THAT TREASURE 
 
 [I1NIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES
 
 TOM AND WILLIAM ON THE PLAINS See page 18.
 
 THAT TREASURE 
 
 OR 
 
 Adventures of Frontier Life 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK H. CONVERSE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "A Voyage to the Gold Coast," " In Search of an Unknown Race," etc 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER 
 610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE
 
 Copyright, 1887, 1888 
 By Frank A. Munsey 
 
 Copyright, 1900 
 By Street and Smith
 
 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE VISION OF THE LOST TBEASTJBE. 
 
 SHAEPLY outlined against the blue southern hori- 
 zon rise the summits of two mighty volcano peaks. 
 On every side stand mountain ranges, which the 
 keen, clear air seems to bring close to the broad 
 streets of the city; a city stately with domes, tow- 
 ers, and steeples, a city df ancient power and 
 grandeur, a city famed in history, in poetry, and in 
 romance, the old capital of the Aztec Emperors, the 
 City of Mexico. 
 
 In one of its streets was a low stone building, 
 with flat roof and balconied upper windows. In the 
 doorway there stood a handsome, athletic young 
 fellow in his seventeenth year, as straight as an 
 Apache arrow, with crisp dark hair, and keen black 
 eyes; American by birth, cosmopolitan from force of 
 circumstances. 
 
 " How do the Mexican dollars come in today, Mr. 
 Britzer?" Tom Dean asked carelessly of a middle 
 aged man, broad shouldered and long armed, but 
 dwarfed in stature, and with a singularly repulsive 
 face. 
 
 " They don't come in," growled Britzer, who was 
 sitting in a dilapidated rocker, that formed part of 
 his stock in trade. This stock consisted entirely of 
 
 2126199
 
 6 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 second hand goods of American manufacture, some 
 of which were displayed about his store door. " It 
 was a big mistake, this op^nin' a branch store down 
 here, where these furriners don't know a bargain 
 when they see one," he went on, "and I wish I'd 
 stayed in New York. How's bizness with you and 
 the professor ?" he asked. 
 
 " Oh, so so," was the evasive answer. " I don't 
 think any one of us Yankees is going to make his 
 fortune here," Tom added. 
 
 Britzer muttered something uncomplimentary to 
 Mexican enterprise, and proceeded to fill a well 
 browned meerschaum in gloomy silence. Tom stood 
 idly watching the passing panorama, the novelty of 
 which had not entirely worn off. 
 
 Pack mules from the mountains loaded down with 
 ore were rambling along in single file through the 
 dusty streets, with now and then a Mexican horse- 
 man in his strikingly picturesque garb. There were 
 peon laborers and olive hued natives, handsome 
 Creoles, Europeans, and mulattoes, and everywhere 
 the dirty, half clad lepero with loaded revolver con- 
 cealed somewhere under his ragged blanket. He is 
 the Thug of Mexican society. When begging and 
 imposture fail him, he takes to robbery or murder. 
 
 A bronzed and bearded man of middle age, who 
 was entirely different in dress and appearance from 
 the throng of mixed races about him, suddenly 
 arrested Tom's attention. He was elbowing his way 
 nervously through the indolent natives, his gaze 
 being evidently fixed on the stores of the American 
 traders. 
 
 He wore the typical border dress, the wide 
 brimmed sombrero, the blue shirt, knotted at the 
 throat with a bright handkerchief, riding overalls 
 tucked into high boots, and the inevitable revolver 
 in its stamped leather holster at his hip.
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 7 
 
 "I reckon this yere's the place," he said, half 
 aloud ; and, halting directly before the doorway 
 where Tom was standing, he glanced upwards at a 
 small sign between the two second floor windows, on 
 which was this inscription: 
 
 PEOFESSOE DEAN, 
 El gran Americano Medico e Astrologo. 
 
 " Anything in my line today ?" blandly asked 
 Britzer, confronting the new comer; "a secondhand 
 rifle, good as new, or " 
 
 " There's nothin' in your line," was the curt reply. 
 Elbowing Britzer aside with scant ceremony the 
 speaker ascended the stairs to the upper room, which 
 Mr. Britzer had leased to Professor Dean, the great 
 American Physician and Astrologer. 
 
 Obedient to a call from above, Tom ran lightly up 
 the stairs. 
 
 " That's only four has be'n to the professor in a 
 week he can't be earnin' his salt," muttered Britzer; 
 *' next thing he'll be pulling up, and the room left 
 vacant." 
 
 And very wrathfully Mr. Britzer resumed bis seat 
 and his pipe. 
 
 Tom entered the room above, and stood waiting 
 the will of the professor. The latter was a tall, 
 gaunt man, with a smooth shaven, colorless face ; 
 his iron gray hair fell on his shoulders in heavy 
 masses. 
 
 " As I was tellin' you, p'fessor," the visitor was 
 saying, "I heard of you bein' kind of an an 
 astrologer, so I come here jest to see if you could 
 give me any light on the subjec' of my lost gol' 
 dust but, mind you, I want a fair deal an' no hum- 
 buggery bizness about it savey ?" 
 
 " I understand," was the quiet reply. The profes- 
 sor motioned the visitor, who had briefly remarked
 
 8 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 that his name was William " without nothin* else," 
 to a seat, and turned to Tom. The boy, knowing 
 what was expected of him, had seated himself in an 
 old chair. 
 
 "Look," said the professor, holding one of his 
 long, thin fingers upright; and Tom's upturned eyes 
 became fixed and staring. Professor Dean made a 
 few passes before his face Iris eyelids drooped, and 
 he was no longer master of his own thoughts or will. 
 
 " What do you see ?" asked the professor ; but 
 Tom did not immediately reply. 
 
 " He is now under the control of the spirits," said 
 Professor Dean to his visitor. His manner was 
 earnest, and he seemed to be perfectly sincere in 
 what he was saying. 
 
 William muttered something which sounded re- 
 markably like " gammon," but seemed to be im- 
 pressed withal. 
 
 Suddenly Tom began speaking in a clear but 
 monotonous voice. 
 
 " There is a desert, with white sand, and gray 
 dust. Prickly plants grow in little patches, but 
 nothing else " 
 
 " 'Ceptin' sage brush " hoarsely whispered Wil- 
 liam. Tom went on precisely like a person talking 
 in his sleep. 
 
 " Miles and miles across this desert are hills, with 
 trees and shrubs and grass. There are great ledges 
 where men have blasted the rocks, and deep cuts 
 where they have dug in the earth. Down through 
 the hills runs a stream, that divides a little settle- 
 ment of one story board houses all falling to 
 pieces, with here and there a larger building of 
 unburnt bricks " 
 
 " Adobe," again put in William, who now drinking 
 in every word with intense eageiness. " Go ahead, 
 young fellow."
 
 THAT TREASURE. 9 
 
 Entirely unmindful of the interruption, Tom con- 
 tinued: 
 
 " There are only two men in the whole settlement. 
 It is night, and they are sitting at a table in the 
 largest of the buildings. Before them are four 
 little leather bags of yellow dust. All at once ^here 
 are fierce cries and yells outside. One of the men 
 springs to his feet, snatches a gun from the corner 
 and runs out. He fires again, and again ! Then " 
 And here Tom paused. 
 
 "Goon!" said the professor, fixing his eyes on 
 the boy's face, over which an expression of horror 
 was passing. 
 
 "I cannot see plain now," returned Tom in a 
 troubled voice. "I can only make out the man 
 down, with Indians dancing and yelling about him." 
 
 "All that's c'rect as fur's it goes, for I'm the man 
 that the hounds was on to," interrupted William, 
 springing wildly to his feet ; " but it ain't him I 
 wanter know about. it's the other man, with the 
 gol' dust what come to him ?" But the interruption 
 had broken Tom's mesmeric slumber, and with a 
 start and a sigh he opened his eyes. 
 
 "Say, youngster," excitedly demanded William, 
 " can't you tell what came to the other chap ?" 
 
 " I don't know what you mean, sir," replied Tom, 
 simply; and his face showed that he was speaking 
 the truth. 
 
 " Another crusher," muttered William, as though 
 in soliloquy, "an' twenty five thousan' dollars in 
 gol' dust apexienify as fur off as ever."
 
 10 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 TOM FINDS A FRIEND IN NEED. 
 
 THE professor's and Tom's frugal evening meal of 
 eggs, tortillas and fruit, was finished. 
 
 The building in which they were was constructed 
 after the Mexican style, in the shape of a quad- 
 rangle. A wide stone balcony extended entirely 
 around the square interior, only broken by flights of 
 stone steps leading into the patio or court yard 
 below. 
 
 The house was divided into tenements, whose 
 occupants seemed to live in the open air. Men 
 lounged about the court yard, smoking the inevit- 
 able cigarette, in the faint twilight ; senoritas and 
 matrons leaned over the balustrade, and children 
 played in and out of the rooms. The tinkle of a 
 guitar, blended with rather a fine voice, rose to the 
 ears of Tom and the professor, who were sitting on 
 the balcony before their windows. 
 
 " Tom," said the professor, who had been unusu- 
 ally silent, " my heart has been troubling me more 
 than ever, of late. I sometimes wish we were back 
 in New York, where I could see Dr. Mott again 
 about it." 
 
 Tom had wished so more than once, within the 
 past week. He was quite sure that the extreme 
 rarity of the atmosphere at such a height above the 
 sea was anything but good for the professor's 
 chronic ailment. Besides, he had begun to feel, like
 
 THAT TKEASURE. 11 
 
 Britzer, that their Mexican venture would not be a 
 success. 
 
 " If any thing should happen to me a " suddenly 
 continued the professor, with something of an 
 effort, "our little fortune it will be yours, then, 
 remember is all in the old pocket book, which I put 
 under my pillow every night. Those five one 
 thousand dollar bills, Tom, have been the rounds 
 with us quite a " 
 
 " Hush 1" interrupted Tom, turning his head 
 quickly. " I thought I heard some one breathing 
 just oehind us." 
 
 The professor started nervously, as a dusky 
 winged vampire bat came sailing out of Britzer's 
 open window, uttering a soft hiss as it fluttered by. 
 
 "Bah !" he said, with a half shudder, " it's an evil 
 omen ! I don't want to talk any more. I'm going 
 to bed." 
 
 " And I," said Tom, who had been made uneasy 
 by Professor Dean's words, " shall go for a strolL 
 The moon is rising, and the Plaza Major will look 
 beautiful in half an hour." 
 
 Thus saying he turned towards the door. It 
 always gives him a sad pleasure to remember that 
 as he passed the swinging cot in which the profes- 
 sor lay smoking, the latter gently laid a hand on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Good night, my boy, and God bless you," he 
 said, tenderly. " No son could have been as dear to 
 me as you, Tom." 
 
 And Tom, with an unwonted moisture in his eyes, 
 silently pressed the caressing hand, and descended 
 to the street, thinking of the professor's singular 
 mood, and particularly of his last words. 
 
 For Tom was a waif and a stray. The professor 
 had found him, a sturdy urchin of four years old, 
 toddling about one of the steamboat piers in New
 
 12 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 York, after the departure of the Fall Kiver boat, 
 looking for " mamma." Papa had " gone to heaven," 
 as he said, and this was all the family history Tom 
 could relate. Advertisements were tried in vain, 
 and the professor, a lonely single man, had taken 
 Tom into his own life. The boy had accompanied 
 the professor in his varied wanderings through the 
 continent, and by his help picked up a haphazard 
 half education. His intense love of reading was a 
 great help to him. For the rest, he had been taught 
 to be truthful, honest and clean mouthed. 
 
 All this passed through Tom's mind. What could 
 he do, if anything happened to his friend and pro- 
 tector? 
 
 The streets were almost deserted. He met 
 occasionally a drowsy policeman, or a slouching 
 lepero, but the rest of the community was asleep. 
 
 He lingered a moment to gaze at the great struc- 
 ture built on the site of the former palace of the 
 Montezumas. With the magnificent public gardens 
 and wide square adjoining, it was bathed in a 
 splendor of moonlight. Hence he walked by the 
 cathedral and market place to the canal, and then 
 turned to retrace his steps, when he caught the 
 sound of a scuffle and angry voices close at hand. 
 
 Rounding the nearest corner, in a dark angle 
 made by the junction of two buildings, he saw a 
 bare headed man striking out fiercely with a clubbed 
 revolver at five swarthy Mexicans, who were fiercely 
 closing upon him, knife in hand, to accomplish their 
 murderous purpose. 
 
 Tom glanced quickly about him. Upon a pile of 
 stones, close at hand, where the pavement had been 
 that day repaired, lay an ironwood lever, five feet 
 long, a couple of inches through, and heavy enough 
 to fell an ox. 
 
 A second later, as Tom's powerful young arms
 
 THAT TREASURE. 13 
 
 swung it above his head, a yell of dismay on one 
 hand, and of exultation on the other, echoed on the 
 midnight air. The sound, however, did not awaken 
 the nearest native policeman. 
 
 ' Whoop-ee ! give 'em p'ticler I" shouted tha 
 assaulted man, bringing down the butt of his 
 revolver with telling effect upon a Mexican's head. 
 
 Two of the leperos were now disabled, and the 
 rest took to their heels. 
 
 " You'd better leg it, you coyotes," exclaimed the 
 stranger, stepping forward into the clear moon- 
 light. 
 
 Tom saw at a glance that it was William, of the 
 afternoon's interview; while without any exhibition 
 of surprise, that individual grasped his extended 
 hand. 
 
 "Gome on out of this, youngster, an' let them 
 fellers rekiver at their leisure," he said, with a con- 
 temptuous glance at the half stunned Mexicans. 
 And picking up his sombrero, William dropped his 
 revolver into place and linked his arm in Tom's. 
 
 " I thought when I see you this afternoon you was 
 built for somethin'better'n mouthpiecin' f or sperits," 
 he said, gravely, "an' now I'm sure of it. Much 
 obliged; mebbe I'll do as much for you some day." 
 
 " How did it happen ?" asked Tom, quietly, 
 amused at the matter of fact speech of his com- 
 panion. 
 
 " They was into a place where I was havin' a drink 
 of this here Mexican pulque, that tastes wuss'n 
 spiced buttermilk," explained William. " I hauled 
 out some gol' pieces when I paid, an' they follered 
 me out. Fool-like, I come away from my room 
 without puttin' kertridges in my revolver, else I'd 
 ha' settled the posse of 'em in no time, same's they 
 been so many perary wolves." 
 
 Thus discoursing, the two walked rapidly along
 
 14 THAT TEEASUBE. 
 
 without further signs of molestation, till they 
 reached San Luis Street, and turned the familiar 
 corner. 
 
 " Somethin's wrong to your place," exclaimed 
 "William. Tom saw lights flitting from room to 
 room, and heard the sound of excited voices at the 
 open window. He did not wait to hear further. He 
 ran through the wide open door, and up tiie stone 
 stairway, where half dressed men and terrified 
 looking women were swarming. A native police- 
 man at the door was solemnly waving off the curi- 
 ous intruders in the entry. 
 
 " "What is the matter ?" gasped Tom, pushing his 
 way forcibly into the room. 
 
 But the question was needless. Stretched on a 
 a couch covered with rawhide lay all that was mortal 
 of Tom's protector. Throwing himself on his 
 knees beside the dead man, with a great cry, the 
 boy hid his face in his hands. 
 
 There was little to tell; yet that little was full of 
 significance. The portero, or court yard janitor, 
 had been awakened by some one softly descending 
 the steps from the balcony. Upon being hailed, 
 the intruder gave no answer, but ran quickly to the 
 gate and drew back the fastenings. Convinced that 
 a thieving lepero had gained admission, the portero 
 discharged a rusty blunderbuss, and shouted lustily 
 for the police. 
 
 Of course the intruder was unharmed by the 
 fire, and escaped. Lights were brought, the little 
 community was aroused, and it was discovered that 
 the professor was dead in his swinging cot, yet 
 without wound or bruise on his person. 
 
 The pillow on which Professor Dean's head had 
 rested was lying on the tiled floor. Whether the 
 midnight intruder had robbed the dead, or whether 
 his unexpected entrance had caused the fatal
 
 THAT TREASURE. 15 
 
 shock, none could tell; for although the lifeless 
 eyes were wide open, the professor's features were 
 calm and composed. 
 
 The old fashioned pocket book which had always 
 been under his pillow at night was gone, and with 
 it a sum of money in silver and gold kept for ordi- 
 nary expenses. 
 
 Britzer, who claimed to have been aroused by the 
 report of the bliinderbuss, said that beyond doubt 
 the robber was a lepero. He had seen him, he 
 added, quite distinctly for a moment in the moon- 
 light, as he fled through the gate; he wore the 
 regulation blanket and slouch hat of the suspected 
 race. The portero corroborated Britzer's statement, 
 and as there was no reason for suspecting any one in 
 the building, the authorities contented themselves 
 by offering a reward. On the following day, haste 
 being necessitated by the heat of the climate, Pro- 
 fessor Dean was buried in the little Protestant cem- 
 etery, aud Tom returned to the desolate room a 
 friendless stranger, alone in a foreign land 1 
 
 Desolate and down hearted, he was sitting by the 
 open window after the funeral. He had never real- 
 ized before how strong was his affection for the 
 good hearted man who had been a father to him, 
 and the tears rose to his eyes as he glanced at the 
 dead professor's scanty possessions scattered about 
 the room. 
 
 " I don't want to hurry you, Tom," said the voice 
 of Britzer, who appeared in the doorway, " but I've 
 got a chance to rent the room right away to a trav- 
 eling photographer, and " 
 
 Tom rose without a word. His involuntary 
 prejudice against the man before him had grown 
 stronger through certain shadowy, yet almost 
 baseless suspicions entertained since Professor 
 Dean's death.
 
 16 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 " I suppose I am at liberty to take my own and 
 Professor Dean's things away?" he said, in a dry, 
 bard voice. 
 
 " Of course," was the reply, " provided you don't 
 take nothin' else; you know the room was let fur- 
 nished." 
 
 " I know if you make another such statement as 
 that I'll throw you down stairs I" exclaimed Tom, 
 with flashing eyes. 
 
 Britzer glared at him in silent fury and was 
 dumb. 
 
 There were but few things to collect. Tom had 
 given the porter the professor's scanty wardrobe 
 and such articles as he did not desire as keepsakes. 
 A revolver, presented him in San Francisco by a 
 patron who had captured it from a road agent; his 
 meerschaum pipe, and a long, flat pocket book in 
 which the professor had kept a sort of spasmodic 
 diary these were all, besides Tom's small stock of 
 underclothing. The whole was packed in a well 
 worn gripsack, Britzer matching the operation in 
 scowling silence. 
 
 "For some reason or other, you're in 'a great 
 hurry to get me out of this room, Mr. Britzer," said 
 Tom, as with a final glance about the apartment he 
 stepped into the entry; "but that doesn't matter 
 much, for I don't think I should feel altogether safe 
 to pass another night under the same roof with 
 you !" 
 
 " What do you mean ?" fiercely demanded Britzer, 
 while his florid features suddenly took on an ashy 
 pallor. 
 
 " I mean," replied Tom, slowly, " that something 
 tells me you were the perpetrator of the robbery 
 and murder for murder it was committed in this 
 .room last night, and some day or other I mean </* 
 prove itl"
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 17 
 
 And without awaiting a reply from the cowering 
 man who was trying to speak, Tom descended the 
 etairs to the pavement. 
 
 " By the look of things, it's lucky I arrove jest as 
 I did," said a familiar and welcome voice in his ear. 
 *' Might I be so bold as to ask," inquired "William, 
 for it was indeed that individual, hurried and out of 
 breath, " whar you an 1 that ar' gripsack is bound?" 
 
 " I don't know myself," was the half despairing 
 reply. " I'm turned into the street, and " 
 
 "Well, I know," interrupted William, clapping 
 the despondent young fellow on the shoulder; "first 
 an' foremost you're goin' to my room to talk matters 
 over, an' consider a propersition I'm goin' to make 
 to you. An' if you're the chap I think you are," 
 continued the speaker, " you'll take up with the offer 
 an' go along of me down to Arizony, where I'm 
 bound to have another hunt for my gold dust. 
 Failin* in that, you an' I'll find plenty more whar 
 that come from. Come on without no more words." 
 
 And Tom went.
 
 18 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 HUNTED BY THE APACHES. 
 
 THBEE weeks had brought about a marked change 
 in Tom Dean's life and surroundings. 
 
 The stir and bustle of a large city had given place 
 to the silence of the almost illimitable prairie, 
 broken only by the dull hoof beats of the sturdy 
 broncos ridden by himself and his companion. 
 
 The sun beat fiercely down from a cloudless sky 
 on the grayish white of the alkaline soil, broken 
 here and there by patches of sage brush and cactus. 
 Strangely shaped buttea and peaks of red sandstone 
 rose at irregular intervals. Ten miles away, but 
 seemingly much nearer, was a range of purple hills 
 with a thread-like stream flowing down from the 
 heights above. 
 
 " Warmish, eh, Tom ?" remarked the elder of the 
 two horsemen, removing his sombrero for the 
 twentieth time to draw his sleeve across his per- 
 spiring face. 
 
 " It's more than that scorching, I should call it," 
 wearily replied Tom Dean. But you would hardly 
 have recognized the Tom of former days in the sun- 
 burned young man whose athletic frame was well 
 shown off by the typical border costume. 
 
 He sat easily and naturally in his high peaked 
 saddle, balancing across the saddle bow a Reming- 
 ton rifle. This, as well as the heavy revolver slung
 
 THAT 1EEASUEE. 19 
 
 at his side, Tom had already learned to use with 
 tolerable accuracy, thanks to a quick eye, steady 
 nerve, and strong arm, as well as the careful in- 
 structions of William, whose own proficiency with 
 either weapon was something bordering on the 
 marvelous. , 
 
 " It's nothin' to ridin' across the * Staked Plains ' 
 in July, youngster," philosophically observed the 
 other, replacing his sombrero; "an' if nothin' hap- 
 pens, we'll be campin' under the cottonwoods along- 
 side the stream yonder 'fore sundown if " 
 
 Something on the ground, which attracted the 
 speaker's attention, brought his speech to an abrupt 
 close. 
 
 Leaping lightly from his saddle, "William bent 
 Over what appeared to be half a dozen of the frag- 
 ments of meteoric stone which are common in these 
 regions. They were laid in regular order, pointing 
 in a southeasterly direction. 
 
 " What is it ?" asked Tom, pulling up his bronco. 
 At this the pack mule ambling behind them came to 
 a full stop, with with what seemed to be a prodigi- 
 ous breath of relief. 
 
 " Apaches ben makin' a raid on the border settle- 
 ments, that's all," was the reply. " Them stones 
 layin* in a direc' line means, to them that knows," 
 said William, casting a glance about the hazy 
 horizon as he remounted, " that the raid was a suc- 
 cess, an' that means," he continued, with an involun- 
 tary clutch of his rifle barrel, " some white settler's 
 ranch burnt down, his cattle druv off, an* he an' the 
 whole family either butchered or made pris'ners an* 
 kerried away." 
 
 "I don't understand this Indian business," im- 
 petuously interrupted Tom, who had not been pay- 
 ing very close heed to the explanations; "to me, it 
 seems all strange and wrong. By what I've read
 
 20 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 and things I've heard you say," he went on rapidly, 
 " our Government provides reservations and rations 
 for the Apaches as well as the peaceable tribes, and 
 yet whenever they take the notion the Apaches 
 make their raids on white settlers and still go un- 
 punished; why is it?" 
 
 " That's a conundrum that's puzzled older heads 
 than your'n," grimly returned William, "and, by 
 present appearances, there won't be no answer given 
 in this generation." 
 
 There came a sound of flying hoof beats on the 
 arid ground, and both turned suddenly in their 
 saddles. Coming towards them at a terrific rate of 
 speed, from behind a range of high sand hills 
 which they had passed an hour before, was a 
 mounted horseman. He was bare headed, and held 
 in the embrace of one arm a motionless figure, 
 whose long black hair streamed over the rider's 
 shoulder ! 
 
 The horse, a coal black stallion of unusual size, 
 came thundering on. His glossy sides were flecked 
 with patches of foam. 
 
 Tom looked excitedly in the face of his com- 
 panion. William uttered a low exclamation and 
 pointed toward the sand hills. From behind them 
 appeared, evidently in pursuit, some twenty mounted 
 Indians, whose fierce cries came faintly to their 
 ears. 
 
 "Pris'ners that's give 'em the slip, Tom," said 
 William, quietly; "now, don't get flustrated, but 
 jest keep cool as a clam, an' show what stuff you're 
 made of." 
 
 " Very good," returned Tom with outward com- 
 posure, though his heart beat fast, as in imitation 
 of his companion he threw forward his rifle with a 
 glance at the sight; "only tell me what to do and 
 I'll do it"
 
 THAT TKEASUBE. 21 
 
 There was no time for further speech. On came 
 the panting steed, leading his pursuers by a mile 
 at least. In another moment, with distended nos- 
 trils and heaving flanks, he was reined up beside 
 them! 
 
 The rider, who was a heavily built man with 
 stern, dark features and iron gray beard, held be- 
 fore him a young girl, sitting sideways in front of 
 the saddle. 
 
 She was supported partly by the high pommel, 
 and partly by the muscular arm thrown about her 
 waist. She was apparently some sixteen years of 
 age, with dark eyes, and a wealth of soft black hair 
 falling about her shoulders. This Tom saw at one 
 brief glance. Then the horseman began in hurried 
 accents : 
 
 " My daughter and I " 
 
 But an emphatic gesture from "William cut short 
 his speech. 
 
 "Make fer the butte yonder," he said, curtly; 
 " time enough to talk bimeby. What kind of guns 
 hev they?" he asked in the same breath; and, half 
 turning in his saddle, he drew back the hammer of 
 his own. 
 
 Spurring hastily forward, with the yells of the 
 pursuers sounding nearer, they soon reached the 
 foot of the butte. It was a great hillock of red 
 sandstone, worn by the action of wind and storm 
 into fantastic shapes. Above a series of shelving 
 projections, like irregular steps, was a plateau some 
 forty feet higher than the plain ; and to this William 
 pointed, as they dismounted, and hurried the 
 horses behind a huge detached fragment at the 
 base. 
 
 " Git up thar with the girl. Tom and I will 
 foller direc'ly," said William, and as the order was 
 obeyed, the speaker drew Tom behind the bowlder.
 
 22 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 " Set your sight at two hundred, an' aim a bit low 
 than otherwise," he muttered. With fiercer and 
 exultant cries the Apaches rode on. 
 
 " Now, Tom! " 
 
 Tom fired. Following the report of the rifle, 
 there was a moment of confusion among the In- 
 dians; but it was a pony, not an Apache, that fell. 
 
 "A leetle too low, Tom," coolly said his comrade, 
 throwing his own weapon to his shoulder. Almost 
 instantly the sharp report rang out. 
 
 A tall Indian, half naked and glistening with oil, 
 tossed his arms wildly above his head, and plunged 
 heavily backward. There was a sudden halt, and in 
 the twinkling of an eye every Apache was hidden 
 by the body of his pony. An irregular discharge 
 followed from the gleaming carbine barrels just 
 visible over the backs of the horses; but the bullets 
 flattened themselves against the face of the cliff, a 
 dozen feet overhead. 
 
 "Nothin* sickens an Apache like a long range 
 rifle," chuckled William, throwing back the lever 
 from the guard, and forcing a new cartridge into 
 place from the magazine. 
 
 Tom did not reply. The sudden swerving aside 
 of an Indian's horse gave him the desired oppor- 
 tunity. His eye glanced along the barrel and his 
 finger pressed the trigger. 
 
 " Good boy !" approvingly muttered William, as a 
 stifled yell told that the ball had found its mark, 
 "and now we'll rejine our fren's on the bluff." 
 
 But scarcely had Tom and his companion clam- 
 bered to the plateau, when a sudden movement 
 among the Apaches indicated some new plan of 
 action. Each sprang to his horse's back, and in an- 
 other moment, with a succession of fiendish yells, 
 the entire party were dashing forward toward tb& 
 butte-
 
 THAT TREASUEE. 28 
 
 *' Looks bad," muttered William, thrusting his re- 
 volver into the hands of the stranger, " thunderin' 
 bad but there ain't no help fer it they're desp'rit 
 an' don't mind losin' half a dozen or so fer the sake 
 of gittin' at us. Don't waste a shot, stranger." 
 
 With a set white face the man nodded, and drew 
 back the hammer of the heavy revolver. 
 
 The Apaches were infuriated by their losses. 
 After fruitlessly returning the fire while at full 
 gallop, they dismounted at the base of the butte. 
 Undismayed by the fall of two more of their num- 
 ber, they began with fiendish yells to scramble up 
 the irregular slope. 
 
 "Now for it," was Tom's thought as he awaited 
 the hand to hand encounter; and there was not long 
 to wait
 
 24 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BESIEGED ON THE BUTTE. 
 
 THE unusual lack of caution and cunning on the 
 part of the Apaches, which exposed them to the 
 open fire of the party on the bluff, was due to the 
 effects of whisky taken from a trader's wagon. 
 
 But even the fiery fluid failed in its effects after 
 the first mad rush up the irregular incline, when 
 the assailants came to a sudden halt behind a pro- 
 jecting angle which concealed them from the fire of 
 the little party above. 
 
