ora 
 
 
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THE BIG-HORN TREASURE 
 
IT S A NrGGKT! Soil!) GOLD 1 ." 
 
THE 
 
 BIG-HORN TREASURE 
 
 A TALE OF 
 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVKNTUKK 
 
 JOHN K. CARGILL 
 
 CHICAGO 
 A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 
 
 1897 
 
COPYRIGHT 
 
 BY A. C. McCi.uRG Si Co. 
 A.D. 1897 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I AGH 
 9 
 
 II. A HUNTING TRIP AND WHAT CAM 1C OK IT . 2/ 
 
 in. THE "SLIDE"- SANCHO S MISADVENTURE . 42 
 
 IV. MEETING DINNER AT CAMP 6l 
 
 70 
 
 VI. SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS UNDER 
 
 DIFFICULTIES .... 8? 
 
 vii. NEAL S "BLOW-UP" -THE SICK STRANGER . 97 
 
 VIII. RESULT OF DAVF/S ASSAY ... 114 
 
 X. THE PASSING OF THE SICK MAN, AND ITS 
 
 CONSEQUENCES ...... 
 
 XI. PHIL S LOST TRAIL -THE AGILE INVALID 
 XII. T II E F I L 1 N G N E A L DELIVERS A N O P I N I O N 
 
 XIII. THE HOUSE THAT DA VI-: BUILT THE 
 PACK-RAT 
 
 XIV. HUNTING THE BIG-HORN ... jg4 
 
 XV. THE PLUNGE-BATH -THE CAVERN . . 206 
 
 XVI. A CAVE OF WONDERS 
 
 . 215 
 
 M105422 
 
 xvii. THE VICTORS RETURN , 223 
 
XIX. ARRIVAL OF THI-: PACK TRAIN 
 
 xx. THE RAID NKAL S CHECKMATE 
 
 XXI. PHII/S AQUATICS -RESCUE OF HRODIE 
 
 XXII. I) R ICSS PARADE THE SHERIFF . 
 
 XXIV. A RAFTING EPISODE --KEN S DISCOVJCRV . 303 
 
 XXV. EOl R YEARS EATER RETURN OF Till-: 
 
 WANDERERS . . .. . . 314 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 IT s A NUGGET! SOLID GOLD: 
 
 J l.I, GIYK HIM Till". FIRST SALUTE." 
 
 TIIF ROCKS SLll J I-:!) FROM P.ENI .ATH TIIK1R FEET. 
 
 IF THI-; SAMPLE WAS FAIR THE STUFF RUNS AIJOUT 
 TWENTY-SEYEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GOLD! 
 
 107 
 
 SICK MAN INDEED! HE s AS FULL OF JUMP AS A 
 
 COYOTE." . . . . . . . ,l6l 
 
 Till . START WHICH HRODIE GAYE SHOWED THE 
 
 THINNESS OF HIS MASK." . 17: 
 
 DAYE COULD SEE Till-: HERD IN FULLEST DETAIL. . 203 
 HE SHOT DOWNWARD LIKE A FLASH." . . .211 
 
 NEAL THEN CRAWLED WITHIN." ..... 233 
 A LONG PROCESSION OF CLEAN-LI M IJED MULES." . 2.\J 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 THEIR FIRST LESSON IN PRACTICAL MINING." . 2Z" 
 
 "HE ALMOST DROPPED HIS PAIL IN ASTONISHMENT." 2"n 
 
 "Till-: SUSPENDED MAN FELL LIKE A LOG." . . . 267 
 
 "IT S A GREAT CATCH YOU VE MADE." . . 28? 
 
 "HE WENT DOWN WITH A GREAT SPLASH." . . . p 9 
 
 "HE QUICKLY ALIGHTED AND SPRANG TO THE STEPS." 321 
 
THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE FLASH MESSAGE. 
 
 " If you have any opinion to offer on this situ 
 ation, Ken, I m willing to listen, but my legs 
 are telling me that I can hear better sitting than 
 standing. Let s breathe." 
 
 Without waiting for a response the speaker 
 threw himself upon the ground. " Ah ! " he 
 ejaculated, with a long deep sigh of pleasure, 
 " Was n t that a climb, though? This rest is all 
 the happiness I shall require for a few r minutes." 
 
 He was a manly looking fellow of about seven 
 teen or eighteen years, and his remarks were ad 
 dressed to another young man, w r ho, in appear 
 ance, seemed a year or two older. 
 
 11 I think I 11 join you, Phil," he replied, as 
 he took possession of a smooth rock by his side. 
 " Sancho won t object, I venture to say." There 
 came another great sigh of relief, the exact 
 counterpart of the one his companion had given 
 
10 THE -BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 forth, and for a few minutes neither of the 
 young men spoke again, giving themselves up to 
 perfect inaction and a dreamy contemplation 
 of the landscape. 
 
 The third member of the party, to whom Ken 
 
 had referred as "Sancho," was a Mexican 
 
 donkey, or burro, bearing a pack about as large 
 
 but possibly not quite as heavy as himself. 
 
 The three together made up a group which, taken 
 in connection with their surroundings, would 
 have been thought unusually picturesque, if not 
 astonishing, could it have been viewed by a per 
 son unaccustomed to such things. 
 
 The most noteworthy feature was the situa 
 tion. This was the rocky and broken summit of a 
 high mountain, which towered above everything 
 else around ; and the young men were looking 
 clown upon and across scores of peaks, many of 
 which, taken by themselves, were mountains of 
 consequence. 
 
 In fact, the three living figures and bundle of 
 chattels overtopped the last and uppermost of 
 what had seemed to them, upon approach, to be 
 a tremendous heap of porphyry rocks of irregu 
 lar and confused shapes, as though thrown and 
 left there by some convulsion. 
 
 This appearance, though, was not in all re 
 spects real; for the young men, as they neared 
 
THE FLASH MESSAGE. II 
 
 the top, had noted because they were especially 
 interested in observing geological formations 
 that the rocks, although twisted by former vol 
 canic action, still, for the most part, held to their 
 natural place. 
 
 From where they sat they could see that they 
 were upon the apex of a great bisected cone which 
 had only a slight width at the top and sloped 
 sharply toward the west, and that the whole up 
 per half of the east face was as sheer and smooth 
 as though some Titan- had hewn it with his 
 mighty ax. 
 
 The party not merely seemed to overhang, 
 but during the last few hundred feet of their ad 
 vance the sensation had been almost that of 
 floating above, depths so remote that objects 
 underneath them could not be distinguished in 
 the dim distance, and the things nearest within 
 their reach were the vaporous clouds, which, as 
 they scudded past, tended to create the dreadful 
 feeling of toppling over into nothingness. 
 
 They knew that with only one little stam 
 mering step their darting flight through the 
 underlying blue and shadowy horror, and into 
 the hereafter, would outdo the eagle in swift 
 ness; and yet they had been neither giddy nor 
 afraid, for such experiences were not new to 
 them. 
 
12 THE Hir, -IIOKX TREASURE. 
 
 As the senses of our two adventurers became 
 gradually freed from the strain of weariness, they 
 awoke to the grandeur of the scene before 
 them. 
 
 With one circular sweep their eyes encom 
 passed nearly the entire mountain region of 
 western Colorado. Both of them were accus 
 tomed to rugged scenery, but their natures were 
 too fine ever to become dulled to the wonders of 
 a prospect such as this. 
 
 The mountain peaks seemed as numberless as 
 the stars, but with another and a greater glory 
 a glory of tint and luster which no language 
 could express or poet ever sing. From the daz 
 zling sheen of the summer sun upon snow-capped 
 summits, ranging through pearl-gray, opalescent, 
 amethyst, and ruby-colored masses, thrown into 
 astonishing contrasts and delicious blendings by 
 the haziness over the valleys, the iridescence of 
 forest-tops, the flying cloud, the distant shower 
 of rain, and the deep black shade of canon or 
 basin. 
 
 To the eastward the Saguache Mountains, ab 
 ruptly shutting off the plains, lessened the ex 
 panse to about fifty miles. But, north, south, 
 and west, the distances seemed to be without 
 measure or bound. In the south, the ragged and 
 dark San Juan Range; more westerly, the Un- 
 
THK FLASH MESSAGE. 13 
 
 compahgre group; while in the extreme west, 
 blending with blue sky and purple haze, 
 
 " Far, vague, and dim," 
 
 the Wahsatch Range of Utah, distant more than 
 two hundred miles, and floating in mid-air, sug 
 gested to Ken the lines of " Drifting." 
 
 North and northwest, the view, stretching to 
 the border of Wyoming and beyond, embraced, 
 besides a wilderness of mountains in groups and 
 singly, wide spaces of brown and amber table 
 land with scant vegetation. 
 
 Long they gazed in silence, with rapturous 
 half-intoxicated senses, and with but small con 
 sciousness of feature or outline. 
 
 But at length their eyes came wandering back 
 from the dim distance to the details of objects 
 nearer at hand. 
 
 Here were valleys which the crystal atmos 
 phere rendered clear in all their fullness : nume 
 rous waterfalls glittering like threads of spun 
 glass, and small lakes which mirrored the green 
 of forest and the rose-color of overhanging pre 
 cipice. 
 
 Nearly two thousand feet beneath them on the 
 west side was the divide between two rivers : one 
 flowing south to the Gunnison, the other north 
 ward to the Grand, the waters of which were to 
 
T 4 T 
 
 finally meet in their rush through the dark, mys 
 terious Canon of the Colorado. The northerly 
 stream received its first impulse from the snows of 
 a high peak just across the intervening gulch, 
 which seemed to be within stone s-throw, but 
 was actually four miles aw r ay, in a straight line. 
 
 From beneath the glistening snow-bank the 
 ne\v-born stream plunged down the mountain in 
 a scries of hardy leaps, until it reached a level 
 shelf or bench of perhaps forty or fifty acres 
 in extent, perched about midway above the 
 valley. 
 
 On this lofty platform, apparently safe from 
 the intrusion of any living creature without wings, 
 was a lovely small lake surrounded by the ver 
 dure of mountain shrubbery and grass. 
 
 Suddenly, Phil, whose eyes had for some time 
 been directed toward this portion of the scene, 
 broke the silence, exclaiming: 
 
 "Good gracious, Ken! look here! Do you see 
 the shelf in the side of the cliff over yonder? " 
 
 "You mean the one that has the lake, and 
 looks like a balcony with a jardiniere on it?" 
 asked Ken. 
 
 " Yes, that s it," replied Phil eagerly. " Now 
 look along the left side. Do you see two white 
 spots against the green of the bushes? " 
 
 "Well! Of all marvelous things, that s the 
 
TIIK FLASH MKSSACK. 15 
 
 greatest." murmured Ken in low-voiced aston 
 ishment. " Is it possible they are tents? 
 
 " Good enough! " cried Phil in an excited but 
 somewhat relieved tone. "I wasn t able to 
 fully trust my own eyes, but since you see them, 
 it s settled. Yes, they are tents. Say, where s 
 the glass?" lie sprang to his feet, and running 
 to the burro, fumbled a moment inside a leather 
 pouch which was strapped outside the pack; then 
 quickly returned with a telescope. 
 
 Hastily adjusting it, he leveled it across Ken s 
 shoulder and took a quick alignment and sight. 
 Then he shouted, "A pair of jacks! Hold on a 
 minute I believe yes, as sure as you re a 
 living man, it s Neal Mclnnis. I know him bv 
 
 o * 
 
 his stride and by his white duck trousers." 
 
 "Oh! say, Phil!" exclaimed Ken, "I think 
 your imagination is getting the better of you. 
 The idea of there being a man and two burros in 
 that place! Why, it s fully twelve or fifteen 
 hundred feet above the basin, and upwards of a 
 thousand feet below the summit. It would seem 
 about as reasonable to talk about seeing them 
 bowling along on top of that cloud yonder." 
 
 "All right," laughed Phil. "Here, take the 
 glass and look for yourself. You sa\v the tents, 
 did n t you? I ve no more idea how they got 
 there than you have, but there they are, as snug 
 
!6 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 and cozy as you please. It s our boys camp, 
 and we have got to find the way to it before dark 
 to-night, or Sancho won t have much chance to 
 break his fast. There s hardly enough for a 
 grasshopper to eat anywhere on this mountain." 
 
 While Phil was talking, Ken, with the glass 
 leveled over Phil s shoulder, was making a careful 
 scrutiny of the objects under discussion. At 
 length he said, " It s surely a camp; tents, bur 
 ros, man and all. I believe you are right too, 
 about it s being Mclnnis. But do you suppose 
 there is another man upon earth besides that 
 Scotchman who would climb up to such a place 
 as that to prospect for a mine? And where do 
 you suppose Dave is?" 
 
 " He can t be very far away," replied Phil, 
 " for the reason that he could n t get away, ap 
 parently, without falling off the shelf. Say, 
 Ken, I 11 try to call him, if you agree to wait a 
 little while and help me." 
 
 "Call him! Wait for you! What in the 
 world are you talking about, Phil? " 
 
 " Do you remember the helioscope that Dave 
 and I made and used to experiment with? Well, 
 I have it right here. I smuggled it into the 
 pack along with my clothes. You see it does n t 
 take up any great room, or weigh much," Phil 
 added by way of apology, "and Dave and I 
 
TJ1K FLASH MKSSAGK. 1 7 
 
 talked it over and agreed to take them along with 
 us. We thought they might come into good 
 use. Dave has the mate to it over yonder, and 
 this is as good a chance as we could possibly 
 ask to find out whether or not they are of any 
 value. " 
 
 Ken glanced up at the sun, took out his 
 watch, and then said: 
 
 "Well, it s not quite twelve o clock. Neal 
 has probably just come from the place where 
 they are at work, and is now getting dinner. 
 This is a good time to try it on, and if you can 
 manage to communicate with the boys over there 
 by means of it, I will forgive you for making 
 Sancho tote it without my knowledge. I have n t 
 very much faith in the thing, though." 
 
 11 Well, Ken, I would n t have brought it, and 
 I would n t ask to try it now, if I were not con 
 fident of what can be done with it. I will either 
 make Dave tell us how to reach their perch, or 
 throw the apparatus down into the basin here. 
 Come, we will have to undo the pack." 
 
 The " pack"- - which was a large, shapeless 
 bundle done up in a piece of light duck was 
 hastily undone, and lifted from Sancho s back to 
 the ground. 
 
 Spreading it open, Phil selected a flour-sack, 
 which contained his own personal belongings, 
 
1 8 THK P.IG-iroRX TRKASUKK. 
 
 and, quickly untying the string, thrust in his arm. 
 After a moment s fumbling he drew out a woolen 
 shirt, and, unrolling it, brought to view a small, 
 flat, wooden box. Opening this he took out a 
 number of articles or pieces which might have 
 puzzled any one but himself to state their use. 
 
 "Please hand me the telescope, Ken," he 
 saicl. 
 
 Taking the glass, he selected two pieces from 
 his box that were exactly alike, and fastened 
 them to the telescope by means of clamps and 
 set-screws, with which they were fitted. Both 
 pieces he fixed to one side of the glass, one near 
 the object end, the other several inches farther 
 back, and exactly in line with each other. These 
 were simply round pasteboard disks about four 
 inches in breadth, with a hole in the center 
 about an inch in diameter. 
 
 Then he took a small mirror about two inches 
 broad, also fitted with clamps, and with a swivel 
 arrangement so that it could be moved in any 
 direction. This he fastened nearest to the eye 
 piece of the telescope, and also exactly in line 
 with the two disks. The mirror had a very small 
 space in its center, from which the quicksilver had 
 been scraped, enabling one to peep from the back 
 of the mirror through the holes in both disks. 
 
 Lastly, he fastened another clamp to the cen- 
 
THE FLASH MESSAGE. 1 9 
 
 ter and under side of the telescope, to which was 
 attached, by a swivel with an up-and-down 
 movement, a round brass pin that fitted into a 
 socket in a flat block of wood. This served as a 
 standard. 
 
 11 There," said Phil, " that s all there is to it. 
 Do you think I can talk to Dave with the thing? " 
 
 11 I have heard of something of the sort, and 
 I m sure you have my best and most earnest 
 wishes," replied Ken, but I do not by any 
 means feel sure of it." 
 
 11 Dave and I have tried it before, although 
 never at such long range as this. It will work 
 though, I promise you," said Phil confidently. 
 
 Phil then placed his instrument upon a flat, 
 smooth rock and pointed it carefully toward the 
 distant tents. After sighting and focusing the 
 telescope, he next turned the mirror so that it 
 would reflect the rays of the sun and cast them 
 upon the center of the pasteboard disk in front. 
 As the holes in the two disks were in line, and 
 in the same plane with the telescope, a small, 
 round, but dazzling reflection was throw r n across 
 the valley, touching the ground near the tents. 
 
 Phil now began carefully to manipulate his in 
 strument, so as to attract the attention of the 
 distant man to the reflection. This required 
 much care and considerable skill, as, at the dis- 
 
20 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 tancc to which it was thrown, a slight deflection 
 
 of the instrument made quite a difference in the 
 
 direction of the flash. 
 
 I shall have to keep my eye to the telescope, 
 
 Ken," he said, " and if you will please watch the 
 
 mirror so as to keep it right with the sun, I think 
 
 I shall surprise Neal pretty soon." 
 
 For some moments neither of them spoke, 
 
 Phil meanwhile shifting his flash ever so slightly 
 
 to the right, then to the left, then up, then down; 
 
 but it seemed to dodge the man upon all sides. 
 At last he whispered, "Ah! I hit him then! 
 
 He noticed it and looked around." In another 
 minute he said excitedly, "I ve got him now, 
 sure. He s standing up and looking this way. 
 Get a shirt or a blanket, Ken, and wave it. 
 Quick! " 
 
 Ken seized the nearest article and waved it 
 back and forth, saying, "Do you think he sees 
 us, Phil?" 
 
 " I m sure he sees something," Phil replied, 
 "but I guess he hasn t quite got his wits col 
 lected yet. He s gone into the tent on the run 
 now. I 11 bet anything he s after their glass. 
 Here he comes again ! Yes, he s right in the 
 same spot, and I believe he s pointing the glass 
 this way. Keep on waving to him, Ken! Hur 
 rah! He s caught on! He s waving his hat 
 
THE FLASH MKSSACK. 21 
 
 now! He sees us, and recognizes us. Now he s 
 off, running as fast as he can go, -out of sight 
 in the bushes. He s gone after Dave! " 
 
 Ken was laughing -gleefully, and was quite as 
 much excited as Phil ; but he asked, rather doubt 
 fully, " Did you really see all that, Phil? I can t 
 see anything at all over there, except the two 
 specks of tents. " 
 
 To which Phil replied with great satisfaction 
 and importance, "You just wait a few minutes, 
 and you 11 see. Dave won t hang on to his pick 
 or shovel very long after Neal gets to him. He 
 will have to fix the instrument and do the tele 
 graphing, as Neal don t know anything about 
 the combination. We use the Morse alphabet. 
 You know, Dave and I both learned to be pretty 
 fair telegraph-operators, and it was through that 
 that we got to experimenting with the helioscope. 
 
 " Here they both come, running hard. Now 
 Neal is pointing his arm this way, and Dave has 
 the glass. Their working-place must be right 
 close at hand. Dave is making a good, careful 
 survey of us. Are you waving to him, Ken? " 
 
 " Yes, I m giving it to him strong, " replied Ken. 
 
 "All right, ha, ha! He is capering about 
 now. Both of them are dancing and waving their 
 hats. Now I 11 give him the first salute. He 
 can read my dots and dashes easily with his 
 
22 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 naked eye, but he will have to fix up his instru 
 ment to answer me. Here goes. Now don t 
 disturb me, please." 
 
 Phil then took an envelope from his pocket, 
 and, usinff it to obscure the reflection from his 
 
 o 
 
 mirror, made a rapid succession of "dots" of 
 light by moving it up and down. 
 
 Then he began, a short flash for a dot, and a 
 long one for a dash. " Hello, boys! " he (or the 
 instrument) said; "we got off the trail. Fix 
 your instrument and tell us how to get over there. 
 Hurry up ! We want to reach there before dark. 
 
 Phil now placed his eye to the instrument 
 again, explaining to Ken, as he did so, what his 
 flash-message had been. 
 
 " Do you suppose he read it? " asked Ken. 
 
 " Yes, he s waving his hat again. He got it 
 all right. Now he s gone into the tent. He 
 will hustle his apparatus together and do some 
 talking himself, presently." 
 
 In a few moments Phil said: "Dave is out 
 again and sitting upon the ground. I fancy he 
 is putting his helioscope together. Neal is bring 
 ing something too; I guess it s the camp-table, 
 for Dave to set the instrument on." 
 
 For a little while nothing more was said. Then 
 Phil spoke suddenly: "I believe he is all ready, 
 and is going to let us have it." 
 
" \ LL GIVE HIM THE FIRST SALUTE. 
 
T1IK FLASH MKSSAOK. 25 
 
 Immediately there came a brilliant flash. Yes, 
 here he comes," said Phil; kt now he s going to 
 talk." 
 
 Then followed a succession of flashes. Then, 
 more slowly, came the dot-and-dash message, 
 which Phil spelled out for Ken. 
 
 It said: "Glad to see you, fellows. Shake. 
 Go back down the trail till you come to creek, 
 and cross to other side. Then follow up creek 
 to the ice bridge; cross again and keep on up 
 stream. You can t miss west-side trail, but 
 steep and rather dangerous. I will meet you 
 near the bottom. Are you all right? " 
 
 To which Phil replied : 
 
 Yes, all right. How is your prospect ? Any 
 thing worth staying with? " Again came Dave s 
 prompt answer: 
 
 "Yes, rich in old. We think carries silver 
 
 o 
 
 too, but no complete test yet. Can t explain 
 now. Come and see. Must get lunch, then 
 take the trail. Hurry along. Don t stop." 
 
 "All right. Au revoir," returned Phil; to 
 which came back, " So long." 
 
 Phil took another glance through the tele 
 scope and said : 
 
 " He s putting away his glass. We must do 
 the same and pack up lively." 
 
 Ken, to whom Phil had interpreted the sue- 
 
26 TIIK me;- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 ccssivc messages back and forth, then said: 
 "Well, Phil, I apologize. Your helioscope is all 
 right, and has probably saved us much trouble. 
 I will withhold my sarcasms next time." 
 
 " That s all right, Ken," replied Phil, "there 
 is nothing original about the instrument or its 
 use. Dave and I happened to have tried it, 
 that s all." 
 
 "Well, it was a happy thought that led you 
 to bring it up here." 
 
 "Yes, I am very glad we did," said Phil. 
 
 The boys were meanwhile busily engaged put 
 ting the pack into shape. This was speedily ac 
 complished ; Sancho was turned about, the pack 
 lifted again into its place, and securely roped to 
 the pack-saddle. 
 
 Then, with one minute s last look around at 
 the matchless landscape and one brief glance into 
 the blue depths of the basin beneath them, Ken 
 shouted, "Come, Sancho, get up! Supper, 
 boy! Grass and water over yonder! 
 
 As Sancho belonged to an unemotional race, 
 he did not plunge or hurry at this cheery saluta 
 tion. He groaned, hesitated, then slowly started, 
 and the small caravan began to pick its rough 
 and hazardous way over the rocks Ken leading, 
 the burro following, and Phil bringing up the 
 rear. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 A HUNTING TRIP, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 
 
 While Phil and Ken are retracing their steps 
 toward the valley we will leave them for a mo 
 ment, and in a few words explain who they were 
 and what was the nature of their errand to the 
 mountains. 
 
 Philip Wentworth s father had been a St. 
 Louis business man who had gone heavily into 
 Colorado investments. 
 
 Some five years before our story opens he had 
 died quite suddenly while returning from the 
 mountains, where he had been looking up some 
 of his interests. 
 
 The widow soon learned that the business 
 affairs of her deceased husband were much in 
 volved, and after careful consideration she de 
 cided to take up her residence in Denver, as be 
 ing more nearly the center of the interests she 
 was in hopes of preserving. 
 
 During the five years since her removal from 
 St. Louis some of the investments had turned 
 out very badly, some were involved in dispute, 
 
 27 
 
28 THE I5K1-IIORX TRKAST RK. 
 
 while still others scorned to give promise of fu 
 ture value, but she had not found much upon 
 which she had been able to realize. 
 
 However, with Phil s assistance, who, as he 
 approached manhood, developed excellent busi 
 ness ability and judgment, she had been able to 
 gather together enough to insure tolerable com 
 fort for herself and son, so she decided to retain 
 a few interests, in the hope that their value would 
 be greater in the course of time. 
 
 o 
 
 Phil and Kenneth Carter had been friends from 
 boyhood, and at school in St. Louis the simi 
 larity of their tastes had made the friendship still 
 stronger. Phil had manifested quite a decided 
 inclination toward mechanics and engineering, 
 but his mother had seemed to need his assistance, 
 and it therefore became necessary for him to 
 leave school before he could accomplish his wish 
 for a course in engineering. 
 
 After removing to Denver he had become 
 acquainted with David Ballard, who was study- 
 chemistry and assaying at the school of mines, 
 and the two boys were at once drawn together as 
 intimates and friends. Phil had a room at his 
 mother s home which he used as a workshop, 
 and here he invited Dave, where together they 
 worked and talked, giving and exchanging many 
 ideas of interest and value to both. 
 
A IIUXTIXC; TRIP. 29 
 
 What especially attracted Phil to David was 
 the lad s perfect self-reliance and manliness. He 
 had spent nearly all his life in the mountains. 
 His father had been a mechanic in the employ of 
 one of the large mining companies, and had been 
 killed by an accident. His mother had died not 
 long before, thus leaving David and one sister, 
 two years younger than himself, orphaned and 
 alone, but not entirely penniless. His father had 
 accumulated a small fund of savings from his 
 wages, and the company, after his accidental 
 death, had bestowed the sum of two thousand 
 dollars upon each of the children. 
 
 But now Dave s independent and manly spirit 
 asserted itself. Retaining only what he thought 
 he would need to carry him through his course in 
 assaying, he conferred the balance of the whole 
 sum upon his sister Lucy, placed her in the fam 
 ily of their aunt in Denver, and insisted that she 
 have the advantage of a good education. 
 
 The summer preceding the one wherein this 
 narrative opens, Phil received a letter from his 
 old chum, Ken Carter. It was written from his 
 father s home in St. Louis, and stated that he 
 was greatly out of health. Ken had recently fin 
 ished his university course and made a beginning 
 at reading law. which profession he had intended 
 following; but it was now feared that he had a 
 
30 THE TUG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 tendency toward lung weakness, and the family 
 physician advised a change of climate, recom 
 mending a long visit in Colorado, with out-door 
 life. 
 
 Kenneth asked Phil many questions about the 
 conditions and the climate ; whether life was re 
 garded as endurable in a place like Denver; and, 
 in case he should go farther on, into the mountains, 
 what sort of surroundings he was to expect, etc. 
 
 Phil replied that, while he was extremely sorry 
 for his old chum s ill-health, he would be more 
 than glad to welcome him to Colorado. He was 
 certain, he said, that the climate would benefit 
 him ; and as for the life and surroundings, he 
 might trust him to make it as pleasant for him 
 as possible. " Come and see," he said; " I am 
 sure you will like Colorado, as we all do." 
 
 He went, almost at once, and Phil, with his 
 mother s sanction, asked him to their own home. 
 
 As soon as they met, Phil was struck with much 
 concern for his friend s health. The symptoms, 
 to him, were plainly consumptive, and he had 
 become rather expert in his judgment regarding 
 ailments of invalids, of whom there were great 
 numbers (particularly consumptives) continually 
 coming into the state from the East. 
 
 The weather in the city during that season 
 was unusually warm and dry; and, to Phil s so- 
 
licitous eyes, it seemed as though Ken did not 
 improve. One day, while talking the matter 
 over with his new friend, Dave Ballard, Phil 
 asked Dave if he did not think that being in the 
 mountains and out of doors would be better for 
 Ken than the city. 
 
 " It s the very thing he ought to have," re 
 plied Dave. " I would be willing to warrant 
 that if he will try it, it will bring him around in 
 a few weeks." 
 
 "Then I certainly must get him to try it," 
 said Phil. " But we shall have to arrange some 
 sort of scheme or programme in advance, for 
 Ken seems to dread the rough life of the moun 
 tains. 
 
 " It must be the sickness that has taken away 
 his nerve. It s not the way he used to be. Say, 
 Dave, can t we get up some sort of a hunting 
 party? " 
 
 " I wish we might," said Dave, whose eyes 
 immediately began to glow with the anticipation 
 of his beloved mountains. " How r many persons 
 do you want in the company? " 
 
 " O, almost any number of good fellows; I 
 should think four would make a good party," 
 replied Phil. 
 
 Well, then, let me suggest something," said 
 Dave. "You talk your friend Ken into going, 
 
and I will send word to an acquaintance of mint , 
 a miner and prospector, who has been every 
 where, and knows of more good places than any 
 man in the state. He and my father thought 
 much of each other, and he will do a good deal 
 for me. I have roughed it with him already, 
 and know him to be absolutely reliable in good 
 weather and bad, and a splendid fellow too. 
 
 " But there s one thing, though," and Dave 
 began to speak somewhat hesitatingly; " do you 
 suppose, Phil, that we can afford to pay him for 
 his services as guide and assistant? I know he 
 is broke, and at present he is working by the 
 month for one of the mines. I know his dispo 
 sition well enough to be certain that he would 
 like to join us under any circumstances, but I m 
 afraid he will feel, just now, that he can t afford 
 it." 
 
 Phil laughed gaily at Dave s modest way of 
 urging his friend, and exclaimed: "Pay him? 
 Well, I should think we would ! We will pay him 
 better wages than he is getting now, and think 
 ourselves very lucky to get him. I d like to 
 give you a gold medal, too, for speaking of him. 
 You must remember, Dave, that Ken is rich, 
 and his people would gladly spend a fortune to 
 be able to restore his health. As this thing is 
 being planned for his especial benefit, you will 
 
sec, ill case it comes off at all, that Ken will in 
 sist upon paying for its entire cost. Hut, to get 
 the negotiations started off upon a business basis, 
 I want to say that I will guarantee it all myself. 
 I am not rich, but I would do it alone if neces 
 sary. Of course I shall pay my own expenses 
 anyhow, and I want to pay yours too, Dave." 
 
 "Thank you very much, but you can t have 
 that pleasure," said Dave firmly. " It will not 
 cost me a great deal, and I shall pay it myself." 
 
 Well, we will arrange that when we come to 
 the clean up, " said Phil. "Now, about this 
 friend of yours. 
 
 "He is of Scotch parents, and his name is 
 Neal Mclnnis; a comparatively young man, 
 although I do not know his precise age, and 
 he has been knocking about the world, princi 
 pally the West, ever since a lad. He seems to 
 have been almost from end to end of the Rocky 
 Mountains, and his fund of anecdotes of his per 
 sonal experience is remarkable. In many re 
 spects he is a typical prospector; I presume you 
 do not know the class, as I do, I will tell you 
 about them some time, but, in general, I think 
 he is an exceptional man. He is bright and 
 witty, honest to a fault, uneducated, but very 
 intelligent, always good-tempered, and the very 
 best company imaginable. 
 
34 THE UK; -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " I know I have a tendency to be enthusiastic 
 about Neal, but I am sure that a better man than 
 he for such an expedition could not be found 
 in the whole West. He will be great medicine 
 for Ken. Neal and the mountain life will make 
 a new man of him in short order." 
 
 "But are you sure we can get him?" asked 
 Phil anxiously. 
 
 "Yes, I heard from him only lately, and it is 
 only the pinch of necessity that keeps him where 
 he is. He longs for the free life of the moun 
 tains; and then, like all prospectors, he wants to 
 accumulate enough money to enable him to 
 chase up some old idea of a mineral discovery. 
 lie will jump at the chance to go, especially if 
 we offer him a little more pay than he is now 
 getting. You go and hunt up Ken, and get 
 him interested, and I will get a letter off to Neal 
 immediately afterward. " 
 
 Phil lost no time in telling Ken of the pro 
 posed hunt, and his interest was aroused with 
 far less difficulty than had been imagined. 
 
 Dave and Phil then went about their prepara 
 tions with the greatest enthusiasm, and in a 
 few days a reply came from Neal Mclnnis say 
 ing that he would be very glad to join them. 
 
 The outcome of it was, not to continue to 
 too great a length the account of previous occur- 
 
A HUXTIXC; TRIP. 35 
 
 renccs, that one morning, about two weeks 
 later, the expedition left Denver, headed for the 
 mountains. 
 
 Ncal had written that he would meet them at 
 a given point over the range, and that he had 
 his own saddle-horse; so that the caravan, after 
 Ncal had joined them, consisted of the three 
 young men and their guide, and six animals, 
 two of which were pack-horses. 
 
 It will suffice to state that the hunt was a 
 glorious success. It was a round of pleasure, 
 without a serious mishap or an unpleasant inci 
 dent, from first to last. 
 
 Ken s health began to improve from the first 
 day out ; and in a few weeks he was as enthu 
 siastic a mountaineer, and as brown, active, and 
 athletic, as his companions. 
 
 Game of all sorts was abundant, and so easily 
 obtained that the lads quickly settled into a plan 
 of killing only as their needs required. 
 
 As theirs was not a slaughtering expedition, 
 and their needs were supplied with little effort, 
 the party devoted the larger part of its time to 
 wandering hither and thither, obtaining the 
 highest enjoyment from visiting points of inter 
 est, and viewing the scenes of beauty and 
 grandeur which were upon every hand. 
 
 One evening, after having been out for several 
 
3<> TIII-: BIO-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 weeks, all were sitting around their bright camp- 
 fire. 
 
 Supper was over, and the boys were having 
 their usual round of pleasant conversation and 
 anecdote. 
 
 The subject this evening was mines and min 
 eral discovery. 
 
 Ken had remarked to Neal that he saw him 
 examining the rocks over which their trail led 
 during the afternoon. 
 
 Neal laughed and said: "The habit has got 
 such a big hold on me that it is the strongest 
 part of me now, I guess. I found a little piece 
 of galena float, and was trying to see if there 
 was any more of it." 
 
 11 Did you find any more?" asked Ken. 
 
 "Yes, I found a little more, but the rock 
 seems very lean. It did n t seem to me worth 
 spending any time over. This locality we have 
 been in for the last few days seems quite barren 
 of mineral, compared to the district south of 
 here." 
 
 " Neal thinks he can never rest contented un 
 til he makes a careful examination of a part of 
 the county that he was in a year ago. He wants 
 me to turn prospector and go with him next 
 year," said Dave. 
 
 " And do you think of doing so? " asked Ken. 
 
37 
 
 " No, I hardly think Neal will persuade me," 
 laughed Dave. "The amusement is too expen 
 sive for a young man with a career to make, such 
 as I. There is nobody who would enjoy finding 
 a good mine any more than I would, though; 
 and when Neal gets to talking in his positive way 
 about the great things that are going to be found 
 down yonder, I feel as though I would like to 
 start right off. But when I soberly figure up 
 the percentage of chances the average person 
 has of striking anything, my judgment says 
 No. " 
 
 Ken then turned to Neal and asked: "What 
 reason have you, Neal, for supposing that im 
 portant discoveries will be made in the district 
 Dave refers to? " 
 
 "Well," replied Neal, "I believe it will be 
 found to be a rich country for two reasons. I 
 was in there a year ago and I never in my life 
 saw as much rich float rock lying around as 
 there is there. That, I suppose, is the main 
 thing. But there is something else I look at 
 that s very important too. It s high up in the 
 mountains, with only ragged, towering rocks and 
 narrow gulches, and although that will make it 
 hard work to get about, and the summer season 
 is, of course, very short, still these objections to 
 the prospector are offset by the fact that what- 
 
3$ THE Hid- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 ever is there must be right in sight, and not 
 covered up with earth. You will be able to see 
 and trace the veins even at a distance. 
 
 There arc veins too, and large ones, because 
 I saw the quartz float carrying mineral that 
 came out of them. I am going down there next 
 summer, sure thing; that is, if I can get enough 
 together to outfit me and see me through." 
 
 " I have been trying to persuade Dave to go 
 with me, for selfish reasons, I suppose. I know 
 he has got the right kind of stuff in him, and he 
 is the kind of partner I would like to have. A 
 man needs a good partner in that sort of country. 
 But, on the other hand, I surely would n t want 
 Dave to go with me if I didn t feel that the 
 chances are first class for striking something 
 good. " 
 
 " I am sure you mean just what you say, 
 Neal," said Ken; "but why didn t you stay 
 long enough when you were there to make a 
 careful examination of the country?" 
 
 "It was late in the season," replied Neal. 
 " My provisions were low and the indications 
 were for an unusually early winter. Snow had 
 already begun to fall, and if you once saw the 
 country you would appreciate what it would 
 mean to be snowed-up there when not prepared 
 for it." 
 
39 
 
 Dave," exclaimed Ken, "why don t you 
 go with Neal and try it? " 
 
 " If I were differently situated," replied Dave, 
 "I would do so. I have ambition enough to 
 carry me there and farther too but Phil 
 knows how I am placed." 
 
 " I think I understand you, Dave, and I hope 
 you will pardon me for questioning you," said 
 Ken. 
 
 He became silent for a few minutes, then spoke 
 again. 
 
 " Fellows," he said, " I am going to propose 
 something. Now, please don t misapprehend my 
 meaning. This is strictly a business proposition. 
 Neal has aroused my curiosity and interest in 
 this locality of his to such an extent that I be 
 lieve I would offer myself to him as a chum if I 
 did n t know in advance that he would reject 
 me. This is what I am thinking of, Neal. If 
 Phil and I will agree to outfit and stake you and 
 Dave, will you give us an interest in what you 
 find? And, Dave, would you like to join in and 
 go with Neal under such conditions? " 
 
 Neal was the first to reply, and said simply, 
 " I will, and thank you for the offer. Will you 
 go, Dave? " 
 
 "Yes," said Dave, "upon one condition. 
 . Ken has said it is a business proposition. Very 
 
40 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 well, then, we will be equal partners. Ken and 
 Phil furnishing the money, you and I will do the 
 work, and the proceeds of the venture if any 
 will be divided equally between the labor and 
 the capital." 
 
 "Oh! no," said Ken eagerly, "Phil and I 
 could n t take more than a third between us. 
 We would even be content with a quarter." 
 
 Both Neal and Dave then spoke, insisting that 
 it should be an equal division. 
 
 Up to this time Phil had remained a silent lis 
 tener. Now he spoke, saying, " I think, Ken, it 
 will be better to have it as Dave and Neal propose. 
 I know they will be better satisfied." 
 
 So it was arranged upon that basis and carried 
 out the following year. 
 
 Dave and Neal set out in June. It was 
 arranged that in case they found anything of 
 value, they were to endeavor to find some means 
 of sending word to Denver, and that, according 
 to the nature of the news received, Phil and Ken 
 would set out to join them. 
 
 About the first of August Phil received a brief 
 letter from Dave. It was dated July 2Oth, and 
 read as follows : 
 
 "DEAR PHIL; We have found something. The 
 vein is six feet wide at the surface and broadening 
 as we go in. Neal is certain that it is high grade 
 
41 
 
 in gold. For myself, I can t say, but it looks flat 
 tering. Come over, both of you. liring a portable 
 assay furnace and re-agents. Take the train to 
 Bald Eagle, thence by Paradise Valley to Porphyry 
 Creek. Follow creek northwesterly about twenty 
 miles to the ice bridge. Cross over and you will 
 see our trail. We are three miles beyond. Come 
 soon as possible. Hastily yours, DAVE." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE "SLIDE" SANCHO S MISADVENTURE. 
 
 The precarious nature of the ground over 
 which their course lay made conversation be 
 tween the boys, for a time, out of the question. 
 But in about an hour they reached a broad, 
 comparatively smooth space which, although 
 having a downward inclination, enabled Ken to 
 drop behind the burro and walk beside Phil. 
 
 How, do you suppose," he asked, "we 
 made such a blunder in missing the trail?" 
 
 "It s my fault," replied Phil; "I ought to 
 have stuck to the plain directions in Dave s let 
 ter, and not have strayed away and made you 
 follow, too in a chase after my brilliant and 
 original idea. It s all so clear now, that I don t 
 see how I could have been such a chump. You 
 noticed that Dave repeated in his flash-message 
 what he had told us before in his letter that 
 we must keep along up the creek to the ice 
 bridge. As we didn t see any ice bridge, we 
 of course, left the creek too soon. 
 
 " I did n t forget any part of the letter, and was 
 42 
 
TIIK "SLIDE" SANCHO S MISADVENTURE. 43 
 
 on the lookout for the bridge up to the point 
 where we turned away from the stream. At that 
 point, you remember, we came to a steep slope 
 covered with loose, sliding shale-rock. It did n t 
 look, to me, as though the route lay across there, 
 or hardly as though anybody could cross it with 
 a burro and pack; so I put my wonderful think 
 ing-machine to work, and reasoned it out this way. 
 
 " We have n t found the ice bridge, I said 
 to myself, " but the warm weather since Dave s 
 letter must have melted it away. We will ford 
 the creek here, and find the trail on the other 
 side. 
 
