to nobody,
but such as it is you have saved it. But I
won't talk of that now. Which ship do you
belong to? We will let them know at once."
"The Nortliampton," Dick said in a whisper.


12
THE GOLDEN CAftON.
"All right; don't you talk any more. We
will get your friends here in no time."
But when Mr. Allen came ashore Dick was
again unconscious. The mate fetched two
more surgeons, who, after conferring with the
first, were all of opinion that although he
might possibly recover from his wounds,
weeks would elapse before he would be con-
valescent. Before night fever had set in, and
it was a fortnight before he was again con-
scious of what was passing round him. He
looked feebly round the room. One of the
red-shirted men was attending to a pot over
a charcoal fire. Turning his head he saw,
standing looking out of the window, his friend
Tom Haldane.
"Halloa, Tom," he said, in a whisper,
which, however, reached the midshipman's
ears. He turned sharply round, and hurried
to the bedside.
"Thank God, Dick, you are conscious
again. Don't try to talk, old fellow; drink
this lemonade, and then shut your eyes
again."


dick's escape. 13
Dick tried to raise his hand to take the
glass, but, to his surprise, found he was un-
able to do so. Tom, however, put it to his
lips and poured it down his throat. It was
cool and pleasant, and with a sigh of relief he
again closed his eyes, and went off into a quiet
sleep.
When he awoke it was evening; the win-
dow was open, and the fresh air came in, mak-
ing the lamp on the table flicker.
"How do you feel now, old man?" Tom
asked.
"I feel all right," he said, "but I am won-
derfully weak. I suppose I must have lost a
lot of blood. Has the skipper given you
leave to stop with me for the night?"
Tom nodded. "I will tell you all about it
in the morning, Dick. There is some chicken
broth Dave has been cooking for you. You
must try and drink a bowl of it, and then by
to-morrow morning you will be feeling like a
giant."
Dick laughed feebly. "It will be some
time before there is much of a giant about me,


14 THE GOLDEN CANON.
Tom; but I feel as if I could drink some
broth."
The next morning Dick woke feeling de-
cidedly stronger. "Raise me up and put
some pillows behind me, Tom. It is horrid
being fed from a spoon, lying on one's
back."
The man called Dave, and Tom, lifted him
up as he wished, and then the latter fed him
with the broth, in which some bread had been
crumbled.
"Now, then," Dick said, when he had fin-
ished; " let us hear what the old man said. I
suppose he was in a tremendous rage?"
"That he was! a brute!"
"Why, there is my chest. What has he
sent that ashore for? I should think I could
be taken on board again to-day."
"You won't be taken on board the North-
ampton," Tom said, "for by this time she is
down somewhere near Cape Horn."
"Eh!" Dick eclaimed in astonishment.
"Why, how long have I been here?"
, "A fortnight to-day, Dick."


dick's ESCAPE. IS
Dick was too surprised to make any remark
for some time.
"But if the Northampton has gone, how is
it that you are here, Tom?"
"Simply because she has gone without me,
Dick. The old man was in a furious rage
when he heard in the morning what had hap-
pened to you. Of course, we were in a great
stew—I mean the third mate and myself—
when Allen came off at twelve o'clock without
you, after waiting an hour and a half at the
wharf for you to turn up. We all felt sure
that something must have happened, or you
would never have been all that time late.
There was a row between Allen and the skip-
per the first thing in the morning. Allen
wanted to go ashore to make inquiries about
you, and the old man would not let him, and
said that no doubt you had deserted, but that
if you came on board again he would have
you put in irons.
"Well, there was a regular row going on
when a boat came off with a man in a red
shirt, who I know now is one of Dave's part-


l6 THE GOLDEN CANON.
ners, and said that you were desperately]
wounded, and that the Spanish doctor they
had called in thought that you would die. So
then the old man couldn't help Allen's going
ashore. Of course, he could do nothing, as
you were insensible, but he got two other sur-
geons. Their opinion was that you would
not get over it, but that if you did it would be
a long time first. When Allen got back there
was another row. He wanted to have you
brought on board. The captain said that as
you had chosen to mix yourself up in a row
on shore, you might die on shore for anything
he cared. Then I asked for leave to stay with
you when the vessel sailed, and got sworn at
for my pains. In the afternoon I filled up
your chest chockfull with as many of my
things as I could get into it, and sent it ashore.
By the next night we had got all the cargcwon
board, and were to sail by the next morning,
and I lowered myself down and swam ashore.
"Allen had told me exactly where you were
lying, so I came here at once and told Dave
who I was, and why I had come ashore, and


dick's escape. 17
as soon as it was light he took me round to
the room the other two had. The captain
came ashore in the morning and stormed and
raved at the Consul's, but he had better have
kept on board. I told our friends here all
about it, and as he went back to the boat
again one of them pitched into him, and gave
him such a tremendous licking that I hear he
had to be carried on board. As soon as he
got on board the Northampton sailed, so you
see here we both are. I have written off to
your father and mine, giving them a full ac-
count of the whole affair, and saying what a
brute Collet had been on the whole voyage.
They will be sure to lay the letters before the
firm, and as Allen and Smith will, when they
are questioned, speak out pretty straight, you
may be sure the old man and his friend, the
first mate, will have to look for a berth some-
where else."
"It is awfully good of you to have come
ashore to nurse me, Tom."
"Bosh! Why, I have got away from the
Northampton. I found, too, that as far as


»8 THE GOLDEN CAffOTf.
nursing was concerned I might as well have
(Stayed on board, for Dave here and his two
mates have, one or other of them, been with
you night and day, and they could not have
taken more care of you if they had been
women. Still I have been very glad to be
here, though till three days ago there seemed
very little hope of your pulling through it.
Now you have talked enough, or rather, I
have talked enough, Dick; and you had better
turn over and get another sleep."


CHAPTER nr.
THE GOLD-SEEKERS.
Two days later the lad was able to sit up in
bed and to enter upon a discussion as to the
future with Tom arid the miner. It was be-
gun by the latter.
"I suppose you will be taking the first ship
back as soon as you are strong enough?" he
said.
"I don't know, Dave; now I am here I
should certainly like a run ashore for a few
weeks and to see something of the country.
We have got twenty pounds between us; that
will last for some time. I should think we
could get a passage back without having to
pay on this side for it, and if there was any
difficulty about it, we could work our way
back; but Tom agrees with me, we should like
to see something of the country first.
"I suppose in another fortnight I shall be
to


20
THE GOLDEN CANON.
all right again; but there is the doctor to pay.
I don't know what their charges are here, but
I expect his bill will be a pretty long one.
You had better tell him to-day that we have
not got a great deal of cash between us, and
that as I only want building up now, he need
not come again."
"Don't you trouble yourself about that,"
Dave growled. "You don't suppose that
when you have got yourself cut and sliced
about in helping me you are going to have
any trouble about doctors? We have got a
tidy lot at present amongst us, and what is
ours is yourn. We were going to set off
among the hills a day or two after the time
we had that trouble; only, of course, that
stopped it all."
"Please don't stop on my account," Dick
said. "I shall get on very well now, and I
was saying to Tom, as soon as I can get about
we will go off somewhere among the hills; for
one might just as well be lying in an oven as
here. If you will tell us where you and your
mates are working, we might find our way


THE GOLD-SEEKERS.
21
there, and get a job. We are both p'retty
strong, you know—that is to say, when we
are welt—and we have often said that we
should like to try our luck gold-mining."
"We aint agoing till you are strong
enough to get about," Dave said; " so it is no
use saying any more about that. Then, if
you want to do some mining, we will put you
in the way of it; but we are going on a long
expedition, which may last months, and from
which, as like as not, we shall never come
back again. However, we can easy enough
take you with us for a bit and drop you at one
of the mining camps, and stop there with you
till you get accustomed to it, or work for a
few months with you if you like. Time is not
of much consequence to us."
"That is awfully good of you, Dave," Tom
said, "but as you have lost more than a fort-
night at present, and I suppose it will be an-
other fortnight before Dick is strong enough
to travel, it isn't fair on you; and perhaps you
might be able to introduce us to some men
going up to the hills—that is, if you think that


22 THE GOLDEN CANON.
we could not go with you on this expedition
you talk of."
"That won't be a job for young hands,"
Dave said. "It will be a mighty long jour-
ney over a terrible rough country, where one's
life will be always in one's hands, where one's
eyes will always be on the lookout for an
enemy, and one will know that any moment,
night or day, one may hear the war yell of the
Indians. We are going into the heart of Ari-
zona, to places where not half-a-dozen white
men, even counting Mexicans as white men,
have ever set foot; at least, where not half-a
dozen have ever come back alive from,
though maybe there are hundreds who have
tried."
"Then I suppose you are going to look for
some very rich mine, Dave?"
"That is so; I will tell you how it came
about, and queerly enough, it wur pretty well
the same way as your friend and me came to-
gether. My mates and me were coming
down from the hills when we heard a shot
fired in a wood ahead of us. It wasn't none


THE GOLD-SEEKERS. 23
of our business, but we went on at a trot,
thinking as how some white men had been at-
tacked by greasers."
"What are greasers? " Tom asked.
Dave laughed.
"A greaser is just a Mexican. Why tney
call them so I don't know; but that has been
their name always as long as I came in the
country. Well, we ran down and came sud-
den upon two greasers who were kneeling by
a man lying in the road, and seemed to be
searching his pockets. We let fly with our
Colts; one of them was knocked over, and the
other bolted. Then we went to look at the
man in the road; he wur a greaser too. He
had been shot dead. 'I wonder what they
shot him for?' says I. 'Maybe it is a private
quarrel; maybe he had struck it rich, and has
got a lot of gold in his belt. We may as well
look; it is no use leaving it for that skunk that
bolted to come back for.' He had got about
twenty ounces in his belt, and we shifted it
into our bag, and were just going on when
'Zekel—that is one of my mates—said, 'I


24 THE GOLDEN CANON.
know this cuss, Dave; it's vhe chap that lived
in that village close to where we were work-
ing six months ago; they said he had been
fossicking all over Arizona, and that he was
the only one who ever came back out of a
party who went to locate a wonderful rich
spot it was said he knew of.
"' He tried over and over again to get up
another party, but no one would try after that
first failure. We may just as well search him
all over; it may be he has got a plan of the
place somewhere about him, and it is like
enough those fellows have killed him on the
chance of finding it.'
"So we searched him pretty thorough, and
at last we found a paper sewn up in the collar
of his jacket. Sure enough it was a plan.
We did not examine it then, for someone
might have come along, and we might have
been accused of the chap's murder; so I
shoved it into the inside pocket of my shirt,
and we went on. We looked at it that night;
there was several marks on it and names, one
of which we had heard of, though we had


THE GOLD-SEEKERS. 2$
never been so far in the Indian country.
Well, as you may guess, we had some big
talks over it, and at last we reckoned we
would have a try to find it.
"We had been lucky, and had struck it
rich at the last place we had been at, and we
agreed, instead of spending our money in a
spree or at the monte tables, we would fit out
an expedition and try it. Now I believe that
attack was made on me to try and get that
piece of paper. The chap who bolted may
like enough have hid himself and watched us,
and may have seen us find it and me take
charge of it. We thought more than once
since we came down here that we were being
dogged by a greaser, but we never thought
about the paper. That evening I had been
out by myself, which I did not often do, for
we in general went about together, and was
going back along that street, and was pretty
nigh home, when someone said in Spanish,
'That is the fellow,' and then five men jumped
out with knives in their hands. I had just
time to whip out my, six-shooter and fire once.


20
THE GOLDEN CANON.
One fellow went down, but at the same mo-
ment I got a clip across my wrist with a knife,
and down went the pistol. Then I got a slice
across the head, and another on the shoulder,
and down I went. Two of them threw them-
selves on me, and I shammed dead, knowing
that if I moved it was all over with me. One
of them shoved his hand in my trousers
pockets, and the other tore my shirt open. I
heard a sudden row, a blow, and the fall of a
body; then one of them came tumbling down
on the top of us and knocked the two fellows
over, then they jumped up, and I heard your
pistol crack twice and two falls, and as I got
up on to my feet to lend a hand I saw one of
the fellows bolting down the street, running
off in another direction. That was the one, I
think, that came down on the top of us.
"I have been wondering since then how
it was that that fellow fell, for you did not fire
till they jumped up."
Dick explained that he had felled one with
a blow from the stick, and not having time to
strike with it again, had sent the second stag-


THE GOLD-SEEKERS. 2J
gering over the group with a blow of his fist;
"those are the two that got away, I expect,"
he said.
"I expect so; there were four bodies on the
ground—yours, the two fellows you shot, and
the one I wiped out to begin with."
"Has there been any row about it?" Dick
asked.
"No; they take these things quietly. If
it had been one of my mates and me who had
killed three Mexicans, our story that we had
been attacked might not have been believed,
but as it was certain a young ship's officer
would not have joined me in falling foul of
three natives, they just took and buried them,
and there was an end of it."


MORE PLANS. 29
The lads had their way. As soon as she
three men saw that they were really bent
upon accompanying them, they raised no fur-
ther objections.
"We shall be glad enough to have you with
us," Dave said, "and though the work will
be toilsome and hard, there is nothing in it
that two active young chaps like you need be
afraid of. It is just the Injuns—they are the
worst kind, and have always set themselves
against gold-seekers. That is natural enough,
for they know that if gold mines were once
opened in their country, the whites would
pour in, and they would soon be wiped out.
Anyhow, everyone who goes prospecting in
that part of Arizona knows well enough that
he takes his life in his hands.
"All along the country by the Gila River
is the stronghold of the Apaches, the terror of
Northern Mexico. Many parties of miners
have set out, but very few have ever come
back again; but those that have tell of gold
richer by a hundred times than ever was seen
in California, and have brought with them


30 THE GOLDEN CANON.
sacks of nuggets to prove it. These are men
who have had the luck to get in and out with-
out ever having been seen by the Injuns; the
large parties have never succeeded. So you
see, young fellows, the odds are strongly agin
you. Still, if you like to go with us, you are
welcome; but if the time comes when the red-
skins have got us shut up in some place we
can never get out of alive, remember that you
are there on your own choice, and that we
had no hand in getting you into the scrape."
"We will never blame you, whatever comes
of it, Dave. If the risk is not too great for
you and your comrades, it is not too great for
us. There is nothing in the world we should
like so much as such an adventure."
"Well, that is settled then, and no more
words about it. We shall be glad to have
two more with us, and we intended to go
alone only because it is not everyone that can
be trusted."
"What do we take with us?"
"We shall each take a horse, and a Mexi-
can pony to carry, our food and traps. If


MORE PLANS. 31
everything goes right and we find a bonanza,
we can load them up on the way back.
Twenty dollars will buy a pony here. Then
you will want a critter each to ride. We are
not going to get first-rate ones, for if the In-
dians come on us it is fighting that we shall
have to do, not riding. Among those moun-
tains no shod horse of the plains has a chance
with those Indian ponies, which can climb like
goats and go at a gallop along places where a
horse from the plains wouldn't dare move.
Then you will want rifles and six-shooters.
That is about all; I am afraid our stock of
money will hardly run to it, and I think we
had better work for a while in one of the dig-
gings to make up what we shall want."
"We have- twenty pounds between us,"
Dick said, "and we can draw on our fathers
for twenty-five pounds each. The Consul
here has, of course, heard of my being
wounded and left behind, and I expect he
won't mind cashing our draft."
"There will be more than we want," the
miner said. "Still, it is as well to be on the


32
THE GOLDEN CANON.
right side. If we don't find any gold up
there, we shall want a little when we get back
to keep us going until something turns
up."
Three days later Dick was strong enough
to go with his friend to the Consul's; they
found that Mr. Allen had spoken about Dick,
and told him that should he recover from his
wounds, he could cash a draft for him without
any fear. Therefore in half an hour the lads
returned to their lodgings with three hundred
and fifty dollars, having changed their Eng-
lish gold'into the currency of the country.
"You have not got your horses yet, I sup-
pose, Dave?"
"No, we shall go up the river about a hun-
dred and twenty miles. There we shall buy
horses cheaper than we can get them here.
We have got rifles and colts; they are things
one can't very well do without in knocking
about among the hills. I will go round the
town, and I have no doubt I shall be able to
pick you up what you want cheap. There
are so many men get rubbed out one way or


MORE PLANS. 33
the other that such things are pretty often for
sale."
The other two miners, who during Dick's
illness had nothing to do but to stroll about
the town, both knew of men who had rifles or
revolvers to dispose of, and in a couple of
hours the purchases were completed and a
considerable stock of ammunition was also
bought.
"I should recommend yer," the miner
called 'Zekel said, as the party were talking
matters over that evening, " to rig yourselves
out miner fashion. Them uniforms looks
very nice on board ship, but they aint much
good for knocking about in the mountains;
and yer can leave them here, and take to them
again when yer gets back."
The lads thought the advice was good, and
next day rigged themselves out in red shirts
and high boots, in which were tucked the bot-
tom of the thick moleskin trousers. They
also bought jackets of the same material as
the trousers.
"You will be glad of them at night," Dave


34 THE GOLDEN CANON.
said; " it gets pretty cold up in the mountains
when the sun is down, and we shan't be light-
ing any fires, you bet."
They also bought a couple of rough
blankets each, a spare shirt, and two or three
pairs of stockings, a couple of long bowie
knives, and two broad-brimmed felt hats.