 For then it was discovered that the further ascent 
 leading to the plateau narrowed suddenly, so that 
 the attack must be made in single file. And no one 
 seemed disposed to take the lead, with the certainty 
 of a ball through his head the instant he turned the 
 angle. 
 
 " None of 'em wants to bell the cat," dryly ob- 
 served William. After an animated discussion the 
 entire party prudently retired to the base of the 
 plateau; and here, keeping carefully out of range of 
 the enemy's fire, they seemed to bo holding a coun- 
 cil of war. Their ponies were called in and dis- 
 posed close under the bluff. Soon a camp fire was 
 kindled, and the smoke of dry sage brush ascended, 
 mingled with the more savory smell of broiling ante- 
 lope steak. 
 
 " Their idea is to starve us out," said the stranger. 
 
 "Exac'ly," was the concise reply. Just then
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 25 
 
 ball from an Indian's carbine whistled by William's 
 head, causing him to dodge back out of range with 
 alacrity. " You've jest about hit it, Mr. 
 
 " Sherard Hartly Sherard," supplied the other. 
 " Our ranch was about twenty miles southeast of 
 here," he went on, as Dolly, his pretty daughter, 
 drew close to her father's side. "Last night it was 
 burned to the ground by these fellows below, who 
 belong to Geronimo's Cniricahua Apaches. They 
 killed our Mexican servants, and while part of them 
 drove off the stock, the rest struck northward, with 
 my daughter and myself as prisoners, mounted on 
 Pancho, my own stallion an Indian riding on either 
 side of us. "We halted behind the sand hills at noon, 
 where the Apaches had cached a keg of whisky. 
 While they were gathered about it drinking, I 
 snatched a carbine from the one Apache left to 
 guard us, clubbed him from his horse, and started 
 Pancho off. Taking you two for the advance guard 
 of a wagon train, I turned his head toward you." 
 
 As though suddenly remembering her disordered 
 hair, Dolly withdrew herself a little from her fa- 
 ther's side, and began to plait the heavy masses into 
 a long braid. William laid his rifle across his 
 knees and seemed absorbed in thought. 
 
 " If they'd brung their whisky with 'em, there'd 
 be a chance of givin' 'em the slip before mornin'. 
 Once let a Injun git at liker and he never stops 
 short of a reg'lar drunk," he said, vainly endeavor- 
 ing to peer over the cliff "without exposing himself. 
 But the fire had been built close in to the butte at 
 one side, so that the Apaches could watch the only 
 way of descent. 
 
 " Perhaps they've sent that fellow after it," sug- 
 gested Tom. 
 
 He pointed to a solitary Indian rider, who had 
 made a long detour around the bluff, so as to keep
 
 26 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 well out of range, and was galloping off toward the 
 distant line of sandhills. 
 
 "Mebbe they hev,"was the animated reply. 
 
 Then William, struck with a sudden idea, born of 
 an appetite which even on ordinary occasions was 
 something astonishing, laid aside his rifle. After 
 fumbling in the leather haversack slung at his side, 
 he produced a ball of fish line, with a tolerably large 
 hook and sinker attached. 
 
 " The las' time I went fishin'," he said, reflectively, 
 as the three regarded him with inquiring eyes, 
 " was up 'n the Santy Hose mount'ns for trout. Now 
 I'm goin* to try for antelope." 
 
 Without making further explanation, he crawled 
 cautiously from the plateau, upon a narrow ledge of 
 sandstone extending along the curves of the fantas- 
 tically shaped butte. Wriggling himself carefully 
 along the natural shelf, with his body pressed close 
 against the rock, he crept forward inch by inch. 
 
 Peering cautiously over, William found himself 
 directly above some half a dozen squatting Apaches, 
 who were watching with hungry eyes several slices 
 of broiling antelope steak. 
 
 "Prospects of a ketch looks small," discontentedly 
 muttered William, who grew hungrier as he snuffed 
 the tempting fumes beneath him. 
 
 Suddenly his eye was attracted to a solitary horse- 
 man, approaching at a hard gallop from the sand 
 hills. As he discovered a small black object in front 
 of the rider's saddle, he chuckled silently. 
 
 " The kag," he muttered. 
 
 At that moment there came a sharp report and 
 puff of smoke from the plateau, which caused the 
 Apaches about the fire to spring to their feet. A 
 yell arose from those standing about the tethered 
 horses, as they saw the distant Indian reel in the 
 saddle, and drop to the ground.
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 27 
 
 " Three hundred yards if it's an inch," admiringly 
 murmured William; "that boy '11 make his mark 
 some day, an' don't you forgit it." 
 
 There was a sudden and general stampede of all 
 the Apaches, apparently toward the fallen keg, and 
 not the wounded Indian. 
 
 Now was William's opportunity. Dropping his 
 line down the almost perpendicular face of the 
 butte, he began angling for the antelope steak with 
 such marked success that, before the Apaches 
 returned with their fire water, he had secured it all. 
 
 Then, holding the meat in one hand, he worked 
 himself back to the plateau. 
 
 Even Mr. Sherard smiled as William exhibited 
 his catch, and remarked that the only real drawback 
 to the success of the whole affair was his inability 
 to witness the Apaches' astonishment and wrath, 
 when the loss of their supper should be discov- 
 ered. 
 
 Dolly was accommodated with a bit of flat sand- 
 stone and a hunting knife, while the others adopted 
 the primitive method of eating prevalent before 
 knives and forks came into fashion. Thus refreshed 
 in body, the little company eagerly watched the fad- 
 ing away of the last beams of sunset, and the swift 
 fall of the dusky twilight 
 
 William and Tom sat watching the ascent with 
 cocked rifles, lest in their drunken frenzy the red- 
 skins should attempt another reckless dash up the 
 butte. 
 
 The whisky was maddening the Apaches, to judge 
 from the hideous shrieks and yells which rose to 
 their ears, growing louder and more violent as the 
 evening wore on. By crawling a little way out on 
 the narrow edge and craning his neck forward, 
 William managed to get a tolerably correct idea of 
 the situation.
 
 28 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Half a dozen Apaches were dancing madly around 
 the fire. Two or three lay wrapped iu their blankets, 
 snoring in drunken slumber, while the soberest of 
 the band had been detailed to watch the ascent to 
 the plateau. Sitting half hidden by a projecting 
 bowlder, with his carbine within reach, the red 
 skinned guard, gravely and with evident relish, ap- 
 plied himself to the contents of a tin cup. 
 
 A large fire had been kindled at the foot of the 
 rocky ascent, so as to betray any attempt at escape 
 on the part of the besieged. It lit up the scene 
 with a weird, flickering light. 
 
 Gradually the sounds of revelry from below began 
 to subside. The excited shouts died down to gut- 
 tural mutterings and occasional snores. 
 
 As the indications of watchfulness died gradually 
 away, William, after whispering to Tom, rose to his 
 feet and laid aside his rifle. Tom did the same, with 
 a glance at Dolly, who, worn out with excitement 
 and fatigue, had fallen asleep with her head in her 
 father's lap. 
 
 " Tom an' I are goin' to try fer the horses," said 
 William, in a rapid undertone; " an* if all goes well, 
 when I toss a bit of rock up here for a signal, jine 
 us. Bring your girl, and the guns, which we've got 
 to leave so's to hev the use of both han's. If things 
 go crooked," he added, in a lower tone, " hold out as 
 long as you can." 
 
 In another moment William and his young asso- 
 ciate had disappeared in the darkness. Stealthily 
 and noiselessly they crept down the incline, keeping 
 as far as possible in the shadow. 
 
 Not a sound was heard except the stertorous 
 breathing of the drunken redskins, varied by an oc- 
 casional snort or snore, as they lay around the fur- 
 ther fire. It had now burned down to smoldering' 
 embers, while the other was kept alive by the soli-
 
 THAT TREASURE. 29 
 
 tary guard, who was drowsily sitting behind a 
 bowlder. 
 
 Gliding softly past the blaze, the two stole 
 through the darkness to the rear of the sleeping 
 sentinel. With a spring as quick and noiseless as a 
 mountain tiger, William clutched the throat of the 
 unfortunate Apache in his sinewy fingers, and bore 
 him backward to the ground, while Tom threw him- 
 self bodily on the prostrate form of the struggling 
 savage. 
 
 So carefully had everything been planned that be- 
 fore the Indian had time to wonder whether this un- 
 expected assault was a nightmare resulting from 
 bad whisky, or a horrible reality, he was lying be- 
 hind the bowlder with ankles and wrists knotted 
 tightly together. A strip of his ragged blanket 
 was bound over his mouth and nostrils, and his en- 
 tire head enveloped in the remainder of the garment. 
 
 "So far so good," whispered William; "npw for 
 the hosses." 
 
 Trembling with excitement, Tom took the Apache's 
 carbine and haversack of cartridges, and followed 
 softly at William's heels. The stallion with their 
 own broncos were picketed a little apart from the 
 others, while their saddles and bridles lay in a pile 
 at the foot of the butte. 
 
 While Tom saddled the horses with trembling 
 fingers, William crammed his haversack with a few of 
 the stores which had formed part of the pack mule's 
 load. Gliding away in the gloom, he returned a 
 few minutes later with an Indian pony saddled and 
 bridled. 
 
 "For Miss Dolly," he muttered; "her father says 
 she can ride any hoss as ever was foaled." 
 
 William cautiously led the horses round to the 
 opposite side of the butte. Then he returned, and 
 made the signal agreed upon.
 
 30 THAT TBEASUBE. 
 
 Out of the gloom appeared the tall form of Mr. 
 Sherard, carrying 1 the rifles, with Dolly at his side. 
 Obeying William's mute gesture, they followed him 
 to the spot where Tom was awaiting them with the 
 horses. 
 
 Swinging Dolly to the pony's saddle, Mr. Sherard 
 mounted Pancho, while Tom and William sprang 
 exultingly to the backs of their steeds. 
 
 The night was intensely dark, with a heavy sultri- 
 ness in the air, an electric glow glimmering at in- 
 tervals on the northwestern horizon. It revealed 
 the tops of the low mountain range, and gave Will- 
 iam his bearings. Starting the horses into a slow 
 walk for a few moments, the little cavalcade, who 
 as \et had not exchanged a word, was again in mo- 
 tion. 
 
 Suddenly from out of the darkness behind them 
 rose a hubbub, followed by a yell so fiendish and 
 blood curdling, that even William felt a slight 
 shiver pass through him as it was repeated again 
 and again. 
 
 " Give 'em rein," he said in a low tone, and in an- 
 other moment the fugitives began a wild gallop 
 through the gloom. Tom Dean at least will remem- 
 ber it to his dying day. 
 
 " There ain't no danger of bein' chased by more'n 
 two or three at the best," cried William, urging his 
 own bronco to greater speed; "for when I got the 
 pony fer Miss Dolly I cut ev'ry lariat I could reach, 
 an' ten to one the yells stampeded the hull ca- 
 boodle of the loose ones." And such eventually 
 proved to be the case. 
 
 On and still on through the darkness ! Woe to 
 the horse and rider should the flying steed stumble 
 in a gopher hole, or get mired in an alkali slough, 
 whose embrace is certain death. 
 
 Flashes of lightning begin to light up the arched
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 9) 
 
 heavens and the wide plain beneath, while the 
 heavy rumble of thunder seems to shake the sul- 
 phurous air. And now the quick foe tfall of horse- 
 men in pursuit is heard in the distance. 
 
 " Thar's only three, Tom, an* I'll take care of them 
 easy," exultingly called William, as by a flash his 
 quick eye caught a glimpse of a trio of Indian 
 riders within a hundred yards or so. 
 
 "Indeed, you will not!" warmly returned Mr. 
 Sherard, reining up Pancho. At the same moment 
 William and Tom checked their steeds. " I have a 
 carbine now, and " 
 
 Mr. Sherard did not finish. A vivid glare of 
 lightning, illumining the plain for a brief moment 
 with its unearthly glare, gave two individuals an 
 opportunity for what William called a " snap shot." 
 
 One was William himself; he dropped an Apache 
 by his fire. The other was one of the two remain- 
 ing Indians; the ball from his carbine pierced poor 
 Pancho's broad chest. 
 
 The stallion reared; and scarcely had Mr. Sher- 
 ard time to clear his foot from the stirrup, when 
 Pancho gave the plaintive, half human cry of a 
 horse when wounded unto death, and fell heavily 
 over on his side. 
 
 At the same moment, one of the Indian ponies 
 in the distance neighed loudly, once, twice, thrice. 
 
 An answering neigh came from the pony which 
 Dolly was riding; it suddenly wheeled, and before 
 she could slip from its back it had seized the bit be- 
 tween its strong teeth, and broken into a mad run 
 in the direction of its sympathizing equine rela- 
 tive. 
 
 Mr. Sherard was just picking himself up, a little 
 dazed by his fall, and William was pushing a cart- 
 ridge into place. Tom was first to see the danger 
 which threatened the young girL
 
 32 THAT TKEASURE. 
 
 "Jump off, Miss Dolly," he yelled, clappiEg 1 ins 
 heels to the side of his own bronco, and starting off 
 in full pursuit, "jump off!" 
 
 But Dolly, whose equestrian experience on the 
 ranch had made her an excellent horsewoman, knew 
 it was not safe to do so at such a rate of speed. She 
 vainly sawed at the mouth of the obstinate brute, 
 hoping to check his onward course. 
 
 As Dolly's pony, with a whinny of delight, re- 
 gained the side of its equine acquaintance, another 
 broad glare of lightning made visible four distinct 
 pictures, in one and the same instant. 
 
 The one, an Apache with a fiendish grin, twining 
 his brawny arm about the slender waist of a terrified 
 girl, and pulling her from the saddle. 
 
 The second, his copper faced companion, with his 
 cheek laid against the butt of a short cavalry car- 
 bine, whose muzzle was aimed directly at Tom's 
 breast. 
 
 The third, Tom himself, rising in his stirrups 
 with his clubbed rifle held in both hands and swing- 
 ing over his head, as he dashed his bronco full tilt 
 at the would be abductor. 
 
 And the fourth was William himself, sitting erect 
 upon his pony, fifty paces away; his eye glancing 
 along the polished rifle barrel which was pointed at 
 the second Apache; and his finger pressing the trig- 
 ger just as the blinding glare was followed by in- 
 tense darkness, and a thunder peal which drowned 
 the report of carbine and rifle. 
 
 One Apache dropped like a stone, with a ball 
 through his brain. The muzzle of his carbine, 
 jerked upwards, sent its leaden missile searing 
 across the fleshy part of Tom's arm, though in his 
 excitement he did not even notice it. 
 
 Down came the heavy butt of Tom's rifle full on 
 the Apache's shaven skull; and Dolly slid to th
 
 THAT TREASURE. 3S 
 
 earth unharmed, as his lifeless form toppled from 
 the saddle on the other side. 
 
 " Tom," said William, who was the first to reach 
 the spot and who took in the situation with a glance, 
 " you're an ornament to your sect, an' I'm proud of 
 you shake !" 
 
 But Tom was otherwise engaged. For Dolly had 
 already taken one of his hands in her own, and with 
 eyes full of tears was trying to convey her sense of 
 gratitude. 
 
 And before she could muster words adequate to 
 the occasion, Mr. Sherard was grasping the other 
 hand with similar utterances. 
 
 So, seeing that Tom's hands were literally full, 
 "William, the very practical, secured the two carbines 
 belonging to the dead Indians, and at once pro- 
 ceeded to batter them out of shape on the nearest 
 bowlder. Then he secured all the cartridges he 
 could find, and turned one of the Indian ponies 
 adrift, reserving for Mr. Sherard the one which had 
 so nearly brought about Miss Dolly's recapture. 
 
 His saddle was exchanged for the one taken from 
 poor Pancho, and they again remounted. The 
 glare of the lightning was now passing off; it had 
 been the precursor of a few heavy drops, but noth- 
 ing more. 
 
 The little party pressed forward until the gleams 
 of approaching dawn brought them to a haven of 
 comparative safety.
 
 THAT TREASURE/ 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 BONANZA CITY, 
 
 THE contrast between the black darkness of the 
 night and the splendor of the sunrise was scarcely 
 more marked than that between their surroundings 
 of the previous day and those revealed by the morn- 
 ing light. 
 
 They had left the arid plain, with its sand hills 
 and sandstone bluffs, for a rolling prairie land, 
 blazing with wild verbenas, petunias, portulaccas, 
 asters and gorgeous poppies. 
 
 Meadow larks sang and upland plover piped; 
 black and white magpies croaked, and sand hill cranes 
 soared silently overhead. 
 
 The dense green cf the buffalo grass alternated 
 with high hillocks covered with shrubs of various 
 kinds, sheltering the long legged jack rabbits and 
 barking marmots, while under the very feet of the 
 horse scuttled sage hens and prairie grouse by 
 scores. 
 
 "The high breeze that riz jest before sun up set 
 the sand flyin' so our tracks are covered six inches 
 deep before this, an' now all the Apaches in Arizony 
 couldn't track us." 
 
 Such was "William's cheering announcement, as 
 they reached the banks of a deep, swift running 
 creek. Here a halt was ordered. 
 
 The horses were unsaddled, and picketed under
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 35 
 
 the cotton woods. Then a fire was kindled; care 
 being taken to gather the driest branches of the 
 willow and cottonwood, which made a clear hot 
 blaze, unaccompanied by perceptible smoke. 
 
 William utilized his fishing line, with large lo- 
 custs for bait, and pulled from the stream two dozen 
 good sized trout in half as many minutes. 
 
 Having cleaned them, Mr. Sherard wrapped each 
 fish in a coating of moist clay, and laid them in the 
 glowing embers. When thoroughly baked, the 
 dried clay was removed, and revealed the sweet 
 white flesh divested of skin and scales. 
 
 Salt was furnished from William's haversack, and 
 plates were made of bark. Then breakfast was an- 
 nounced. 
 
 Tom came up from the stream, his crisp black 
 hair shining with water drops. The dust and pow- 
 der smoke had been scrubbed off, and his black silk 
 handkerchief retied; shirt and overalls had been 
 brushed, and the alkali soil removed from his moc- 
 casins. With his fine figure, regular bronzed feat- 
 ures, and erect carriage, Tom Dean was worthy of a 
 second look. 
 
 So too was Dolly. Her heavy hair was braided 
 afresh, and drawn away from her brunette face, with 
 its jetty eyebrows, deep dark eyes, arched mouth, 
 and dimpled chin. Her dress of dark blue flannel 
 had been shaken into something like order, and 
 from under the folds of the skirt peeped the tips of 
 a pair of dainty little beaded moccasins. Dolly was 
 deserving, indeed, of more than a second look, and 
 as she seated herself at her father's side, she re- 
 ceived a glance of open admiration from William, 
 and one of shy respect from Tom. 
 
 After the repast William proceeded to fill a cob 
 pipe, while Mr. Sherard solaced himself with a cig- 
 arette. "If we'd had the utensils," remarked the
 
 36 THAT TREASURE, 
 
 former, " I'd a brewed a pot o' coffee, for I've got 
 nigh a pound in my haversack. But there's utensils 
 in plenty where Tom an' I is bound " 
 
 " Where is that ?" inquired Mr. Sherard, with a 
 sudden show of interest. For it had suddenly oc- 
 curred to him that it might be well to begin to 
 make some plans for the return of himself and Dolly 
 to civilization. 
 
 " Bonanza City," replied William, gravely, " where 
 a couple o' years or so ago me and a pardner made 
 twenty five thousand dollars inside of six months. 
 Great place for money makin', is Bonanza City," he 
 added, with a reflective nod. 
 
 Mr. Sherard, who had never heard of the city in 
 question, was interested at once. 
 
 " How far is it from here, and what is the princi- 
 pal business ?" he asked, quickly. 
 
 " Twenty odd mile minin'," was the double bar- 
 reled reply to both questions. 
 
 "It seems singular that I never heard of it," said 
 Mr. Sherard, musingly. But then he reflected that 
 in his own ranch he had done little else but bury 
 himself in his library of books, and taken no great 
 interest in the building up of the country. 
 
 " On what line of road is Bonanza City ?" he again 
 inquired. 
 
 " Wall, the branch line from the Southern Pacific 
 ain't put through yet," replied William, puffing vig- 
 orously at his pipe. 
 
 " I think that, with your permission, Dolly and I 
 had better accompany you to Bonanza City," Mr. 
 Sherard remarked, after a moment's thought. "In- 
 deed I see no other resource, situated as we are 
 now." 
 
 Neither did William, for the nearest fort, trading 
 post, or line of railroad was at least a hundred miles 
 away. And he so stated.
 
 THAT TREASUKE. 37 
 
 While this conversation was going on, Tom and 
 Dolly were beginning to get better acquainted with 
 each other, Tom Dean's association with the oppo- 
 site sex had been extremely limited. His mother he 
 could not remember at all, though he often dreamed 
 of a tender and beautiful face which bent over his 
 pillow with loving words . The features were always 
 the same, and gradually they had become photo- 
 graphed, so to speak, on his mental vision. 
 
 Tom was now almost for the first time thrown into 
 the society of pure young girlhood; and, though 
 naturally somewhat shy and reticent, the very pe- 
 culiar circumstances of their meeting broke down 
 this feeling. 
 
 Almost before he knew it, Dolly was listening 
 with eager interest while he told her of his early 
 life the professor's loving care, his tragic death, 
 and Tom's meeting with William. 
 
 In turn Dolly spoke freely of her own and her fa- 
 ther's experiences. They had lived in New York be- 
 fore the death of her mother, a Spanish lady whom 
 Mr Sherard had met in his travels. Then came the 
 loss of Mr. Sherard's fortune. With what was left 
 after a settlement with his creditors, he came West 
 with his daughter, leaving her at a school in St. 
 Ijouis, while he prepared a home in the far off wild- 
 erness, where he hoped to retrieve his fallen fort- 
 unes by stock raising. 
 
 So the two chatted together till the horses had 
 eaten tlieir fill of the nutritious buffalo grass and 
 another start was made. 
 
 Their course now lay due north, directly along 
 the bed of the deep and brawling stream. Steadily 
 ouward they went, gradually rising towards the 
 wooded hills of a high divide, whose summits, 
 fringed with a heavy growth, were bathed in the 
 soft splendor of the setting sun. Suddenly, as they
 
 38 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 emerged from a narrow belt of woodland, there lay 
 before them a somewhat extensive settlement. 
 
 " Thar," said William, pointing forward with an 
 air of extreme satisfaction; "that's Bonanza City! 
 A pootier location was never seen nowheres this 
 side the Rockies; good water, drainage, an' all the 
 modern c'nveniences; without the improvements, 
 which'll come in time if nothin' happ'ns." 
 
 But no one heard the concluding words, uttered 
 in a whisper. Mr. Sherard was gazing rather 
 blankly at the collection of one story board houses 
 and shanties, with here and there a more pretentious 
 structure of adobe or sun dried brick. Even at 
 that distance he saw that the buildings were weather 
 beaten and out of repair, some being unroofed and 
 others in ruins. 
 
 Dolly looked bewildered, yet amused. As for 
 Tom, it seemed to him that he had seen it all as in a 
 dream before. 
 
 "But er I don't see any signs of the inhabit- 
 ants," exclaimed Mr. Sherard, pushing back the silk 
 handkerchief which was tied about his head in lieu 
 of a hat. 
 
 And a nearer approach developed the fact that 
 the one street of Bonanza City was completely de- 
 serted. 
 
 "Well, the fac' is," replied William, for the first 
 time showing some slight trace of embarrassment, 
 "the citizens is kinder wan tin' in Bonanza City. 
 But that's ruther an advantage than otherwise, as 
 the bulk of the bizness will fall into our hands. The 
 fac' is, Mr. Sherard," he went on, " four years ago a 
 couple of prospectors struck a rich pay streak in 
 yonder gulch. B'ildin's went up, an' things was 
 boomin', when all at once the pay streaks failed, an' 
 ev'rybody lit out fer new diggin's. Me an' my pard- 
 ner was on the prospect a couple o' years after, an*
 
 THAT TKEASTJKE. 39 
 
 struck the city standin' as you see it not a livin* 
 soul but us. We had a streak of luck uucommon 
 for these days, and then came the Apaches. They 
 carried me off, and what come to Bob and the gold 
 I never knowed. I've come here to hev another 
 look for my los* gol' dust," William went on, " for 
 somehow I've got it inter my head that it's here in 
 Bonanza City. Them as helps me find it will share 
 with me. Failin* in this, I propose makin' search 
 fur a pay streak. There's a good head o' water, 
 sluice boxes an' ev'rything ready for work on a small 
 scale an' there's gold here somewheres in big lots, 
 else I'm no jedge of signs. If you wanter cast yer 
 lot here a spell, along of Tom an* me, Mr. Sherard, 
 well and good; thar's a chance fur you to make a 
 pile as well as the rest of us." 
 
 " Well, Dolly, what do you say ?" asked Mr. Sher- 
 ard, whose brow had gradually cleared as he lis- 
 tened to William's brief but forcible argument. 
 His hopeful mind had already begun to cherish 
 dreams of success in this new and unexpected vent- 
 ure. 
 
 "Tour wishes are mine, father; I am happy 
 wherever you are," was the cheerful reply. And 
 the matter was settled. 
 
 A rude bridge spanned the stream, and, having 
 crossed it in silence, William commanded a halt. 
 The last beams of the sun bathed the deserted 
 buildings and grass grown street in a flood of yel- 
 low light, as though prophetic of a golden future. 
 
 *' Gentlemen and ladies," said William, " allow me 
 as a a original discoverer to welcome the new 
 colernists to Bonanza City." 
 
 On the right hand side of the street, beyond the 
 bridge, stood what had evidently served as the 
 hotel. Unlike most of the other buildings, it was 
 two stories high, with a flat, sloping roof, in toler-
 
 40 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 able repair. On a creaking sign board attached to 
 a post the word " Retreat " was still faintly discern- 
 ible. 
 
 "We'll stop to the best hotel tonight," gravely 
 remarked William, as the little party dismounted. 
 " I'll take care of the horses an' look out for some- 
 thin* for supper. When me an' Bob Cope was here 
 we used to do our cookin' in the kitchin, owin' to its 
 havin' the only cook stove thar was in town. Bar- 
 rin' rust, I guess you'll find things all right." 
 
 " How gloomy and dismal it seems," said Dolly, 
 with a little shiver, clinging to her father's arm. 
 
 The two followed Tom through the deserted 
 house, where dust and damp reigned supreme, to 
 the kitchen at the rear. 
 
 Tom did not reply. Stopping in the middle of 
 the room they had reached, he looked about him 
 and uttered an exclamation of astonishment. 
 
 The kitchen of the Retreat was a good sized room. 
 The rough board sides, which had once been white- 
 washed, were papered with copies of mining jour- 
 nals and prospectuses of mining towns. A neatly 
 blacked cook stove stood at the rear, and a pine 
 table, scrubbed smooth and white, was at one side. 
 There were rude stools, and a wooden cupboard dis- 
 played quite an array of bright tin ware cooking 
 utensils, and even crockery. 
 
 There was fuel by the stove, matches in a sardine 
 box, and a candle in a tin sconce nailed against the 
 wall 
 
 " I don't understand why everything looks so neat 
 in this kitchen," said Dolly, as Tom proceeded to 
 light the candle; "one would almost think some 
 person had left it only this morning, instead of two 
 years ago. Why, the stove looks as though it had 
 just been blacked, and there isn't a sign of damp 
 anywhere."
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 41 
 
 "It is probably owing to er the preservative 
 effect of the rarefied atmosphere, Dolly," returned 
 Mr. Sherard, who was beginning to lay a fire in the 
 stove. 
 
 Tom secretly wondered if the rarefied atmosphere 
 was the cause of the entire absence of dust and cob- 
 webs, and whether it had anything to do with a pe- 
 culiar pungent smell, as of some recently burning 
 drug, which he had noticed on first entering. But 
 he made no remark. Very soon a cheerful blaze 
 was started in the stove, and the place began to take 
 on a singularly home-like look. 
 
 Presently William appeared, carrying four tins of 
 preserved provisions in his arms, which he deposited 
 on the taolc. 
 
 " Bob Cope an' I left more'n twenty of these here 
 cans, to mj certin knowledge," he said, with a per- 
 plexed look, " but all I could find in the ol' place 
 was these four. I don't see, for the life of me, what's 
 come to the rest of 'em. How quick you've slicked 
 things up," he continued, looking about in evident 
 surprise; "why " 
 
 " We found everything just as you see it," laughed 
 Dolly, who had already begun to set the table, " and 
 it shows what excellent housekeepers you and Mr. 
 Cope must ha^e been to leave everything in such 
 nice order." 
 
 William scratched his head thoughtfully, but made 
 no reply. 
 
 " No signs of anythin' stirrin' anywheres outside, 
 wus there, Tom ?" he asked, with a shade of uneasi- 
 ness, as the latter entered with a couple of buckets 
 of clear river water. 
 
 "Only a couple of coyotes skulking across the 
 street," was the careless reply. A little later a very 
 substantial supper was prepared and eaten with a 
 hearty relish.
 
 42 THAT TEEA.SUEE. 
 
 "William preserved an unwonted silence through- 
 out the meal. When the table was cleared, he 
 lighted another candle, and went up stairs, accom- 
 panied by Mr Sherard, to see what were the sleep- 
 ing accommodations. 
 