 "Well, you know r , we did find something 
 that looked a little bit like a trail, and kept on 
 going. So, here we are. Dave and Neal will 
 give me a great laugh, I suppose." 
 
 " O, well, I would probably have done just 
 the same thing if I had been leading," said Ken 
 generously. "That slope with the sliding rock 
 was a place which no prudent man \vould be in a 
 hurry to trifle with, and it was natural for you 
 to conclude that the trail could n t run across it." 
 
 "I am not at all sure you would have made 
 the same mistake," said Phil 1 , "but you are 
 rather consoling. There is another long steep 
 stretch here, and I suppose one of us will have 
 to take the lead again." 
 
44 TIII-: BIG HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "Yes, I will go ahead," responded Ken, and 
 lie at once sprang forward and led the way down 
 the rugged and winding declivity. 
 
 Another hour, or more, passed, during which 
 there was no further chance for conversation. 
 
 Finally Ken stopped, calling out, "Whoa, 
 Sancho ! " Then, as Phil came up, he said: 
 
 "It is just below here that we crossed the 
 creek, and yonder, on the other side, is the slide, 
 which I suppose we will have to creep over, 
 somehow. " 
 
 "Yes," said Phil, pausing for a careful scru 
 tiny of the broad stretch of sloping mountain 
 side which was nearly opposite them, on the 
 other side of the gulch, "from here, it doesn t 
 look very bad, either. I m more and more 
 disgusted ! " 
 
 " I am afraid we will find it to be more diffi 
 cult than it appears from this point of view," 
 said Ken. "Still, I hope it won t prove very 
 bad." 
 
 "Well," exclaimed Phil with energy, "the 
 sooner we are about it, the quicker we will know. 
 If the other boys crossed with their two burros, 
 it ought to be simple with one. Come, Sancho ! 
 Down you go. Here s a chance for a drink and 
 an elegant ice-cold bath." 
 
 The creek was as rapid as a mill-race, but not 
 
THE " SLIDE" SAXCHO S MISADVENTURE. 45 
 
 extremely deep nor very broad at this point ; 
 and after a slippery scramble and a cold wetting 
 all around, they were shortly upon the other side 
 and climbing the mountain slope. 
 
 When at length they reached the place from 
 whence they had turned aside in the forenoon, 
 Phil began a careful examination of the ground. 
 He went some distance down the trail, closely 
 scrutinizing the ground on each side, above and 
 below, but he at length returned, saying: "As 
 far as the indications go, the trail comes squarely 
 to an end here at the slide. They could n t rise 
 into the air and fly, so they must have gone 
 across on foot, eh, Ken?" 
 
 There s no doubt about that now, of course, 
 replied Ken. "They went across right here at 
 this point, and the reason why we can see no 
 trail is that the loose shale has shifted and slid 
 farther down hill since they went over. Possi 
 bly it moved as soon as they entered it." Here 
 upon Ken advanced a few steps along the slope 
 among the rocks and debris. "No," he said, 
 returning, "it s most likely that the stones 
 did n t awake to life and animation until our boys 
 had passed over and beyond. They could n t 
 have regarded it as anything to be afraid of, 
 though, or there would have been something 
 said about it in the letter Dave wrote. 
 
46 THE BK;-IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 " O, of course it can t be anything very danger 
 ous," said Phil, somwhat impatiently. " We 
 are losing time, and unless we lift our feet lively 
 we may have a night s cold comfort somewhere 
 along the side of the mountain." 
 
 Yes, there s no use in delaying," returned 
 Ken; "but before we start, Phil, I want to 
 offer a suggestion. There is a feature about this 
 place which I think you have n t noticed, nor do 
 I believe our boys saw it when they passed, be 
 cause it s only to be seen from the other side of 
 the creek where we have been. I saw it just 
 before we crossed. This loose sliding stuff is, 
 apparently, some five or six hundred feet in 
 width. Now, what I noticed was that the last 
 half of it, or the side farthest from here, instead 
 of continuing to slope downward to the bottom 
 of the gulch, breaks off in an abrupt cliff where 
 the creek bends inward. When the slide is in 
 motion the stuff at the opposite side yonder must 
 make a clean drop of three hundred feet into the 
 creek and be carried below by the swift current. 
 The thing for us to do, then, is to try to work- 
 diagonally up hill all the way over, and also to try 
 and pass from one fixed rock to another. The 
 largest rocks in sight look to me as if they were 
 in place. I will go ahead, as before, and you 
 keep Sancho moving from one rock to another." 
 
TIIK "SLIDE"- SANCHO S MISADVKNTI RK. 47 
 
 "All right; no fear but what I 11 keep him 
 moving. \Ye re in need of moving. Come." 
 
 So they started. For one half the way the 
 boys impressions were that it was merely some 
 what more unpleasant walking than usual. The 
 slope was nearly thirty degrees from the hori 
 zontal, or about as steep as loose rock could lie 
 upon, and there was nowhere any firm or secure 
 footing. Every step was from one flat or irreg 
 ular piece of rock to another, and every piece of 
 rock thus stepped upon invariably slid downward 
 a trifle. As they were working their way in an 
 upward direction, so as to overcome the ground 
 lost through slipping, it was necessarily a most 
 laborous task, and they were compelled to halt 
 for breath and strength every few moments. But 
 the boys could see that they were steadily pro 
 gressing, and the stream did not display any ap 
 parent tendency to flow; so that Phil was almost 
 upon the point of calling out to Ken that they 
 might as well save their strength by moving in a 
 horizontal instead of an upward direction, when 
 Ken turned abruptly, saying: "This rock we 
 are on now is in place ; it is a part of the moun 
 tain formation, and you see that the rock-stream, 
 when it flows, is divided here by a sort of island. 
 The rest of the way is undoubtedly the worst 
 part, for it not only seems to be a little steeper, 
 
48 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 but it is just below here that the cliff begins. 
 Let s take a good breath and make up our minds 
 to get across with as little stopping to rest as 
 possible. If it does n t start to flow, we are all 
 right, of course; but if it does, it is simply a ques 
 tion of how quickly we can scramble to the other 
 side in order to save our necks. Is Sancho s 
 cinch all right? " 
 
 " Yes, everything is O. K. Still, I doubt if so 
 much caution is necessary, for I feel sure now 
 that we are easily going to make the other half 
 without any trouble at all," returned Phil. 
 
 " I hope you are right, Phil," said Ken. " I 
 don t doubt but we shall do it, but a little fore 
 thought is n t going to do any harm. Come, 
 let s go. If the stuff begins to move, remem- 
 
 o o 
 
 ber we must keep our footing and keep striking 
 out for the other side, too, as fast as we can. 
 Sancho wilt be the worst trouble." 
 
 They had advanced about fifty paces, in the 
 same order and manner as before, when some 
 thing seemed to give way below, and the boys 
 realized that they were sliding steadily down 
 ward. A moment s glance around told them 
 that the whole mass was in motion, above, be 
 low, and around. The noise which was a com 
 bined rattling, grinding, and crushing quickly 
 grew into a roar, and Ken s voice, as he turned 
 
THE "SLIDE" SAXCIIO S MISADVENTURE. 49 
 
 and shouted back at Phil, did not reach him. 
 Phil could only understand by his gesture and 
 waving arms that they were to keep moving as 
 fast as possible toward the point directly oppo 
 site them. Phil struck Sancho sharply and re 
 peatedly to urge him on, and the faithful little 
 fellow, wise and judicious beyond belief, - 
 without a trace of nervousness or fear, strained 
 to the fullest to quicken his speed. They were 
 certainly advancing, but they were also as cer 
 tainly sliding with irresistible and constantly in 
 creasing speed toward they knew not what. 
 Suddenly Sancho stumbled and fell. Phil strug 
 gled to his assistance, but was himself thrown, 
 and lay almost helpless until Ken, turning about, 
 seized Sancho by the head, turned it up hill, and 
 succeeded in helping him to his feet, Phil follow 
 ing. There was no time to loosen the cinch, or 
 
 o 
 
 even to cut the pack loose, and nothnig to think 
 of but to get beyond reach of the horrible stream 
 of grinding porphyry. So they struggled on, 
 panting, falling again and again, bruised, nearly 
 spent, but determined. Then Ken, turning 
 again, pointed below them to a line where every 
 thing was broken off and disappearing. Throwing 
 himself to the rear, he seized Phil s hand and 
 struggled onward again, leaving the burro be 
 hind them. The flat rocks slipped from beneath 
 
50 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 as their feet struck them ; heavy boulders, which 
 threatened to overwhelm and crush, rolled 
 past them and against their limbs ; now Phil 
 would fall, now Ken, but they staggered on, 
 while the resistless chocolate-colored current bore 
 them steadily downward. 
 
 They were gliding nearer to the fearful brink, 
 and the roar was becoming yet more deafening; 
 but nearer also was their approach to the fringe 
 of upright rocks and bushes which formed the 
 shore of the river that was neither fluid nor solid. 
 A few steps more, another fall, a battling strug 
 gle to rise, a last plunge forward, and Ken s 
 right hand seized a projecting root firmly im 
 bedded in the bank. 
 
 Phil was down, and almost fainting as he drew 
 him up, and then both lay prone upon solid ground. 
 
 Not long did they remain thus prostrate. With 
 their returning breath came renewed anxiety for 
 Sancho and the pack. 
 
 The intrinsic value of the bundle which Sancho 
 bore was, to the boys, vastly greater than the 
 poor beast himself, but their humane and gener 
 ous instincts were uppermost in an emergency 
 like this, and their solicitude was chiefly for the 
 donkey. 
 
 That small but stout-hearted animal had, 
 meanwhile, been fighting for life in his own pe- 
 

 1S& 
 
 THE ROCKS SLIPPED FROM BENEATH THEIR KEKT. 
 
THE "SLIDE" SANCHO S MISADVENTURE. 53 
 
 culiar way. With a methodical, reasoning judg 
 ment, in marked contrast to his cousin the 
 horse (of whose nervous and excitable tempera 
 ment he had no great opinion), the overburdened 
 and weary Sancho, buffeted, bruised, and fre 
 quently overturned by the flinty torrent, but 
 with senses all alert, kept his plodding way after 
 his masters. 
 
 When Ken and Phil lay gasping for breath at 
 the edge of the slide the donkey had been car 
 ried farther clown, and managed to reach the 
 margin at a point only a few feet above the brink 
 of the cataract. 
 
 The channel of the rock-flow was defined at 
 this place by a narrow parallel riclge of rock, 
 which, on its farther side, fell away sharply tow 
 ard the creek. 
 
 Sancho managed to drag himself from the mass 
 of sliding rubbish, and to obtain here a precari 
 ous footing, where, shortly, he was discovered 
 by the boys, who set up a joyful shout. 
 
 " He looks rather pensive, but seems to be 
 sound and whole," said Phil. " By the way, 
 Ken, are you hurt? " 
 
 " No, not to speak of. I guess there must be 
 a little skin gone from my legs and elbows, that s 
 all. How is it with you? " 
 
 " O, I m all right, except my disheveled con- 
 
54 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 dition and the damage to my wardrobe. I 11 
 bet, though, that I look as well dressed as you 
 do." 
 
 The boys both joined in a hearty laugh at each 
 other s forlorn appearance, and suddenly Phil 
 said: " But we have lost a lot of time, and have 
 got to do some hard climbing too. You see, 
 we ve been carried a long way below the trail. 
 We must get Sancho and pull out." 
 
 Now, whether it was that their hard experi 
 ence had shaken the boys nerves or perceptions, 
 they, at any rate, did not realize the full sense 
 of Sancho s dangerous position, nor of his ex 
 hausted state. So that when Ken undertook to 
 lead him away, the poor burro swayed, made one 
 or two staggering steps, his foot slipped from the 
 smooth, slanting rock, and he plunged down the 
 steep descent toward the creek bed. Ken barely 
 saved himself from following, and Phil shouted 
 in horror, but it was all over in a moment, and 
 Sancho had vanished from sight. 
 
 It is to be understood that the burro had 
 fallen clown the side of the dividing riclge farthest 
 away from the slide. The conformation here 
 was quite different from that of the cliff over 
 which the cataract plunged, the elements having 
 molded the rocky ridge into many and curious 
 forms. 
 
THE "SLIDE" SANCHO S MISADYKNTTRK. 55 
 
 There were sharp spurs projecting horizontally, 
 upright pinnacles quite detached from the ridge 
 itself, and there were tortuous and steep-sloping 
 ravines that bore downward toward the creek 
 bed, which could not itself be seen from above. 
 
 Sancho had rolled clown one of these narrow 
 and winding ravines until he disappeared from 
 view; and as it seemed that the ravine must end 
 in a precipitous cliff over which he would be 
 dashed to death, the boys could feel no doubt of 
 what the end had been, as the creek was t\vo or 
 three hundred feet below them. 
 
 "Poor Sancho," said Phil, almost with tears 
 in his eyes. " It s cruel, after making such a 
 plucky fight for life, that he should then lose it 
 on account of our stupidity." 
 
 "Yes," said Ken, "it seems entirely wrong, 
 and it is a great misfortune to us too. We must 
 manage somehow to clamber down there and 
 find him, whether dead or alive, and see what 
 shape the pack is in. There is a bare possible 
 hope that he may be living." 
 
 "I fear the hope is bare indeed," replied 
 Phil, "but we must go, as you say. We will 
 try to survey the ground from above first." 
 
 It took some little time, and the boys had been 
 trying from every nook and point of vantage to 
 obtain a view of what lay below them, before 
 
56 THE IMC -HORN" TRKASrRK. 
 
 Phil at length shouted, "I see him! He is 
 about half-way down, and lying flat upon a little 
 ledge about as big as he is. 
 
 "Where is he?" asked Ken. who came run 
 ning to the point where Phil lay with his body 
 half overhanging the space below. 
 
 "There," said Phil, pointing. "It must have 
 been a sharp bend in the ravine that snubbed him 
 and broke his fall, landing him where he is. 
 He s still got his pack; but, of course, the poor 
 little fellow is dead. No! By Jove! He s 
 alive! " yelled Phil. " I saw his ears move, and 
 he raised his head a little! " 
 
 "I saw it too!" cried Ken excitedly. "It 
 seems impossible that he could roll or tumble 
 down so far and live through it. It s no 
 stranger, though, than that he should have 
 stopped at all either alive or dead where he 
 is now ; for it looks as though it were all precipice 
 below him. Come! Let s find a way to get 
 down there to help him ; that is, if there is any 
 way." 
 
 "He s moving again," said Phil. "What do 
 you suppose he is going to do?" 
 
 As it appeared impossible to reach the donkey, 
 the boys now fell to watching him in silence. 
 
 All who are familiar with the characteristics of 
 the burro as distinguished from those of the 
 
THE "SLIDE" SANCHO S MISADVENTURE. 57 
 
 horse know that, under like circumstances, the 
 horse would plunge and rear until he had thrown 
 himself to destruction. 
 
 Not so with the wiser and cooler-headed animal. 
 
 First, he stretched out his feet as though 
 cautiously feeling the nature of the ground. 
 Then, slightly raising his head, he looked about, 
 as far as he was able. Then, apparently with 
 the most careful thought and judgment, he 
 placed each foot where it would find the most 
 secure holding, and with a good deal of effort 
 slowly arose. 
 
 Simultaneously the two boys broke into a 
 cheer. 
 
 " Hurrah for you, Sancho ! " "Good boy!" 
 "We 11 stay with you, old fellow! " 
 
 The flow of rock down the slide had about 
 ceased, and the noise having died away, the 
 sound of their voices was doubtless borne to 
 Sancho. At least his ears moved, and he bent 
 his neck slightly as if listening, but he could not 
 see whence the shouts came. 
 
 "Come, Ken," said Phil, "we must see if 
 there is a way to get to him, or help him out of 
 that. We will have to make a roundabout tour, 
 I suppose. It won t do to go down the same way 
 he did. We would n t be likely to have the 
 same luck." 
 
58 THE Bid- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "All the same, we must find the quickest way. 
 The afternoon is wearing along fast," replied 
 Ken. 
 
 Retracing their way over the point of rocks, 
 and thence along the hillside, they found that by 
 turning and zigzagging they were at length able 
 to reach a point within a few feet of where the 
 burro stood. 
 
 They spoke to him, and he looked at them 
 with patient eyes from underneath his grizzled, 
 shaggy brows. 
 
 He seemed to say, "Well, I ve done the best 
 I can, and you will have to do the rest. I ve 
 no complaint to make, but you know I did n t 
 come here of my accord." 
 
 " I declare! He shames me by looking at me 
 that way," said Ken. " How are we going to 
 do now, Phil? " 
 
 "That s more than I can say just now," re 
 plied Phil, "beyond the fact that it is going to 
 be impossible to get him out of that place to 
 night. There are fifteen or twenty feet between 
 him and ourselves that even ivc can t cross. It 
 does n t need any study to see that there s only 
 one possible hope for the poor jack. If we had 
 one or two steel-pointed picks, a drill and ham 
 mer, and a little giant-powder, we could fix a 
 trail so that he could be led away. We are 
 
THE "SLIDE" SAXCIIO S MISADVENTURE. 59 
 
 miles from camp, which is the only place they 
 can be had, and night will soon be here. 
 
 ik It s almost heartbreaking to think of such a 
 thing; but we simply must leave him to take 
 care of himself until to-morrow, and go on to 
 meet Dave." 
 
 " O Phil! " said Ken, and there was a tremble 
 in his voice, "the poor little beast has had 
 nothing to eat since morning; he must be worn 
 
 o o J 
 
 out with fatigue, to say nothing of the knocks 
 and bruises, and now to talk of his standing 
 in that cramped position, with the heavy pack 
 on his back, until to-morrow! Why, it s fright 
 ful!" 
 
 "Yes, yes, Ken, I know it. It would be in 
 human if there were any possible way for us to 
 help it. But is there? You can see for yourself 
 there is n t. So we must just go on, and keep 
 our thoughts rather upon some way of helping 
 him in the morning, than on the pitifulness of it 
 all. Come! Let s go." 
 
 " I believe I will stay here with him until you 
 get back in the morning," said Ken. 
 
 " O, come now; talk sense!" retorted Phil 
 rather sharply. You will do no such thing. 
 Or, at least, if you try it on, you will compel me 
 to stay too; for I shall not leave you. You are 
 about worn out yourself. You would get to 
 
60 TIIK BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 dozing and roll down the mountain before morn- 
 iiv*. Besides, the burro will be no safer with 
 than without you, and I guarantee he will pull 
 through it. Come! We must hurry." 
 
 "Oh! you re right, Phil, of course; but it s 
 mighty tough," said Ken. So they turned and 
 left Sancho without looking back. 
 
 The donkey watched them until, just as they 
 were disappearing around a bend in the cliff, he 
 gave voice to one of his hee-hawing, deep, long- 
 drawn brays, which to the boys was both melan 
 choly and reproachful. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MEETING DINNER AT CAMP. 
 
 The boys had no difficulty in locating the trail 
 where it emerged from the rock-slide, and fol 
 lowed it northward in silence and with rapid 
 footsteps. 
 
 They were so anxious and distraught that even 
 the remarkable features of the region through 
 which they were passing, which ordinarily would 
 have aroused their keenest interest, were scarcely 
 noticed. 
 
 They were passing "through" in a literal 
 sense, as their trail now fairly clung to the side 
 of the cliff, which towered overhead to an un 
 known height, and almost directly beneath them 
 flashed the thread of the creek, while across at 
 their left the ragged, frowning, gray precipice 
 seemed to lift itself into the very clouds. 
 
 The canon had narrowed and closed in upon 
 the creek until it almost seemed as though the 
 sole illumination were merely the reflected rays 
 from the glistening white-caps of the mountains. 
 
 Once only did Ken warm to something like 
 61 
 
02 THE IJIG-HORX TRKASURK. 
 
 enthusiasm. It was when, after rounding a 
 curve, the brilliant view of a waterfall burst upon 
 them. It left the snow bank upon the opposite 
 mountain, apparently as a single line of silver, 
 broadening as it descended into an exquisite lace- 
 like pattern, then merging into thin bluish veil 
 ing, until at their level it became light, broadly 
 d iff used mist. 
 
 Half-way toward the top, upon an almost im 
 perceptible ledge, a family group of big-horned 
 cimarrons or mountain sheep looked with 
 grave curiosity down upon them, and \vithout a 
 trace of fear. 
 
 <k It is immense; it is grandly impressive; but 
 just now my spirits will not rise to a height which 
 will permit me to say beautiful," said Ken. 
 
 No, we must take another day for that," 
 replied Phil. 
 
 Another half-hour, and the canon had percep 
 tibly widened, while the trail had approached 
 more nearly to the bottom of the gulch. Not 
 that their way had been a descending one ; rather 
 the bed of the creek had been rising to them as 
 they advanced toward its source. 
 
 A short distance farther, a few more turns and 
 twists, and Phil suddenly said: tl I believe we 
 have found the ice bridge at last. It must be 
 that great body of snow and ice up yonder, which 
 
MEETING DINNER AT CAMP. 63 
 
 stretches clear across the creek. It came down 
 as an avalanche from the mountain, of course, 
 there s its path now, and the creek has tun 
 neled its way underneath it." 
 
 " Yes, Phil, that s interesting; but who is the 
 man there?" asked Ken. 
 
 "Where? O, I see! sitting down ! Why, it 
 must be Dave! " Phil put his thumb and fore 
 finger to his lips and blew a shrill whistle. In 
 stantly the figure sprang to its feet, gazed at 
 them an instant, then answered with a shout, and 
 came running toward them across the bridge. 
 
 Phil shouted in return, and likewise broke into 
 a run, closely followed by Ken. 
 
 At the meeting, and first warm hand-shaking, 
 all began to talk at once. " Just like women," 
 laughed Dave. " But, say, boys, what s hap 
 pened? Where s your burro and pack? " 
 
 11 You tell it, Phil," said Ken. Whereupon 
 Phil rapidly recounted their rough experience, 
 and explained the present whereabouts of San- 
 cho. "Why, we had no trouble there," cried 
 Dave, " and had no thought of its being any more 
 dangerous than a score of other places. They 
 are all comparatively dangerous, for that matter. 
 Strange that the slide should have let us pass in 
 safety and then treat you so ! 
 
 "Yes, it s curious," said Ken; "but I sup- 
 
64 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 pose there must be a natural cause behind it, 
 somewhere. I presume the only thing that 
 caused us to suspect danger in advance came 
 through missing your trail, which had been plain 
 enough before, but vanished there completely." 
 
 " What do you think, Dave? is there a possi 
 bility of doing anything for the burro to-night? " 
 asked Phil. 
 
 " That s out of the question," replied Dave. 
 " It s at least four miles back, and three from 
 here to camp. We can make camp before dark, 
 but nothing more. I would join you at any risk, 
 if there was a show at all. I don t envy Sancho 
 the night he will have to pass, but I know enough 
 about the endurance of the average jack to assure 
 .me that we will find him right there to-morrow. 
 What sort of shape do you fancy the pack is in? 
 I am anxious about that assay outfit." 
 
 " It s not easy to say, but I think it will be 
 all right. Everything breakable was well 
 packed," said Phil. 
 
 " Well, march is the word now. If you are 
 not already hungry, you will be before we get 
 supper. Neal will have it all ready when we ar 
 rive, though ; you may be sure of that." 
 
 So saying, Dave started up the trail and Phil 
 and Ken followed. 
 
 As it was all uphill work, and the climbing 
 
MEETING DINNER AT CAMP. 65 
 
 even more laborious, in some respects, than that 
 which had gone before, Ken and Phil were more 
 than thankful when Dave at length called cheer 
 fully back to them, " Here we are, and just in 
 time too. It will be dark in a very few minutes. 
 That s why I rushed you up here at such a pace. 
 You saw enough of the trail to realize what it 
 would be in the night-time; and I think none of 
 us needed that additional experience to-day. 
 We won t bother about any of the landscape 
 features until to-morrow. Fine as they are, they 
 must bide their time." 
 
 The others made but faint response to Dave s 
 pleasantries, being, in truth, so far spent with 
 weariness and hunger that their senses were 
 somewhat blunted. This fact was quite evident 
 to Dave, who therefore, led the way directly to 
 the camp, first announcing their arrival to Neal 
 by a loud whistle. 
 
 Ncal quickly answered, and in a minute more 
 they were all exchanging greetings. 
 
 "The first thing now," said Dave, " is sup 
 per. The boys are so starved and winded that 
 they must be excused from all social duty until 
 they have a chance to renew themselves." 
 
 11 All right, boys," returned Neal in his hearty, 
 pleasant voice, " supper is just about ready, all 
 but the coffee, and it will be better for you to 
 
66 T1IK BIC--1IORX TRKASURK. 
 
 rest a bit before eating, anyway. The more 
 careful people are about eating, specially when 
 they re very tired, the better for digestion and 
 sleep. Not that I \\ preach against eating a 
 plenty. When you re hungry, eat to the end of 
 your appetite, I say, but use a little judgment 
 how you eat. No danger of overeating here to 
 night, I guess. Variety too limited. Dave, 
 you 11 show the boys to the toilet-room, won t 
 you, in case they want to brush up? " 
 
 Ken and Phil meanwhile had thrown them 
 selves upon the blankets inside one of the tents, 
 whither Dave had conducted them. 
 
 The tent-flaps were thrown up to admit the 
 light and warmth of the fire, just in front, where 
 Neal was superintending the supper. 
 
 The rest to their limbs was so grateful, the 
 scene so pleasant and familiar to them, the sound 
 of Neal s voice so agreeable, and the odor of the 
 supper so appetizing, that they both forgot and 
 temporarily threw off their weight of care. 
 
 After resting a few minutes, Phil arose, saying: 
 " I think I 11 try the water-cure that Neal speaks 
 of. What do you say, Ken? By the way, there 
 can t be any scarcity of water here, to judge 
 from the lake and the waterfall we saw from the 
 other side. Is that the sound of the fall we hear 
 now? " 
 
MEKTINC DINNER AT CAMP. 67 
 
 "Yes, that is music we always have," replied 
 Dave; " we think it is rather pleasant." 
 
 "I m sure I should never grow tired of it," 
 said Ken. 
 
 "Supper s ready," called Neal; and, hastily 
 completing their toilets, the boys assembled by 
 the fire. 
 
 "Take the bench at the table there, boys," 
 said Neal. * Sit down , Dave, I 11 do the waiting. 
 
 "Why, this is genuine luxury!" exclaimed 
 Phil, as they seated themselves at the open-air 
 table facing the camp-fire. 
 
 " What? The table and seats? O, well, I think 
 a little labor of that sort is well spent. There s 
 no sense in making a circus performance of your 
 meals, when you can just as well do them up 
 comfortable. 
 
 "Help yourselves to the meat and biscuits. 
 Here s mutton-chops and here s bacon. m 
 glad you came just when you did, or my biscuits 
 might have spoiled. I guess they 11 do. Will 
 you have some beans, Ken? We haven t any 
 jelly to go with the mutton, but here s some 
 prime stewed shad-berries. Have sugar in your 
 coffee, Phil? There is cold bread if you rather 
 have it than the biscuits." 
 
 " What a glorious supper! " cried Ken. :< But 
 what do you mean by mutton, Neal? " 
 
68 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " Wild mutton. It s mountain sheep," said 
 Neal. " Dave got him last week." 
 
 "Isn t it delicious? I never ate venison to 
 compare with it. There must be a good many 
 about here. We saw some to-day. You re 
 member it was one of my ambitions last summer 
 to get one ; but although I shot almost every 
 thing else, I did n t get sight of a sheep. Say, 
 Phil, did you ever cat as fine a supper as this 
 before ? 
 
 "Not so far as I can remember," answered 
 Phil. " I knew you were an artist at cookery, 
 Neal, but this is immense." 
 
 " Hold on there, fellows; you will make Neal 
 vain! " interposed Dave. 
 
 "Yes, I s pose you will be likely to stay here 
 some time, and you ought to be careful what you 
 say. Maybe you 11 want to take it back after 
 a while," laughed Neal. " Have some more of 
 the mutton? No? Well, you must have some 
 dessert; it s plain, but wholesome. Boiled rice 
 served with a fruit sauce. Call it riz aux pommcs 
 if you think the name will dovetail in with the 
 dried apple sauce, the tin plates, and iron spoons. " 
 
 "It s delicious," said Ken, as he tasted it. 
 "A very proper ending to a meal good enough 
 for an epicure. " 
 
 "Neal," said Phil, as he finished and rested 
 
MICETIXC; DIXXKR AT CAMP. 69 
 
 from his exertions, " I feel like another person; 
 and I owe you a heavy debt that I will try and 
 pay sometime, when you teach me how to cook." 
 
 " All right, Phil; I 11 be easy with you about 
 the debt," replied Neal. "Now, I want credit 
 for not asking a single question about your trip, 
 and I m dying to hear. Let s have the story." 
 
 "The boys had hard luck, Neal," interposed 
 Dave. " They are afraid they ve lost their jack, 
 and are all broken up over it. I think, myself, 
 that we will fetch him out all right; but we are 
 going to strike out at daybreak with one of our 
 animals, some tools and powder, a water-bucket, 
 a hundred feet of line, and a little bunch of grass. 
 We ve got to construct a high-line road for 
 Sancho s exclusive use. We 11 give you the de 
 tails after we get back. I must get everything 
 ready to-night." 
 
 "All right, Davey boy, I ll help you soon as 
 I get these supper things out of the way and the 
 kinks all settled for an early breakfast. You 11 
 w r ant me to go with you? " 
 
 " No, we three will go. It will be better not 
 to leave the camp alone, considering the value 
 of our find. 
 
 "Hadn t I better go in your place, then?" 
 asked Neal. 
 
 " No, I will go," Dave replied. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 A FOUR-FOOTED CONTORTIONIST THE RESCUE. 
 
 The party of three, with burro, tools, and 
 paraphernalia, was upon its way down the trail 
 long before the sun emerged from behind the 
 maroon-colored mountains to the eastward, and 
 before nine o clock had arrived at the place 
 where Phil and Ken left poor Sancho. 
 
 The anxiety of each was so great that no word 
 was spoken as to their hopes and fears. 
 
 Ken led the way down the zigzag descent from 
 the trail, and Dave and Phil followed more 
 slowly with the burro. 
 
 Ken, with knitted brows and impatient foot 
 steps, had advanced until hidden from the sight 
 of the others, and coming at last to the final turn 
 from whence the looked-for animal became visi 
 ble, he hardly dared believe his eyes. 
 
 There stood Sancho, looking scarcely more 
 drooping and unsteady than when he arose to his 
 feet the afternoon before. 
 
 "Bless your heart, Sancho! I m glad to see 
 you, old boy! " he shouted. 
 
 70 
 
A FOUR-FOOTED CONTORTIONIST. 71 
 
 Whereupon Sancho bent his long ears, scanned 
 him an instant, and gave forth the same plaintive 
 bray as his parting salute of the evening before. 
 
 This was heard by the party in the rear, who 
 gave answering shouts. Even their burro re 
 sponded in a sympathetic and kindred vein. 
 
 Reaching the farthest limit of approach, all 
 hands set to work without losing a minute of 
 time. The rock being shaly and partly decom 
 posed, a level pathway of two or more feet in 
 width was speedily wrought out from the smooth, 
 slanting surface. Only one small charge of 
 powder was necessary, all the rest of the work 
 being accomplished with their sharp steel picks. 
 
 In less than an hour s time Ken was across 
 the space and had a rope around Sancho s neck. 
 It needed but a single word of command to the 
 donkey to start him, and in another minute he 
 had reached the safety-point, and the boys were 
 unroping the pack. 
 
 Dave, however, thoughtful as always, had 
 hastily tied his long line to a bucket, and creep 
 ing to the verge of the cliff, dropped it into the 
 creek below. A minute more it reappeared 
 filled to the brim with ice-cold sparkling water, 
 and Sancho s troubles, for the time being, were 
 ended. 
 
 After placing the bunch of green grass before 
 
72 THK BIG-HORN TRKASTRK. 
 
 the hungry donkey, Dave, with the assistance of 
 the others, turned his attention to the contents 
 of the pack. 
 
 The object of his greatest solicitude was the 
 assay furnace and its accompanying re-agents. 
 
 After a careful scrutiny, he announced with 
 great satisfaction, that there was no damage to 
 anything except a few scorifiers and crucibles, 
 which were broken. 
 
 "There will still be more than enough for our 
 needs," he said. "I was especially anxious 
 about the muffle ; but you had it placed inside the 
 furnace, as it should be, and it has come through 
 without a scratch. If you ever attempt to relate 
 this adventure to anybody outside the mountains, 
 don t expect to be believed. Sancho would 
 make your fortunes as trick-donkey in a circus. 
 He is a wizard. 
 
 The boys laughed in light-hearted amusement 
 over Dave s speech, and turned their attention 
 acrain to the hero. No donkey was ever the re- 
 
 o " 
 
 cipient of more petting and complimentary ex 
 pressions than he. 
 
 He was found to have several cuts and some 
 very severe bruises from contact with the sharp 
 
 *This incident is not only a real one, but the actual 
 occurrence was even more strange than has been related. 
 The writer has purposely trimmed it down, in order that it 
 may not be criticised as absurd. 
 
ANOTHER MINl TE HE HAD REACHED I HE SAFETY I OlNT, 
 
A FOUR-FOOTED CONTORTIONIST. /5 
 
 rocks, but Dave declared he would be as good as 
 new after he had had a week s " lay-off " at the 
 camp. 
 
 "The pack is what really broke his fall, and 
 prevented him from going over the precipice," 
 said Dave. "After he finishes his lunch we 
 will let him lie and rest a short time, after which 
 we will put the pack on Teddy and start back 
 for camp." 
 
 This plan was carried out so well that with 
 diligence, but without haste or extra effort, they 
 arrived at the camp early in the afternoon. 
 
 Neal had dinner ready and waiting when the 
 party arrived. 
 
 As a change from the previous evening s fare, 
 there was a delicate and tender pot-roast of the 
 wild sheep, new bread, and for dessert, apple 
 roll, or "duff," eaten with syrup. 
 
 "Circumstances don t allow much change in 
 our grub, or in the style of throwing it onto the 
 table," said Neal, in a half-apologetic way. 
 
 " O, we found out last summer that the boys 
 can fit themselves into a situation as well as any 
 body," said Dave. " They realize that we are 
 here for work, this time, and that eating is merely 
 a necessity of life. To have enough food to 
 satisfy hunger is about the only care Neal and 
 I have given in that direction. We spend very 
 
/6 TUP: BIG-IIORX TRKASURK. 
 
 little time in camp, and a great deal at work upon 
 the prospect. You see, we will have to re 
 gard you, not as guests, now, but as partners 
 and fellow-sufferers. 
 
 " That is the way we want you to regard us," 
 said Ken. " There isn t likely to be much suf 
 fering about it, either; and for my part, I intend 
 to learn to cook, too, and take my share of all the 
 rest of the duties." 
 
 11 I m to be counted in for the whole pro 
 gramme, too," cried Phil. "There s going to 
 be no favoritism here." 
 
 "As far as this dinner is concerned, " added 
 Ken, " it seems to me even better than last 
 night s. I can be happy and thrive under this 
 diet for many months to come. I only hope 
 that I can learn to cook half as well as Neal. 
 Just now, though, I am burning up with curi 
 osity about the discovery, and everything in con 
 nection with it. Are you ready to show us the 
 elephant? Do you really feel quite sure that you 
 have found a rich mine? " 
 
 Neal and Dave exchanged meaning smiles. 
 
 " Where are some of the rocks, Neal? " asked 
 Dave. 
 
 "I 11 get them," was the reply. 
 
 Neal disappeared within one of the tents, and 
 returned in a minute with a gunnysack. It was 
 
A FOUR- FOOTED CONTORTIONIST. /7 
 
 evidently heavy, as he used both hands in carry 
 ing it. Dropping it upon the ground, he seized a 
 canvas pack-cover and spread it out. Then, 
 taking the sack by its lower corners, he emptied 
 its contents upon the canvas. 
 
 There were about fifteen or twenty pieces of 
 grayish white rock covered with shining yellow 
 spots. Neal handed one each to Phil and Ken, 
 saying, " That s the quartz article we are get- 
 tin<r and it s no weak imitation, either." 
 
 fc> 
 
 Both boys cried out in amazement. 
 
 " Do you mean to say that the yellow stuff is 
 gold? " asked Ken. 
 
 11 Yes, largely pure. At least, as pure as it is 
 generally found in the natural state. I think the 
 native gold must be as high as eighteen dollars 
 to the ounce. Besides the free gold, there is a 
 combination here called telluride. It is a 
 union of gold with tellurium." 
 
 " Why, the rock is fairly ablaze!" shouted 
 
 Phil. 
 
 He took up the pieces one after another, ex 
 amined them with dilated eyes, and passed them 
 to Ken. 
 
 "I never saw anything so wonderful !" said 
 he. "What value do you place upon this lot, 
 Neal?" 
 
 "These pieces weigh, together, about a hun- 
 
7<S THE BKi-lIORX TREASURE. 
 
 tired pounds, and I estimate that there s about a 
 thousand dollars worth of gold in them." 
 
 " Man alive! That s twenty thousand dollars 
 to the ton! " exclaimed Ken. 
 
 Neal laughed with great amusement. "Yes, 
 that s about the rate," he said, "and if we 
 should feel like turning ourselves into promot 
 ers, capitalize our property for a three-million- 
 dollar figure, and undertake to sell stock, about 
 the first thing we would do would be to take up 
 that catch-phrase you just used. But, you see, 
 Ken, we haven t even one ton of it yet; and 
 maybe never will have. There s hardly one 
 chance in a thousand that it will stay with us as 
 rich as this. Still, I m bound to say, that every 
 indication about the vein and the rock it s in, 
 gives promise of being a first-class property. We 
 will be able to guess better after knowing how it 
 assays. 
 
 Where is this wonderful treasure-box? Come ! 
 I ve got to see it! " exclaimed Ken with energy. 
 
 Whereupon the whole party proceeded to the 
 mine, or "prospect," as Neal and Dave called 
 it. 
 
 ".If you had arrived three clays ago we 
 could n t have shown you as much richness as 
 we can now," said Neal. " We have only just 
 struck this pocket. We knew we had a promis- 
 
A FOUR- KOOTKI) CONTORTIONIST. 79 
 
 ing vein, and we found free gold by crushing the 
 rock and washing it in a pan, but there wasn t 
 much in the quartz to be seen with the naked 
 eye. Here it is! We are working into the vein 
 by the tunnel. " 
 
 " How far are you in? " inquired Phil. 
 
 " About thirty-five feet. Look up the face of 
 the cliff there, and you can see how plain the 
 seam stands out, and that it runs up as far as you 
 can see. It is about six feet wide, and seems to 
 run right through the mountain in a nearly north- 
 and-south course. I don t know why it is, but 
 it seems as if most of the rich and permanent 
 veins trend the same way." 
 
 But did you climb away up here upon un 
 certainty before you found it?" asked Ken. 
 
 "No, not altogether. We had camped down 
 near the ice bridge, and I wandered off up the 
 valley, keeping well toward the creek. When I 
 got to a point opposite here (and about fifteen 
 hundred feet nearly underneath), I found a lot of 
 rich float. It was easy to trace it here; and, in 
 fact, the lode is as plain most of the way down 
 the cliff below us as it is above. It is handier 
 to work here; but my theory is, that we re liable 
 to find it, maybe, even richer below than above. 
 Some time, when I get really wound up for talk 
 ing, I 11 tell you why." 
 
80 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "The rock that forms the cliff here seems to 
 be a sort of porphyry," remarked Phil. 
 
 "Yes, this whole district seems to be porphy- 
 ritic. It ain t easy, though, for me to classify 
 this particular mountain. The native rock seems 
 to me to be a sort of volcanic quartzite, but 
 Dave calls it porphyrite. I m beginning to 
 think they run into each other, and that you can 
 call the stuff either one. I can show you, too, 
 where our vein intersects schists and shales, and 
 other sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. That s 
 in our favor. At least I think so; and so does 
 Dave. You see, we keep comparing notes all 
 the time. I give Dave my ideas, got mostly 
 from grubbing round mongst the hills, and he 
 gives me things he s got from books. Most of 
 these big words I use, I borrowed from him." 
 
 Neal laughed gaily, and Dave smiled. It was 
 very evident how much they thought of each 
 other. 
 
 "Come, "said Dave. "We will go on into 
 the tunnel." 
 
 The mouth of the tunnel was nearly six feet 
 square, and opened directly into the side of the 
 cliff. 
 
 The "ceiling," or roof, was timbered; that is, 
 there were rough pieces of wood placed across, 
 close together, and supported by upright timbers. 
 
A FOUR-FOOTED CONTORTIONIST. 8 1 
 
 This was to prevent the loosened ore or rock 
 from falling upon the workers. 
 
 "We started the tunnel at the full width of 
 the vein, and took out everything between the 
 two walls," said Dave, " but it is widening some 
 what, and we will not be able to increase the 
 width of the tunnel." 
 