CHAPTER V.
THE SEARCH FOR THE CANON.
Ten days later the party took passage in a
large boat going up the river to Santa Fe. It
had come down freighted with hides, and the
odor still hung about it. However, by this
time they had become accustomed to the
smell, and scarcely noticed it. The boat was
manned by six Mexicans, who sometimes
poled it along, sometimes, when the stream
was rapid, got ashore and towed from the
bank.
It took them six days to arrive at Santa Fe.
Although just inside the United States fron-
tier, the population was almost entirely Mexi-
can. There were, however, a few American
stores, containing European goods of all
kinds, for the use of the natives, and such
articles as miners or prospectors going up
among the hills would require. Here the^


36
THE GOLDEN CANON.
had no difficulty in purchasing horses. Five
rough, serviceable ponies for the carriage of
the baggage were picked up at twenty dollars
a piece, and five well-made and wiry horses
for their own riding. Mexican saddles, with
very high pommels and cantles, heavy and
cumbersome to look at, but very comfortable
for long distances, were also obtained without
difficulty. At the stores were bought two
sacks of flour and two sides of bacon, a frying
pan, saucepan, baking pot, and a good supply
of tea and sugar; four large water-skins, five
small ones, completed their purchases, with
the exception of shovels, picks, and pails for
washing the gravel.
"Going up among the hills again, Dave?"
remarked the store-keeper, with whom the
miners had often dealt before.
"Yes, we are going to try a new direction
this time, and don't want to have to come
back directly we have struck anything. We
have got enough grub here for three or four
months, reckoning as we shall occasionally
get hold of bear or deer meat."


THE SEARCH FOR THE CASfON. 37
"Well, you had better keep clear of the In-
dian country, Dave. They made a raid down
South, I hear, last month, and burnt half a
dozen Mexican villages, and they would make
short work with you if they came across you
anywhere near their country. However, I
suppose you aint going to be fool enough to
go that way, especially as I see you have got
two green hands with you."
"They are old enough to be useful," Dave
said. "We can put them to cook and look
after the horses, if they can't do anything else.
They are Britishers, and one of them stood by
me pluckily in a mess I got into in San Diego;
so as they had left their ship and were out of
a berth, I thought I would bring them with
me, as they had a fancy for seeing a little of
mining life, before they shipped back again."
Two days after their arrival at Santa Fe
they started.
"We will strike due south as if intending to
enter Mexico; one never knows who is watch-
ing one," Dave said the evening before.
"There are always some pretty hard men


38 THE GOLDEN CANON.
about these border towns—miners who are
on their luck; men who have had to run
from the northern diggings, and such like.
We may say what we like, but they will make
a guess that we have located something rich,
and are going back to work it quietly and
keep it to ourselves, and like enough some of
them will take it in their heads to follow us.
Anyhow, we will travel south for a day or two,
and then turn off sharp to the west. It aint
as I should grudge anyone else a share in the
mine, but the more there are the more chance
of the Injuns finding us. Besides, some of
these chaps are so reckless that like as not
they would light a big fire if they wanted to
cook a loaf of bread. We three have been up
that way before, although not so far as we
are going now, and we know what we have
got to expect, and that, if we are going to
bring our scalps out again, we have got to
sleep with our eyes open."
Another fortnight's traveling and they had
passed the last settlements, had left Fort
Mason behind them, and had entered the


40 THE GOLDEN CANON.
large skins filled with water, in case none
should be met with at their halting places;
this sufficed for tea and for a good drink at
night, and before starting in the morning for
the horses. The villages, however, had be-
come fewer and fewer, and at the last through
which they had passed they had bought one
of the little bullocks of the country, cut the
flesh into strips, and hung it in the sun to dry,
halting three days for the purpose.


CHAPTER VI.
THE MAP AGAIN.
"Now," Dave said, as they finished their
meal on the evening after leaving Fort
Mason, "we have got to consider which
course we had better take. First we will
have another look at the map."
This was taken out from a wash-leather
case, in which it had been sewn, Dave carry-
ing it under his shirt by a string that went
round his neck. It was the first time that the
boys had seen it. As Dave opened it they
examined it with much curiosity. It was di-
vided in two; the upper one appeared to be a
general map of the country, the lower one a
plan of the immediate locality of the spot.
"It looks very confusing," Dick said, as he
examined it.
"You see the chap as made it did not do it
for other people, but so that he could find his


42 THE GOLDEN CANON.
way back by it. This line that runs along the
bottom of the other map I take to be the Gila,
which is a big river which runs right through
the Indian country, and falls into the Rio
Grande. I have gone up it from that side
two or three hundred miles. We were a
strong party, but we had to fight our way
back again, and lost pretty near half our num-
ber. You see by the map it lies on the north
side of the Gila. But as the Gila is eight or
nine hundred miles long, that don't help us a
great deal, and the map wouldn't be any good
to us if it was not for this mark here up near
the top. You see all these things are meant
for mountains, but as one mountain on a map
is just like another, we should be downright
done if it was not for this mark. Do you see
there are three little jags here close together?
Now I take it those three jags are meant for a
mountain the Indians call the Three Sisters,
which is a mountain with three peaks close
together. I never saw it myself, but I have
spoken with miners who have seen it from the
north. Now, here you see, to the south of


THE MAP AGAIN. 43
the Tfiree Sisters, is a cross, and I take it
that's the mine. You see there is a black
line waving about among the mountains that
stops at that point. I guess that is the line
they traveled by."
"But there is nothing to tell us what scale
the map is on, Dave," Tom said; "it may
mean five hundred miles from end to end, it
may mean fifty. If it is five hundred it must
be seventy or eighty miles from those peaks
to the cross, if it is fifty it is only seven or
eight."
"That is so," Dave agreed.
"Have you any idea how far it is from the
three peaks to the river?"
"Yes, I have heard it is about fifty miles
north of the Gila."
"Well, that would make this spot marked
from fifteen to twenty miles from them. The
length of the map would be about two hun-
dred miles, and as the peaks are about a quar-
ter of the distance from the right-hand side,
this map begins about a hundred and fifty
miles to the west of the peaks. I should think


44 THE GOLDEN CAftON.
it would be at some well-known place that the
maker of this map began; some place that he
knew he could find again without difficulty."
"That is so; you will see the line begins at
a stream running north and south. There is
a mark here each side of the path-line. Of
course they might mean anything; they might
mean trees or rocks. Then look here; there
are two more dots out here, and if you were
to draw a line straight through them, it would
come to the other dots. One must be three
or four miles off, and the other twelve or
fifteen. The farthest one may be a peak, and
the one nearer some conspicuous tree or rock
in a line with it."
"Yes, that is what we make it out to be,"
Boston Joe said. "We have the choice of
either going up the Gila valley and mounting
this side stream till we come upon something
that agrees with these four marks, or of keep-
ing along from the west by a valley about the
right distance from the Gila."
"I should not think we can trust much to
distances," Dick said; " this man was merely


THE MAP AGAIN. 45
sketching out a plan to help him on his way
up again, should he ever make up a party to
return to the mine, and, though probably
these bendings and turnings of the road are
to be depended upon, the map itself cannot
be done to any scale. Here the peaks are
made twice as far from the left side as they
are from the river, but they may be really four
times as far, or they may be only the same dis-
tance; there is no saying at all; as he has
drawn it, the point where the road begins is a
good deal more to the south than the peaks
are. If the scale is correct, it is not more
than thirty miles at most north of the Gila
that the path begins. You see about halfway
between this point and the river are five or six
little marks like a V upside down. I see
there are other marks like these at different
places on the map. I should say they were
meant for Indian villages."
"That is so, no doubt," Dave agreed.
"Here is another thing beside them; what do
you make that out to be, Dick?"
"It looks to me like a tiny bird; it is very


46 THE GOLDEN CANON.
small and very badly done; but I am pretty
sure that that is what is meant. What in the
world can he have put a bird there for? Let
us look at the other villages." He examined
them carefully. "Two of them have got
figures. This one looks like a cat, and this is
a snake—at least, I should think so."
"I have got it," Dave exclaimed. "Those
are the names of the chiefs. I know the
names of a good many of their chiefs, and
there's Rattlesnake and the Mountain Lion
among them."
"And there is the Crow, too, Dave," Bos-
ton Joe put in.
"So there is; I know he is the chief of the
tribes whose country lies this side of the Ari-
zona. No doubt that is his village. Now we
have it. I know pretty well where his place
is, for I have been further among the hills than
that. I can find my way there easy enough.
When we get to the stream his village is built
on we have got to hunt along it till we find
these marks, and then follow on the line he
took. The Crow's village is about thirty miles


THE MAP AGAIN. 47
north of the Gila. That will put these stops
sixty miles from the river. Yes, this straight-
ens out the distances pretty considerable, for I
should say that from them to the three peaks
it must be nigh three hundred miles. I don't
think it is more than a hundred from here to
the Crow's village. It should be an easy
thing following that marked line, but it won't
matter if we miss it. Our course will be
pretty nigh due east, not, as he makes it,
north, for we know the Sisters are not more
than eighty miles from the Gila. When we
get near them we can't help seeing them.
Then we have only got to follow the direction
of this map below. There are the peaks.
Well, right in front of them is a lower hill with
a tree on its top, and that tree exactly in line
with the middle peak gives us the line, and as
the tree just touches the bottom of the peak,
it will give us the distance to within half a
mile. Here are two lines, one on each side of
the line from the peak through the trees. I
don't know what they mean, but I guess they
mark a canon, and when we go up that we


48 THE GOLDEN CANON.
can hardly help striking the mine, wherever it
is. I think we have got the thing pretty well
down to a point, and if we go wrong it is our
own fault."
"Shall we have to come back this way?"
Dick asked.
"That must depend upon circumstances,"
Dave replied. "We might make straight
north and come down on a pass that crosses
the mountains about a hundred and fifty miles
north of the Sisters, but I reckon it would be
a terrible journey to undertake with loaded
mules. Then again we might strike east, and
make either for Albuquerque or Socorro.
Like enough we may find that our best way."


CHAPTER VII.
THE SCARCITY OF WATER.
Five days later they reached the stream.
The miners had all recognized points that
they had passed on their former journey, and
all agreed that it was lower down on this
stream that the Crow's village was situated.
For the moment this was a matter of inferior
importance to them. It was enough that
they had reached water, for they had for the
last four days been traversing an arid waste of
broken country, without as much as a tree
under which they could lie during the day.
They had filled up all their water skins before
entering on this region, and these had sufficed
for them and their animals, but for the last
two days they had been obliged to husband it.
What remained tasted so strongly of the skins
that at any other time the boys could not have
49


50 THE GOLDEN CANON.
drank it, but men and horses were both filled
with delight at the sight of the bright clear
water. The baggage and saddles were re-
moved, and the animals were allowed to drink
their fill, and then to lie down in the stream
while their riders enjoyed the luxury of a
bath.
They had done no cooking for the last four
aays, as no fuel of any sort was to be obtained,
and they lived upon the dried meat and a
drink of flour and water. The banks of the
stream were well wooded, and the animals, as
soon as their thirst was quenched, fell to work
upon the grass that grew knee-deep near its
banks.
"We must do some cooking to-day," Dave
said, " and a good batch of it; there is no say-
ing when it will be safe to cook again. We
must wait till night, and then light the fire in
the thickest part of these trees, and fasten our
blankets up round it to prevent its light being
seen. We can collect the firewood in readi-
ness before it gets dark."
The spot was carefully chosen, the horse-


52 'THE GOLDEN CANON.
said; " it is the sort of valley a party exploring
would be likely to follow. There is wood,
water, and grass. Now for the landmarks."
They went on until they reached the spot
where the stream fell into the river.
"We can't do better than camp here,
Dave," 'Zekel said; "it has been a rough
journey for the ponies, and they will be all
the better for another good feed."
"All right," Dave agreed, " I don't see any
signs of the landmarks, but they may be
somewhere about. We will unsaddle the
ponies. Boys, you may as well walk up the
stream a bit. Keep your eyes open, but don't
go very far away. Keep your rifles ready for
use; there is no saying but what some prowl-
ing Indian may not have caught sight of us
as we came along."
The boys unslung their rifles, which were
strapped tightly to their backs—they were
already loaded—and started up the valley.
In a quarter of a mile they passed through the
low wood which filled the bottom of the val-'
ley. In front of them was an open space,


56 THE GOLDEN CANON.
marks and have taken a wrong turning some-
where.
From this time they had put aside the map,
and made their way as nearly east as the
inequalities of the ground permitted. They
had no difficulties as to forage for their
horses. In many of the valleys there was an
abundance of coarse grass, and among the
rocks the aloe and cactus grew thickly, and
when, as was sometimes the case, no water
was to be found, they peeled the thorny skin
from the thick juicy leaves and gave the pulp
to the animals.
For themselves they shot three bears and
several small mountain deer. There was
little fear of the sound of their rifles being
heard in these mountain gorges, and should
the report have reached the ear of an Indian
he would have supposed that it was the gun
of some red hunters. There were indeed
only two villages marked on the map any-
where near the line they were following, as
the great bulk of the Indians*" lived on the
slopes of the hills on either side of the Gila,


THE GOLDEN VALLEY. 57
whence they could make their raids into
Mexico to the south or to New Mexico to the
east.
Here among the mountains they could sub-
sist on the proceeds of the chase and the little
plantations tended by the women, but this
offered small attractions to the restless and
warlike Indians, who preferred depending
upon the plunder that they could always
gather by a raid upon the defenseless Mexi-
can villages. Thus during the whole journey
they had not once caught sight of an Indian,
though they had two or three times made out,
with the aid of a telescope Tom had brought
with him, little clusters of wigwams far away
among |he hills.
"There will be more danger when we get
near the place," 'Zekel said one evening when
they were talking it over. "The redskins
know well enough that it is gold the whites
who come into their mountains are in search
of, and I guess they know every place where
it is to be found. A redskin always has his
eyes open, A broken branch, a stone newty


58 THE GOLDEN CANON.
rolled down on a path, the ashes of a fire, the
slightest thing that is new, he is sure to no-
tice, and the glitter of gold, whether in a
stream or in a vein, would be certain to catch
his eye, and if this place is specially rich they
are safe to know of it, and would keep some
sort of watch to see that it is not found out by
the whites."
"That is so," Dave agreed; " of course we
don't know how the party that Mexican got
the map from got wiped out. It may have,
been on their way back, but it is more likely
it was at the mine itself, and we may find signs
of them when we get there. I hope they had
been at work some time before they were at-
tacked; if so we may like enough find a store
of gold without the trouble of working for it.
It is no use to the redskins. They don't do
any trade with the whites, and they don't
wear gold ornaments. They are wise enough
to know that if they were to show much gold
about them it would make the whites more
eager than ever to come in among their
.mountains in search of it, so if the Mexican


THE GOLDEN VALLEY. 59
party gathered some up afore they went
under, like enough we shall find it."
It was with deep satisfaction that they at
last caught sight of the mountain with three
sharp peaks, but it was four days after they
first saw it that they reached a point due
south of it. They were now in a wide valley
running east and west; to the south a wall of
rock rose in a seemingly unbroken line. On
the northern side of the valley the hills sloped
away, rising one above another, with the
peaks of the Sisters visible above them all.
They had left their animals in charge of
Boston Joe, in a clump of trees four miles
back, as the miners were of opinion that some
Indian village might lie somewhere in the
neighborhood, and that it would be safer to
make their way on foot. One of the many
branches of the Gila ran along the center of
the valley, but except in deep pools it was now
dry.
"Now we must keep a sharp lookout for
marks on the hills," Dave said; " we know we
are about right as to the line, but we may


6o
THE GOLDEN CANON.
have to go two or three miles north or as
much south before we get a mark just bearing
on that middle peak. Stop," he broke off
suddenly; "look up there just beyond the
shoulder of that hill; there are some wigwams,
sure enough."
Tom brought his telescope to bear.
"Yes, there are about twenty of them, but
they never can see us at this distance."
"Don't you make any mistake, young fel-
low;-there aint no saying what an Indian can
see and what he can't see. I reckon their
eyes is as good as that glass of yours, and I
would not guarantee they could not see a rab-
bit run at this distance. There, get among
those rocks at the foot of the cliff; we will
make our way along them, hiding as much as
we can. I suppose those are horses away
there on the hillside to the right of the village;
they can't be nothing else."
"Yes, they are horses, Dave."
For another half hour they made their way
among the rocks, and then Dick exclaimed
suddenly:


THE GOLDEN VALLEY. 6l
"Look, Dave, there is a tree standing by
itself at the top of that hill. I believe in an-
other fifty yards it will just be on the line of
the peaks."
"I think you are right, Dick, and we have
hit the very point at the first try; if it is right,
there must be a break in this wall above us."