 "Tom," suddenly said Dolly, who saw no impro- 
 priety in using his first name, " did you ever hear or 
 dream of anything so funny as all this four of us 
 taking possession of an abandoned hotel in a town 
 without inhabitants " 
 
 But here Dolly stopped suddenly and turned quite 
 pale. And no wonder. 
 
 For, following the direction of her startled gaze, 
 Tom saw standing in the door two Chinamen, of un- 
 commonly large stature. In dress, height and 
 physiognomy, they were the very counterpart of 
 each other. 
 
 " What Melican man wantee in Chinaman house ?" 
 said one of them, in a harsh, threatening voice, as 
 he stepped into the room, followed by his compan- 
 ion. His lean hand stole significantly under the 
 folds of his blouse, as Tom laid his hand on the butt 
 of his revolver. 
 
 Instinctively Dolly drew nearer Tom, for there 
 was something evil and repulsive in the stealthy 
 glance which each had given her from their small, 
 beady eyes. 
 
 " How happens it to be your house ?" asked Tom, 
 quietly. 
 
 " You not mind that," said the other, whose voice 
 was exactly the same as that of the first speaker. 
 ' You pay us for use dish, use stove all tings den 
 you git 1" and the Mongolian speaker pointed to- 
 wards the door he had just entered, while his com- 
 panion stepped forward, with an ugly smile. 
 
 " Melican man hab plitty sister; Ah Chow much 
 lub plitty gal," he said, insolently.
 
 THAT TREASUKE. 43 
 
 " Don't let him come near me, Tom," whispered 
 Dolly, in trembling accents, as she shrank behind 
 him. 
 
 Trust Tom Dean for that ! Ah Chow was nearly 
 six feet tall, and of heavy, ungainly frame, but as 
 he stretched out his claw-like hand towards Dolly, 
 he went down like a log before Tom's muscular 
 arm. 
 
 Down the rickety stairs dashed Mr. Sherard, fol- 
 lowed by William, just as Ah Chow's associate was 
 lugging a clumsy " British bull dog " revolver from 
 beneath his blouse. 
 
 But at the sight of the new comers the China- 
 man's sallow face took an ashy hue. Ah Chow, 
 who had scrambled to his feet, seemed for the 
 moment turned to stone, like an ugly idol. 
 
 " Why, dern your yeller skins, Ah Chow, an* you, 
 Ah Sin !" wrathfully roared William, banging hia 
 candle on the table and throwing his right hand to 
 his hip; "hev you forgot what Bob Cope an' mo 
 told you two year ago, when we driv' you outer the 
 city here for tryin* to murder us whilst we was 
 asleep ?" 
 
 " No shootee, William," shrieked Ah Sin, in a high 
 falsetto, dodging rapidly behind Ah Chow; " all 
 one mistake. We s'pose Injun killee you both, so 
 we come back, lib in dis house. No shootee we 
 go findee 'noder house; not tlouble Melican mans 
 any." 
 
 " It won't be healthy if you do," was the signifi- 
 cant reply. "Now, see here," he went on, as the 
 two began shuffling towards the door; " I know the 
 pair of you, root an' branch, an' you know me. You 
 find some other house; thar's plenty to pick an* 
 choose from. Bob Cope an' me pre-empted this 
 here hotel before you two cutthroats ever struck 
 Bonanza City, an' I've got the prior claim; and
 
 44 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 there'll be a watch kep' night an' day in these here 
 premises, and if I so much as 'spect the one or 
 t'other of you of attemptin' any trickery, I'll riddle 
 the pair like a cullender savey ?" 
 
 There was no doubt but that William's forcible 
 speech was fully understood by the two Chinamen, 
 who murmured something unintelligible and sneaked 
 towards the door. But before passing through it 
 Ah Chow raised his snaky eyes, with a look of evil 
 directed at Tom, and touched his bruised face with 
 his finger tip. 
 
 " Ah Chow not forgit dis," he muttered, and was 
 gone. 
 
 " Fd ruther a' giv' a ten ounce bag of gol' dust 
 if I had it," said William, looking blankly at the si- 
 lent group, "than that Ah Chow an* that twin 
 brother of his'n should hev come here agin. I hoped 
 they'd a' be'n lynched long afore this." 
 
 " Who ure they ?" asked Mr. Sherard, in evident 
 disquietude. 
 
 " Two of the wust Chinymen that ever struck a 
 minin' kermunity," was the uncompromising reply. 
 "They come here whilst Bob an' me was workin' our 
 claim an' begun pannin' out dust aloug the crik in a 
 wash basin. As they kep' their end of the town an* 
 we ours, Bob nor I didn't mind 'em. But by sheer 
 luck we found 'em one night stowed away under the 
 ol' broke down counter in what was the bar room, 
 calc'latin* to do for us whilst we was asleep, an' 
 mosey with our pile. We run 'em acrost the bridge 
 right lively with a promise of what we'd do if either 
 of 'em. come within shootin' distance, an' jest to 
 show what we meant, I shot the top off'n Ah Sin's 
 ear whilst he was runnin'. But 111 keep an eye on 
 the gen'lemen," said William, rising; "an' now we'll 
 kinder git ready to turn in, for tomorrer will be a 
 busy day for all of us, not omittin' Miss Dolly."
 
 THAT TREASURE: 45 
 
 There were several canvas cots in various stages 
 of dilapidation in the bare, unfurnished rooms over- 
 head, and one was brought down and placed in a 
 small room opening out of the kitchen. To this 
 were added a pair of blankets belonging to William, 
 and Miss Dolly was provided for. 
 
 The others, who kept alternate watches till dawn, 
 contented themselves with saddle blankets and the 
 grassy turf before the house, using the saddles as 
 pillows.
 
 THAT TRF.ASUBE. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 BOB COPE'S MESSAGE AKD ITS BESULTS. 
 
 IT was Tom dean who found it. 
 
 Not the missing gold dust, but some information 
 regarding it, which came about in this wise. 
 
 Tacked against the boards at one side of the 
 former dining room of the hotel, Tom had noticed 
 a square box cover of brown pasteboard, which 
 had evidently been used as a target for pistol prac- 
 tice. 
 
 "Some of them Chinamen's shootin'; anybody 
 with half an eye would see that," scornfully re- 
 marked William, as Tom called his attention to it. 
 " How do I know ? By the tracks in the dust, of 
 course; no white man would shoot at a mark only 
 fifteen feet off, to say nothin' of usin' one of them 
 clumsy, self cockin' thirty twos that's throwed nigh 
 ev'ry shot a couple o' inches above the box kiver. 
 Now watch the nail that hoi's the kiver," he said, 
 pacing off the length of the room some forty feet. 
 
 Standing with his back towards the target, and 
 the cocked revolver with its muzzle dropped toward 
 the floor, "William wheeled suddenly round, throw- 
 ing up his arm at the same instant. 
 
 The revolver cracked almost before William's arm 
 had seemed to steady itself. The ball struck the 
 nail, and Tom lifted the box cover from the floor 
 with an exclamation of surprise.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 4? 
 
 "What's the matter? Didn't you never see no 
 pistol shootin' before ?" demanded William, mistak- 
 ing the cause of Tom's amazement. The latter 
 stood gazing at the pasteboard, which -was covered 
 with rude chirography, evidently done with a very 
 stumpy lead pencil. 
 
 But in place of replying, Tom began reading 
 aloud from the cover a message which I give below 
 precisely as written and spelled: 
 
 Dere Pard i stick this up whare you see it if you ever cum 
 bac from bein Took prisner by them (a bullet hole had luckily 
 cut out the adjective) 'Paches, fore I Got the bags hid they was 
 outer site in the Dark Takin you along of em. I stade bi the 
 shanty a weke hopin you mite giv em the slip I cudent find the 
 pay streke we los, But wosht out a few ounces frum the ol 
 gravil in the north clame i was Putin it Awa that evenin in the 
 Hole under the flore with the rest when lookin up sudint i See 
 them Too chinymen agin watchin threw the winder i puld an 
 let drive but tha ski pea. i knqwed i warnt safe There so nex 
 morniii i packt up the Mewil with The dust and ower Traps and 
 Lit out by The north eas Trale fur hqlcome sant cristofer 
 county whare tbares A bank And This is To sa If this ever 
 metes yore ize that if i git safe to holcome youle Find yore 
 half of The Pile Deposit in yore name whitch rufe Dalas or the 
 doo Drop salune or eny of the boys can Identify if I aint thar 
 hopin you air Alive an Will Fine this Notis sum da i am yores 
 Kobert g cope, orgus 3 1878. 
 
 " An' when I came back here a month after that 
 was writ," groaned William, " to hunt for Bob an* 
 the dust, I was in an' outer here fifty times, without 
 ever so much as noticin' that box kiver agin' the 
 wall. Why didn't Bob leave it in the hidin' place 
 where he knowed I'd look first thing ?" 
 
 " Why, then the Chinamen would have found it, 
 and even if they can't read, they would probably 
 have torn it up," suggested Tom. 
 
 "And it is something to know that your gold dust 
 is safe after all," added Mr. Sherard, who had en- 
 tered while Tom was reading the message. 
 
 "If Bob ever got to Holcomb, a good hundred 
 an' forty mile away, through the wust kind of 
 kentry," returned William, gloomily,
 
 48 THAT TKEASUEE. 
 
 " It's no use," he continued, after a short pause; " I 
 must satisfy my mind about that there gol' dust, or 
 I shan't rest nights, so tomorrer I'll saddle up an' 
 light out for Holcomb." 
 
 Expostulations and pleadings were of no avail. 
 To use his own comparison, "William was "setter'n 
 any mule " when once his mind was made up. 
 
 "It's no great ride, any way; I shall be back in- 
 side of a fortnight, whether I find what I'm after or 
 no," was his reply. Seeing him so determined in 
 purpose, the others said no more. 
 
 That afternoon, leaving Mr. Sherard with Dolly, 
 William and Tom revisited the scene of the former's 
 labors with Bob Cope. 
 
 On the eastern side of the sloping valley flowed 
 Bonanza River, whose frequent falls furnished the 
 necessary head of water for separating the gravel 
 from the gold. 
 
 Running parallel with it were scattered the ruins 
 of the great board sluice boxes which had been 
 abandoned four years before. From these frag- 
 ments William and his associate, Bob Cope, had 
 constructed their own primitive gold washing ap- 
 paratus. 
 
 " But, dern my fckin 1" exclaimed William, indulg- 
 ing in his favorite expletive, " if it ain't what I've 
 been fearin' since I knowed them Chinymen had 
 come back. They've gone to work in my ol' claim 
 as big as life !" 
 
 " I wouldn't have any trouble with them," sug- 
 gested Tom, as William threw forward his rifle into 
 the hollow of his left arm, and suggestively clasped 
 the stock with his right hand. 
 
 "Oh, I shan't hev no trouble," was the reply, 
 uttered in anything but a reassuring tone. As he 
 spoke William walked rapidly forward. 
 
 " Look here, you two!" he called loudly.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 49 
 
 Ah Sin, who was shoveling gravel into the upper 
 part of the sluice box, looked up quickly. Ah Chow, 
 at the other end, did the same, and slid his hand 
 into the breast of his blouse. 
 
 "Drop that!" shouted William, covering him with 
 his Winchester. "Yank your hand outer your 
 blouse, Ah Chow empty, mind an" keep both of 
 'em in sight, or I'll let daylight through you!" 
 
 "What you wantee Chinaman now?" growled 
 Ah Chow, who obeyed with considerable celerity. 
 
 "I want you two to git outer my claim right 
 smart," was the sharp reply; "an' mind, if I ketch 
 either one of you within shootin' distance of it after 
 this you know what'll happen." 
 
 Knowing something of mining laws, and more of 
 William's aptness at keeping his word, Ah Sin and 
 Ah Chow left the tools, which also had belonged to 
 William and Bob Cope, in the trench, and shuffled 
 away, taking their course down the stream. 
 
 "They can go to work pannin' out by hand agin, 
 for they're too blamed lazy to build sluice boxes for 
 themselves," said William as he watched them out 
 of sight. Then he showed Tom the workings of the 
 primitive sluice way in which he and Bob Cope 
 had washed out a small fortune. They had had 
 the luck to strike an uncommonly rich streak of pay 
 dirt. 
 
 It consisted of a series of long, narrow, gutter- 
 like boxes, open at the top; the upper end, where 
 the water was turned in, being wider and higher 
 than the other extremity. 
 
 All along the bottom were nailed wooden blocks, 
 packed on end as closely as possible. These not 
 only keep the bottom of the trough from the wear 
 of the larger pebbles, but hold such bits of gold as 
 may fall from the dissolving clay lumps. 
 
 The clay is shoveled in at the head of the sluice
 
 60 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 box, and a stream of water turned on, which forces 
 it through the boxes. The gold, being far heavier 
 than the rest, remains at the bottom, and is collected 
 after the run. 
 
 "They ain't struck no pay streak," remarked 
 William, after carefully examining the riffles at the 
 bottom of the box; "an 5 when you an' Mr. Sherard 
 begin to try your luck, shift all this gearin' up the 
 gulch, say forty rods or so. There's a good fall 
 thar for work, but afore you begin operations dig 
 down to bed rock in three or four places, an* keep 
 tryin' the gravel this way." Scooping a handful 
 of soil into an iron prospecting pan, William stepped 
 to the edge of the stream, aud proceeded to initiate 
 Tom into the mystery of hand washing. Various 
 other instructions having been given, the two re- 
 turned to the retreat. 
 
 " And what part am I to play in all this ?" asked 
 Dolly, as after supper the fonr brought stools out 
 on the stoop, in the cool of the evening. They were 
 talking over the plans for the work which they in- 
 tended to do after William's departure. 
 
 " You're goiii' to keep house for one thing, Miss 
 Dolly; an' beiu' a girl of pluck and backbone ekal 
 to any ever I see, you're goin* to keep your pa's car- 
 bine right where it'll be handy whenever the men 
 folks is outer sight," replied William. 
 
 " But we shall not be out of sight much," quietly 
 remarked Tom, observing the shadow of uneasiness 
 that crossed Dolly's face, " for I noticed that from 
 where we shall begin operations in the morning, we 
 can see the house distinctly." 
 
 " Dolly shall come with us, and sit in the shade 
 with her sewing, whenever we are likely to get out 
 of the range of her vision," interrupted Mr. Sherard 
 decisively. 
 
 Then the conversation turned to William's ap-
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. SI 
 
 preaching departure. He had arranged to get oft 
 before daybreak, so that his absence might be kept, 
 if possible, from the knowledge of the two China- 
 men. He clasped hands with each in turn, as his 
 early departure would prevent any more formal 
 leave taking in the morning. 
 
 "If I'm spared," he said, in a graver tone than 
 Usual, "I'll be with you in a fortnight, at the 
 furthest. If not, you may be toler'ble sure some- 
 thin' has happened. God bless you, Tom," he 
 added, taking the young fellow a little apart from 
 the others. " I tuk a likin' to you from the very 
 fust, an' ef you'n* I don't ever see each other agin' 
 jes' bear me in mind now'n' then, an' look out for 
 Mr. Sherard an' Dolly, jest as I'd do if I was here 
 an' an' that's all." 
 
 Clearing his throat with some little difficulty, 
 William wrung Tom's hand; then he went inside 
 and lay down on one of the cots for a short 
 sleep. When the morning dawned he was gone 
 forerer.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 A GHASTLY DISCOVERY. 
 
 AND now Tom Dean was left in charge of the en- 
 tire colony, and began to feel quite a sense of 
 responsibility. 
 
 The weapon taken by William, together with the 
 pony, on the night of their escape from the 
 Apaches, was a Sharpe's carbine. From its superior 
 finish and initials engraved on a silver plate in the 
 stock, it had evidently once been the property of an 
 army officer. This Dolly had appropriated to her- 
 self, and soon became very expert in its use. 
 
 One day, while Mr. Sherard and Tom were pros- 
 pecting with a view to changing the location of 
 their sluice box, Dolly, who had accompanied them, 
 met with a somewhat curious adventure, which re- 
 sulted in the addition of a fourth member to their 
 colony. 
 
 She had followed the stream down for a little dis- 
 tance, with a view of getting a shot at some wild 
 turkeys, which were in the habit of roosting, tow- 
 ards evening, in the tall cottonwoods along its 
 border. Turning a bend in the stream, she came 
 unexpectedly upon Ah Sin and Ah Chow. 
 
 Neither of them saw her, so Dolly drew back and 
 watched their movements with a little curiosity. Ah 
 Chow was evidently washing out dust in the primi- 
 tive style adopted by the very earliest miners, be- 
 fore the cradle was introduced.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 65 
 
 His Mongolian companion, who had been digging 
 for pay gravel, had laid aside his pick and spade, 
 and was reclining in the shade of a bowlder. 
 
 Ah Chow, seated on a rock at the water's ecige, 
 held in his hands an iron pan full of gravel and clay 
 from the trench. He sank it an inch or two under 
 the surface, giving it a sort of half revolving mo- 
 tion, so that the lighter particles of sand and gravel 
 were carried away by the current. Then, squeezing 
 up the lumps of clay in his fingers, he scooped up 
 the larger pebbles and stones, till nothing but the 
 dark iron sand remained. Tilting the pan quickly, 
 so as to wash away the sand and leave the glitter- 
 ing particles of gold clinging to the side and bot- 
 tom, Ah Chow peered eagerly at the result. There 
 was perhaps a pinch of the precious dust, which 
 was carefully scraped up with a knife blade and 
 placed in an old sardine box 
 
 A sudden exclamation from Ah Sin caused both 
 Dolly and Ah Chow to follow with their eyes the 
 direction of his gaze. 
 
 "A gray wolf," was Dolly's first thought; and with 
 a slight feeling of alarm she threw forward her 
 weapon at the sight of a great, gaunt beast who 
 stood at the edge of the stream. 
 
 But a second glance showed her that she was 
 mistaken. She gazed eagerly at the animal. His 
 ribs showed plainly through his hide, which was 
 thickly powdered with gray alkali dust, telling of 
 long abstinence from food and weary wandering 
 over the plain. Dolly uttered a little exclamation. 
 
 " It can't be possible," she whispered, with parted 
 lips. At the same instant, from the other side of the 
 narrow stream shot a long, snake-like coil of 
 twisted rawhide, the noose of which settled down 
 over the animal's head just as he lifted it at the 
 sound of Dolly's voice.
 
 66 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 A shrill cry of exultation from All Sin, who had 
 thrown the lasso with the skill of a Mexican herder, 
 was echoed by Ah Chow. With a vision of baked 
 dog for future repasts, he sprang to his companion's 
 side and pulled heavily back on the taut lariat ! 
 
 As the huge beast, with protruding eyes and 
 tongue, planted his great paws on the edge of the 
 stream and resisted with all his strength, Dolly 
 sprang forward, with her father's hunting knife in 
 her small hand. She drew the keen edge across 
 the rawhide, which parted with a twang. 
 
 Ah Sin and Ah Chow, clinging convulsively to 
 their half of the severed lasso, went backward so 
 suddenly that their heads smote the hard gravel 
 with great violence, and their feet were upturned to 
 the heavens. 
 
 But Dolly saw nothing of this. In another mo- 
 ment she had cut the noose from the half strangled 
 animal's throat and thrown her arms about its 
 neck ! 
 
 " Oh, Brave dear, good old Brave ! have you 
 really tracked us from the good old home?" she 
 cried, hysterically. The great dog, with an in- 
 articulate yelp of joy, began trying to lick her face 
 with his rough tongue, to the manifest astonish- 
 ment and discomfiture of the Chinamen. They had 
 regained their feet, and were staring across the 
 stream at the unexpected sight. 
 
 "Melican gal payee Ah Chow she cuttee lasso; 
 gimme six dol'," yelled Ah Chow, dancing madly 
 about the river bank and holding aloft the severed 
 fragment. Dolly only laughed, for with Brave at 
 her side good old Brave, who had been her con- 
 stant companion on the ranch she would not hare 
 feared a small army of Celestials. 
 
 " You oughtn't to have tried to choke him, then," 
 she replied.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 67 
 
 Brave gave such a deep, ominous growl, as he 
 saw Ah Chow and Ah Sin, that both Chinamen in- 
 voluntarily stepped back. 
 
 But Dolly, in her joy at the recovery of her old 
 companion and friend, forgot Chinamen, wild tur- 
 keys, and all else. She made the dog enter the 
 stream at a shallow ford, where he could rid him- 
 self of the alkali dust and cool his feet, which were 
 sore and swollen with his painful journey. Then, 
 hurrying back to the house, Dolly fed the half fam- 
 ished animal with meat and marrow bones till even, 
 his mighty appetite was satisfied. 
 
 Great was Mr. Sherard's astonishment and delight 
 when he returned with Tom from their labor in the 
 gulch and was welcomed by the dog with every sign 
 of extravagant joy. 
 
 "Brave is a cross between the English mastiff 
 and Siberian bloodhound," he explained to Tom, 
 who at once made friends with the new member of 
 the family. " He was given to me by the ranchman 
 of whom I bought my place, and became Dolly's de- 
 voted attendant. He was away with my herder on 
 the night when the ranch was burned, and I never 
 expected to see him again. The faithful creature 
 must have followed our track over the plains." 
 
 "I wish his intelligence extended to gold find- 
 ing," said Tom. 
 
 Day after day the two men had toiled under the 
 burning sun. They had located their sluice box 
 near the spol designated by "William, and dug down 
 to bed rock, washing out load after load of mingled 
 gravel and clay. But they had not found the lost 
 pay streak, though they were occasionally encour- 
 aged, by a few shining particles, to hope that they 
 were nearing it. 
 
 This of itself was discouraging, but there was a 
 still more depressing thought in the minds of MJt
 
 58 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 Sherard and Tom, which as yet they had not men- 
 tioned to Dolly. 
 
 Three weeks had gone by, yet "William was still 
 absent, and if he never returned, who would guide 
 them across the wild wastes lying between Bonanza 
 City and the abodes of civilization? 
 
 And without money what could ihey do, even if 
 they managed to reach the nearest settlement ? 
 
 So it is not surprising that both Tom and Mr, 
 Sherard were beginning to feel somewhat downcast 
 and depressed, as they privately talked these mat- 
 ters over together 
 
 The following day was Saturday, and as the three 
 invariably regarded the Sabbath as a day of rest, 
 Tom shouldered his rifle and slung his cartridge 
 belt over his shoulder. As he did so, he announced 
 his intention of climbing to the top of the divide, 
 in hopes that he might be lucky enough to fall in 
 with a mountain elk. 
 
 "Would Brave go with me, I wonder?" asked 
 Tom, and the great mastiff, as if he understood the 
 question perfectly, looked up inquiringly into 
 Dolly's face. 
 
 " Go, Brave," she said, quietly. The dog at once 
 rose, and obediently followed at Tom's heels. 
 
 " Good luck," gayly cried Dolly. Tom waved his 
 hand in mute reply, and left her with Mr. Sherard, 
 who was smoking on the stoop. Soon he was 
 ascending the undulating slope which led upwards 
 to the crest of the divide. He followed the same 
 trail by which William had left Bonanza City. It had 
 been cleared from the scrub and underbrush by 
 the original pioneers and projectors of the settle- 
 ment. 
 
 Absorbed in thought, he had reached the edge of 
 the sloping timber line, where it ended quite 
 abruptly near the narrow crest of the divide.
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 59 
 
 Suddenly Brave, who had been trotting on in ad- 
 vance, stopped and sniffed the air. Then, throwing 
 back his huge head, he gave a prolonged howl, 
 which echoed through the ravines below with a 
 mournful sound. 
 
 " What is it, Brave ?" said Tom. A shiver passed 
 over him as he glanced half fearfully around. 
 
 Yet not a living thing was near. Far down the 
 slope he plainly saw the deserted settlement, and 
 even made out the Retreat. Overhead shone the sun 
 from an unclouded sky. Thousands of feet in air 
 soared some large bird of prey, possibly an eagle, in 
 great concentric circles. 
 
 Great bowlders and masses of crumbling sand- 
 stone were scattered irregularly over the summit 
 of the crest. With another mournful cry, the 
 mastiff put his nose to the ground, and led the 
 way toward the base of one of the latter. Tom, 
 with a vague premonition of evil, kept close at the 
 dog's heels. 
 
 Alas, the premonition was but too true. Ghastly 
 and white, close at the foot of the crumbling 
 sandstone, lay a human skeleton, clean picked by 
 coyotes and the other horrid scavengers of the 
 plains ! 
 
 The sombrero, with its silver buckle, the clothing 
 torn into a thousand strips by savage teeth and 
 claws, the beaded moccasins which had fallen from 
 the fleshless feet, told the horrified beholder but too 
 plainly whose were the ghastly remains. 
 
 A bullet hole through the skull showed the cause 
 of poor William's death. It was made from a ball 
 fired from behind. His rifle, revolver, knife, haver- 
 sack and cartridge belt were all missing in itself a 
 most significant fact. 
 
 It was a terrible sight. For a moment Tom felt 
 sick and faint; then, summoning all his courage,
 
 60 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 he laid aside his rifle, and began covering the 
 bleached bones with slabs and fragments of 
 sandstone, which were everywhere strewn on the 
 ground. 
 
 Tom had nearly completed his task, when some- 
 thing in an excavation made by the removal of a 
 bit of fallen rock arrested his gaze. 
 
 Bemoving it from the surrounding soil, his heart 
 gave a great leap. It was a nugget of virgin gold 
 of irregular shape, weighing several ounces 1
 
 THAT TREASURE. ' 61 
 
 CHAPTEB VHL 
 
 A BULLET THROUGH THE WINDOW. 
 
 WITH a strange mixture of emotions, Tom Dean 
 stood alone on the crest of the divide, staring at the 
 misshapen bit of yellow metal in his open palm. 
 
 That his golden dreams were about to be realized 
 seemed more than probable. Where one such nug- 
 get was to be found, it was reasonable to suppose 
 there might be many others. 
 
 There was no indication that the scanty soil of 
 the crest had ever before been disturbed, and Tom's 
 heart began to beat furiously as the possibilities of 
 untold wealth danced before his dazzled mental 
 vision. 
 
 At length he aroused himself. He scratched the 
 words " Bring the picks " on a slaty bit of rock with 
 the point of his hunting knife. Knotting it, with 
 the nugget, in his silk handkerchief, he tied the 
 whole to the mastiffs collar. 
 
 " Go, carry it to them, Brave," he said, pointing 
 down the slope; and the obedient dog, who seemed 
 to understand perfectly what was required, started 
 rapidly homeward. 
 
 Then, bethinking himself of the completion of his 
 sad duty, Tom very reverently went on heaping the 
 sandstone fragments over the remains of his former 
 companion, till they were hidden from sight by a 
 rocky mound.
 
 62 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 That William had been murdered there was no 
 manner of question, and Tom felt equally positive 
 that the Chinamen were his assassins. The size of 
 the bullet hole in the victim's skull, the fact that he 
 had been shot from behind, and that they were 
 thirsting for revenge all these pointed to the guilt 
 of Ah Sin and Ah Chow. 
 
 Mr. Sherard received the message brought by the 
 mastiff, and hurried to join Tom, bearing the two 
 picks on his shoulder. "When he arrived he was 
 quite out of breath, and excited far beyond his usual 
 wont. 
 
 In a few words Tom told him the whole story of 
 his double discovery. Of course Mr. Sherard was 
 greatly shocked at the news of "William's untimely 
 fate. Before beginning the work in hand they 
 made a careful examination of the surroundings of 
 the spot. From certain slight depressions in the 
 dry gravel, it seemed that the unfortunate man Lad 
 been killed on the very summit of the divide, while 
 following the trail itself, and that his body had been 
 dragged to the spot where Tom had found it. 
 
 "If the two Chinamen were his murderers, they 
 now are nearly our equals in the point of weapons," 
 said Mr. Sherard, " for of course they carried away 
 his rifle and revolver. They probably turned the 
 poor fellow's horse adrift, for they would not dare 
 to take him below, where we should be likely to see 
 him." 
 
 Tom glanced uneasily down at the little settle- 
 ment; but two motionless figures on the rude stoop 
 before the Retreat showed that Dolly and Brave 
 were in their accustomed places. 
 
 " Dolly is perfectly safe with such a guardian as 
 Brave, and with her knack at handling the carbine," 
 observed Mr. Sherard, when he noticed the direction 
 of Tom's gaze. " Now, let us begin operations."
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 63 
 
 But the picks were really not needed. Incredible 
 as it may seem, gold, in nuggets from the size of a 
 buckshot to that of a Winchester rifle cartridge, lay 
 in the sandstone crevices, where it could actually be 
 picked out with a hunting knife. It lay in shining 
 pin head particles among the soft, decomposed slabs 
 of the sandstone, and even on the surface itself. 
 
 Singularly enough, the gold was only to be found 
 within a space of some sixteen feet around the 
 bowlder which marked the final resting place of the 
 murdered man, and in the crevices of the bowlder 
 itself, which had evidently been decomposed by the 
 action of water. 
 
 The sun climbed higher and higher in the cloudless 
 sky; but still the two worked on, unmindful of heat, 
 hunger and thirst. 
 
 But only inside the area where the great quartz 
 bowlder had crumbled into fragments was this rich 
 deposit to be found. Vainly they tried elsewhere; 
 not the slightest trace of gold was visible. 
 
 The sun had begun to dip behind the furthest 
 range of hills before either of them could summon 
 resolution to tear himself from the charmed spot. 
 At length it was evident that they could work but a 
 little longer in the waning daylight. 
 