 Dave drew a candle from a niche in the rock, 
 and lighted it, and then led the way inside, say 
 ing, "You won t be able to see any ore except 
 right at the end, or breast, as we have taken it 
 all out as we went in." 
 
 When they reached the end, he held his candle 
 so as to produce the best effect. "Come up 
 close, boys, and examine it," he said. 
 
 More than half of the breast was aglitter with 
 the same quality of ore as the pieces they had 
 seen. 
 
 "Isn t it magnificent?" cried Phil, his voice 
 betraying his strong excitement. "I don t 
 know much about mines, Neal, but you will find 
 it pretty hard to convince me that what is in 
 sight here is n t a promise of a great fortune. 
 Don t you think so, Ken?" 
 
 " It certainly looks to me as if we had a great 
 mine," replied Ken. 
 
 " I ve no w r ish to make you think the con 
 trary, you may be sure," said Neal laughingly. 
 
82 T1IK 15IG-IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 "But, while my hopes are pretty big over this 
 thing, it ain t a good idea to feel too dead sure 
 about a thing until you ve got it; and after 
 a while, maybe, with the help of Dave s education 
 and my pocket-dictionary, I 11 try to explain 
 how it might disappoint us yet." 
 
 " Is the rock hard to work? " asked Ken. 
 
 "No," replied Dave, "it is rather soft. We 
 have n t made great progress, because we have n t 
 been as well equipped for working a mine as for 
 finding one. What with carrying the stuff out 
 to the dump on a hand-barrow, and trying to 
 keep drills sharp without a forge, it uses up the 
 day pretty snug. I think all four of us working 
 together can move along at the rate of six to 
 eight feet a day, at least, as the rock is now 
 running." 
 
 "That was well put in, "said Neal. "We 
 must look to see it get harder." 
 
 "Well, we aren t going to work to-day; so 
 we will show the boys around the rest of the 
 estate. They can be our guests for a little 
 while," remarked Dave. "After that, we must 
 attend right away to the matter of the claims. 
 We have taken up two claims, Ken; one in your 
 name and one in Neal s; as you and he are of 
 age, and Phil and I are not. To make the mat 
 ter legally binding, you must go through the 
 
A FOUR- FOOTED CONTORTIONIST. 83 
 
 formality of taking up your own claim, as the 
 law does n t recognize any proxies." 
 
 " If I m to be claimholder of such vast wealth 
 as this," said Ken, "I don t want to delay a 
 minute. What s to be done?" 
 
 "You will understand it better as we go 
 around, and we can attend to it afterward. It 
 is perhaps as necessary for you to become ac 
 quainted with your property as to hold it." 
 
 The party meanwhile was picking it s way 
 through a grove of " quaking-asp " (aspen) trees 
 in the direction of the waterfall, the sound of 
 whose rushing downpour was borne to their ears. 
 
 A short walk brought them to a rapid stream, 
 and following this downward a little way, they 
 came to the shore of the lake. 
 
 Dave, who had been leading, turned and 
 pointed high in the air behind them, then swept 
 the horizon with a circular wave of his arm. 
 
 Casting their eyes aloft and then following the 
 direction of Dave s gesture, the boys simultane 
 ously uttered a cry of admiration. 
 
 From the dizzy and vague region of the clouds 
 the stream shot downward toward them, giving 
 the effect of long curving leaps from ledge to 
 ledge. To the right, where the cliff was more 
 precipitous, the lake advanced to its very foot, 
 and the lofty, moss-covered and variegated face 
 
84 THE ?,ir, -IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 was mirrored in the bright water with the accu 
 racy of a photograph. On the farther side, 
 where the shore was margined by a pine-covered 
 ridge which broke down from the towering cliff, 
 the contrast formed by the line of trees against 
 the luminous blue of the sky, together with the 
 rose and pearl of the more distant peaks, made a 
 picture which, all in all, was never to be forgotten. 
 
 4i O, I am in love with this place! " exclaimed 
 Ken. " I would covet it as a possession even 
 without the gold mine." 
 
 "Yes, it s beautiful. It seems to me a place 
 where one need never grow homesick," said Phil. 
 
 " There will be a wonderful change when win 
 ter comes," said Neal. " But that is a long way 
 off yet." 
 
 The little party resumed its walk and moved 
 along the edge of the lake, passing, presently, 
 the three donkeys, which were all Sancho in 
 cluded eagerly cropping the grass. 
 
 "One thing here surprises me greatly," said 
 Ken. "It is the variety and strength of the 
 vegetation. The altitude must be great." 
 
 "Yes, it s unusual; but I think it could be 
 explained," replied Neal. "We are not only 
 on the Pacific slope, where the timber-line runs 
 higher, but are well protected from the north 
 and get plenty of sunshine. Besides, the warm 
 
A FOUR -FOOTED CONTORTIONIST. 85 
 
 southwest winds find a regular channel into the 
 valley of Porphyry Creek, through two or three 
 passes to the south of here. You will notice, 
 though, that the trees are all pretty small-sized. 
 This quaking-asp springs up in smart style, but, 
 while the spruce and mountain-pine have thick 
 branches, they are not high, and there s a big 
 proportion of jack-pine. The mountain-ash, you 
 see, is very small, and the cedar is nothing but a 
 dwarf. But the undergrowth is rich; and just 
 look at the flowers! they are of a hundred kinds. " 
 
 "The birds like the place too," remarked 
 Dave. " I have seen humming-birds several 
 times; and there are magpies, and mountain- 
 jays, and grouse, and ptarmigan, and the water- 
 ousels splash around the lake and waterfall every 
 day." 
 
 "Do you know r what the altitude is?" Ken 
 asked. 
 
 " Not with certainty, but Neal says the test 
 by boiling water shows it to be about tw r elve 
 thousand feet." 
 
 They had now made a circuit of half the lake, 
 and here Neal turned away from the water and 
 led the way through a heavy growth of shad 
 berry or service-bushes literally weighted with 
 their blue-black fruit. 
 
 Emerging from the bushes, they stood upon 
 
86 T 1 1 E B I G - 1 1 R X T R E A S U R E . 
 
 the verge of an almost sheer descent of a quarter 
 of a mile, down which the outgoing stream from 
 the lake sprang with a flying dash that seemed 
 all the greater from its brief rest. 
 
 " If the nights here become very dark, a per 
 son ought not to wander far from camp without 
 tying a line around his waist," said Phil. " Just 
 see the creek down yonder; it s nothing but a 
 thread. Gracious! What a drop it would be! 
 Say, Ken, there s the mountain across yonder 
 we signaled from with our helioscope." 
 
 Yes," said Ncal, "we have three of the 
 great necessities of a first-class mine." 
 
 " What are they? " Ken asked. 
 
 " Beautiful scenery, pure air, and a magnifi 
 cent dumping-ground. I will go a little farther, 
 and say that our mine has a fourth item that s 
 most always of benefit, though some do without 
 it, and that s a body of rich ore." 
 
 The boys laughed heartily at Neal s quaint and 
 happy raillery. Then Dave spoke, saying, "Now 
 we will show you about the matter of the claims. 
 Let s walk along the cliff until we reach the 
 point where the vein outcrops, and Ken can set 
 the stakes as he sees fit. We have set them only 
 as a matter of form." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS UNDER DIFFICUL 
 TIES. 
 
 They followed the edge of the plateau a few 
 hundred feet, when Dave stopped, saying: " You 
 can see the vein here, Ken. It is as well de 
 fined and of about the same thickness as where 
 we are working. 
 
 "Now, the idea to be kept in mind is this: 
 we wish to guard ourselves against being intruded 
 upon by any other people who may come after 
 us and for that reason we ought to claim as much 
 of this vein we have discovered as the law will 
 permit us to hold. 
 
 "A single claim may be fifteen hundred feet 
 in length along a vein, and one hundred and fifty 
 feet on each side, or three hundred feet wide. 
 A length of fifteen hundred feet will not cover all 
 that s in sight here, but three thousand feet will. 
 So \ve concluded to have a second claim as an 
 extension of the first ; and supposing the first 
 one to start at the creek down below us yonder, 
 and extend horizontally along the vein for fifteen 
 hundred feet, it will end here on our plateau 
 
 87 
 
88 TIIK BK;-IIORX TRKASURK. 
 
 somewhere. The second claim, or extension, 
 will take up the vein where the first one ends, 
 and carry the lines of our property far enough 
 up the mountain (and inside it, in line with 
 our tunnel) to make us secure in the whole thing. 
 Nobody can then bother us. Do you get the 
 idea? " 
 
 " Yes, I see the point, and I think it s a very 
 wise plan. You said you had already set the 
 stakes. Do you mean that you have measured 
 off the claims? " 
 
 Dave laughed. " No," he said, " we have n t, 
 and that s a point I was coming to. 
 
 " It s impossible, as you can see, to do it by 
 measurement, on account of the cliffs, and the 
 distances must be had by triangulation. Neither 
 Neal nor I have enough engineering knowledge to 
 clo this, although Neal has a first-rate compass. 
 It is graduated and has a vernier, has two levels 
 and folding, open sights. Do you suppose you 
 can do what is necessary, and with an instrument 
 of that sort? " 
 
 "Well, let s see Neal s compass. I ahvays 
 liked engineering, and at the university I had 
 considerable surveying practice with the boys. 
 I have done very fair \vork with an open-sight 
 instrument; but, of course, nobody would choose 
 one to do fine \vork with. Still, this is a very 
 
S C 1 E X T T F T C M E A S U R K M K X T S . 89 
 
 plain and simple bit of work. U might be 
 done." 
 
 " I will have it here in a minute," said Neal, 
 and he started for camp on a run. 
 
 " There are some things to keep in mind in 
 locating a mine," said Dave. "We ve got to 
 file certificates of our locations at the land-office; 
 and sometimes, in case of a contest, it happens to 
 be a mighty important thing whether you are 
 correct or not. I m telling you this so that you 
 may not take any very big risk on this instru 
 ment." 
 
 " I think I can tell when I examine and test 
 it," replied Ken. 
 
 " Now, to save time, let s see if there is any 
 object down by the creek, in line with the vein, 
 that we might obtain a tolerably fine sight upon. 
 
 After a careful scrutiny the tip of a blasted 
 and whitened jack-pine was selected as being in 
 line with the course of the vein. 
 
 The pine was easily to be distinguished, as it 
 stood right beside a huge gray-and-black boul 
 der upon the bank of the creek. 
 
 "Now, let s measure off a base-line close 
 along the edge of the cliff, and make it as long 
 as possible," said Ken. 
 
 Just then Neal returned, bringing his compass 
 and a steel tape-line. " I got these things," he 
 
QO THE lUG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 said, " from a fellow who was clown on his luck 
 and in poor health, and wanted to sell them. 
 I didn t have any use for the things, it was 
 two years ago, and didn t have too much 
 money, either, but I finally gave him fifteen dol 
 lars for the outfit, with the understanding that 
 he could have em back if he came with the 
 money. He never showed up, so I suppose 
 they re mine. " 
 
 " Have you ever made any use of them?" 
 asked Ken. 
 
 " Yes, I ve used the tape for measuring and 
 the compass for running straight-ahead lines. 
 They don t take up much space in packing, and 
 they often come in handy in the mountains." 
 
 Ken, meanwhile, was examining the instru 
 ment, which he found to be expensively made, 
 and encased in a handsome flat box. He re 
 moved it, opened the sights, tested the levels, 
 and examined the graduated circle and vernier 
 with his pocket magnifying-glass. 
 
 11 It *s an unusually fine instrument of its 
 kind," he said, " and must have cost it s former 
 owner at least fifty dollars. The sights can be 
 lengthened. I never saw one like it before. 
 That will help us immensely, as I w r as wonder 
 ing how it would work on vertical angles as sharp 
 as these are. Yes, I feel quite sure I can do 
 
SCTKXTIFIC MEASUREMENTS. 91 
 
 pretty good work with it. After we measure our 
 base-line I will make a test of what it is able to 
 do, by triangulating to some point up here on 
 the plateau, and then measuring to the same 
 point with a tape. Have you anything which 
 will answer the purpose of a standard or tripod, 
 Neal?" 
 
 " I brought along this sharpened post with a 
 flat top," replied Neal. "The compass-box has 
 a sharp brad in the center of the under side, to 
 prevent it from slipping." 
 
 "That will do, I think. Now for the base 
 line." 
 
 Ken soon found that he could easily obtain a 
 base-line six hundred feet in length along the 
 edge of the cliff, which he carefully measured, 
 marking each end with a stake. Each post was 
 plainly visible from the other. 
 
 This being accomplished, Ken then proceeded 
 to level the instrument at one of the posts. 
 
 Then, pointing to a distant dead aspen tree, 
 he said: " I am going to triangulate to that tree, 
 which is quite as distant from here, I think, as 
 the creek down below is. I mean horizontally, 
 of course. I wish two of you would measure the 
 distance from here to the tree, very carefully, 
 and then we will compare notes. While you are 
 doing it, I will have to go to camp for a little 
 
Q2 THE 1UC. - HORN TREASURE. 
 
 book of mine, which contains sine and tangent 
 
 o 
 
 tables." 
 
 Quickly returning, he sighted with the com 
 pass from one post of the base-line to the other, 
 and then to the aspen tree, carefully noting and 
 marking down the angle of deflection. 
 
 o o 
 
 He repeated this process three times. 
 
 Then he turned the instrument, and sighted 
 below to the jack-pine by the creek, reading the 
 angle contained between that point and the other 
 base-line post. This he also repeated three 
 times, noting and marking down the result as 
 before. 
 
 Then picking up his instrument and the sharp 
 ened post, he walked to the other end of the 
 base-line and went through the same formula. 
 
 By this time the others had returned from 
 making the measurement. 
 
 "I will have my result presently," said Ken; 
 "please don t give me yours until I have figured 
 out mine. " 
 
 He took out his pocket-book, saying, "This 
 little book will save me the labor of figuring out 
 the sines of my angles ; and all there now remains 
 for me to do is a little problem in proportion. 
 
 "This is the statement: 
 
 The sine of the Sine of the Giyen Requ i re d 
 
 angle opposite : angle opposite :: g}de : 
 given side. required side. 
 
SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS. 93 
 
 He figured for a minute or two, referring to 
 
 o o 
 
 his book and then announced : 
 
 " I make the distance from the farther post to 
 the dead aspen nine hundred and eighty-four 
 and a half feet. 
 
 "Good!" cried Neal. "We make it nine 
 hundred and eighty-six feet." 
 
 " Ah. That s really better than I expected, " 
 replied Ken. "I can figure out my other trian- 
 gulation now, with some assurance that it will be 
 nearly right. " 
 
 This result he shortly announced as eight 
 hundred and ninety-two feet. 
 
 "This, of course, is the horizontal distance," 
 he said. " Now we must take a reading and 
 measurement from here to the center of the 
 outcrop at the verge of the cliff, and then we can 
 figure out just where the posts of the claim 
 ought to be placed." 
 
 Then turning to Dave, he asked, "Do cer 
 tificates of location give the accurate direction 
 or course, of the vein? " 
 
 "Yes," replied Dave, " they are never sup 
 posed to be absolutely correct, but, as I have 
 said, the nearer right a man makes his certificate, 
 the less trouble he may have in the end." 
 
 "Well, then, I think I can give the correct 
 course; but I will have to make a little experi- 
 
94 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 ment in astronomy first, which I 11 do to-night. 
 I have n t used the magnetic needle at all, as it 
 could n t be relied on here. Neal, which way is 
 north? " he asked. 
 
 " North seems to be somewhere about where 
 that notch is, between those two sharp peaks," 
 Neal replied, pointing, as he spoke, with his 
 finger. " I get it from the north star. That 
 will be pretty near right, won t it? " 
 
 "Nearly, but not quite," said Ken. Then 
 consulting the needle, he remarked, " According 
 to what you say, this needle does n t point within 
 thirty degrees of true north. There s some 
 attraction here from mineral ; which makes a 
 compass needle of no use at all." 
 
 The boys then went about resetting the corner- 
 posts according to Ken s directions. 
 
 "Allowing a fraction for what we may need 
 down below, we will let this claim run back from 
 the edge five hundred and seventy-five feet. 
 This will make nine hundred and twenty-five feet 
 in the opposite direction, or down to the creek," 
 he said. " I suppose the two southerly end- 
 posts of this claim will also be the northerly end- 
 posts of the other one?" 
 
 "Yes, that s the better way; and it s the 
 way an extension is usually made, " said Dave. 
 
S C I K X T I F 1C M E A S U R E A I E X T S . 95 
 
 This being accomplished, Ken set about pre 
 paring for his evening " observation." 
 
 He obtained from Neal two small pieces of 
 box-cover. In one he cut a long, narrow slit 
 about a sixteenth of an inch wide, and this piece 
 he nailed perpendicularly to the other piece, which 
 he laid flatwise. The flat piece could thus be 
 shoved along a table and the slit would remain 
 upright. 
 
 Then he took a pole, and attaching a string 
 and plumb-bob to the top end, planted it in the 
 ground so that the top of the pole leaned two or 
 three feet to one side. He placed a pail filled 
 with water directly underneath the top of the 
 pole, so that the plumb-bob hung suspended 
 within the water, which made the line steady. 
 This completed his preparations until it became 
 time for "business," he said. 
 
 After the pleasant exercise of supper had been 
 disposed of, Ken borrowed Neal s table, and with 
 Phil s assistance made its top quite level, pla 
 cing it as nearly due south of his plumb-line as he 
 could judge. Then laying upon the table the 
 contrivance with the vertical slit, he said he was 
 all ready. 
 
 "The thing is perfectly simple," he said to 
 the other boys. I presume you all know that the 
 
96 T H E 1J I G - 1 1 R X T R E ASU R E . 
 
 pole-star makes an apparent revolution, or path, 
 around the true north point, and all that s ne 
 cessary is to make your observation at the right 
 moment. That is, when the pole-star is on the 
 meridian, and before it passes to the east or west 
 of it. Now, science has learned that the star 
 Alioth (the star in the handle of the dipper that 
 is nearest to the bowl) also crosses the true me 
 ridian practically at the same time as Polaris. 
 Therefore, it s only necessary to set your marks 
 when one star is directly above the other and 
 you have your north-and-south line." 
 
 Ken s description made this matter much 
 clearer to the boys than it ever had been before, 
 and as the evening wore along he showed them 
 the actual practice of the test by frequently 
 pushing his upright slit along so as to always 
 have it in line with both the plumb-line and the 
 pole-star. Meanwhile it was necessary for one 
 of the boys to hold a candle so that its light 
 would shine upon the plumb-line and enable it to 
 be seen. 
 
 Finally he announced that the plumb-line 
 showed Alioth to be directly below Polaris, and 
 ordered two stakes driven in the ground one 
 close to the table and the other at about two hun 
 dred feet distance and the meridian was estab 
 lished. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NEAL S "BLOW-UP" THE SICK STRANGER. 
 
 After breakfast the following morning, Ken put 
 the finishing-touches to his work of the evening 
 before by connecting his meridian line with the 
 center-line of the claims. This was quickly ac 
 complished by setting up the compass at the 
 meridian and sighting to the center-line and read 
 ing the angle, then resetting his instrument at 
 the center-line post and sighting back to the 
 meridian line and reading the angle of deflection. 
 This gave him the true course of the vein (and 
 of the claim) quite independently of the compass- 
 needle, which could not be relied upon. 
 
 It had been arranged that Neal and Ken were 
 to go down into the valley to set the necessary 
 corner-posts there, while Dave and Phil would 
 remain in camp and devote their attention to 
 putting the assay furnace into working order. 
 
 As Ken and Neal walked down the trail to 
 gether, Ken remarked : " From the mountain top 
 over yonder, where we strayed to, clay before 
 yesterday, this place looks perfectly inaccessible. 
 97 
 
98 TIIK UK! -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 You must have had hard work to make the trail as 
 good as it is." 
 
 " It was almost inaccessible till we made the 
 trail," replied Neal. "I came up alone first, 
 when I was tracing the vein, and there were 
 places where t wasn t any easy job for me to get 
 over. I call myself pretty spry too. After I 
 found the vein and went back again, it took Dave 
 and me three solid days before we could get the 
 jacks over. 
 
 " We ve done some work on it since then 
 too. That reminds me of something! I ve al 
 ways intended to explore the wall of the moun 
 tain on the farther side of the plateau. Maybe 
 twould have been easier to get up and down 
 from that side than this. Don t make any dif 
 ference now, I s pose, but it s well enough to 
 know how the land lies; considering that \ve 
 might have visitors some time." 
 
 " Have you seen any people since you came 
 in here?" Ken inquired. 
 
 " No, not a soul. There are men not many 
 miles away, though; because I ve seen smoke 
 from their fire, way up high among the hills to 
 the north. I thought I heard a man shout, one 
 day, too, when I was coming up the trail, but 1 
 could n t see any one." 
 
 " You say we might have visitors," said Ken. 
 
XEAL S " IJLOW - UP. " 99 
 
 " Do you think there are men in the mountains 
 who would really try to disturb us in our rights 
 here? 
 
 " I ve no reason for saying there \s any such 
 men hereabouts, now," replied Neal, "but 
 that s the history of every mining district in the 
 Rocky Mountains. I ve had my own experiences 
 in being jumped. 
 
 "One of them my first one, in fact is 
 kind of amusing to think about now, although I 
 could n t see anything so very comical about it 
 at the time." 
 
 " What was it? Are you willing to tell the 
 story? " 
 
 li It was the year I came out West ; when I was 
 nothing but a youngster, rather green, but plucky 
 enough; the sort they raise in and around the 
 lumber woods of Maine and Canada. 
 
 11 I struck a small camp over near Eureka, 
 Nevada, where everybody was going daft about 
 the prospects. I hung around a few r days, with 
 nothing to do, when a man came up to me and 
 asked if I didn t want a good all-winter job, 
 good pay and not much to do. 
 
 "I wasn t lazy, but the promise of good, 
 steady pay was enough, so I said Yes, mighty 
 quick. Then he told me he had a claim up in 
 the mountains, and was obliged to go away East 
 
100 TIIK UK;- HORN TKKASl RK. 
 
 for a while, and would be willing lo pay good 
 waees to have it held for him. lie said he spoke 
 
 o 1 
 
 to me because he thought my face showed that I 
 was honest and would n t be easily scared. 
 
 "Well, I struck a bargain with him right 
 away. He gave me a lot of instructions, told me 
 how to find the place, and gave me money 
 enough to stock up with provisions for six 
 months. There was a good log cabin on the 
 claim, he said, and the kind of talk he gave me 
 sort of made me proud ; so when he gave me the 
 key and shook hands with me I started off, say 
 ing to myself that I was going to show 7 him that 
 he had n t made any mistake in his man. 
 
 " I found the place all right, got my grub in, 
 and made everything as tidy and comfortable as 
 I could. There was n t anything to do, as one 
 man could n t work in a shaft alone, so I used to 
 wander around the hills a good deal, hunting and 
 exploring. 
 
 " One day, just as I was getting back to the 
 cabin, I found tw r o men sitting beside the trail, a 
 little way from the door. 
 
 " As I came up one of them snarled out, Say, 
 who be you, and what ye doin round here, 
 anyhow? 
 
 "I didn t like his way of speaking, and I 
 did n t like the cut of either of em very well, so 
 
NEAL S " BLOW- UP. IOI 
 
 I said, Maybe I ve a better right to ask you 
 that question, but your looks are enough forme. 
 I don t want to know anything about you, and 
 I walked right past em toward the cabin. 
 
 "At that they both called out, Hold on 
 there, young feller! 
 
 " I turned, and the other man spoke up, say 
 ing, Don t you ride any high-steppin horse 
 past us, or you 11 have trouble a plenty. The 
 duffer what sent you up here jumped this claim. 
 It s our n, and we want you to chase yerself out 
 o here double quick. 
 
 "That statement kind of staggered me, be 
 cause I couldn t know but what it might be true. 
 But I answered him back, You say it s your 
 claim. How did it come to be yours? 
 
 " It s our n cause we located it first, he 
 replied. 
 
 " Oh! you did? said I. Did you build this 
 log shanty ? 
 
 " No, the jumper put it up, he growled. 
 
 " He did, eh? I said. Well, did you sink- 
 that shaft? and are there any corner-posts any 
 where around here that you set up? 
 
 " Either the questions or else my sarcastic way 
 of talking made him wild, and he yelled, * We 
 ain t goin to fool with you, nor take any cheap 
 talk! You pack up an git out o here, or we 11 
 
102 THE lUC-IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 fix you. We 11 give ye jest two days to do 
 it in ! 
 
 " I felt pretty sure now that they were ras 
 cals, and as I wasn t a bit scared I answered, 
 Thanks for the two days, but I m going to need 
 a little more time than that. In fact, I m going 
 to stay here all winter; and now, if you ve got 
 yourselves all rested, you can hit that trail, and 
 do it hard and quick. You re not ornamental 
 enough for my front dooryard ! 
 
 "They both jumped to their feet then, and 
 made some show of reaching for their revolvers, 
 but I tapped the stock of my Winchester kind 
 of careless-like, and with my left hand pointed 
 down the trail. 
 
 44 They didn t stop to argue, but hustled off, 
 and just before disappearing from sight in the 
 brush turned and screamed, Mind! We 11 fix 
 
 " I did n t really expect any trouble, but I kept 
 about the claim somewhat closer for a while, and 
 for two or three weeks I did n t even know who 
 the fellows were. 
 
 4< One day I ran across them down at the camp, 
 and found, by inquiring, that they didn t seem 
 to have any friends except among the toughs, so 
 I did n t bother my head about em any more. 
 
 44 One night, maybe about ten clays after this, 
 
NE AL S BLO W - U P. " 103 
 
 I was sound asleep in my bunk when there came 
 a paralyzing crash and roar. The cabin seemed 
 to be lifted into the air, everything in it scat 
 tered to the four winds, and as for me, I thought 
 as far as I was able to think at all that my 
 brains went one way and fragments of my body 
 another. I lost my senses for a while, and when 
 I came to I lay helpless. 
 
 " Gradually I began to pull myself together, 
 and found that although I had bruises and cuts 
 all over my body from my face downward, I d 
 got through without any real bad hurt. 
 
 "The cowards had blown up the cabin with 
 giant-powder. Lucky for me, though, they 
 did n t know what corner my bunk was in, and 
 they did their sneaking work at the opposite end 
 from me. 
 
 " It w r as a beautiful wreck. The stove, and 
 most everything else, was smashed into scraps, 
 and what was left of the cabin was just about 
 standing on end. 
 
 "When I dragged myself down to the camp 
 next day, and put myself on exhibition, there 
 was a mad lot of men. The coyotes had skulked 
 aw r ay, though, and couldn t be found anywhere 
 in the country. So the boys had to be satisfied 
 with clubbing together and helping me to rebuild 
 the cabin and straighten everything up." 
 
io4 TIII-: me- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "Did you ever see or hear anything of the 
 fellows, afterwards?" asked Ken. 
 
 " No, not a thing-. I hungered and thirsted 
 to find em for a long time, but years ago I 
 made up my mind to forget about it. There 
 ain t any sense in running round looking for 
 trouble. It s apt to come fast enough all by 
 itself." 
 
 Arriving at the dead jack-pine it took but a 
 short time for Ken to figure out the location of 
 the posts, and they were quickly set. 
 
 Then he took a few bearings with the compass 
 to prominent objects, and after posting the 
 claim notice at one of the corners, they returned 
 toward camp. 
 
 They walked at a moderate pace, chatting as 
 they went, about the risks and experiences of 
 the miner s life, so that time passed rapidly and 
 the way seemed short. 
 
 They had left the valley, and were more than 
 half-way up the trail toward camp, when Neal, 
 who was slightly in advance, paused, exclaiming, 
 " Hello! What s this?" 
 
 Ken looked up the trail, then answered, 
 Why, it s one of the boys! Can anything 
 have happened at camp?" 
 
 After a slight pause Neal returned, " No, it 
 ain t one of our boys. It s a stranger." 
 
NEAL S " BLOW - UP. " 105 
 
 Sitting in the trail some distance ahead, and 
 above them, was a man. 
 
 Whether he had seen the two persons approach 
 ing was uncertain. But as they looked he 
 seemed to drop into a recumbent position and to 
 writhe as if in intense pain. 
 
 <l Something has happened to him," said Ken. 
 " Let s hurry and see if we can be of any help ! " 
 
 They soon reached the place and found a 
 rather small, black-bearded man lying at full 
 length and motionless, but uttering occasional 
 deep groans. 
 
 Neal touched him on the shoulder saying, 
 " What s the trouble, friend? " 
 
 The man opened his eyes for a moment, but 
 gave no indication of consciousness. 
 
 Ken then shook him slightly, crying, " Are 
 you hurt? Is there anything we can do for you ? 
 
 After staring at Ken for a minute he seemed 
 to try to speak, as he moved his lips, but the 
 sound was unintelligible. 
 
 lt Can t you sit up? " asked Neal, at the same 
 time trying to help him to partially rise, but the 
 man sank back, almost as though unwilling to be 
 helped. 
 
 " I can t make out yet," said Neal, " whether 
 he s been hurt, or is sick, or is just a plain looney. 
 What do you make of him, Ken? " 
 
106 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " Being where he is, the most natural thing is 
 to suppose he has been hurt, but his symptoms 
 look more like sickness. I don t see any marks. 
 Do you ? 
 
 "No, there s no bones broken. What do 
 you think we ought to do with him? " 
 
 " I hardly see yet," replied Ken. " Perhaps 
 we would better wait a little while to see if he 
 doesn t come back to consciousness." 
 
 " What plagues me is to understand what he 
 is doing here on our trail," said Neal. "He 
 was either going toward our camp or else coming 
 from there. But what for? Can you imagine?" 
 
 " No; that s beyond me. It s very peculiar. 
 Maybe he will tell us himself. He begins to show 
 some signs of knowing something." 
 
 The man seemed to be struggling to sit up, so 
 both of our friends lent their assistance, and 
 presently he stammered, " What s the matter? 
 Who are you ? 
 
 " We can introduce ourselves if it will help 
 things along any, but, my clear boy, we can t tell 
 what s the matter. In fact, we had some hopes 
 you would do that," said Neal. 
 
 "I m sick! Awful sick! " the man groaned. 
 
 " If we can do anything for you, we will," said 
 Ken. "Where did you come from? and how 
 did you get up here on this trail? " 
 
BIT THK SOtND WAS UNINTELLIGIBLE," 
 
XKAL S " BLOW- UP." 109 
 
 " Let s sec. Where be I ? O, yes. Now I 
 know! I come from Bald Eagle. I ve got a 
 pardner somewheres this way, an I m tryin to 
 find him. I heerd he was on the head of Por- 
 ph ry Creek. I ve ben sick most the way up. 
 I seen this trail an come along up here, but I 
 felt awful bad an set down. That s all." 
 
 He told this with frequent catches of breath 
 and seeming spasms of pain. 
 
 Well, that seems a straight story," said 
 Neal, " and I guess you re playing in pretty hard 
 luck. We 11 have to get you to camp somehow, 
 and maybe we can fix you up a little. It seems, 
 Ken, that he must have struck our trail after we 
 turned away from it to go up the valley." 
 
 "Yes, of course. The next thing now is the 
 question of how we are going to get him up. Do 
 you think you can try to walk? " he asked of the 
 sick man. 
 
 " I 11 try. I m feelin better, some. Mebbe 
 I won t get faint any more." 
 
 They assisted him to his feet and started, 
 the sick man walking slowly between Neal and 
 Ken. 
 
 " I m pretty rocky," he said, " but I guess I 
 kin go it, slow. Hope I ain t goin to have 
 mountain fever." 
 
 Pausing now and then, they made their way 
 
110 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 upward and along the trail, the man seemingly 
 gaining more strength as they advanced. 
 
 As it was only about a mile and a half to camp, 
 they reached there in little more than an hour, 
 and the invalid was made comfortable in one of 
 the tents. He had, meanwhile, as they reached 
 the plateau and neared the camp, looked about 
 him with evident but somewhat languid curiosity. 
 
 Neal left him, saviner cheerfully, "A hot 
 
 J o * 
 
 drink and a nibble of dinner will help you along- 
 some, I think. I 11 look over the bill of fare." 
 
 Dave and Phil were full of curiosity over the 
 new arrival, and Ken was explaining how they 
 had picked him up. 
 
 "He looks harmless," Dave said, "and of 
 course there was nothing to do but take him in. 
 I hope we won t have very many callers yet 
 awhile, though. " 
 
 " No fear, Dave," returned Neal. " There s 
 not very many of em in these parts. I guess if 
 this fellow wasn t a little weak under his hat - 
 as well as in his legs he wouldn t be here, 
 either. How do you come along with the assay 
 rigging? " 
 
 "We ve got it all nicely into shape, and our 
 test-ore all powdered too. We ve also opened 
 up the charcoal pit I started last week. There s 
 some of the stuff. Pretty good coal, is n t it? 
 
NKAI/S " BLOW-UP." I I I 
 
 We 11 have dinner, and then go ahead with the 
 tests. Dinner s all ready, and I m cook to-day, 
 but I m in no danger of being spoiled by your 
 flatteries. Whenever we want to give a swell 
 dinner party, Neal is the man to act as chef" 
 
 Before seating himself, Neal carried a liberal 
 allowance of food to the sick man, who remarked, 
 " I ll eat just a little. Don t feel much like eatin ." 
 
 While the boys sat at table Dave explained 
 his idea of the chief need for an assay in a case 
 like theirs. 
 
 " It might seem," he said, " as if it weren t 
 
 o 
 
 necessary to bother ourselves about how 
 many dollars each cubic foot of ore as rich as 
 this will yield. That part of the matter would 
 be taken care of when the ore goes to the mill. 
 But it s not wise to work in the dark when 
 you re able to have a light. 
 
 " Neal and I several times have tried crushing 
 the ore, weighing the samples, and washing them 
 in a pan. In this way we have not been able 
 to get a result higher than six or eight dollars 
 to the pound of rock, nor an average of more 
 than four or five dollars. 
 
 " Now, we are sure that it s a good deal richer 
 than this, and that a large percentage of the gold 
 is in the form of a brittle telluride, which, 
 when it is pulverized, washes away with the sand. 
 
112 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 The reason why we are sure of this is that 
 we have made some crude attempts at roasting 
 the ore to drive out the tellurium. When we 
 roast and then wash it we get larger results. But 
 to give real satisfaction we must have a smelting- 
 test, or assay. A careful assay will give us val 
 uable knowledge in several directions. Not 
 only how rich the ore actually is at present, but 
 (what is most important) will give us better 
 ideas of how the vein is likely to continue. 
 
 11 The proportion of free gold to that which 
 is contained in the telluridcs is one important 
 matter. If the tellurides run high, there is a 
 larger probability of the vein holding out rich 
 than if most of the gold is free. Then, too, 
 there are various forms of tellurides, and most 
 of them contain silver. There is, probably, silver 
 here, but for my part I hope there isn t much. 
 The ore will be more promising, and besides, will 
 be more easily milled if it runs light in silver. 
 
 "There may also be sulphides. At present I 
 can see little more than a trace, but this may 
 change, and in that case the whole character of 
 the mine changes." 
 
 "How will it change, Dave?" asked Phil. 
 " Will it be unfavorable? " 
 
 " It will not be favorable. The usual form of 
 gold sulphide is iron pyrites, and it is not a good 
 
NEAL s BLOW -UP." 113 
 
 ore to treat. Knowledge of how to mill these 
 ores is increasing, but the subject is still a good 
 deal of a problem. Quartz containing sulphide 
 is very apt to be hard and heavy too, and there 
 fore expensive to mine as well as to mill. The 
 most desirable thing is ore rich in tellurides, or 
 (of course) free gold, but, in my judgment, our 
 best hope is tellurides." 
 
 " Well, here s to Mr. Tellurium! " cried Phil. 
 " May his tribe increase and wax fat! " and he 
 held up his tin cup of coffee. 
 
 All drank, the dinner was ended, and Dave 
 went about his task. 
 
 Neal looked in upon the sick man and found 
 that he had finished every scrap of the bountiful 
 dinner he had carried to him. 
 
 " I guess our patient will come around if we 
 give him time, Ken," he remarked. "He s 
 polished off the tin dishes till they shine." 
 
 4 Perhaps it was hunger that ailed the poor 
 fellow," said Ken. 
 
 " Well, I don t know. Maybe," was the reply. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RESULT OF DAVE S ASSAY. 
 
 " The first thing to do," said Dave, " is to fire 
 up the furnace. It will take a little while for it 
 to come to a proper heat. I hope it isn t going 
 to rain. It might spoil our efforts," and he 
 looked at the sky. 
 
 " Maybe I can fix a roof that will shed rain 
 for a little while," said Neal, " by hoisting a can 
 vas pack-cover on poles." 
 
 This he succeeded in doing very neatly in a 
 short time, meanwhile remarking, " We ve got 
 to build a house soon as we can get around to it. 
 I guess we four ought to be able to run it up in 
 quick time. " 
 
 By the time Neal had finished his roof Dave 
 had his powdered ore, or " pulp, " all prepared 
 and weighed, and upon inspecting the furnace he 
 pronounced it hot enough for business. 
 
 " I may have to try a number of times before 
 I hit it just right, but we shouldn t be satisfied 
 with one test, even if we don t meet with any 
 accident." 
 
 114 
 
RESULT OF DAVES ASSAY. 115 
 
 The boys were all watching his work with the 
 keenest interest, and Ken asked, " Shall we 
 bother you any, Dave, if we stand around and 
 watch you? We re all full of curiosity." 
 
 "Oh! no. Not a bit," replied Dave. " I 11 
 try and explain the process as we go. 
 
 " There are several ways of making assays," 
 he continued, " but the process known as scori- 
 fication is as good for our needs as any, and is 
 much the simplest. So we will use it." 
 
 "Why is it called < scorification, Dave?" 
 asked Phil. 
 
 " I hardly know, unless the man who gave it 
 the name had the first chance at the word. It is 
 evidently from scoria, and indicates that the 
 result is obtained from a fusion of substances, 
 but many other methods are equally so. It s 
 merely a name. 
 
 " First, we ve got to roast our sample. We 
 do this to prevent a loss of gold or silver through 
 volatilizing 
 
 "Tut, tut, Dave! Twist the brakes a little 
 there! " cried Neal. "Just wait till I get out 
 my dictionary, will you! 
 
 Dave laughed gaily, and said, "Well, I d 
 have given you a shorter one if it were capable 
 of doing the work, but there isn t any that I 
 know of. You shouted a little too soon. I was 
 
Il6 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 just going on to say that when you melt up your 
 ore without first driving out certain elements, such 
 as zinc or sulphur, or antimony (which are pretty 
 sure to exist there in some proportion) the in 
 tense heat operates upon them all so quickly 
 that they are likely to carry off some of the gold 
 or silver in the fumes. We call it volatilizing/ 
 and this can be prevented by driving out these 
 elements first with a moderate heat." 
 
 "Oh! I understand now, and I apologize," 
 said Neal. 
 
 "Never mind the apology," replied Dave, 
 smiling. He then resumed, pausing between 
 each of the stages of his work : 
 
 "The roasting is best done by placing the 
 ore upon an iron pan like this, which we coat 
 all over with chalk and then sprinkle with the 
 powdered ore and place it inside the muffle." 
 
 "What s the muffle, Dave?" asked Neal. 
 " Is it the oven? " 
 
 " Yes, it s a sort of oven. It s made of fire 
 clay, so that the coal fire may come in contact 
 with it on every side, and thus generate an in 
 tense heat within. It s perforated, you see, with 
 only very small holes, to allow the fumes to es 
 cape." 
 
 Dave now placed the pan containing the 
 powdered ore inside the muffle, leaving the door 
 
RESULT OF DAVE S ASSAY. \\J 
 
 open so that he could keep it constantly stirred, 
 and it gradually came to a full red. 
 
 "You see now, "he said, "that the fumes 
 have ceased to rise from the ore, so I 11 take the 
 pan out. 
 
 " The next thing to do is to mix the ore with 
 this granulated lead, called litharge, using twenty 
 parts of lead to one of ore, and put the mixture 
 in this small fire-clay cup called a scorifier. I 
 then cover the charge over with twenty parts 
 more of lead, and lay a little borax glass on top 
 of the whole. This completes the charge. 
 
 " Now I put the scorifier inside the muffle and 
 close the door. The lead melts very quickly, 
 so I will have to open the door and you can see 
 the ore on the surface of the lead. You see 
 there are fumes rising. The first are from the 
 tellurides and the silica (or quartz), and the later 
 ones are from the lead. The lead fumes are a 
 clear white. 
 
 "Now the colors change and become varie 
 gated, and you see there s a large bright bead 
 dancing on the surface inside the ring of darker 
 material. 
 
 " Now I ve got to lower the heat slightly, and 
 as the heat grows less, you see that the slag closes 
 over the top of the bead. 
 
 " The next thing is to raise the heat again, 
 
Il8 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 and this time \ve must make it fierce and roaring 
 for a minute or two, after which I will take the 
 scorifier out of the muffle." 
 
 When Dave had done this, and allowed it to 
 cool for a few moments, he took the button out 
 and hammered it, so as to detach the brittle slag, 
 or refuse portion. 
 