CHAPTER IX.
1
THE TREE ON THE PEAK,
They hastened on now with their eyes fixed
on the tree. A minute later an exclamation
broke from Dave, who was ahead, and the
others on joining him saw that the great wall
of rock had been split as if by an earthquake.
The opening was not more than ten yards
wide, and on looking up a narrow line of sky
appeared between the walls of rock. Look-
ing the- other way, they saw that the tree on
the hill bore exactly on the middle peak, the
Indian village lying just in the same line half-
way up the hill.
"Here is the place, sure enough," Dave
said; "there can't be no mistake about it; it
is just as the map made it, the tree on the
middle peak and the line from them going
right into this Canon. Look, boys, there is
a stream comes down here in the wet season,
6a


THE TREE ON THE PEAK. 63
and runs into the one in the middle of the val-
ley. See, I can make out gold sparkling in
the sand; that is how it was the place was
found; they were prospecting along the val-
ley, and they came upon gold, and traced it
up to the mouth of this Canon."
"Shall we go in now, Dave?" Dick asked
excitedly, for they were still standing among
the rocks, which broke off abruptly opposite
the mouth of the Canon, those in front of it
evidently having been swept away by the tor-
rents flowing down it.
"No, don't go a step forward, Dick.
Don't let us risk nothing by showing our-
selves now. We will make our way back as
we came to Boston, and bring up the horses
after dark. We have not got a chance to
throw away, I can tell you."
At night they returned with the horses; two
blankets had been cut up, and the feet of the
animals muffled.
"If one of them redskins was to come upon
our track and saw the print of a horseshoe, it
would be all up with us," Zeke said; " we had


64 THE GOLDEN CANON.
best do the same ourselves; the heel of a boot
would be as ugly a mark as a horseshoe. We
must keep well along at the edge of these
fallen racks. Like enough they come down
here to fetch water up to their village, and
the further we keep away from the stream the
better."
The moon was half full, which was fortu-
nate, as they would otherwise have had great
difficulty in finding the narrow gap in the cliff.
Its light, too, enabled them to avoid rocks
that had rolled out farther than the rest; once
inside the gorge it was pitch-dark, and they
had to feel their way along.
In about a hundred yards it began to widen,
and they soon found themselves in a narrow
valley with perpendicular sides, which seemed
to widen farther up. The horses were at
once unloaded.
"Now do you lie down," Dave said. "I
will keep watch at the mouth. I don't think
there is any danger; still, we may as well be-
gin as we shall have to go on."
"Well, call me up in a couple of hours,


THE TREE ON THE PEAK. 65
then," Zeke said; "it will begin to get light
in about four, and as soon as it does we will
cover up the tracks."
With the first dawn of light the three
miners, taking their blankets, went down to
the mouth of the Canon. The boys accom-
panied them to watch their operations. It
was only in the sand and gravel swept down
by the floods from the gorge that any foot-
marks could be seen; these were first leveled,
and then with the blankets the surface of the
sand was carefully swept so as to erase all
signs of disturbance. Before the sun was up
the operation was completed, twenty or thirty
yards up the Canon.
"That is enough for the present," Dave
said; "we are safe from anyone passing.
Now, let us have a look round up above."
"They must have been awful careless if
they were surprised in here," Zeke said; " half
a dozen men ought to hold this place against
a hull tribe of redskins."
"That is so," Boston Joe agreed, "but the
greasers are mighty bad watchmen, and no


66
THE GOLDEN CANON.
doubt they thought they were safe in here.
That Indian village could not have been over
on the hill opposite then, or it would have
been put down on the map."
"Like enough they had been followed/"
Dave said. "If a redskin had caught sight
of them, he might have followed on their trail
for weeks, till he found where they were
going, and then made off to bring his tribe
down on them. It may be that one has been
hanging behind us just in the same way."
"It is a very unpleasant idea," Tom said.
"The redskins' ways aint pleasant," Dave
said. "Well, let us be moving up. The first
thing we have got to look for aint gold.
There is no doubt about that being here
somewhere. What we have got to look for is
if there is any way out of this hole, because it
is a regular trap, and if we were caught here
we might hold the gorge for a long time, but
they would have us at last certain; besides,
they could shoot us down from the top."
They proceeded a few hundred yards up the
valley, and then stopped suddenly on a


THE TREE ON THE PEAK. 67
ccleared space of ground. In the center lay a
score of skeletons, some separately, some in
groups of twos and threes. The remnants of
the rags that still hung on them showed that
they had been Mexicans. The two lads felt
a thrill of horror at this proof of the fate that
had befallen their predecessors.
"Wall," Zeke exclaimed, "that was some-
thing like a surprise; there aint no sign they
made a fight of it; they were just caught in
their sleep, and never even gathered for re-
sistance. Well, well, what fools men are to
be sure. I shouldn't have believed as even
Mexicans would have been such fools as to
sleep here without putting a guard at the en-
trance. I reckon the redskins must have
come down from above somewhere, and so
caught them unawares. Well, let us be mov-
ing on."


CHAPTER X.
WATCHED.
A little higher up the valley narrowed
again, the sides came closer and closer, until
they closed in abruptly in a rounded precipice,
down which in the wet season it was evident
that a waterfall leaped from a height above.
"They didn't come down here," Dave said.
"If it were anywhere it was near where the at-
tack was made; the sides slope away a bit
there. Now keep your eyes skinned, and see
if you can make out any place where a man
might climb up or down. Our lives may de-
pend on it."
Just as they reached the old encampment
Dick said, " Look, Dave, there is a ledge run-
ning up behind that bush; it seems to me that
it joins another ledge halfway up. Tom and
I are accustomed to climbing; we will go up a
bit and see if it goes anywhere."
68


WATCHED. 69
The two lads stopped as they got behind
the bush.
"It looks like a path here, Dave; it has cer-
tainly been trodden."
The miners came to the spot.
"You are right," Dave said; "it is a path,
sure enough. Animals of some sort" come up
and down—bears, I should say; maybe goats,
and lots of them, like enough; it is the only
way they can get down from the top into the
valley, and they come down to drink."
The ridge was wider than it looked, being,
where it started, fully two feet across. The
boys at once set off up it; as Dick had sup-
posed, it met another ledge running along
halfway up the face of the hill. From below
this ledge seemed a mere line, but it was really
two feet wide in most places, and even at the
narrowest was not less than a foot. Two
hundred yards along, another ascent was met
with, and after half an hour's climbing they
found themselves on a level plateau, from
which they could see across to the three peaks.
Hie path was everywhere worn smooth,


WATCHED. 71
Dave shouted to them as they approached the
bottom.
"We have been right up to the top; the
ponies could go anywhere. It is narrow in
places, but we have passed many worse on the
way; the cliffs never close up, so even at the
worst places there is room for them to get
along with their loads."
"What is it like at the top?"
"Level ground along to the drop of the
cliffs, hills behind it to the south."
"Well, it is a comfort there is a way down
into the valley. Anyhow, since you have
been gone, we have been fossicking about,
and there is no doubt about the gold; it is the
richest place any of us have ever seed."
"Have you found water, Dave?"
"No, that is the one thing bad, we shall
have to go out to fetch water, but maybe if we
dig in the center of the channel we shall find
it. The best place to try will be at the end,
right under where the waterfall comes down
in winter. There is most always a deep hole
in the rock there, where the water and stones


72 THE GOLDEN CANON.
and so on have come down and pounded
away the bed rock. We found where the
gold comes from too. There is a big quartz
vein running right up the face of the cliff
there; it is just full of gold. You can see it
sparkle everywhere. Some day, when the In-
dians is all wiped out, fellows will bring ma-
chinery and powder, and will have one of the
richest mines in the world. However, that
don't concern us. I reckon there is enough
in this gravel under our feet to make a hun-
dred men rich. Now, Boston, what do you
think is the best thing to do first?"
"See if we can get water, Dave. If we
were shut up here without water they would
have us in twelve hours, so we have got to get
enough for ourselves and the horses to drink
if we can, even if we have to fetch up what we
want for the gravel. When we have got
water, the next job will be to make a cradle;
there are plenty of trees here, and we have got
our hatchets, and we have brought the zinc
screens, so we have got everything we want.
I don't say we mightn't pick up a lot in nug-


WATCHED. 73
gets. I have got a dozen already, making, I
should say, over an ounce between them.
Still, the others is the real thing to depend
on.
"And there is another thing, Dave," Zeke
put in; " we must have a watch. We had in-
tended that, but we thought we should have
only one place to watch ; now we have found
this track up the hill we have two."
"That is so, Dave, though it is pretty hard
on us having two out of five idle. Still, we
have got a lesson there," Boston said, point-
ing to the spot where they had found the
skeletons.
"Aye, aye, it has got to be done," Dave
said. "Well, lads, will you take the watch
to-day, one above and one at the mouth, and
we will set to work at the water hole?"
"We will toss up which goes up the hill
again, Dick. You spin. Heads; tails it is."
"Then I will choose the mouth here. You
go up to the mouth's head."
"Don't you be walking about when you
get to the top," Dave said. "Find some


74 THE GOLDEN CASfON.
place where you get a clear view all round,
and then lie down. Choose a bit of shade, if
you can find it. When we knock off work
and have had a bit of grub, I will come up
and take your place."
It was just getting dusk when Dave came
up and relieved Dick.
"Are you going to stay here all night,
Dick?"
"Yes, we have agreed I shall keep watcH
here to-night, Boston to-morrow night, and
then I go on again. Zeke will take the watch
below regular; he sleeps like a dog, and the
least noise in the world will wake him, so he
will do very well. Can you make out the In-
dian village across there from here?"
"Yes, quite plainly."
"You have not been using your glass, I
hope," Dave said in alarm.
"No, I forgot to bring it up with me. But
why shouldn't I?"
"Because if the sun were to flash on the
glass or brasswork, it would be sartin to catch
the eye of someone in the village, and if it did


WATCHED. 75
you may be sure they would send up to see
what it was. Still, if you can make out the
village, it will save us the need for keeping
watch in the daytime down below. It is from
there we have got to expect an attack the
most, and if you saw them moving out strong,
you could shout down to us and we should be
ready for them. At night, in course, we must
watch both places, for there may be, for any-
thing we know, a big village half a mile from
here, and the attack might come from one
way or the other. I expect you would rather
work than watch, Dick; so you had better
arrange to change places with Tom in the
middle of the day, then you can each work
half a day. You will find that plenty, I
warrant."
"Did you find water, Dave?"
"Yes, plenty of it, enough for the horses
and the washing too."


CHAPTER XI.
HARD AT WORK.
Tom took the first watch in the morning.
Dick rendered all the assistance he could to
the men, who cut down a couple of the trees
that stood in the gorge, chopped them into
eight-feet lengths, and then with wedges split
them into boards, which they smoothed up
with an adze. All were accustomed to the
work, and by nightfall a deep trough was con-
structed, resting upon rockers like a cradle.
Next morning the work began; two men
threw the gravel and sand into the cradle, the
third kept it in motion, while whichever of the
boys was off watch brought water in two of
the pails from the hole.
The horses were no trouble, finding plenty
of coarse grass among the rocks, and only re-
quiring watering night and morning. Thrice
16


HARD AT WORK. 77
a day the contents of the cradle were cleared
entirely out, and the gold that had sunk to the
bottom collected. Much of it was in fine
dust, but there was also a large number of
nuggets, varying in size from a pea to a
marble. Each clear-up they obtained on an
average eight or nine pounds of gold.
The fourth day Tom had come down from
above at twelve o'clock, and found that the
men had only just finished the clear-up, and
had sat down to have some food.
Having nothing to do, he strolled away to
the spot where the Mexicans had been mas-
sacred, a short distance away, on some
ground at the side of the valley. Some three
or four feet above the ground level of the bot-
tom he saw a charred stump of a pole sticking
up; he went across to it.
"I suppose this is where the leader of the
party had a tent or rough hut," he said.
He was confirmed in the belief by a number
of bits of charred wood lying round the pole.
"It was sort of arbor, I suppose," he
said to himself.


78 THE GOLDEN CANON.
There were several relics lying about: two
boots shriveled by fire, a tin cup flattened by
some weight that had fallen on it, a pistol with
its stock blackened by fire. He called the
men to the spot.
"Yes, like enough it is as you say, Dick,
but it is scarcely worth getting up to look
at."
"No, there is not much to look at, Dave,
but you have been wondering ever since you
came that you had not come upon any of the
gold they must have gathered, and you said
you didn't believe the Indians had taken it
away. Now if this was the hut of the leader
of the party, it struck me that it would most
likely be kept here, and that it may be buried
somewhere under this circle of ashes."
"Tom is right, mates," Dave said, "that is
just where the gold would be kept, and there
aint much doubt that they would bury it as
they got it, so as to prevent anyone from tak-
ing any of it till it was divided up. Let us
fetch our picks, Boston, and we will soon see
if it is here. Let us try round the post first,"


HARD AT WORK. 79
he went on, when the three men fetched their
picks; " it will be either close to the middle of
the hut, or else on one side under where he
made his bed."
The ground was sand, which had been
washed up by an eddy in one of the floods,
and they had struck but three or four blows
with the pick, when Dave exclaimed:
"Here is something, boys!"
They had brought a shovel with them, and
throwing aside the sand, they saw a piece
of leather.
"It is a bag," Joe said; " this is their hoard,
sure enough."
Going down on their hands and knees, they
pulled up bag after bag, each about fifty
pounds in weight, until they had a pile on the
surface of eight bags.
"Eureka!" Dave exclaimed, as he lifted
the last bag out of the hole. "They had
made something like a pile; no doubt they
were a strong party, but even with that they
must have been here a couple of months to
have got this lot together. Well, Boston,"


80 THE GOLDEN CANON.
and he held out his hand, "we can go east
again; we have struck it rich at last."
"You bet," Joe said briefly.
"How much is it? " Dick asked.
"Each, of them bags weighs about fifty
pounds, Dick."
Dick looked incredulous, and stooped to
pick up one of the bags, and was astonished at
its weight.
"Fifty pounds if it weighs an ounce, and
there are eight of them—four hundred
pounds of gold; think of that, lad; that is
pretty nigh eighty pounds apiece. I aint
good at reckoning, but put it rough at two
hundred and fifty dollars a pound, that is
somewhere like two hundred thousand dollars
each."
"Forty thousand pounds!" Dick ex-
claimed; " it does not seem possible;"
"We aint got it to the settlements yet,"
Zeke said quietly; "them chaps had it, and
they lost it. Don't let us figure it up much
till we get beyond the sound of the Apache
war-whoop."


HARD AT WORK.
Bl
"Well, I will go on watch at the mouth,"
Dick said, " and then you can talk things oven
together."
"Do, Dick; there is a lot more to look after
than there was before, and it makes one feel
one can't be too careful. Anyhow we won't
stay a day longer in this place. We will be
off to-night."
Dick went nearly down to the mouth of the
narrow gorge. He had expected they would
find a treasure, and although this far exceeded
his anticipations, he did not feel the excite-
ment the men had shown at the discovery of
the treasure. He sat down on a rock, and
amused himself with the thought of the won-
der there would be at home. Suddenly he
heard the sound of a horse's hoof, and grasp-
ing his rifle, stooped down behind a fallen
rock. A moment later a mounted Indian
dashed past the mouth of the rift. He was
scarce twenty yards away, but Dick noticed
the eagle feathers of his head-dress, the rifle
slung across his shoulder, and the leggings
decorated with tufts of hair. It was but a


82
THE GOLDEN CANON.
moment, and then he was gone. Dick waited
a minute or two, and then ran in to tell the
miners. They uttered an exclamation of
alarm.
"He went right on," Dick said. "He
didn't check the speed of his horse or glance
my way."
"That is no sign," Zeke said. "The
chances are that fellow has happened on our
trail maybe a mjle, maybe fifty, back and he
has just been following it. Why should he be
riding so close to the cliffs if he was not track-
ing us?"
"But he didn't look in," Dick persisted.
"He warn't such a fool, lad. He knew
well enough that if he glanced round, and
there was anyone on watch there, he would
have a bullet through him sartin."
"What shall we do? Shall we saddle up at
once, Dave? " Boston Joe asked.
"We may as well pack the horses anyhow,
Boston, but we can't go till it is dark. If a
party like ours were to show up there, they
would see us from the village sure. Do you


86
THE GOLDEN CANON.
messenger off to some village up behind us.
There is one thing, he will have a good way to
go for we have seen no break in the cliffs for
the last twenty miles, and maybe they go
much farther; anyhow, we have got to
risk it."
"I should think," Dick said, "that any-
how we might as well get the horses up to the
top of the path, ready to push on as soon as it
gets dark. They can do it easily enough in
daylight, but it would be a very awkward job
at night."
"Right you are, lad, that is a capital plan.
We will do it at once. We have got every-
thing wrapped up ready. One of us will stay
up there with Tom so as to guard the top of
the path, in case any of the redskins should
come down before we are ready to go for-
ward. Three will be enough to hold the
Canon."
"I will undertake the horse job," Boston
Joe said. "As you say, three is enough here.
They will think they are going to take us by
surprise, and as soon as they find we are ready


RETREAT.
87
for them they will draw off fast enough. I
reckon that fellow has counted our numbers,
and no redskin will try to force that pass
with five Western rifles facing him."
Just as Joe began to mount the path, lead-
ing his horse, with the others tied head to tail
in a long line behind it, Tom appeared on the
path high up and shouted:
"Thirty or forty horsemen have just left
the village, and are coming this way."
"All right, Tom," Dick shouted back.
"You are not to come down. Joe is coming
up with the horses."
"We have got plenty of time yet," Dave
said, as soon as the string of horses had
started on their way up; "it aint much past
two o'clock yet, and it will be pretty nigh six
hours afore we can make a start. There is a
good fire, and we have kept down thirty
pounds of flour; we shall have time to bake
that into bread before we start. We shan't
have much time for baking when we are once
off, you can bet your boots."
Dick looked on with some wonder at the


88
THE GOLDEN CANON.
quiet and deliberate manner in which Dave
mixed his dough.
"By the way, Dick," the latter said, look-
ing up, "we have divided that lot of gold we
got here ourselves into five lots, and put one
lot into the blankets on each of our riding
horses; it is like enough that if we carry our
own scalps back to the Settlements we shan't
get any of the four baggage ponies there with
us. There is about twelve pound of gold in
each blanket, so suppose we have to let the
other ponies go, we shan't have made a bad
job out of our journey after all."
"Have you filled the water-skins, Dave?"
"We filled the five small skins we carry our-
selves, and one of the others we daren't carry.
Each of the horses has got two sacks of gold,
one of them has got the water-skin, two
others have got twenty pounds of flour each,
which will be enough to last us with the loaf
we are baking here till we get out of the In-
dian country; the others have got the tea and
sugar. The one with the skin will be the
heaviest load at first; but the water will soon


RETREAT. 89
go, so that makes it even. Everything else
we have got to leave behind, except a kettle
and this baking pan. We will take them up
as we go. Now that the loaf is fairly under
way, we will get ready for the redskins."