 "Well," said Tom, exultantly, as he lifted his 
 haversack, heavy with yellow nuggets, and took up 
 his rifle, " today's work has made up for all our bad 
 luck in the weeks past; eh, Mr. Sherard?" 
 
 "Indeed it has," was the earnest reply; and the 
 two began retracing their steps. 
 
 " Well, Dolly," said Mr. Sherard, gayly, as they 
 hurried into the kitchen of the Retreat, " we have 
 good news for you. Tom and I have struck a bon- 
 anza indeed." 
 
 " And we have sad news as well, Miss Dolly," 
 added Tom.
 
 64 . THAT TBEASUKE. 
 
 The young girl's eyes dilated with astonishment 
 at the sight of the gold falling from the open haver- 
 sack as her father dropped it heavily on the board 
 table where, two years before, William and Bob 
 Cope had displayed their own store on the night of 
 the Apache attack. 
 
 It had been agreed between Tom and Mr. Sherard 
 that Dolly should know nothing of their suspicions 
 concerning the two Chinamen. As briefly and 
 gently as possible Tom related his discovery of Wil- 
 liam's remains, and left Dolly to infer that the poor 
 fellow had met his fate at the hand of some wander- 
 ing Apache. 
 
 Dolly was shocked and surprised; yet, as was not 
 altogether unnatural, the remembrance of the sad 
 tragedy soon gave place to brighter visions. 
 
 " Ah ! now we can go back to civilization again, 
 father," said Dolly; "you can have your books and 
 I my music and teachers " 
 
 There came a low growl from Brave. Crouched 
 by Dolly's side, he had been steadfastly regard- 
 ing the perforated plate of glass which testified 
 to Mr. Bob Cope's pistol practice on a former occa- 
 sion. 
 
 " What's the matter, Brave ? Good dog," she said, 
 as both Tom and Mr. Sherard instinctively looked 
 around. 
 
 Two yellow faces, with eager, covetous eyes, were 
 pressed against the window outside. 
 
 As quick as thought, Tom reached for his revolver, 
 which he had just laid in his holster on the table 
 with his own haversack of gold. But before his 
 fingers clasped the handle of the heavy weapon, the 
 faces had vanished like an ugly vision. 
 
 Dolly had bent down to pat the mastiff's head, and 
 saw nothing of all this by play. 
 
 Signing Mr. Sherard to remain silent, Tom went
 
 THAT TKEASURE. 65 
 
 on talking in his usual easy tones, keeping his eyes 
 on the window. The two candles upon the table be- 
 fore him cast a strong light on his manly and ani- 
 mated features. 
 
 Mr. Sherard had pried up the flat stone under the 
 table, beneath which William and Bob Cope had 
 hidden their own treasure, and was placing the two 
 haversacks under it. 
 
 Suddenly the report of a rifle broke the night 
 stillness. Simultaneously with the sharp crack came 
 the whiz of a ball, which passed through another of 
 the window panes without shattering it, cut a lock 
 from Tom's dark hair where it was carelessly 
 brushed back from his forehead, and buried itself in 
 the opposite wall. 
 
 Dolly uttered a stifled cry of alarm, while Mr. 
 Sherard and Tom seized their weapons and rushed 
 out. 
 
 All was silent outside. The only sounds were an 
 occasional coyote's cry, or the hoot of some preda- 
 tory owl. Further down the deserted street glim- 
 mered a faint light from the small house in which 
 A.h Chow and Ah Sin had taken up their abode. 
 
 " Let us see if they are there," said Tom, briefly. 
 
 Making their way quietly along the grass grown 
 thoroughfare, the two halted before the rude struc- 
 ture. It was built of logs placed cobwise; it had 
 no windows, and was entered by a heavy door, 
 which stood wide open to admit the cool night air. 
 In former daysHhe place had been used as a sort of 
 lockup, or prison, for the temporary disposal of 
 evil doers. Why the two Chinamen had selected 
 it as a place of residence is best known to them- 
 selves. 
 
 Through the open door, and the chinks between 
 the logs, Tom and his copapanjqn easily saw all that 
 was going on inside,,
 
 66 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Ah Sin and Ah Chow were there, and had no ap- 
 pearance of having been engaged in any but the 
 peaceful pursuit that each was following. 
 
 Ah Sin was sitting cross legged on the hard clay 
 floor, and seemed absorbed in sewing a large blue 
 patch on the baggiest part of a pair of very short 
 and wide legged dungaree trousers. 
 
 Ah Chow was reclining in one of the two wooden 
 bunks at the side of the room. He held between 
 his teeth the mouthpiece of an opium pipe. He was 
 just applying to its tiny bowl a small pea shaped 
 lump of the prepared drug at the end of a steel 
 wire, preparatory to lighting it at the flame of a 
 candle on the broken stool near the bunk. 
 
 " They look altogether too innocent," whispered 
 Mr. Sherard, but Tom made no reply. 
 
 Stepping inside, Winchester in hand, he addressed 
 himself shortly and sharply to the two Chinamen. 
 They looked up, not exactly with the " smile that 
 was childlike and bland," described by Bret Harte, 
 but with faces as impassive and devoid of expression 
 as dough. 
 
 " Look here," said Tom, glancing from one to the 
 other, while Mr. Sherard, in the background, 
 thumbed the hammer of his carbine; "I saw you 
 two fellows watching us tonight through the win- 
 dow, and a minute or two afterward one or the 
 other of you fired at me as I sat by the table." 
 
 " Shootee at you !" interrupted Ah Chow, in a 
 high squeaky voice of seeming astonishment. "How 
 can Chinaman shootee with lifle when no Lab lifle; 
 on'ylil' pistol?" 
 
 "You know you are lying," replied Tom, calmly. 
 " You have a rifle which you took from the body of 
 the man you murdered up on the divide. I found 
 his bones this very day." 
 
 If Tom had expected to see any signs of guilt in
 
 "Two yellow faces, with eager, covetous eyes, were pressed against 
 the window outside." 
 
 ( See page 64)
 
 THAT TREASURE. 67 
 
 the faces of either of the two, he had greatly mis- 
 taken his men. 
 
 Not a muscle in either bloodless face moved. Ah 
 Chow inhaled a volume of the pungent smoke and 
 blew two clouds from his distended nostrils; then 
 he seemed to subside into a doze. 
 
 Ah Sin bit another length of thread and waxed it 
 very carefully. 
 
 " No sabee what Melican mean," he said, with a 
 placid shake of his head. " Chinaman no killee no 
 one. Maybe Melican do; but Chinaman, no, no." 
 
 " Well," replied Tom, with an impatient shoulder 
 shrug, "all I've got to say is this: I shan't try 
 shooting by candle light, but, remember, we can 
 both shoot pretty straight by daylight. So look 
 out." 
 
 " Allee light Chinaman look out," was the im- 
 perturbable reply. Taking good care not to turn his 
 back to the speaker, Tom edged out of the door, fol- 
 lowed by Mr. Sherard. 
 
 " We must get away from here as soon as possi- 
 ble," said the latter, glancing behind him more than 
 once as they made their way back to the Retreat; 
 " for, now these two cutthroats have seen our 
 gold, they are ten times more to be feared than be- 
 fore." 
 
 Tom gave an assenting nod. 
 
 "Let us have one more search tomorrow along 
 the top of the divide," he said; "then, trusting to 
 luck and our pocket compass, we'll strike for Hoi- 
 comb and civilization." 
 
 Dolly looked anxiously from her father to Tom as 
 they entered the room. 
 
 " Did you find out who fired the shot ?" she 
 asked. 
 
 " It was probably one of the Chinamen," said her 
 father, with affected ca,re}essness. "He perhaps
 
 8 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 discharged his revolver by accident, or possibly fired 
 through the window to aunoy us." 
 
 Dolly had dug out the bullet from the woodwork 
 in their absence. Without speaking, she placed it 
 on the table. It was the conical ball from a Win- 
 chester shell. Tom and Mr. Sherard exchanged 
 glances, but remained silent. So did Dolly. 
 
 That night Brave's strip of rag carpet was laid 
 directly over the hiding place of the gold, while 
 Mr. Sherard and Tom took turns at watching till 
 daylight. 
 
 Nothing came of it, however, and leaving Dolly in 
 charge of the mastiff, the two men started again for 
 the divide, where they dug and delved till late in 
 the afternoon. Though their success was nearly 
 equal to that of the previous day, it was evident 
 that the last of the golden harvest was gleaned. 
 
 " Well," Mr. Sherard said, as the two prepared to 
 take their leave of the spot, "as nearly as I can 
 judge, we must have, between us, something like 
 fifteen or sixteen thousand dollars; a pretty rich 
 find for only two days of search." 
 
 " Enough to warrant us in leaving this place as 
 soon as we can pack up," returned Tom, emphati- 
 cally. Casting a glance around, they returned to 
 the trail, and began their descent to the settle- 
 ment. 
 
 But where was Dolly, who almost invariably came 
 as far as the bridge to meet them ? She was no- 
 where in sight. 
 
 " Very likely she has gone down the river with 
 Brave in search of game," said Mr. Sherard, who 
 felt but little uneasiness about Dolly when she had 
 the mastiff as her companion, and carried a carbine 
 over her shoulder. 
 
 As he spoke he seemed to be struck by a sudden 
 thought, and hastily entered the empty kitchen.
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 69 
 
 Palling on his knees beside the hiding place of their 
 gold, he lifted the covering stone. 
 
 " It's all right," he said, with a half sigh of relief. 
 Just at that moment, perhaps for the first time in 
 his whole life, Mr. Sherard was thinking more of 
 the gold than his daughter. 
 
 "Put this with the rest," remarked Tom, stripping 
 off his haversack and extending it to Mr. Sherard, 
 " while I go after Miss Dolly. I don't think she 
 realizes how late it is getting." And, throwing 
 his Winchester in the hollow of his arm, he hurried 
 away. 
 
 Despite Mr. Sherard's remark, Tom somehow felt 
 a shadowy uneasiness. Dolly seldom ventured away 
 from the house so late in the afternoon. 
 
 Mr. Sherard scarcely noticed his departure. 
 Kneeling by the cavity, he was dropping in the 
 nuggets and listening rapturously as one by one 
 they fell with a dull metallic sound, suggestive of 
 the pleasant clinking of coin and rustle of bank 
 notes which they represented. 
 
 He was too much absorbed to be conscious of an- 
 other presence in the building. With stealthy, cat- 
 like step, the naked splay feet of Ah Sin the China- 
 man were stealing from the little room where Dolly 
 had slept. His lean but sinewy arms were bared to 
 his elbows, anl his claw-like fingers were clutched 
 about a stout whalebone stick some fifteen inches 
 long, one end of which was inserted in a lead ball 
 covered with netted twine. 
 
 Nearer and nearer he crept toward his victim, 
 who, all unconscious of danger, was kneeling with 
 his back toward the Chinaman. His small eyes 
 glittered with a baleful light as they rested on the 
 gold. 
 
 As the last nugget slipped from Mr. Sherard'* 
 fingers, the sound of a distant rifle shot caused him
 
 70 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 to look suddenly up; but it was at that precise mo- 
 ment that the blow descended. Throwing out his 
 arms blindly, he dropped forward on his face ! 
 
 When he recovered consciousness, he was lying 
 securely bound in one corner of the room, with the 
 worst headache he ever remembered having experi- 
 enced in his whole life. 
 
 Too much confused to frame his waking thoughts 
 into speech, ho looked stupidly about him. 
 
 By the light of a dimly burning candle, he saw 
 Ah Sin and Ah Chow sitting at the board table, with 
 the pile of nuggets between them, evidently intent 
 upon dividing the spoil. 
 
 Still it did not seem real, but more like a very 
 ugly suggestion of nightmare, when his eyes sud- 
 denly rested on two Winchester rifles standing 
 against the side of the room nearest himself. 
 
 With a thrill of horror he recognized one of them 
 by a peculiarly shaped knot in the polished stock as 
 being Tom Dean's; and he felt instinctively that its 
 companion was the rifle which had belonged to the 
 murdered William. 
 
 Where was Tom ? Where ? And then it all came 
 back to him. 
 
 "Great heavens!" he cried, frantically tugging 
 and straining at his bonds in impotent fury; " where 
 what have you done with my daughter my 
 Dolly?" 
 
 "Oh, Melican gal allee light," coolly replied Ah 
 Sin, without so much as taking his greedy eyes from 
 the pile of gold. 
 
 The proverbial honor among thieves was unknown 
 to these disciples of Confucius. Each was ready to 
 take advantage of the other, and juggle a bit of 
 gold up his sleeve or into the folds of his blouse 
 with the dexterity of a card sharper. 
 
 In vain Mr. Sherard alternately raved, entreated,
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 71 
 
 threatened, and wrenched at the rawhide thongs 
 which bound his wrists and ankles, till they cut into 
 the flesh. Ah Sin and Ah Chow, who had begun 
 shrieking and squabbling over the division, paid not 
 the slightest attention to his words or movements. 
 They merely vouchsafed an occasional swift glance 
 to make sure that he was securely tied, and then re- 
 sumed their woi'dy arguments. 
 
 It was nearly midnight before the two came to 
 anything like an understanding, and even then it 
 was evidently not an altogether friendly one. 
 
 Each knotted his pile of nuggets securely in a 
 big handkerchief, and mounted guard over it with 
 his rifle, evidently distrusting the other's inten- 
 tions. 
 
 Neither closed his eyes through the night. Tak- 
 ing turns at renewing the candles, as they burned 
 down to a flickering stump, they sat through the 
 long night which seemed almost an eternity to Mr. 
 Sherard, tortured alike in body and mind, impa- 
 tiently awaiting the day dawn.
 
 THAT TEEASUEE, 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE CHINAMEN AT BAT. 
 
 As the first gleams from the glowing east began 
 stealing in through the window and open door, Ah 
 Sin and Ah Chow, who had preserved a sullen si- 
 lence through the long night watches, began to 
 rouse themselves into something like activity. 
 
 The former laid aside his rifle, and made a care- 
 ful examination of Mr. Sherard's fastenings, but re- 
 mained deaf to all the captive's entreaties for in- 
 formation as to the fate of his daughter and Tom 
 Dean. 
 
 A few words were rapidly exchanged between the 
 two. Then, taking with him his rifle and his hand- 
 kerchief of nuggets, Ah Sin left the kitchen. 
 
 Ah Chow brought a couple of blankets from the 
 adjoining room, and began packing up sundry neces- 
 saries, evidently for a proposed departure. 
 
 "Bime by Chinaman takee all hoss an' leave Meli- 
 can man," he said, with an unpleasant grin. " Meii- 
 can man hab all town, all diggin's, mebbe fin' heap 
 gol' bime by; but no hab hoss, no can catchee 
 Chinamen." 
 
 "You infernal, squint eyed, yellow skinned 
 image," vociferated Mr. Sherard, beside himself 
 with rage and mental agony; " if a hair of my 
 daughter's head has come to harm through you, I'll 
 follow you to the ends of the earth."
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 73 
 
 " Oh, Melican gal allee light," repeated Ah Chow, 
 with exasperating calmness; and the assertion, 
 vague as it was, gave Mr. Sherard a shadowy sense 
 of comfort. 
 
 " Probably," he went on, grinding his teeth in 
 impotent wrath, " you've murdered poor Tom Dean 
 as you did the man whose bones we found on the 
 divide. As sure as there's any such thing as lynch 
 law on the borders, you shall both swing for it !" 
 
 " Mebbe, s'pose catchee Chinaman," was the phil- 
 osophical reply. Yet Mr. Sherard fancied he saw a 
 trace of uneasiness flit over Ah Chow's saffron col- 
 ored face, as he spoke. 
 
 The neigh and whinny of broncos and an Indian 
 pony, with a snuffle peculiar to the Chinaman's pack 
 mule, were heard in front of the building. Immedi- 
 ately afterwards, Ah Sin entered. In one hand was 
 William's Winchester; in the other a pair of raw- 
 hide saddle bags which are carried hanging over 
 the pack mule's shoulders in front of the pack sad- 
 dle. 
 
 In one bag was Ah Sin's share of the golden 
 plunder, and in the other Ah Chow deposited his 
 own. 
 
 Drawing a knife from inside his blouse, the lat- 
 ter cut the lashings of Mr. Sherard's swollen wrists. 
 
 " Bime by when Chinamen allee gone with gol' an* 
 gun an' hoss," he said with another exasperating 
 grin, "you gettee feets loose den you go lookee 
 for Melican gal." 
 
 The noise of the trampling of horses on the 
 wooden bridge caused Ah Chow to stop suddenly, 
 and glance with a startled look of apprehension 
 through the window. 
 
 The voice of Ah Sin from the front, calling some- 
 thing in a high key, caused his parchment face to 
 take on a livid hue. Hesitating a brief moment, he
 
 74 THAT TREASUKE. 
 
 joined his companion, and Mr. Sherard heard them 
 hastily putting a timber prop against the front 
 dooi. 
 
 " The Apaches," he groaned, white to his lips with 
 a terror which he could not throw off. Bound and 
 helpless, he must lie till the bloody fiends broke 
 down the feeble barricade. 
 
 " Roun* to the back uv the buildin', some of ye," 
 shouted a hoarse voice from the front. It gave new 
 life to the disheartened captive. " Git roun' thnr 
 quick I The Chinyman that dug inside and shoved 
 to the door was that derned Ah Sin we was after to 
 Murd'rer's Flat, an' he's up to some deviltry, or I'll 
 loose my guess." 
 
 Ah Sin and Ah Chow, who had evidently hoped 
 by fastening the front door to gain time to effect 
 their escape at the rear, rushed back to the kit- 
 chen as the foregoing order was issued. 
 
 Seizing the saddle bags and his rifle, Ah Sin ran 
 to the rear window, followed by Ah Chow, to be 
 confronted by half a dozen leveled Winchesters. 
 
 The average Chinaman would have weakened. 
 But Ah Sin and his villainous companion were of a 
 different stamp. It was, in any event, death for 
 them at the hands of the plainsmen, to whom they 
 were known by repute, when their prisoner should 
 make known the story of their crimes. Like rats in 
 a corner, they meant to fight to the last. 
 
 "S'render, you moon eyed leper !" called a bearded 
 man, smashing in the window sash with the butt of 
 his rifle. Meanwhile a fierce battering at the front 
 door shook the frail building to its center. 
 
 Ah Sin's answer was a shot from within, and the 
 speaker, with a choking cry, threw his arms in air 
 and fell backward. 
 
 The mad yell of rage from without was followed 
 by the crash of the rear window and the door in
 
 THAT TREASURE. 7S 
 
 front, and in less time than is occupied in describ- 
 ing the event, Ah Sin and Ah Chow, who fought like 
 incarnate fiends, were overpowered and tied. 
 
 The leader of the invading band, one of whom 
 had at once released Mr. Sherard's ankles, was a 
 tall, powerfully built individual, whose sunburned 
 features were nearly hidden by his bushy whiskers. 
 
 "Now then, stranger," be said, turning to Mr. 
 Sherard, " mebbe you'll kinder explain the sitooa- 
 tion, so's we'll know what all this bizness means." 
 
 Part of the " bizness " to which he alluded waa 
 evidently the contents of the saddle bags. One of 
 the new comers had poured them out on the table, 
 amid the loudly expressed comments of the others, 
 who had crowded round. 
 
 It did not take Mr. Sherard long to tell his story 
 in brief, reserving detail for a more appropriate 
 season. 
 
 Darker and darker grew the brow of the leader, 
 as Mr. Sherard went on to the conclusion. Striding 
 across the floor to the spot where the Chinamen 
 were sitting, bound and guarded, with dogged des- 
 pair written on each leaden hued face, he drew his 
 revolver, and, cocking it, placed the muzzle against 
 Ah Sin's temple. 
 
 " Do you know who I be ?" he fairly shouted, while 
 his eyes blazed with suppressed fury. 
 
 " Yes; you Mist' Cope," was the sullen reply. 
 
 " I'm Bob Cope, an' murderin' my old pard is one 
 uv the things that'll come up agin you an' yer yeller 
 chum presently," significantly and sternly respond- 
 ed the bearded man. "But jes' now what I wanter 
 know is this : "What hev you two done with this 
 gentleman's little gal an' her dog? Speak quick, 
 for my fingers is itchin' to pull." 
 
 " Gal allee light; she in lockup," said Ah Chow, 
 without raising his eyes from the floor.
 
 76 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 " In the lockup," repeated Mr. Sherard, in a be- 
 wildered but hopeful tone. 
 
 " I know whar he means," returned Bob Cope. 
 Instructing two or three of the men to keep close 
 watch of their prisoners, he saw that the gold was 
 returned to the rawhide receptacle, \vhichwas tossed 
 carelessly into the corner cupboard. 
 
 " Now them two Chinymen is tied up, yer nuggits 
 is as safe with us as though it war in the Holcomb 
 bank, whar poor William's gol' dus' hes ben layin' 
 all this time," said Cope. " So now we'll git along 
 to the lockup an' let out the little gal an' her dog." 
 
 A big fire had been started outside. At least 
 forty men were unsaddling horses, broncos and In- 
 dian ponies, while others brought cookiug imple- 
 ments and stores from a large tilted wagon drawn 
 by mules. A number of mounted men %vere to be 
 seen coming down the trail from the divide. 
 
 "It's a little party I got up to Holcomb fer 
 workin' over these here claims agin," explained Bob 
 Cope, as he and Mr. Sherard hurried down the 
 street. " An' considerable many of 'em was with 
 them that started in here when the diggin's was 
 fust struck. The Black Hills an' round there is 
 playin' out, so a lot of us has drifted back here 
 agin, for we know thar's gold here some'res ' 
 
 "Hark!" interrupted Mr. Sherard, as the deep 
 bay of a dog was heard proceeding from some 
 penned up spot. In another moment they were 
 standing before the small square structure w r hich 
 the Chinamen had occupied. 
 
 " This was the lockup, when Bonanza City was 
 boomin'," began Bob, but Mr. Sherard did not 
 listen. A clear voice came from within, as he 
 tugged at the hasp and staple of the door. 
 
 " I'm all right, father," it said, and this interested 
 him far more than Mr. Cope's description.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 77 
 
 In another moment, Dolly, looking pale and 
 anxious, but otherwise quite herself, was in her 
 father's arms, while Brave capered about them, bark- 
 ing in boisterous delight. 
 
 Dolly's story was short and simple. WLile sitting 
 with Brave on the stoop the afternoon before, Ah 
 Sin had run up the street, wringing his hands and 
 making a tremendous outcry. Ah Chow, as he de- 
 clared in voluble pigeon English, had cut himself 
 terribly in their little house at the other end of the 
 street. He was bleeding' to death, and they did 
 not know how to stop the flow of blood. Would 
 Missy 
 
 Of course "Missy's" sympathies were at once 
 roused. She tore off some strips from the cotton 
 cloth on which she had been working, and seized 
 her carbine as a matter of necessary precaution. 
 Then, accompanied by Brave, who growled all the 
 way, she followed close at Ah Sin's heels till they 
 reached the lockup. Stipulating, still as a matter 
 of precaution, that Ah Sin should stop outside, 
 Dolly entered, carbine in hand, with Brave at her 
 side. 
 
 The slam of the door, accompanied by Ah Sin's 
 triumphant laugh, told Dolly that she was trapped. 
 To her dismay, she discovered that the carbine was 
 unloaded, while her cartridge belt had been left be- 
 hind; else in this way she might have given the 
 alarm by discharging it between the logrs. A prey 
 to all kinds of fearful apprehensions, she Lad re- 
 mained a prisoner all night; and her joy can 
 easily be imagined when she was once more at 
 liberty. 
 
 Bob Cope listened in surprise and respectful ad- 
 miration, as the young girl, with her graceful bear- 
 ing and frank, outspoken manner, told her story, 
 and in turn exacted from her father a detailed ac-
 
 78 THAT TKEA.SUKE. 
 
 count of all that had happened since her imprison- 
 ment. 
 
 "As plucky a gal as you'd see in a day's ride, 
 Jim," he said to his lieutenant that evening, when 
 they returned from a thorough search for missing 
 Tom along both banks of the river; "but when I 
 broke it as easy as I knowed how to 'em that we 
 found the marks where one of the Chinymen hed 
 rested his gun in a crotch, an' shot the young feller 
 plum through, to jedge by the blood on the grass, 
 an' then dragged his body to the bank an' chucked 
 it in I say when I come to tell her this, an' how 
 the current hed likely kerried him miles an' miles 
 down stream, through the kenyon she jest turned 
 whiter'n any sheet, an* I cal'lated she was goin' to 
 swound. But she didn't; she only sighed es though 
 her little heart was breakin', an' I heard her kinder 
 whisper to herself like, ' Oh, Tom ! Poor, dear 
 Tom !' I cal'late, Jim," continued Bob Cope, pro- 
 ceeding to light his pipe, "that Miss Dolly, as 
 they call her, thought an awful sight of that ar 
 Tom." 
 
 Jim nodded, and gravely answered: 
 
 "If signs is anything to go by, you kin jes' bet 
 yer sweet life she did."
 
 THAT T&EASUBE. 79 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SWEPT DOWN BLACK CANYON. 
 
 WHEN Tom Dean left Mr. Sherard at the close of 
 the afternoon, and went in search of Miss Dolly, he 
 proceeded directly down the river's edge, hoping 
 each moment to hear her returning footsteps, or 
 meet her face to face with Brave at her side. 
 
 But as he lost sight of the settlement in the thick 
 growth of willow and cottonwood, he saw or heard 
 no trace of the missing girl. Hia uneasiness was 
 giving place to something like alarm. 
 
 That the two Chinamen would dare to harm an 
 unoffending girl, protected, as Dolly was, by the 
 presence of Brave and by her own skill with the 
 rifle, Tom could hardly believe. And yet, what did 
 her prolonged absence mean ? 
 
 Putting his hands to his mouth, Tom called 
 loudly: 
 
 " Miss Dolly 1 Miss Dolly !" but only the mock- 
 ing echoes from ravine and defile replied. 
 
 Filled with apprehension, Tom stood for a mo- 
 ment motionless on the bank of the river. Increas- 
 ing in width and gathering strength as it swept 
 onward after leaving the foot of the hills, the 
 stream ran deep, turbid and swift toward a distant 
 canyon. 
 
 A slight rustle in the underbrush a few feet be- 
 hind Tom caused him to turn his head suddenly. 
 The movement doubtless saved his life.
 
 80 THAT TKEASUEE. 
 
 For almost simultaneous with the sound came the 
 stunning report of a rifle not twenty feet away; and 
 the ball, which would have penetrated the skull, 
 only struck the side of his head, just above the 
 right ear; and plowing its way almost to the 
 temple, it flew off at a tangent. 
 
 But apparently the bullet had done its work. 
 Stunned by the shock, Tom reeled, dropped his 
 rifle, and fell insensible, while a torrent of blood 
 flowed from the ghastly wound ! 
 
 Even Ah Chow, hardened to such sights as he 
 was, shuddered a little as he saw the motionless 
 form lying in its own gore; but this did not pre- 
 vent him from making a thorough examination of 
 Tom's outside pockets, without, however, finding 
 much to reward his search. 
 
 Three Mexican dollars, a penknife which had 
 been the professor's, a pocket compass, and some 
 matches in a waterproof box, formed the entire con- 
 tents. Taking these, together with his weapons and 
 cartridge belt, Ah Chow launched the body into the 
 water with a vigorous push. 
 
 " Dead man tellee no tale," he muttered, repeating 
 a phrase he had heard the miners use. With one 
 final glance at the body drifting swiftly away, he 
 turned back to discover how successfully Ah Sin 
 had performed his own part of the prearranged 
 plot. 
 
 The plunge into the cold water of the rushing 
 river had the effect of partially restoring Tom Dean 
 to consciousness. It was enough, at least, for him 
 to realize that he had only escaped death in one 
 form to be threatened with it in another. 
 
 As he struck out with the blind instinct of self 
 preservation, his fingers touched a log which had 
 in some way become detached from the bridge 
 above, and drifted slowly down with the current.
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 81 
 
 Clutching this as desperately as a drowning man 
 grasps a straw, Torn succeeded in getting his arms 
 over it and resting upon it. 
 
 Weakened by loss of blood, and encumbered by 
 his soaked clothing, he did not feel strong enough 
 even to swim the few yards needful for reaching the 
 shore. 
 
 The flow of blood from his wound had abated. 
 Resting his elbows on the log, Tom contrived to 
 free the silk handkerchief from his neck, and tie it 
 about his head. Then he began slowly and pain- 
 fully striking out with his legs and feet for the river 
 bank. 
 
 But, to his alarm, Tom found that the current was 
 hurrying him on faster and faster. As he was swept 
 suddenly round an abrupt bend, the river percept- 
 ibly widened, and he was soon in the midst of foam- 
 ing rapids, against which his feeble efforts were 
 futile. 
 
 On and still on through the fast gathering dark- 
 ness, tossed hither and thither like a cork by the 
 mimic waves, yet clinging convulsively to his frail 
 support, Tom felt himself carried downwards by a 
 resistless force. 
 
 In this terrible situation he became delirious. He 
 fancied that he was swimming after a white canoe, 
 which Dolly, all unconscious of clanger, was pad- 
 dling swiftly forward a little in advance. His warn- 
 ing shouts and cries, echoed back as though by the 
 walls of a great cavern, were finally drowned by the 
 roar of a dashing waterfall. Then the canoe with 
 its fair burden plunged downward in the seeth- 
 ing torrent, and Tom was swept unresistingly 
 after it. 
 