 11 Now," he said, " what we ve got here is a 
 lead button, in which is contained all the gold 
 and silver, and nothing else. 
 
 "First, we have got to get rid of the lead, 
 and afterwards separate the gold from the silver. 
 
 "In disposing of the lead so as to leave the 
 gold and silver free, we use a process called 
 * cupelling. 
 
 "The cupel is a small shallow cup, shaped, 
 outwardly, like a section of a cylinder. It is 
 made of bone-ash, and so porous that it will 
 absorb its own weight of lead." 
 
 "What s the meaning of the word cupel, 
 Dave? " asked Phil. 
 
 " I don t know. Perhaps Ken can tell us," he 
 replied. 
 
 " I think," said Ken, " it s from the French 
 coupcllc, for little cup." 
 
 " Good! That s plain enough." 
 
 " This operation of cupelling," resumed Dave, 
 " is more of a mechanical process than chemical. 
 
RESULT OF DAVE S ASSAY. I 19 
 
 Under a melting heat the porous bone-ash of the 
 cupel simply absorbs the lead and leaves the but 
 ton of crold and silver free, somewhat as a blotter 
 
 o 
 
 will absorb water and leave sand. 
 
 " The muffle is good and hot now, so I select 
 a clean cupel, place it inside, and watch it until 
 the muffle is at a white heat and the cupel is of 
 a bright cherry red. Now I take up the button 
 with my tongs, place it gently in the cupel, 
 and close the door. 
 
 " The lead melts very quickly, so I must open 
 the door to keep the heat down. You see, there 
 are luminous flashes passing over the button, and 
 it seems to be revolving from the center outward. 
 The button is growing smaller and more round, 
 and in a minute more the lead will all be absorbed 
 by the cupel. f 
 
 11 Isn t it beautiful! " cried Ken. " It gives 
 out prismatic hues like a diamond." 
 
 "Yes," said Dave, "this is called brighten 
 ing the button, and it s a critical stage. If it 
 gets too hot, some of the mineral might pass away 
 in vapor. I have placed another cupel in the 
 furnace and I will now invert it over the bead, to 
 prevent it from spitting. 
 
 " I believe our cupelling is a success." 
 
 After waiting a few moments Dave withdrew 
 the cupel and easily removed the smooth, well- 
 
120 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 rounded bead. He brushed it carefully with his 
 button-brush, weighed it upon a pair of delicate 
 scales, and recorded the weight. 
 
 " The whole of our gold and silver is in this 
 bead (or ought to be)," he said. " The only 
 thing to be done now is to separate one from the 
 other." 
 
 Dave then took the bead and flattened it with 
 his hammer, making it as thin and uniform as 
 possible, and placed it in a porcelain dish. Then 
 he poured diluted nitric acid over it until the 
 button was covered, and placed the dish over 
 the fire, where he allowed it to remain until it 
 came to a moderate heat. 
 
 " Nitric acid will absorb silver very readily, 
 but will not act on gold," he said. 
 
 After a minute or two Dave removed the dish 
 and poured off the acid. Then he repeated the 
 process, but made his acid somewhat stronger 
 than before. 
 
 After he had again poured away the acid he 
 said, "All that s left in the dish now is gold. 
 It looks black and tarnished, and is in irregular 
 grains, so I will first dry it over the fire, and then 
 I will have to cupel it again with lead, after rais 
 ing the muffle to a white heat. The second 
 cupelling is merely to condense the grains into a 
 single bead, and also to brighten it." 
 
RESULT OF DAVE S ASSAY. 121 
 
 When Dave had finished doing this he said, as 
 he took up the yellow shining bead and dusted 
 it with care, " Now we ve got the actual result 
 in gold. The silver has all been poured away 
 in the acid. I will weigh the bead, and when 
 we subtract the figures from those I set down be 
 fore we shall have the weights of both the silver 
 and gold." 
 
 Meanwhile the boys were watching and listen 
 ing to Dave with eager interest. 
 
 After weighing the little button with his deli 
 cate scales, Dave figured for a few minutes, went 
 over his w r ork again to check it, and then an 
 nounced in a gay and exultant voice: " Boys, if 
 the sample we took was a fair average one, the 
 stuff runs about twenty-seven thousand dollars 
 to the ton in gold, and less than a hundred dollars 
 in silver." 
 
 There was a shout of rapture from the other 
 three, and Phil cried, " Does that mean, then, 
 Dave, that from a third to a half of the gold is 
 in the form of tellurides? " 
 
 "Yes, Phil. If my assay is right, it means 
 just that," he replied. "It means, too, that 
 we could hardly ask for anything more favorable. 
 But I m not going to rest satisfied with this test. 
 I m going to pulverize some other pieces, pick 
 ing out those that don t show so much free gold. 
 
122 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 I shall make several tests and then I will feel 
 safer. 
 
 "For my part," shouted Phil, "I feel safe 
 enough to turn hand-springs! If I were out of 
 everybody s sight that s what I would be doing. 
 Say, Neal, what do you think about the mine 
 now? " 
 
 "I m feeling mighty happy, Philip. I in 
 ready to believe Dave s assay is all right, be 
 cause I thought the tellurides must be rich, 
 though, of course, I could n t be sure of it. We 
 might better go slow a bit, even yet. There s 
 a cJiance of a mistake, and there s many a slip, 
 you know." 
 
 " Well, boys, I feel a good deal as Phil does," 
 remarked Ken, "but I know something that 
 perhaps will make a fair substitute for hand 
 springs. While Dave is working here let s go 
 and finish up the surveying. When we ve got 
 our certificates of location all fixed up and prop 
 erly recorded, I 11 feel as though we have done 
 what we ought, and not till then." 
 
 "That s the right way to talk," returned 
 Neal. " Always keep your business well in hand, 
 and you needn t feel much afraid of slips. But 
 how do you s pose, Ken, you re going to carry 
 the line up over the other cliff? Will you tri 
 angulate, same as you did before? Jiminy! 
 
IK T 
 
RESULT OF DAVF/S ASSAY. 125 
 
 Come to think of it, I don t believe our exten 
 sion claim will reach clear to the top, anyway, 
 and it s mighty certain we can t climb to any 
 place part way up and put in corner-stakes. The 
 face of the mountain above here is a good deal 
 steeper than tis below." 
 
 " How wide is this shelf, Neal?" asked Ken. 
 
 " It must be close to fifteen or sixteen hun 
 dred feet. Our first claim runs back five hun 
 dred and seventy-five feet, so that one thousand 
 feet of the extension claim will (as I figure it) 
 take us to our tunnel, and the last five hundred 
 feet will carry us just that much up the moun 
 tain, or inside of it, whichever way you like to 
 call it." 
 
 " Oh! well, then, if that s the case," replied 
 Ken, "it will really make our work very much 
 easier than I supposed it would be. We shall 
 only have to set our posts at the foot of the cliff, 
 and mark them as witness-corners. The notes 
 will then explain that the true corners cannot be 
 set because the mountain is inaccessible." 
 
 "Well, it won t take long to do that," re 
 turned Neal. " We can have it all done and you 
 can fix up your notes for filing and be ready for 
 supper before Dave is." 
 
 This turned out quite as he said; so that when 
 Neal gave his cheery call of "Supper! Ho!" 
 
126 THE Hid- HORN" TREASURE. 
 
 the survey had long been finished, Ken had 
 completed his notes, and Dave was just giving 
 the last touch to the figures of his assay tests. 
 
 "How s our patient, Neal?" asked Ken as 
 they sat at table. 
 
 " I vc just taken his supper to him," replied 
 Neal. " He thinks he feels pretty bad yet, and 
 could n t come out and eat with us. I thought 
 I saw him out once this afternoon, but I was 
 busy and didn t take much notice." 
 
 "He seems to me a queer case. Don t you 
 think so, Neal?" asked Dave. 
 
 "Yes; and if I thought he had half as much 
 sense as either Sancho or Teddy, I d feel like 
 inviting him to gird up his trousers and hunt 
 for that pardner of his; but I guess he s a 
 sort of a freak. How did you get on with the 
 assays? " 
 
 " I made two more, and both of them from 
 samples that I thought would give the very fairest 
 tests. They were both low in silver, and one 
 showed a little less gold, the other more, than 
 our first assay. The average is fully up to our 
 first test." 
 
 " Dave," cried Phil, " let s have your candid 
 opinion. Don t you think we have a great prop 
 erty here? " 
 
 "Yes," replied Dave. "I feel satisfied now 
 
RESULT OF DAVF/S ASSAY. I2/ 
 
 that we ve struck a ledge that is going to show 
 something remarkable." 
 
 " Hurrah! " shouted Ken. "Now, what do 
 you say, Neal? " 
 
 " I guess we ve got it, this trip, Ken. I vc 
 felt that way for quite a while; but I ve been 
 disappointed so many times, that I wanted to get 
 all the pointers I could before I began to holler 
 very much. I 11 tell you now what I think 
 about the vein, from the standpoint of my expe 
 rience and small knowledge of rock forma 
 tions. " 
 
 Good! good!" exclaimed the others to 
 gether. " Let s have it, Neal." 
 
 " Well, let s clear away the wreck of the sup 
 per first, " he replied. "I ll feel easier in my 
 mind if that s out of sight." 
 
 This was soon accomplished, and the boys 
 seated themselves around the fire. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 NEAL S MINERALOGY. 
 
 Neal seemed a trifle embarrassed as he looked 
 around at the boys, who were waiting for him to 
 begin. 
 
 4< I hope none of you boys will think I claim 
 to know a whole lot about mineralogy," he said. 
 ;< I m only going to tell what I believe; and it s 
 chiefly on account of things I ve seen." 
 
 " Don t be too modest, Neal. We re all 
 willing to take lessons from you," said Ken 
 warmly. 
 
 Neal blushed red with pleasure and embarrass 
 ment, and began. 
 
 You may remember that I talked pretty 
 strong the other day about how the vein might 
 disappoint us yet. So it may. We can t, any 
 of us, live long enough to get away from the 
 reach of slips and accidents. What I believed 
 then was the same as to-day; only now my 
 faith is stronger. That s the only difference. 
 
 "I ve been afraid you boys w r ere feeling too 
 sure; but I m going to let you sing now. The 
 128 
 
NEAI/S MINERALOGY. 1 29 
 
 chances arc in our favor, and if we get disap 
 pointed in the end, why, we re strong enough to 
 take the medicine; that s all. 
 
 " Dave and I each have our ideas about the 
 native rock in these parts; and I m going to call 
 it quartz-porphyry. I never saw any place where 
 there s been more shaking up and topsy-turvying 
 than riefht around here. This mountain is full 
 
 o 
 
 of big dyke fissures, made up of lava that has 
 come up from below and filled the cracks. But 
 it ain t in those dyke veins that we re to 
 look for the gold, at least, for very much. 
 It s silly to suppose that the mineral came up in 
 big chunks or spots along with the lava. You 
 see, there s a little gold most anywhere: in all 
 rocks and in most all water. If you could get 
 down to the interior of the earth, where 
 maybe it s all a-fire, and maybe it ain t, you d 
 probably find just as much gold, and no more, 
 than in the average of all rocks here on top. 
 
 " When you find it in nuggets and pockets and 
 spattered all through the rock (as ours is), it s 
 been gathered there afterwards, a little at a time, 
 and from all directions. The rocks everywhere 
 are changing all the time. It takes thousands 
 of years from one change to another; but there 
 ain t any stop to rest, you bet! Nature is a 
 terrible hustler. 
 
130 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " Now, any man who watches and studies the 
 thing can see that whenever you find a real 
 quartz or " true-fissure " vein that cuts right 
 through a lot of different kinds of rock, it s 
 there you re liable to find more gold than in 
 uniform rocks. Sometimes you 11 find a little 
 gold in the trap dykes that seem to boil up from 
 way below the primeval granite ; but when you 
 do, it s liable to be on the edges. How do 
 you account for it? 
 
 "It means that the gold has collected there 
 since the rocks were formed. It has moved 
 toward certain points: has worked and squeezed 
 its way through the little pores and seams of 
 the solid rocks, and was carried along, in solu 
 tion, by some kind of an acid or mineral salt. 
 
 "Now, the quartz veins, where gold is gen 
 erally found, are simply the places that are most 
 favorable for collecting it. The only way a 
 quartz vein can be compared to a trap dyke is, 
 that both of them are composed of stuffs that fill 
 up gashes in the earth. The dyke is filled with 
 lava from below; but the quartz vein don t go 
 clear down into the original granite at all, and 
 the quartz and other stuff that s in it came in 
 from the sides. 
 
 "Quartz is nearly pure silica in the form of 
 crystals. As silica is the commonest material in 
 
NEAL S MIXKKALOCV. 131 
 
 all rocks, it s natural that the acids, or hot salts, 
 should carry it into the veins first and crystallize 
 it into quartz. The same salts carry along little 
 particles of gold and leave them in the cavities 
 between the crystals. 
 
 "By and by (remember, nature keeps things 
 a-moving), maybe another form of salt comes 
 along and acts on these same gold grains, dis 
 solves them, and carries them farther down below, 
 where they are deposited again in larger chunks; 
 and so, you see, we get rich pockets like ours, or 
 the big nuggets that are sometimes found. This 
 work has been going on ever since the world was 
 made: gathering, dissolving, leaching, deposit 
 ing; and is called by scientists lix-iv-i-a-tion. 
 I love a grand, big word like that. It s one 
 of the finest I ever knew. You see, when you 
 throw it out, sort of careless-like, people respect 
 you. They don t know what it means, and 
 think you re mighty wise. Lix-iv-i-a-tion. 
 Ain t she fine? I got her from Dave." 
 
 The boys laughed long and merrily at Neal s 
 droll way. 
 
 When they paused, at length, Ken said: 
 "You think, then, Neal, that our vein is more 
 apt to be rich because it cuts through different 
 kinds of rocks? " 
 
 "Yes, that s it. The more, the better, as 
 
132 THE HIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 long as they re stratified or metamorphic rocks. 
 You can see, too, why I think we re fully as apt 
 to find it rich below as above; on account of the 
 lix the leaching process. Its effect on gold, 
 though, don t seem to reach only to a certain 
 depth." 
 
 The boys were warm in their praises of Neal s 
 way of setting forth his ideas. 
 
 Ken exclaimed: " Neal, that s the clearest 
 and finest statement of the subject I ever 
 heard! I m sure it must be right too; and I 
 thank you for it." 
 
 Then they drifted into a discussion of what 
 their plan of work would be in the morning. 
 
 Suddenly Dave spoke: " What s that noise, 
 Neal?" as a sound, first a slight jar, as of some 
 thing falling, then what seemed like a grunted 
 oath, followed by a deep groan, came to their 
 ears. 
 
 They were sitting by the fire, in front of the 
 tent, and the sound came from the rear. 
 
 All sprang to their feet and ran around to the 
 back of the tent, where they found their invalid, 
 who was struggling to his feet. He had fallen 
 over a tent-rope. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" demanded 
 Dave, sharply. 
 
 "I wanted er drink o water an come over 
 
NEAL S MINERALOGY. 133 
 
 from th other tent. I couldn t see an fell over 
 the rope." 
 
 Dave and Neal looked at each other. Then 
 Neal said slowly: " Plenty of water round here; 
 and it s cheap; but w r e don t want people prowl 
 ing about our camp, even to get a drink. Now, 
 you get back to your tent, and stay there. I 11 
 fetch you some water." 
 
 The man muttered something, and went 
 toward his tent. 
 
 " I don t feel very easy about that fellows 
 Neal, "said Dave. I suppose he s only un 
 fortunate, but I 11 be glad when he s gone." 
 
 Well, I feel almost the same way; but he 
 can t be more than half-witted, and can t do us 
 any harm. If t wasn t for that, I would think 
 he d been listening." 
 
 " I think we can afford to take chances on any 
 injury a poor wreck of a thing like that 
 could do us, even if he has listened," remarked 
 Phil. 
 
 " The only thing that bothers me," said Ken, 
 " is to know what we are going to do with him. 
 I don t believe he s capable of taking care of 
 himself if we turn him loose. In fact, we 
 mustn t send him away alone until he is much 
 better than he is now. He might wander off 
 and die." 
 
134 THE P.K; -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " Let s hope he will get better mighty soon, 
 then," returned Dave. 
 
 They all returned to the fire and sat in silence 
 for some little time, until Ne.il returned from his 
 errand of water-carrying to the sick man. 
 
 " What s that rattling the supper dishes over 
 there, Neal? Is it a mouse?" asked Phil. 
 
 "It s a mountain rat. Do you know the 
 beast?" Neal replied. 
 
 " No. Are there wild rats up here?" 
 
 " Yes, they re wild enough, in one way; but 
 they sometimes get to be a nuisance too." 
 
 "Are they at all like our vermin in the 
 towns? " 
 
 "No; they don t seem much like rats, except 
 in their size and their way of hanging round 
 where people are. They are comical little 
 duffers, and you 11 get well enough acquainted. 
 There s plenty of em around here." 
 
 "Say! Fellows! (Excuse me for interrupt 
 ing, Phil.) What do you think of our going right 
 ahead and riling our location certificates? " inter 
 posed Ken. 
 
 " I think it s a good idea to have it attended 
 to and out of the way," said Dave. "It s 
 quite a task to do it, though. I suppose we will 
 all have to go over to Gunnison ; and it will 
 take several days, perhaps, to clean it all up." 
 
NEAL S MINERALOGY. 135 
 
 "How s that, Dave?" asked Phil. "Shall 
 we all have to go together? " 
 
 " We can t all leave at once. Somebody must 
 stay to watch camp; but, you see, there are two 
 claims to be sworn to, and that means that Neal 
 and Ken must both go. Each claimant ought 
 to have two witnesses, so that, as far as I can see 
 now, it may take the rest of us. How does it 
 strike you, Neal?" 
 
 " We ve got to do a little work, first of all," 
 replied Neal. " There has n t been enough de 
 velopment work on claim Number One. We 
 know where the vein is, and all that, but to live 
 up to the law, we must do some work on each 
 claim, locate a place of discovery, and call it a 
 discovery shaft or pit or tunnel, and 
 say at what point on the vein it is. It won t 
 take very long to do that. I suppose the best 
 place to do it is right at the edge of the lower 
 cliff. 
 
 " When we ve done this, we might as well go 
 right along and fix up the filing. It 11 be safer. 
 There s a lot of other things that ought to be 
 done, though, and I sort of grudge the time. 
 \Ve had better do the work on the vein right 
 off, anyway, and then we can decide whether it s 
 best to attend to the filing first of all." 
 
130 Till: BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 When they had turned in for the night it 
 needed little more than a comfortable stretching 
 of the limbs, one or two deep, gratified breaths, 
 and one and all dropped quickly away into the 
 land of dreams and sound, refreshing sleep. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE PASSING OF THE "SICK MAN," AND ITS CON 
 SEQUENCES. 
 
 The morning came clear, crisp, and fresh as 
 usual, although there had been a slight rain 
 during the night. 
 
 Ken and Phil had already begun to shoulder 
 their part of the camp drudgery; so, while Neal 
 and Dave set about making the fire and preparing 
 breakfast. Ken was chopping and carrying wood, 
 and Phil came from the lake with two pails of 
 water. 
 
 " I ve found," said Ken, "that, up here in 
 this altitude, the thing for a fellow to do when he 
 gets up in the morning is to hustle around lively 
 for a while, if he wants to feel first rate. When 
 I ve got the blood to chasing itself through my 
 veins, it s perfect happiness merely to draw my 
 breath. The air is better than wine." 
 
 "Yes," cried Phil, " and the color and beauty 
 of it! Could the finest description ever written 
 give any idea of such a combination as that? 
 Look, Ken ! The sun is right behind old 
 
138 TIIK r.IG-IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 Grizzly, and over beyond he has spread a wash 
 like brilliant metal all over the side of Maroon 
 and Snow-Mass peaks. And then the effects of 
 the Hying white clouds overhead and that purple 
 mist clown below." 
 
 " Yes, Phil, I think I shall never crow tired of 
 
 o 
 
 it. It always seems as if I had never lived until 
 I came to the mountains." 
 
 tk Breakfast! " shouted Xeal. "I guess I 11 
 see, first, what sort of an order I must send in to 
 the nursery this morning." 
 
 " Hello! " he called, as he re-appeared from 
 the other tent. " Have any of you boys seen 
 the infant? He ain t here." 
 
 "Why, no!" they answered, one after an 
 other. Where do you suppose he is?" 
 
 "He hasn t been around here since we got 
 up, and must have left the tent before day 
 break," said Ken. "I m afraid he s wandered 
 away in another fit of delirium, and something 
 happened to him." 
 
 Ncal, meanwhile, was looking at the ground, 
 and walking in the direction of the trail. 
 
 o 
 
 "Go ahead with breakfast, boys," he called. 
 
 " I 11 be back in a few minutes." 
 
 So they sat do\vn, Dave remarking, " I Ve 
 
 been almost afraid you fellows would think me 
 
 harsh and ungenerous toward that man; but, 
 
TIIK PASSING OF THE "SICK MAN. 
 
 from the very first, I could n t help thinking he 
 seemed like a fraud. I could see that Ncal felt 
 the same, as far as his instinct went, but he 
 sympathized with the fellow s apparent weak 
 mind." 
 
 " Then do you think, Dave, that he has been 
 shamming? " asked Phil. 
 
 " Yes, that s just what I think. I believe he 
 had an object in coming here: that he has been 
 spying on us; and that now he has slipped away, 
 taking whatever information he wanted along with 
 him. " 
 
 " Oh ! I can t believe that ! " said Ken. " The 
 man was sick when we found him on the trail. 
 You would think so, too, Dave, if you had seen 
 him then. But here comes Neal. Perhaps he 
 has learned something. 
 
 " I don t know yet just how it s going to 
 figure out, but there s a game in it somewhere, 
 and it ain t a square one, either," said Neal as 
 he sat down. I ve been over to where the trail 
 leaves the plateau, going down along the wall of 
 the mountain, and I can t see any trace of him. 
 The rain of last night washed dirt over the 
 trail, and he could n t get by without leaving 
 foot-marks; so he didn t go down that way, at 
 least, since the rain." 
 
 "Then he has wandered out in the night," 
 
140 TIIK P.IG-HORX TREASURE. 
 
 cried Ken, "and may have fallen into the lake, 
 or over the cliff! We must look for him." 
 
 " Yes, we 11 look for him," said Neal, between 
 his sips of coffee, "but I 11 offer big odds that 
 we don t find either him or his remains." 
 
 " What do you think, then, Neal? " asked Phil. 
 
 " I think he s left us by some other way," was 
 the reply. 
 
 " But there is no other way." 
 
 " I 11 know 7 for certain about that, Phil, after 
 I make a careful examination. There s three or 
 four things possible. He may have walked over 
 the cliff in the dark: he maybe here yet, or he 
 may have gone clown the trail in the night, before 
 it rained, or he s found another way to get 
 down. The last is what I m betting on." 
 
 "It doesn t seem reasonable that he could 
 have gone about here in the night, or before day 
 break, and found something that we ve never 
 discovered in the weeks we ve been here, Neal," 
 said Dave. 
 
 "Say, fellows!" interposed Phil. "The 
 thought strikes me just now r that we were so 
 intent upon our work yesterday, and we were 
 away part of the time, too, that the fellow had 
 chances enough to slip into the bushes. He 
 might have spent most of the afternoon explor 
 ing the shelf." 
 
THE PASSING OF THE "SICK MAN." 141 
 
 " You ve hit the nail on the head, Phil," said 
 Neal, as he rose from the table. I feel pretty sure 
 I know just what he did, and almost how he did it. 
 If you boys feel like going to work on the new 
 shaft, I 11 go out on a little still-hunt; and I 11 
 bring you some news before long. Oh! ain t I 
 ashamed of myself, though? I ve always thought 
 I had as big a brain-pan as an average Digger 
 Injun; but here s this little sneak we ve tucked 
 up in bed and fed with a spoon, that s all the 
 time been laughing at us for a lot of coddles and 
 weak sisters. It makes life a burden." 
 
 He took his rifle from the tent, and vanished 
 among the bushes. 
 
 Then the boys seized each a shovel or a pick, 
 and w r ent vigorously to work upon the new shaft, 
 or " open-cut," as Dave termed it. 
 
 Little was said for an hour or more; all being 
 engrossed with their work and with their own 
 thoughts. 
 
 At the end of that time Neal returned, carry 
 ing something white in his hand. He passed it to 
 Ken, who saw it was a handful of scraps of paper. 
 
 " Where do you suppose I found these, Ken? " 
 he asked. 
 
 Ken turned them over in his hands, and then 
 exclaimed in astonishment, " It s my location 
 certificate! Why, they re both here! " 
 
142 THE BIG-HORN TRKASURK. 
 
 "Where did you get them, and who tore 
 them up? " 
 
 " The most interesting part of it is the place 
 where I found em. You would n t guess, be 
 cause none of you have been there. I found the 
 pieces over in the far corner of the plateau, be 
 yond the lake. 
 
 " Now you can guess who tore them up. 
 We ve been so busy since we struck our ledee 
 
 J o 
 
 that we ve never explored the neighborhood, 
 small, even, as tis. I ve always thought there 
 might be a chance to get up and down by w^ay of 
 the northwest wall, but, besides being busy, it 
 has n t seemed easy to get over there. The lake 
 and the outlet you know cut the plateau 
 right in two. There ain t very much ground 
 over there, specially beyond the ridge of rocks 
 that s next to the lake and the upper cliff. 
 
 "Well, I struck off towards the lake from 
 here, and followed the edge around till I came 
 to the outlet. Something made me think our 
 sick man had gone that way when he said 
 by-by. When I got to the creek I followed it 
 down a little piece, when I came to a dead pine 
 that s only just dropped across, because I know 
 t was n t there a few days ago. 
 
 "You see, this blooming babe we ve been 
 nursing here took a stroll yesterday, found a 
 
PASSING OF THE "SICK MAX." 143 
 
 dead tree that he could push over, and kept 
 going right along. He crossed on his bridge, 
 scrambled through the brush and over the rocks 
 to the far end, and there he found a chance to 
 get away from here on that side." 
 
 "It doesn t seem possible!" said Phil. 
 " From the other side of the valley it looks like 
 a sheer wall. " 
 
 "It ain t any stage road, nor even a burro- 
 path ; but there s a chance for a good man to 
 get up and down ; right along the face too. I 
 ain t sure but there s a better natural show for a 
 trail, even, than where ours is. Anyhow, he 
 took it, this morning, and he left the certificates 
 behind him. He threw the pieces into a crevice 
 between two rocks, where I spied em and 
 scraped em out. I m through chattering now. 
 I 11 let the rest of you talk." 
 
 There was a blazing fire in Neal s eyes which 
 told of his honest wrath, and Ken thought it 
 was a fortunate thing for their late guest that he 
 had not been overtaken. 
 
 " It must be a dreadfully low and depraved 
 nature that could stoop to such means, and I 
 can t understand his object even now," he 
 said. 
 
 " His object, Ken, was to find out all about 
 our property," said Dave. " There s a scheme, 
 
144 THE 1UG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 somewhere and he s at the head of it to 
 
 make trouble for us, provided we have something 
 here that s worth troubling about. There must 
 be others in it, and I should think they are not 
 very far from here. At least, they have seen 
 our camp from some of the hills, and he came to 
 spy. He knows all about it now." 
 
 " But what good can it do him? What did he 
 want to steal our certificates and destroy them 
 for?" 
 
 "Oh! I ain t afraid of its doing him any 
 good!" exclaimed Neal. "We re the dis 
 coverers, and we re in possession. What bothers 
 me worst is the thought that he played us 
 so beautifully, and got away. There s a ganij 
 
 / 7 O J o o 
 
 of em somewhere, of course; and we will 
 hear from em again; but just how, nobody 
 knows. " 
 
 " I believe I can see through his scheme," 
 said Dave. What would he want of our location 
 certificates but to copy them? His tearing them 
 up pioves that. He s got all the points. He 
 will use our figures and our data, make out new 
 certificates, put in other names, and file on this 
 same property of ours ! 
 
 Neal gave a long whistle. 
 
 "Dave," he cried, "you ve hit it; sure as 
 you live! If they do that and get in ahead of 
 
TIIK PASSING OF THE "SICK MAX." 145 
 
 us, they can make a lot of trouble, even if we 
 hold possession. They might get a crowd of 
 toughs to swear that they were here first, and we 
 drove em off. " 
 
 " But I never heard of anything so outrageous 
 as that! " cried Ken. "It can t be possible! " 
 
 " Many things as bad, and worse, have hap 
 pened in the mountains," replied Dave. "The 
 thing for us to do now is to hustle. They can t 
 beat us in recording the certificates if we go 
 about it on the run. I m sure that s the trick 
 they will be up to. I don t suppose they will 
 think of such a thing as trying to get the claims 
 away from us by jumping. Do you, Neal?" 
 
 " I wish that was the only thing to fear," re 
 plied Neal. It would be only fun to have that 
 kind of a brush with the sneaks. We could hold 
 the place against fifty of em. No. They won t 
 try that. Not now, anyway." 
 
 "For my part," returned Dave, "it would 
 give me more satisfaction now to outwit them 
 than to give them a thrashing. If they force a 
 fight, they can have it, and welcome; but they 
 must take us for a lot of boobies, and I long to 
 show them their mistake. 
 
 " Well, I don t want to seem selfish and grasp 
 ing," said Neal, "but I m going to dare hope 
 for both. Now, then; let s to work!" We 
 
146 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 will finish up the open cut, and lay our plans for 
 to-morrow. We ve got to act quick as well as 
 careful. " 
 
 Before noon they had removed the earth from 
 the top of the vein for a considerable space. A 
 charge of giant-powder was then exploded, which 
 tore loose a quantity of quartz showing free 
 gold, and their labors in this spot were, for the 
 present, concluded. 
 
 At the noon hour a council and comparison 
 of notes was held, with the result that it was 
 decided to have three of the party proceed to 
 Gunnison, one remaining to guard the camp. 
 
 Dave insisted on remaining alone, although 
 under strong protest from the others. 
 
 He said, "There will be no use, I think, 
 in making the trip with fewer than three persons. 
 Neal and Ken have each got to file their own cer 
 tificates, and will need two witnesses. I think 
 now that each can witness for the other, and 
 Phil will be second man, to act for both claimants. 
 As for my staying here alone, it s not a se 
 rious thing, even if it is a little lonesome. I will 
 get along all right, and there s plenty of work 
 to keep me busy." 
 
 "All the same, I don t like the idea," said 
 Neal," but I s pose it s got to be, for this once. 
 What will you drive at while we re away? " 
 
:*L4 
 
 "AT THE NOON HOUR A COUNCIL WAS HI 
 
THE PASSING OF THE "SICK MAN." 149 
 
 " I can work in the tunnel, although I can t 
 accomplish very much there alone ; I can chop 
 wood, or hunt (we shall need more mutton); 
 or, what I prefer doing is to work at building a 
 house. If you are gone long enough, and I can 
 get the jacks to do such mean work as hauling 
 logs, I may have a new residence all ready to 
 move into when you get back." 
 
 " No fear of that. We won t be away longer 
 than three days, at the most," said Neal. 
 
 " But can you do it within that time?" 
 
 " Yes, barring accidents," he said. " Instead 
 of going way around, I m going across, or 
 try it. I know a notch in the range that will 
 give us a good chance to get over on to the East 
 Fork. I believe we can go through in one 
 day." 
 
 In the afternoon Ken prepared new location 
 certificates, which he was easily able to do from 
 the memoranda he had made. 
 
 Neal had disappeared from sight immediately 
 after dinner. 
 
 In the course of an hour there came reports 
 of four loud blasts, and, shortly, Neal reap 
 peared, remarking, as he laid down his hammer 
 and drill, "The infant won t ever bring his 
 chummies back here by the route he traveled. 
 I ve blown away the whole upper end of the 
 
150 THK BIG -HORN TRKASURK. 
 
 trail. The only place you need watch, Dave, is 
 our old trail here. " 
 
 " I m glad you did that, Neal," said Phil. It 
 makes me feel easier about Dave being here all 
 alone. " 
 
 " I don t think there s one chance in a hun 
 dred that there will be a visitor here while we 
 are away," said Neal, "They ve got some 
 thing else to think of, just now. It s only the 
 idea, on general principles, of Dave s being 
 alone here that bothers me." 
 
 "Don t worry over me, boys!" said Dave. 
 " I shall be all right. Another thing, Neal. You 
 know the provisions are getting low; and it s 
 just as well to have this filing done now. You 
 can arrange to stock up with everything we want. 
 We shall need a heavy supply, as there are four 
 of us to eat, and we don t want to be bothered 
 with it again for a good while. We ought to 
 plan some other way of getting them here, than 
 with our own burros." 
 
 "Yes, I ve been thinking about that, Dave. 
 I don t believe we ought to try to pack stuff in 
 with our own jacks. It would take too much 
 time, and time is too valuable to waste now in 
 driving our animals over to Gunnison. The 
 scheme I favor is, to hire a train of burros, or 
 
THE PASSING OF THE ki SICK MAN." 151 
 
 mules, and run the stuff all in at one trip. We 
 fellows will talk it over as we go." 
 
 Before night everything was in readiness, and 
 at daybreak the following morning the party \vas 
 on its way down the trail. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PHIL S LOST TRAIL THE AGILE INVALID. 
 
 The route Neal had chosen was to leave the 
 trail at the ice bridge and climb the intervening 
 range which separated them from another valley 
 on its easterly side. 
 
 This, he said, would give them the advantage 
 of a comparatively straight course and much 
 shorter distance to Gunnison, the county scat. 
 
 They made such good progress that long 
 before noon they reached the summit of the 
 divide, and could look far down the valley they 
 were expecting to traverse. 
 
 "We re doing first rate," said Neal. " We ll 
 rest here a little while, and have a bite of lunch. 
 If we can make twenty miles from here before 
 dark, we will strike a road that s good enough to 
 travel on in the night, and ought to take us into 
 Gunnison by nine o clock. Do you think we re 
 good for that much of a tramp, boys?" 
 
 " I am," said Ken, "and Phil seems to think 
 he is able, generally, to do more than I. Don t 
 spare us. We can follow you." 
 
 " All right. We ll sit here long enough to get 
 152 
 
PHIL S LOST TRAIL. 153 
 
 our wind into good shape. It will be time well 
 spent," he replied. 
 
 "Say, Neal ! What kind of an animal is that 
 yonder, among the rocks?" asked Phil. 
 
 " The little fellow? O, that s a coney! " 
 
 " A coney? I didn t know there was such an 
 animal in the mountains. I ve read of conies in 
 natural history; and is n t there something in the 
 Old Testament about conies living among the 
 rocks? but I know nothing about them." 
 
 "What a strange cry he has," said Ken, as 
 the little animal in question sat erect on his 
 haunches, eyeing the intruders, and cried skink 
 in a tone similar to the creaking of a signboard 
 on its rusty hinges. He was smaller than a red 
 squirrel, with no tail worth mentioning, and 
 shaped somewhere between a guinea-pig and a 
 hare. 
 
 " He looks just like a hare or a rabbit or 
 would if his ears were a trifle longer/ said 
 Phil. 
 
 " That s the family he belongs to," replied 
 Neal. "He is said to be the smallest of the 
 hares. They live in the rocks and in high alti 
 tudes. In fact, the most of em I ve seen have 
 been at about the upper edge of timber-line. 
 I m told they hide away and go to sleep in the 
 winter, hibernate, I think they call it." 
 
154 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 I wish I could get one, or get close enough 
 to examine it better," said Phil. 
 
 " I m afraid you won t do either," said Neal. 
 "They are quick as a flash. The only one I 
 ever had in my hand was a dead one I picked up 
 on a hillside, where he had been killed by sliding 
 rock. Try a shot at him with your revolver. 
 You need n t mind about the cruelty of it. 
 He 11 dodge the bullet every time." 
 
 Phil was not one of those persons who are 
 governed by the senseless sportsman s instinct to 
 kill any and every wild thing which comes within 
 range, but he was quite interested in the little 
 animal, and really quite anxious to examine it 
 closely, and besides, Neal s remark stirred his 
 pride a little, as he regarded himself a good shot. 
 So, drawing his revolver, and aiming carefully 
 at its head, he fired. 
 
 " Go and pick up your game, Phil," laughed 
 Ken. 
 
 Phil ran to the spot where the coney had sat a 
 moment before, but nothing was to be seen but 
 a crevice between the rocks, showing which w r ay 
 he had gone. 
 
 " Well! " he exclaimed, " that was the quick 
 est somerset I ever saw! In fact, I did n t see 
 it at all. I 11 bet he can t do it again." 
 
 He returned to his seat and waited. 
 
PHIL S LOST TRAIL. 155 
 
 In a few minutes there came another faint 
 "skink" from a point a few feet to the right 
 of the previous place, and a head and pair of 
 bn eht eves showed themselves. 
 
 o J 
 
 Taking a still more careful aim, Phil pulled the 
 trigger; but with no other result than before. 
 
 " Gracious! Was anything ever so quick? Of 
 course, it s possible that my bullets went to the 
 side, or above him; but I don t think so." 
 
 " No, I believe they dodge at the flash of the 
 gun," said Neal. "At least, I ve never been 
 able to get one. Well, let s be moving." 
 
 " All right, Neal," returned Phil. " You and 
 Ken go ahead, and I will follow you in two 
 minutes. I want to have one more try at that 
 little scamp." 
 
 " We are going to walk pretty fast, Phil; so 
 don t loiter," enjoined Ken; and the two started 
 off down the mountain. 
 
 Now, whether it was that in his eagerness Phil 
 did not take proper notice of the lapse of time, 
 or merely that he felt undue confidence in his 
 ability to quickly overtake the others, he tried 
 one, two, and three shots in succession. As he 
 had to wait an interval after each shot before the 
 coney reappeared, quite a number of minutes 
 passed by. 
 
 "Well, I ve got to give the skeesicks up," 
 
156 THE DIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 he said, after the third trial, and thrustincf his 
 
 o 
 
 pistol into his pocket, he started into a run clown 
 the slope, in the direction taken by the others. 
 
 About three quarters of a mile ahead, and be 
 low him, was a broad belt of aspen trees; and 
 thinking Neal and Ken had passed beyond and 
 were obscured from his view by the foliage, he 
 made directly for the grove with rapid strides. 
 
 When he emerged from the trees on the lower 
 side, the boys were not to be seen. But failing, 
 in his heat and haste, to take proper notice of 
 the sun as a guide to his course, the thickly 
 standing trees had somewhat confused and turned 
 him about, so that, seeing a ravine directly ahead 
 of him, which sloped away, apparently in the right 
 direction, he plunged into it without hesitation. 
 
 He rushed along at a loping gait for some time 
 before he realized that the ravine was growing 
 more and more winding and tortuous, and more 
 difficult to traverse. 
 
 Then he stopped with a startled feeling. 
 
 Why! The boys can t have gone down 
 here," he exclaimed. " I believe it sthe rough 
 est traveling on the whole mountain side, and 
 Neal always chooses the best. Ho\v can I have 
 made the blunder? " 
 
 There was nothing in the surroundings to guide 
 him. The ravine was narrow, with steep sloping 
 
PIIII/S LOST TRAIL. 157 
 
 sides, and permitted of no outlook; so, after 
 thinking for a moment, Phil concluded to climb 
 to the ridge on his right. 
 
 "I think I ll be able to see the boys from 
 there; and at least, I 11 find out where I am," 
 he thought. 
 
 When he reached the top, he made a careful 
 search in every direction, but the boys were not 
 to be seen. 
 
 Strange, he muttered. I ought to be able 
 to see them, even if I am off the track. I 
 don t see the timber along the East Fork now, 
 either. I m all mixed up." 
 
 Then he remembered that he carried a small 
 compass in his pocket, and opening it, he 
 watched the needle until it settled. 
 
 "This is w r orse yet," he said, growing still 
 more nervous. I ought to be traveling east of 
 south, when, according to the needle, I am going 
 nearly north." 
 
 At first he thought the needle must be under 
 some local influence; but after testing it again, 
 he saw by its steadiness that it was unlikely to 
 be very far wrong. Then he began to look care 
 fully about him again. 
 
 He was upon a ridge running in a north-and- 
 south direction. Upon his left was the ravine 
 down which he had but just come, and beyond 
 
THE mG-IIOKX TREASURE. 
 
 the wall of its higher ridge was another and still 
 higher ridge, beyond which nothing could be 
 seen. Upon his right was a ravine, deeper than 
 the one he had left ; and looking over and beyond 
 the top of its opposite boundary, he could see 
 a succession of three or four other ridges, trend 
 ing in a similar direction. 
 
 " I don t see how it comes, but there can be 
 only one explanation of it," he thought. " When 
 I came out of the grove, it was upon a spur of 
 the mountain, and I was already turned around. 
 The spur had ravines running in all directions, 
 and I took just the one I should n t have taken. 
 If I m going to reach the East Fork, I ve got to 
 turn to the ri^ht and cross all these ravines and 
 
 o 
 
 ridges, or else eo back to the tableland from 
 
 o o 
 
 which they start. 
 