CHAPTER XIII.
THE REDSKIN.
They took their post behind some rocks in
front of them. The bottom was composed of
sand and gravel, the only rock being that be-
hind which Dick had crouched, close to the
entrance.
"Mind, we mustn't all fire at once," Dave
said; "one must always be loading, and we
will take it in turns to fire. Of course, if they
make a rush we must take to our six-shooters;
but they aint likely to do that. I will fire
first, Zeke, you follow me; I reckon they aint
likely to miss either of us."
Another quarter of an hour passed, and
then suddenly a mounted Indian appeared at
the mouth of the Canon. He checked his
horse and sat gazing up it. Dave's rifle
cracked, and the Indian fell backward from
80


THE REDSKIN. 9I
his saddle; and a sudden yell of anger and sur-
prise rose outside. Another moment and a
dozen figures appeared at the entrance.
Zeke fired.
"Now, Dick! " Dave said a moment later,
and the lad, whose rifle was resting on the
rock in front of him, pulled his trigger, and
almost immediately Dave fired again. An-
other moment and the mouth of the Canon
was clear. Another Indian lay by the side of
the first who had fallen.
"I reckon all the shots told," Dave said;
"we could hardly miss that clump. Now I
don't think you will see any more of them;
they know we are here and they know we are
ready for them, and it aint in Indian nature to
throw away their lives charging up a place
like this. They had reckoned the five first
would go down anyhow. Then they will
guess that we have got pistols, and the red-
skins hate six-shooters like poison."
The time passed slowly, but the quiet in the
Canon remained undisturbed.
"I expect it is as I said, Zeke; they won't


92 THE GOLDEN CANON.
attack again by daylight, though I don't say
as they won't try and crawl up when it gets
dark, but I don't think as they will. If there
is a village up in the hill behind us they will
send round to it, and wait here till they hear
a fight begin inside. If there aint no village,
half of them will ride round to come down on
us. However, they won't set about that at
once. Injuns are never in a hurry, and they
think that they have got us safe in here and
can take things easy. If it is a long way,
round and they aint quite sure of the path,
like enough they won't start until they calcu-
late they will get there at daybreak, when they
will guess that we shall be all pretty well worn
out with keeping watch here."
"I guess that is about it, Dave. Anyhow,
we can push out as soon as it begins to get
too dark for them to see us from the village
across there—that is, as soon as the sun has
gone down behind the hills to the south."
Dave had from time to time left his post
and gone to keep up the fire and to put a fresH
batch of dough in the pan, and as soon as a


THE REDSKIN. 93
shadow fell across the valley he said, "Now
we will be off. I reckon there is no fear of
the redskins getting round for a time; but I
tell you that gold makes one mighty fidgety."
Six loaves had been baked, and each taking
two, while Dave, in addition, took the pan
and kettle, they mounted the path. When
they reached the tail of the string of horses
Dave hailed Boston Joe, and a moment, later
the miner's head appeared on the edge of the
cliff above them.
"Is it all clear?"
"Aye. I have seen nothing of them—.
ne'er a thing moving."
"Well, we will go at once, Joe. Even a
redskin's eyes could not make us out from
that village now."
The horses were at once set in motion. As
soon as they had left the path the cords were
unfastened, and the five mounted.
"Which way, Dave?" Boston Joe asked.
"We had better make west. It is lucky
we shall have the moon, for there is no travel-
ing over the hills in the dark if you don't


94 THE GOLDEN CANON.
know the way. Anyhow, we will make
straight back at present, or we may come
upon those fellows riding round. We will go
in Indian file. I will go first, with a pony
tied to mine. The two lads will follow, then
either you, Zeke, or Joe, can take the last
pony, and the other one ride in the rear, so
that you can keep us well in sight, and yet be
far enough off to use your ears."
For an hour they continued their course
south, the ground rising as they went. Then
they reached a dip running west, a,
"We will follow this," Dave said; "it is
the right direction anyhow, and it is as likely
to take us down into the valleys again in
time."
As they proceeded, the dip became more
decided, and after two hours' riding the sides
narrowed in.
"We shall strike a water-course soon,"
Dave said, turning round to speak to Tom,
who was riding next to him. "The water
that falls here has got to make its way out
somewhere, and this is the only way as it can


THE REDSKIN. 95
go. Not that there is much water, for it is
often months without rain."
Presently they found that the ground was
covered with pebbles.
"There is the water-course, you see," Dave
said.
The fall became steeper and steeper, and
the ground more stony; low trees and bushes
rose on the slopes on either side.
"We had best dismount here," Dave said;
"it is growing mighty steep, and we may
come upon a sudden fall anywhere, and it is
mighty difficult to judge about depth in the
moonlight."
The lads were heartily glad at the order, for
they had for some time been momentarily ex-
pecting that their horses would come down
over the bowlders.
"I will go twenty yards ahead," Dave said.
"You had better loose the baggage-ponies
and let them pick their own way. Throw
your bridles on your horses' necks: they will
go a deal safer so than if you were leading
them; the critters can pick their way any-


96 THE GOLDEN CANON.
where if they have got time and can look:
about."
Luckily the moon was still high and shot
full down upon the path they were traveling.
Even on foot the lads found it difficult to
make their way down. Sometimes they had
to climb over heaps of bowlders, sometimes to
slide down smooth faces of rock so steep that
they could not keep their feet upon them, and'
often it seemed so perilous that they would
have hesitated to attempt it had they not seen
that Dave with his two horses kept steadily
on below them.


CHAPTER XIV.
IN THE RAVINE.
The lads were surprised at the way their
own horses followed, sliding on their haunches
down the steepest places and picking their
way among rocks and bowlders. Six hours
after starting they found themselves in a deep
ravine, whose sides were covered with trees.
They had now lost the moon, and it was far
too dark for them to progress further.
"We will give them four hours' rest," Dave
said; "that long halt on the path was worse
than traveling. We shall go three times as
fast when we get light to help us as in the
dark; besides, we have got to look for some
place where we can double on them. We
shan't find that till we are out of this valley.
We shall have to be pretty spry if we are going
to get away from them; they will come along
fast when they once take up the trail. It has
97


98 THE GOLDEN CANON.
*
taken us six Hours to get down here; it won't
take them three. Well, I hope we shall get on
the move an hour or two before they do. If
they wait until daylight before advancing there
will be a lot of hubbub and talk before they
really make up their minds that we have really
slipped through their fingers, and arrange for
a start. Still, by midday we shall be having
them behind us if we can't find the way to
throw them off."
"I'd willingly take twenty ounces for my
share of that gold, to be paid to me at Santa
Fe," Boston Joe said.
"So would I, Joe; there aint no denying it,
we are in a tight place, and unless we find some
way out of it in the morning, my own opinion
is that we have only got one chance, and that
is to leave all the horses behind us and to take
our rifles and a loaf of bread each, and to start
back on foot."
"I should not wonder if we came to that,"
Zeke said; "but we will hold on for a few
hours, and, anyhow, before we leave them we
will hide them bags. Possibly we might come


IN THE RAVINE. 99
back some day; anyhow, we could each tote
along what we have got in our blankets; it aint
as if we were going to run all the way from
here to the settlements. Twelve pound weight
aint nothing one way or the other."
"No, nor twenty," Boston agreed. "I vote
if we do have to leave the horses we slip open
one of the bags and take another eight pounds
or so each. Twenty pounds aint much for a
man to carry besides his gun and ammunition
and a chunk of bread. Well, let the rest of
you lie down and get a couple of hours' sleep.
I was off once last night."
"All right; wake us directly you see a
change in the sky. We should give the horses
a chunk of bread and a drink each before we
start."
It seemed to the lads that they had been
asleep for five minutes only when they were
roused. It was but the work of a few minutes
to adjust the loads again and to give the horses
the bread and water. It was still hardly light
in the ravine when they were ready to start,
but all were too anxious to get on to delay a


IOO
THE GOLDEN CANON.
moment. As soon as the day had broadened
a little they were able to pick their way along
on the comparatively level ground beyond the
edge of the water-course, and the horses were
put into a trot.
"If we can keep on like this," Joe said, " the
Apaches won't be up to us before night. They
will know that we have got nigh twelve hours'
start of them, and though they may start off
fast at first, they will soon settle down into
a pace that they can keep up all day."
After journeying for three hours they came
upon the spot where two other ravines fell into
that along which they were journeying.
"Let us hold a council," Dave said. "Now,
what do you think had best be done—push
straight forward or take one of these other
gulches?"
"They seem to run back almost the same
line as that ye have been following," Dick said.
"All the better, lad. They will be less in-
'clined to think that we have taken it. What
do you say, Zeke?"
I "I think we had better push straight on,


IN THE RAVINE.
101
Dave. If they were coming along in the dark
it would be a different thing; but they would
not go a horse's length afore they missed our
tracks, and even if we muffle the critters' feet,
they are strong enough to send a party each
way."
"So they are, Zeke; but it would be a sight
better to fight a third of them than the hull-
lot."
"I think that it would be better to push on,
Dave," Boston Joe said. "There aint no say-
ing where these narrow valleys lead, they wind •
and double every way; besides, they are dry,
soT says let us push on till we get into one of
the main valleys."
"Well, we will do it, Joe; anyhow, we may
as well do as I say and muffle their feet. Tha
Injuns will know what we have done when
they see the tracks stop here, but, as you say,
they won't know whether we have gon<
straight on or turned up one side or the other,
I guess most likely they will think that we hav«
turned up; anyhow, they are sure to divide."
No further talking was necessary. The


102 THE GOLDEN CANON.
blankets were all cut up, bunches of dry grass
were laced under the horses' feet to form a pad,
and the strips of blankets wound round and
round and securely fastened.
"Now, on we go again, lads," Dave said,
setting the example, and they rode straight
down, the ravine ahead of them. Two hours
later the blankets were taken off and thrown
among the bushes, the rocks having cut
through them, they were useless any longer to
conceal the tracks, and they incommoded the
horses. A mouthful of water was given to the
animals, and they again started at a brisk pace.
The sides of the valley were now narrowing in
again, and becoming much steeper; the trees
had ceased, and the bare rock rose in some
places almost precipitously.
"The water rises high here when there is
a storm," Zeke said. "You see, it is pretty
nigh closed up somewhere in front here."
"All the better," Dave said; "we can make
a fight for it in a place like that, and hold it
till dark. They can't be far behind us now.
Stop the horses a moment and listen."


IN THE RAVINE. 103
A faint sound was heard.
"That is them," Dave said; "they aint
above a mile behind; push on till we find a
good place to make a stand."


CHAPTER XV.
RIFLE-SHOTS.
Another five minutes they entered a gorge
so blocked with rocks that had fallen from
above that they had the greatest difficulty in
leading the horses over them.
"It could not be better," Dave said. "We
can stop them here. Zeke, do you go on with
Dick, see how far this goes, and what the
chances are when we get out of it. If you can
see any way of climbing the side of the valley
come back and tell us. Then I reckon the best
thing will be for you to take the horses down
and go straight up, leaving Dick to tell us ex-
actly where you have gone up; then, as soon
as it is quite dark, we will be off and follow
you; they won't be able to pick up the trail and
will guess we have gone straight down the


106 THE GOLDEN CANON.
would have a long ride before they overtook
them—ten or twelve miles, maybe—and they
would have all that to come down again, so
they would be pretty well four hours before
they had joined the first band, and in four
hours it will be dark enough for Dave to draw
off."
"There they go again!"
Shot after shot echoed among the cliffs.
The gorge extended for another mile, and then
widened rapidly. A mile and a half farther
the sides were clad with trees, and the slope,
although still steep, was, Zeke said, possible
for horses to scramble up.
"They will go up there safe enough," he
said, "five of them with nothing to carry, and
the other four aint heavy loaded. You see
them two trees standing alone on the crest
there?"
"I see them, Zeke."
"Well, that is to be your mark. You will
make them out plainly enough in the moon-
light. I shall be just down beyond them. I
need not tell you to be keerful how you go


RIFLE-SHOTS. IO7
when you get beyond the shelter of the trees
below. Dave will know all about that. Now
you can be off back again."
Dick started back at a run, and in less than
half an hour joined the other three among the
rocks.
"Found a place, lad?"
- "Yes; they have started up."
"I am glad you are back. These fellows'
look as if they were going to make an attack on
us. They are about five-and-twenty of them,
and I guess they know as well as we do that it
will be dark before their friends join them.
However, I don't think they will make a rush;
they will lose heart when three or four of their
number get shot, and weaken when it comes to
climbing these rocks in face of our six-shoot-
ers. Now, do you two lads keep below; get
down right among the rocks, so that you can
fire out through some hole between them, and
directly you have fired get out of the line, for
a stray bullet might come in."
Scarcely had the boys taken their position,
and looked along their barrels, when they saw


108 THE GOLDEN CANON.
a dozen dark figures spring up among the
rocks fifty yards away.
Two shots were fired by the miners, and
two of the Indians fell forward; then, one after
another, the lads fired, as they felt sure of their
aim, while at the same moment two sharper
cracks sounded close to them, for the Colt at
forty yards is as deadly a weapon as a rifle.
Three more of the Indians fell, and the rest
sank down behind rocks and opened fire at the
position held by the whites. These reloaded
rapidly.
"Now keep a sharp look-out," Dave said,
"but don't fire unless they rise again. Joe
and I will make it hot for them as they raise
their heads to take aim."
The rifles were fired but twice, and then the
fire of the Indians ceased.
"I think we have accounted for two more,"
[Joe said. "We shan't hear any more of them.
Seven out of twenty-five is a sharp lesson, and
the first man who fell was their chief, I reckon,
and they will wait till the sub-chiefs with the
other bands come up. Now, the sooner the


RIFLE-SHOTS.
IO9
sun goes down the better. There is one thing,
it will be dark down here an hour before it is
on the hill-tops."
"Why shouldn't we fall back at once?"
Tom asked.
"Because, like enough, they will open fire
occasionally, and if we didn't reply they would
think we had made off, and would follow us,
and pick up the trail where the horses left the
valley. We have got to wait here until it is
too dark for them to follow the trail. The mo-
ment it is dark enough for that we are off."
It was just getting dusk, when Dave said,
suddenly:
"There is one of the other bands coming up.
They are a good bit away yet, but I can hear
them."
Dick could only make out a low, continuous
murmur that sounded to him like a distant
waterfall.
"What do you think, Joe," Dave said;
"would it be safe to make a run for it? We
might beat off the first attack, but some of us
are safe either to get killed or hurt too badly


CHAPTER XVE
ON THE RETURN.
The trees began fully half a mile above the
point where Zeke had made his way up with
the horses, and, running now at the top of
their speed, they were among them before the
Indians issued from the gorge.
The fugitives went on at a slower pace
among the trees, until they heard a war-
whoop, and knew that the leading Indians had
passed out.
"Now throw yourselves down," Dave said,
"and just lie as still as mice—the slightest
noise would tell them we had taken to the
wood. We want them to go straight on for
a bit."
In four or five minutes they heard the tramp-
ing of horses, and a party of Indians rode down
the valley.


ON THE RETURN. 113
"There are over fifty of them," Dave whis-
pered. "I expect the other two bands must
have come up together. Now let us get up as
high as we can. As long as they are galloping
they won't hear any little noise we may make,
but mind how you go, lads. Don't step on a
twig, don't brush against any dead wood that
might crack, and mind you don't set a stone
rolling."
They climbed for ten minutes, and then
came to a spot where they had a view through
the trees down the valley.
"There they are in a heap about a mile
down," Joe said, and the boys in the moonlight
could see a dark mass gathered in the middle.
"They are having a talk over it," Dave said;
"they know if we held on down the valley
they would have overtaken us by this time, and
they know we have taken to the wood one side
or the other. I reckon they won't think it any
use searching for us to-night, but maybe they
will go straight on for a bit. They won't know
how long a start the horses may have had, and
will think we may have had them in the gorge,


114 THE GOLDEN CANON.
and have mounted and ridden down. Yes;;
there they go. Now we can move on again
without fear of being heard."
Half an hour later they joined Zeke, who
was with the horses a hundred yards over the
crest of the hill in a line with the two trees.
"No one hurt?" he asked, as they ap-»
proached.
"Nary a scratch, Zeke. We have wiped out
eight of them. The rest have just gone tear-
ing down the valley."
"Well, we had best be moving so as to
get as far as we can before we lose the
moon."
".That won't be till within an hour of day-
light," Zeke said. "Now, which way shall
we go?"
"I think we had better keep along the hill- «
side, Zeke. We can travel fast here, and can
get so far that when they find the trail in the
morning, and follow us, we shall be too far
away for them to overtake us before night-
fall."
So day after day they traveledi sometirofis


ON THE RETURN. 115
in deep ravines, sometimes high up among thq
hills, sometimes coming upon a stream and
taking in a supply of water, and sometimes
well-nigh mad with thirst. They had cut up
two of the empty water-skins and had made
rough shoes for their horses, and believed that
they had entirely thrown their pursuers off the
trail, winding along on what was little more
than a goat's track up the steep face of a val-
ley, the opposite side of which was a perpendic-1
ular cliff. They had nearly gained the top
when the crack of a rifle was heard from the
opposite cliff, which was not more than two
hundred yards away, although the depth of the
gorge was fully a thousand feet. Looking
across they saw that nearly opposite to them
stood an Indian village, and that a number of
redskins were running toward the edge.
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Dave shouted.
"It is too far for them to shoot straight, but
a stray bullet might hit us. Push on, lads,
with the ponies. We will give them a shot or
two. Our rifles will carry that distance easy
enough."