 There was no fancy as to the latter part of Tom's 
 experience! Gasping and half strangled, he came 
 to the surface at the foot of what he dimly saw to
 
 85 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 be a tolerably high cataract. Seized by the eddy- 
 ing current, he was swept in towards a white pebbly 
 beach, a little above which he saw a blazing fire. 
 
 Summoning all his strength, Tom reached the 
 shore. Regaining his feet, he staggered towards the 
 fire, about which two or three dark forms were 
 moving. 
 
 ""Who's thar?" demanded a rough voice; and 
 then followed the sharp click of a rifle hammer 
 drawn back. 
 
 Tom, unable to speak, answered the query by- 
 tottering forward and falling insensible just inside 
 the circle of firelight. 
 
 "Thar, the water's about drained out of him; now 
 turn him over, Steve." 
 
 Like one in a half waking dream, Tom felt him- 
 self laid gently on a pile of skins by strong hands. 
 Then a fiery liquid was poured down his throat, 
 and, after a short period of strangling, he opened 
 his eyes. 
 
 " He's comin' round ail right. Now, Steve, rus'le 
 inside the tepee, and tell Nita to send out a towel 
 and some dry clo'es." 
 
 The speaker was a short man with shaggy beard 
 and unkempt hair, who, as he spoke, replaced the 
 cork in the neck of the black bottle, and rose to his 
 feet. 
 
 A tall Indian lad, who had been standing near 
 Tom's head, hurried inside what appeared to be a 
 camp or wigwam, into whose open entrance shone 
 the cheery firelight. The speaker, without much 
 ceremony, divested Tom of his soaked clothing. 
 
 The Indian, who had been addressed by the un- 
 romantic name of Steve, then proceeded to rub 
 Tom into animation with a rough towel, and assist 
 him into a dry woolen shirt and a pair of dilapi- 
 dated trousers.
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 83 
 
 "Bueno you better now," he said, in a low and 
 rather musical voice, as Tom raised himself to a 
 sitting posture, and held out his numbed fingers to 
 the blaze. 
 
 " Course he's better," interposed the rough voiced 
 man, who was bringing out Tom's wet garments and 
 hanging them about the fire. " Hyar, Nita 1" 
 
 In answer to the call, a woman of somewhat dark 
 but comely features appeared at the door of the 
 tepee. Her long black hair fell loose over the 
 reboza which was crossed in Mexican style about her 
 breast and shoulders. 
 
 "Bring out that there medicine bag; his head 
 wants tendin' to." 
 
 The woman obeyed in silence. Carefully remov- 
 ing the blood stained handkerchief, she washed the 
 wound with soft fibers of the soap plant, dipped in 
 warm water, and bound it up again with rags, on 
 which a pungent smelling ointment had been 
 spread. Then she went back to the tepee without 
 having once spoken. 
 
 The bearded man seated himself beside the blazo, 
 and proceeded to light a short black pipe. Tom 
 was vainly trying to collect his confused ideas, so as 
 to explain his unexpected arrival. 
 
 " Mebbe you've heard of Rube Lund, the Injun 
 trader; I'm him," Tom's new friend finally re- 
 marked, after vainly waiting for the boy to speak. 
 
 "I'm my name is Tom Dean," returned Tom, 
 putting his hands to his aching head. " I and an- 
 other man have been placer mining back of Bonanza 
 City. Some one shot at me today Chinaman, I 
 think. I fell into the river " 
 
 " Good Lord !" interrupted Mr. Lund, taking his 
 pipe from his mouth, and staring aghast at the 
 speaker. " Fell inter the river up thar 1 Why, man 
 alive, you've come through the rapids of the Black
 
 64 THAT TREASURE 
 
 Canyon, that runs twenty miles an hour, and over 
 tlie lower fall. It's plain to see you never was born 
 to be drownded !" 
 
 " No," said Tom, beginning to talk very loud and 
 fast, as he stared confusedly around him. " The 
 professor used to say I was born to good luck, 
 though it would be a long time coming. But I must 
 go and find Dolly " 
 
 At this moment the Indian woman stepped from 
 the tepee, with a cup containing a dark colored 
 liquid in her hand. 
 
 " Drink," she said, quietly, and she placed the 
 potion to his lips. Tom instinctively obeyed. 
 
 "That stuff 11 make you sleep like lodlum. I 
 reck'n you'd better turn in to once," said Rube 
 Lund. He motioned to the Indian lad, and the two 
 helped Tom, who felt strangely dull and heavy, to 
 climb beneath the white tilt of a great prairie 
 wagon. The rear of the clumsy vehicle was piled 
 up with dressed skins, upon which Tom stretched 
 his aching limbs, after vainly trying to express his 
 thanks connectedly. 
 
 " Hope he ain't goin' to hev a fever; wot'n thun- 
 der will we do with him if he is ?" growled Lund, 
 in an undertone, as Nita laid her cool hand on 
 Tom's burning brow, and shook her head doubt- 
 fully. 
 
 But that was just what was in store for Tom 
 Dean. 
 
 Four long weeks of half delirium, burning heat, 
 and torturing thirst; and all the while the heavy 
 prairie schooner went creaking and rolling over the 
 plains. 
 
 But through all this, Nita, the Indian woman, and 
 "Steve," as Mr. Lund rendered his Mexican name 
 of Stefano, rode close beside the wagon and gave 
 every possible attention to their patient.
 
 THAT TKEASURE. 86 
 
 One lovely summer evening Tom awoke to con- 
 sciousness, to find the tilted wagon at a standstill 
 by the side of a gently flowing stream, bordered 
 with the universal cottonwood and willow. All 
 around stood the picturesque tepees of the peaceful 
 Navajos, whcse vast herds of sheep dotted the sur- 
 rounding plain. 
 
 " I don't know how I shall ever pay you for all 
 the kindness you and yours have shown me, Mr. 
 Lund," said Tom, as ho sat upright on the pile of 
 buffalo skins, and drank in the free life giving air. 
 
 " You kin pay me, if you wanter, outer one o' them 
 thousan' dollar bills that's in the leather memoran- 
 dum book I dried fer you along of your clo'es," re- 
 plied Lund. He allowed no false delicacy to inter- 
 fere with business, and had taken Tom's remark in 
 its most literal sense. 
 
 Tom gazed in the trader's face in blank astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 "I don't know what you mean," he returned; bnt 
 Mr. Lund only laughed grimly, as he produced the 
 professor's diary, considerably the worse for its wet- 
 ting, from an inside pocket. 
 
 "No, I s'pose not," was the dry answer; "only 
 'pears to me it's a kinder resky bizness luggin' five 
 thousan' dollars round in a kentry \\har yer life 
 wudn't be wuth a busted ketrige shell ef it war 
 knowed you hed a quarter of it." 
 
 Extending the book as he spoke, Tom's trembling 
 fingers released the elastic band. Between the dis- 
 colored leaves, where in some places the writing 
 was almost illegible, lay five one thousand dollar 
 notes, not very much the worse for their recent wet- 
 ting and drying.
 
 86 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTEK XL 
 
 BLACK CLOUD, THE APACHE CHIEF. 
 
 LIKE a sudden revelation, it was all made plain to 
 Tom, though he could hardly believe the evidence 
 of his own eye sight. 
 
 On the night of the professor's tragical death, 
 feeling perhaps more than usually uneasy about 
 himself, he had probably mistrusted the safety of the 
 little legacy which he had intended for Tom. 
 
 He must have taken the bills from the old pocket 
 book, and placed them carefully between the leaves 
 of the diary, as the securest hiding place he could 
 think of; or, as Tom was more inclined to think, 
 Professor Dean had risen in his sleep and thus con- 
 cealed them. In either case the robber, foiled of 
 his plunder, had perhaps allowed some expression 
 of anger to escape his lips, thus awaking the 
 professor, who had succumbed to the sudden shock. 
 
 Tom had carried the diary in an inside pocket of 
 his woolen shirt, meaning some day or other to look 
 it over; but so many things had happened since the 
 professor's death, that he had never done as he in- 
 tended. 
 
 All these things passed rapidly through Tom's 
 mind, as he sat holding the partly open diary be- 
 tween his thin fingers. Mr. Lund's greedy eyes 
 were covetously fastened on the five greenbacks. 
 
 " I kin change one o' them bills, if you say so," h
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 87 
 
 insinuatingly remarked. Tom roused himself from 
 his reverie. 
 
 " What sort of an outfit can you supply me with ?" 
 he asked, " and what will it cost ?" 
 
 The question was music to the trader's ears. 
 What could not he supply in the way of an outfit ': 
 The Indian trader is not supposed to deal in fire- 
 arms or ammunition, yet Mr. Lund was able to fur- 
 nish Tom with a Winchester, and a revolver, to- 
 gether with an abundant supply of cartridges for 
 both. A stout hunting knife, a sombrero, and a 
 haversack containing the various necessaries of the 
 plainsman, were brought forth from the stores of 
 the wagon . Through the agency of the trader, Tom 
 also became the owner of a sturdy Navajo pony, 
 with the needed equipments, and when all these 
 were reckoned up, and Tom had made a liberal pres- 
 ent to his kindly entertainer, he found that he still 
 had five hundred dollars out of the broken bank 
 bill, to put away with the remaining four notes. 
 
 " An' now ef you wanter keep along of us for a 
 spell whilst we're a-workin' to the nor'ard, to'ards 
 Holcomb, whar I'm cal'latin' to store the wool an' 
 skins I've picked up this trip, you're welkim to," gra- 
 ciously remarked Mr. Lund. 
 
 Tom gladly accepted the offer. He had grown 
 very fond of Stefano, who, though quiet and reti- 
 cent like Nita, was very intelligent, a perfect horse- 
 man, a splendid rifle shot, and devoted to his Indian 
 mother. 
 
 Moreover, Tom was gaining health and strength 
 with wonderful rapidity in this life giving air. As 
 he learned from the trader that the wagon trail to 
 Holcomb passed a few miles to the westward of Bo- 
 nanza City, he knew it would be wise for him to 
 journey in Mr. Lund's company till he was strong 
 enough to strike out for himself.
 
 88 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Of course Tom's one definite purpose was to re- 
 turn to the mining camp, to learn the fate of his 
 friends, and of his little fortune as well. That the 
 two Chinamen had conspired to kill and plunder 
 Mr. Sherard and himself was beyond the shadow of 
 a doubt. How far their dastardly scheme had suc- 
 ceeded, with relation to the former, was as prob- 
 lematical as the fate of Miss Dolly. Tom ground 
 his teeth in silent rage as he thought of the cold- 
 blooded villainy of the unscrupulous fiends, one of 
 whom had so nearly ended his own life. 
 
 Tom was sitting near the wagon, on the evening 
 before the day appointed by Mr. Lund for their de- 
 parture. He had not quite regained his wonted 
 strength ; yet every day was adding to it. His face 
 was filling out, and the color returning to his pale 
 cheeks. In fact, Tom Dean was beginning to feel 
 something like his former self. 
 
 Stefano was away antelope hunting. Mr. Lund 
 was at the further end of the Indian settlement, 
 closing his final transaction in wool, while Nita 
 stood motionless in the door of the tepee. Her dark, 
 melancholy eyes were fixed on the glowing western 
 sky. She wore a tunic of buckskin reaching to the 
 knee, fringed with antelope hide cut in narrow 
 strips; leggins of the same material, and beaded 
 moccasins, with a scarlet reboza thrown carelessly 
 over her shoulders. 
 
 "Nita must have been a remarkably handsome 
 Indian girl when she married her first husband, the 
 Mexican ranchero^ mused Tom, to whom Stefano 
 had confided part of their simple history; "and how 
 she ever came to take old Lund, who must be al- 
 most double her own age, for number two beats 
 me." 
 
 As these thoughts flitted through his brain, he 
 saw Nita suddenly draw her fine figure to its fullest
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 89 
 
 height. Her dark eyes emitted an angry light, as 
 they rested upon the form of an approaching horse- 
 man, who had ridden up noiselessly from the ford 
 of the brawling stream. Tom instinctively reached 
 out for his rifle, as he followed the direction of the 
 Indian woman's look. 
 
 The object of Nita's gaze was a stalwart and brutal 
 featured Apache Indian, dressed in buckskin. His 
 saddle was an elaborate affair, fringed with what 
 were evidently scalp locks. The cantle was notched 
 for the rider's heel, so that he could swing himself 
 at full gallop over his pony's side, with his left arm 
 thrust through the rawhide loop which hung from 
 the pommel, to escape flying bullets. 
 
 Tom looked round for Nita, but she had slipped 
 into the tepee. Keeping the tilted cart between liim 
 and the Navajo encampment, the Indian walked his 
 pony toward Tom, as the latter rose quickly to his 
 feet. 
 
 " Hu !" ejaculated the Apache, with a scowl. Tom 
 showed no signs of being overawed by this warlike 
 apparition, but rather regarded him with a look of 
 extreme dislike. " Where ol' Rube eh ?" the In- 
 dian went on. 
 
 " He's away," curtly answered Tom. 
 
 " J Way where?" was the response. 
 
 " I don't know," replied Tom, shortly and sharply, 
 and again the Apache uttered the ejaculatory "Hu!" 
 and seemed to study what next to say. 
 
 " Me Black Cloud big warrior," said the Indian, 
 after a pause, slapping his brawny chest. " Me come 
 long way buy ca'tridge for hunt buff'lo nex' mont'. 
 Plenty money have s'pose you sell um all same ol' 
 Rube." 
 
 " 1 haven't anything to do with Mr. Lund's busi- 
 ness, and if I had I wouldn't sell you a cartridge to 
 save your worthless life !" Tom blazed out. For the
 
 90 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 sight of a few short blonde tresses among the scalp 
 locks which decorated the Indian's saddle naps had 
 stirred him to the quick. He felt his anger rising 
 higher and higher as he stood facing the scowling 
 Apache, who at that moment, as Tom was quite sure, 
 was decked out with the arms and equipments taken 
 from some slain victim. 
 
 Suddenly Nita stepped from the tepee, her dark 
 eyes flashing with mingled excitement and wrath; 
 and without a word she leveled the cocked rifle in 
 her hands at Black Cloud's breast. 
 
 "Nita!" cried Tom, springing forward. But her 
 finger was already touching the trigger, and the In- 
 dian, who was sitting as though paralyzed at the 
 sudden apparition, involuntarily closed his eyes. 
 
 "Click!" and the hammer fell on the edge of an 
 imperfect cartridge. 
 
 Before the disappointed Indian woman could re- 
 cock tne rifle, Black Cloud, with a triumphant yell, 
 wheeled his pony sharply round and dashed away at 
 full speed across the shallow creek. He was fol- 
 lowed by an ineffectual ball from the rifle of old 
 Rube's step son, who had that moment appeared on 
 the scene. 
 
 Nita looked reproachfully at her weapon as the 
 Indian disappeared behind a sand hill on the oppo- 
 site side of the creek. 
 
 "Not miss next time, " she muttered, vengefully; 
 "life for life he kill my husban I kill him." 
 
 At this moment Mr. Lund arrived upon the 
 scene. 
 
 "Now, then, what does all this 'ere mean?" he 
 fiercely demanded, clutching at the shoulder of his 
 step son, while Tom stood looking from one to the 
 other in mute astonishment. 
 
 Nita stepped swiftly between the two men. 
 
 "You dare lay a finger on my Stefano 1" she ex>
 
 THAT TREASURE. 91 
 
 claimed, in a voice of repressed passion; and the 
 trader stepped back with something like alarm on 
 his rugged features. 
 
 " She's goin' to hev one uv her tantrums," Tom 
 heard him mutter under his breata; but Nita went 
 on as though she had not heard him. 
 
 " Black Cloud shoot my husban' Manuel three 
 year 'go on our ranch," she said, fiercely; "you 
 know that ?" 
 
 It was evident from his look of something like dis- 
 comfiture that Mr. Lund had not known it. 
 
 " Lord, no, Nita," he replied, in a subdued voice; 
 " you never said who it were, an' I never heard no 
 one say " 
 
 " He shoot him, that why I try kill him," inter- 
 rupted Stefano, bending his flashing eyes upon his 
 step father's abashed face, " an' next time I shoot 
 more straight." 
 
 " Oh, come now, Steve," began the trader, coax- 
 ingly, and evading the point at issue; "there ain't 
 no use makin' all this fuss. Black Cloud is after 
 buff'ler, that's all. D'ye suppose," he added, in a 
 louder voice, as Stefano turned away with a con- 
 temptuous gesture, " I'd sell ketridges to him or 
 any other Injun, if I thought they wanted 'em for 
 anythin' but huntin' ?" 
 
 " Yes," scornfully replied Nita; " I s'pose you sell 
 me sell Stefano so you gets plenty moneys. But 
 look out !" she added, raising her hand warningly as 
 Lund was about to reply; " look out; mebbe some 
 day Black Cloud shoot you, same he did Manuel, 
 an' use same catridge you sell him." 
 
 Drawing herself proudly erect as she uttered this 
 cheerful prophecy, Nita followed her son into the 
 tepee. 
 
 On the following morning the mules were har- 
 nessed up, the ponies saddled; and before the sun
 
 92 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 had fairly raised his ruddy face above the distant 
 ranges of wooded hills in the east, the little caval- 
 cade was in motion. 
 
 The trader himself was singularly gloomy and 
 depressed for a man who had cleared at least a thou-' 
 sand dollars by his exchange and barter with the 
 Navajos. He talked but little, and Tom noticed 
 that he was continually sweeping the distant hori- 
 zon with an old field glass which was among the 
 w ago u stores. 
 
 "He begin to be 'fraid that Nita said true," ob^ 
 served Stefano, in an undertone, as he called the at' 
 tention of Tom to his step father's manifest uneasi- 
 ness. 
 
 But neither Stefano nor Nita, who rode her pony 
 man fashion, a little in the rear, made any fuither 
 allusion to the incidents of the previous afternoon, 
 rather to Tom's relief. 
 
 Day after day the heavy wagon rolled onward 
 without interruption, though monotonously alterna- 
 ting sand barrens, alkali plains, and rolling prairie; 
 and Tom began to weary of the unvarying sameness 
 of the scenery. 
 
 Something of this he hinted to the trader one af- 
 ternoon, about ten days after leaving the Navajo 
 settlement. 
 
 " Wall, jest to accommodate, I've b'en keepin' 
 c'nsider'ble furder to the west'ard this return trip," 
 replied Lund; " an' if all goes well I cal'late by ter- 
 night we'll camp alongside Bonanza River, not but 
 a little ways above the canyon you come through 
 the night you run acrost us." And very much as- 
 tonished, no less than delighted, was Tom, when 
 with his whipstock the trader pointed out the blue 
 thread of the river in the distance. 
 
 Tom shrewdly suspected that the change of route 
 had not been made so much for his own accommo-
 
 THAT TEEASURE. 93 
 
 dation as to insure the certainty of his further com- 
 panionship as far as Holcomb, Mr. Lund having not 
 yet recovered from his Indian scare. 
 
 By four o'clock in the afternoon the distant set- 
 tlement was in sight, and, hastily explaining his in- 
 tentions to Nita aud Stefano, Tom rode rapidly for- 
 ward, leaving the wagon to follow at a slow pace to 
 a camping place on the river banks. 
 
 With a beating heart he urged his pony up the 
 slight ascent leading to the little bridge, which he 
 had crossed so many weeks before with his three 
 companions. 
 
 But what was this ? As the pony's feet clattered 
 over the rough boarding of the bridge, which seemed 
 to have been newly restored, he was fain to rub his 
 eyes and stare about him in bewildered astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 Bonanza City, but no longer deserted ! Smoke 
 was rising from some of the stone chimneys. The 
 once grass grown street was trodden quite hard and 
 smooth. Many of the shaky frame buildings had 
 been repaired; some had new tent shaped roofs, and 
 moving here and there through the long main 
 thoroughfare were roughly dressed individuals in 
 mining costume. 
 
 Nor were the changes confined to the town alone. 
 The hillsides, where Tom had toiled with Mr. 
 Sherard, were dotted with men. Great gullies, 
 trenches and ditches could be seen, and cavities in 
 the slope where tons of earth had been dislodged 
 by hydraulic streams from a "Little Giant" nozzle. 
 An immense flume extended downward from the 
 hillside nearly as far as the bridge, along which the 
 miners were busy with pick and spade.
 
 94 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIL 
 
 A CHANGE AT BONANZA CITY. 
 
 OF course it was at once apparent to Tom that a 
 new colony had struck Bonanza City. With a 
 strange mixture of emotions he turned his pony's 
 head towards the Retreat, which had been the scene 
 of so many tragic events. 
 
 Three or four men were lounging about the door, 
 as Tom sprang from his saddle. The Retreat 
 seemed to have undergone the same renovation as 
 the other buildings. The doors were restored to 
 place, whole glass had been substituted for the 
 broken panes, and from the barroom came the 
 sound of loud laughter and clinking tumblers. 
 
 Something else came from the barroom. It was 
 an immense brindle mastiff, whose joyous whimper 
 was echoed by Tom's exclamation of astonishment 
 and delight. Amid the audibly expressed amaze- 
 ment of the bystanders, the great dog planted its 
 huge fore feet against Tom's shoulders, and tried to 
 lick his face with its rough tongue. 
 
 "Hallo, Bob Cope, come out here and see yer big 
 dog makin' love to this stranger," called out one of 
 the idlers. 
 
 Bob Cope ! Why, that was the name of William's 
 former mining companion. But how had Brave 
 for, indeed, it was the sturdy old mastiff come to 
 be called Bob Cope's dog? And even as he re- 
 turned Brave's eager caresses, Tom's heart sank like
 
 THAT TREASURE. 95 
 
 lead. Where, then, was Mr. Sherard and where 
 was Dolly? 
 
 A heavily built man, wearing a clay soiled woolen 
 ehirt and dilapidated trousers tucked into long 
 'legged rubber boots, came out on the rough stoop, 
 followed by two or three others. 
 
 " It's the fust time I ever see Brave take notice of 
 a stranger; reck'n he must a seen you before, young 
 feller," remarked Bob Cope, before Tom could put 
 the question which was trembling on his tongue. 
 
 "Brave and I are old acquaintances," returned 
 Tom, setting his rifle against the side of the house. 
 " He belonged to a Mr. Sherard, who, with his 
 daughter, is a friend of mine, and we three were the 
 only occupants of Bonanza City for quite a little 
 time, till a few weeks ago " 
 
 "Wai, I'll be skelped!" 
 
 Bob's abrupt and somewhat unusual exclamation 
 had brought Tom's explanation to a sudden close; 
 he clapped his huge hand on Tom's shoulder and 
 stared at him in open mouthed amazement ! 
 
 " Boys," he said, turning to the interested onlook- 
 ers, " hyar's a a reg'lar com bination. This 
 here, I reckon, is the youug chap Mr. Sherard an' 
 Miss Dolly 'specially she took on so about, when 
 I broke the news to 'em of how we foun' the signs 
 where he'd be'n shot an' throwed inter the stream 
 by one o' them Chinymen. Here he is fer he don't 
 deny his own name riz as it were from the dead ; 
 an' his fren's has gone off, the Lord only knows 
 where, a-mournin' fer him as layin' in the silent 
 tomb, or leastwise shot an' drownded, which is nigh 
 about the same. The very fellow," continued Mr. 
 Cope, who seemed almost moved to tears by his own 
 eloquence, " as Mr. Sherard toF me my respectid 
 fren' an* late pardner William unhappily deceased 
 through a yeller skinned Chinyman allowed to be
 
 96 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 as plucky a young chap as need be ; an' praise from 
 the lamented William was wuth havin'." 
 
 Tom Dean's reception by the miners of Bonanza, 
 after Cope's introduction, was cordial in the ex- 
 treme. So much so, in fact, that he found it diffi- 
 cult to refuse the natural outcome of Western* 
 cordiality, in the shape of invitations to drink, 
 without giving offense. 
 
 But steadfastly declining the various proffers of 
 the kind Tom stood firmly outside the barroom 
 door, where he was joined by Bob Cope, who mo- 
 tioned him to a seat beside himself, on the wooden 
 bench on the stoop. 
 
 While his companion was filling and lighting his 
 pipe, Tom gave him a brief account of his own nar- 
 row escape from death at the hands of one of the 
 Chinamen, and his subsequent meeting with the In- 
 dian trader. 
 
 "You had a close call, for a fact," remarked Bob, 
 with a glance at the newly healed wound as Tom re- 
 moved his sombrero; "an* I reck'n that twixt the 
 shootin' an' bein' kerried through the Black Canyon, 
 an' over the fall, you. won't cjme no nigher passin* 
 in yer checks, if you live to be older'n Methusalem." 
 
 " But Mr. Sherard and Miss Dolly what of them, 
 Mr. Cope ?" impatiently interrupted Tom. 
 
 Whereupon with provoking deliberation the 
 miner told his eager listener the facts concerning 
 the two, with which we are already familiar. 
 
 " An' now about the gol'," Cope went on. " Sher- 
 ard was dretf ul put to it to know what to do with 
 your half. From what you'd tol' him, he said, he 
 didn't know as you'd a relashun in the world, an 1 
 bein' mor'lly certing them wuz his own words 
 you had diseased this life, he didn't know how to 
 figger it no way." 
 
 " Well," said Tom, as Cope calmly paused.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 97 
 
 " He left it to us finlly," Mr. Cope went on, " an' we 
 settled it tbis way ; accordiu' to minin' reggerla- 
 shuns, he, as survivin' pardner, wuz warranted in 
 takin' your pile hisself, an' holdin' of hisself re- 
 sponserbel if any legal claimant ever turned up. 
 So, arter it wuz settled, Mr. Sherard an' Miss Dolly 
 lef far Holcom', along of one uv our wagins that 
 was goin' after more supplies ; fer we struck the pay 
 sti'eak all right the secon' day, an' are makin' a good 
 thing uv it, considerin'." 
 
 "But where were they going from Holcomb?" 
 eagerly inquired Tom. 
 
 This was the most important point of all. Bob 
 Cope was unable to answer. No one had thought 
 to inquire, and Mr. Sherard had omitted to leave 
 anything like a future address. They had reluct- 
 antly left Brave behind, on account, as Mr. Sherard 
 said, of the uncertainty of his further movements. 
 Tom had heard the former mention New York as hia 
 native city, and as the residence of friends and rela- 
 tives ; yet there was no certainty that he had gone 
 thither. 
 
 "You can fin' out likely enough by inquirin' to 
 Holcom' whar they bought tickets fer," suggested 
 Cope, as Tom, with a troubled face, recalled these 
 facts. With this scanty grain of comfort, and the 
 assurance of his friends' safety, he was fain to be 
 content. 
 
 " Holcom'," continued Cope, meditatively, as Tom 
 rose to take his departure, " Holcom', fer its size, is 
 one o' the liveliest an* sosherblest little minin' 
 towns this side the Rockies, considerin' that eight 
 year or so ago I've seen buff'ler shot whar the main 
 street is, but " 
 
 " But what ? " inquired his hearer, as the miner 
 paused, with a dubious shake of his head. 
 
 " Wall, it's here," said Bob, with a little embar-
 
 98 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 rassment; "the Holcom' boys is a bit techy, ef they 
 run across a stranger that don't corne to time when 
 he's ast to drink. Ef I wuz you, speakin' as a frieu', 
 I wouldn't be offish, like you wuz with the fellers in 
 thar," indicating by a gesture the barroom, from 
 which came the sound of loud voices, and louder 
 laughter. 
 
 " I don't mean to be rude," firmly replied Tom, 
 " but I never yet touched liquor, and what's more, 
 I never mean to. And the Holcomb boys, or any 
 one else, will find it hard work to drive me into 
 doing anything I don't think is right," he added, 
 with a certain compression of his lips, which 
 brought an involuntary nod of approval from the 
 miner. 
 
 " I ruther guess they would," he remarked, dryly; 
 " you don't look like a chap that could be played 
 fer a tenderfoot easy. I guess, by the look uv 
 things," Bob continued, with a glance at Brave, who 
 had started to his feet when Tom rose, and was 
 looking anxiously in his face, " thet I'll hev to let 
 Brave go along uv you whether I want to or not 
 here, Brave, Brave 1 " 
 
 But the mastiff paid not the slightest heed. He 
 followed close at Tom's heels, as the latter re- 
 mounted his pony, and had evidently made up his 
 mind to stick by him. 
 
 " I shall be only too glad to have him," was the 
 hearty rejoinder. 
 
 " An' say," continued Cope, stooping down from 
 the stoop and resting his hand on the saddle bow, 
 "I don't like ol' Babe Lund none too well, for I 
 know he's sold army muskits an' ammynishun to 
 reservashun Injuns on the sly; but you can tell him 
 frum me, that he'd better keep the ol' wagin trail to 
 Holcom' instid uv crossin' the divide. Some of our 
 fellers see plenty of Tache signs within five miles
 
 THAT TREASURE. 99 
 
 of here, on'y two days ago. I don't keer much wot 
 comes to him," added Cope, with unpleasant frank- 
 ness, " but I wouldn't want you to come to harm; 
 no more I wouldn't that ar' Injun wife an' her boy, 
 both uv which is a heap too good fer him; so keep 
 yer eyes peeled, an' good luck go with you." 
 