 " I believe I 11 go back. The walking isn t 
 very bad on the ridge here, although it s all up 
 hill." 
 
 He turned, and walked rapidly in the direction 
 whence he had come, and was thus going south 
 ward, as well as climbing higher. 
 
 His anxiety lent him strength, and it was not 
 very long before he approached the spur of the 
 mountain that he had left in such haste after 
 emerging from the timber. 
 
 Arriving there, he ran to the opposite side, 
 
PHIL S LOST TRAIL. 159 
 
 and at once saw that his conclusion had been 
 right. 
 
 The ravines sloped away in the opposite, or 
 southerly, direction, and away in the distance 
 below he could see the line of trees along the 
 East Fork. It seemed that the stream made a 
 long sweeping bend to the eastward, around the 
 base of the mountain. 
 
 I m still out of the way," he thought. 
 " Neal s route was simply a short and straight 
 cut, and left this spur out entirely. 
 
 " He supposed I would have sense enough to 
 see how it was, and so I ought. I wouldn t 
 blame them if they chipped in and bought me a 
 little do<j down at Gunnison, to lead me around 
 
 o 
 
 with a string. " 
 
 He turned now to the right, and walked west 
 ward along the edge of the shelf. 
 
 After a few minutes walk he arrived at a point 
 opposite where the East Fork turned again in a 
 southerly direction, and concluding now that he 
 could not be very far away from the course the 
 boys had taken, he was upon the point of start 
 ing southward along the top of a ridge when 
 he saw something which made him start and 
 then crouch down among the fragments of 
 rock. 
 
 Emerging from behind the extreme western 
 
160 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 limit of the aspen grove, and some distance from 
 where he stood, was a line of six men. They 
 were walking at a good swinging pace in the 
 direction of the East Fork, keeping in single file, 
 and without conversation. 
 
 That which, to Phil, was the most startling 
 feature of the scene was the fact that the 
 leader who was a small man was, very evi 
 dently, none other than their late guest and 
 invalid. 
 
 " Unless my eyes deceive me, this settles the 
 last remaining doubt about him," Phil thought. 
 " Sick man, indeed! He s as full of jump as a 
 coyote. You 11 have a bad quarter of an hour 
 when Neal gets sight of you, my boy." 
 
 He lay flat until the men had crossed the open 
 space, and vanished from view clown one of the 
 ravines. Then Phil was seized with a feeling of 
 fear. 
 
 " Neal and Ken will be coming back to look 
 for me," he thought, "and are likely to meet 
 this crowd. There will be trouble, and they are 
 only two men against six. If it were n t for my 
 stupid trifling, we should all be a long way ahead, 
 and reach Gunnison before them. 
 
 " Oh ! if I can only get to the boys now, and do 
 my part, I 11 be willing to fight the whole 
 crowd. 
 
PHIL S LOST TRAIL. 163 
 
 He ran to the place where the men disap 
 peared from sight, and, looking down the ravine, 
 was just in time to see them again vanish around 
 a curve, 
 
 " I think our boys must be a little more to the 
 eastward," he thought. " I will keep on along 
 this ridge, just far enough over to be out of view, 
 and perhaps I may get sight of Ken and Neal 
 before they run against these fellows." 
 
 But Phil had failed to realize the passage of 
 time, nor as he had no watch that it was 
 now long past noon. 
 
 The fact was, that Ken and Neal had long ago 
 turned back, and were searching for him through 
 the aspen wood and the ravines leading upward 
 from thence to the point where they had left 
 him. 
 
 Phil continued down along the ridge, which 
 grew lower and more sloping, until he at length 
 approached the East Fork. 
 
 He was now in advance of the party he had 
 followed, and feeling uncertain of what was best 
 to do, he swerved somewhat to the left, and hid 
 himself in a clump of bushes. 
 
 He had not long to wait before the six men 
 filed out of the ravine, and without stopping 
 turned and went on down the bank of the 
 stream. 
 
164 THE BUI -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 Phil remained where he was for a time, try 
 ing to think out the situation. 
 
 " It s clear enough," he thought, " that the 
 boys have n t met this gang yet, and I feel very 
 certain they are now behind me. They would n t 
 go on beyond this point without turning back to 
 look for me. 
 
 "Now, if I start back again to find them, I 
 may miss them entirely, just as they have missed 
 the toughs. It seems to me, the only thing to 
 do is to wait right here near the stream until the 
 boys get back. They will conclude, after a while, 
 that they have missed me on the way, and that I 
 shall be waiting for them here/ 
 
 This, in fact, was the way things terminated. 
 
 After waiting a length of time which seemed 
 almost interminable, Phil at length saw Ken and 
 Neal hurrying toward him down the same ravine 
 which brought the procession of six an hour or 
 more before. 
 
 There were joyful greetings all around, and 
 Ken was almost divided in mind as to whether he 
 would huer or thrash the dear fellow. 
 
 o 
 
 Phil began at once, impulsively, saying, "You 
 can t blame me half as much as I do myself. 
 I m a trifler and a fool, but I m dreadfully 
 sorry, though. Now, call me mean names! 
 
PIITI/S LOST TRAIL. 165 
 
 Don t be backward about it! I need it, and it 
 will do me good ! 
 
 "We won t say anything at all, Phil," said 
 Ken. " I ve had a great scare, and I m so 
 happy to see you again that the rest doesn t 
 matter. Neal feels the same way, I m sure." 
 
 " Yes, I do, Phil; sure thing. I can t tell you 
 
 how glad I am to see you. Why, I was thinking 
 
 just a few minutes ago, that I cl be even more 
 
 glad to see you than to see that little duffer that 
 
 played us off so slick." 
 
 Phil and Ken laughed merrily ; then Phil said : 
 
 "Well, I guess it won t be so very long before 
 
 you see him, Neal. He and the rest of his pals 
 
 -six of them altogether went past here 
 
 down the creek only an hour or two aq;o. I sat 
 
 J o 
 
 in the bushes and took in the whole procession, 
 from head to tail. 
 
 " What s that, Phil? Do you mean they are 
 ahead of us now?" cried Neal eagerly. 
 
 "Yes, Neal; and that s what makes me feel 
 so mean. If it wasn t for me, we would be 
 ahead, and get into Gunnison before they do." 
 
 Neal s excitement was only indicated by the 
 gleam in his eyes and the way he clenched his 
 hands. 
 
 That was over in a minute, and he then said, 
 " I wish we were in the lead of em, but maybe 
 
1 66 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 it won t matter very much. They ll get through 
 to-night and we won t; but I think we can get 
 into Gunnison in the morning by the time the 
 registry office is open, and that might be just as 
 good. 
 
 " The thing now is to get just as far clown the 
 creek as we can before dark. We ve lost three 
 or four hours, and we 11 have to camp some 
 where this side of the stage-road." 
 
 Three hours later the party went into camp in 
 a thicket of willows. A bright fire was kindled, 
 their light lunch soon and all too quickly 
 disposed of, and then all laid themselves down 
 together, their feet toward the fire, and their 
 weary senses were quickly wrapped in slumber. 
 
 At daybreak they were again on their way, 
 and before nine o clock they were in Gunnison. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE FILING NEAL DELIVERS AN OPINION. 
 
 Without pause or delay,- the little party made 
 it s way directly to the register s or county 
 recorder s office. 
 
 "You seem to be familiar with the place, 
 Neal," said Ken. 
 
 " O, yes. I know it very well. I ain t been 
 here for two years, though." 
 
 Arriving at the door of the office they sought, 
 they were admitted by a tall, rather genial-look 
 ing man, who had but just unlocked it. 
 
 "Walk in, boys," he said. "It s a few 
 minutes ahead of office hours, but we won t count 
 it this time." 
 
 He stepped behind the railing just as Neal 
 and Ken each produced his certificate, which they 
 handed to him. 
 
 He opened one of them, and glanced over 
 it, then, looking up with a quick, surprised 
 air, he looked squarely into the faces of each of 
 the three boys in turn. Then he cried: 
 
 "Hello, Neal; old pardner! Is this the way 
 167 
 
l68 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 you come up to your old chums? Without say 
 ing over a word ? 
 
 With a short, puzzled look into the recorder s 
 face, Xeal answered, "Why, it s never Archie 
 Campbell ? " 
 
 "Isn t it, though? Well, then, to the best 
 of my knowledge and belief, it is! " returned the 
 other. 
 
 Then both fell to shaking hands in the man 
 ner that brother Scotchmen know so well how 
 to do. 
 
 " It s the clean, sleek face, and the long 
 moustache without the whiskers that fooled me, 
 Archie. But why did n t ye speak to me, when 
 it comes to that? " said Neal. 
 
 " It must be my thoughts were somewhere 
 away, Neal. Ye hav n t changed any to speak 
 of. But, man! Ain t it the funniest thing? I 
 was thinking about ye only last night ; and ye 
 know I have n t seen ye since three years ago, up 
 in the Wind River country. 
 
 "There s something all- round curious about 
 it. Some fellows blew into the camp last night, 
 and went around the streets inquiring for me. 
 Somebody pointed me out, and a little monkey- 
 faced looking feller rushed up to me, puts two 
 certificates into my hands, and said I must go 
 right over to the office that minute and file em. 
 
THE FILING. 169 
 
 " I convinced him after a while that the best he 
 could do was to come around this morning at 
 nine o clock. I glanced over his papers, and 
 they were exact duplicates of these, only the 
 names were different. Probably I might n t 
 have noticed, only as I was reading one I ran 
 across your name, partly scratched out; maybe 
 the feller s ink turned darker on him after he 
 thought he had it fixed. Anyhow, there was 
 your name, Neal Mclnnis, faint, but quite 
 plain ; and under it was another, I forget 
 what. 
 
 " I gave him back his papers; and the more I 
 thought about it afterwards, the more it seemed 
 to me there was something that wasn t straight. 
 The duffer s queer actions, the hurry he was in, 
 and then your name, impressed me so, that I was 
 thinking of it again when I came in this morn 
 ing. I s posed he and his crowd would be here 
 waiting for me when I got around. I guess 
 that s why I didn t see you at first. I spotted 
 you quick enough, though, when I saw your 
 name here. " 
 
 The boys, while Campbell had been relating 
 this incident, exchanged smiles of gratification 
 and meaning. Then Neal cried : 
 
 "Thank ye kindly, Archie, for your good 
 thoughts! Now, let s get these things filed and 
 
I/O THE IJIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 sworn to, and then, if you re not too busy, I 11 
 tell ye all about it." 
 
 It took but a few minutes to do this, and both 
 papers were duly witnessed and attested. 
 
 "You can get your papers this afternoon, 
 boys," said Campbell. Then opening the gate 
 in the railing, he said, " Come in, all of ye, and 
 sit down. It s good to see ye, Neal. I m glad 
 to meet your friends, Mr. Carter and Mr. Went- 
 worth, too. What s the racket, anyway? Got 
 some good claims, and these bums trying to 
 jump ye? " 
 
 That s the idea, Archie," replied Neal, 
 11 only they tried to file ahead of us first. We 
 discovered and located the vein, and we re in 
 possession. We think they meant to swear they 
 discovered it and that we drove em off." 
 
 " Not a very bad play, either! " cried Camp 
 bell. " That is, for cuteness, I mean. But it 
 won t work this time. The evidence is too 
 strong on your side. I know too well the style 
 of man you are ; and you and I have too many 
 friends in this camp, old man." 
 
 The two old chums shook hands again and 
 laughed. 
 
 Just then there was a sound of approaching 
 footsteps, and our three friends hurriedly turned 
 their chairs about, and sat with their backs 
 
THE FILING. I /I 
 
 toward the door, as six men entered, and Mr. 
 Campbell arose to receive them. 
 
 There was not a man among; the new arrivals 
 who could be called naturally prepossessing in 
 looks, and matters were made worse by the fact 
 that they all were to some extent under the in 
 fluence of liquor. 
 
 Clearly, they had spent the night in a wild 
 debauch, and had not recovered wholly from the 
 effects. 
 
 The leader a small man was the most in 
 telligent-looking of them all, but his small- 
 featured face, rendered still more disagreeable by 
 the whisky-drinking, was a decidedly evil one. 
 
 " Here s them certificates," he called out, in 
 a high voice, "and we want em filed right off, 
 too! This here s my claim, an that s the ex 
 tension, owned by my pard, Joseph Helmer. 
 Here, Joe! Come up here an take care o yer 
 prop ty! What ye doin back there? " 
 
 "Your name is Brodie?" asked Mr. Camp 
 bell. 
 
 "That s w r hat it is! William Brodie! " said 
 the small man. 
 
 "Well, hold up your right hand," said Mr. 
 Campbell. " Now, do you swear that the state 
 ments in this certificate are true, so help you 
 God?" 
 
1/2 THK niG-HORX TREASURE. 
 
 " Yes, sir! I do! " almost screamed Brodic. 
 
 " Very well. Now, Mr. Ilelmer! " 
 
 Hclmcr held up his hand and took the oath in 
 a gruff voice, but not with an air of perfect 
 assurance. 
 
 "Now, then, for your witnesses," said Mr. 
 Campbell. " Are these the men? " 
 
 "Yes. Come up here, Alf and Tom; and 
 you, Pete and Gus! " 
 
 "We will take two of them for each claim," 
 said Mr. Campbell. 
 
 The four men testified and affixed their clumsy 
 signatures; and when this was accomplished, 
 after much hard labor, Mr. Campbell said, in a 
 very mild and matter-of-fact voice: 
 
 " You ought to have been round a little ear 
 lier, boys. These same claims have been filed 
 on this morning, by some men who say they are 
 in possession." 
 
 " Filed on this morning, you say? You lie! " 
 yelled Brodie. 
 
 Campbell turned slightly pale under the force 
 of his wrath, but he answered quietly: 
 
 "If you were a complete man, instead of a 
 drunken fraction of one, I d adjourn all public 
 biz till we could fix up that little remark. As 
 t is, you can go on." 
 
THE FILING. 173 
 
 This retort was lost upon Brodie, however, 
 who again shouted: 
 
 "Who is the dirty thief you re puttin up a 
 job with to do me out of my claim? Where is 
 he? Trot him out ! " 
 
 "Neal! " called Mr. Campbell. 
 
 The start which Brodic gave at the sound of the 
 name showed the thinness of his braggart mask. 
 
 Neal, with one spring, was at Campbell s side, 
 and another carried him over the railing, where 
 he stood confronting Brodie, who looked as 
 though he might collapse. 
 
 " Just how and when was it"- -Neal s voice, 
 as he spoke, had a hard metallic ring which none 
 of the boys had ever heard in it before " you 
 came to be owner of this claim that somebody s 
 trying to do you out of? Was it clay before yes 
 terday morning, when you stole and ran off with 
 the certificates that belonged to the fellows who 
 had been trying to do the Good Samaritan act 
 for you ? 
 
 By this time Phil and Ken were close behind 
 Neal, from whom they fully expected to see 
 some act of violence, knowing of his pent-up 
 anger during the past two days. 
 
 In fact, Neal s appearance might well have 
 excited fear in a man with a cleaner record than 
 Brodie s. 
 
174 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 The stalwart, blonde-moustached Scotchman 
 with blazing eyes, who towered above the shrink 
 ing figure, clearly had enough courage, if not the 
 actual physical strength, to conduct a battle with 
 the full half-dozen. 
 
 Ken touched Neal s arm, saying, "Don t 
 hurt him, Neal. We are ahead, and he isn t 
 worth the trouble." 
 
 But Neal s self-control was greater than the 
 boys feared. 
 
 He said, quietly, but with the same quality of 
 voice as before, " No fear, Ken. This ain t the 
 place for a disturbance. I m kind of sorry, too, 
 for the little ape needs a spankin , but I guess I 
 must let him off with a suspended sentence, as 
 the judge says. 
 
 "Now, beauty," he said to Brodie, from 
 whom he had not removed his eyes, "we re 
 ahead of you in your own brace game. Our 
 locations are ahead of yours, and are all neat 
 and tidy. Everything with us is straight and 
 truthful, while there ain t a man in this room 
 who don t know that you and all the rest of your 
 sweet cherubs are liable to be sent up for perjury. 
 There s a hole in the wall right there behind 
 you. If you 11 all throw yourselves out of it, 
 and do it nice and quiet, I m sure you 11 oblige 
 
THE FILING. 1/7 
 
 our friend Mr. Campbell, and the rest of us," 
 and he pointed to the door. 
 
 There were dark looks and a display of ugly 
 tempers among Brodie s crew while Neal had 
 been speaking, and it is uncertain how they might 
 have behaved, but just then Campbell spoke, 
 saying: 
 
 " There s our sheriff, Bob Harvey, at the door, 
 so I guess you better hurry along." 
 
 At this the whole party moved quickly away. 
 
 " Oh, by the way, Brodie," cried Neal as that 
 furious and baffled person was moving after, 
 " Our hospital is closed up and we ve turned it 
 into a tannery. Don t compel us to hang your 
 hide on the bushes!" 
 
 Brodie turned and gave Neal a look as malig 
 nant as that of a rattlesnake, and one of his dark- 
 faced crew sang out : 
 
 <k Mind, we 11 fix you." 
 
 The sheriff had now entered, and he and 
 Campbell laughed heartily at Neal s energetic 
 language. 
 
 Neal turned to Ken, remarking: " I ve heard 
 that voice before. I wonder where." 
 
 " What s the rumpus about, Archie?" asked 
 the sheriff. 
 
 Campbell then introduced him to Neal and the 
 two boys, saying: 
 
1/8 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 kt Bob, this man Neal Mclnnis is an old chum 
 of mine, and one of the squarest and most re 
 liable men in all the Rocky Mountains. His 
 two friends are my friends, and I wish you d 
 make a note of this thing for future use. It might 
 be needed. " 
 
 Then he told him briefly the whole situation. 
 
 Harvey was a fine, resolute-looking man, and 
 when he turned to our three friends, saying, 
 ;t I 11 see that these fellows are well watched and 
 kept out of mischief while they are in camp," 
 Phil and Ken felt assured that he not only meant 
 what he said, but that he could be relied upon. 
 
 Neal now remarked, " Boys, we ve bothered 
 Archie here for quite a while. I guess we bet 
 ter move along and give him a chance to do some 
 business, and we will hunt up a place where we 
 can get a square meal. We 11 come in for the 
 certificates this afternoon, Archie." 
 
 As they went together clown the street, Ken 
 said, " It has all gone off in good style, has n t 
 it? I m glad we didn t have any trouble with 
 those ruffians. They are a bad lot, and had 
 enough liquor to make them reckless. I would n t 
 feel sure yet of our keeping clear of a fight if 
 the sheriff hadn t agreed to look after them." 
 
 "Yes," said Neal. "I don t want to have 
 any fight; and now that I ve relieved my mind 
 
THE FILING. 1/9 
 
 to cm a little, I shall dodge a row if I possibly 
 can. We need n t fear they 11 give us any 
 trouble, I think." 
 
 " Do you suppose there s any likelihood, Neal, 
 that they would lie in waiting for us along the 
 trail as we go back? " asked Phil. 
 
 Neal laughed, saying, " Not a bit. One good 
 reason, is, they 11 all be dead drunk before night, 
 and we 11 be out of camp before daybreak to 
 morrow. They ve started in right for a blow 
 out that s likely to last them a week." 
 
 At breakfast the question of buying provisions 
 was raised by Ken. All were of the opinion that 
 the present opportunity to lay in a large stock of 
 supplies was one not to be neglected ; so the 
 matter was quickly settled, and Phil and Ken 
 began to make out lists of the goods which were 
 needed. In this matter they were almost 
 wholly guided by Neal s suggestions. 
 
 Among the commodities set clown were, (be 
 sides eatables), woolen underwear, stockings, and 
 heavy shoes with hob-nails, a full supply of min 
 ing-tools, giant-powder (or dynamite), black- 
 smithing tools and apparatus, rifle-cartridges, and 
 a large and complete cooking-stove with all its 
 belongings. This was to be carried in sections. 
 
 When everything that could immediately be 
 thought of had been jotted down, Neal said, 
 
i8o THE UK; -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "This will do until we come to do the buying. 
 Then we 11 think of lots of other things, most 
 likely. 
 
 "The first thing to do now is to look up a 
 man who has jack-trains to hire, or wants to take 
 a contract to pack all the stuff. I used to know 
 some fellows here in that line. If we can find 
 the right sort of a man, I think the best scheme 
 will be to make a contract with him. How 
 many jacks do you s pose it 11 take to pack this 
 list of stuff up to our camp? What do you say, 
 Phil?" 
 
 " O, I think it will take quite a lot of them; 
 perhaps twenty," said Phil. 
 
 " How many do you think, Ken? " 
 
 "Not less than twenty-five or thirty, "said 
 Ken. 
 
 " If he uses burros," said Neal, " it will take 
 at least forty, and maybe fifty. But if he has 
 mules and he will use them if he has, it 
 won t need so many. Perhaps thirty, but prob 
 ably more. Well, let s be moving. We 11 have 
 to skirmish pretty lively all day." 
 
 Before night everything was arranged. 
 
 The goods were purchased and paid for by 
 draft on Ken s bank in Denver; were to be put 
 up in bales and boxes suitable for packing, and 
 to be in readiness for the packers within three 
 
THE FILING. 151 
 
 days, when the start was to be made, with four 
 reliable men to take the train through. 
 
 Neal crave careful instructions, and also made 
 
 o 
 
 a diagram of the route. 
 
 "That s well settled, "he said. "Now we 
 will go around to get our certificates, and say 
 1 Good-by to Archie Campbell. I guess we 11 
 all feel like turning in early to-night, and we 
 want to get a good sleep, as we re to take the 
 trail before daylight." 
 
 They saw nothing of their " rival claimants" 
 during the day; but once, while passing a saloon, 
 they heard loud and bibulous voices, among 
 which they recognized that of Mr. Brodie. 
 
 J o 
 
 As they were about retiring, Phil said, rather 
 pensively, l I wonder how Dave is getting along. 
 
 "I was just thinking the same thing," said 
 Neal. It s a sort of wild place up there for a 
 boy to be alone. And yet I only think of it 
 that way because he s young. I ve been alone 
 myself in such places many times. Dave s got 
 the best judgment of any youngster I ever knew. 
 He s careful, there ain t anything that would 
 ever make him nervous or scare him, and be 
 sides, he 11 be right around camp all the time. 
 
 " He s a man, every inch of him, and he 11 
 be all right. I 11 bet he s kind of lonesome, and 
 will be glad to see us heave in sight, though." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE HOUSE THAT DAVE BUILT THE PACK-RAT. 
 
 After his three friends had left camp and van 
 ished down the trail, Dave set about putting the 
 camp in good order. 
 
 This was all done by the time that the first 
 gilded and glistening rays of the sun were begin 
 ning to dart from behind the rugged peaks to the 
 eastward. 
 
 "I 11 go now, and look over the ground that 
 Neal and I selected for our new house," he said. 
 
 The plan as agreed upon had been to have a 
 rather long and commodious cabin, so placed that 
 the line between the two claims would pass 
 through the center of it, and by having a parti 
 tion so divide it that there would be, in effect, a 
 double house; one half of which would be upon 
 Ken s and the other half upon Ncal s claim. 
 
 The ground was clear and level, not far from 
 the lake, and upon the edge of the rim of aspen 
 trees which skirted the shore on that side. 
 
 He walked around the spot studying the loca 
 tion and character of the ground ; then went and 
 182 
 
THE HOUSE THAT DAVE BUILT. 183 
 
 got the tape-line and measured it for the position 
 and dimensions. 
 
 " It will have to be at least sixteen feet wide 
 by forty feet long," he said. 
 
 Then he went over to where the trees grew the 
 thickest, and of largest size, and made a rough 
 estimate of how many would be required for the 
 structure. 
 
 <k I think we will use the aspens/ he said. 
 "They arc more convenient, and a trifle larger 
 than the pines, besides being the easier wood to 
 handle and shape." 
 
 Then he took an ax from the camp and went 
 vigorously to work, chopping down the largest 
 and straightest ones. 
 
 " If the boys are away no longer than three 
 days, I won t exactly have a finished house for 
 them when they get back, not by a long way, 
 but I can get things started so that it won t 
 take very long for all hands together to finish it 
 up," he thought. 
 
 He worked with a will; so that before noon he 
 had a large number of the straight trunks 
 stripped of their limbs, and cut off at the de 
 sired lengths. 
 
 " I 11 get a bite of something to eat, and after 
 lunch I 11 see what Teddy and Pete are good for 
 at hauling," he said. " I imagine Sancho would 
 
I 84 THE BUI- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 have the most sense, but it won t do to work him 
 for a few days yet." 
 
 Dave s lunch was very simple, and quickly 
 over, and he then went out into the bushes and 
 caught the two donkeys and led them to camp. 
 
 He put on their pack-saddles and roped and 
 "cinched " them carefully. 
 
 His first thought had been that it would be 
 possible to work the animals double, and thus 
 make them haul a fairly heavy load ; but after 
 hitching them together in every manner he could 
 think of, he found it impossible to make them 
 pull in such a way as to accomplish anything, so 
 that he fell to using one donkey at a time ; fast 
 ening the smaller end of the log by a rope to the 
 pack-saddle, and urging the burro to drag it, by 
 easy stages. It required a little time and pa 
 tience to break the little fellows in to this kind 
 of work, which they must have thought alto 
 gether nonsensical, and a quick-tempered man 
 would have had but poor success in getting them 
 to do it at all. 
 
 But, by changing donkeys every little while, 
 and taking one log at a time, he made such pro 
 gress that in two hours he had his entire cut 
 hauled to the site of the cabin. 
 
 "Well, I ve solved the problem, anyhow," 
 he said. " Now, it s simply a question of keep- 
 
THE HOUSE THAT DAVE BUILT. 185 
 
 ing the good work booming along, and time will 
 do the rest." 
 
 He turned the burros loose, and again went to 
 chopping, and by night had felled and trimmed 
 what he believed would be enough to complete 
 the house. 
 
 " I 11 get them all hauled by noon to-morrows 
 and then I 11 be ready to go to notching and 
 putting together," he said. 
 
 Throughout the whole clay he had been so in 
 terested in his task, that, what with planning 
 and talking to the burros, he had escaped all 
 sense of loneliness. 
 
 But after he had eaten supper and put the 
 camp to rights, he sat do\vn in his usual resting- 
 place, between the tent and the fire, and very 
 quickly the sense of being all alone crept over him. 
 
 " If I had even a little dog it would be a 
 help," he muttered to himself, as he glanced 
 across at the solid wall of black beyond the 
 reach of his fire-glow. 
 
 "I wonder how the boys have been getting 
 along. If they ve been able to do all that Neal 
 anticipated, they must be in Gunnison by this 
 time, and will be starting back day after to-mor 
 row morning. I m not going to look for them, 
 very much, because I don t believe it s possible 
 for them to get through in so short time. 
 
I 86 THE 1UG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " Still, they 11 find me ready to welcome them 
 if they do drop in. I don t think I d make a 
 very good hermit. Well, I suppose the best 
 way to dispose of this sort of thing is to go to 
 sleep." 
 
 He sat a little while longer, trying to turn his 
 thoughts to the work of the next morning, and 
 was, at length, upon the point of rising to fix 
 his fire for the night, when there came up to his 
 ears, from the valley beneath, a long, dismal 
 howl, indescribably fierce and terrifying. 
 
 This was followed by another, and presently 
 there was a continued chorus of the same 
 sounds. 
 
 " Ugh! It s like the laughing of a band of 
 maniacs," and he shivered slightly. "I don t 
 know of any sound that seems so relentless and 
 cruel as the blood-cry of a pack of wolves after 
 a deer. It must be a black-tail, and I m afraid 
 they re pretty sure to get him. They seem to 
 be going down the canon, and the farther away 
 they get, the better it will suit me. 
 
 "Well, there have been no signs of any of 
 those fellows up here on the shelf, and I feel 
 rather glad of it to-night." 
 
 He now proceeded to roll his logs together for 
 the all-merit fire, and in a few minutes more he 
 
 o 
 
 was lying comfortably between the blankets. 
 
IHEKE CAME I.T I-ROM THH VALI.KV I-.FNEA IH A I.ONC,. IIISMAI 
 
THE HOUSE THAT DAVE BUILT. 189 
 
 Youth, health, and a hard day s work com 
 bined make an excellent soporific, so that Dave 
 was almost instantly in the land where loneliness 
 is unknown. 
 
 How long he had slept he could not tell, when 
 something seemed suddenly to bounce into his 
 unshorn and rather thick hair, and after scratch 
 ing vigorously at his head for an instant, was 
 gone. 
 
 This, of course, caused him to spring bolt 
 upright, although quite dazed, and not at all 
 knowing just what had awakened him. 
 
 The fire-light was shining into the tent, but he 
 could see nothing, and his sleepiness was so great 
 that he muttered, " I must have dreamed," and 
 settled himself back to sleep. 
 
 He again had gotten well into dreamland 
 when the same thing recurred, but with such an 
 air of playful mischief that, catching the faint 
 sound of something scurrying away, Dave 
 now more thoroughly awake than before, and at 
 first quite startled was for a moment angry, 
 and then burst into a hearty laugh. 
 
 "It s a mountain rat," he exclaimed. "I 
 thought the wolves had got me. I s pose the 
 villain is lonesome, and thought that was the best 
 way to attract my notice." 
 
 In a minute more there came such a rattling of 
 
190 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 tin dishes and spoons as would seem to have re 
 quired the efforts of half a dozen cooks. Then 
 came a slight pause, after which the sound was 
 resumed with variations. 
 
 Dave was lying clown now; but, although 
 thoroughly awake, he made no motion toward 
 getting up. 
 
 " Bang away, old man! " he said. " It won t 
 do me any good to chase you off, for you ll come 
 back again. I m really not very sorry to have 
 you around, either. Seems kind of sociable. If 
 only you don t carry off all our spoons and 
 knives before morning, there won t be any war 
 between us. " 
 
 He lay listening for a little while longer, then 
 fell asleep, and this time he was not awakened 
 until daybreak. 
 
 Before the forenoon was half gone, Dave had 
 his logs all upon the ground. 
 
 Then he laid out his foundation by digging a 
 slight trench all around, in which to lay his bot 
 tom logs. 
 
 After first putting notches in them near the 
 ends, he rolled them into the trench and fitted 
 them tightly together. This done, he took the 
 ax and hewed them slightly flat all around upon 
 the upper side, and the first course was com 
 pleted. 
 
THE HOUSE THAT DAVE BUIET. 1 91 
 
 This was a good start, and thereafter the work 
 progressed so well that when night came he had 
 rolled the last of his logs into place. 
 
 (l There! " he said, as he walked around and 
 surveyed his work. 
 
 " I ve got a solid five-foot wall all around, 
 
 o 
 
 anyhow. I ve made a bad miscalculation, though, 
 on the number of logs it needs, for I m not any 
 where near through. I feel pretty sure Neal 
 won t be able to find any fault with the job, thus 
 far; but I m climbing up toward where I m likely 
 to get into trouble. 
 
 " I believe I 11 leave -the work right where it 
 is, and let Neal superintend the topping out, and 
 fixing of the peak and roof. I m in doubt about 
 it, and he s familiar with the whole thing. The 
 boys may, possibly, be here to-morrow night ; and 
 whether they are or not, I 11 be able to find a job 
 to fill in my time with for a day or tw T o." 
 
 Dave s new friend, the rat, made its appear 
 ance earlier that evening. 
 
 Dave was at the table eating supper, and it 
 was yet light, when a little ashen-gray animal 
 leaped upon a box at a little distance from him, 
 and sat upright, blinking at him with its beady 
 eyes. 
 
 It had a tail which curved over its back some 
 what like a squirrel s, and was decidedly bushy, 
 
1Q2 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 but the hairs were sparse and thin. In other 
 respects it was a rat in appearance, and was in 
 fact the pack-rat (Neotoma cinered) of the 
 Rocky Mountains. 
 
 It is called the " pack rat " because of its 
 disposition to carry away all sorts of articles and 
 utensils of which it cannot possibly make any 
 use, and in this respect, as well as in its curi 
 osity and traits of pure mischief, is radically dif 
 ferent from all its brothers and cousins. 
 
 As Dave remained quiet, the animal began 
 hopping about, and in doing so struck together a 
 tin cup and plate which were lying upon the box. 
 
 The rat bent its head and looked at them 
 curiously, then with his foot struck the cup so 
 that it again rang against the plate. 
 
 Then it stooped, and seizing the plate in both 
 its paws, raised it slightly above the cup and let 
 it drop. Sitting back erect, it cocked its head 
 to one side and listened to its ring, with either a 
 critical or pleased ear. Evidently, though, it 
 was the latter, for it repeated the operation again 
 and again. 
 
 This practice so amused Dave, that he burst 
 into a laugh, whereupon it darted into the bushes 
 like a flash. 
 
 " I ve heard of the rat doing that very thing, 
 but I didn t believe it, "he said. " I knew 
 
THE HOUSE THAT DAVE HUILT. 193 
 
 about lots of their other tricks, though. I guess 
 I 11 put the lighter utensils underneath the heavier 
 ones to-night. He s pleasant company, but we 
 need our forks and cups." 
 
 Once, in the night, Dave was dimly conscious 
 of a hairy something brushing past his face; but 
 he only smiled, and sank back to sleep again. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HUNTING THE RIG-HORN. 
 
 Perhaps it was because he had no weighty duty 
 upon his mind, that Dave slept later than usual 
 the next morning. 
 
 The sun was up, and its rays had begun to 
 stream into the tent when he opened his eyes. 
 He sprang up quickly, saying, " It won t do to 
 grow lazy just because the boys are away! 
 
 He prepared his breakfast, and had finished 
 eating before he decided how he would put in 
 the day. 
 
 After leaving the table, he took a pail and 
 went to the lake for water. Reaching the smooth 
 flat rock upon which he was accustomed to stand 
 and dip in his pail, his eye was arrested by the 
 clean-cut and perfect reflection of the overhang 
 ing mountain within its glassy depths. Every 
 detail of rock and fissure and shrub seemed to be 
 portrayed. 
 
 While he stood admiring the beautiful scene, 
 something in the reflection seemed to stir, as if 
 detached from the face of the cliff. 
 194 
 
HUNTING THE BIG-HORN. 195 
 
 Turning his eyes upward, he perceived a band 
 of about half a dozen big-horns, on a ledge of 
 rock high above, and seemingly overhanging the 
 lake. Instantly Dave s mind was made up as to 
 what he would do. 
 
 " I call this too fine an opportunity for mut 
 ton, to be thrown away! " he exclaimed. "They 
 are on the west side of the waterfall, though, 
 and if I get a good shot, I will have to take our 
 visitor s trail and go around to the other side." 
 
 He returned with the water, took his rifle and 
 carefully examined it to see whether the maga 
 zine were filled, and returned to the shore. 
 
 Following the beach around to the outlet, and 
 thence down stream through the woods to the 
 dead-tree bridge, he crossed over, and made 
 his way toward the rocky ridge Neal had de 
 scribed. 
 
 Before he had covered the entire distance, he 
 saw that he was likely to be thrown entirely out 
 of range. It was too nearly underneath the 
 band of sheep; and, moreover, there appeared to 
 be a jutting crag of the mountain, heretofore 
 unobserved, which would quite obscure them 
 from this direction. 
 
 He concluded to advance, though, until he 
 could learn the exact conditions of the moun 
 tain side, inasmuch as there appeared to be small 
 
196 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 hope of eettine within shooting-distance from 
 
 loo o 
 
 any other point. 
 
 Arriving at the extreme corner of the plateau, 
 he paused upon the brink of the almost sheer 
 descent, and where the upper half of the moun 
 tain rose above him, smiling at the effectiveness 
 of Neal s work. 
 
 " There is n t much chance now of any one s 
 getting up here from below," he said. "Neal 
 has smoothed the wall down as though it were 
 chiseled." 
 
 He stood for a few moments, looking far be 
 low into the basin, from which the mists of the 
 morning were not wholly gone. Then he glanced 
 along the great wall, northward, to where the 
 range was notched into more separate and indi 
 vidual mountains. 
 
 " Our sick man must have gone in the direc 
 tion of Castle Peak, "was his thought. "As 
 far as I am able to follow the line of his trail, it 
 keeps pretty well up, instead of dropping into 
 the basin." 
 
 Then he turned about, and following along the 
 cliff, climbed over the rocky ridge and stood at 
 the edge of the lake. Moving backward a short 
 distance from the cliff, he scanned that portion 
 of the side which was adjacent to him. 
 
 "There seems to be a ledge that starts from 
 
HUNTING THE P.TG - HORN. 197 
 
 this spur and inclines upward toward the left," 
 he cogitated. There s a chance that it may 
 take me up to a point where I can get a good 
 shot, and I 11 try it." 
 
 He stalled, and worked his way along the nar 
 row bench with but little difficulty. It slanted 
 decidedly upward, and after proceeding for some 
 distance, he glanced below and saw that he was 
 directly above the lake. 
 
 " What a plunge-bath a fellow could get from 
 here, " he said. 
 
 Working his way still along and upward, he 
 came, in a short time to a vertical dyke that com 
 pletely barred his way. 
 
 " This is a huge disappointment! I wonder if 
 there s no other way out?" he said aloud. 
 " There s no way above, but if I could manage 
 to creep down to that ledge below r me, it looks 
 as though it \vould carry me along upward in the 
 same course as this one." 
 
 He retraced his steps for some distance, but 
 could find no place where it seemed possible to 
 descend. 
 
 " If I had a rope, I might do it," he thought. 
 Then, " I 11 go and get one! " he cried. " If 
 the sheep will only stay where they are for 
 a while, I may give them a stirring up yet." 
 
 He laid his rifle carefully down, so that he 
 
198 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 could move more quickly, and scrambled back- 
 over the way he had come. Reaching the ridge, 
 he leaped lightly down and ran rapidly around 
 toward the camp. 
 
 After crossing the stream and gaining the shore 
 again, he paused to see if the sheep were still in 
 sight, and saw that they were somewhat lower 
 down than before, but farther over toward the 
 left. 
 
 " That s all the better for me," he said; and 
 ran onward to the camp. Quickly selecting a 
 stout rope and also a leather sling for his rifle, he 
 returned as rapidly as he could. 
 
 This, of course, consumed some little time, 
 but Dave felt no great fear that the animals 
 would depart, unless, of course, they should 
 take alarm at his nearer approach. 
 
 When he arrived at the ledge, he searched all 
 along until he found a crevice into which he 
 could slip his rope. Then knotting the end se 
 curely around a stout stick he had picked up, 
 to serve as an anchor, he adjusted and then 
 tested it. 
 
 The next thing was to take his rifle, and, using 
 the strap he had brought to sling it to his back, he 
 seized the rope and swung himself over the edge. 
 
 The distance was about twenty or twenty-five 
 feet, and as he could steady himself with his 
 
HUNTING THE IUG-HOKN. 1 99 
 
 toes against the wall, he slid down with the 
 greatest ease. 
 
 " That was simple," he said. " I can go up 
 almost as easily when I come back. 
 
 Leaving the rope, he began to work his way 
 along, keeping the mountain on his right, as 
 
 before. 
 
 After he had advanced for upwards of a hun 
 dred feet, he looked back, and saw that he had 
 risen to a higher point than the spot where he 
 left the other ledge. Then glancing above, he 
 
 said : 
 
 This is where we can see the metamorphic 
 rocks and the stratification that Neal tells about. 
 Up there, at just about the same corresponding 
 distance above this bench I am standing on, is 
 the same ledge I started along in the first place. 
 
 " It s clear that they re both seams of shale 
 lying parallel to each other, and were formed, one 
 above the other, by gradual deposit at the bot 
 tom of some great lake or stream. The change - 
 or metamorphosis came about long afterwards, 
 through enormous pressure or heat. Coming in 
 so near together as they do, this ought accord 
 ing to Neal s theory to be a place to look for 
 good results in a quartz vein, if one could be 
 
 found." 
 
 Of course, these soliloquies of Dave s were not 
 
200 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 all aloud; and, just now, he was proceeding with 
 caution, on account of the big-horns. 
 
 For some time he was unable to see them at 
 all; but after he had clambered along and up 
 ward until he seemed at a great height above the 
 lake, he heard the rattling sound of a falling 
 stone, and peering cautiously upward, he saw 
 the band in plain view. 
 
 Then he pressed himself as close to the wall as 
 he could, and removed his hat, so as not to 
 attract attention. 
 
 He could now have shot one with ease; but he 
 concluded that only the largest a ram would 
 satisfy his ambition; so he quietly waited. 
 
 Dave could not be called a natural sportsman, 
 except in a comparative sense. He loved the 
 adventure and excitement of the chase; and. 
 being naturally persistent, he dearly loved to 
 succeed in whatever he undertook, but he cared 
 little about killing game for its own sake. 
 
 As he crouched against the wall now, he 
 thought : 
 
 11 It s almost too bad to shoot such noble 
 fellows as they. I believe I admire them more 
 than any wild animal I have ever seen." 
 
 And their appearance was indeed, in all re 
 spects, noble. 
 