Il6 THE GOLDEN CANON.
The lads pushed on while the three miners
opened fire. There was but another fifty yards
to climb. They could hear the sharp ping of
the bullets round them. One of the ponies
gave a sudden start, stumbled forward, and
then rolled over the edge. In another minute
the rest gained the plateau.
"Oh, Dick, it is one of the treasure ponies,"
Tom exclaimed.
"That is a bad job, Tom; which is it?"
"The gray."
"Better him than the others. It was one
of his bags that we took the gold out of to
make us up twenty pounds each, so there aint
above seventy pounds lost. Come on, let us
get beyond range. We don't want to lose any
more." When they got two or three hundred
yards further the three men ran up.
"One pony has gone, I see," Dave said.
"Yes; it is the gray. He had only seventy
pounds, you know, so if one was to go it were
best it should be him."
"Well, let us mount and be off, lads; like
enough those Indians will have to ride forty or


CHAPTER XVII.
CONCLUSION.
Another ten days of arduous toil, and, in
turning a sharp corner in a defile, they saw a
number of men at work. As these heard the
sound of the horses' feet they threw down their
picks and shovels, and seized their guns.
"Don't say anything about the gold," Dave
exclaimed to the others. "It is lucky it is all
covered up."
As soon as the miners saw that the new-
comers were whites they lowered their guns.
"Why, where on earth have you come
from?" one of them asked, as they rode up.
"We have been making a prospecting tour
among the hills."
"Have you found anything?"
"Yes; we have found a first-rate place, but
the Apaches drove us off from it when we had
been at work only four days, and we have had
u8


CONCLUSION. 119
hard work to save our scalps. I have no ob-
jection to give you the indications, for I will
not go back again among them ramping
Apaches not to find solid gold. There is the
map as I steered by. Them three points are
the Three Sisters, and that tree bears on the
mouth of a narrow canon. There is gold
there, you bet, and likewise the skeletons of
about thirty Mexicans who got killed there
three or four years ago. Now, let us have
some grub; we finished our last ounce of flour
yesterday, and have been short for the last fort-
night."
"You have had to leave everything behind,
I see," the miner said, looking at the eight
horses.
"Yes; we had to make a clean bolt for it.
However, in the four days we were there we
got about seventy pounds of gold, and we have
stuck to that. Now you know as much about
it as we do. There is gold enough to make you
all rich, but you will have to fight, and fight
hard, to get there and come away again."
The horses were unsaddled and picketed,


120
THE GOLDEN CASfON.
Dave and Joe taking care themselves to un-
load the three packed ponies, and that the flat
bags, over which blankets had been stuffed,
should not be noticed.' They stopped there
for two days to rest the horses, and then pro-
ceeded on their way, arriving at Pueblo a fort-
night later. Thence they traveled together
to Santa Fe, and then hired a wagon and
joined a large caravan going across the plains
east. When they reached St. Louis they
separated. A division was made of the gold,
and the lads started by train for New York,
and the next day took their passages for
England.
When Dick reached home he was received by
his family as one from the dead. The North-
ampton had arrived three weeks before, and,
from the report Mr. Allen had given, they had
slight hopes indeed that Dick would recover
from his wounds, although the letter that Tom
had written three days after he landed had
given them some slight grounds for hope. The
letter had been shown to the owners of the
Northampton, and as the statements respecting


CONCLUSION.
121
the captain and the first mate were confirmed
by Mr. Allen and the third officer, the captain
and first mate had been summarily discharged
from the service.
The astonishment of the lads' fathers when
they found that each lad had brought home a
hundred pounds of gold, worth about five thou-
sand pounds, was great indeed. With it shares
were bought in the ships of the company, and
when in time both attained the rank of master
they had the satisfaction of sailing in ships
in which they held shares. Neither had any
inclination ever to embark again upon the
operation of gold-mining.





THE STONE CHEST;
OR,
THE SECRET OF CEDAR ISLANDS


THE STONE CHESTS
CHAPTER I.
A MYSTERY OF THE STORM.
"What a fearful night, Bob!"
"Yes, mother; it's about the worst storm
of the season," replied Bob Cromwell, as he
entered the seaside cottage and shook the water
from his cap. "It will go hard on any vessel
near the coast. The wind is rising to a per-
fect gale. Just listen to it sing."
There was no need to listen. The storm
was so violent one could scarcely hear aught
else. The little cottage, standing so boldly out
upon the sea cliff, shook and rocked from end
to end as if preparing to leave its foundations.
"I see supper is ready," went on Bob. "By
the way, was Mr. Vasty here?"
* Copyrighted, 1896, by the Bright Days Pub. Co.


126
THE STONE CHEST.
At once Mrs. Cromwell's face grew dark
and troubled. It was an aristocratic face, and
plainly indicated that the lady had seen better
days.
"Yes, he was here, Bob."
"And what did he say?"
"We must leave on Monday. The cottage
has been sold over our heads."
Tears stood in Mrs. Cromwell's eyes as she
spoke.
"Sold!"
"Yes, my boy. He said he could wait no
longer. He believes, as do all in Sea Cove,
that your father is dead."
"Perhaps he is," sighed Bob. "It is now
over six months since the Bluebell went down.
If he escaped in a small boat we should have
heard from him before this."
"Oh, I cannot believe your father dead,
Bob," cried the mother, bursting into tears.
"If I thought that "She did not finish.
Bob sat down to the supper table in silence.
He had little heart to eat, and swallowed the
food mechanically.


A MYSTERY OF THE STORM. 127
Bob was seventeen years of age, bright,
handsome, and fearless. He was Mrs. Crom-
well's only son and his father had been a sea
captain.
We say, had been, for the Bluebell had been
wrecked some time before and all in Sea Cove
thought the captain dead—all saving Mrs.
Cromwell, who still hoped for his safe return
—hoping, as it were, against hope.
Years before the Cromwells had been rich,
owning four large trading vessels. But bad
luck had come and continued until the fortune
dwindled down to nothing but the ownership
of the old Bluebell. It was then that the cap-
tain had determined on a voyage to Alaska,
taking with him a party of men who wished
to explore the new gold mines in that territory.
The Bluebell was supposed to have gone
down in sight of the coast and only two of the
survivors had thus far returned.
As time went by the little cottage, a poor
affair at the best, was mortgaged to pay out-
standing debts. It was the last of the Crom-
well belongings.


128
THE STONE CHEST.
Bob worked at the docks, handling freight.
It was not what he had been brought up to,
but it was the best employment he could obtain
in the vicinity.
"I don't see what's to be done, Bob," said
Mrs. Cromwell, during a lull in the storm.
"We must move and I have only three dollars
in all."
"Oh, I forgot! " he suddenly exclaimed, and
pulled a ten-dollar bill from his pocket.
"Here, mother, is a little to help us."
"Why, where in the world did you get that,
Bob?" she ejaculated.
"A young gentleman gave it to me—in-
sisted I should take it."
"What for?"
"He said I saved his life."
"And did you?"
"Well, I don't know—perhaps," mused
Bob. "You see, it was Captain Randolph
Sumner, the gentleman who owns that splen-
did new yacht down to Marcey's. He fell
into the water right in front of the incoming
steamer Flag, and I fished him out just as he


A MYSTERY OF THE STORM. 129
was on the point of being struck. He was
very grateful and made me keep the money,
although I didn't want it and told him so."
That was all Bob said. He was too modest
to mention that Randolph Sumner had called
him a hero and that the crowd standing by had
given him a cheer for his bravery.
"Ten dollars is a windfall," began Mrs.
Cromwell. "Now if we Gracious, the
signal gun, Bob!"
Boom!
Bob sprang up from the table. He knew
that sound only too well.
Boom!
"Ship has struck, mother!" he cried. "I
must go down and see if I can help in any
way."
And waiting for no reply, the youth grabbed
up his cap and storm coat and rushed out into
the storm.
Bob was right—a ship had struck. Away
off through the mist and rain he could see the
colored lights and the flash of the gun, calling
for help.


130 THE STONE CHEST.
The lifeboat men were already out and get-
ting ready to launch their heavy craft.
"Look! look! The ship is going down!"
The cry thrilled everyone to the very heart.
It was true. The stately ship was sinking fast.
Down she went and came up again, once, twice
—and then no more.
The lifeboat went out in a hurry, but it was
of no avail. The storm had done its work
and all on board had perished.
No, not all. Walking at the foot of the
cliff a little later, Bob heard a low moan, and
soon came upon the body of an aged seaman
jammed in between the rocks. The man was
fearfully bruised and did nothing but moan
as the youth bore him up to the cottage.
Here he was made as comfortable as possible
on a cot. It was an hour before he was able
to open his eyes.
"Where am I?" he asked faintly. "Oh,
the storm. I was hit in the back—I am dying;
I know it. Take me to Mrs. Leon Cromwell."
At this utterance Mrs. Cromwell and Bob
were both greatly astonished.


A MYSTERY OF THE STORM. J3I
*' I am Mrs. Cromwell, sir."
"You! It is not possible!"
"Mother tells the truth," put in Bob.
"What do you want?"
"You are the wife of Leon Cromwell?"
"I am," said the woman.
"Heaven be praised! Who brought you to
me?"
"I brought you to our cottage," returned
Bob. "You lay unconscious on the rocks."
"It is the work of Providence," murmured
the sufferer. "I was on my way hither when
the storm overtook the Mary Lee. I—I—a
drink—I am fainting!"
Water with brandy was brought and the
man revived a little. He glared strangely at
Mrs. Cromwell.
"I must speak quickly, for I am dying—I
know it, feel it. I was sick on board; that's
why I know. The doctor said I couldn't live,
and the storm has only hastened matters. I
want to talk to you about your husband."
"Is he alive?" came from mother and son
simultaneously.


132 THE STONE CHEST.
"He is—or was three months ago. At
Zaruth, on the Siberian coast—where the stone
chest was left—we—more drink—quick!"
Again the sufferer had a relapse.
"The stone chest caused the trouble.
There was gold and silver, and after the
wreck"
"Never mind the gold and silver. Where:
is my husband?" interrupted Mrs. Cromwell.
"I was going to tell you. We started for
—for "The man gasped for breath.
"It's my head. We started for the coast,
when the people living there who had seen
the stone chest, got together and—oh!"
The sufferer fell back in a spasm of pain,
from which it was almost impossible to revive
him. At last he spoke again.
"He was made a prisoner, and—water, or I
die—I can't drink—it is growing dark—the
papers in my pocket are for you—and may
Heaven forgive me!"
The man leaped almost to his feet, then fell
back in another spasm. A minute later he
was dead.


A MYSTERY OF THE STORM. 133
With tenderness mother and son cared for
the body. In one of the seaman's pockets was
found a packet of papers yellow with age.
Bob opened the packet and looked over the
paper with interest. An hour passed. Then
the youth sprang to his feet.
"Mother, I am going to Cedar Island on
the Siberian coast and to father's rescue!" he
cried, with sudden determination.


CHAPTER II.
OFF FOR ZARUTH.
"To Siberia—Cedar Island!"
"Yes, mother. From what I can make out,
father is there, a prisoner of some people called
the Svlachkys, and all on account of a wonder-
ful stone chest, said to be filled with gold and
silver."
"It cannot be true, Bob."
"I think it is. This dead sailor's name was
Ruel Gross"
"Ruel Gross!" Mrs. Cromwell started.
"I heard of him before. Your father said he
possessed a wonderful secret."
"He did—about the stone chest. The whole
truth is, so far as I can understand, he got
father to go up there in search of it. After it
Was found they got into some trouble with
nt


OFF FOR ZARUTH. 135
the natives, and Ruel Gross abandoned father
to his fate. Here is a handmade map of the
locality."
"Pray Heaven your father still lives,"
murmured Mrs. Cromwell. "But you say
you are going up there. How?"
"I don't know. But I'll find a way, even
if I have to go up on a whaler."
Mrs. Cromwell shook her head.
On the following morning the dead body of
the sailor was turned over to the village author-
ities.
Between them mother and son decided for
the present to say nothing to the simple fisher-
folks concerning Ruel Gross' revelation.
"They'll sneer at us—that's all," said Bob.
But Bob confided in his chum, Jack Larmore,
an orphan boy of his own age. Jack was tre-
mendously interested.
"Say, Bob, I'll go along, if you say the
word," he said. "I'm sick of Sea Cove and
the mean folks living around here."
"All right."'
That noon, when Bob returned home he


I36 THE STONE CHEST.
found Captain Sumner present, talking to his
mother.
The captain had come to offer Bob a position
on his yacht.
"I would like to go—if you're going up the
coast," said Bob. "I want to get to Alaska,
and then to Cedar Island, off Siberia."
The rich yacht-owner was much astonished.
He proceeded to draw Bob out, and an hour
later had the youth's story in full. With Mrs.
Cromwell he looked over the papers and map.
Then he lit a cigar and began to pace up and
down the parlor of the cottage.
"I've half a mind to cruise up there," he
said. "To me, one place is as good as another.
I love to roam the wide world over, and have
already been to the South Seas and to the coast
of Africa. What if I should take you up there,
my boy?"
"Will you? " shouted Bob, in quick delight.
"Do it, and you shall have the contents of that
stone chest—if we can get it."
"No, I'll only want my share of it," laughed
Captain Sumner.


OFF FOR ZARUTH. 137
On the next day they talked the matter over
once more. The captain was a widower with
one child, a girl of fifteen. The girl, whose
name was Viola, said she would like to go up
the coast to new lands. But she would like
Mrs. Cromwell, or some other lady, to go
along.
Persuaded by Bob, Mrs. Cromwell said she
would undertake the trip, and before they knew
it, all arrangements were made.
The Dart, as the yacht was named, was sent
to San Francisco for stores, and three days
later Bob and Mrs. Cromwell and Jack Lar-
more left Sea Cove, and left it forever!
It is not the purpose of this tale to tell of
all that happened ere the Dart put to sea
on that memorable voyage up the coast to
Alaska.
For awhile all went well on board. But one
day there was trouble among the crew. The
trouble grew worse and three of the fellows
had to be put into irons.
They were let go later on, but ever after
they showed their ugliness only too plainly.


I38 THE STONE CHEST.
Bob and Jack were not idle while on board.
Both did their full share of work and both
proved themselves good sailors.
A strong friendship sprang up between Mrs.
Cromwell and Viola Sumner, and the two be-
came almost inseparable.
Bob found Captain Sumner a fine man to
get along with, stern at times, but always fair
and square. He had, as he said, been a great
rover, and often told interesting stories of his
adventures.
As days went by and they got further north
it became colder. Then a storm was encoun-
tered which took them many miles out of their
course.
So suddenly did it fall upon them that the
sails were blown to ribbons.
Viola Sumner, who was on deck, got
drenched and nearly drowned. She was saved
by Bob only at peril of his life, and carried
down into the cabin nearly senseless.
And now we find the Dart storm-beaten, but
still water-tight, blown far out to sea.
Bob, who had just come on deck, cast his


OFF FOR ZARUTH. 139
eye arst aloft, like the true sailor he was be-
coming, and then around him.
Not more than half a mile distant towered
an immense iceberg, its topmost pinnacles
glowing in the bright morning sun.
Other bergs floated to the southward, while
to both east and west could be seen long floes
of rugged ice.
The yacht was trying to beat to the north-
ward by making short tacks through the ice-
floes, but, as Bob could see, she made but little
way.
"Have we done any good since I went
below?" he asked Bok, a sailor who was
steering.
"No, faith, yer honor. The current sets so
fast to the south that sorra a bit more north
do we make in an hour than I could throw a cat
by her tail. It's wearisome work, yer honor,
and, be jabers! it's bitterly cold."
Bob buttoned his pilot coat closer around
him and shivered.
"You are right, Bok."
"Hullo, Bob!"


140 THE STONE CHEST.
Our hero looked around and perceived Jack
Larmore's head above the companion.
"Come down to breakfast, before it's cold,"
cried Jack.
Our hero made a bolt down the ladder after
his friend.
"What is your opinion, Bob, about the
men?" asked Captain Sumner, as Bob took his
place at the table. "I mean the rascals I had
to iron up last week."
"Well, sir," replied our hero, "they seem
to go about their duty all right, but after our
experience, we must never trust them."
"It's that scoundrel, Nockey, that I mis-
trust. The others are more fools than knaves.
He will never forgive that flogging I gave
him."
"It served him all right," broke in Bob.
"When we gave them the choice of taking a
couple of dozen or going ashore, not one hesi-
tated."
"Well, even now, we have only eight hands
end ourselves."
| "What do you mean to do, papa?" broke


OFF FOR ZARUTH.
141
in Viola. "Surely not go further among
these dreadful icebergs? I have read that
ships are often crushed by them."
"I should be Only too glad to be out of these
regions, dear; but, with the wind and current
against us, I don't know what to do."
As soon as breakfast was finished the cap-
tain went on deck. His eye rested on the floe
to the westward.
"Where are your eyes, you Irish lubber?"
he shouted to the steersman. "Don't you see
yon ice closing in on us? You ought to have
let me know of this."
"Blest if I can see much change," muttered
Bok.
"But I can. The channel is narrowed by
half. We shall never get clear of it before
we are nipped. 'Bout ship, boys, and be
smart!"
"All hands!" bellowed the mate.
In a couple of minutes the small crew were
on deck, hauling in the ropes and halyards.
The topsail-yards swung round, the helm
was put hard down.


AMONG THE ICEBERGS. 145
"Keep her so!" he added, as he saw the
bows of the schooner point for the narrow
passage.
Jack lit another blue light, and thumped on
the deck to wake those below.
In half a minute Captain Sumner and the
mate were beside them.
"The bergs are closing in on us," said the
captain quietly. "Go to your helm, Bok; it
will be safer."
The bergs were more than a mile long, and
the vessel, under easy saily was not making
more than six knots an hour.
"Here, gentlemen, take the halyards, and
rouse up the topgallant sails. I won't trust the
crew on deck till the last minute."
With the assistance of the man Bob had re-
lieved at the wheel, they soon had the top-
gallant sails, which had been furled, chock-a-
block.
"It will be a narrow squeak," muttered the
captain, as he glanced at the icebergs, whose
tops seemed quite close, though the bases were
yet some distance from the schooner.


14& THE STONE CHEST.
"Is there any hope? " whispered a soft voice:
in our hero's ear.
"I trust so, Miss Viola," he answered.
"See! yonder is the end of the ice mountain
on the starboard bow."
"But how close they are!"
"They look closer than they are in reality,"
he replied.
All the time he was wondering if their end
had really come.
Suppose the wind were to fail!
Fortunately for them, however, caught be-
tween the two bergs, it rather increased in
force than diminished.
The icy tops seemed now ready to topple
down on the deck.
The waves, running up the sides of the
bergs, lifted the vessel on their swell as they
rebounded.
Fifty yards on either side towered the glit-
tering mountains.
Thirty yards, twenty yards! and the salt
spray of the billows, which dashed on the icy
cliffs, fell on deck.