 "With this friendly injunction and wish ringing in 
 his ears, Tom, having heartily shaken the hand of 
 the sturdy miner, turned his horse's head away from 
 the little settlement, where lights were beginning 
 to appear in some of the windows, and rode across 
 the bridge through the fast gathering twilight.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XJIL 
 
 A TRAGEDY ON THE PLAINS. 
 
 IN vain Tom glanced up and down the banks of 
 the stream. No sign of firelight could be seen, 
 though at the ordinary rate of travel, Lund and his 
 little party should have reached their camping spot 
 long before. 
 
 Thinking every moment to hear the creaking of 
 the heavy wagon, and old Rube's profanely ener- 
 getic remarks addressed to the mule team, Tom 
 urged his pony forward along the almost indistin- 
 guishable trail. It was possible that a tire might 
 have come off, or an axle broken. Both of these 
 accidents had occurred during the trip, and they 
 would readily account for the delay; so he felt no 
 particular uneasiness until a low whine from 
 Brave caused him to pull up his pony and listen in- 
 tently. 
 
 Far away, and in a direction quite contrary to 
 that which he had expected, sounded the roll of 
 the heavy wagon wheels through the stillness of the 
 night. 
 
 " They must have got off the track somehow, and 
 are going in the wrong direction for the river," 
 thought Tom, with a feeling of relief. Unwisely he 
 left the trail, a well worn buffalo path of other days, 
 and urged his pony forward in the direction of the
 
 THAT TREASURE. 101 
 
 sounds he had heard, occasionally shouting Lund's 
 name. 
 
 Suddenly the pony stopped with a snort of terror, 
 which was echoed by a deep growl from the mastiff, 
 ' who was keeping a little in advance. 
 
 "Afraid of a dead tree trunk get on with you !" 
 exclaimed Tom, in an irritated tcne, as he saw an 
 indistinct dark shape lying on a grayish soil. 
 
 But his pony, usually tractable and obedient, re- 
 fused to budge; while Brave, with bristling back 
 and repeated growls, stood " pointing " at the ob- 
 ject in evident uneasiness. 
 
 "Now what on earth " began Tom; and spring- 
 ing from the saddle he fumbled in his haversack, 
 where he succeeded in finding a solitary match. As 
 he struck it sharply on the barrel of his rifle, his 
 pony, with another snort, wheeled about and gal- 
 loped off at full speed whether in the direction of 
 the mining town or not Tom was unable to tell, for 
 he was completely turned round ! 
 
 But his vexation at tbis unexpected mishap was 
 lost sight of for the moment in the shock he re- 
 ceived when, by the glimmer of the lighted match, 
 he saw before him the lifeless body of a man. 
 
 Applying the match with shaking fingers to a 
 bunch of dried sage brush which he hastily pulled, 
 Tom uttered a great exclamation of horror. 
 
 It was Rube Lund himself who lay pierced with a 
 score of Indian arrows, with ghastly, upturned f^^ce 
 and outstretched hands. It was a sight which 
 haunted Tom's dreams for many a night afterward. 
 
 And now it was that Tom Dean's zeal far outran 
 his good judgment. He thought of Nita and her 
 step son, to whose care and nursing he probably 
 owed his life, as prisoners in the hands of redskins 
 who had slain the old trader, and were driving off 
 his wagon.
 
 102 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 Before he could reach the settlement, by the as- 
 sistance of the mastiff's sagacity, and give the 
 alarm, the Indians and their captives would be miles 
 away. He had learned from William that the 
 Apaches hated the Navajos with a hatred equaling 
 that of the latter for the former, and he did not* 
 doubt that Nita or her son would be put to torture 
 at the first available moment. 
 
 If he could emulate some of the border heroes of 
 whom he had read and heard, and contrive in some 
 way by stealth or stratagem to at least make an 
 effort to release his friends ! 
 
 As these thoughts passed rapidly through his 
 mind, Tom pulled his handkerchief from his neck 
 and knotted it to Brave's collar. 
 
 " Go, Brave," he whispered, pointing in the direc- 
 tion in which he supposed Bonanza City might be. 
 The mastiff hesitated and held back, looking in 
 Tom's face as though to beg that he might not be 
 sent away. 
 
 " Go !" repeated Tom in a sharp undertone; and 
 with evident reluctance Brave disappeared. 
 
 Again the faint and distant creaking of the pond- 
 erous wagon wheels reached Tom's ear. With a 
 slight shudder he stepped over the inanimate form 
 of old Rube Lund, and followed as rapidly as he 
 could in the direction of the sound. 
 
 Tom felt sure, whether he succeeded in his own 
 undertaking or not, that the miners would sooner 
 or later follow, if Brave himself reached the settle- 
 ment to lead them back. 
 
 So reasoning, he hurried forward as fast as pos- 
 sible, guided by the sound of the wheels grinding 
 over the dry, caked soil. As the moon began show- 
 ing her face over the nearest range, Tom caught a 
 glance of the white wagon tilt entering a dark de- 
 file between two tolerably well wooded hills, through
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 108 
 
 which he remembered having passed that very 
 afternoon. 
 
 " I wonder how much further they mean to go," 
 muttered Tom, discontentedly. As he reached the 
 deep shadows cast by the overhanging cliff at the 
 entrance, his question was answered by the glimmer 
 of a newly started camp fire. As it blazed into 
 brightness, Tom counted something like a dozen or 
 more dark forms dismounting from their ponies. He 
 crept nearer, perfectly sheltered by the underbrush, 
 and saw the tired mules untethered from the wagon, 
 and led to a mountain pool or spring close by. 
 
 Sheltered by a dense thicket of mesquite, Tom, 
 not twenty feet from the blaze, could see and hear 
 all that passed without incurring the slightest risk 
 of detection. 
 
 And the first discovery he made as the band 
 gathered about the blaze, toasting strips of 
 *' jerked " deer meat over the glowing embers, was 
 that Black Cloud, whose ferocious features and un- 
 usually burly build he would have recognized 
 among a thousand, was the leader of the gang. 
 
 That Nita and Stefano were nowhere to be seen, 
 was his next discovery. A moment or two later, 
 however, in obedience to a muttered order from 
 Black Cloud, one of the Apaches approached and 
 threw back the wagon tilt, and Tom caught a 
 glimpse of two forms, lying on the skins or wool 
 packs, which he felt sure were those of the prisoners. 
 
 The hours wore on, and Tom listened in vain for 
 any sound or sign to tell him that the Bonanza City 
 miners were anywhere in the vicinity. One after 
 another of the Apaches wrapped himself in his 
 blanket and lay down with his feet to the blaze, 
 leaving Black Cloud and four others standing guard, 
 more from habit, it seemed, than from fear of lurk- 
 ing enemies.
 
 104 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Only Black Cloud and two or three of his sub- 
 ordinates had firearms. The others were provided 
 with the knife, hatchet, and stout lancewoud bow, 
 which latter, even at the present day, is carried, in 
 addition to a rifle, by some of the border tribes. 
 
 From this, Tom inferred that the main object of 
 capturing the wagon had been to obtain more fire- 
 arms. That they had been disappointed in this, 
 Tom was quite sure; he remembered having heard 
 the trader say that he had sold the last of a few 
 condemned army carbines to the Navajos of whom 
 he had purchased his wool. 
 
 As he was vaguely conjecturing what the Apaches 
 would do with their prize, and wishing that the 
 dozing sentinels would drift off into slumber, so 
 that he could attempt his release of the two 
 captives, Black Cloud rose, and walked to the 
 wagon. 
 
 A moment later Kita and her son were assisted 
 rather rudely to the ground, the thongs about their 
 ankles being loosened enough to allow them to be 
 led nearer the fire. A skin was thrown on the 
 ground, upon which the two captives were forced 
 to recline. 
 
 Black Cloud rolled himself in his blanket and lay 
 down a few feet away, with his gun at his side. A 
 tall Apache sat on the other side of the prisoners, 
 with his back against a rock; the glow of the fire 
 threw his ferocious features into strong relief as he, 
 from time to time, drowsily replenished the fire. 
 
 An idea occurred to Tom. Softly withdrawing 
 from the thicket, he made a long detour which 
 brought him to the opposite side of the fire, still 
 hidden by the dense underbrush. Here, he worked 
 away with his hunting knife as noiselessly as pos- 
 sible, and succeeded in cutting and trimming a long 
 stout sapling.
 
 THAT TBEASUKE. 105 
 
 To one end of this he laslied the handle of the 
 keen double edged knife, with a thong of dried elk 
 skin which he found in his haversack. 
 
 Leaving his rifle where he could find it, Tom laid 
 himself flat on the ground and began worming him- 
 self through the thick clumps of alder and bois 
 d'arc, dragging the pole after him, till he reached 
 the edge of the little clearing in which the fire was 
 built. 
 
 Had not the Apaches been so certain of their per- 
 fect security, Tom could never have reached this 
 point without betraying his presence. He was not 
 skilled enough in woodcraft to imitate the noiseless 
 movement of the redskin or crafty scout. 
 
 The rustle of the leaves, the occasional snap of a 
 twig, and similar trifling sounds, would have been 
 at once detected; but the old Apache's usually 
 sharp ear was dulled, and his eyes heavy with sleep, 
 against the approach of which he was spasmodic- 
 ally struggling. 
 
 Nearer and yet nearer, and with his heart in his 
 mouth, Tom began extending the pole, inch by inch, 
 beyond him, till the end with the hunting knife 
 touched the shoulder of Stefano, whose eyes turned 
 downward toward it. 
 
 Not a muscle of his dark face moved. Without 
 changing the position of his body, he succeeded in 
 bringing his bound wrists to the ground in such a 
 way that Tom began softly sawing away at the raw- 
 hide thongs. 
 
 Suddenly the sentinel Apache uttered a convul- 
 sive snort, opened his eyes and glanced sharply 
 about him. Tom, almost paralyzed with fear, sus- 
 pended operations, and held his very breath. 
 
 The Indian looked at his prisoners, but they were 
 lying motionless, with closed eyes. Luckily the 
 pole itself was hidden by the short, thick grass.
 
 106 THAT TKEASURE. 
 
 The Apache tossed another billet of dry wood upon 
 the fire, and pulled his greasy blanket a little more 
 closely about his neck. He listened intently for a 
 moment, and then fell into another doze. 
 
 One or two more movements, and the sapling was 
 softly drawn from Tom's hands! A breathless 
 pause ensued, during which, as Tom conjectured, 
 Stefauo was getting the knife loose. Then he saw 
 the Indian lad reaching down and severing the 
 lashings about his own and his mother's ankles ! 
 Nita's wrists were then freed and w r hat next ? 
 
 "Good heavens!" muttered Tom. "I never 
 thought of that !" 
 
 For each had risen to a half sitting posture. 
 Stefano, whose glowing eyes were steadfastly fixed 
 on the sleeping guard, as though to spring tipon 
 him like a young mountain tiger at the first sign of 
 his awaking, silently passed the knife to Nita. 
 
 Drawing her lithe form forward, the Indian 
 woman crept snake-like toward her enf my, Black 
 Cloud, the slayer of her Mexican husband. 
 
 "With every nerve at a tension, Tom watched her 
 stealthy progress till she had reached the chief's 
 side. Then, as she raised her bared right arm, the 
 blade of the hunting knife glittered a moment in 
 the firelight and descended. 
 
 But just at that instant the Indian turned in his 
 slumber, and the keen blade, intended for his heart, 
 missed its aim and buried itself in the fleshy part of 
 Black Cloud's shoulder. 
 
 The yell which escaped the awakened Apache's 
 lips as Nita sprang to her feet, holding the dripping 
 knife clutched in her fingers, was echoed by one of 
 exultation from Stefano, as together the two darted 
 into the cover of the heavy growth, and in an in- 
 stant were swallowed up in the darkness. 
 
 As yell after yell rent the air, Tom slipped back
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 107 
 
 and secured his rifle. So, far, everything haa suc- 
 ceeded even beyond his highest expectations; he 
 had secured the freedom of his friends, and now he 
 must look to his own safety. The intense darkness 
 was, of course, greatly in his favor, but blundering 
 about at midnight among a thick growth of young 
 walnut and scrub oak was both difficult and danger- 
 ous. Tom dared not attempt to return to the more 
 open plain by way of the mouth of the defile, for 
 the entire camp was now aroused, and that point 
 would certainly be guarded. 
 
 Oh, if Brave's mission had only succeeded, and 
 the plainsmen, guided by the tumult in the defile, 
 could sweep down upon the Apaches what an 
 opportunity to put an end to their further maraud- 
 ing! 
 
 Tom's meditations were brought to a sudden stop 
 by the sound of clattering hoof beats approaching 
 at a gallop. 
 
 There followed in quick succession a volley of 
 hoarse shouts presumably as the camp fire came 
 in sight a sharp fusillade, a wild and general 
 stampede of the Apaches' ponies. 
 
 " Hurrah, there s Bob Cope and his party !" 
 shouted Tom triumphantly, as he turned in the 
 direction of the tumult, and began forcing his way 
 through the underbrush. 
 
 Two dark forms suddenly confronted him; and 
 feeling assured that he had fallen in with his 
 friends, Tom called out: 
 
 " Stefano, is that you and Nitn ?" 
 
 Which was very unfortunate for him. For the 
 only reply was a grunt and a guttural remark; and 
 before Tom knew what had happened, a gigantic 
 Apache swooped down upon him with a suddenness 
 and ferocity before which his own fierce resistance 
 was as nothing.
 
 108 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 TOM A PRISONER. 
 
 IN another instant Tom was disarmed, and thrown 
 to the ground. One Indian, kneeling on Tom's 
 writhing body, turned him half over, and twisted 
 his hands behind him with the dexterity of a Lon- 
 don policeman; then he knotted two or three turns 
 of rawhide about his wrists, which were held forc- 
 ibly back to back. Tom's first assailant placed his 
 knee on his prisoner's chest, and, covering Tom's 
 mouth with one brawny hand, held with the other 
 the sharp point of his scalping knife pressed 
 against his throat. 
 
 "You keep um still," he muttered; and Tom, now 
 aware that he was in the clutches of Black Cloud 
 himself, lay very still indeed. 
 
 The voices of the attacking party grew nearer, 
 but still the Apaches remained crouched on the 
 body of their helpless victim. 
 
 Tom uttered a silent prayer, for he knew very 
 well that his life just then was hanging by the 
 slenderest possible thread. 
 
 If discovered, his savage captors would kill him 
 before making their escape, as they easily could, 
 aided by the darkness. And a sound or movement 
 on his own part would bring about a similar catas- 
 trophe. 
 
 "It's no use; the cusses has lit out an' scattered 
 ev'ry way," Tom heard Cope call out, "an' we'll
 
 THAT TKEA.SUEE. 109 
 
 i 
 
 on'y batter our brains out agin' the trees here, a 
 huntin' around in the dark; so let's git back what 
 the camp fire is, an' see ef we kin find out what's 
 become of old Rube's Injun wife, an' the half breed 
 boy." 
 
 " All right, Cap'n Bob," replied another; "but I'd 
 like derned well to know whar that there Tom got 
 to after he sent the dog back to camp. Mebbe 
 we'll find him stuck full uv arrers, same as ol' Rube 
 wuz." 
 
 "I wuz hopin' the dog ud track him, but instid, 
 he took us stret up to the 'Paches' campin' place, 
 said a third, " which is kinder curis, 'cause ' 
 
 And then with the receding steps the voices died 
 away in the distance, and Tom's last hope departed 
 with them. 
 
 Urging the captive to his feet with no gentle 
 hand, the Apaches, after exchanging a few rapid 
 words, appropriated his rifle, revolver, haversack, 
 and cartridge belt. 
 
 Then, half dragging, half driving him, the two 
 hurried Tom into the more open ground of the 
 valley itself, and began a sort of forced march 
 through the now diminishing darkness. They took 
 a northerly direction, as nearly as Tom could judge 
 by the waning stars They traveled this way till 
 the glimmer of approaching dawn began lighting 
 up the eastern sky. 
 
 A low whistle broke the morning silence. It was 
 answered by Black Cloud's companion, and in an- 
 other moment three mounted Indians, leading as 
 many of the stampeded ponies, emerged from a tim- 
 ber line close at hand. 
 
 A hasty conference followed, and Tom was bidden 
 to mount one of the ponies, which he did, with the 
 rough assistance of two of his captors. The others 
 sprang into the empty saddles; and, with an Apache
 
 110 THAT TEE A.SUKE. 
 
 at either bridle rein, poor Tom began a ride the 
 memory of which will abide till his dying day. 
 
 They passed over a barren desert, so arid that 
 only the prickly pear and solemn pithaya can exist 
 among the fastnesses of the volcanic rocks, which 
 lay in great masses, scattered irregularly about the 
 plain. 
 
 Sweltering with heat, tormented by thirst, driven 
 half frantic by sand flies and mosquitoes, galled by 
 the hard wooden saddle covered with green hide, 
 and a prey to terrible apprehension as to his ulti- 
 mate fate, Tom will never forget that terrible ride. 
 
 Through black gorges, between low ridges of 
 treeless hills, which seemed burned and baked to a 
 deep brick red by the fierce rays of a blazing sun, 
 they journeyed on; sometimes with walls of rock 
 like porphyry and jasper rising on either hand. 
 
 But toward nightfall the scenery changed. Be- 
 fore them lay the mouth of a winding canyon, 
 where ages ago some mighty river had swept its 
 way. 
 
 Its sides were irregular masses of what was once 
 molten lava, rising tier on tier, where successive 
 streams of the fiery fluid had cooled after some 
 great volcanic action. 
 
 In the canyon itself was a profuse growth of 
 vegetation with abundant grass and cooling shade; 
 while through the middle wound a cooling stream 
 from a spring far up the height. 
 
 Here was a large encampment of Apaches; and as 
 they dismounted among the tepees, Tom saw, with 
 a sinking heart, that nearly all the Indians who 
 came crowding round captors and captive were 
 decorated with war paint. 
 
 Tom was given into the keeping of two stalwart 
 Indian braves. After a meal of boiled deer's meat, 
 he was thrust into an empty tepee. With hands and
 
 THAT TREASURE. Ill 
 
 feet securely bound, he lay tossing unrestfully 
 through the weary night watches; while his guard 
 passed and repassed between a great fire in front of 
 the tepee, aud the wide open entrance, where Tom's 
 every movement could be seen. 
 
 A thousand conflicting thoughts were busy in 
 Tom's excited brain as the weary hours dragged 
 slowly on toward the dawning of the day which had 
 in store for him what? 
 
 He had heard enough of Apache atrocities, even 
 in his short experience on the plains, to know that 
 mercy to a captured white is as unusual at the 
 present day as it was fifty years ago. He knew, 
 too, that from earliest boyhood the Apache de- 
 lights in nothing so much as to torture the helpless 
 bird or beast or human being that lies in his power. 
 
 As the horrible tales which he had heard passed 
 through Tom's mind, his mental agony became even 
 greater than that of the condemned man on the 
 night before his execution. 
 
 The latter can at least look forward to a death 
 which, if not painless, is quickly over. Tom was no 
 coward; yet it is only the hero of very improbable 
 fiction who can fearlessly look forward to a linger- 
 ing death by torture with the mental resolve that he 
 will not gratify his savage foe by look or word ex- 
 pressing his physical sufferings. 
 
 And so the long night wore away and gave place 
 to dawn. That another morning would never break 
 for him Tom felt assured. Silently, but from his 
 heart, he prayed that the sins of his life, such as 
 they were, might be forgiven him; and, as best he 
 knew how, he commended his spirit to the God who 
 gave it. 
 
 The memory of the sad beautiful face which he 
 had seen in his dreams, and which he intuitively 
 connected with that of the mother he could not re-
 
 112 THAT TKEASUEE. 
 
 call, came before him. He thought of Professor 
 Dean's tender and fatherly care throughout their 
 wandering life, and of the friendship which had 
 existed between himself and Mr. Sherard and 
 Dolly, both of svhom believed him no longer living. 
 
 "Ugh! white fellow cry like squaw he'fraid!" 
 said a contemptuous voice, breaking in on the agon- 
 izing reflections which for the moment had forced 
 a few natural tears from his closed eyes. 
 
 The speaker was Black Cloud, who, in all the 
 glory of fresh war paint and a new blanket, had 
 stepped inside, and was contemplating his captive 
 with grim satisfaction. 
 
 Tom made no repl}' simply because he could not 
 call to mind words that were bitter enough to ex- 
 press his detestation of the murderer of helpless 
 women and children who stood before him. 
 
 "You cry worse 'fore long," added the Apache, 
 with a fiendish grin. He called something in his 
 native tongue to a half dozen of painted braves 
 standing without, and two or three of them entered 
 the tepee. 
 
 Tom's ankles and wrists were loosed. He was 
 jerked rudely to his feet, and half led, half dragged, 
 outside. 
 
 In a large open space before the encampment was 
 gathered the entire population. 
 
 There were squaws and young girls, boys and old 
 men, with here and there a tall "buck," strutting 
 grandly about, proud in the possession of a stove- 
 pipe hat or a dilapidated fatigue cap, the spoils of 
 some recent skirmish with the frontier soldiers. 
 
 Tom cast one despairing glance about him as he 
 was led forward. There was no trace of anything 
 like pity in the hard, cruel and brutal faces noth- 
 ing but a sort of fiendish satisfaction. 
 
 " God help me to die bravely!" was his inward
 
 THAT TREASUKE. 113 
 
 prayer; and, summoning all his fortitude, Tom drew 
 himself up proudly. He compressed his lips, and 
 awaited the doom whose nature he could only con- 
 jecture. 
 
 At a sign from Black Cloud, Tom's heavy blue 
 shirt was pulled over his head and tossed carelessly 
 aside, leaving him naked to the waist. As he stood 
 shivering in the cool morning air, with his muscular 
 arms tightly folded across his broad white chest, 
 Tom even then found himself wondering when he 
 should awake from this horrible nightmare ! 
 
 Without ceremony Tom was flung to the ground 
 and laid on his back. His arms and legs were ex- 
 tended in what is known as "spread eagle" fashion. 
 His wrists and ankles were securely fastened, by 
 narrow thongs of rawhide, to stout hickory pegs 
 driven deep in the soil. 
 
 Tom supposed that he was simply to be left to die 
 of slow starvation, with all the additional sufferings 
 of body and mind which such a position would en- 
 gender. 
 
 But the fiendish ingenuity of the Chiricahua 
 Apache has improved on this comparatively merci- 
 ful form of torture. 
 
 A brave approached with an armful of hard pine 
 splints, which he proceeded to arrange in a neat pile 
 on Tom's bare white chest. 
 
 " Tell you I make you cry," coolly remarked 
 Black Cloud, as an agonized groan escaped the 
 lips of poor Tom when he realized what was to 
 come. 
 
 Kneeling beside his prostrate victim, while a 
 murmur of anticipation ran through the surround- 
 ing throng, Black Cloud struck a match on a flat 
 stone, and held it a second or two between his 
 fingers for the flame to burn up clear and bright.
 
 114 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE TABLES AKE TUENED. 
 
 " REMEMBER Ouster charge !" 
 
 The ringing cry, rising above the rapid hoof beats 
 of two score cavalrymen, who rode forward at full 
 gallop, came to Tom Dean's ears like sweetest music, 
 as in agonized expectancy he awaited the application 
 of the burning match to the heaped up splints on 
 his naked chest. 
 
 Like a whirlwind sweeping everything before it, 
 came a rush of mounted men, with wild shouts and 
 cries. The cracking of revolvers and carbines was 
 mingled with the fierce yells of the surprised 
 Apaches, as they rushed hither and thither for 
 their weapons, while on every side women and chil- 
 dren were flying in confusion and dismay. 
 
 But the surprise was so sudden and unexpected 
 that the Apaches, though outnumbering the little 
 detachment two to one, could make no stand against 
 the fierce charge. 
 
 A few were shot down in their tracks, two or 
 three fell before the cavalrymen's sabers; but the 
 larger part of the Indians succeeded in reaching 
 their ponies at the rear of the encampment, and 
 galloped madly away, followed by a scattering fire 
 from some of the cavalrymen. 
 
 Meanwhile Tom was quickly raised from his un- 
 pleasant position by Lieutenant Benham, the com- 
 mander of the detachment.
 
 THAT TEEASURE. 115 
 
 " Bather lucky thing for you that we came up as 
 we did," he said. Tom, after trying in broken 
 words to express his thanks, recovered and pulled 
 on his woolen shirt, which, fortunately, had not 
 been appropriated beforehand. He hardly realized 
 that he was indeed rescued from a terrible death. 
 
 The cavalrymen had dismounted, and were em- 
 ployed in collecting such weapons as could be found 
 in and about the encampment. Among them Tom 
 recognized and claimed his own rifle, revolver and 
 cartridge belt, which were at once restored to their 
 owner. 
 
 Bows and arrows were thrown into the blazing 
 tepees, which had been set on fire as soon as the sol- 
 diers were assured that the women and children had 
 all escaped. A few old army muskets and carbines 
 were shattered and bent against the rocks. The 
 dead among whom Tom noticed Black Cloud 
 had not been numbered were left lying as they 
 fell. 
 
 Then the bugle sounded a recall and remount. 
 
 " Haven't time to talk," explained Lieutenant Ben- 
 ham, flinging himself into his saddle; " want to get 
 after those fiends before they get far away. We 
 passed old Rube Lund's wagon coming up on the 
 trail just the other side of the bluff you had better 
 join that. 'By. Close up trot !" 
 
 And before Tom could part his lips to reply to 
 the hasty speech, the little company went clattering 
 up the bed of the canyon ; leaving Tom very much 
 bewildered, yet profoundly thankful for his rescue 
 from the living death to which he had been doomed. 
 
 Half a dozen ponies were still picketed under the 
 willows. Tom took his pick of a steed, together 
 with saddle, bridle, blankets, and a saddle wallet, 
 stocked with jerked meat and pounded parched 
 corn.
 
 116 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Then, mounting his new acquisition, Tom reached 
 the top of the bluff, which overlooked the plains for 
 miles, and to his delight he saw the distant wagon a 
 couple of miles to the southward, following the well 
 beaten trail. Beside it rode at least half a dozen 
 individuals, while close behind was a black object 
 which he felt sure was the mastiff Brave. 
 
 "I wonder where the escort came from," he said 
 to himself, as his sure footed pony picked its way 
 down the precipitous side of the bluff and reached 
 the level below in safety. 
 
 The question was answered by a nearer approach, 
 and by the shouts of friendly greeting which 
 reached Tom's ear as he was recognized. Brave 
 rushed forward to meet him, and caracoled in cir- 
 cles about Tom's pony, barking in mad delight; 
 while Nita and Stefano for once laid aside their 
 stoical composure, and welcomed him with voice and 
 smile. They expressed in rather imperfect English, 
 alternated with an occasional word of Spanish, their 
 sense of obligation to him. 
 
 "It's all right," laughed Tom. "I've only paid 
 part of the debt I owed you both for taking such 
 good care of me while I was sick." 
 
 Tom was told by one of the horsemen a miner 
 named Halsted that the four had joined the wagon 
 partly as an escort and partly because they them- 
 selves were bound to Holcomb for more supplies. 
 
 " The dog came in with yer handkerchief all cor- 
 rec'," explained Halsted; "an* we mistrusted some- 
 thin' wrong to once. But Bob Cope an' some of 'm 
 had be'n crookin' their elbers rether strong, an' it 
 wuz nigh midnight 'fore we got fairly started. The 
 dog led us tol'rable correc', till we diskivered ol' 
 Kube's body. We kivered it as best we could in a 
 hurry, an' kep' on; but it wuz so thunderin' dark 
 that betwixt the dog losin' the trail and all, we wuz
 
 THAT TKEASURE. 117 
 
 nigh turnin' back an' waitin' fur daylight, when we 
 ketched a glimpse uv the fire. We lit down on 'm 
 lively, but the ponies stampeded an' the most uv {he 
 gang got off in the brush. But the wagin and 
 mules wuz all right, an't it wuzn't long 'fore the 
 woman an' boy jined us an' told about thet dodge of 
 your'n fer gettin' 'em free. They kno wed it were you 
 by the knife. Sorry the woman missed of puttiu' 
 thet derned Black Cloud outer the way " 
 
 "Noder time come," sententiously interrupted 
 Stefano ; "not miss then." 
 
 "Mebbe not," returned Halsted, "but I reck'n 
 Black Cloud 11 keep well outer the way, now Loo- 
 tenant Benham is after him hot foot. I think you 
 said he was 'mongst them as got off." 
 
 Tom nodded, and Halsted went on to say that in 
 the morning the party retui-ned to Bonanza City, 
 leaving the four to accompany the wagon to Hoi- 
 comb. The cavalry detachment, which came from 
 Fort Boker, had overtaken them, and had been fur- 
 nished with such information as the little company 
 could give. 
 
 A bend in the trail, which had for some little 
 time led between a succession of sandstone buttes, 
 revealed an unbroken level extending several miles. 
 The lava ledges on the west alone broke its mo- 
 notony. 
 
 Owing to the rarity of the atmosphere, any distant 
 object, seen against the ashy gray of the soil, 
 loomed strangely. A buffalo's skull a mile away 
 seemed the size of a flour barrel. A long legged 
 jack rabbit, coursing over the ground with wonder- 
 ful leaps, appeared like an exaggerated sheep. 
 