 There is, to begin with, something poetic 
 
HUNTING THE IJIG-IIORN. 2OI 
 
 almost heroic about the manner of life, and the 
 haunts, of the mountain sheep. 
 
 Keeping within the high altitudes and almost 
 inaccessible parts of the rugged mountains, he is 
 fairly able to defy any creature including man 
 which would be his natural enemy. 
 
 His feeding and resting places seem, from 
 innate choice, to be the sunny sides of steep 
 declivities, where there are occasional narrow 
 ledges or shelves, which, for any other four- 
 footed beast, would be utterly out of reach. 
 
 This security is, in fact, largely true against 
 man himself; as the Oris Montana is able to 
 traverse, with perfect safety and speed, heights 
 so dizzy and rocky fronts so bold as to make 
 brave men shrink, and cause them to regard him 
 with admiring wonder. 
 
 Dave could see the herd in fullest detail from 
 the spot where he lay hidden. 
 
 Their strong, symmetrical legs, and the waving 
 flow of the tense but obedient muscles ; the proud, 
 finely proportioned necks; the spiral, sweeping 
 curves of the great horns; and, above all, the 
 matchless, independent grace of their whole 
 poise upon the narrow, jutting surface of the 
 rocks, all, taken together, made a picture which 
 Dave could have spent hours in watching. 
 
 " I ve always said they re the finest animals 
 
202 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 that walk," he whispered. " I believe I never 
 can enjoy killing another one; and I m almost 
 sorry I came out." 
 
 Just then, however, there seemed to be a gen 
 eral movement of the herd. There was no ap 
 pearance of an alarm, but rather, as though by 
 unanimous consent, they thought it well to go 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Dave brought his rifle to his shoulder; but 
 before he fired he had plenty of time to admire 
 the masterful ease and self-possession with which 
 each quick, upward bound was made. There was 
 never a slip nor a scramble. The uplifting and 
 the fall of every foot was absolutely sure, and was 
 grace itself. 
 
 " If I wait any longer I shall lose my beauty," 
 he thought. "Forgive me, old fellow; I m 
 actually sorry." 
 
 The noble ram had paused after a magnificent 
 jump; and, with arched neck and sidelong bend 
 of the head, was looking down toward the 
 plateau and the lake. 
 
 Taking a quick aim at about an inch behind 
 the shoulder, Dave s rifle cracked, and the sheep 
 came rolling and tumbling down, while in panic- 
 stricken terror the rest of the band swiftly fled. 
 
 He was not instantly killed, and even as he 
 fell his sharp, spreading hoofs and the rubbery, 
 
, 
 
 DAVE cori.n S 
 
 KST DKTAIL " 
 
HUNTING THE BIG-HORN. 205 
 
 cushion-like posteriors of his feet would grip the 
 rocks, where he would hold for an instant and 
 then slip below. This broke the force of his fall, 
 so that when he reached the shelf upon which Dave 
 stood, at a point some distance above him, he 
 lay quite motionless. 
 
 Fearing he might fall or throw himself farther 
 down, Dave made his way to him as quickly as 
 possible. But he was quite dead. 
 
 As the hunter -craving had been entirely ap 
 peased in Dave, and there being no occasion for 
 great haste, he seated himself by the side of the 
 body and examined it carefully. 
 
 He had killed sheep before, but somehow had 
 never felt such keen admiration for them as 
 to-day. 
 
 As he stroked the neck, the limbs, and horns, 
 and thought how full of brave life and strength 
 he had been but a few minutes before, there 
 was far more of regret than of the hunter s 
 exultation in his mind. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PLUNGE-BATH THE CAVERN. 
 
 Dave sat for some time looking out over the 
 expanse of diversified scenery before he became 
 fully roused to a sense of its perfection. But at 
 length his musings turned into a different channel, 
 and he exclaimed with a. good deal of energy and 
 enthusiasm : 
 
 "Well, I hadn t thought of it before, but 
 it s worth risking a fellow s neck to come up 
 here just for the view. I ve never realized the 
 high-class beauty of our platform camping-ground 
 as fully as I do this minute. The foreground 
 contrast is what makes the whole thing especially 
 perfect." 
 
 It was indeed a beautiful scene before him. 
 
 At some little distance to his right, coming 
 from an unknown height above, and falling prone 
 into the lake beneath him, was the waterfall, 
 the sound of whose roar and dash came up as 
 pleasantly to his ears as that of a deep-toned 
 organ. 
 
 The quiet water flashed upward to him reflec- 
 206 
 
TIIK PLUNGE -BATH THE CAVERX. 2O; 
 
 tions of the tense deep blue of the sky, the 
 vapory white clouds, and the umber and gray 
 tones of the overhanging cliff. 
 
 The jireen setting of trees and shrubbery round 
 
 o o J 
 
 about the lake, the entire shape and detail of the 
 secluded and lovely plateau, and the distinctness 
 with which everything contained upon it could 
 be viewed, the vanishing outlet of the lake, the 
 tents, the partly built cabin, even the three con 
 tented-looking donkeys, were all directly before 
 him. 
 
 On his other hand, and curving away into the 
 distance, was the arc of the great mountain wall, 
 while the entire background, front, left, and 
 right, was formed by the massive and variegated 
 peaks of the range which hemmed him in. 
 
 " To me, it seems like a liberal education only 
 to live in a place like this," he murmured. " To 
 sit here and absorb this scene ought to be enough 
 to make even the cheapest kind of a man feel 
 poetic. 
 
 "If I had the voice, I believe I wouldn t 
 lack inspiration to sing heroic hymns something 
 that would be a combination of the triumphant 
 and the solemn, and \vould at the same time ex 
 press gladness for the gift of eyesight. It s 
 more than exhilarating; it s fairly uplifting." 
 
 He sat for a long time musing after this fash- 
 
208 T!1K BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 ion. How long it was he did not know, for he 
 became quite lost in his thoughts and in the scene 
 before him ; and besides, he had no watch with him. 
 
 But finally his mind returned to himself and 
 his position, and to the dead ram beside him. 
 
 Looking his prize all over, he cogitated : 
 
 " I wonder how I m going to get him home. 
 I d like to take nearly everything or, at least, 
 the head, horns, and hide, besides the meat ; but 
 he must weigh more than two hundred pounds 
 as he is now. 
 
 k The first thinjz will be to skin and dress him, 
 
 o 
 
 and get the mutton to camp. That s simple 
 necessity, and will take two trips. The rest of 
 him head, skin, and so forth I suppose I 11 
 have to regard as luxuries, and make them w r ait 
 and take their chance." 
 
 Dave then drew his hunting-knife from his 
 pocket and opened it, and went vigorously to 
 work. 
 
 When he had removed the hide and properly 
 divided the carcass, he took one half of the mut 
 ton upon his shoulder, and made his way care 
 fully down the ledge to w r here his rope was 
 hanging. 
 
 Leaving the meat there, he made a second trip 
 for the other half, and afterwards went a third 
 time to get his gun and the hide. 
 
THE PLUNGE - BATH THE CAVERN. 209 
 
 This much accomplished, he fastened half of 
 the sheep to the hanging rope, and climbed 
 hand-over-hand to the upper ledge, where, after 
 removing his gun, he hauled up the piece of 
 meat. 
 
 Then he carried this portion and his gun down 
 the ledge to the rock ridge, where he left them, 
 and returned to the rope. 
 
 He slid down the rope again, fastened it to the 
 other half of the sheep, then climbed up and 
 repeated the process. 
 
 (i There! " he exclaimed. " I ve got all my 
 necessaries of life here on horizontal ground. 
 Duty first, and recreation afterwards! I believe 
 there s time enough, and I don t see why I 
 should n t go back and get my luxuries. That 
 head with the horns is the finest one I ever saw, 
 and I would like to preserve it." 
 
 To suggest was to act, and it was not very 
 long before he was again picking his way down 
 ward along the ledge, with the head and great 
 horns upon his shoulder. 
 
 The load he carried this time was not only 
 extremely heavy, but of large bulk and very un 
 wieldy, and Dave found much difficulty in keep 
 ing it balanced, and in maintaining his own equi- 
 librium along the giddy pathway. 
 
 He had accomplished the larger part of the 
 
2IO THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 distance, and was beginning to feel acutely the 
 strain upon his muscles, when the horns of his 
 top-heavy pack struck against a projecting rock 
 and swayed heavily. He put up his left hand to 
 save it, reeled, his foot stumbled over an ob 
 stacle, and he knew himself to be falling. 
 
 Quickly he threw off his unmanageable bur 
 den, and grasped wildly at the fragment of ledge 
 that was nearest within reach, missed it, and 
 went sliding down the almost precipitous surface 
 toward the shining water below. 
 
 Dave s courage and methodical clear-headed 
 ness never left him for an instant. 
 
 11 I m going to get my plunge-bath, after all," 
 he thought, and almost smiled at the ludicrous 
 appearance he must present. 
 
 "There s nobody around to laugh at me, 
 anyhow, and if I strike nothing more than 
 water, I don t think it 11 be awful." 
 
 These thoughts flashed quickly through his 
 mind as he slid down toward the unknown 
 depth. 
 
 The height above the water of the spot from 
 which he fell was something like sixty feet, and 
 although the larger part of the distance was 
 rather more of a slide than a fall, still the face 
 of the rock was so nearly vertical and so 
 smooth, that he shot downward like a flash. 
 
hi 
 
 r 
 
 E. SHOT DOWNWARD LIKK. A FLASH. 
 
THE PLUNGE - BATH THE CAVERN. 2 I 3 
 
 At a height of about twenty feet above the 
 water, the inclined plane fell away into a sheer 
 drop, so that Dave flew out into the air, and 
 thence striking the water feet foremost, he dis 
 appeared and went far down beneath the 
 surface. 
 
 He kept his legs pressed together, and raised 
 both arms high above his head, so that he was 
 not injured, but as he rose to the surface he 
 spluttered : 
 
 Ugh! Goodness gracious! I never w r ent 
 into anything colder than this, even when I ve 
 had my skates on !" 
 
 Looking about him as he swam, he was at 
 first quite filled with confusion as to his where 
 abouts. 
 
 " I d like to know where I am," he thought. 
 
 o 
 
 " I can see the farther side of the lake, a long 
 way over, but I can t see anything else except 
 this rock." 
 
 Turning about in the water, he very soon real 
 ized that he had fallen into a small rock-encir 
 cled cove, whose only outlook was directly 
 toward the remote side of the lake. 
 
 To get his bearings, and learn just how far it 
 would be necessary to swim in order to save 
 himself, he would first be obliged to go outside 
 of the inclosing walls. 
 
214 THE JUG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 The uncertainty about this, as against a place 
 of temporary security, which he could see close 
 at hand, decided him; and he made for a cavity 
 at the foot of the wall, which showed a floor or 
 base of solid character. 
 
 Securing his hat, which floated quite near by, 
 a few strokes carried him to what he sought, and 
 raising his head and shoulders from the water, 
 he looked into a spacious cavern. 
 
 He was so chilled by the ice-cold water that 
 he did not hesitate an instant, but quickly drew 
 himself within, stood erect, and then shook him 
 self, as a dog would do, to get partially freed 
 from the weight of water in his garments. 
 
 " Perhaps this could n t be called being well 
 off, but it \s better than freezing and drowning 
 
 <^> o 
 
 all in one act, anyway. I 11 wait here till I get 
 my breath ; then I can take off my boots and the 
 heaviest part of my clothes before I swim out on 
 any exploring expedition. 
 
 11 Jiminy! Whiz! Who would have thought 
 the water was as cold as it is? It seemed to 
 me when I first went down below that I would 
 be turned into a solid marble statue before I could 
 get back on top again. Whew! I wish I had a 
 little sunshine ! 
 
 " Now, what sort of a place is this I ve been 
 dropped into? " 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A CAVE OF WONDERS. 
 
 Dave began to look about him curiously. 
 
 The only apparent opening was the one at 
 which he had entered. After his eyes had be 
 come accustomed to the change from the brilliant 
 sunshine outside to the comparative dimness 
 within, it seemed to him that the space near 
 the entrance was really quite light ; but he rea 
 soned that it must be because of the refracted 
 rays of light through the wonderfully clear and 
 glassy water. 
 
 Where he was standing the ceiling was scarcely 
 more than a foot above his head ; but as the 
 apartment seemed to expand somewhat farther 
 back, he took a half-dozen steps, then stopped 
 and faced about toward the entrance. 
 
 The shape and width of the remarkable apart 
 ment seemed to be rather curiously regular; for, 
 with the exception of the narrowing-up at the 
 mouth, there were apparently up-and-down walls 
 which did not recede to greater width apart than 
 eight or ten feet. 
 
 215 
 
2l6 THE BIG-HORN TRKASURH. 
 
 " I don t understand this thing at all, but I 
 guess there must be an explanation somewhere, 
 if I look far enough. 
 
 " I m going a little farther back to see how it 
 looks," he said. "Seems almost as though 
 somebody had been running a tunnel in here on 
 a vein. If he has, though, he knows how to do 
 nice work. He hasn t broken up his walls at 
 all. Neal and I can t keep the dynamite from 
 splintering ours up so badly that we have to 
 timber them to prevent their caving in." 
 
 He went a dozen or more steps farther back, 
 when he found that there was a cross-chamber, 
 or gallery, into which he could penetrate no 
 great distance on either side on account of the 
 darkness. 
 
 So he continued his course somewhat farther 
 straight away from the entrance, and after turn 
 ing at length and facing about, because it was 
 impossible to distinguish anything except when 
 looking toward the light, he was interested to 
 see that the gallery was less regular, or at 
 least, was more broken by crossings or side- 
 passages. 
 
 " There s something very odd about this," he 
 thought. 
 
 " It don t look like the work of men, and it 
 don t look natural, either." 
 
A CAVE OF WONDERS. 21? 
 
 He moved toward the entrance again; and 
 when he readied the place of the first cross- 
 gallery something at his feet caught his eye, and 
 he stooped down to see what it was that gave 
 out the dull, fiery glow. It was flat and irreg 
 ular in shape, metallic in feeling, and as he 
 raised it it seemed unusually heavy. 
 
 He carried it down to the better light near the 
 opening, and examined it closely. Then he gave 
 an exclamation of astonishment at its appear 
 ance, took out his knife and scratched it, and 
 shouted : 
 
 11 I ve struck Aladdin s Cave this time! It s 
 a nugget ! Solid gold !" 
 
 The piece, in length and breadth, was not 
 unlike the shape of a man s hand, and must have 
 weighed fully twenty-five ounces. 
 
 After testing its weight, first in one hand, then 
 in the other, Dave sang out, aloud: 
 
 "It s worth four to five hundred dollars! 
 I don t feel half so cold as I did, and I m going 
 to see if I can t find some more." 
 
 Dave s voice sounded strange, and there was a 
 hollow, cavernous roar after it, but the strange 
 ness was almost entirely lost upon the boy, over 
 whom had suddenly surged a premonitory wave 
 of the malady known as i gold fever. 
 
 He walked slowly over the ground again; this 
 
2l8 THE 1UG-IIOKX TREASURE. 
 
 time examining the floor, walls, and ceiling more 
 carefully than at first. It did not take him very 
 long to come to a definite conclusion as to what 
 it all meant. 
 
 The floor or bottom of the cavern was wholly 
 covered with small fragments of decomposed 
 quartz and spar, and portions of similar matter 
 adhered to the side-walls. Overhead, wherever 
 he could touch and examine closely, it was 
 entirely made up of vein-stuff. 
 
 Reaching the spot where he had found the 
 nugget, he dropped upon his knees and began 
 poking in the rubbish. In a few minutes he 
 found a piece about half the size of the former 
 one, partly imbedded in spar of the same forma 
 tion. A little farther search brought to light 
 several other nuggets, all smaller than the first, 
 whose combined weight Dave thought must be 
 at least fifty ounces. 
 
 Then he arose and examined the character of the 
 intersecting or cross-passage, and found it to be 
 very much like that of the main gallery. 
 
 " It s plain enough now," he said. " This is 
 no work of man. Nature has done it all. This 
 place is a complete proof of Neal s idea of vein- 
 stuffs and the leaching process of gold-gathering. 
 
 11 Leaving the business part of my morning s 
 work, and turning back after the sheep s head, 
 
A CAVE OF WONDKKS. 219 
 
 has also proved the truth of the old saying", that 
 one luxury or extravagance always leads to 
 another. This case, though, works out a little 
 different from what is intended in the maxim, 
 don t it? 
 
 " I ve stumbled upon one of the rarest com 
 binations known to geological science. It s a 
 vein that is crossed and divided by several others. 
 All of them being nearly vertical, they have cut 
 through numerous layers of stratified rock, and 
 been given a beautiful chance for leaching. 
 
 "Gold has been gathered into large nuggets, 
 and, down here at this depth, through some 
 strange chemistry of air and water, the vein-stuff 
 has been entirely decomposed, and let part of the 
 gold loose and lying in the rubbish. There s a 
 fortune right here, and I guess it s going to be a 
 mighty easy thing to get it, too. 
 
 " But, goodness, gracious! It s beautiful and 
 wonderful, and all that, but it won t dry my 
 clothes, nor feed me. I ve got to get away from 
 here in double-quick time." 
 
 He hurried to the entrance, quickly removed 
 his boots and coat, and laid them with his little 
 pile of nuggets. He took only one broad, flat 
 piece, which did not weigh more than two oun 
 ces, and put it in his pocket. 
 
 Then he slipped through the opening into 
 
220 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 the chilly water, and swam as rapidly as he 
 could. 
 
 " I 11 be all right if I don t cramp," he 
 thought. 
 
 When he emerged from the little cove into the 
 open lake, and looked around, he saw that he 
 was not more than four or five hundred feet from 
 the ridge where he left his mutton, so he struck 
 out boldly. 
 
 Although it was not a long swim, the coldness 
 of the water, together with the rather rough ex 
 perience Dave had been having, would have been 
 a severe strain upon the endurance of a weaker 
 boy than he. He was a fine swimmer, though; 
 and not merely this, but was in perfect health, 
 and his nerves were as firm as a rock; so that 
 nothing of the sort would give him the least fear, 
 and thus weaken his powers. 
 
 One of the worst features of the swim was the 
 difficulty of breathing in such icy water; but he 
 finally managed to drag himself, nearly spent, 
 ashore. 
 
 " Whew! " he gasped. " But that s an ex 
 perience. I m glad I did n t have to swim a 
 mile. That sort of thing would be great prac 
 tice for a fellow who was going on a north pole 
 expedition. Seems as if I d been in another 
 world and got back to earth or at least I 11 
 
A CAVE OF WONDERS. 221 
 
 feel so as soon as I can get a change of clothes 
 and something hot to eat and drink. Now, for 
 camp. 
 
 He climbed the ridge, shouldered one of the 
 halves of mutton, picked up his rifle, and started 
 for camp as rapidly as he was able to get along 
 over the rocks in his stockinged feet. 
 
 When he at length reached there, and looked 
 at the watch hanging in the tent, he was sur 
 prised to see that it was not quite noon. 
 
 11 I vc had a good deal of life crowded into 
 small space this morning," he said; and then 
 went about changing his clothing. 
 
 This done, he lighted a fire and started his 
 dinner to cooking. 
 
 "I 11 have to put in the whole afternoon in 
 the kitchen," he thought. " I don t believe the 
 boys will get here to-night ; but if they do, 
 they 11 be mighty hungry, and I 11 have to give 
 em as good a spread as the camp affords." 
 
 He was so busy throughout the afternoon, and 
 so occupied with pleasant thoughts, that he was 
 fairly startled, just at the approach of dusk, by 
 a shrill whistle. 
 
 He looked around quickly, then said: "Why, 
 it s Neal ! " and gave a cheery answer of the 
 same kind. 
 
 In a few minutes there came the tramp of feet, 
 
222 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 and as the returning party came into sight 
 through the bushes, Xeal s hearty voice rang 
 out : 
 
 " Davey, boy, seeing ye is better than supper 
 and a good, soft seat! I ve thought of heaps 
 of trouble and a hundred scrapes you d be get 
 ting into." 
 
 "You may be sure I m glad to see you, 
 too!" cried Dave, as he shook hands with all 
 around. 
 
 "If I d had time enough on my hands to 
 think about it, I d have been lonesome enough 
 to scream; but, you see, I planned my business 
 matters so that I ve been able to fight off the 
 hysterics. I ve had the scrapes/ too; but I 
 don t look any the worse for them, do I? but, 
 how did you get along? never mind now, 
 though. You re tired and hungry. Sit down, 
 boys! Sit down and rest, and dinner will be 
 ready in five minutes. We can have our heap 
 big talk then." 
 
 " We won t make you wait for the important 
 part, Dave. W r e got our filings in ahead, and 
 everything is all right. We ve got a great story 
 for you, though," said Ken. 
 
 "Good enough! Hurrah! I want to know 
 everything about it ! " cried Dave. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE VICTORS RETURN. 
 
 Dinner was on time, according to Dave s 
 agreement; and during the meal a full account 
 of the events of the trip was given. 
 
 The talking was chief!} conducted by Phil and 
 Ken; Phil relating his adventure in getting lost, 
 and Ken giving an account of the scene in the 
 register s office. 
 
 When they had finished, Dave remarked: 
 
 "Considering the sort of crowd it is, I would 
 think we may look for another visit. Don t you 
 think so, Neal ? " 
 
 "There s no telling what men of their sort 
 may try to do, especially after a long drunk. 
 They have n t any sense to speak of Brodie 
 knows more than all the rest together, and 
 their one idea now would be revenge. They 
 might have some sort of a drunken notion, too, 
 that if they can surprise us and get possession, 
 they d be able to scare us into transferring a 
 large part of the property to em. But, there 
 ain t anything to be afraid of. The gang is 
 223 
 
224 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 without cither courage or brains. All we need do 
 is to be on the lookout for surprises." 
 
 "There s something else I think we may 
 have to do, boys," returned Dave. "I ve 
 made an important discovery while you were 
 away." 
 
 Then he related his sheep-hunting adventure, 
 with a detailed account of its thrilling and 
 strange conclusion. 
 
 When he had finished, Phil began to laugh, 
 and said : 
 
 "Say, Dave, . . . Excuse me for laughing. 
 You know I would n t think you d invent a 
 story . . . But did you have this dream in the 
 night, or in the daytime." 
 
 " All right, Phil. If I were in your place and 
 you in mine, I presume I would ask the same 
 question," replied Dave. But, you see, I 
 thought about that very thing, so I had just sense 
 enough to bring away a little proof. 
 
 He ran into the tent, and extracting the nug 
 get from the pocket of the trousers he had re 
 moved, quickly brought it forth and placed it in 
 Phil s hand. 
 
 " That s one of the smallest," he said, smil 
 ing. " Now, if you 11 say you re real sorry, 
 I 11 take you over to where the rest are, to 
 morrow. 
 
THK VICTORS RETURN. 225 
 
 Exclamations of wonder and admiration burst 
 from all the party. 
 
 " O, say, Dave! Don t leave me out! I won t 
 do it again," cried Phil. 
 
 "All right, Phil. I accept the apology," said 
 Dave, laughingly. " I had to make you do it 
 for the sake of dignity and appearances. Between 
 vou and me, if I had n t kept my head well enough 
 
 * J o 
 
 to bring away this piece, I might think of it now 
 as only a dream, too." 
 
 " There s no dream about this little chunk, 
 Dave," said Neal. "It s worth a good forty 
 dollars. I s pose you did n t notice whether the 
 vein was well defined at the surface; that is, 
 right up through the mountain?" 
 
 " I never saw it at all," replied Dave. "I 
 was only thinking about the sheep. I know now, 
 though, that it can be seen plainly enough. But, 
 say, boys! What are we going to do about it? 
 
 "I feel sure that it s richer than the Tel- 
 luride. I believe there are easy fortunes in it for 
 us all. But it s outside of the property we claim ; 
 the ground is n t ours; Neal and Ken have 
 already filed claims, and Phil and I are not of 
 age." 
 
 Ken and Phil began to look quite serious, and 
 both looked at Neal as though the best hope for 
 an answer to the difficulty lay in him. 
 
226 THE Bid- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 Neal stared hard into his cup fora few minutes, 
 before he said, 
 
 " That is a puzzler, Dave, sure enough. \Ye 
 might, of course, go ahead and work out all the 
 
 o " o 
 
 loose gold, as though twas placer ground, 
 and keep the thing quiet. . . . The local rules 
 of most all districts hold that up as the right of 
 the fellow who discovers a property. . . . 
 
 "But it ain t safe, because you re liable to 
 have it legally taken away from you by any mean 
 duffer who s willing to make trouble for you; 
 and besides, you re really stealing Uncle Sam s 
 property until you take steps to show you re 
 ready to buy and pay for it. Most men seem 
 to think there ain t any moral question in it at 
 all, that it s just a legal one, or else one of 
 force; but I ve never been able to quite see it 
 that way. " 
 
 " That s right, Neal! " exclaimed Ken. 4< I 
 like that kind of talk. The business world is too 
 full of the other idea- that anything you can 
 get hold of, and are strong enough, or smart 
 enough to keep, is your property. That sort 
 of belief won t do for the man whose honesty 
 is of the right kind. If there s a fortune in 
 this new discovery of Dave s, we must try and 
 get it. There must be some just and honorable 
 way of doing so, under the law. But if there 
 
THE VICTORS RKTURX. 22; 
 
 isn t, then I think we would better let somebody 
 else have it. " 
 
 " Isn t there ;i way it can be done, Neal?" 
 asked Phil, with the keenest distress in his voice. 
 
 " O yes. We must find a way. I ve got an 
 idea in my head, boys, that I think I can work 
 out by morning. Let s sleep on it. To-mor 
 row morning we 11 go over and see Dave s 
 dream, and by that time I reckon we 11 have 
 some way figured out that 11 be all satisfactory. 
 
 " But look here, Dave. You better invent 
 some way to put us into your magic cave dry- 
 shod. Maybe the rest of us ain t as fond of 
 doing the muskrat way of diving into holes 
 as you are. I never did like cold water very well 
 myself, " 
 
 Dave laughed, and said gaily: 
 
 " I ve got that fixed already. I 11 show you 
 the scheme in the morning." 
 
 Dave then began to speak of his other ex 
 periences at camp alone, the dreadful loneliness 
 of the evenings, the howling of the wolves, and 
 the real pleasure he found in the society of the 
 rat. 
 
 His account of that curious animal interested 
 Phil greatly. 
 
 " I hope he will stay around here," Phil said. 
 " I d like to get acquainted with him." 
 
228 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 O, he ll never leave us now," said Neal. 
 " You 11 be on intimate terms with him in a few 
 days. If he don t bring his wife and children, 
 and all his sisters and brothers and cousins, to 
 live with us, maybe we 11 be able to get along 
 with him fairly well." 
 
 "I m feeling very friendly myself," said 
 Dave. " I don t believe he s a bad fellow at all. " 
 
 Then the talk drifted away to the pack-train 
 which was to be expected within two or three 
 days, and from that to the new cabin which 
 ought to be ready to receive the stores when they 
 arrived. 
 
 " Dave meanwhile said nothing about what 
 he had accomplished in the building line. 
 
 For one thing, he was not altogether sure that 
 Neal would approve of the quality of all his 
 work; so he chose to remain quiet and let Neal 
 discover it for himself. 
 
 And so bedtime came, and with it sound, 
 refreshing sleep for all the boys. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION. XEAL S PEAX. 
 
 Ncal was the first one awake and out in the 
 morning, and after he had gotten the fire started 
 and breakfast well under way, he called the boys 
 with a shout. 
 
 "Ken! Phil!" he cried. "Come and see 
 what a trick the rascal Dave has played on us ! 
 Why, he s got the cabin half finished, and it s 
 a big one too ! 
 
 The boys never needed a second invitation to 
 rise, and were speedily outside, each doing his 
 part in the work of the camp. 
 
 They all were enthusiastic in their praises of 
 the work Dave had accomplished, but he himself 
 made light of it, saying: 
 
 "The logs are very small, you see. In fact, 
 they seem more like poles than logs, and it 
 was n t very much of a trick to get them here 
 and put them together." 
 
 " All the same, the poles are big enough to 
 make mighty heavy lifting," responded Neal. 
 
 229 
 
230 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "You ve got a house well started, and I don t 
 see how you managed to get so far along with it. " 
 
 Dave was secretly quite delighted with Neal s 
 approval, but he only said: 
 
 " O, the burros are unusually good workers." 
 
 At breakfast Neal said : 
 
 " The first real work we go about ought to be 
 the finishing of Dave s house; but, of course, 
 we ve got to see this fairy grotto the boy has 
 found, first of all. How are you going to get us 
 there, Dave? " 
 
 " O, that s easy! " replied Dave. " We 11 
 just go down to the lake and cut a few dead aspen 
 trees, lash them together, and we 11 have a raft 
 that will float us all. Then we can pole or 
 paddle it right over to the mouth of the cave. 
 By working together we ought to make it all 
 complete in half an hour." 
 
 "Well, I m ready now," said Neal, rising 
 from the table. We can let the kitchen take 
 care of itself for once. We have more important 
 things on hand. " 
 
 So all hands proceeded to the lake shore, and 
 in a little while had completed a raft large enough 
 to comfortably float the entire party. Three 
 layers of small logs were used, by crossing them, 
 and then lashing together with ropes. 
 
 "We 11 have some nails when the pack-train 
 
VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION. 231 
 
 gets here," said Neal. "A few of them would 
 come in handy here, but a man never knows how 
 many things he can get along without until he 
 tries. 
 
 " Are we all ready? " 
 
 li Let me go to the camp after a candle and a 
 pick," said Dave. 
 
 He returned quickly, and said: 
 
 " Now, then! I m all ready, if the rest of you 
 are." 
 
 "You re the pilot of the ship," said Neal. 
 " Give us the course, and we ll do the pro 
 pelling." 
 
 "I think we all can get a chance to work," 
 replied Dave. "We will make for the cliff. I 
 can t see the point from here, but I can find it 
 when I get over there." 
 
 For the greater part of the distance the water 
 was too deep to admit of poling, so all worked 
 hard at paddling with their poles. This was slow 
 and laborious work; but the cliff was reached at 
 length, and, by paddling slowly along, Dave was 
 able soon to point out the narrow cove, and at 
 its end, at the water level, a small dark space, 
 which he said was the entrance. 
 
 It all became clear as they approached, and 
 as Dave brought a corner of the raft up so that 
 it reached the low arch of the entrance, they 
 
232 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 found it would be difficult for all to creep within, 
 and remain perfectly dry. 
 
 11 We must be careful to anchor our ship 
 safely," Ncal said. "It would be a bad pre 
 dicament to have it go adrift." 
 
 "All right, Neal; you take the painter and 
 go inside. We will keep her steady till you get 
 the cable made fast," said Dave. 
 
 Seeing that the raft could be steadied better 
 from a foothold upon the ground, Dave did not 
 hesitate, but dropped into the water, waist deep, 
 and stood upon a slight projecting ledge while 
 he held the raft steady for the others. 
 
 Neal then crawled within, and taking the end 
 of his rope, made it fast around a pointed rock 
 inside. 
 
 "All fast!" he cried. "You can come 
 ashore ! 
 
 Phil went first, then Ken, and lastly, Dave; 
 those entering first, lending a hand to help the 
 others through the aperture. 
 
 \Vhen all were inside, Dave said: 
 
 "Well, boys, here are my coat and boots. 
 You can examine these other things and see 
 what you think they are worth." 
 
 As he spoke he pointed to the little heap of 
 nuggets he had left, and picking up the largest, 
 he placed it in Neal s hand. 
 

 " I 
 
 HB 
 
 ; NEAL THFX CKAWI.KH WITHIN, 
 
VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION. 235 
 
 Ken and Phil were almost breathless with 
 amazement as Neal examined it, after which, 
 with a beaming smile, he passed it to Phil. 
 
 k< It s the real stuff, boys. Are these the other 
 pieces, Dave?" he asked, as he stooped and 
 looked over the lot. "About a thousand dol 
 lars worth, I should say. Come, now! Let s 
 look around and get all the points? " 
 
 Neal had brought the pick from the raft, and 
 as Dave led the way along the passage, he fol 
 lowed with the tool in his hand. 
 
 Dave stopped at the first cross-passage, say 
 ing: " Here is where I found them." 
 
 Phil and Ken at once dropped to their knees, 
 and began scraping among the fragments of rock 
 and rubbish. 
 
 " Where s your candle, Dave? " asked Neal. 
 
 Dave took the candle from his pocket, striking 
 a match at the same time. 
 
 11 Let s see what this side-passage looks like," 
 Neal said. 
 
 They turned to the left, the dim light from 
 the tallow candle enabling them to see their way 
 without stumbling. 
 
 Ken and Phil, meanwhile, were digging with 
 their fingers in the earth and rubbish. The 
 others had been gone but a few minutes, when 
 Phil cried out exultantly: 
 
236 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 ki I Ve found one! I ve got one! A big one, 
 too!" 
 
 Dave and Neal making no response, he 
 glanced down the passageway, but the light from 
 their candle was not visible. 
 
 "Let me see, Phil," said Ken, eagerly. 
 "Why, it s larger than Dave s biggest one! 
 Isn t it magnificent? But, here. Take it. I 
 shall not be happy until I find one of my own! " 
 
 He began to dig with energy, and presently 
 shouted : 
 
 "Here it is! A small one! O, here s an 
 other! Three! I ve found three; all near 
 together! None are as large as yours, Phil, but 
 I think all together must weigh as much." 
 
 "Yes, "said Phil. "They will weigh more 
 than mine. 
 
 "Say, Ken! Have you noticed what a 
 strange sound our voices have when we shout? 
 They come back with a kind of ghostly roar, 
 from every direction, one echo following an 
 other." 
 
 "Yes, I think it must be on account of the 
 different passages. But where have Dave and 
 Neal disappeared to? I ve been so busy here 
 that I didn t even notice which way they took. 
 Did you? " 
 
 4 Yes, they went down to the left. Say, Ken ! 
 
VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION. 237 
 
 Don t you feel as though this experience of the 
 cave and the wonderful nuggets of gold is so 
 astonishing that it s going to be pretty hard to 
 realize it afterwards?" 
 
 " I was thinking that just now," replied Ken. 
 "To be sure, we hear of people discovering 
 mines of great wealth, and every little while an 
 account is given of some marvelous find that 
 has been made, but it all seemed so remote that 
 I never even imagined myself as being a part of 
 it. Even now, if I were to go away, I doubt if 
 I would very long be able to realize that I ve 
 seen these things." 
 
 " Here come the boys!" cried Phil, and the 
 flickering light of the candle was seen approach 
 ing. 
 
 As it came nearer, Dave was seen to be carry 
 ing the candle and pick, while Neal bore a heavy 
 piece of rock in his hands. 
 
 The cave must be of great extent, said Ken, 
 as the others came up. " You have been out of 
 sight and sound for quite a while." 
 
 "The voice don t carry far in a place like 
 this," replied Neal. "We ve not been far 
 away. The passage takes a sharp uphill slope a 
 few steps from here, and the roof prevented you 
 from seeing our candle. We ve been to the end 
 in that direction 
 
238 THE JUG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " Wait a minute, Dave, till I carry this piece 
 of ore down to the entrance ; then we will explore 
 a little farther. We must n t stay long , because 
 we ought to be at work on the house." 
 
 lie was back in a minute, and started with 
 Dave down the main gallery. 
 
 " I think I 11 go, too," said Ken. 
 
 \Vhereupon Phil, rising to his feet, remarked: 
 
 "The ends of my fingers are getting rather 
 worn. I m going to be satisfied with my one nug 
 get for the present. This work needs a pick and 
 shovel." 
 
 They followed behind the others, stopping 
 occasionally, with them, to see the features of 
 the different intersecting veins, as Ncal pointed 
 them out. These became much less marked as 
 they went farther from the entrance, and at 
 about one hundred feet distance the gallery 
 ended. 
 
 Neal, with his pick, dislodged a piece of rock 
 from the end wall of the passage, saying: 
 
 " I want to compare some of these by day 
 light. I think we needn t try to explore the 
 other side-veins. It will take too much time, 
 and can just as well be done later on. I under 
 stand the situation (or, think I do), and maybe 
 when I examine my specimens I 11 know still 
 more. Let me take one more piece from 
 
VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION. 239 
 
 the side. There! That will do. Now let s 
 go!" 
 
 They returned to the mouth of the cave, where 
 they gathered up Dave s nuggets, coat, and 
 boots, and crawled back to the raft again. 
 
 "That hole can easily be enlarged," said 
 Dave; " but it seems to me we will be wise to 
 let it alone for the present, or until we are pretty 
 secure in our rights." 
 
 "Yes, I agree with you," replied Neal. 
 
 Then he turned, and glancing up the face of 
 the cliff, he pointed with his finger, saying: 
 
 "There s the vein, boys, as plain as can be. 
 It must run right across the lake and pass down 
 the lower cliff on the right-hand side of the out 
 let. Well, there s one thing. Even if somebody 
 else should find it, he might tunnel and cross-cut 
 till he had it most chopped to pieces before 
 he d ever find the bonanza clown below here." 
 
 "Yes, that s so," said Dave; "and if it 
 had n t been for my big-horn and the cold bath 
 he gave me, this thing might have remained hid 
 den for centuries longer. I presume there must 
 be countless things in the mountains as strange 
 and undiscovered 
 
 " By the way, I wonder what became of the 
 sheep-head. I never saw it from the moment I 
 
240 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 threw it off. Under the circumstances, I guess 
 I can spare it. I m going to name the new mine 
 the Big- Horn. 
 
 "The head would sink," said Neal. "It s 
 at the bottom of the lake somewhere." 
 
 " Let s go over now and get the other half of 
 my mutton," said Dave. " It will be easier than 
 packing it away round 
 
 " Now, Neal, if you ve got your scheme fig 
 ured out, you might tell us how we can fix things 
 so as to hold the property." 
 
 "Well, I 11 tell you what I m thinking of," 
 replied Neal. 
 
 " Our pack-train will be here within one or 
 two days, and one of the men the man in 
 charge is a brother of my old partner, Archie 
 Campbell, the recorder at Gunnison. Now, there 
 ain t an honester, more reliable man in the state 
 of Colorado than Archie ; and my idea is to get 
 him to help us, and to pay him by giving him an 
 interest in this claim 
 
 " I mean, I would propose our sending a letter 
 to Archie by his brother; tell him it s a big 
 thing, and offer him a fifth interest if he will 
 come up right away and locate the claim in his 
 own name. 
 
 " What do you think of it, boys? " 
 
 " I think it a first-class plan, and I m ready 
 
VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION. 241 
 
 to take in anybody you recommend, Neal," said 
 Dave. 
 
 "So ami," said Phil. "I liked Campbell 
 very much. I believe he s a fine fellow." 
 
 " Yes," said Ken, "I do too. Besides, boys, 
 it will be a good thing for us to have a man like 
 Campbell interested with us. He holds a posi 
 tion where he will be able to keep us posted if 
 anything should come up that might annoy us." 
 
 " I m glad you all like the plan," returned 
 Ncal. " I thought of the same thing Ken speaks 
 of; and it might possibly be worth a whole lotto 
 us. You see, there ain t any reason (in the law) 
 why we can t take up more than one claim apiece 
 here. Ken and I could take another claim each, 
 along this vein ; but the time might come when 
 we d have to fight to keep off just such sneaks 
 as Brodie (in the law, I mean), and besides, we 
 need more good witnesses. 
 
 " You know we are in a lonely, out-of-way 
 place here, and the only man at present, besides 
 our own crowd, who could testify at all, will 
 swear against us if he ever has a chance. One 
 claim at a time ( specially if it s a rich one) 
 is enough for any one man. It s an easy 
 thing, always, to make trouble for a fellow who s 
 got a valuable claim (before he s got his patent 
 fixed up) 
 
242 THE B1G-I10RX TREASURE. 
 
 Now here s this vein that runs across the 
 lake and down the lower cliff same as the other 
 one. I m going to suggest that Archie bring 
 another man with him to locate the extension. 
 We 11 offer him the same terms. Do you all 
 agree to this? " 
 
 Yes," they all said, instantly; and that 
 being settled, Neal resumed : " We 11 get to work 
 now and finish our house." 
 
 By this time the raft had touched the shore by 
 the ridge. It required but a minute for Dave to 
 bring his mutton on board, and then they headed 
 for camp, which they reached in a short time. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF THE PACK-TRAIN. 
 
 "Now, boys," said Neal, while you re 
 making fast the raft, and begin at chopping logs, 
 I m going to make sure about the course of 
 Dave s 4 Big- Horn vein. If it s over here as 
 it must be- it won t take me long to find it. 
 I ll be with you pretty soon," and he struck 
 off through the brush toward the edge of the 
 plateau. 
 
 The boys had hardly more than gotten well at 
 work chopping, when he returned, saying: 
 
 " I found it without a bit of trouble. It s a 
 good vein, too, similar to the Telluride in size 
 and formation. I don t think it s any better, 
 but it s liable to be as good. The cross-veins 
 and the free-gold deposit over at the cave don t 
 necessarily affect this end of it a bit. 
 