AMONG THE ICEBERGS. 147
Viola's hand was clasped in Bob's, and our
hero felt some relief in facing death with her
and his mother.
"Call your comrades," cried Captain
Sumner to the sailor. "Give them a chance
for life. Come, Mrs. Cromwell, Viola, Bob,
Jack—all of you. Prepare to jump for the ice,
when we strike! It's our only hopel"


CHAPTER IV.
THE ESCAPE FROM THE ICEBERGS.
To Captain Sumner it looked as if the Dart
would surely be crushed.
"Be prepared to jump!" he sang out again.
But even as he spoke a strong gust filled the
yacht's topsails.
She plunged forward.
The starboard berg was left behind, and the
sea on that bow was open.
Bok instantly shifted the helm.
The Dart's head fell away from the danger
on the port bow.
'A few minutes passed.
Then, with a crash as if an earthquake had
riven a mountain chain, the two bergs met.
Our hero, who, with the others, was watch-
ing with breathless interest, saw them rebound.
Huge blocks and pinnacles of ice, thousands


THE ESCAPE FROM THE ICEBERGS. 149
of tons in weight, fell into the gap between
them.
Before these could rise to the surface the
ice mountains had again collided.
A crunching, rending sound struck the ears
of our friends, as the two monsters ground
their sides against one another.
The rugged summits fell into the sea, and
formed smaller bergs.
The yacht was lifted on to the top of the
giant waves caused by the concussion, then
sank into the hollow, only to be caught up
again by the still higher swell.
But the danger was over!
After escaping so narrowly being crushed
the Dart found the sea free from ice, and made
good way to the southward.
However, about eight bells on the following
day, a gale sprang up from the northeast, which
drove down the eastern floe in dangerous
proximity.
The waves rose, and sheets of spray flew
over the fast-driven schooner.
It was so cold that, in spite of all the warm


I50 THE STONE CHEST.
clothing they could find on board, all hands
felt numbed.
"Land ahead t" was an appalling cry which
rang out suddenly.
Captain Sumner himself hurried forward.
A rough, rocky island, the waves dashing in
foam against its low cliffs, was discerned
through the flying spray.
Already the edge of the eastern floe was
crushing itself to pieces against the projecting
reefs.
On the right, or western side, was a lane
of broken water.
To venture into it was very dangerous, but
seemed their only chance.
Bok and another sailor were at the wheel.
Over it went, strained down by their united
strength, and the Dart dashed through the
breaking water.
The western side of the island was about a
mile long.
Twice, by porting the helm, the little vessel
escaped clear of rocks, over which the water
spurted.


THE ESCAPE FROM THE ICEBERGS. 151
As she approached the southern end of the
isle, Bok, who had been sent into the foretop,
shouted that again there was land ahead, and
that the passage between was full of ice.
The captain ascended the shrouds himself,
half-way to the top.
"It's like a cauldron," he exclaimed on de-
scending. "No ship, except perhaps a very
powerful steam whaler, could live in it.
"There is only one chance for us," he con-
tinued. "We must get under shelter of this
island."
As the south coast line opened, the helm
was put down, and the vessel was hove to
under a high cliff and jutting cape, which pro-
tected her from the rush of the ice-laden
current.
Both anchors were at once let go.
Fortunately they found good holding
ground.
All the rest of that day, and till dawn the
next, did the gale rage; but as the short night
passed, the wind sank, and by mid-day it was
feut a breeze.


152 THE STONE CHEST.
The current running between the islands
soon swept the ice away.
But before trusting himself in these strange
waters the captain determined to send a boat
across to the greater island, on which rose a
rugged hill of considerable height.
Both Mrs. Cromwell and Viola begged for
a run on shore, so the larger boat was manned
by Bok and three seamen, Bob and Jack each
taking an oar, while the captain and the
women occupied the stern-sheets.


CHAPTER V.
THE ARCTIC ISLAND.
Once on the island, it was seen that the hill
rose on its southernmost point.
The ground was rocky, and covered with
deep patches of snow in sheltered places.
"I don't like the look of that," observed
the captain. "That is this year's snow. Once
the frost sets in we are done."
Finding it hard work to traverse the direct
route, they made for the western shore.
Here, though they had to clamber over hil-
locks and steep rocks, they got along quicker.
Suddenly Bok, who was in front, uttered a
shout.
On the others hastening up they saw the
cause of his astonishment.
Beached in a little bay, with her topmasts


154
THE STONE CHEST.
gone and the hulk lying over on the port side,
was a brig.
The water only washed her rudder-case, and
the captain noticed, to his dismay, a thin
coating of ice fringing the shore of the
inlet.
Not a sign of life was to be seen.
"We must examine her before we do any-
thing else/' exclaimed Bob.
Captain Sumner looked at his watch.
"We can spare an hour," he said, "but not
more."
There was a rush down the steep rocks on
to the sand.
Arriving alongside, for some time they could
find no means of climbing on board, till our
hero found a rope hanging from the port-bow,
which, on being pulled, seemed strong and
firm.
As soon as he, the captain, Bok, and one
of the men were on deck, which sloped acutely,
Bob called to the ladies to say that he would
fetch a chair, or something to serve as one, and
hoist them up.


THE ARCTIC ISLAND. 157
must be glad that we have arrived in time, if
indeed we have."
The captain and Bob advanced to the pros-
trate man's side.
He was lying on a rug of seals' skins, with
another pulled over him, under which was a
blanket.
"He lives!" cried the captain, placing his
hand over the heart of the unconscious man.
After a minute a faint color mantled his
white cheek and he heaved a long sigh.
Presently the eyelids trembled, and a mo-
ment later he opened them.
They rested on the captain, who was stoop-
ing over him.
A look of surprise came into them, but they
almost immediately closed again.
A dose of hot brandy was given.
This time he recovered considerably, and
looked round him inquiringly.
"You will do now, my man," cried the cap-
tain encouragingly. "Try him with the
food," he added.
Mrs. Cromwell brought the roughly minced


158 THE STONE CHEST.
meat and soddened bread and placed a spoon-
ful in the sufferer's mouth.
He swallowed it eagerly.
« After he had taken some half-dozen spoon-
fuls he turned his head on the pillow and fell
asleep.
"He will be all right now," whispered the
captain. "But someone must stay with him
while we ransack the ship."
A second door led forward, and, leaving the
watchers, the rest of the party passed through
it.
Forward was found a number of great casks,
such as are used to receive the blubber cut from
the whale.
"She is a whaler, evidently," exclaimed the
captain.
In the forecastle there was nothing except
some hammocks and a chest or two.
"We can get warmer clothing than what
we possess, anyhow," remarked the captain.
"Now, what's the best thing to do?"
"We can carry the man back in a ham-
mock," suggested one.


THE ARCTIC ISLAND. 159
"I doubt it," replied the captain. "What
I propose is that some of us stay the night with
him, and we will return in the morning, by
which time he will be much stronger."
On their return to the square room, BQb and
Jack volunteered to remain.
This done, Bok was delegated to bring them,
some supper.
On arriving Bok first fastened to the rope
the package he had brought, which was drawn
on board, and then the rope was lowered
again.
"Be jabers! but it's cold, it is," he cried.
"If I might be so bold, I would jist suggest
that we should go down below. How is the
dead man?"
"He isn't dead yet," replied Bob, laughing.
"But he is sleeping still. I hope you have
brought something good for him."
"Good, is it? There's a tin of soup, and
another of salmon, besides a piece of seal, that
Leeks shot while we were away.
"Then there is a bottle of wine—that's for
yerselves and the sick man—and half a bottle


CHAPTER VI.
THE MADMAN.
Taking the things with them, they hastily
descended the companionway.
It was not without a shudder that they
passed the many bodies.
As they were preparing supper they noticed
the sick man stirring.
"Who are you?" he suddenly muttered.
"We are Americans, like yourself," replied
Bob. "Here, have something to eat?"
The man's eyes glistened.
"Give it me—quick!" he exclaimed, in a
hoarse voice.
Jack, who had warmed some of the soup,
brought it in a basin he had found, with a
spoon and a piece of bread.
Bob took it from him and fed the invalid
slowly.
i0i


162
THE STONE CHEST.
"More," cried the latter, when it was fin-
ished.
"Not yet," replied our hero. "Have a
doze, and you shall have as much as you want
next time."
Giving him a glass of wine, they left him,
and in a few minutes his regular breathing
showed that he slept again.
By this time the joint of seal was roasted,
and the little party of three sat down together.
"What can that noise come from?" ex-
claimed our hero, as he stayed his fork halfway
to his mouth to listen.
"I heard it once or twice before," returned
Jack, "but thought it rats."
"Faith, but I hope there's no ghosts here,"
cried Bok. "Heaven stand between us and
harm."
"Bah! don't be foolish. It's rats, sure
enough."
It was not long after this that the sick man
sat up to partake of more food.
This done, he told his story.
He said he belonged to the whaler, Cross of


THE MADMAN. 163
Gold, which had been caught in a large ice-
pack.
"This pack we attempted to cross," con-
tinued the sailor, " by dragging our boats over
rollers we had brought with us.
"On the third day, however, a snow-storm
set in, and continued for hours.
"Knowing as how time was valuable, after
a rest, We tried to make our way through the
drifting snow.
"But, after toiling for a long while, we
found ourselves back where we started from.
"The captain, I and one or two others
wanted to try again, but the rest outvoted us.
"We, therefore, tried to turn the pack by
coasting along it, but, although we ran over
a hundred miles along its edge, in a westerly
direction, never a lead did we come across
which offered any hopes of getting through.
"At length we came to the end, where it
was joined on to another pack, which extended
to the south.
"This we ran along till we saw high land
before us.


164 THE STONE CHEST.
"But all the shore was a rampart of old
ice, so that it was next to impossible to ap-
proach.
"However, we killed quantities of seals
and saw many whales floating in the open"
water.
"We then determined to make once more
for the brig and start anew, taking an easterly
route.
"But our luck was out. We lost many days
in finding these islands, and when we did get
back to them, hardly had we got on board than
the weather broke up.
"For days the snow was driven in whirling
clouds all around us.
"The decks were covered feet deep.
"It was impossible to get out in search of
foodA and we were almost starved.
"At length the weather cleared up, and we,
with difficulty, forced our way on deck.
"The whole view was changed.
"A sharp frost had set in, and bound the
snow-covered country with iron bands.
"Fresh ice had formed round the brig.


166
THE STONE CHEST.
Stove, the meat was no sooner cut in slices than
it was cold.
"I took mine back to the fire and re-
warmed it.
"There was still a good supply of rum, and
I took a swig at the bottle, and then, whether
because of the cold or the rum, I don't know,
but I fell sound asleep in front of the
blaze.
"I woke up numbed with cold.
"The fire was nearly out, and the first thing
I did was to make it up.
"Then, after heating myself a drop of grog,
I fell to wondering what had become of my
comrades.
"I stumbled along the passage, which felt
as cold as the grave, and there, just as you see
them now, sat our cap'n and his crew, frozen
to death.
"The fire in the stove was out, and the com-
panion door open.
"I took up one of the bodies, after I had
recovered my nerve a bit, and dragged it
along the passage into the kitchen.


THE MADMAN. 167
"But I could not restore it to life, though
I tried hard.
"So you see, sir, here have I been
Heaven in mercy! what's that?"
The sick sailor had risen to his feet.
Bob and Jack had done the same.
Bok crouched near the fire, with a horror-
struck look in his eyes.
"It's the dead walking, maybe," he gasped.
A muffled thump, thump, thump! was again
heard.
A minute or more passed.
Then our hero again seized a brand, and
made a rush along the cabin passage.
Jack followed, and after him Bok.
A glance sufficed.
The body from the head of the table had
disappeared.
"What can it mean?" exclaimed Jack. "I
don't think I am a coward, but this is hor-
rible."
"Something in that sick man's face tells me
he has not spoken all the truth. We must
have it out of him," said our hero.


168
THE STONE CHEST.
But at that moment a mournful howl came
from above.
Rushing to where their arms were stacked,
Bob and Jack seized each a rifle and made their
way on deck, not heeding, in their excitement,
a cry not to fire from Horton, the sick
man.
On lifting their eyes aloft they beheld a sin-<
gular-looking object gazing at them over the
edge of the foretop.
It appeared to be some huge animal, though
of what kind they could not make out.
Scarcely waiting to consider what they were
doing, Bob and Jack prepared to fire.
A wild shriek echoed along the deck.
"Stop that noise!" cried Bob, glancing
round and seeing that Horton had managed
to ascend the companion ladder.
Bob had thrown up his rifle to his shoulder,
when the weak voice of the sailor arrested him
in the act of firing.
"For heaven's sake, sir, don't fire! It's
murder, nothing else."
As Horton spoke, the object of his solicitude,


THE MADMAN. 169
\
with incredible speed, slid down the forestay
and disappeared through the scuttle of the fore-
castle.
"Please, sir, listen to me."
"All right; only be quick, and don't talk'
such nonsense about it's being murder."
With their guns in their hands, and taking
good care to shut the door both at the top and
bottom of the companionway, the two lads fol-
lowed Bok and Horton through the dark death-
cabin and passage to the kitchen, lit up by the
cheerful firelight.
"Now, say what you have to, and be quick
about if," cried our hero. "I can't rest quiet
when a huge wild animal is within a few yards
of us, though how it got there I can't imagine,
for I thought there were no such things in the
polar regions."
"That animal, as you call him, is Charlow,
one of our sailors. He has gone mad."
No more was just then seen or heard of the
crazy sailor, and the party retired for the bal-
ance of the night.
When the captain came from the yacht he


THE MADMAN. 171
Terror-stricken, Mrs. Cromwell and Viola
shrank back on the stern sheets.
"Stop! stop!" yelled Bob.
With a snarl the madman bent to his work.
Soon the boat was in deep water.
In desperation Bob leaped into the water
after it.
Ere he could reach the craft the madman
picked up the long ice pole and aimed a
vicious prod with it at our hero's breast.
Bob was struck squarely, and on the instant
disappeared beneath the surface with the
shrill laugh of the crazy sailor ringing in his
ears.


CHAPTER VII.
A FEARFUL FALL.
"Where am I? Where are mother and
Miss Viola?"
It was Bob who spoke. Jack Larmore
stood over him in the snow.
"You're all right—I got you out of the
water," Jack made answer.
"And the others?"
"Gone."
"Gone! In the power of that madman?"
"Yes."
Bob gave a groan and leaped up. His breast
hurt him not a little.
"Where is Captain Sumner?"
"The yacht has given chase. Look!"
Jack pointed up the coast. The yacht was
disappearing around a distant point.
But in an hour the vessel returned. The
captain's sad face told his story. He had been


A FEARFUL FALL. 173
unable to catch the crazy fugitive and rescue
his daughter and Mrs. Cromwell.
What was to be done? Night came on rap-
idly, and they were compelled to wait until
morning.
At early dawn Bob and Jack commenced to
climb a near-by hill of ice to look for the small
boat.
It was perilous work, but they did not falter.
At length they reached the level summit and
glanced down.
The yacht looked beautiful as she lay to,
with her topsails backed, and every move-
ment of the figures on deck could be distinctly
seen.
Crossing some rough, porous ice, they came
to the pinnacle.
This was rougher than it had looked from
below, and they found not much difficulty in
mounting.
Soon they reached the summit, or, rather,
within a few yards of it, where there was a
tolerably safe and level spot.
With anxious speed, Bob extended the tele-


A FEARFUL FALL. 177
Jack's feet were already over the edge.
"I am gone! Help!" he gasped.
Then, with a stifled cry, he disappeared over
the verge of the abyss.


CHAPTER VIII.
A REMARKABLE STORY.
"Jack! Jack!" shouted Bob.
A sound as of falling rocks or ice blocks
reached his ears, but no answering voice.
The echoes of the falling masses died away.
Bob was filled with dismay at the dreadful
ending of his chum.
He had reached his gun to him, but Lar-<
more had been unable to grasp it.
He shuddered as he thought of Jack's feel*
ings as he felt himself shooting over the
precipice.
There was nothing to do but to return.
He found, lame as he was, the path extremely
difficult.
But at length he reached the yacht and told
his story.
"It's dreadful," said Captain Sumner.
"First my daughter and your mother, and now
your friend, a young gentleman we all likedt


A REMARKABLE STORY. 179
and I, for one, looked on as a comrade, for we
fought side by side against that rascally crew
of ours."
The captain was quite affected.
When the Dart was once more going
through the water in the direction in which
Bob had seen what he took for a boat sail, he
came to the side of our hero, who stood leaning
on the after-bulwarks, gazing at the berg,
whose southern point they were now passing.
"He was a fine young fellow!" he ex-
claimed, "and would have made a good
officer.
"But what are you looking at?"
"A seal, sir," said Bob. "Don't you see it,
lying in the shade of that block of ice, on the
ledge, lapped by the swell?"
"Seals don't lie in the shade—they bask in
the sun. Give me the glass, Bob."
But our hero was already drawing it out to
his focus.
No sooner did he get it pointed correctly
than he uttered a cry of surprise.
"That's his body 1" he exclaimed. "At all


ISO THE STONE CHEST.
events, a man's body. How on earth did it
come there?"
A small boat was still towing astern.
Bob, forgetful of his sprain, lowered him-
self into her, and grasped the oars, while the
captain followed.
"Hold hard! " shouted the mate.
Our hero impatiently, though he never for
a moment expected to find his friend alive,
complied.
In two minutes Leeks reappeared and let
down a flask into the boat.
Our hero dashed the oars into the water,
and the small boat moved faster over the heav-
ing face of the ocean than she had ever done
before.
"Don't deceive yourself. If it is your
friend, he can't be alive," said the captain, as
they approached the body of the ledge.
"It is Jack!" he added, a couple of minutes
later. "But how on earth did he come
there?"
Another score of vigorous strokes brought
the little boat alongside the berg.


182
THE STONE CHEST.
alongside the yacht his comrade with some
difficulty was got on board.
It was not until late that evening that Jack
was able to tell of his wonderful escape.
"I don't know much about it," he said, " but
never shall I forget the awful feeling as I shot
aver the edge of the precipice.
"Of course I thought that I should fall down
a well that penetrated right through the berg K
into the sea.
"However, instead of that, I did not fall
a great distance before I came down feet first
among a lot of pieces of loose ice, or, if not
loose, they gave way with me, and together we
went clattering down a second slope.
"All of a sudden I was pulled up by my
rifle, which was slung round my shoulders, get-
ting jammed across the passage.
"I tried to gain my feet, but failed; the
slope was too smooth and steep.
"There was but one thing for it, and that
was to go on.
"I slipped the sling over my head, and away
I went again.