 But to none of these things was the attention of 
 the party called by a suddenly exclamation from 
 Halsted. Unslinging his field glass, he looked 
 through it steadily at something far ahead.
 
 118 THAT TKEASUEE. 
 
 " What is it, Halsted ?" eagerly asked Tom, follow- 
 ing the direction of the other's gaze. Two indis- 
 tinct moving objects he himself could make out 
 with the naked eye. One of the men called them 
 "buffier," another "antelope." 
 
 " 'Tain't neither," replied the plainsman, taking 
 down his glass and dropping it into the case by his 
 side; "it's an Injun. His Loss is dead lame, and 
 he's walkin' or hobblin' for he ac's to me like he 
 was wounded alongside him." 
 
 " One o' thim redskins gittin' back acrost the 
 plain to the riservashun," angrily exclaimed Micky 
 F$x, a burly Irishman whose wife and children had 
 been butchered three years before by a marauding 
 party from San Carlos. " Come on, boys after 
 him." 
 
 "But you wouldn't kill a wounded Indian, un- 
 armed, perhaps ?" protested Tom, as the men tin- 
 slung their rifles and laid them in rest across their 
 saddle bows, while each urged his pony rapidly for- 
 ward. 
 
 "Look at Nita an' her boy, thar'; see how they 
 feel to'ards their own race," significantly replied 
 Halsted, lashing his horse to fuller speed. 
 
 For scarcely had the Indian woman and Stefano 
 cast their eyes ahead, when, as though by consent, 
 they dashed forward, leading the other horsemen by 
 a couple of lengths. On they rode in the mad race; 
 but Nita and Stefano were better mounted than any 
 of the others, excepting Tom, whose pony was of 
 rare strength and speed, and they kept well in ad- 
 vance. 
 
 Suddenly the woman, whose long dusky hair 
 streamed behind her in picturesque confusion, gave 
 a wild and exultant cry. 
 
 Snatching the rifle from Stefano's hands, she 
 turned in the saddle.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 119 
 
 "That Black Cloud," she called; "my turn come 
 now no one shoot but me !" 
 
 " Nita, Nita !" called Tom. He might as well have 
 addressed the wind. The wounded Indian, who 
 long before had heard and seen the approach of his 
 foes, had sheltered himself behind the body of his 
 pony, and was sighting his heavy buffalo gun across 
 the saddle. Stefano, resting the barrel of his long 
 Colt revolver on the bend of his left arm, took a 
 quick aim and fired before the Indian woman could 
 throw the Winchester to her shoulder. 
 
 The ball struck the Apache's pony, evidently in a 
 vital part, for, tossing its head in the air, the horse 
 fell over on its side so suddenly that Black Cloud 
 but barely cleared himself from the body. 
 
 " His gun is empty, or he'd 'a' fired 'fore this," ex- 
 claimed Halsted, exultantly. Nita, saying something 
 rapidly to her son, urged her own steed forward, its 
 bridle rein hanging on the pommel of the saddle. 
 With eyes blazing with excitement, she held the 
 Winchester at her shoulder, its muzzle pointing di- 
 rectly at the heart of Black Cloud. He sullenly 
 dropped his own weapon to the ground, and began 
 slowly stepping backward as the vengeful woman 
 advanced on him. 
 
 "Let her alone, you derned young fool," fiercely 
 interposed one of the miners, seizing Tom's bridle 
 rein. With the evident purpose of preventing what 
 he regarded as a cold blooded murder, Tom was en- 
 deavoring to press forward between the two. " She's 
 on'y actin* out her Injun natur' it's a life for a life 
 with them, an' you'd best stay quiet!" 
 
 Nita called something to the Indian. Halsted, 
 who understood part of it, said she was commanding 
 him to stop and hear what she had to say. before he 
 died like the dog that he was. 
 
 Suddenly Black Cloud, uttering a yell of terror,
 
 120 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 threw his hands above his head, and, as suddenly as 
 a man who steps backward into a chasm in the earth, 
 he disappeared from sight. 
 
 But it was no earth chasm which had swallowed 
 up the Apache before their horrified gaze. Over a 
 mass of liquid paste is a bluish gray crust, which re- 
 forms like magic over the sunken mass, whether 
 man or beast, that breaks through its treacherous 
 surface. Such is the alkali sink of the plains. 
 
 As the Indian vanished, the slimy mass seemed to 
 palpitate for a moment with a horrid sucking sound, 
 like that of water escaping through a narrow out- 
 let. 
 
 " I've heard tell o' them death traps," said Hal- 
 sted, who was first to break the silence, as he drew 
 his sleeve across his damp forehead; "but I never 
 dre'mt they drawed anything down so suddin es all 
 that." 
 
 Tom said nothing. The strange scene had all 
 been enacted with such bewildering suddenness 
 that he could not at first take in its reality. He 
 glanced at Nita, who had taken her rifle from her 
 shoulder; but the only expression on her face was 
 that of genuine disappointment, which also was re- 
 flected in the features of Stefano. 
 
 But their enemy was beyond the reach of their 
 vendetta literally as well as figuratively; for what- 
 ever is swallowed up in an alkali sink is drawn to 
 unknown depths. 
 
 So Black Cloud's unloaded gun and revolvers (for 
 in the haste of his flight the Apache had left his 
 cartridge belt behind) were claimed by Stefano as 
 their legitimate spoil, together with the saddle and 
 equipments of the dead pony. 
 
 Then, turning back to the wagon, the line of march 
 was again taken up. Four days of heat and dust, 
 of thirst and general discomfort; four nights of un-
 
 THAT TREASURE. 121 
 
 restful repose broken by a continuous fear of sud- 
 den attack; and as the sun was beginning to decline 
 toward the Pacific slopes, the lumbering wagon 
 rolled slowly into the main street of what was then 
 oe of the largest towns on the newly completed line 
 of the A. and P. B. B.
 
 122 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVL 
 
 WHAT TOM FOUND AT HOLCOMB. 
 
 THERE is both sameness and individuality in the 
 average mining town of any size that is connected 
 by rail with the great far away centers of civiliza- 
 tion. Holcomb was no exception to the general 
 rule. 
 
 The town proper consisted of one long, wide 
 street of straggling buildings, curiously contrasted 
 as to architectural pretensions. Midway of the 
 street stood a good sized block, built of the better 
 quality of adobe or sun dried brick. In this was lo- 
 cated the bank, two dry goods stores, the post office, 
 and the headquarters of the local magistrate, who 
 was also notary public, lawyer, justice of the peace, 
 real estate agent, and city undertaker The rest of 
 the town was made up of flat roofed, square fronted 
 wooden buildings, of different styles and shapes, 
 facing the street. They were used as dwelling 
 houses, miners' boarding houses, cheap eating 
 booths, gambling dens, and saloons; of which latter 
 the proportion was one saloon to every ten inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 A gun store, two blacksmiths' shanties, a second 
 hand clothing store, and a jail, with some scattered 
 mud ranches in the suburbs, completed the picture. 
 Not a tree or shrub was to be seen along the border of 
 the street, which at night was lighted by smoking
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 123 
 
 kerosene lamps. These were generally without the 
 usual glass mclosures owing to continuous pistol 
 practice on the part of the cowboys or hilarious 
 miners. 
 
 True to their Indian nature, Nita and Stefano had 
 preferred to camp by the turbid stream at the out- 
 skirts of the town. Promising to see them on the 
 morrow, Tom parted from Halsted and his compan- 
 ions, who had naturally gravitated to the nearest 
 saloon. With Brave following close at his pony's 
 heels, he rode slowly through the street toward the 
 only "hotel," to which Halsted had directed him; 
 the enormous size of the mastiff calling forth various 
 audible expressions of astonishment from the street 
 corner groups. 
 
 The " Vendome " was hardly as imposing a struct- 
 ure as its name would imply. It was an unpainted 
 two story affair, standing nearly opposite the 
 adobe railway station, at the head of the long street. 
 
 A group of more than ordinarily rough looking 
 men occupied the piazza as Tom dismounted. They 
 were smoking vigorously, swearing profusely, or 
 laughing loudly, and all were "heeled" in the 
 most approved style of the "Western desperado. 
 
 The leader of the party, or more properly, gang, 
 was a man of herculean proportions, whose unkempt 
 red hair and beard had been coaxed into little 
 corkscrew curls at the end. Had he been dressed 
 with scrupulous nicety, he would not nave been of 
 attractive presence. In slouch hat, fiery red shirt, 
 and jean riding overalls tucked into long boots, with 
 revolver and knife, he looked what he was a 
 thoroughbred ruffian. 
 
 This gentleman, after winking at his companions, 
 stepped down from the piazza, as Tom was turning 
 the pony over to a half breed helper, who had first 
 come round from the board stable in the rear. The
 
 124 THAT TKEASURE. 
 
 big man closely scrutinized a half effaced brand on 
 the pony's haunch. 
 
 " That your brand, Curly ?" called a short, thick 
 set individual, who was resting his chin upon a pair 
 of hairy hands clasped over the muzzle of a repeat- 
 ing rifle. 
 
 " Course it is," was the prompt reply, accompan- 
 ied by a hoarse chuckle, in which the others joined, 
 " an' come to look closter, that's my saddle an' gear- 
 in', jest as hoss an' all was run off my ranch las' 
 night. Guess I'll take charge of the fitout, an' this 
 young tenderfoot here is lucky if he gets off without 
 bein' swung up for hoss stealin'." 
 
 Tom, who had stood perfectly quiet during the 
 bully's harangue, though his blood was tingling to 
 his finger tips, turned his head as the man put a 
 huge hand on the pommel of the saddle, and was 
 preparing to mount. 
 
 " Brave," he said, and the huge mastiff, erecting 
 the short hair on his neck and shoulders, sprang to 
 Tom's side; and, steadfastly regarding the man 
 called Curley, gave vent to a deep and ominous 
 growl. 
 
 "Leave my. pony alone," exclaimed Tom, hotly, 
 or " 
 
 A contemptuous laugh cut short the threat. " Go 
 it, Curley," chorused the delighted group on the 
 piazza. The bully, putting the toe of his heavy 
 boot in the rawhide loop which served as a stirrup, 
 swung himself into the saddle. 
 
 But scarcely had he done so, when Brave, wrench- 
 ing his collar from Tom's grasp, made an upward 
 leap like that of a cougar. Just missing the ruffi- 
 an's brawny throat, he seized him by the shoulder, 
 and dragged him heavily to the ground in less time 
 than I have taken to write it. 
 
 " Shoot the dog and the feller that owns him !"
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 125 
 
 yelled Curley at the top of his voice, as Brave 
 planted his huge fore paws on the chest of the pros- 
 trate man, who dared not stir hand or foot. The 
 dog displayed a set of white even fangs, without for 
 a moment taking his glowing eyes from the terrified 
 ones of his victim. 
 
 But Tom Dean, though a stranger in a strange 
 land, was not so easily cowed. With the very natu- 
 ral feeling that attempted intimidation must in this 
 case at least be met with similar action, he unslung 
 his rifle. Stepping quickly in front of the dog and 
 his prostrate victim, he threw the Winchester to his 
 shoulder. 
 
 How the affair might have ended, but for an un- 
 expected interruption, is uncertain. 
 
 But just then the hotel door was swung violently 
 open, and a sinewy six footer, with a blonde beard 
 and sleepy blue eyes, stepped rapidly out. 
 
 "Ah!" he exclaimed, taking in the situation at a 
 glance, " Colonel North " calling over his shoulder 
 " just bring some of the boys out, will you ?" 
 
 "Certainly, major," was the prompt reply. Fol- 
 lowed by a dozen or more sunburned men, who to 
 Tom's inexperienced eyes looked fully as forbidding 
 as the group he was confronting, a new actor ap- 
 peared on the scene. 
 
 He was a compactly built person of medium 
 height, dressed with more care than his fellows. 
 His eyes were gray and very piercing; his smooth 
 shaven face wore a singularly determined look, and 
 in the hollow of his left arm Colonel North for it 
 was he carried a handsomely mounted double 
 gun. 
 
 " Oh !" ejaculated the colonel, very much as the 
 major had said " ah !" 
 
 And without any ceremony he pushed the major 
 on one side.
 
 126 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 44 In behalf of my friends here, who are peaceable 
 and law abiding citizens," remarked the colonel, 
 smoothly addressing himself to Tom, who lowered 
 his rifle at once, " may I inquire what the particular 
 disturbance is now ?" 
 
 His manner was so studied and elaborately polite 
 that Tom hardly knew whether the speaker was pok- 
 ing fun at him or not. But he told his story briefly 
 and to the point. 
 
 A murmur of approval at the stand he had taken 
 rose from the colonel's party, and a corresponding 
 growl of disapproval from the others. 
 
 " One moment, gentlemen," politely observed the 
 colonel, with a wave of his hand toward the ruffianly 
 gang, who evidently held the smooth shaven colonel 
 in some fear; "young man, you may call off your 
 dog." 
 
 Greatly astonished at the speaker's suavity of 
 speech, Tom obeyed. The discomfited Curley arose, 
 breathing threatenings and slaughter. 
 
 " No, Curley," mildly expostulated Colonel North, 
 as he observed a motion of the ruffian's hand in the 
 direction of his pistol, and instantly covered him 
 with his gun. " No, that won't do !" 
 
 He spoke in a quick, sharp, incisive tone, which 
 was in singular contrast to the easiness of his former 
 manner. 
 
 Curley's hand recovered its normal position, and 
 he glared ferociously at the speaker. Taking down 
 his weapon, the colonel was about to say something 
 more, when Major Smith, who had been nervously 
 fingering the handles of two large revolvers, one at 
 either hip, stepped in front of him in his turn. 
 
 " I want to be heard in this matter," he said, with 
 an air of decision; " and the thing stands here. 1 
 ain't a citizen of Holcomb, no more is my friend the 
 colonel; but we're both on the side of law and order.
 
 THAT "TREASURE. 127 
 
 Pete Curley, you and your dirty crowd have hung 
 round this respectable hotel long enough, and this 
 bulldozing strangers is played out. Git, the whole 
 passel of you, unless you want to try titles with 
 shootin' irons; and the sooner you leave town the 
 better. You hear me." 
 
 This brief but eloquent address was emphasized, 
 on the part of both the speaker and his backers, by 
 such suggestive movements with reference to weap- 
 ons, offensive and defensive, that the entire gang 
 filed sullenly down the steps, in obedience to an im- 
 perative gesture from Curley, and entered the near- 
 est saloon. 
 
 Tom's pony was led away; and, encouraged by 
 the friendly attitude of those around him, he ex- 
 plained, as briefly as possible, his errand in Hoi- 
 comb. 
 
 " Like enough the boss inside can tell you some- 
 thin' about the party you're lookin' for," suggested 
 a kindly Holcombite, as Colonel North and his chum 
 re-entered the Vendome, with an invitation to the 
 others to follow. Acting on the hint, Tom, after 
 taking Brave round to the rude stable in the rear, 
 stepped into the long unplastered and unpainted 
 room, which served as a combined office, dining hall 
 and barroom. 
 
 Behind a desk, near the door, stood a thickset 
 man, adding up a column of figures in a greasy ac- 
 count book, who looked up as Tom approached, and 
 disclosed the coarse and unshaven face of Britzer, 
 from whom he had parted months before, under such 
 unpleasant circumstances. 
 
 " Tom Deaii, by thunder 1" exclaimed Britzer, as a 
 sort of sickly pallor overspread his face. 
 
 " Yes, it's Tom Dean," was the cold reply, after 
 Tom had recovered from his own surprise. Mr. 
 Britzer himself speedily regained his wonted self
 
 198 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 assurance, while Tom stood hesitating and unde- 
 cided Quite volubly he expressed his pleasure at 
 seeing Tom so stout and brown. And as Tom 
 made no reply, Britzer, rubbing his hands together 
 after his former fashion, went on to explain his un- 
 expected presence. 
 
 Well, accidents would happen, and he had slipped 
 tip on his business venture in Mexico. In fact, the 
 sheriff had sold him out. He had tried his hand at 
 one thing after another (Mr. Britzer did not go into 
 details), and finally drifted into Holcomb with a 
 trading wagon. Mr. Diggs, the proprietor of the 
 Vendome, was better at mixing drinks than keeping 
 his hotel accounts, and for the time being Mr. Brit- 
 zer was acting as a sort of clerk and general fac- 
 totum. 
 
 " Do you remember a Mr. Sherard and his daugh- 
 ter coming here some weeks since ?" asked Tom, as 
 Britzer finished. 
 
 Yes, indeed, Britzer remembered them well; nice 
 looking girl was Miss Dolly. Where on earth did 
 Tom fall in with them, he wanted to know, in evi- 
 dent astonishment. 
 
 " Mr. Sherard and I were in a mining venture to- 
 gether," was Tom's short reply. 
 
 "You don't mean it?" returned Britzer, with a 
 long, low whistle. " Then he had a partner, af tei 
 all, and if it was share and share alike, you, Master 
 Tom Dean, must have made a mighty good thing of 
 it," he went on, with a quick, penetrating glance at 
 Tom's immovable face; "for they say down town 
 that, before he left Holcomb, Sherard sold eighteen 
 thousand dollars' worth of pocket gold to Jacobs, 
 the Jew broker, under the bank." 
 
 Tom made no immediate reply, for his mind was 
 intent upon something else. 
 
 "Do you know where Mr. Sherard and Miss
 
 THAT TREASURE. 129 
 
 Dolores went from here ?" he asked, too eager for 
 the required information to notice the evil glitter in 
 the eye of the man before him. 
 
 But all Britzer or any one in Holcomb knew 
 about it, so he said, was that Mr. Sherard kept his 
 own counsel as to his destination. The ticket agent, - 
 who boarded at the Vendome, said that Sherard 
 bought two tickets for Denver, but whether he 
 went east or west from there it was impossible to 
 tell. 
 
 " I suppose," said Britzer, eying Tom furtively 
 from under his shaggy eyebrows, as the young fel- 
 low, with a disappointed face, remained silent for a 
 moment or two, " I suppose of course you don't 
 know anything that is you've never tried to get 
 any clew to the the person who " 
 
 " Murdered Professor Dean," supplied Tom, as 
 Britzer stammered and hesitated without finishing 
 the sentence. " Yes, murdered him," he repeated, 
 as Britzer started, " for it was the shock the robber 
 gave the professor that caused his death. No," 
 Tom went on, looking Britzer full in the face, " I've 
 never tried to get any clew for the reason that I'm 
 pretty sure who the party is, though unluckily I 
 can't prove it. But it can't be much satisfaction for 
 him to know that the money he failed to secure was 
 in the room all the time, and within his reach if 
 he'd only known where to look, and that I myself 
 found it afterwards between the leaves of an old 
 pocket diary in the closet, safe and sound," added 
 Tom, forgetting his usual discretion in his desire 
 of seeing what effect this disclosure would have 
 upon the man whom he believed to be actually 
 guilty of the attempted robbery and morally guilty 
 of Professor Dean's death. 
 
 But if his suspicions were correct, Britzer had *" 
 "*ery good command oyer his countenance.
 
 130 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 " Well, I'm glad of it, Tom," he said, with affected 
 heartiness; " and though we had some words the 
 night you left the building, I I hope you don't 
 bear any grudge against me. Why, Tom," ex- 
 claimed Mr. Britzer, as, much to the young fellow's 
 disgust, he slapped him on the shoulder, " what 
 with the professor's little fortune and the pile I ex- 
 pect you made with Sherard, you'll go back East a 
 rich man. I suppose, of course, you don't intend 
 staying any longer than you can help in this for- 
 saken country." 
 
 " I leave tomorrow on the noon train," replied 
 Tom, briefly; and, finding out that he could obtain 
 a hot bath further down the street, where an enter- 
 prising Chinese barber had established a board 
 shanty directly over a boiling sulphur spring, Tom 
 went out, leaving his rifle in Britzer's care till he 
 returned. 
 
 Why, the moment that the door closed behind 
 Tom Dean, Britzer should have beckoned the stal- 
 wart major and the polite colonel to the desk, where 
 the trio exchanged several remarks in an undertone, 
 is best known to himself. 
 
 Colonel North and Major Smith had arrived at 
 Holcomb at nearly the same time as Britzer. They 
 represented themselves as ex army officers in search 
 of mining investments; and, being free and easy 
 gentlemen with plenty of money, they had speedily 
 ingratiated themselves with the guests of the Yen- 
 dome, who, it need hardly be said, were all of the 
 masculine flannel shirted order, ready to fight or 
 drink at the shortest possible notice. 
 
 Whether Britzer had met the pair before or not, 
 singularly enough a certain intimacy seemed to ex- 
 ist between the three, which Major Smith carelessly 
 explained by saying that Britzer was poor and down 
 on his luck, but the time had been when that man
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 131 
 
 was worth a cool hundred thousand. He, the major, 
 remembered having seen him more than once at the 
 Stock Exchange in New York. 
 
 Be this as it may, when Tom, refreshed by his 
 bath, returned to the Vendome in time for a coarse 
 but substantial meal, he became the recipient of 
 more attention than was quite agreeable from the 
 trio. To avoid the numerous invitations to drink, 
 as well as a cunning course of cross questioning 
 from the affable colonel, he stepped out on the 
 piazza. 
 
 There, seating himself on a hide bottomed stool, 
 he began to mentally review the situation. He took 
 the diary from the pocket stitched inside his woolen 
 shirt, and opened it on his knee. 
 
 "Four one thousand dollar notes, and enough 
 smaller ones to go a long way towards helping me 
 to get settled somewhere," he muttered as he 
 smoothed out the bills and arranged them carefully 
 between the discolored leaves. 
 
 As Tom was about closing the diary, something 
 pinned to a leaf in the first part attracted his atten- 
 tion. It was a paragraph cut from a newspaper 
 whose date was presumably that under which it 
 was pinned- or at least so Tom was inclined to 
 think. 
 
 " Will the gentleman who advertised in certain 
 New York papers in 1865 for the parents or legal 
 protectors of a male child aged about three years 
 and calling himself " Tommy " said child having 
 been found deserted on Pier 28, North River, after 
 departure of the Fall Eiver boat, communicate at 
 once with GK S. Greyson, 1927 Montgomery Street, 
 San Francisco, Boom 3, second floor." 
 
 Now, the date above the paragraph corresponded 
 to that of their arrival in the City of Mexico, some 
 five months previous; at which time, as Tom re-
 
 132 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 membered, the professor had received from some 
 Eastern friend a package of New York papers by 
 mail, from one of which this scrap had probably 
 been scissored by the professor, and pinned in the 
 diary. 
 
 Why the professor had never spoken to him of 
 this paragraph, which might mean so much to him, 
 Tom could not understand. Nor did a further 
 perusal of various blotted memoranda give him any 
 idea whether Professor Dean had communicated 
 with the address given, 
 
 But the discovery settled one vexed question in 
 his mind. He had now a definite destination. The 
 uncertainty of tracing Mr. Sherard's movements 
 had given place to a certainty of at least learning 
 something concerning himself which must be im- 
 portant for him to know. That point once estab- 
 lished he could follow up his friends later on. 
 
 The shrill whistle of an East bound train cut 
 short Tom's musings. Returning the diary to his 
 pocket, he made room on the bench for the colonel, 
 who, with other guests of the Vendome, came 
 crowding out of the door to stare at the few pas- 
 sengers left on the platform by the departing train. 
 
 "I say," suddenly exclaimed Halsted, who had 
 joined the group on the piazza, and pointed across 
 the railway track, " ain't that what citv folks call a 
 'dude?'" 
 
 The person referred to was a rather fashionably 
 dressed young fellow, who appeared to be about 
 Tom's age. The Holcombites, whether miners or 
 engaged in other pursuits, eschewed white shirts; 
 though on dress occasions a fine French fiannel was 
 donned. Vests were regarded as purely ornamental 
 excepting in cold weather. A coat was allowable, 
 but not commonly worn, especially in the warmer 
 seasons.
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 132 
 
 Yet the new comer not only wore a well cut suit 
 of gray tweed, but his boots were polished, his 
 linen immaculate, and in one kid gloved hand he 
 carried a handsome traveling bag, to which was 
 strapped a neatly folded summer overcoat, and a 
 dainty silk umbrella. And when I add that, instead 
 of the slouch hat or sombrero familiar to Holcomb 
 eyes, the young stranger wore a high crowned 
 white derby encircled by a " weed," it is almost 
 needless to remark that he at once became the 
 cynosure of the public gaze ! 
 
 "He must be a newly landed Englishman," re- 
 marked Colonel North, emphatically; "no dude of 
 American birth would dare wear such a headpiece 
 in this section of the country." 
 
 " Shoot the hat !" shouted a miner, of a humor- 
 ous turn, who had just returned from St. Jo, 
 where the slang expression quoted was then in vogue. 
 
 Mr. Curley, who had just come out of the corner 
 saloon close by, took the suggestion in its most 
 literal sense. As the young fellow was ascending 
 the wooden steps to the piazza, he drew his heavy 
 revolver and fired twice in rapid succession, seem- 
 ing scarcely to glance along the barrel. 
 
 The high crowned hat was lifted from the wear- 
 er's head and pitched backward to the ground, 
 pierced with two bullet holes, while a delighted 
 shout attested to the general appreciation of this 
 pleasing little practical joke. 
 
 But, instead of betraying any particular terror, 
 or even excitement, the young fellow set down his 
 satchel and glanced across at the corner where 
 Curley was returning his revolver to its sheath. 
 
 "Watched with breathless interest by the onlook- 
 ers, the new comer stepped quickly across the street 
 and confronted the bully, who stared at him in con- 
 temptuous amazement.
 
 134 THAT TKEASUKE- 
 
 "I think it was you who spoiled my hat," he 
 quietly remarked to Curley; and before the latter 
 could reply, the speaker caught his burly opponent 
 directly under the chin with a well directed blow, 
 which sent him staggering backward against the 
 side of the saloon. 
 
 " Good boy !" shouted Colonel North. The young 
 man then energetically stripped off his coat, and 
 shaped himself in scientific fashion to meet the ex- 
 pected onrush of the bully, who, with a fearful im- 
 precation, had straightened himself for vengeance. 
 Meanwhile, the colonel, catching for the first time a 
 distinct view of the stranger's features, gave a sort 
 of half groan. 
 
 " Good Lord !" he muttered between his closely 
 shut teeth, " it's Tom himself, and the fat is in the 
 fire. But he must have got the money, else he 
 wouldn't have dared to follow me here." 
 
 Without finishing his half audible remark, Col- 
 onel North quickly reached his gun from behind the 
 door. 
 
 " Stop that drop your hands, Curley !" he shout- 
 ed. With a vivid remembrance of the previous 
 warning, and the probable results of neglecting to 
 heed it, Curley reluctantly gave up his loudly ex- 
 pressed purpose of " paralyzing " his youthful an- 
 tagonist. The latter seemed disappointed at the 
 interruption, and stepped back slowly. 
 
 But Colonel North's face resumed its wonted easy 
 demeanor, as the young fellow, having resumed his 
 coat and picked up his satchel, walked toward the 
 piazza of the hotel. 
 
 "Street brawls are contrary to the peace and 
 harmony of this community," remarked the colonel, 
 gravely, to the youthful stranger, who looked up at 
 him with apparent surprise: "and so, Mr. " 
 
 "Saxton Tom Saxton, of San Francisco/'
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 135 
 
 promptly answered the new comer, as the colonel 
 seemed to hesitate. 
 
 "Ah, thank you, Mr. Saxton," continued Colonel 
 North; " so, as a matter of strict duty, it was neces- 
 sary to interfere in this little affair, though, from 
 a a scientific point of view, I should have liked 
 to have seen the finish. Glad to know you, Mr. 
 Saxton," he added airily; " I'm acquainted in San 
 Francisco myself, and hope to have a talk with you 
 soon." 
 
 Mr. Tom Saxton responded politely, and the 
 colonel entered the door, at the head of a crowd of 
 thirsty admirers. With a glance at the white hat, 
 which was trodden out of shape by the dispersing 
 crowd, young Saxton pulled forward a stool upon 
 the piazza. Then he placed his traveling bag be- 
 tween his feet and opened it, while Tom sat watch- 
 ing him with eager interest, hoping that he would 
 say something to him. 
 
 Tom was not disappointed. 
 
 "I wonder if the fastidious Holcombites will find 
 fault with this," said Tom Saxton, pulling a soft, 
 black hat, of the description known as a " slouch," 
 from his satchel, and placing it on his head. He 
 addressed himself to Tom, and at the same time 
 glanced half quizzically at the wide brimmed som- 
 brero worn by the latter. 
 
 "You look the thorough plainsman," he said to 
 Tom, " and I would like to trade outfits with you. 
 Are you open to an offer for your wardrobe ?" 
 
 Now it struck Tom that as he intended to go as 
 quickly as possible to San Francisco, he had no fur- 
 ther need for his frontier equipments; and this 
 might be a good opportunity for disposing of them. 
 
 "But are you ?oing to give up the garb of civili- 
 zation?" he said to the stranger. "Don't you come 
 from some Eastern city ?"
 
 136 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 "No," replied Saxton, "I am from San Fran- 
 cisco." 
 
 "And don't you intend to return home?" con- 
 tinued Tom. 
 
 " I have no home, and I doubt if I shall ever go 
 back to San Francisco," answered Saxton, in a man- 
 ner which seemed to forbid further questioning. 
 Then the two began discussing the " outfit." 
 