 " Now, Dave, as long as you re a teamster, 
 I think you better harness up the animals, and 
 two of you can haul logs, while two of us chop. 
 With another man I can keep you hustling." 
 
 At noon Neal declared there were enough logs 
 243 
 
244 THE JUG- IIORX TRKASURK. 
 
 to complete the walls and roof. The burros 
 were therefore set loose, and all hands turned 
 themselves into builders. 
 
 So skillful and ready was Neal at the work, 
 and with such zeal did all the boys devote them 
 selves to their task, that by the middle of the 
 afternoon of the following day Neal pronounced 
 the house finished about as far as they could 
 go, until the train arrived. 
 
 lt W 7 e ve got some roofing-paper coming, that 
 we can stretch over the roof-poles, and then we 11 
 be as snug and dry as if we were at the hotel in 
 Gunnison," said Neal. 
 
 "Now, Dave, I think the train will be here 
 to-night. If you 11 be kitchen-artist for the rest 
 of the day, the other boys and I will gather 
 moss and make chinking to stop up the 
 cracks 
 
 " We ve got some window-sash coming up too, 
 besides a lot of tools. We 11 have a combined 
 house and workshop here that we 11 be proud of, 
 when she s all fixed up." 
 
 "I suppose you ve built many of them, 
 Neal," remarked Phil. 
 
 "Yes, indeed. I really don t remember how 
 many," he answered. 
 
 The afternoon w r ore rapidly along, and so much 
 interested was everybody with his work that the 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE PACK-TRAIN. 245 
 
 pack-train came very near to arriving among them 
 before they were aware. 
 
 Dave was the first to hear the shouts of the 
 drivers, and ran toward the cabin, calling out to 
 
 o 
 
 the busy workers : 
 
 "Tra-a-a-in coming! Cle-e-e-ar the track!" 
 
 Instantly all work was dropped, and the whole- 
 party gathered at the edge of the plateau nearest 
 camp to watch the interesting and curious sight. 
 
 From around a sharp angle of the huge, tower 
 ing wall of cliff, where the thin line of the trail 
 hung suspended between valley and sky, came a 
 long procession of clean-limbed mules, a large 
 portion of the body of each animal so hidden by 
 his load as to suggest a chattel-bundle with legs. 
 
 A man was in advance, and the train was di 
 vided into three sections, with one man behind 
 each section of about twelve mules. 
 
 One animal would have two heavy casks slung 
 one on either side; another would have a regular 
 pile of bulky, but lighter boxes; another would 
 seem still more overladen beneath mattresses 
 and blankets. A long, motley, and weird cara 
 van it was, considering the wild and savage back 
 ground of the scene. 
 
 Some bore flour, and others provisions; some 
 heavy tools and explosives. One had large, 
 square tins of kerosene oil, and a case of lamps and 
 
246 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 fixtures; while the separate and detached pieces 
 of the stove were distributed over the backs of a 
 number of the animals. 
 
 Phil counted thirty-four altogether, and the 
 boys all remarked how flagged and worn the poor 
 brutes seemed. 
 
 As the mules slowly, and one by one, reached 
 the broad level of the plateau, Neal advanced to 
 the man in the lead and shook hands, savin"- : 
 
 * o 
 
 "Glad you ve got through all right, Harry. 
 Did you make it without any accident?" 
 
 "Ah, Neal! Glad to see you! " returned the 
 man. (t The mules are glad to get here, I 11 bet. 
 Do you know, this trail of yours is about the 
 toughest I ever struck? I ve seen bad ones 
 a-plenty, too. It s not only narrow and danger 
 ous, but a terrible climb. Some of the beasts 
 would n t have held out another mile. 
 
 "No, we didn t have any unusual run of 
 bad luck. Lost one mule, but we saved his pack 
 or the most of it." 
 
 As the train began to gather and group around 
 the newly built cabin, everybody went vigorously 
 to work at unpacking. 
 
 With eight men this did not require a very 
 long time, and when it \vas accomplished, the 
 piles of merchandise made up a total rather sur 
 prising. 
 
A LONG PROCESSION OF CLEAN- LIMHI-IO MULES. 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE PACK - TRAIN. 249 
 
 The released mules, each and all, first gave 
 themselves the luxury of a good roll, then a long 
 drink at the lake, after which they went eagerly 
 to grazing. 
 
 After supper Neal held a conversation with 
 Harry Campbell, and then wrote a short but 
 vigorous letter to Archie, urging him, if he 
 wanted an interest in the best piece of property 
 in the county, to come up without a minute s 
 delay, and bring another good man with him to 
 take up an extension of the same vein. 
 
 The camp was astir very early in the morning, 
 as the packers wished to get away at dawn ; and 
 as soon as breakfast was over, Neal gave the letter 
 to Harry, saying: 
 
 "The sooner Archie gets this, the better he 
 will like it; so I hope you won t have any delay 
 on the road." 
 
 "All right, Neal," returned Harry. "I ll 
 get through before noon to-morrow, if we have 
 good luck. " 
 
 So saying, and with pleasant " good-bys," the 
 long train of mules unburdened, except with 
 their " aparcjos " (or Mexican pack-saddles) 
 set out, with their shouting drivers, upon their 
 returning and downward journey. 
 
 For two or three days little else was done or 
 thought of by our boys than the storing away of 
 
250 THE TUG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 their goods and finishing up and making the house 
 as comfortable as possible. 
 
 First, the roof was made thoroughly tieht with 
 
 o J o 
 
 the tarred paper. The stove was set up, a door 
 made and hung (the material for which was hewn 
 and split out of aspen trunks), bunks were built, 
 and shelves nailed up around the walls. 
 
 At last everything was nicely stowed away, and 
 as the boys sat, in the evening, by the light of 
 their oil lamp, all looked smiling and contented, 
 with the exception of Neal. 
 
 "Dave," said that usually happy-faced indi 
 vidual, "that supper you cooked on the new 
 stove was all right, and in the morning I 11 try 
 my hand at it for breakfast. I ve cooked on 
 em, and of course they re fine things, specially 
 in bad weather; but somehow I guess I d always 
 feel more at home with an open fire. One thing 
 is sure: a stove ain t of any use for sociability. 
 This cabin lacks something, and it needs it 
 bad. That s a fireplace. The very first half 
 day I can get a lay-off I m going to make one. 
 I can t live here and be happy without it." 
 
 This idea was heartily applauded by all the 
 others, who, without having realized what had 
 been lacking, now knew that a fireplace was 
 necessary to their peace of mind. 
 
A R RI VA I . OF Til I-: P AC R - T R A IN. 251 
 
 Then the discussion was begun as to the line 
 of work for the next day. 
 
 11 I think we had better go to work on the 
 tunnel again, boys," said Xeal. " If Archie 
 comes up and we fix him out with the certificate 
 to file on the Big- Horn, then, I imagine, after 
 that we will want to do our easiest and best-pay 
 ing work first; but until we introduce him to the 
 property, I think we had better let it lie as fresh 
 and undisturbed as possible. Don t you think 
 so?" 
 
 " Yes," said the others. 
 
 "Besides," Dave continued, "it wouldn t 
 look manly or dignified to go running off after a 
 new thing, just because it s got more shine and 
 glitter to it than the old. If our first find 
 was as good a thing as we wanted, until we 
 found this last one, it \s good enough to put our 
 best energy on now." 
 
 "That s the way to talk, Davey!" cried 
 Neal, and he looked admiringly at his young 
 mate. "What do you say, Phil; and you, 
 Ken?" 
 
 "Dave talks the best kind of sense," said 
 Ken. " Before he described the situation so 
 nicely, I was beginning to sort of wonder what 
 we w r ere going to do with our so numerous inter 
 ests and great riches. It sail plain now." 
 
252 THE iu(;-iic)RX TREASURE. 
 
 " Well," said Phil, " I m not going to deny 
 that the new find takes hold of me with a 
 stronger pull than the old one. It s fascinating 
 work digging out thirty-ounce nuggets, and I d 
 be willing to keep it up, and let all other pursuits 
 go for a good while. I shall never be really con 
 tented to work at anything else now, until 1 
 feel sure we have scraped out the very last 
 chunk of gold that s to be found over yonder. 
 Still, I realize the sense of what you fellows 
 say, and at least, you won t find me hanging 
 back in any kind of work that it seems best to 
 do." 
 
 There was a loud and hearty laugh at Phil s 
 confession, and Dave said: 
 
 " What you say will apply to us all, Phil, and 
 it s a good thing always to know just how and 
 where we stand. I guess it s also a good thing 
 for every fellow to discipline himself once in a 
 while." 
 
 So it was arranged to resume work on the 
 tunnel early the next morning. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE RAID. NEAL S CHECKMATE. 
 
 During the last few days there had been little 
 thought of trouble from their late acquaint 
 ances, one reason being, perhaps, a sense of 
 security which came from being all together 
 again, and a feeling that there was only one 
 direction from which it would be possible for 
 anyone to approach the plateau. 
 
 From the clump at the mouth of the tunnel a 
 clear view could be had of the last long stretch 
 of trail as it neared the shelf. This view had 
 been assisted by clearing away a line of under 
 brush for some distance, so that there seemed 
 perfect safety from surprise when they were 
 occupied. 
 
 All hands were hard at work in and about the 
 tunnel by the time that the morning sunshine 
 had thoroughly lighted up the plateau. 
 
 Phil and Ken took their first lesson in practical 
 mining. 
 
 Ken and Neal were working at the inner end, 
 or "breast" of the tunnel, and Neal held the 
 
 253 
 
254 TIIK UK;- HORN TRKASURK. 
 
 steel drill while Ken struck it with the drill-ham 
 mer, or sledge. 
 
 Phil and Dave were at work about the mouth. 
 Phil was wheeling out ore and refuse with a 
 wheelbarrow, while Dave was preparing a set of 
 timbers to be used inside. 
 
 The ax Dave was using seemed to him to be 
 so dull that, after working with it for some 
 time, his patience became a little strained, so he 
 started with it for the camp, saying: 
 
 "There s a sharper one in the cabin. I 11 go 
 and get it." 
 
 He walked quickly to the camp, and, after ex 
 changing axes, was about to return, when it oc 
 curred to him that there had been no drinking- 
 water taken out to the tunnel. 
 
 " I 11 get a bucketful from the lake, and take 
 it over, " he said. 
 
 Taking a pail from the cabin he started down 
 the path, which had now become well worn by 
 daily use; and, as he drew nearer to the water, 
 something reminded him of the morning, a few 
 days before, when his eye had caught the reflec 
 tion of the mountain sheep. 
 
 He paused, saying: 
 
 11 I w r onder if I Ve scared the poor beasts so 
 they ll never come back here again," and ran 
 
THE IK FIRST I.KSSON IX PRACTICAL MINING. 
 
his eyes up a.nd down the cliff beyond the lake, 
 where had been the scene of his curious adven 
 ture. 
 
 The glow of sunlight all over the mountain 
 side was so full and strong, that, for a minute, 
 the details of ledge and seam did not become 
 visible. Gradually, though, the markings began 
 to take shape, and his gaze rested upon the high 
 point \vhere he had crouched when he fired and 
 brought down the ram. 
 
 Something was stirring up there, and Dave 
 smiled with pleasure to think that he might still 
 be able to admire their activity and grace ; when 
 suddenly, the moving thing stood out in clearer 
 relief, as it came to a spot where the rocks behind 
 were in shadow. 
 
 Then he almost dropped his pail in astonish 
 ment, to see that it was a man. 
 
 For an instant he felt so strongly inclined to 
 doubt the evidence of his eyesight that he looked 
 down toward the ground, that he might make 
 another test. But in another moment there \vas 
 no room for skepticism; as the figure stood still, 
 and was beckoning with its hand in the direc 
 tion from which it came. 
 
 Fortunately Dave was standing in the bushes ; 
 and now he dropped upon his knees, so that he 
 
258 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 could look through the branches and remain 
 wholly screened. 
 
 Now, to his astonishment, there appeared, at 
 a little distance behind the first figure, a file of 
 five other men creeping carefully along down the 
 ledge in the same direction. 
 
 " It s Brodie and his precious outfit, as sure 
 as I m alive! We re in for trouble now! 
 
 Without pausing for another instant, he crawled 
 back through the bushes until he reached thick 
 and high timber, when he started for the tunnel 
 as fast as he could run, keeping the foliage be 
 tween himself and the cliff. 
 
 Arriving at the tunnel, he burst, breathless 
 and excited, upon the three busy miners, ex 
 claiming: 
 
 Brodie and his crowd are here ! They re com 
 ing clown the cliff above the lake ! Coming by 
 the very same ledge I used when I brought down 
 my sheep! Come quick! We re bound to have 
 a fight, and we must get our rifles! " 
 
 " Well, I m not sorry to settle it with them," 
 cried Phil. If they must have a fight, we ll 
 give them one ! 
 
 Neal simply said: 
 
 " Wait a minute, boys! We must act all to 
 gether, and with common sense, now! Are you 
 willing to let me be captain in this scrimmage? " 
 
ALMOST DKdITKD HIS PAIL IN ASTONISHMENT/ 
 
THK RAID. XEAI. S CHECKMATE. 261 
 
 " Yes! " was the unanimous reply. 
 
 "All right then! We re now under military 
 rule for awhile! Dave, as I understood your 
 account of the ledge yonder, it runs out at the 
 lake, and they won t be able to get to the bottom 
 without throwing themselves clown into the water. 
 Do you s pose they re so foolish or so whisky- 
 mad as to do that? " 
 
 "Oh! Good gracious, Neal!" gasped Dave. 
 " I ve never once thought of it until this minute, 
 but my rope still hangs fastened tightly where I 
 left it! They can climb it, as I did, and come 
 right along to the ridge of rocks over in the 
 corner ! 
 
 Neal s eyes were shining with a light that, to 
 Ken, seemed something like fierce anticipation 
 almost of happiness. 
 
 " Now, boys," he said, "if I m commander, 
 you re to do exactly as I say; and you re not to 
 do a thing except when I give you permission ! 
 The first thing is to get our guns from the cabin ! 
 Dave, show us back by the way you came, through 
 the trees! " 
 
 Quickly, but cautiously, they made their way 
 to the little clearing next to the house, where 
 they paused. 
 
 " Dave, do you think they re down low enough 
 by this time so they 11 not be able to see into 
 
262 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 the clearing? We mustn t let them see us. 
 They ve planned to surprise us when we were all 
 at the tunnel, working, and now I want to give 
 them the surprise." 
 
 "I don t know for certain, Neal, but let me 
 do this. I 11 run around to the farther side of 
 the cabin, keeping hidden in the brush all the 
 time, and get the guns and bring them back 
 the same way. " 
 
 "Good idea, Dave! But, as you re to obey 
 orders, you stay right here, and I 11 go! " and 
 away he went with a speed and deft gliding 
 motion through the bushes, that would have 
 done credit to an Arapahoe scout. 
 
 They did not have long to wait. He was 
 back among them almost before they were aware 
 of it. 
 
 " Now," he said, " I 11 lead! All follow me! 
 Here, each of you take his own rifle, and exam 
 ine it carefully, to see if it s all right and the 
 magazine full! All ready? Come then! " 
 
 He started off through the bushes in the direc 
 tion of the outlet to the lake. His progress was 
 so swift that all the others had to strain to keep 
 up with him. 
 
 When they reached the stream, and had 
 crossed upon the log, Neal stopped, and said: 
 
 " The line of trees ends a short distance from 
 
THE RAID. XEAL S CHECKMATE. 263 
 here, but if the men are down low cnoucfh, we 
 
 o " 
 
 can slip along behind the rocks without being 
 seen ! When we get to the edge of the timber, 
 all of you stay hid while I go ahead to spy a lit 
 tle ! If I beckon to you once, I want only 
 Dave; if more than once, you can all come, but 
 keep out of their sight behind the rocks! " 
 
 They kept on to the limit of the trees, when 
 Ncal raised his hand, and all paused. Then, 
 cautiously making his way among the rocks to 
 the highest point, he peered over toward the 
 cliff. 
 
 A moment more and he crept back until well 
 down the slope, then beckoned three times, 
 whereupon all three boys hastened to join him. 
 
 " They can t see us if we keep along the base 
 of the ridge," he whispered. " They ve got to 
 the rope now, and Brodie is giving directions. 
 We must hurry, but do it mighty careful! 
 About two hundred feet farther on is a fine place 
 for us to make a stand. We 11 be sheltered from 
 them, and within fine rifle range! " 
 
 In a few minutes he paused again, and whis 
 pered : 
 
 " Right here s the place! I 11 go up ahead! 
 You see the little clump of jack-pines at the top? 
 They 11 screen us, and we 11 have a chance to 
 keep behind the rocks, besides! " 
 
264 THE IJir, -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 Me was up in a moment, and after glancing 
 through the limbs, beckoned for the others. 
 
 The boys instantly ran up to his side, and 
 beheld an interesting sight. Three men were 
 already upon the upper ledge, and three were 
 still below, one of whom was preparing to ascend 
 the rope. Brodie was among the three who were 
 below, and the rifles were all together in a lean 
 ing stack on the lower shelf. 
 
 While they looked, the fourth man grasped 
 the rope and began to climb; and, as he dangled 
 there against the side of the mountain, Neal s 
 plan of action shaped itself in his mind, all in 
 the space of a minute. 
 
 Turning to the boys, who w r ere all close at his 
 elbow, he said quietly, but with great earnest 
 ness : 
 
 k Boys, I made up my mind from the start 
 that there s to be no killing here, if we can get 
 along without it, and protect ourselves at the 
 same time ; but you can see that the time has 
 come for a prompt move, and it s got to be a 
 strong one! Whatever happens, remember, I 
 wanted to avoid bloodshed! I m going to 
 shoot just as the next man goes up the rope! 
 That s Brodie! You see he s next! But don t 
 any of the rest of you shoot ! Wait till I tell 
 you ! 
 
THE RAID. XEAL S CHECKMATE. 265 
 
 " The fourth man is up, and see! There goes 
 Broclic! Mind, I don t mean to kill! 
 
 Thrusting his rifle through the branches, Neal 
 took a steady and careful sight. Brodie was two- 
 thirds of the way up when Neal s rifle cracked, 
 and the suspended man fell like a log, still clutch 
 ing the rope which waved wildly in the air. 
 
 He struck the lower ledge with his feet, but 
 his equilibrium was wholly lost; and, clutching 
 vainly at the air, with a wild scream he toppled 
 and went whirling down the sheer descent to the 
 lake below. He turned a half somerset, struck 
 the water head foremost, and with a mighty 
 splash, disappeared. 
 
 This occupied but a moment; and, before the 
 knave s companions were able to quite realize 
 what had occurred, Neal pumped another cart 
 ridge into his gun and aimed a second time. 
 
 Just as Brodie vanished from sight, he fired 
 again, and the remaining or sixth man, still 
 on the lower ledge, staggered, clutched his right 
 arm with his left hand, and fell, limp and help 
 less, upon the ledge. 
 
 He managed to grasp a rim of rock, however, 
 and thus saved his balance ; but yelled in a terror- 
 stricken voice : 
 
 " I m killed! Oh, I m killed! " 
 
 Neal gave a quiet chuckle, saying: 
 
266 THE JUG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "Checkmate, in two moves! You can come 
 out, boys. They re harmless as suckin doves 
 
 Saying thus, he arose and stepped from behind 
 the covert into full and bold view. 
 
 The boys had grasped the situation as quickly 
 as it had been presented to them. Neal s first 
 careful shot had done exactly what he intended. 
 It severed the rope squarely in two, and left the 
 four men on the upper shelf, cut off from their 
 rifles, besides throwing the fifth and most dan 
 gerous into the lake and out of the rumpus. 
 
 The second shot disabled the right arm of the 
 sixth man, so that it was impossible for him to 
 make use of any of the firearms. 
 

 THE SUSPENDED MAN FELL LIKE A LOG. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PHIL S AQUATICS. RESCUE OF BRODIE. 
 
 As our four boys came out from their hiding- 
 place, however, the desperadoes, with the instinct 
 of badgers at bay, put on a momentary fierce 
 courage. Drawing their revolvers, they fired a 
 fusillade of shots, every one of which fell short, 
 by reason of the distance. 
 
 Then Neal brought his rifle to his shoulder, 
 took aim again, and simultaneously with his shot 
 the pistol dropped from the hand of one of the 
 men. A cry of horrified conviction broke from 
 them all, and they screamed : 
 
 11 We give in! We surrender! For God s sake, 
 don t shoot! " 
 
 Without lowering his rifle, except to pump in 
 another cartridge, Neal thundered in reply: 
 
 11 Now, every man jack of you, throw your 
 pepper-boxes into the lake! I 11 give you thirty 
 seconds! 
 
 There was but one instant s hesitation; then 
 four revolvers in quick succession splashed into 
 the lake. Even the man with the wounded hand 
 had stooped and tossed over his fallen pistol. 
 269 
 
2/0 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 "Now, Dave!" said Neal; "you look after 
 the fellow on the lower ledge! lie shows ani 
 mation, and there might be a little cussedness 
 left in him! I m going to attend to Brodie! 
 We must n t let him drown! Where is he? Can 
 you see him ? 
 
 " I ve been watching him ! " cried Phil. " He 
 was s\vimming this way only a moment ago ! I 
 know right where he must have gone down ! 
 He s drowning! Let me go, Neal! " 
 
 Phil had thrown off his jacket and laid down 
 his gun, and was now struggling to remove his 
 boots. 
 
 "Well, go quick, then, Phil; if you re sure 
 you know where he went down, and think you 
 can get him," returned Neal. 
 
 Without further words Phil kicked off his 
 boots, threw down his hat, and ran rapidly down 
 the hill to the shore. 
 
 With a dozen flying steps along the edge of 
 the water, a light spring to a shelving rock, then 
 a long, curving leap, and Phil shot head foremost 
 into the glassy lake and toward the bottom. 
 
 " Watch out for him, Ken, to see if he needs 
 any help! " cried Neal. " Dave and I can attend 
 to these fellows ! 
 
 The cause of this immediate tumult the 
 small but energetic Mr. Brodie had during this 
 
PHIL S AQUATICS. RESCUE OF BRODIE. 2/1 
 
 time been undergoing not merely a change of 
 fortunes, but sufferings of both mind and body 
 that were most agonizing. 
 
 After his reluctant header into the lake, from 
 which he rose to the surface chilled and confused, 
 but quite uninjured, he swam aimlessly for a 
 minute, and then headed directly for the cliff in 
 front of him. Reaching there, he quickly saw 
 that there could be no escape that way, nor even 
 any relief, except such support as he could derive 
 from clutching with his fingers a narrow two-inch 
 projection. 
 
 Here, half strangled, and shivering from the 
 icy coldness of the water, he hung, until, seeing 
 the inevitable end of remaining there, he let go 
 and started to swim toward the ridge where our 
 boys were standing. But the coldness of the 
 water, together, perhaps, with the weakening 
 effects of his late debauch, were more than his 
 powers of endurance were equal to. He strug 
 gled on in gasping, spasmodic fashion, neared 
 the shore, tried to touch bottom with his toes, 
 missed it, and was seized with a cramp. 
 
 His bubbling cry was unheard, but his prog 
 ress had been noticed by Phil, who knew where 
 he had gone down, even though he did not actu 
 ally see him sink. 
 
 Phil was a magnificent swimmer, and, in diving 
 
2;j THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 head downward ho rightly calculated that the 
 cold would be less of a shock than if he wore to 
 enter the water upright. Nevertheless, it seemed 
 to pierce through almost to his very marrow, and 
 at first he was unable to open his eyes. 
 
 Fortunately the water was not extremely deep 
 at this point. 
 
 His plunge and downward glide carried him to 
 the bottom at a distance of about thirty feet from 
 the shore, and when he at length succeeded in 
 holding his eyes open he found he could see dis 
 tinctly. 
 
 Brodie was on the bottom only a few feet in 
 front of him. He was half doubled up. his eyes 
 were open and staring, and he was making only 
 faint, mechanical motions with his hands. It 
 was evident that he had become strangled and 
 had lost consciousness. 
 
 Another stroke, and Phil was behind him and 
 had him by the collar. Then doubling himself 
 up. and striking the ground with his feet, he 
 gave a powerful upward push and slowly rose to 
 the surface. 
 
 Ken was standing on the rock from whence he 
 had dived, with a strained and anxious look in 
 his eyes, and seemed just on the point of plung 
 ing in, when Phil called out in a strong but splut- 
 
HIIL S AQUATICS. RESCUE OF BRODIE. 273 
 
 " Don t come in! I ve got him, and I m all 
 right! Stay there and help me haul him up ! " 
 
 His burden was a heavy one, and he was numb 
 with cold, but it did not take him very long to 
 drag the passive Brodie within reach of Ken s 
 outstretched arm, and both were quickly lying 
 upon the rock. 
 
 Pausing only to catch his breath, Phil said: 
 
 We must roll him! He isn t dead yet! 
 We can bring him back, if we work hard ! 
 
 Quickly acting according to his words, Phil 
 seized the inert body by the feet, calling to Ken 
 to help carry him, and together they drew him 
 to the slope, and laid him with his feet up the 
 hill and head downward. Then turning him 
 upon his face, Phil began to work over him with 
 a sort of pumping action, so that in a moment 
 the water began to gush from his lungs. 
 
 That Brodie was not dead became evident very 
 quickly; for, after ejecting a great quantity of 
 water, there came, in a few minutes, a rattling 
 
 o 
 
 gurgle. Another gush of water, then a louder 
 groan, evidently from the pain in his lungs, 
 and soon the man was almost shrieking in his 
 agony. 
 
 This was over very soon though, and Mr. 
 Brodie was able to breathe quite naturally, and 
 in a little while longer was able to speak. 
 
2/4 THE 1HG-IIOKX TREASURE. 
 
 Neal and Dave meanwhile liad other things to 
 do than notice the progress of this experiment. 
 
 As Ken was following; Phil clown to the water s 
 edge, Neal spoke to Dave, saying: 
 
 " Now what are we going to do with the fel 
 low on the lower ledge? lie s hurt, but not 
 badly, and it 11 need one man to watch him as 
 long as he s within reach of the guns. We can t 
 pull him up, or go down to him, because we ve 
 got no rope. Shall we make him throw all the 
 guns into the lake? " 
 
 " I believe that s the surest and simplest way 
 of keeping out of trouble," said Dave. "I 
 think we needn t feel badly about destroying 
 property. We would have to keep the guns 
 away from them as long as they re our prisoners, 
 and we neither want the weapons ourselves, nor 
 ought to be bothered with carrying them about 
 or watching them. Yes, let s make him do 
 it!" 
 
 "All right," returned Neal. "We ll move 
 up nearer, so as to be within easy speaking dis 
 tance." 
 
 Dave paused one moment to look anxiously 
 toward the water where Phil had vanished, but 
 just then that young man s head appeared above 
 the surface, and, as his call to Ken was reassuring, 
 Dave hurried along after Neal. 
 
PHII/S AQUATICS. RESCUE OF I5RODIE. 275 
 
 When within about seventy or eighty feet of 
 the cliff, Ncal paused and gave the entire group 
 of shamefaced, mean-looking wretches a con 
 temptuous scrutiny. 
 
 Then he spoke, saying: 
 
 Guess you fellows ain t much used to the 
 ways of good society. You ought to ve known 
 it s the proper thing when you go to visit folks 
 of our standing, to send word ahead that you re 
 coming. It s nicer to go to the front door, 
 too. If you d done that, we d prob ly just 
 told you we wasn t receivin to-day, and we d 
 be glad to have you come round this time next 
 year, or the year after. Then, you see, there 
 would n t been any harm done. You six gents 
 would have just turned round and had a deuce 
 of a foot-race down the trail (to work off your 
 embarrassment), and we d have kept right along 
 at our work. 
 
 " Of course, you didn t mean any harm by 
 coming upon us this way; but, you see, you 
 startled us; and you know how apt a man is to 
 give his mule the lash when he stumbles. Well, 
 it s too bad. I guess it s the v\\\\- driver that 
 needs the lashing more than the animals, and 
 when the boys get some of the water pumped out 
 of your capt n, I ve got to talk to him a little. 
 
 11 Now, please stay right where you are a 
 
2^6 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 while longer, and then we 11 try and fix you out 
 proper. I say, there! Air. Joseph Helmer!" 
 
 Neal thus addressed the man on the lower 
 ledge. 
 
 " I believe that s the name you owned up to 
 the other day. There was a time, years ago, 
 when you went by another one Pete Simpson. 
 Does your memory stretch far enough back for 
 that, or have you had so many of em since, that 
 you can t straighten em out? " 
 
 This speech had a curious effect upon the 
 ruffian, who started and trembled so that he 
 came near to falling off the ledge into the water; 
 but he managed to stammer, with ashen lips: 
 
 " What d ye mean? I ain t never had no other 
 name than Helmer." 
 
 " I did n t s pose you d remember it; it s so 
 long ago. But my memory was always pretty 
 fair, and it s been still better since the fall when 
 I lived up near Eureka. We 11 have a good chat 
 about that by and by. 
 
 "What I want you to do now is to reach 
 for those rifles and drop every one of em into 
 the lake. Do it quick, and look pleasant while 
 you re doing it! Another thing: you better 
 grab each one of them near the muzzle! They 
 may be loaded, and if you fool with the trigger, 
 you 11 only make yourself appear silly! Come, 
 
PIIII. S AQUATICS. RESCUE OF liRODIE. 2// 
 
 hurry up! My boys here are liable to get im 
 patient, and I can t be responsible for em! 
 
 Neal hereupon motioned to Dave, and both 
 brought their guns to bear upon the shrinking 
 wretch, who gasped : 
 
 Don t fire! Don t shoot! I m hit already! 
 I 11 throw the guns over! " 
 
 "You ain t much hurt!" returned Neal. 
 "Talk about being hit! You ought to ve seen 
 me after the blow-up over at Eureka! Come, 
 move lively! It makes me nervous when I think 
 about that time, and my gun might go off 
 again ! 
 
 Trembling and moaning, probably from both 
 fear and pain, Helmer crept to the rifles, and, 
 taking them with his left hand, one by one, tossed 
 them into the lake. 
 
 "That s right!" said Neal. "Things are 
 getting into real tidy shape. Now, Dave, there s 
 one thing more that s got to be done. One of 
 us will have to go to camp and get a rope to haul 
 him up with. I guess it s best for me to stay 
 here; so you better go. After that we can take 
 em all into custody in good order. Get plenty 
 of rope! " and he looked meaningly at Dave, who 
 nodded and started for the camp at a rapid pace. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DRESS PARADE. THE SHERIFF. 
 
 It did not take Dave very long to make the 
 trip to and from camp; and during the time he 
 was away there was no change in the situation. 
 
 Neal, after stating in emphatic terms to the 
 five men over whom he stood guard that he ex 
 pected them to remain where they were, and that 
 the first man who tried to move away would get 
 into serious trouble, walked along the ridge to a 
 point where he could see and converse with Phil 
 and Ken without relaxing his watch over the 
 prisoners. 
 
 By this time Brodie was sitting up, and the 
 boys had ceased their work of restoration ; as it 
 now seemed only a matter of time when the man 
 would fully recover himself. 
 
 He was a pitiable-looking object, though; and 
 as Neal stood looking clown from above at the 
 pale, shivering, and drooping creature, he could 
 not find it in his heart to fling him the bitter 
 jibes that rose to his lips. He merely remarked: 
 
 "Well, Phil, my boy, I hope Brodie will be 
 278 
 
PRFSS PARAPH. THE SHERIFF. 2/Q 
 
 able to appreciate the good job you ve done for 
 him. I think, now, you d better wring out your 
 own clothes and put on your jacket. I don t 
 s posc you re feeling very warm and comfort 
 able." 
 
 " O, I m all right! " returned Phil. " 1 ve 
 had plenty of good, lively exercise since I came 
 ashore, and I feel first rate. The dry jacket and 
 shoes will come in handy now, though! " 
 
 By the time Dave reached them with the rope, 
 the boys had returned to the ridge and picked up 
 their rifles, and were again ready for active busi 
 ness. 
 
 A brief consultation was held as to what their 
 line of action ought to be, and Ncal concluded 
 by saying: 
 
 " We must make the rascals do the work that 
 naturally belongs to them. We 11 give them a 
 rope, and tell them to hoist Helmcr up to where 
 they are. Then we 11 march the whole squad of 
 em to camp. I m sure we don t want cm there, 
 and I don t know yet what to do with em. It 
 makes me mad to think of being bothered with 
 the low-down rubbish, but we 11 think up some 
 way of getting rid of the outfit in quick time. I 
 bet they 11 think over it a good while before they 
 feel ready to come again." Then he called out 
 in a louder voice : 
 
28O THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 (( Hello, there, Brodic! You 11 have to come 
 up the hill ! We want you where we can keep 
 you in sight, along with the rest of your friends. " 
 
 Brodie made some reply, the words of which 
 could not be distinguished ; but his manner 
 seemed humble and passive enough, for he arose 
 slowly to his feet, and began a weak and trem 
 bling ascent of the slight hill. 
 
 " Now, Ken, I think you had better stay here 
 and keep his mind out of mischief. He don t 
 look a bit dangerous, but we may as well be on 
 the safe side. The rest of us will go over and 
 attend to the gang. By the way. Did you take 
 his pistol aw r ay from him? " 
 
 " Yes. Here it is! I found it while we were 
 rolling him," returned Phil. 
 
 "All right ! I guess you 11 have an easy enough 
 job, Ken! Come, boys! 
 
 The three men moved over to the cliff, where 
 the men were waiting in sullen silence. 
 
 When they reached the place of Neal and 
 Dave s previous stand, Neal called out: 
 
 " I want one of you fellows to come and get 
 this rope ! 
 
 There was a brief hesitancy, as none of the 
 party seemed to understand what sort of plans 
 were being made. Neal then spoke again, this 
 time sharply : 
 
DRESS PARADE. THE SIIERIFE. 281 
 
 " Come! Move along! We want you to pull 
 Helmer up to where the rest of you are! 
 
 This seemed to have a reassuring effect, for 
 one of them, no longer believing that any trick 
 was intended, came along the shelf toward Dave, 
 who met him and handed him a coil of rope. 
 
 Now, then," said Neal, in his commanding 
 
 o 
 
 tone, " I want you to let the line down to where 
 Helmer is; three of you hang on to it, and one 
 man slip clown to where Helmer is and make the 
 end fast around him, so that he can be hauled 
 up. He s hurt, and won t be able to make a 
 very good hitch with one hand." 
 
 The reasonableness of this order seemed so 
 plain that it was carried out at once, and with 
 out any protests. 
 
 In a few minutes a man had slid down the rope 
 and made it fast around Helmer, waiting below 
 
 o 
 
 until that troubled-looking person was safely 
 landed upon the upper shelf, after which he, in 
 turn, was assisted to return. 
 
 " That s very well clone," said Neal. " Now 
 you can all march right down this way for further 
 instructions." 
 
 This order also was obeyed at once, and all five 
 of the men trooped down in single file and stood 
 in front of the boys. 
 "Maybe it won t seem very neighborly, but we 11 
 
282 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 have to go through the ceremony now of tying 
 your hands before we start for camp," resumed 
 Ncal. We ve had all the bother and delay 
 from you fellows that we can stand, and we re 
 going to take no chances on any more of it, now 
 that we Ve got you rounded up proper." 
 
 " Not much, you won t." " We ain t goin 
 to be tied," came from two or three of them at 
 once. 
 
 "Oh! You won t let us? Give me your 
 gun, Dave! Take your rope and step behind 
 that last man there! Now, then, Willie, or what 
 ever your borrowed name is, put your hands be 
 hind you ! The first man who tries to make a 
 row won t find time to spread the mutiny!" 
 saying which, he raised his rifle to his shoulder, 
 and was followed by Phil. 
 
 It is needless to say there was no attempt at 
 resistance, and Dave quickly tied the hands of 
 three of the men behind their backs. 
 
 (< We won t tie Helmer and the other man 
 that s hurt," said Neal. " Come to think of it, 
 let s see your hand," he said, turning to trie 
 burly ruffian whom he had disarmed so neatly 
 while he was trying his pistol-practice upon the 
 boys. 
 
 The man extended his hand, which was 
 wrapped up in a dirty red cotton handkerchief, 
 
DRESS PARADE. THE SHERIFF. 283 
 
 and began carefully, and with many grimaces of 
 pain, to undo the bandage. 
 
 When he had removed the rag, Neal looked 
 the hand all over carefully, and then remarked: 
 
 " Well, you re in luck, and you need n t make 
 a lot of fuss over that hand. It s badly bruised 
 and the flesh torn, that s all. The ball must 
 have struck the pistol and glanced. The bones 
 ain t injured, and your fist will be as good as 
 new in a day or two. I guess you d better tie 
 him too, Dave. That makes four. We 11 let 
 Helmer and Brodie go without till we get to 
 camp. If we re all ready, let s move! You 
 lead, Dave! We 11 follow ! " 
 
 Ken and Brodie fell into the line of march, as 
 it reached them, Ken in the lead with Dave, and 
 Brodie in the rear watched over by Phil, and so 
 the procession wended its way toward camp. 
 
 The bridge w T as safely crossed, and the camp 
 was neared within a reasonable length of time 
 without further mishap or delay. 
 
 They had reached the edge of the clear space 
 within which the cabin stood, \vhen Dave sud 
 denly stopped and held up his hand, calling 
 out : 
 
 " Hullo, here! Is this another squad of the 
 same outfit ? " 
 
 He half raised his rifle to his shoulder, as two 
 
284 THE BIG -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 men arose from the bench beside the cabin door 
 and stood quietly waiting for them to approach. 
 
 They were strangers to Dave, and while their 
 manner was not calculated to arouse suspicions 
 of unfriendliness, their mere presence seemed, 
 under the circumstances, to call for a hasty 
 explanation. 
 
 Suddenly, however, Neal spoke, saying hur 
 riedly : 
 
 "Put down your gun, Dave! It s Archie 
 Campbell! " Then, without the least showing of 
 excitement, he added : 
 
 " Move along with the company. This ain t 
 a first-class halting-place here in the brush. 
 When we get to the house we will detail some 
 body for guard-duty, and then we can palaver." 
 
 So the file of ten men marched in an orderly 
 and business-like procession across the clearing 
 to the house, until, as they confronted the new 
 arrivals, Neal called, "Halt!" Then, when all 
 came to a standstill, he added: 
 
 " Dave, you and Phil look after the prisoners 
 for a few minutes. Well! Archie old man, how 
 are you, and what sort of a trip did you have? 
 This is the sheriff, Mr. Harvey, ain t it? 
 How do you do, Mr. Harvey?" 
 
 This greeting was in Neal s ordinary hearty 
 manner, and with no suggestion in the tone of 
 
DRESS PARADE. THE SIIERIEE. 285 
 
 his voice that there was anything extraordinary 
 in thus welcoming his friends in the guise of a 
 conquering chieftain, and at the head of a com 
 pany of his overthrown and shackled enemies. 
 
 As he advanced to Archie with outstretched 
 hand, he saw that his friend was shaking with 
 suppressed laughter; while the sheriff, as his eyes 
 ranged back and forth from the tall mountaineer 
 to the group behind him, was evidently scrutin 
 izing the entire scene from the standpoint of an 
 enthusiastic and competent critic. 
 
 " Howd y do, Neal? " exclaimed Archie. " I 
 beg pardon for laughing, but it almost seems as 
 if you d been getting up a dress-parade for our 
 special benefit. It s a great catch you ve made, 
 though, and an elegant clean job! Don t you 
 think so, Bob? You understand the fine points 
 of this kind of work! 
 
 By this time Harvey was shaking hands with 
 Neal, which he did with evidences of the 
 keenest admiration and regard. 
 
 " How did you do it so smooth and sleek? " 
 he asked. " It s just beautiful! I never did as 
 neat a thing myself, and it s my regular line of 
 business, too! Can t you tell us the whole 
 story? " he asked in an eager voice. 
 
 " O yes. Ken you tell the yarn. Phil, you 
 better go and put on some dry clothes, and hunt 
 
286 TIIK BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 up a woolen shirt and pair of trousers for Brodie, 
 too. There s some old ones of mine in the 
 house. Dave, you stand watch a while longer, 
 until I examine Helmer s arm, and then we 11 
 inve you a relief. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NEAL S NARRATIVE. THE SENTENCE OF 
 JUSTICE. 
 
 Neal turned to Helmcr and motioned to him 
 to come nearer. 
 
 " Now, then, let s see if you can move your 
 arm? " he said to the wounded man. 
 
 Helmer made a laborious effort, evidently ac 
 companied by the most severe pain, for his face 
 took on changing and varied distortions; but the 
 result showed that the arm was not injured be 
 yond repair, for he was able to move it slightly, 
 even down to the fingers. 
 
 "I guess it might be worse," said Neal. 
 "We 11 look at it." 
 
 He unbuttoned the shirt-sleeve and rolled it 
 up clear to the shoulder, where he found the 
 wound to be. 
 