A REMARKABLE STORY. 183
"Then came another fall.
"This nearly knocked me senseless.
"I just remember another slide, then day-
light, then a last fall, and I lost all conscious-
ness, only coming to myself to find you leaning
over me."
"How is your side?" asked the captain.
"Your escape was most wonderful. Another
foot farther, and you would have been
drowned."
"It was, as you say, a narrow escape. As
for my side, I must say it's rather painful."
However, on the captain pressing it, he came
to the conclusion that no ribs were broken.
It was bandaged up, and Jack was able to
walk about, thankful that things were not
worse.


CHAPTER IX.
THE VOLCANO OF ICE.
For three long days the Dart bore away
northwest, the direction in which the last had
been seen of the missing boat.
"Luckily it's the right course to steer for
the Siberian coast," remarked the captain, as
he sat over his wine after midday dinner.
"We shall sight the high land to-morrow
morning, if not before."
"Surely we shall come across the boat in
time, captain?" remarked Bob.
"Well, we have had wonderfully fine
weather," replied the captain. "But, after all,
she was but a cutter, handled by a lunatic."
And he and Bob interchanged looks of
despair as they ascended the companion ladder.
"Bok, go to the foremast-head," ordered
the captain. "Take the glass, and have a look
around."


THE VOLCANO OF ICE. 187
the captain himself seized the rope and aided
the sailors to execute his orders, while Leeks
attended to the jib.
Bok was at the wheel.
When on the new tack the Dart was not a
cable's length from the boiling water.
"It's a subterranean eruption!" exclaimed
the captain. "Look—look yonder!"
Where he pointed, from the midst of the
curling waves, a great black patch of what
seemed to be mud rose above the surface.
Round it were thick columns of smoke,
which instantly shut it out from view.
The wind chopped round, and a fierce gust
came, laden with steam and smoke, from the
north.
The yacht heeled over till her copper sheet-
ing gleamed above the water-line.
Gasping for breath, for a fearful stench ac-
companied the smoke, which enveloped them,
all on board could do nothing but hold on to
whatever was handiest.
A rushing, roaring sound filled their ears
as the Dart dashed onward, throwing the


188 THE STONE CHEST.
boiling water in showers of spray over
her bows.
The men forward were forced to stagger
aft.
It looked as if the Dart was doomed!


CHAPTER X.
THE ESCAPE OF THE "DART."
For fully ten minutes no one could tell
whether the yacht would right herself or not.
Captain Sumner, aided by our hero and Jack,
at length found the topgallant halyards, and
lowered the sail in the peak.
We say found, for the darkness was' intense.
Then the gallant little vessel, as if freed from
an overpowering load, came up to her bracings.
Once more she flew with increased speed
through the water.
A few seconds and the star-lit sky again
appeared overhead, and the rolling smoke
wreaths were left behind.
"Heavens!" cried the captain; "never in
all my life have I seen the like. What a death
to have escaped!"
As if exhausted with its own fury, the squall
subsided as suddenly as it had sprung up.
»«9


THE ESCAPE OF THE "DART." 193
"I trust we are never separated again," said
Bob to his mother.
"So do I, Bob," she returned fondly. Then
she gave a sigh. "I wonder when we will
reach Cedar Island. I see nothing like cedar
trees around here."
"The map has but one cedar on it," he re-
turned. "It must have floated up here in the
water and taken root in the ice. Even Cap-
tain Sumner can't understand that part of it."
On the following day the Dart again set sail
for the coast of Siberia.
They were well into the sea of Kamtchatka,
and felt that they must soon strike the spot
mentioned in Ruel Gross' memorandums, if the
old sailor had taken his observations correctly.
"If only we were sure father was alive!"
Bob murmured more than once.
Three days passed, and Bob was one morn-
ing in the foretop when suddenly he gave a
wild shout.
"Land ahoy!"
"Where away?" asked Captain Sumner
quickly.


194 THE STONE CHEST.
For from the deck nothing but icebergs were
to be seen.
"To the northwest, sir. Will you let me
have the glass?"
The glass was quickly brought and adjusted.
The captain gave one glance.
"Ah! Bob, look!"
The boy did so, and then gave a shout that
brought everyone on board on deck.
"Cedar Island!"


CHAPTER XII.
bob's discovery.
Night came, and the hostile natives showed
no sign of returning.
A strict watch was kept until morning, but
nothing out of the ordinary happened.
In the meantime Captain Sumner and Bob
examined the map with great care and also
read and reread the papers Ruel Gross had left
behind him.
"Let us go on another tour of exploration,"
said the captain, on the following day. "If
those natives come back Bok can fire a gun
to warn us."
The boy readily agreed and they set off with-
delay.
Once under the dead cedar tree they looked
around them curiously.
A short distance further inland they saw


bob's discovery.
201
a hollow, which had evidently at one time
been a camp.
Tin cans were strewn around, along with
a number of fish and animal bones. j
"I wonder if father and Ruel Gross once
encamped here?" thought Bob.
Hardly had the idea occurred to him than
Captain Sumner set up a shout.
He was pointing to a post set up in the ice.
To the top of the post was attached a rude
sign, which read:
"To the Svlachkys' Camp—One Mile."
"Hurrah! here's a discovery!" cried Bob.
"Shall we go on?"
"Yes; but let us advance with extreme cau-
tion. These Svlachkys may be very bad
people."
"Undoubtedly there are, or they wouldn't
keep my father a prisoner," rejoined Bob.
"That signpost must be the work of Ruel
Gross," went on the captain. "The savages
haven't dared to touch it, thinking there was
something supernatural attached to it—some-
thing to injure them."


202
THE STONE CHEST.
On went the captain and Bob, down one hill
of ice and up another. It was extremely cold,
but neither minded that.
At last they reached a portion of the island
that was very uneven. Great chasms yawned
to the right and left of them. It was with
difficulty that they pushed forward.
But they were bound to go on, and go they
did, until at the mouth of what looked like a
cave of ice the captain called a halt.
"Listen!" he whispered. "I hear voices."
Bob listened. Captain Sumner was right.
From the cavern came the sounds of several
human tongues.
"They are not speaking Russian," said the
captain. "Perhaps we have stumbled upon
more savages."
Hardly had he spoken when three human
beings came into view.
They were bundled up in furs, in strong
contrast to the other natives, who had scarcely
any body-covering.
The new-comers were jabbering among
themselves at a great rate.


bob's discovery. 203
Presently they came to a halt before a large
slab of ice.
They tugged and pounded on this until the
slab fell to one side, revealing a strange-looking
opening.
"What are they up to now?" whispered
Bob.
"I don't know—wait."
They waited. Presently the three men dis-
appeared within the opening. Soon a smoke
came out, and they saw that firebrands had
been lit to light up the scene.
"That may be the place where the stone
chest is kept," said Bob.
"More likely it is a burial place," replied
Captain Sumner. "I've seen such spots be-
fore. Maybe they're preparing for a funeral."
"Can't we get a little closer to them?"
"It would not be safe. Hark!"
From a distance they heard the mournful
toot of a large horn.
"That's a funeral horn, I'm sure," said the
captain. "If they are coming this way we
had better-. — Hullo! look!"


204 THE STONE CHEST.
The captain pointed to an opening to their
left.
A band of men were advancing.
They were guarding a prisoner—a white
man, who walked in their midst.
Bob gave the white man one swift look, and
then shrieked out at the top of his voice:
"It's my father 1"


CHAPTER XIII.
THE BIG POLAR BEAR.
"Your father!" cried Captain Sumner.
"Yes, my father," repeated Bob, in high ex-
citement. "What shall we do?"
He felt like rushing forward, but the captain
restrained him.
"We can do nothing against such a force
of men" he said. "Wait—or "He
hesitated.
"What?"
"You or I might go back to the Dart for
help. Every man on board can come heavily
armed. When these people see our number
they may be willing to talk reasonably to us."
"That's so, but I hate to leave," returned
Bob. "They may do some harm to my father
in the meantime."
"Then I will go, Bob. But mind, keep
shady, unless they do something very bad."


206
THE STONE CHEST.
Bob promised, and without delay Captain
Sumner started on the return to the Dart.
With a wildly beating heart Bob watched
the people who held his father a captive.
They were marching along silently now and
did not stop until the center of the cave of ice
was reached.
Here the party assembled in a circle at a
point where there was a slight elevation.
Two of the men had axes, and with these
they began to chop at the elevation, causing the
pieces of ice to fly in all directions.
"Now what are they going to do? " thought
our hero.
Presently he heard a slight noise behind him.
Somewhat startled, he turned around to find
himself face to face with a monstrous polar
bear!
The beast had just discovered Bob. For a
moment he stood still.
Then with a growl he leaped directly for the
astonished youth.
Had Bob not sprung out of the way the bear
would have landed on his head.


THE BIG POLAR BEAR. 207
But Bob moved with the quickness of light-
ning, and this saved his life.
The bear, however, came down so close to
the boy's side that our hero had no time left to
fire at him.
He struck the bear one hasty blow with his
gun stock and then ran for dear life.
Recovering, the huge beast came after him.
Although a heavyweight, the bear managed
to cover the ground with incredible swift-
ness.
Down the side of the icy hill went Bob, with
the bear less than a dozen feet in the rear.
The plain below reached, Bob scarcely knew
which way to turn.
The bear uttered growl after growl, show-
ing that he was working himself up to a per-
fect fury.
"I must get to the yacht, if possible,"
thought Bob, and headed in the direction with-
out delay.
On and on came the polar bear.
He did not-seem to gain, neither did he lose.
So far the race had been about even, but


CHAPTER XIV,
THE FINDING OF THE STONE CHEST.
'« Help! help!"
Why he uttered the cry Bob could scarcely
tell.
He did not imagine that any human beings
were within sound of his voice.
Yet it is natural for a person in mortal peril
to cry for assistance.
Luckily his cries were heard.
Captain Sumner was returning from the
Dart, having hastily summoned Bok, Leeks,
and the others.
Glancing in the direction, he saw the polar
bear and then Bob.
He did not stop to think, but, taking hasty
aim, fired.
Bok also discharged his weapon, and, hit
twice in the neck, the beast staggered back.v
Bob now saw his friends, and, running up
the stream, joined them.


THE FINDING OF THE STONE CHEST. 213
How had the object come there?
"I believe those people were going to dig
it out when our firing frightened them off,"
said Captain Sumner.
"Let us see what the chest contains," re-
turned Bob, in high curiosity.
The others were willing, and by the united
efforts of the sailors the top of the chest was
pried back.
A murmur of astonishment went up.
The chest contained three iron pots, one filled
with silver and the others filled with gold!
"The treasure, sure enough!" ejaculated
Jack, who had come along with the sailors.
"There are thousands of dollars there!"
said Captain Sumner.
"We ought to take the stuff on board of the
Dart," put in Bok. "'Taint no use to leave
it out here."
The others agreed with him.
In the chest were two fur-covered sacks, an8
these the party used, filling them up to the
top.
In the midst of the work a far-away shot was


214 THE STONE CHEST.
heard. Two more followed in quick succes-
sion.
"'Tis an alarm from the yacht," cried the
captain. "I told my daughter and Mrs. Crom-
well to fire in case anything turned up."
Without delay the sailors were sent off in
advance.
Captain Sumner, Bob, and Jack started to
follow with the treasure sacks, when a shout
went up and a band of the hostile savages ap-
peared at the far end of the ice cave.
"We must run for it!" yelled Bob. "Come
on—for the ship!"
"Give them a volley first!" shouted the
captain.
Six shots, poured into the advancing troop,
threw them into confusion. ,
As the treasure-seekers turned to run a spear
glanced over our hero's shoulder and stuck
quivering in the ground a dozen yards beyond.
At the top of their speed they rushed toward
the shore.
At first they fancied they were not pursued.
After going a hundred yards, however, a


THE FINDING OF THE STONE CHEST. 215
wild yell and the patter of feet told them they
would have to do their best.
Encumbered as they were, with both the
lads partly disabled and the captain no speedy
runner, the savages soon gained on them.
"We must give them another volley!"
panted the captain.
Though the guns chosen were breech-
loaders, it took some little time to reload them
whilst at a run.
Suddenly Bob felt a shock, which nearly
made him fall.
However, he recovered himself with a
stagger.
"The sack saved you," gasped Captain
Sumner. "But for that the spear would have
pierced your back. Now wheel round and
fire!"
As they fronted the natives they found that
not thirty yards divided them.
At that short range every bullet told.
Three men fell dead, and as many were
wounded.
The captain gave them 3- couple of shots


2l6
THE STONE CHEST.
from his revolver before he once more turned
and ran for his life.
"That accounts for about half of them," ex-
claimed our hero.
As they gained the head of the beach Jack
stopped short.
"Go on!" he gasped. "My side! I am
struck!"
Bob put his arm through that of his friend,
who had dropped his gun, and dragged him
onward.
The captain turned and fired the remaining
chambers of his revolver among the crowd,
now within a score of yards.
The small boat was in waiting, and into it
they tumbled, amid a storm of spears.
Both the captain and Bok, who rowed, were
struck.
Our hero seized the oars from the hands of
the latter and pulled with all his strength for
the yacht.
The gunwale of the little boat was almost
level with the water.
It was slow work.


THE FINDING OF THE STONE CHEST. 217
Luckily, nearly all the enemies' spears were
exhausted.
An arrow pierced Bob's cap, and the last
spear which was thrown again wounded the
captain, piercing his leg.
Fortunately the distance was so far that it
only entered about an inch and fell out from
its own weight.
Our hero and the captain clambered on
board the schooner.
Jack was exhausted, but still clung to his bag
of silver.
Scarcely had they gained the deck when a
yell broke from the dark waters around them,
and spears and arrows fell on all sides.
Every gun on board was now fired at the
savages.
Yet they came on as if determined to kill
every white person in sight


BOB RESCUES HIS FATHER. 219
dressing of wounds and making things a little
ship-shape.
It had been a hard-fought fight, and every-
one was tired out.
Fortunately, neither Mrs. Cromwell nor
Viola had suffered from the attack.
Long before the crew were able to do any-
thing more darkness set in.
Bob was very impatient to trace up his
father, but just now that was impossible.
Anxiously the boy waited for dawn, while
his mother wept in silence, thinking of her be-
loved husband.
Would they save him?
At the first signs of morning Bob was up
and ready for the search.
Captain Sumner and Jack were not far be-
hind.
The Dart proceeded slowly toward land.
Satisfied that the savages had left the
vicinity, the party went ashore, and once more
proceeded toward the cave of ice.
A light snow had fallen, and all former
tracks had been obliterated.


220
THE STONE CHEST.
In vain they looked about for some trace at
the Svlachkys.
"Let us go on an exploring tour," suggested
the captain, seeing how badly Bob felt.
They started off first for the far end of the
cavern.
They had gone scarcely a dozen rods when
the captain called a halt.
"Someone is coming! " he whispered.
A crunching of snow and ice was now plainly
to be heard.
The party ran for shelter behind a series of
ice humps and waited.
Suddenly a man clad in furs dashed by them,
running at top speed.
"Father!"
At that strange cry the man stopped as
though shot.
"Who calls?" he asked, but instead of re-
plying, Bob rushed from his hiding place.
"My son! What does this mean? How
came you here?"
"We came in search of you, father," replied
Bob.


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE. 26^
sued that four boats should be ready for starting
at daybreak the next morning. The Perseus an-
chored off the mouth of the creek, and two boats
were ordered to row backwards and forwards off its
mouth all night to insure that the enemy did not
slip out in the darkness.
Jack Fothergill, the senior midshipman, was
commanding the gig, and two of the other mid-
shipmen were going in the pinnace and launch,
commanded respectively by the first lieutenant and
the master. The three other midshipmen of the
Perseus were loud in their lamentations that they
were not to take share in the fun.
"You can't all go, you know," Fothergill said,
"and it's no use making a row about it; the cap-
tain has been very good to let three of us go."
"It's all very well for you, Jack," Percy Adcock,
the youngest of the lads replied, "because you are
one of those chosen; and it is not so hard for Sim-
mons and Linthorpe, because they went the other
day in the boat that chased those junks under
shelter of the guns of their battery, but I haven't
had a chance for ever so long."
"What fun was there in chasing the junks?"
Simmons said. "We never got near the brutes till
they were close to their battery, and then just as
the first shot came singing from their guns, and we
thought that we were going to have some excite-


263 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
ment, the first lieutenant sung out 'Easy all/ and
there was nothing for it but to turn round and to
row for the ship, and a nice hot row it was—two
hours and a half in a broiling sun. Of course I
am not blaming Oliphant, for the captain's orders
were strict that we were not to try to cut the junks
out if they got under the guns of any of their bat-
teries. Still it was horribly annoying, and I do
think the captain might have remembered what
beastly luck we had last time, and given us a
chance to-morrow."
"It is clear we could not all go," Fothergill said,
"and naturally enough the captain chose the three
seniors. Besides, if you did have bad luck last
time, you had your chance, and I don't suppose
we shall have anything more exciting now; these
fellows always set fire to their junks and row for
the shore directly they see us, after firing a shot or
two wildly in our direction."
"Well, Jack, if you don't expect any fun," Sim-
mons replied, "perhaps you wouldn't mind telling
the first lieutenant you do not care for going, and
that I am very anxious to take your place. Per-
haps he will be good enough to allow me to relieve
you."
""A likely thing that!" Fothergill laughed. "No,
Tom, I am sorry you are not going, but you must
make the best of it till another chance comes."


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE. 263
"Don't you think, Jack," Percy Adcock said to
his senior in a coaxing tone later on, "you could
manage to smuggle me into the boat with you?"
"Not I, Percy. Suppose you got hurt, what
would the captain say then? And firing as wildly
as the Chinese do, a shot is just as likely to hit your
little carcass as to lodge in one of the sailors. No,
you must just make the best of it, Percy, and I
promise you that next time there is a boat expedi-
tion, if you are not put in, I will say a good word
to the first luff for you."
"That promise is better than nothing," the boy
said; "but I would a deal rather go this time and
take my chances next."
"But you see you can't, Percy, and there's no use
talking any more about it. I really do not expect
there will be any fighting. Two junks would hardly
make any opposition to the boats < - the ship, and I
expect we shall be back by nine o'clock with the
news that they were well on fire before we came
up."
Percy Adcock, however, was determined, if pos-
sible, to go. He was a favorite among the men,
and when he spoke to the bow oar of the gig the
latter promised to do anything he could to aid him
to carry out his wishes.
"We are to start at daybreak, Tom, so that it
will be quite dark when the boats are lowered. I


264 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
will creep into the gig before that and bide myself
as well as I can under your thwart, and all you
have got to do is to take no notice of me. When
the boat is lowered I think they will hardly make
me out from the deck especially as you will be
standing up in the bow holding on with the boat-
hook till the rest get on board."
"Well, sir, I will do my best; but if you are
caught you must not let out that I knew anything
about it."
"I won't do that," Percy said. "I don't think
there is much chance of my being noticed until we
get on board the junks, and then they won't know
which boat I came off in, and the first lieutenant
will be too busy to blow me up. Of course I shall
get it when I am on board again, but I don't mind
that so that I see the fun. Besides, I want to send
home some things to my sister, and she will like
them all the better if I can tell her I captured
them on board some junks we seized and burnt."
The next morning the crews mustered before
daybreak. Percy had already taken his place un-
der the bow thwart of the gig. The davits were
swung overboard, and two men took their places in
her as she was lowered down by the falls. As soon
as she touched the water the rest of the crew clam-
bered down by the ladder and took their places;
then Fothergill took his seat in the stern, and the


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE.
265
boat pushed off and lay a few lengths away from
the ship until the heavier boats put off. As soon
as they were under way Percy crawled out from his
hiding-place and placed himself in the bow, where
he was sheltered by the body of the oarsman from
Fothergill's sight.
Day was just breaking now, but it was still dark
on the water, and the boat rowed very slowly until
it became lighter. Percy could just make out the
shores of the creek on both sides; they were but
two or three feet above the level of the water, and
were evidently submerged at high tide. The creek
was about a hundred yards wide, and the lad could
not see far ahead, for it was full of sharp windings
and turnings. Here and there branches joined it,
but the boats were evidently following the main
channel. After another half-hour's rowing the
first lieutenant suddenly gave the order, "Easy
all," and the men, looking over their shoulders,
saw a village a quarter of a mile ahead, with the
two junks they had chased the night before lying
in front of it. Almost at the same moment a sud-
den uproar was heard—drums were beaten and
gongs sounded.
"They are on the lookout for us," the first lieu-
tenant said. "Mr. Mason, do you keep with me
and attack the junk highest up the river; Mr.
Bellew and Mr. Fothergill, do you take the one
lower down. Row on, men."


266
AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
The oars all touched the water together, and the
four boats leapt forward. In a minute a scatter-
ing fire of gingals and matchlocks was opened from
the junks and the bullets pattered on the water
round the boats. Percy was kneeling up in the
bow now. As they passed a branch channel three
or four hundred yards from the village, he started
and leapt to his feet.
"There are four or five junks in that passage,
Fothergill; they are poling out."
The first lieutenant heard the words.
"Row on, men; let us finish with these craft
ahead before the others get out. This must be that
piratical village we have heard about, Mr. Mason,
as lying up one of these creeks; that accounts for
those two junks not going higher up. I was sur-
prised at seeing them there, for they might guess
that we should try to get to them this morning.
Evidently they calculated on catching us in a
trap."
Percy was delighted at finding that, in the ex-
citement caused by his news, the first lieutenant
had forgotten to take any notice of his being there
without orders, and he returned a defiant nod to
the threat conveyed by Fothergill shaking his fist
at him. As they neared the junks the fire of those
on board redoubled, and was aided by that of many
villagers gathered on the bank of the creek. Sud-


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE. 2G7
denly from a bank of rushes four cannons were
fired. A ball struck the pinnace, smashing in her
side. The other boats gathered hastily round and
took her crew on board, and then dashed at the
junks, which were but a hundred yards distant.
The valor of the Chinese evaporated as they saw
the boats approaching, and scores of them leapt
overboard and swam for shore.
In another minute the boats were alongside and
the crews scrambling up the sides of the junks. A
few Chinamen only attempted to oppose them.
These were speedily overcome, and the British had
now time to look round, and saw that six junks
crowded with men had issued from the side creek
and were making towards them.
"Let the boats tow astern," the lieutenant or-
dered. "We should have to run the gauntlet of
that battery on shore if we were to attack them,
and might lose another boat before we reached their
side. We will fight them here."
The junks approached, those on board firing
their guns, yelling and shouting, while the drums
and gongs were furiously beaten.
"They will find themselves mistaken, Percy, if
they think they are going to frighten us with all
that row," Fothergill said. "You young rascal,
how did you get on board the boat without being
seen? The captain will be sure to suspect I had
a hand in concealing you."


268 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
The tars were now at work firing the gingals
attached to the bulwarks and the matchlocks, with
which the deck was strewn, at the approaching
junks. As they took steady aim, leaning their
pieces on the bulwarks, they did considerable exe-
cution among the Chinamen crowded on board the
junks, while the shot of the Chinese, for the most
part, whistled far overhead; but the guns of the
shore battery, which had now been slewed round to
bear upon them, opened with a better aim, and sev-
eral shots came crashing into the sides of the two
captured junks.
"Get ready to board, lads I" Lieutenant Oliphant
shouted. "Don't wait for them to board you, but
the moment they come alongside lash their rigging
to ours and spring on board them."
The leading junk was now about twenty yards
away, and presently grated alongside. Half a
dozen sailors at once sprang into her rigging with
ropes, and after lashing the junks together leaped
down upon her deck, where Fothergill was leading
the gig's crew and some of those rescued from the
pinnace, while Mr. Bellew, with another party, had
boarded her at the stern. Several of the Chinese
fought stoutly, but the greater part lost heart at
seeing themselves attacked by the "white devils,"
instead of, as they expected, overwhelming them
by their superior numbers. Many began at once


270 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
lieutenant with his party boarded one, while the
newcomers leapt on to the deck of the other. The
panic which had seized the Chinese was so com-
plete that they attempted no resistance whatever,
but sprang overboard in great numbers and swam
to the shore, which was but twenty yards away,
and in three minutes the English were in undis-
puted possession of both vessels.
"Back again, Mr. Fothergill, or you will lose the
craft you captured," Lieutenant Oliphant said;
"they have already cut her free."
The Chinese, indeed, who had been beaten below
by the boarding party, had soon perceived the sud-
den departure of their captors, and gaining the
deck again had cut the lashings which fastened
them to the other junk, and were proceeding to
hoist their sails. They were too late, however.
Almost before the craft had way on her Fothergill
and his crew were alongside. The Chinese did
not wait for the attack, but at once sprang over-
board and made for the shore. The other three
junks, seeing the capture of their comrades, had
already hoisted their sails and were making up the
creek. Fothergill dropped an anchor, left four of
his men in charge, and rowed back to Mr. Oli-
phant.
"What shall we do next, sir?"
"We will give those fellows on shore a lesson,


272 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
There are a good many of our poor fellows just at
the present moment who do not see anything funny
in the affair at all. Here we are; clamber up."
The crew soon set to work under Fothergill's
orders. The sails were cut off the masts and
thrown down into the hold; bamboos, of which
there were an abundance down there, were heaped
over them, a barrel of oil was poured over the mass,
and the fire then applied.
"That will do, lads. Now take to your boats
and let's make a bonfire of the other junk."
In ten minutes both vessels were a sheet of flame,
and the boat was lying a short distance from them
waiting for further operations. The inhabitants
of the village, furious at the failure of the plan
which had been laid for the destruction of the
"white devils," kept up a constant fusilade, which,
however, did no harm, for the gig was completely
sheltered by the burning junks close to her from
their missiles.
"There go the others!" Percy exclaimed after
a minute or two, as three columns of smoke arose
simultaneously from the other junks, and the sail-
ors were seen dropping into their boats alongside.
The killed and wounded were placed in the other
gig with four sailors in charge. They were di-
rected to keep under shelter of the junks until re-
joined by the pinnace and Fothergill's gig, after
these had done their work on shore.


274 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
At the head of his men he rushed in at the en-
trance. There was a blaze of fire as half a dozen
muskets were discharged in their faces. One of
the sailors dropped dead, and before the others had
time to realize what had happened they were beaten
to the ground by a storm of blows from swords and
other weapons.
A heavy blow crashed down on Percy's head, and
he fell insensible even before he realized what had
occurred.
When he recovered, his first sensation was that
of a vague wonder as to what had happened to
him. He seemed to be in darkness and unable to
move hand or foot. He was compressed in some
way that he could not at first understand, and was
being bumped and jolted in an extraordinary man-
ner. It was some little time before he could un-
derstand the situation. He first remembered the
fight with the junks, then he recalled the landing
and burning the village: then, as his brain cleared,
came the recollection of his start with Fothergill
for the temple among the trees, his arrival there,
and a loud report and flash of fire.
"I must have been knocked down and stunned,"
he said to himself, "and I suppose I am a prisoner
now to these brutes, and one of them must be car-
rying me on his back."
Yes, he could understand it all now. His hands


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE.
279
ton for a bit, and if they do the squadron may ar-
rive and fight its way past the forts and take the
city before they have quite made up their minds
as to what kind of death will be most appropriate
to the occasion. I wonder what they are doing
now? They seem to be chopping sticks."
"I wish they would give us some water," Percy
said. "I am frightfully thirsty."
"And so am I, Percy; there is one comfort, they
won't let us die of thirst, they could get no satis-
faction out of our deaths now."
Two hours later some of the Chinese re-entered
the room and led the captives outside, and the lads
then saw what was the meaning of the noise they
had heard. A cage had been manufactured of
strong bamboos. It was about four and a half
feet long, four feet wide, and less than three feet
high; above it were fastened two long bamboos.
Two or three of the bars of the cage had been left
open.
"My goodness! they never intend to put us in
there," Percy exclaimed.
"That they do," Jack said. "They are going to
carry us the rest of the way."
The cords which bound the prisoners' hands
were now cut, and they were motioned to crawl
into the cage. This they did; the bars were then
put in their places and securely lashed. Four


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE.
281
This was, indeed, the purpose of the pirates. At
that time Europeans seldom ventured beyond the
limits assigned to them in the two or three towns
where they were permitted to trade, and few, in-
deed, of the country people had ever obtained a
sight of the white barbarians of whose doings they
had so frequently heard. Consequently a small
crowd soon gathered round the cage, eying the
captives with the same interest they would have
felt as to unknown and dangerous beasts; they
laughed and joked, passed remarks upon them, and
even poked them with sticks. Fothergill, furious
at this treatment, caught one of the sticks, and
wrenching it from the hands of the Chinaman,
tried to strike at him through the bars, a proceed-
ing which excited shouts of laughter from the by-
standers.
"I think, Jack," Percy said, "it will be best to
try and keep our tempers and not to seem to mind
what they do to us, then if they find they can't get
any fun out of us they will soon leave us alone."
"Of course, that's the best plan," Fothergill
agreed, "but if s not so easy to follow. That fel-
low very nearly poked out my eye with his stick,
and no one's going to stand that if he can help it."
It was some hours before the curiosity of the
village was satisfied. When all had paid who were
likely to do so, the guards broke up their circle,


282 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
and leaving two of their number at the cage to sea
that no actual harm was caused to their prisoners,
the rest went off to a refreshment house. The
place of the elders was now taken by the boys and
children of the village, who crowded round the
cage, prodded the prisoners with sticks, and, put-
ting their hands through the bars, pulled their ears
and hair. This amusement, however, was brought
to an abrupt conclusion by Fothergill suddenly
seizing the wrist of a big boy and pulling his arm
through the cage until his face was against the
bars; then he proceeded to punch him until the
guard, coming to his rescue, poked Fothergill with
his stick until he released his hold.
The punishment of their comrade excited neither
anger nor resentment among the other boys, who
yelled with delight at his discomfiture, but it made
them more careful in approaching the cage, and
though they continued to poke the prisoners with
sticks they did not venture again to thrust a hand
through the bars. At sunset the guards again
came round, lifted the cage and carried it into a
shed. A platter of dirty rice and a jug of water
were put into the cage; two of the men lighted
their long pipes and sat down on guard beside it,
and, the doors being closed, the captives were left
in peace.
"If this sort of thing is to go on, as I suppose


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE. 283
it is," Fothergill said, "the sooner they cut off our
heads the better."
"It is very bad, Jack. I am sore all over with
those probes from their sharp sticks."
"I don't care for the pain, Percy, so much as
the humiliation of the thing. To be stared at and
poked at as if we were wild beasts by these curs,
when with half a dozen of our men we could send
a hundred of them scampering, I feel as if I could
choke with rage."
"You had better try and eat some of this rice,
Jack. It is beastly, but I dare say we shall get no
more until to-morrow night, and we must keep up
our strength if we can. At any rate, the water is
not bad, that's a comfort."
"No thanks to them," Jack growled. "If there
had been any bad water in the neighborhood they
would have given it to us."
For six weeks the sufferings of the prisoners
continued. Their captors avoided towns where
the authorities would probably at once have taken
the prisoners out of their hands. No one would
have recognized the two captives as the midship-
men of the Perseus; their clothes were in rags—
torn to pieces by the thrusts of the sharp-pointed
bamboos, to which they had daily been subjected
—the bad food, the cramped position, and the
misery which they suffered had worn both l«vis


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE.
285
Not that it makes much difference now to me, for
I do not think I can stand many more days of
it."
"I am afraid I am tougher than you, Percy, and
shall take longer to kill, so I hope with all my
heart that I may be right, and that they may be
going to give us up to the authorities."
The next evening they stopped at a large place,
and were subjected to the usual persecution; this,
however, was now less prolonged than during the
early days of their captivity, for they had now no
longer strength or spirits to resent their treat-
ment, and as no fun was to be obtained from pas-
sive victims, even the village boys soon ceased to
find any amusement in tormenting them.
When most of their visitors had left them, an
elderly Chinaman approached the side of the cage.
He spoke to their guards and looked at them at-
tentively for some minutes, then he said in pigeon
English, "You officer men?"
"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, starting at the sound
of the English words, the first they had heard
spoken since their captivity. "Yes, we are offi-
cers of the Perseus."
"Me speeke English velly well," the China-
man said; "me pilot-man many years on Canton
river. How you get here?"
"We were attacking some piratical junks, and


A SBtTSS WlTB THS CHHTESE. 280
takee village, kill evely one." He set off at a
run. Jack followed as fast as he could, groaning
at every step from the pain the movement caused
to his bruised body.
They went to the side of the village opposite
to that at which the attack was going on. They
met no one on the way, the inhabitants having all
rushed to the other side to repel the attack. They
stopped at a small gate in the wall, the Chinaman
drew back the bolts and opened it, and they passed
out into the country. For an hour they kept on.
By the end of that time Jack could scarcely drag
his limbs along. The Chinaman halted at length
in a clump of trees surrounded by a thick under-
growth.
"Allee safee here," he said, "no searchee so far;
here food," and he produced from a wallet a cold
chicken and some boiled rice, and unslung from
his shoulder a gourd filled with cold tea.
"Me go back now, see what happen. To-mol-
low nightee come again—bringee more food."
And without another word went off at a rapid
pace.
Jack moistened his lips with the tea, and then
turned to his companion. Percy had not spoken
a word since he had been released from the cage,
and had been insensible during the greater part
of his journey. Jack poured some cold tea be-
tween his lips.


290 AMONG MALAY PIRATES.
"Cheer up, Percy, old boy, we are free now, and
with luck and that good fellow's help we will work
our way down to Canton yet."
"I shall never get down there; you may," Percy
said feebly.
"Oh, nonsense, you will pick up strength like a
steam-engine now. Here, let me prop you against
this tree. That's better. Now drink a drop of
this tea; ifs like nectar after that filthy water ve.
have been drinking. Now you will feel better.
Now you must try and eat a little of this chicken
and rice. Oh, nonsense, you have got to do it.
I am not going to let you give way when our
trouble is just over. Think of your people at
home, Percy, and make an effort, for their sakes.
Good heavens! now I think of it, it must be
Christmas morning. We were caught on the 2d
and we have been just twenty-two days on show.
I am sure that it must be past twelve o'clock, and
it is Christmas-day. It is a good omen, Percy.
This food isn't like roast beef and plum pudding,
but it's not to be despised, I can tell you. Come,
fire away, that's a good fellow."
Percy made an effort and ate a few mouthfuls
of rice and chicken, then he took another draught
of tea, and lay down, and was almost immediately
asleep.
Jack ate his food slowly and contentedly till he


A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE. 295
and covered with mats in the stern of the boat,
and remained thus sheltered not only from the
view of people in boats passing up or down the
stream, but from the eyes of their own boatmen.
After two days' journey down the river with-
out incident, they arrived off Canton, where the
British fleet was still lying while negotiations for
peace were being carried on with the authorities
at Pekin. Peeping out between the mats, the lads
caught sight of the English warships, and, know-
ing that there was now no danger, they dashed
out of the cabin, to the surprise of the native
boatmen, and shouted and waved their arms to
the distant ships.
In ten minutes they were alongside the Perseus,
when they were hailed as if restored from the
dead. The pilot was very handsomely rewarded
by the English authorities for his kindness to the
prisoners, and was highly satisfied with the result
of his proceedings, which more than doubled the
little capital with which he had retired from busi-
ness. Jack Fothergill and Percy Adcock declared
that they have never since eaten chicken without
thinking of their Christmas fare on the morning
of their escape from the hands of the Chinese
pirates.


r .