 Then he procured a basin of water and care 
 fully washed out the wound, saying, as its extent 
 and character gradually became plain : 
 
 " It 11 take you more than a day or two to get 
 over it, but it ain t serious. The ball made a 
 regular groove in the bone, but the shoulder- 
 289 
 
2QO THE Bid -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 joint is all right, and the thing will mend with 
 time and care. I ve got something that 11 make 
 a good dressing for it." 
 
 After applying his lotion and bandaging the 
 wounded shoulder, he dismissed his patient, 
 pointing out a bench upon which he might re 
 cline; and Helmer was not slow in availing 
 himself of this permission. 
 
 By this time Ken had finished his account of 
 the episode, and Phil had effected the change 
 Neal recommended, including that for Brodie; 
 (but he had been very careful not to lose sight 
 of this uncertain individual during his toilet 
 process). 
 
 Neal now found time to devote more of his 
 attention to the guests. 
 
 " Well, Archie," he said, " I m not only glad 
 to see you, but we re all mighty glad you 
 brought along so good a man as Mr. Harvey. I 
 think I m safe in saying that neither of you will 
 be sorry for coming. We 11 go over the details 
 of the matter when we re a little more free from 
 the eyes and ears of folks who can t sympathize 
 with us," and he looked around at their six pris 
 oners. 
 
 "Yes," returned Archie, <k I knew you d be 
 glad to have Bob. When I proposed it to him 
 he said Yes right off, as he has a first-class 
 
NEAL S NARRATIVK. 291 
 
 deputy to take care of things for him. Say! 
 This sky-parlor of yours up here is a great place, 
 ain t it? " 
 
 Neal bent down and said in a tone too low for 
 the prisoners to hear: 
 
 "When we ve shown you all the sights, 
 you 11 think it s the greatest place you ever saw." 
 
 Then, raising his voice to its customary pitch, 
 he said : 
 
 " I ve got a little yarn of my own that I want 
 to spin for the benefit of the entire audience. It s 
 a kind of funny story, and you might as well all 
 get ready to laugh. I believe Ken is the only one 
 that s heard it, unless, maybe, Dave and I 
 don t remember ever telling even him. By the 
 way! Here, Dave! You can slacken up on your 
 guard-duty, and come and sit down with the rest 
 of us. We can all be on guard together now. 
 
 " Excuse me, Dave, for almost forgetting 
 that you ve not met our friends from Gunnison. 
 Archie, this is our boy, Dave Ballard ! Dave, 
 this is Mr. Bob Harvey, the sheriff! " 
 
 After this informal ceremony was over, Neal 
 began with his story; relating in a half-humorous 
 way and with no trace of excitement, the full de 
 tails of the adventure he had told to Ken the day 
 that they \vere walking together down the trail. 
 
 When he had finished, he paused for a mo- 
 
2 Q2 THE 1 5 1 ( ; - 1 1 ( ) KX T K E AS U RE . 
 
 ment; then resumed, almost as though he were 
 talking to himself : 
 
 " I ve made a curious and interest in discov 
 ery to-day. I ain t yet been quite able to make 
 up my mind whether it s a pleasant discovery or 
 not. The two fellows who did that low-down, 
 mean job are right here in this crowd. At that 
 time they went by the names of Dick Bender and 
 Pete Simpson. 
 
 "That s Pete laid out there with a hole in 
 his shoulder; and here s Mr. Dick Bender, 
 who s lately been piling up insult and ingrati 
 tude on top of the old injury." He pointed at 
 the trembling and shrinking Broclie. "It s a 
 pretty bad case, gentlemen. What do you think 
 ought to be done? " 
 
 "Well!" came with explosive force from 
 Harvey; " I m sheriff, and s posed to be guar 
 dian of the peace, and of the majesty of the law; 
 but this here s a case that, maybe, don t call for 
 court practice! I reckon the sheriff had better 
 go back to Gunnison alone, because he s got 
 very important business there, and let the 
 mountain law of eternal vigilance take its 
 course! " 
 
 " Do whatever you ve a mind to, Neal. There s 
 nobody here but what 11 approve of it," said 
 Archie. 
 
NEAL S NARRATIVE. 293 
 
 Neal sat in silence for a few minutes, then 
 spoke slowly, and in a low voice: 
 
 " For years I ve thought it would give me a 
 lot of pleasure to kill these men; but since this 
 morning I ve had a rather funny change of heart. 
 
 " In the first place, you see, I ve already Jiad 
 about as much revenge as a reasonable man ought 
 to need. One of em s shot and laid up, and 
 the other one has had an hour or two of about 
 as bad living as a man could have; and, besides, 
 he s been as far over the border-line into the 
 other world as any one ever got, withoitt staying 
 there. . . . 
 
 "The idea s been taking strong hold of me 
 since our procession started for camp, a little 
 while ago, that there s no telling in this world 
 how 7 far a man s bringing up, and the whirl of 
 life, are responsible for his character. 
 
 k< Naturally, we despise these fellows for their 
 sneaking, low-dow r n ways; but maybe, in the way 
 they were raised, or in the hard luck they ve 
 had, they ain t had an even start with the rest 
 of us, or a real fair show. 
 
 " The more I think about it, the more it seems 
 to me that according to a man s run of hardship 
 or bad luck, the world might make most any 
 kind of character out of most any man. Any 
 way, with the permission of all you people 
 
294 THK Bid -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 ( specially of the sheriff), I m going to give 
 em a show this time, and let em all go free." 
 
 For a little while everybody seemed to be 
 stricken dumb by Neal s declaration. 
 
 Harvey was the first one to speak, and he said : 
 
 "Well! Neal, the idea that strikes me the 
 hardest is, that these fellows have had wonderful 
 big luck in falling into the hands of a man like 
 you. It ain t possible for me to look at the mat 
 ter just as you do; and really, I s pose it s my 
 duty under the law to run these men in and 
 let em have the hottest stuff the court can give 
 em. But . . . they re your prisoners, not 
 mine. I won t interfere. Do what you please. 
 . . . Besides, although I ve generally got no 
 patience with professional criminals, there s lots 
 of truth in what you say." 
 
 The latter portion of the talk had been carried 
 
 on in an undertone, so that the prisoners, who 
 
 were grouped together at a little distance away, 
 could not hear. 
 
 " I s pose our three boys here have a right 
 to say something about this matter," said Neal 
 at length. " Let s have it, boys! What s your 
 judgment? " 
 
 " Your plan is just what I would myself have 
 proposed," whispered Ken eagerly. "Don t 
 you think the same, Phil?" 
 
NEAL S NARRATIVK. 295 
 
 " Well, yes," returned Phil. " So far as I m 
 concerned, I feel willing to let them off with what 
 they ve already had. Brodie has had every bit 
 of wickedness taken out of him this morning- for 
 an hour at least. I never saw anybody suffer 
 more than he did, and I believe he 11 not only 
 remember it, but he won t feel so very ugly to 
 wards us, either. Yes, let s turn them loose." 
 
 " What s your opinion, Dave? " asked Neal. 
 
 (3, I m with you, Neal," replied Dave. 
 " You re really the one to decide it, because it s 
 a thing of long standing and greater injury. So 
 far, though, as my opinion goes, I believe it 
 might do the men more good to turn them away 
 without any further punishment, than to give 
 them over to the law." 
 
 lt Thank you, boys! It makes me feel a little 
 more certain of myself, to get your indorsement, " 
 said Neal. " Now, as long as we ve concluded 
 to send em away, I s pose there s no need of 
 keeping ourselves in an uncomfortable state of 
 mind by having these fellows around here. Let s 
 get the thing over with, and then we can move 
 along about our business. Hey, there, Brodie! 
 Come here! I want to talk to you! " he called 
 in a louder tone. 
 
 With the startled and trembling air of a man 
 who awaited the sentence of death, Brodie tot- 
 
296 THE 1510- HORN TRKASUKK. 
 
 tered slowly toward the group of judges, and 
 stood looking in an almost appealing way from 
 one to the other. 
 
 " Have you got anything to say for yourself? " 
 asked Neal. 
 
 The shock of combined physical suffering and 
 terror which Brodie had undergone had wrought 
 a wonderful change in the man s countenance and 
 general air. His face had lost its mean, animal- 
 
 o 
 
 like look, and might very well have inspired 
 mercy in any but a judge of iron inflexibility. 
 He started to speak, stammered, and broke 
 down, tried again, and finally managed to say, 
 thickly : 
 
 "What s the use? Talkin ain t goin to do 
 us no good. " 
 
 " It might depend on the kind of talk," re 
 plied Neal. " Talk has done a heap of things in 
 this world. Now, just to get your idea of things, 
 I d like to have you tell us what you d do, 
 s posing you were in our place and we in yours? 
 You d make pretty short work, would n t you?" 
 
 Brodie s face dropped, and his lips twitched 
 nervously. He made no reply for a few mo 
 ments, but at length answered, slowly: 
 
 " It might depend on whether we d been git- 
 tin much likker. " 
 
 Then with a little more energy, and with 
 
NEAL S NARRATIVE. 297 
 
 something like genuineness in his manner, he 
 began to talk eagerly. 
 
 "When I done the theayter-play act, bein 
 sick on the trail, I d no idee this here was your 
 camp, Mr. Mclnncs. I ve allus bin shamed o 
 that blowm -up job, an I wuz glad ye come out 
 of it good as ye did. When I fust rec nized ye, 
 I sort o weakened on this bizness, and thought 
 I d just sneak away and drop it right there; but 
 after I d listened to you fellers talk, an tumbled 
 to the size of the bonanza ye had, the assays, 
 ye know, an all that, my meanness all come 
 back, an I just said to myself, I cl put up a 
 scheme to make ye divvy with us. 
 
 "Well," he continued, after drawing a long 
 breath, " when ye sprung the royal flush on us 
 and give us the horse-laugh clown to Gunnison, 
 we wus all so mad that we didn t think o much 
 else than gittin revenge, an of course the bad 
 whisky made it worse. So we come up here, 
 an you ve done us up slick an brown. . . . 
 
 " Mebbe it s jest as well. I ain t never bin no 
 good to myself nor nobody else, an I m tired o 
 bein a tough an outlaw. If ye re goin togive 
 us vigilante justice, I hope ye 11 let us have 
 it military-like. It s awful to be hung!" and 
 the poor wretch s face took on a look of horror. 
 
 "See here, Dick!" said Neal. "If we let 
 
298 THE UK; -HORN TREASURE. 
 
 you fellows all go, will you try and behave your 
 self hereafter, and try to get the rest of your 
 crowd to do the same? " 
 
 4 What?" he exclaimed, in a voice of pitiful 
 wonderment. " Are ye talkin bout turnin us 
 loose? " 
 
 "Yes. That is, if it s worth while. We 
 want to know, though, whether you can stand 
 that kind of good luck. That s the idea." 
 
 " Mr. Mclnnes," said Brodie (or Bender) ear 
 nestly, "if ye do it, I swear I ll do my very 
 best. I 11 go to work like a man, and if I can 
 keep clear o the likker I 11 be able to make a go 
 of it. I 11 do all I can to brace the other fel 
 lers up, too. " 
 
 "I m going to take you on that promise," 
 said Neal, heartily. " Dave, you fix up a sack 
 of grub, to last em till they can make some 
 other camp, and I 11 untie their hands. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Harvey," he said, turning to the 
 sheriff, " after thanking you for your kindness, I 
 feel as though it s proper to turn these men 
 over to you for whatever parting advice you 
 want to give em." 
 
 " I ve not much to say! " said Harvey in a 
 clear ringing voice. " Only this ! You fellows 
 must understand this is all Mr. Mclnnes s doing. 
 I m acting on the principle that you re not my 
 
NEAL S NARRATIVE. 299 
 
 prisoners at all! You ve all heard what s been 
 said, and what Broclie has promised for you. 
 Now, if there s a spark of manliness in your 
 hearts, you 11 all be thankful for getting better 
 treatment than you deserve, and act on the 
 square after this. I don t believe there s an 
 other man in Colorado who d give you the deal 
 you re getting from Ncal Mclnnes. I only hope 
 you 11 try and remember it. That s all! 
 
 Nothing more was said until Dave came from 
 the cabin with a bag well filled with provisions; 
 bv which time Ncal had finished untyintr the 
 
 * J o 
 
 prisoners, and then he spoke again, saying: 
 
 " Here s a bag of eatables, Dick, and here s a 
 strap to pack it with; you can take turn-about 
 amongst you for that. Now, I guess none of us 
 care about visiting any longer, and we ve got 
 other business on hand, so you might as well say 
 good-by. The trail s open. Good luck to 
 you ! 
 
 "Good-by!" returned Brodie. "Same to 
 you ! and the salutation was repeated by one 
 other voice. The rest seemed too bewildered 
 or too sullen to reply, but walked silently away 
 toward the trail, down w r hich they were seen by 
 their watchers to proceed in quiet and orderly file. 
 When the last of the six men had disappeared 
 around the spur of the mountain, beyond which 
 
300 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 the trail could no longer be seen, Neal turned to 
 their guests, who, with the boys, had gathered 
 at the edge of the plateau to witness the de 
 parture, saying: 
 
 "The ceremonies seem to be over, and now 
 I s pose you would like to know something of 
 the scheme I wrote about in such hot haste. 
 
 " Come into the house, and we can talk while 
 I m helping Dave get dinner. He s at it 
 already, I guess. Of course, you re tired, and 
 I 11 bet you re hungry. There ain t been many 
 people up over our trail so far, but there s never 
 a tenderfoot arrived here yet who hasn t 
 brought an appetite with him that I d match 
 against a timber-wolf." 
 
 As they entered the cabin he said : 
 
 " Make yourselves comfortable, fellows. You 
 can lie clown and stretch your legs in the bunks 
 there, if you want to." 
 
 "Thanks, Neal," said Archie. "I hadn t 
 thought much about it since the procession 
 moved up out of the bushes, but I really believe 
 I am tired. " 
 
 During the preparation of the meal, and while 
 the party was at table, the matter w^hich \vas of 
 greatest interest to all was so thoroughly discussed 
 that by the time dinner was ended, a full and 
 satisfactory understanding had been arrived at. 
 
NEAL S NARRATIVE. 301 
 
 " If these leads are half as rich as you seem to 
 think they are," remarked Archie, you re 
 mighty generous with us; and whether they are 
 or not, we ve reason to feel grateful for your 
 splendid offer. " 
 
 " Yes," added Harvey, ki I 11 be satisfied with 
 anything at all. I have n t expected much (I 
 never do from a gold mine). The trip up here, 
 and the dress-parade, and the dinner are 
 enough to pay for the trouble. If I only could 
 have seen Brodie make the high dive, I d be 
 willing to trade my interest. You must show 
 me the place where he did the flop," and he 
 laughed in gleeful imagination of the scene Ken 
 had described. 
 
 "Well," retorted Neal, "I recommend that 
 you wait a bit before you go to trading off your 
 property. After you ve taken a peep around, 
 you 11 be better able to tell how you like the 
 prospects. We needn t be in any hurry this 
 afternoon, though. We 11 sit here and rest and 
 visit for a while, and then we 11 stroll over to 
 wards the tunnel. There s another day coming, 
 to-morrow." 
 
 "Say, Neal!" exclaimed Ken suddenly. 
 " Do you know we ve made a blunder? W r e ve 
 allowed Brodie and his crowd to go away with 
 out making them tell how they found the way to 
 
302 THE BIG-HORX TREASURE. 
 
 get here, and where the trail down the cliff leads 
 from! You remember we thought there was n t 
 a possibility of an}* one s coming by the ledge 
 Brodie discovered, after you blew away the ap 
 proach ! 
 
 "Sure enough, Ken! At the last minute T 
 forgot all about that! " returned Ncal. " Well, 
 maybe we 11 find time to explore it before 
 long." 
 
 Ken made an inward resolution that he would 
 be the one who would explore the trail; and, 
 moreover, that he would do so the very next 
 day. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A RAFTING EPISODE. KEN S DISCOVERY. 
 
 What with the lengthened dinner, the conver 
 sation, and the natural weariness of the new 
 partners, the afternoon passed with but little 
 attempt at sight-seeing, the party going only as 
 far as the Telluride tunnel, where they saw 
 enough to arouse the astonishment of both 
 Campbell and Harvey. 
 
 " Well, Bob, what about that trade you were 
 offering a while ago?" said Neal, holding up 
 his candle to the broad surface of the shining 
 quartz, as they stood close against the breast at 
 the inner end of the tunnel. 
 
 " Did I offer to trade? " said Harvey, in mimic 
 horror. " I must have been talking about an 
 interest I ve got in another mine over the 
 range. I m not offering any trades since din 
 ner, anyway. Did you say the other lead is as 
 good as this one, Neal? " 
 
 Neal smiled as he winked at Archie, saying: 
 " It s pretty hard to tell about leads until you 
 come to work em. We 11 give you a chance to 
 look it over to-morrow. 
 
 303 
 
304 TI IK 1JI ( ; - 1 1 RX T R HAS I RE. 
 
 At breakfast the next morning- Ken announced 
 that, if agreeable to all, he would like to put in 
 part of the clay hunting and exploring the upper 
 trail. "I ve a great curiosity," he said. 
 " There seems just enough of mystery about it 
 to make me want to solve it. And then you 
 know how anxious I ve always been to get a 
 big-horn, and I ve never yet been within range." 
 
 All right, Ken, said Xeal. 4 Only, if you re 
 going up the cliff, be careful not to get into trouble. 
 If you re looking for any of Dave s kind of ad 
 ventures, I don t believe you could get away, 
 as he did, with nothing worse than a cold swim." 
 
 " I guess Ken will be all right. He s differ 
 ent from me," said Phil. " He always gets the 
 lay of the ground well fixed in his mind before 
 he puts his foot on it." 
 
 "Your plan is to go over it first, and then 
 size it up afterwards; eh, Phil? If twas you 
 that was going, I think I d follow you at a safe 
 distance behind, just to keep my mind easy," 
 retorted Neal, laughingly. 
 
 " I don t blame you for saying that, after 
 the Gunnison trip," said Phil. " But the scare 
 I had that day was the beginning of a new 
 course for me. I 11 get to be as careful as any 
 of you, after a while." 
 
 Ken took his rifle, a rope, and a leather strap; 
 
A RAFTINC Kl ISODK. 35 
 
 placed some slices of bread and meat in a small 
 pouch, which he fastened to his belt, and with 
 a pleasant word to Campbell and Harvey, wish 
 ing them a day full of pleasure, started away 
 toward the northwest corner of the plateau. 
 
 "Be sure to get back before dark!" Neal 
 called after him. To which Ken answered, 
 "Yes, I will." 
 
 "Now, then," said Neal, addressing Archie 
 and Bob, "if you people feel that your nerves 
 are strong enough this morning to stand the 
 excitement, we 11 go all around the place. Are 
 you ready? " 
 
 "Yes, bring on your excitement," replied 
 Archie. "We ll be firm as rocks." 
 
 " Which shall it be first, Dave? The Big- Horn 
 or the ranche and the general surroundings?" 
 Neal asked. 
 
 " The ranche and the big-horn ! " said 
 Harvey, with a chuckle. "Well, I ve seen 
 better places for that sort of thing. Is it a tame 
 sheep you ve got; and have you coaxed us up 
 here to look over some kind of a silly stock- 
 farm? Archie, we ve got to kick." 
 
 "Be quiet, Bob, and keep up your faith," 
 returned Archie. "Maybe they re only trying 
 to get you into a trade this morning." 
 
 Dave laughed, and then replied to Neal: 
 
306 THE BIG-HORN TREASURE. 
 
 " I think it might be better to show them 
 around outside, first. Possibly the scenery would 
 be a little tame after the Big- Horn." 
 
 " Scenery! " groaned Bob. " Rainbow tints 
 and pet lambs! I wouldn t have thought it 
 of Neal. Would you, Archie?" 
 
 Neal smiled in a superior way, and retorted: 
 "High altitude sometimes has a curious effect 
 on delicate people. Archie, are you prepared 
 to guarantee the pulse and heart-beats of your 
 chum? Maybe this is going to be too strong 
 for him. " 
 
 " O, he 11 be quiet, soon. I vouch for him," 
 returned Archie. 
 
 " Well, it s your risk, and if you re prepared 
 to take it, we 11 move. Come on." 
 
 We need not follow r the party over ground that 
 is partly familiar to the reader, and need only 
 state that before the day \vas half over, both 
 Archie and Bob gave frequent expression to their 
 amazement and delight. There was one little 
 accident, which happily, had no serious result, 
 and which was owing to Harvey s boisterous in 
 terest in the scene of the "jumpers " raid. 
 
 The party having boarded the raft, paused as 
 they approached the cliff, while Phil pointed out 
 the features. 
 
 "And they threw all their shooting-irons into 
 
A RAFTING EPISODE. 307 
 
 the lake, right here, eh? " said Bob. He glanced 
 down as he spoke, into the clear, glassy depth. 
 
 4 Why, I believe I see a rifle down there 
 now!" he cried, leaning over and peering into 
 the water. As he spoke, his foot slipped from 
 the smooth log, and with a great splash and a 
 shout he went down. 
 
 " He can t swim! " shouted Archie. " We 11 
 have to save him ! 
 
 He rose in a moment, and instantly both Dave 
 and Phil plunged in and grasped him by the 
 arms, holding him until the others assisted him 
 back upon the raft. 
 
 When he recovered from the sneezing and 
 sputtering occasioned by his sudden bath, he 
 ejaculated, k< Well, I m not sorry I had the ex 
 perience! I can understand Brodie s sensations 
 perfectly! And, jiminy! What a shiver he 
 got after his five or ten minutes of it ! When I 
 learn to swim, I won t practice here." 
 
 "Why, I thought you took the header inten 
 tionally, so as to get that rifle you sa\v, said Neal. 
 
 " Well," Bob answered, quickly, " if the other 
 boys had n t held me back, I d have got it too. 
 It was a Remington 45-90, and a better gun 
 than mine ! " 
 
 Harvey had to submit to Neal s banter during 
 the rest of the day, and notwithstanding he was 
 
30cS THK JiKi-HORN TREASURE 
 
 a little chagrined, he took it all in the very 
 best nature. After they arrived at the cave, 
 however, and both the new partners had suc 
 ceeded in scraping some beautiful nuggets from 
 the dirt, all thought of the accident was, for the 
 time being, forgotten. 
 
 At noon, when, jubilant and hungry, they 
 were returning to camp, they were just stepping 
 from the raft when they heard a distant shout; 
 and, looking far up the cliff, saw Ken wending 
 his way downward with a good-sized burden 
 upon his back. 
 
 11 Ken s got a sheep," said Neal. "And I m 
 glad, because it 11 do him so much good; besides, 
 the mutton isn t bad to have." 
 
 Preparation of the noonday meal was an easy 
 task under three willing pairs of hands. Phil 
 w r as the third assistant, and it gratified him im 
 mensely to hear Neal say that he was progress 
 ing so \vell in the culinary art that he would 
 soon be able to do as well as any of them. 
 
 Dinner w r as almost ready when Ken arrived ; 
 and he at once received the congratulations of all 
 over the half of a fine young big-horn ram which 
 he brought. At the meal he ave an account of 
 
 o <"> 
 
 his hunt, and also told the result of his explora 
 tion for the trail. 
 
 " I had a theory," Ken said, "that northwest- 
 

A RAFTING EPISODE. 311 
 
 ward somewhere along the cliff I would find a 
 pass that would let me through to the west side; 
 and that s just what I did find. I think it s 
 about a mile and a half from here. I followed it 
 clear through to the west slope, and it was at a 
 place about half a mile up the canon that I got 
 my sheep. I left him right there, and went on 
 for nearly an hour, I think, before it opened so 
 that I could have a view of the great mesa,* 
 over to the west. 
 
 " When I reached the end of the gorge, I found 
 a well-marked trail that ran northward along the 
 slope; and, as I was out on a journey of discovery 
 I followed it, and in half an hour I came to a 
 camp. There was nobody about, and it had a 
 deserted look, although it was quite newly made, 
 too. There was a sort of a crib of freshly cut 
 logs, and a top covering of old canvas. The 
 provisions were very low, and I found several 
 empty whisky bottles. 
 
 " Right close by there was an open-cut on a 
 vein. I brought a piece of rock, Neal. Do you 
 think there is anything in it? I thought it looked 
 just a little like telluride." 
 
 He took a piece of quartz from his pocket and 
 handed it to Neal, who examined it closely. 
 
 *The Spanish word for table-land, universally used in the 
 Southwest. 
 
312 THE BIG-IIORX TRKASl RE. 
 
 41 Yes," he said at length. " I think there s 
 tellurium in it. I should say that our late visit 
 ors had a claim which might turn out rather well. 
 I suppose there wasn t any one among the whole 
 half dozen who knew a good piece of ore from 
 a bad one. We can put it away, and sometime 
 when Dave s furnace is hot, maybe he 11 make a 
 test of it." 
 
 It seems to me almost too bad that those 
 men couldn t get the benefit of what really be 
 longs to them," said Ken, musingly. "A real 
 stroke of good luck might do more than anything 
 else to bring about a change in the characters of 
 all of them. " 
 
 I think we will run across some of them, 
 sooner or later," said Neal; "and if they seem 
 disposed to brace up, and the stuff proves to be 
 good, perhaps we may feel warranted in tellino- 
 
 o 
 
 them about it. It would be a first-class job, 
 Ken, as you say, if we could make six law-abiding, 
 honest men out of these rascals." 
 
 Harvey laid his fork down and leaned his elbow 
 on the table, gazing fixedly at Neal. At length 
 he said : " Say ! you duffers here make up a com 
 bination that gives odds to anything I ve ever 
 backed up yet. You locate a gold bonanza that, 
 for promise, breaks all records, and it don t 
 * phase you ; you put up a paralyzing fight with 
 
A RAFTING EPISODE. 313 
 
 a lot of cutthroat jumpers, and in the very same 
 act you offer the gang sweet religious counsel, 
 and tell em to go in peace and sin no more; and 
 now, if you re not actually proposing an active 
 missionary campaign ! . 
 
 "As I ve said before, it s not a bit in my line, 
 and I don t feel able to^ T^ it altogether. The 
 law is good enough for me. But there s one 
 thing I can catch on to, and that is, that you re 
 about the best crow r d of fellows I ever got mixed 
 up with, and I want to shake hands all round, 
 just to show that I like you, even if I don t un 
 derstand your style. 
 
 " Thank you, Bob," replied Neal. "Maybe 
 the campaign won t get up any very lively 
 hustle after all. But if it works out along our 
 lines we 11 be fair rivals, and we 11 give you a 
 chance to see whether the missionary plan 
 stands any show 7 in a race with the majesty of 
 the law. 
 
 Campbell and Harvey remained a week at 
 camp, and before they left, the plans were all 
 matured for the prosecution of active work on 
 the mines, and upon a large scale. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 FOUR YEARS LATER. RETURN OF THE WAN 
 DERERS. 
 
 Four years have passed since the happenings 
 narrated in the foregoing chapters; and it is a 
 beautiful October morning in the city of Denver. 
 At the Union Depot, where the through train 
 from the East is reported a little behind-time, 
 two young men of fine bearing are walking up 
 and down the platform, conversing in a happy, 
 and yet expectant manner. 
 
 They are unmistakably gentlemen, which fact 
 is indicated, not so much by their erect and easy 
 bearing, and the modish cut of their garments, 
 as by the intelligent refinement which their faces 
 express, and such fragments of conversation as we 
 are able to overhear. 
 
 As we regard the two faces more closely, we 
 become aware that they seem curiously familiar; 
 familiar, yet almost strange, through the utter 
 contrast between these, their present surroundings 
 and make-up, and the locality and garb which 
 were theirs when we last saw them. Then, too, 
 314 
 
FOUR YEARS EATER. 315 
 
 the few added years have replaced some portion 
 (however slight), of former boyishness with just 
 a trace of the gravity of manhood. A remark 
 of the younger may give us a last clue to their 
 identity. 
 
 " I wonder, Ken, whether the boys will dawn 
 upon us in London tweeds or the newest stun 
 ning creations of a Parisian tailor? After trot 
 ting over the globe for a whole year, Dave and 
 Neal will have been compelled, from actual ne 
 cessity, to adopt European fashions." 
 
 Ken laughed at this speech, and answered: 
 
 "That s an odd thought of yours, Phil, but 
 I presume you are not far from right, either. 
 I can hardly conjure up a picture of Neal, though, 
 in a suit of Continental cut. I make the predic 
 tion that his choice will be English; neither 
 will Dave be any more extreme than the circum 
 stances have compelled." 
 
 " What a time they must have had ! " returned 
 Phil. " I m sure of one thing. I d be willing 
 to w r ager my black saddle-horse that they have n t 
 done a single thing in the ordinary, commonplace, 
 regular tourist style. They re sure to have 
 
 o j * 
 
 been original in their sight-seeing, and will have 
 experiences to tell never dreamed of by other 
 people." 
 
 " Here s the train," exclaimed Ken, suddenly; 
 
316 THE IHG-IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 and they at once turned about and hurried to the 
 other end of the platform. 
 
 Just as the train came to a stop, Phil and Ken 
 stationed themselves near the rear end, knowing 
 
 o 
 
 their friends would be in a sleeping-car; and, 
 as the passengers began to pour forth, they 
 eagerly scrutinized each face. They were taken 
 by surprise, after all; for, Ken, feeling a slight 
 tap on his shoulder, turned, gave an exclamation, 
 and instantly he and Phil were shaking hands 
 in the warmest manner with two quite distin 
 guished-looking gentlemen. 
 
 After the first greetings, each grasped a travel 
 ing-bag, and Phil led the way toward the carriage- 
 stand, where, beckoning to the livened driver 
 of what was evidently an elegant private turn-out, 
 he seated his three friends and took his place 
 beside them. 
 
 " I shall drive home, William," he said; " you 
 may take the trolley-car and reach there ahead 
 of us." 
 
 As the beautiful pair sprang forward in their 
 eagerness to be moving, Dave asked : 
 
 o o 
 
 "Why, where did you get such an educated 
 taste in horse-flesh, Phil? Those grays are fit 
 for the Shah of Persia." 
 
 " Do you know," said Neal, " I had a kind 
 
FOUR YEARS LATER. 317 
 
 of half-crazy idea that we should find you wait 
 ing for us with Sancho and a camp outfit? " 
 
 " Well, my dear fellow," said Ken, with a jolly 
 laugh, " I d like to ask what you expected to do 
 with this sort of wardrobe in camp? " 
 
 " Just the same as I should with the rest 
 of my old clothes. And I don t believe I think 
 half as much of em, either," answered Neal. 
 " We got these things in Paris. We had to have 
 something; and I said to Dave, \ve d go the 
 whole figure, just to get the experience, and 
 find out how they felt. If you ve got a brown 
 woolen shirt and a pair of duck trousers at home, 
 I 11 trade even with you, when we get there. 
 It 11 be worth the full price of the traveling 
 experience just to get back and put on some 
 clothes I can feel comfortable in." 
 
 " But, really now, fellows, don t Neal look 
 swell?" asked Dave, as his eyes glanced over 
 the fine figure of his chum. 
 
 " For that matter," answered Ken, " you both 
 look swell enough to have just emerged from the 
 glamour and influence of a European court." 
 But his gaze rested longest upon Neal, who, 
 indeed, was very pleasant to look at. 
 
 They were four fine looking fellows. Phil, with 
 his olive complexion and dark, wavy hair; Ken, 
 
318 THE BIG- HORN TREASURE. 
 
 with his brown eyes and mustache and clear 
 skin ; and Dave, with features of somewhat more 
 rugged mold, but with marks of strength and 
 force in every lineament. Neal was by far the 
 handsomest of the four. Phil and Ken, as they 
 looked at him, doubted if they had ever seen 
 a finer looking man. His year of absence from 
 the winds and snows of the Rockies had served 
 to give a somewhat refined cast to his always 
 striking face ; and his perfect-fitting dark clothes 
 set off to perfection his six feet of stalwart man 
 liness. 
 
 He s shaved off his blonde mustache," 
 thought Ken; " and he s immensely handsomer 
 without it. His profile is perfectly Grecian. 
 With an education I believe that Neal, with his 
 common sense, good understanding, and fine 
 presence, would have been a power in the 
 world. " 
 
 " Where are you taking us to, Phil?" asked 
 Dave, after they had been riding eastward for 
 sometime. "This must be Capitol Hill where 
 we are now, isn t it? Things have changed so 
 here in four years, I don t recognize anything." 
 "Yes, this is the Hill," said Ken, answering 
 for Phil. " Do you see the large house yonder, 
 which stands by itself? " 
 
 "The red stone one, with the wide grounds, 
 
FOUR YEARS LATER. 319 
 
 the trees, and the lodge? It reminds me a little 
 of some of the English baronial country seats." 
 
 " It s our new home." said Ken. " Phil, 
 his mother, Lucy, and I : we all live here to 
 gether. 
 
 " Whew! " cried Dave. " In one of the few 
 letters of Lucy s which didn t get lost she told 
 of your being all together, and said there was a 
 house being built; but I didn t look for a royal 
 palace," he added, as the carriage began to wind 
 among the trees within the inclosure. 
 
 It is, perhaps, time to announce that Ken had 
 been married to Dave s sister Lucy for more than 
 a year, and that it was shortly after the wedding 
 that Dave and Neal departed on their world- 
 wanderings. 
 
 As the horses stopped underneath the portc- 
 cochcrc, a tall, beautiful woman, standing in the 
 doorway, called : 
 
 "O, Davie, brother!" and, as he quickly 
 alighted and sprang to the steps, her arms went 
 around his neck. 
 
 " Now, fellows!" cried Phil, when their friends 
 had been ushered into the reception-room, " your 
 own apartments are all ready for you have been 
 ever since the house was furnished, and will be, 
 always, and at any time. The entire establish 
 ment is at your disposal, and we re all going to 
 
320 THE BIG-IIORX TREASURE. 
 
 insist that you take possession of it precisely as 
 though you had come back to the cabin at the 
 Big- Horn. This merely is a larger one than that, 
 and has more plate-glass and shine about it 
 but what else? We re all perfectly happy here; 
 but so we were up there, and we all four have 
 as much interest in this house as we had in the 
 cabin. It was built on the community plan, any 
 way. 
 
 " We had a dispute as to who should hold the 
 title," said Ken, "and it finally was settled on 
 me, against my will. When I m tired of it, I 11 
 pass it on; and when you ve been all over it, 
 we 11 ask you later for your opinion." 
 
 "Yes," said Phil. You ought to be compe 
 tent judges now. " I have n t yet been over the 
 water, but the idea I ve formed of it is, that 
 Europe consists entirely of houses. And of 
 course you saw them all." 
 
 Dave and Neal both joined in a hearty laugh, 
 Neal exclaiming: 
 
 " It s been a standing joke with us for a good 
 while, that probably no two men ever traveled 
 around the world before, and saw (or at least 
 noticed) as few houses as we. Dave will tell you 
 about it." 
 
 At this moment Mrs. Wentworth and Lucy 
 or Mrs. Carter entered. Mrs. Wentworth was 
 
Ill" Ql ICKLV ALir.HTK!: AND Sl UANG I O THE STEPS 
 
FOUR YEARS LATER. 323 
 
 no stranger to any of the boys, so that the 
 greetings were warm and without any restraint 
 whatever. 
 
 " Now what is it Dave is going to tell about?" 
 asked Lucy. "We want to hear everything; 
 don t we, Mrs. Wentworth?" 
 
 "Indeed we do, and we insist on not being 
 left out," replied that happy and proud-looking 
 lady, who, in appearance, might almost have 
 been Phil s elder sister, instead of his mother, 
 and whom he resembled surprisingly. " Dave 
 can tell us at breakfast," she added, as a spruce 
 and dignified butler appeared with the 
 announcement of service. 
 
 11 Phil was saying," Dave began, when they 
 were at table in the spacious dining-room whose 
 windows commanded a magnificent view of the 
 distant snowy Range, "that Neal and I must 
 have become authorities on houses after seeing 
 
 o 
 
 so many abroad; and Neal said I would tell how 
 it comes that we gave so little attention to build 
 ings that we hardly know any more about them 
 than when we went away. 
 
 " The fact of the matter is this: We started 
 out to see the world: and we found out, almost 
 as soon as we started, that both of us felt alike 
 on one subject, which was a comparative indif- 
 erence about cities and their inhabitants. We 
 
324 TIIF, I;K;- iioux TRKASTRF. 
 
 realize that main- would declare the cities to be 
 the most important elements of the world, even- 
 where; but while we do not deny this, we simply 
 say that the features which excited our interest 
 were the stretches of country that lie between 
 the cities: the great plains, the valleys, the 
 deserts, and especially the mountains. 
 
 " Now if you want any information about 
 mountains, or the people who live in them," he 
 continued with a laugh, 4< we modestly believe 
 we can gratify you. \Ye did the Alps and the 
 Pyrenees pretty thoroughly. The scenery, in 
 parts, is great, and we found the people rather 
 entertaining; but Neal thought the show for 
 mineral \vas beneath contempt. We went over 
 the Dovre Chain, and liked the Norwegians so 
 much we hated to leave; then we swung down 
 through the Carpathians and Balkans, getting 
 more and more interested, and running across 
 peoples and ways of existence we never had 
 dreamed of. We took in the Caucasus, and were 
 enthusiastic about the district. Neal thinks when 
 they begin to get civilized, the possibilities for 
 mining there are large. 
 
 "Then we went into the Himalayas, and 
 Hindu-Kush; extended our acquaintance as 
 much as \ve could with the Afghans and the Hill 
 Tribes, and had to reluctantly admit that the 
 
FOUR YEARS LATER. 325 
 
 Rockies dwindled away pretty badly beside those 
 peaks. We tried the Altai, and Neal gave some 
 valuable pointers on hydraulic placer-mining to 
 the Russian martinets in charge of the convict 
 gangs (at least he said he did)," and Dave 
 winked at Phil. "Then we crossed over to 
 Japan: and what do you think? we located a 
 vein carrying tellurium and free gold on the side 
 of sacred Fusiyama. We think the Japs are 
 going to make great miners in a few years. 
 Wouldn t wonder if they have the ore too. 
 
 " We inspected Cecil Rhodes s bonanzas in the 
 Transvaal, and compared notes on the kind of 
 labor the blacks do, there, as against the pre 
 historic methods of basket-and-ladder that we 
 ran across in certain places down among the 
 Peons in the Andes. . . . 
 
 "So you see, that s the reason we didn t 
 learn much about houses. We don t feel that 
 we ve put in our time so badly, though, and if 
 you know anybody who thinks he s had a better 
 time out of a year s travel, bring him in and 
 we 11 argue with him." 
 
 " But the best of all, Davie," exclaimed Neal, 
 "is the getting back home. The sight of you 
 all is the greatest pleasure, and the view of the 
 Range from here is as lovely as anything I 
 remember. What news about the Telluride and 
 
326 THE r,K;-iioRx TREASURE. 
 
 Big-Horn? Do they still hold out as well as 
 ever? and have you ever regretted selling out the 
 control for six millions? " 
 
 "No, indeed!" cried Phil and Ken both 
 together. 
 
 "They are paying splendidly," said Ken 
 the Tclluridc seems a trifle ahead just now but 
 our price was good, even if the property should 
 prove to be worth sixty millions; and besides, 
 the dividends on the third we kept come along 
 as regular as clockwork. We need n t lose any 
 sleep if both mines play out to-morrow." 
 
 "What about Archie and Bob?" Neal in 
 quired. 
 
 " O ! Haven t you heard?" cried Phil. 
 " But of course you haven t. You know, they 
 couldn t get enough of politics; and in their 
 cases matters work beautifully. Archie has 
 been elected to Congress, and Bob is candidate 
 for governor, with the chances first-class in his 
 favor. 
 
 "Good!" cried Neal. "If only it don t 
 spoil em, and I don t believe it will." 
 
 "And, O, say Neal! Tell about Brodie, 
 Ken! " said Phil. 
 
 Ken told how one day nearly a year ago they 
 had found Brodie hard at work for one of the 
 mining companies; and learning upon inquiry 
 
FOUR YEARS LATER. 327 
 
 that he had been a good, steady worker ever 
 since he entered their employ, he told him about 
 the excellent assay the boys got from the ore of 
 his abandoned claim. 
 
 " He and his chums managed to get capital to 
 work with, and their property is turning out 
 first-class. They say at least three or four of 
 the crowd are there, and that they all are good, 
 well-behaved fellows. I told Harvey about it. 
 It amused him, and he says we ve won," said 
 Ken. 
 
 And thus the conversation ran along. But we 
 
 cannot prolong the account of it. 
 
 **#**# * 
 
 Neal and Dave still continue to make (or at 
 least to call) the Denver house their home, but 
 during the greater part of the time are absent 
 in the mountains and elsewhere, looking after 
 their various enterprises, in some of which 
 Phil and Ken are interested. The latter two 
 devote the larger part of their attention to 
 guarding and protecting the property of all four 
 of the friends. 
 
 "Perhaps it did n t require any brains to get 
 our wealth," Phil observed, "but we don t in 
 tend ever to have it said about any of our set 
 that we had n t brains enough to keep it." 
 THE END. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
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