 The upshot of the matter was that after inspecting 
 Tom's pony and equipments, together with his 
 weapons and accouterments, Saxton agreed to pur- 
 chase them on the following day, leaving their valu- 
 ation to some third party perhaps the major or his 
 friend Colonel North. 
 
 "You'd better throw in the dog," suggested young 
 Saxton, who was much taken with the appearance of 
 the noble mastiff. Brave lay on the ground near 
 the stable, watching the pony, as he filled himself 
 with the nutritious alfalfa, of which horses are so 
 fond. 
 
 But Tom shook his head decisively. Although 
 he knew it would be impossible to take Brave with 
 him, he could not bear to give the dog into a 
 stranger's hands. 
 
 " Some friends of mine are to liave Brave," he 
 said, and whistling the mastiff to him Tom left Sax- 
 ton to enter the house to arrange for his lodgings, 
 while the former made his way to the outskirts of 
 the town, where the trading wagon had been halted 
 and the Indian tepee was pitched. 
 
 The eyes of both Nita and Stefano sparkled as 
 Tom told them the purpose of his errand. He de- 
 sired to leave Brave with them. 
 
 " We always keep him and be good to him," said 
 Nita, patting the dog's huge head. During the jour- 
 ney across the plains both the Indian woman and 
 Stefano had become greatly attached to the mastiff,
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 137 
 
 who seemed to have taken a strong liking to them in 
 return. 
 
 As Tom caressed the dog for the last time, and 
 said his final farewells to Stefano and Nita, the hab- 
 itual stoicism of the Indian woman and her son gave 
 place to something like real emotion. 
 
 " Good by, Tom," said Nita, taking his hand in her 
 own brown one. " Nita poor Indian voman, but al- 
 ways pray Great Spirit take care of young white 
 brave;" and there was something like tears in her 
 dark eyes as she thus spoke. 
 
 " Adios," was Stefano's farewell; but the tremor of 
 his voice showed that he, too, was sorry to part 
 from the manly young fellow who had been so 
 strangely associated for a time with the two of a 
 despised race. 
 
 " Call Brave," said Tom, in a low tone. With 
 drooping head and tail, the great dog gave his 
 former master an almost pathetic look and obeyed 
 the summons of his new owners. Throwing open 
 the flap at the entrance of the Indian teptee, the 
 three passed in out of sight out of Tom's life and 
 out of my story forever.
 
 138 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTEB XVK 
 
 THOMAS SAXTON, ESQUIEE. 
 
 FEOM early morning till nightfall, excepting for 
 the few idlers and loafers who saunter through the 
 street or congregate on the corners, Holcomb's 
 main thoroughfare is comparatively deserted. 
 
 Occasionally half a dozen mounted Indians, a 
 trading wagon, a band of cowboys, or a gang of 
 desperadoes like those headed by Curley, who him- 
 self was a notorious horse thief, caused a ripple of 
 excitement by an unexpected incursion into to\vn; 
 but through the day Holcomb is, generally speak- 
 ing, given over to comparative quiet. 
 
 But after sundown Holcomb shakes off its leth- 
 argy. The one wide street teems with red and blue 
 shirted humanity. Miners from tunnel and shaft, 
 sooty workmen from the smelting furnaces, and 
 swarthy toilers from the stamp mills, engineers and 
 mine owners, adventurers and speculators, touch el- 
 bows in the ever restless and moving crowd. 
 
 It was early in the evening when Tom Dean re- 
 traced his steps from the trading wagon toward the 
 Vendome, and he was struck with astonishment at 
 the sight of so much stir and bustle. 
 
 The click of billiard balls, the clinking of glasses, 
 and the sounds of loud laughter, blended discord- 
 antly with the jangle of a cracked piano, as he passed 
 the wide open door of the largest, and consequently 
 worst, den of infamy in Holcomb.
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 139 
 
 Behind a long bar counter at the side stood the 
 proprietor, a swarthy Spaniard known as Rafe, with a 
 cigarette between his white teeth, overseeing his 
 two barkeepers, who were dealing out the liquid 
 poison to a noisy crowd, among whom Tom noticed 
 were Curley and two or three of his gang. 
 
 As Tom stood glancing in at this to him entirely 
 new phase of Western life, some one touched him 
 on the shoulder. Turning quickly about, Tom saw 
 young Saxton. He had discarded his white shirt 
 for a colored one of boating flannel, had left off his 
 vest, and was evidently beginning to adapt himself 
 to the customs of the country. 
 
 " Come in and take a drink, Dean," he said, in a 
 friendly voice; " and then when there's a chance at 
 the billiard table we'll have a game or two; in Home, 
 you know, one must do as the Romans do." 
 
 "I don'fc drink; I don't play billiards; and we're 
 not in Rome," was the uncompromising reply. 
 
 " Ah, you'll soon get rid of all that squeamish- 
 ness if you stay in San Francisco any time," said 
 Saxton, coolly. "Fact is," he went on, as Tom 
 shrugged his shouiaers, " it's all very well for a fel- 
 low to steady down after he gets to be thirty or 
 thereabouts; but till then I believe in a young fel- 
 low's having his fling sowing his wild oats, don't 
 you know ?" 
 
 " I know," steadily replied Tom, " that in an old 
 fashioned book which young fellows are apt to 
 make light of, it says: 'Whatsoever a man soweth, 
 that also shall he reap;' and, short as my life has 
 been, I've seen and heard enough to find that it is 
 true." 
 
 " Well, don't preach," was the impatient answer; 
 but Tom noticed a shadow pass over his compan- 
 ion's good looking face as he spoke. 
 
 "Preaching isn't in my line," said Tom, gently,
 
 140 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 drawing Saxton a little on one side out of the glare of 
 light that streamed from the open door; " but look 
 here, Saxton, if you go in there you'll only get into 
 trouble with that brute Curley, who is three quarters 
 drunk already. Come back to the Vendome; there's 
 some one I want to inquire about in San Francisco, 
 whom possibly you may know." 
 
 Perhaps curiosity to learn something more about 
 Tom, whose reticence concerning himself had rather 
 piqued his new acquaintance, was the motive of Sax- 
 ton's final acquiescence. And possibly Tom's gentle 
 rebuke might not have been entirely lost. 
 
 " Pity I hadn't had some one like you at my elbow 
 all my life, instead of the one I have had," he said, 
 abruptly, as the two turned away from the noisy 
 revelry which was growing more furious every mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " Saxton," exclaimed Tom, impetuously, " it's never 
 too late to mend. If you've gone a bit wrong 
 which of course I know nothing about why don't 
 you turn square round, and go back to your home ?" 
 
 In the clear moonlight, Tom could see the mus- 
 cles of his companion's face twitching convulsively. 
 But Saxton pulled himself together, and said, de- 
 cisively: 
 
 " You're very kind, Dean, but you don't know. In 
 my case it is too late." 
 
 Tom saw that he could not well pursue the sub- 
 ject without seeming inquisitive, so he said no 
 more. 
 
 Elbowing their way along the noisy thoroughfare, 
 the two reached the Vendome piazza. They found 
 it entirely deserted, and seated themselves in the 
 clear moonlight. 
 
 " The person I wanted to ask about," began Tom, 
 referring to the paragraph in his diary, " though of 
 course it's only barely possible that you may know
 
 THAT TREASURE. 141 
 
 or have heard of the name, is a Mr. Gr. S. Grey- 
 son " 
 
 It was probably the report of the pistol or rifle 
 shot, which suddenly rang out a little way down the 
 street, that caused Torn Saxton to start so vio- 
 lently at this juncture. 
 
 So at least Tom supposed as Saxton sprang to his 
 feet and gazed eagerly in the direction of the shot. 
 A number of passing pedestrians turned and ran to- 
 ward the open door of one of the saloons. 
 
 " There's some sort of a row at Rafe's," said Tom. 
 At the same moment the peace loving colonel, fol- 
 lowed by a number of others, dashed out on the 
 piazza and into the street, duly armed and equip- 
 ped " according to law," to quote Mr. Diggs, who 
 with a due regard for his personal safety had staid 
 behind. 
 
 " Better stay here," he added. 
 
 A sudden irregular discharge of firearms in the 
 street, and the whistling of two or three stray bul- 
 lets, in the direction of the building, gave point to 
 the warning. 
 
 Amid a hoarse chorus of yells and oaths, accom- 
 panied by popping of revolvers, half a dozen or 
 more mounted men dashed past the piazza like a 
 whirlwind. 
 
 "Curley's gang an' a mighty good riddance," ex- 
 claimed Mr. Diggs, with a sigh of evident relief. 
 And as the little affair was evidently over, he went 
 in to relieve Britzer at the bar. 
 
 "What was the trouble, colonel ?" eagerly asked 
 Tom, as that individual, breathless and hatless, re- 
 turned to the hotel. 
 
 "No trouble at all," returned Colonel North, pleas- 
 antly, after he had blown the smoke from the barrel 
 of his gun; "only that Curley shot the sheriff, who 
 was trying to arrest him, and as his gang were in-
 
 142 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 dined to make some little trouble, we quietly ran 
 them out of town that is all; but Curley himself 
 he's under lock and key in the jail, by this time." 
 " What will be done with him ?" again inquired 
 
 " Nothing if it is left for a jury to decide," was 
 the energetic reply; "he has slipped through the 
 meshes of the law seven or eight times already, I'm 
 told, and - " 
 
 "A word with you, colonel," interrupted Major 
 >mith, hurrying up; and as he whispered something 
 in the colonel's ear, the latter nodded. 
 
 " I'm with them," he said, approvingly, and the 
 two, making quickly away together, joined an ex- 
 cited crowd on the nearest corner, who were talking 
 together in an undertone. 
 
 "What a singular person that Colonel North is," 
 eaid Tom, after a short silence; "so polite, and well 
 educated. Yet he seems to be hand and glove with 
 the rough crowd who make up the town here." 
 
 " He is a singular person," bitterly replied Saxton, 
 very much to Tom's surprise; "a man who would 
 take your life, or pick your pocket, in the same 
 smooth, easy way, in which you hear him talk. He 
 is thoroughly unscrupulous, fears neither God nor 
 man, and has been an adventurer from the time he 
 was turned adrift by his father for - " 
 
 Here, conscious that Tom was staring at him ID 
 amazement, Saxton pulled himself up very sud- 
 denly. 
 
 "What confounded nonsense I'm talking," he 
 said, changing color slightly; " but the fact is, while 
 you were gone I had a long yarn with this Colonel 
 North, who might have let out more about himself 
 than he meant to. Without thinking what I was 
 saying, I gave you my private opinion of the man, 
 who, after all, may not be half so black as I've
 
 THAT TREASURE. 143 
 
 painted Mm. But to return to what we were speak- 
 ing of when we were interrupted," Saxton went on, 
 hurriedly; "curiously enough, I happen to know 
 the Mr. Greyson you asked about in fact that is 
 he is an intimate friend of my grandfather's." 
 
 " Well, that is odd," returned Tom, forgetting his 
 companion's tirade against Colonel North, in his 
 eagerness to know more about Mr. Greyson. "Who 
 and what is he, please ?" 
 
 " A retired sea captain, enormously wealthy and 
 very eccentric," was the slow reply. "And now, do 
 you mind telling me why you asked about him ?" in- 
 quired Saxton, with a curious side glance at his 
 companion. 
 
 Tom did not mind in the least. On the contrary, 
 it was rather a relief for him to tell this young fel- 
 low, so near his own age, as much of his story as 
 was necessary. Bringing out the pocket diary, he 
 read aloud the newspaper fragments by the clear 
 moonlight, which was flooding everything with al- 
 most noonday radiance. 
 
 It was, perhaps, the moonlight itself which gave 
 such a ghastly pallor to Saxton's face, as Tom Dean 
 finished his narration. 
 
 " I don'fc understand why the professor kept the 
 newspaper scrap from my knowledge, though," re- 
 marked Tom, after vainly waiting for the young fel- 
 low beside him to break the silence. 
 
 " Perhaps," suggested Saxton, whose voice sounded 
 rather strangely, " the professor, as you call him, 
 had written to Mr. Greyson, and was waiting for 
 him to answer before he told you the whole story." 
 
 " I don't see why Mr. Greyson didn't answer, if 
 the professor wrote to him," persisted Tom. 
 
 " Mr. Greyson might never have received the let- 
 ter," was the low reply; and, as though anxious to 
 change the subject, Saxton began trying to draw
 
 HI THAT TKEASURE. 
 
 Tom out more fully regarding his former life and 
 his adventures generally, of which he seemed to 
 have heard some hints. He probably got these 
 from Halsted, who was seemingly well known to 
 many of the habitues of the Vendome, and had been 
 hanging about the barroom since late in the after- 
 noon. 
 
 But Tom, mindful ot his companion's reticence as 
 to his own history, took pattern thereby so success- 
 fully, that Saxton finally rose. He muttered some- 
 thing about " turning in," and stepped inside the 
 door, followed a moment later by Tom himself. 
 
 The interior was no more inviting than by day- 
 light. The fumes of liquor and strong tobacco 
 poisoned the atmosphere. Half intoxicated roughs 
 and miners leaned against the bar counter, and 
 interspersed their mutual confidences with oaths and 
 ribald songs. Even the fluent pen of Bret Harte 
 could hardly evolve a picturesque character or situ- 
 ation from such environments. 
 
 Colonel North, whom no amount of liquor seemed 
 to affect in the least, was playing poker at a rough 
 board table near the door, with the major as his 
 partner, and an English lord, who was " doing " the 
 Western country, and a wealthy cattle buyer as 
 opponents. 
 
 It might have been fancy, but Tom thought, as 
 the colonel looked up, that a glance of intelligence 
 passed between him ;tnd young Saxton. 
 
 But however this was, the latter, seemingly for- 
 getful of his intention to retire, stepped behind the 
 colonel's chair, where he stood watching the prog- 
 ress of the game. 
 
 A few minutes later, the major rose from his seat, 
 exclaiming that " something he'd eat for supper 
 didn't seem to sit well." 
 
 He allowed the cards to fall from his hand, and,
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 145 
 
 pushing back the stool, made a very sudden and 
 abrupt exit. 
 
 " Oh, look here now," exclaimed Lord Clinghurst, 
 who was being initiated into the national game, 
 "that's not the thing, don't you know." 
 
 " Perhaps Mr. er Saxton knows enough about 
 the game to take the major's hand," blandly sug- 
 gested Colonel North. And Tom could almost 
 have sworn that, as he spoke, the colonel threw 
 a meaning glance at Saxton, who was turning 
 away. 
 
 Whether or not this was the case, the young 
 fellow stopped, said something about merely know- 
 ing the rudiments of the game, and dropping into 
 the vacated seat, took up the cards in a seemingly 
 awkward manner. 
 
 " Hum," thought Tom, " so he spars like an ama- 
 teur prize fighter, drinks, and plays poker. For a 
 fellow who can't be much, if any, older than myself, 
 I should say that was a bad lookout. No wonder he 
 had trouble with his grandfather. And, more than 
 that," so ran Tom's musing " there's something 
 between him and that Colonel North, although they 
 pretend to be strangers. Now, what does it mean, 
 I'd like to know ?" 
 
 But he was too tired and sleepy to pursue the 
 question further, so he turned toward the sleeping 
 loft overhead. 
 
 Carrying in one hand his haversack, which con- 
 tained a newly purchased brush, comb, and a few 
 needed articles of light underclothing, together 
 with some two hundred spare cartridges that 
 were part of the " outfit " for which young Saxton 
 had bargained, Tom was about to ascend the ladder 
 leading to the sleeping loft overhead. Just then 
 Britzer approached, with a somewhat uncertain 
 step.
 
 146 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 " Say, Tom," he whispered loudly, at the same 
 time touching the bulging haversack with the toe 
 of his boot, " why don't you sell your gold before 
 you leave town, same's Sherard did, instead of lug- 
 ging it round ?'' 
 
 *' I haven't any to sell," replied Tom, shortly; 
 " what makes mv haversack so heavy is a lot of car- 
 tridges." 
 
 " Oh, of course," returned Britzer, breaking into 
 an ironical laugh. Without troubling to prove his 
 assertion, Tom ascended the ladder to the loft, whose 
 uninviting interior was made dimly visible by a 
 lighted lantern hanging from a beam. 
 
 " There's no one sleeps in number six, Tom; you 
 can turn in there," called Britzer from below. 
 Making his way between two rows of canvas cots, 
 furnished with pillows and gray blankets, Tom de- 
 posited his haversack under, and himself upon, the 
 cot designated. 
 
 Tom was tired out, and his eyes were soon closed 
 by a heavy drowsiness. As he lay partly undressed 
 on the outside of the cot, he had a strange dream, 
 which did not seem to be all a dream, either. 
 
 He fancied that Saxton, whose cot was next to his 
 own, approached with a lighted candle in his hand. 
 After glancing about him, to make sure that he was 
 unobserved, he softly pushed the sleeve of Tern's 
 woolen shirt up to the elbow, as his arm lay partly 
 extended from the cot. 
 
 Bending down, he seemed to look attentively at 
 some tiny blue scratches in the smooth, white flesh, 
 which a little stretch of imagination might convert 
 into one or more initial letters, though Tom himself 
 had only thought of them as a skin blemish or birth- 
 mark. 
 
 " Yes, the ' T ' is there, plain enough ! I guess 
 the game is up, sure," Tom dreamed that he heard
 
 THAT TREASURE. 147 
 
 Saxton say, half aloud, as he softly replaced the 
 sleeve, and sat down on the edge of his own bed. 
 Then, placing the candle on the floor, he began un- 
 lacing his boots. 
 
 Still dreaming if he were dreaming Tom heard 
 a sleepy voice near at hand, which he recognized as 
 that of the English tourist, remark: 
 
 "Say, Saxton, Beal and I had beastly bad luck 
 tonight, playing against you and the colonel. 
 Seems to me you play an uncommon good hand for 
 a young feller. I lost nearly five hundred dollars 
 tonight." 
 
 "Poker is a very uncertain game, Lord Cling- 
 hurst," replied Saxton, with a real or affected yawn, 
 as he blew out the candle. Then there was a short 
 silence. 
 
 " Should think so," finally returned his lord- 
 ship, who had included Holcomb in his tour simply 
 to see what a typical Western mining town was 
 like. "Have the colonel or the major come up yet, 
 do you know ? " he asked, duplicating Saxton's 
 yawn. 
 
 " Doubt if you see either of them before morn- 
 ing," said Saxton, coughing dryly; " as I under- 
 stand, they, with a number of law abiding citizens 
 of Holcomb, are holding a short session of court, 
 presided over by Judge Lynch, somewhere in the 
 vicinity of the jail." 
 
 "Isn't it rather late in the evening for that sort 
 of thing?" inquired Lord Clinghurst, innocently. 
 
 "Better late than never," was the somewhat enig- 
 matic answer; and then Tom's dream seemed to end 
 abruptly, and when he awoke the sun was streaming 
 in at the one uncurtained window. 
 
 "Ready for that exchange?" said a voice near 
 him. Starting up, Tom saw Saxton, who tossed 
 coat, pants and vest upon the foot of Tom's cot, and
 
 148 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 proceeded at once to array himself in the latter's re- 
 jected habiliments. Tom, in exchange, donned Sax- 
 ton's swell suit. 
 
 When, a few moments later, the two descended 
 to the lower room, they found only Mr. Diggs, the 
 proprietor, Lord Clinghurst, and the cattle dealer 
 present; most of the mining men having had an 
 early breakfast, and gone to their work by sun- 
 rise. 
 
 " So you two hev made the swap off I he?rd some 
 of 'em tellin' about las' night," observed Mr. Diggs, 
 staring very hard at the two well proportioned 
 young fellows before him. " It's kind uv a curi's 
 freak on your part, but I s'pose you know your biz- 
 ness better'n any one else," he added. 
 
 Mr. Diggs was chosen a sort of referee to appraise 
 the value of Tom's outfit; which he did very fairly, 
 all things considered. 
 
 " Hoss I call forty; Winchester, beiii'secon' hand, 
 fifteen; revolver, ditto, ditto; saddle and rest of hoss 
 gear, includin' blankits, say thirty; an' sundries 
 meanin' haversack, ketridges, belt, knife, pockit com- 
 pass an' sich, ten more," he announced, after consid- 
 erable ciphering with a stumpy pencil.. 
 
 "One hundred and ten take my traveling bag, 
 with the underclothing, etc., and call it an even 
 hundred, Dean," said Saxton, with a sort of forced 
 gayety. 
 
 "Very good," said Tom; and the bargain was 
 completed. From a well filled pocket book, Saxton 
 produced two fifty dollar bills, which he handed 
 Tom, who put them between the leaves of his diary, 
 with the rest of his little fortune. After this, they 
 sat down to breakfast with excellent appetites. 
 
 The meal was soon over, and the two Chinamen 
 employed as waiters began clearing away the 
 dishes.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 149 
 
 A general adjournment to the piazza followed. 
 Lord Clinghurst, who never stirred without a field 
 glass in a case hanging from his shoulders, stood 
 leaning against one of the rough supports, point- 
 lug the glass towards a distant clump of cotton- 
 woods. 
 
 " Why, bless me there's a man hung himself to 
 on^ of the trees yonder," he exclaimed, in horrified 
 accents which caused every one to look up. 
 
 " 'Tain't no sooicide bizness it's only Pete 
 Curley," remarked Mr. Diggs, coolly, as he pro- 
 ceeded to light his pipe. " The boys busted in the 
 jail door some'res to'ards mornin'," he concluded, 
 blowing a cloud of smoke into the clear air; " an' 
 after we'd that is," said Mr. Diggs, correcting him- 
 self, with a slight show of contusion, "after they'd 
 driv the jailer an' deppity sheriffs into one o' the 
 cells an' locked 'em in, we they, I mean, jest took 
 Pete out to the cott'nwood clump yonder, giv' him 
 five minnits to say his prayers, an* run him up whar 
 he orter ben five years ago." 
 
 Just then Halsted, who had evidently been walk- 
 ing very fast, came up to the piazza, and addressed 
 Mr. Diggs. 
 
 "I dunno but it's all right, Diggey," he said, 
 rather hastily; "but jes' now Cherokee Charley 
 came in from the range, an' says jest afore sunup 
 that Britzer chap on your sorril mare, along of Ma- 
 jor Smith an' the kernel, passed him on the ol* 
 Piute trail, headin' to the west'ard an' gallopin' like 
 mad !" 
 
 The pipe dropped from Mr. Diggs's mouth per- 
 haps forced therefrom by the torrent of imprecations 
 which followed it. 
 
 " My sorril mare and five weeks' board to them 
 two blamed, smooth talkin' scalawags clean gone !" 
 yelled the unhappy Diggs, who, with his fingers
 
 150 THAT TKEASUEE. 
 
 clutched in his unkempt hair, seemed desirous of 
 lifting himself off his feet in his frenzy. 
 
 But leaving Mr. Diggs to bewail his losses, and 
 to lament that as yet there was no telegraphic com- 
 munication between Holcomb and the adjoining 
 towns, Tom betook himself to the railway station, in 
 company with Mr. Beal and Lord Clinghurst. All 
 three of them intended to leave Holcomb on the 
 same train. 
 
 Tom bought a through ticket to San Francisco; 
 but as the 6 P. M. express from Albuquerque did not 
 stop at Holcomb, all three would be obliged to 
 change at Daggett, some ninety miles further on, 
 where the express did stop, for their several destin- 
 ations. 
 
 "That's the worst of the whole thing," growled 
 Mr. Beal as they returned in company to the Ven- 
 dome; "for these wretched local trains in this sec- 
 tion of the kentry are stopped by train robbers 
 nigh as ofen as the ol' stage line used to be." 
 
 Lord Clinghurst laughed lightly. 
 
 " Stopping a mail coach is one thing, but for rob- 
 bers, or road agents, as I believe you call 'em, to 
 stop a railway train full of passengers come, now, 
 that's rather too absurd !" 
 
 Mr. Beal grunted, but made no further comments, 
 and the trio reached the Vendome. They found 
 young Saxton, in his plainsman's garb, exercising 
 the Indian pony by running him through the street 
 at full speed; which, being quite one of the customs 
 of the country, excited neither comment nor partic- 
 ular attention. 
 
 " If you shoot as well as you ride," remarked Tom, 
 as Saxton leaped from the saddle, and gave the pony 
 into the hands of the half breed hostler, "you'll 
 make an admirable plainsman." 
 
 " I shoot fairly well," was the quiet reply. " My
 
 THAT TREASURE. 151 
 
 grandfather," he continued, sitting down beside 
 Tom, "was one of the ruost indulgent of men in 
 some things. I had a saddle horse when I was nine 
 years old, and after I was big enough to handle a 
 gun I spent almost every vacation at a hunting 
 lodge in the Yellowstone Park, with some friends 
 of his; so I got to be quite a good shot for a young- 
 ster." 
 
 "And to think you'd leave such a home as you 
 must have had for the life that you have taken up!" 
 exclaimed Tom, impulsively. 
 
 "Some day I fancy you will understand better 
 why I did," returned Saxton, moodily; " for I have 
 a sort of presentiment that in the course of time 
 you and my grandfather will meet." 
 
 A brief silence followed. 
 
 " You're positive I didn't leave any letters in the 
 pockets of the coat you've got on ?" asked young 
 Saxton, suddenly. 
 
 Taking his big wallet from the inside pocket of 
 the shirt, where Tom had kept the diary which had 
 now been transferred to his new suit, Saxton was 
 turning over some papers in one of the compart- 
 ments with a look of anxiety. 
 
 " Perfectly sure," was the confident answer. " Why, 
 do you miss anything ?" 
 
 " It's no consequence. I probably left it behind 
 in my hurry, or perhaps tore it up. I don't know, 
 and don't care," replied Saxton, fretfully, as he 
 pushed his wallet back to place. 
 
 But he soon regained his usual demeanor, and 
 went on talking of what he meant to do. He had 
 plenty of money, and perhaps would join a wagon 
 train or a hunting party before long, that is, if 
 
 And here this very singular young man stopped 
 abruptly, and changed the subject. 
 
 " I'm going to say good by to you now," he said,
 
 152 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 rising and reaching for his rifle, which was leaning 
 against the side of the house; "for I think I'll take 
 a little turn outside of the town, and practice at 
 jack rabbit shooting till dark. I suppose you'll be 
 off before very long." 
 
 'Well, good by, then," returned Tom, hardly 
 knowing what to make of his peculiar and rather 
 mysterious acquaintance, as he shook him heartily 
 by the hand ; " who knows but we shall meet again 
 some day?" 
 
 " Better if we don't/' muttered Saxton. 
 
 Pressing Tom's hand again, his lips parted, as 
 though he were about to say something more. But 
 if such was his intention, he checked himself, mut- 
 tered " Grood by and good luck;" and, a few mo- 
 ments later, Tom saw him riding down the street. 
 
 Near the clump of cottonwoods, from which Pete 
 Curley's body was still swinging, Tom saw the 
 young fellow draw rein and sit motionless in his 
 saddle for a short time. 
 
 " How can he want to look at such a horrid sight?" 
 thought Tom, with a shudder, as he turned and en- 
 tered the house. 
 
 But Saxton was looking at something else. It 
 was the little compass he had drawn from the 
 haversack. 
 
 " Strike the Piute trail south of the clump of 
 cottonwoods/ he was saying, with his eyes fixed on 
 th^ compass card; "and keep straight on to Ash 
 Forks. Stop at the Gayety saloon, and wait for him 
 there; so my orders were last night, and there's 
 nothing for me to do now but obey. I wonder what 
 new deviltry he's planning now." 
 
 And, clapping his heels to the plump sides of his 
 sturdy little steed, Tom Saxton galloped on toward 
 the Piute trail, drawn on by an irresistible destiny 
 to the strange events that awaited him.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 153 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 A DISCOVERY AND A LOSS. 
 
 THE three or four cars composing the " local 
 train," which ran through from Holcomb to Dag- 
 gett, a distance of some ninety miles, in five hours, 
 were certainly not designed for comfort, any more 
 than the wheezing engine was intended for speed. 
 The seat occupied by Tom Dean and his satchel was 
 uncushioned, and not over clean. The atmosphere 
 was redolent of cigarette smoke and the fumes of 
 aguardiente, which was being consumed by a party 
 of Mexicans and half breeds at one end of the 
 car. 
 
 Beal, who sat with Lord Clinghurst, immediately 
 ahead of Tom, told the latter that the rear car, 
 which was arranged with rude berths to serve 
 as a sort of "sleeper" for women and children, 
 contained several emigrant families, while the one 
 beyond was filled with a motley crowd of all sorts. 
 
 As the noble tourist seemed to be completely 
 taken up with some very marvelous stories of West- 
 ern enterprise and adventure, which the worthy 
 cattle buyer was relating with great solemnity, Tom, 
 left entirely to his own devices, took the opportun- 
 ity to examine more particularly the contents of 
 his new traveling bag, into which he had only 
 glanced before saying " good by " to the little town 
 of Holcomb.
 
 154 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 The nice underclothing, stockings, collars, cuffs, 
 and shirts, were all marked with the initials " T. S. 
 G." This led Tom to believe that their former 
 owner had only told part of his name, which was 
 really Tom Saxton something. 
 
 In a flat, wallet-like receptacle, Tom found some 
 papers and envelopes, and, slipped in between them, 
 two letters which Saxton must have overlooked. 
 
 " Perhaps these are the ones he missed, when he 
 asked me whether I found any papers in my pocket," 
 thought Tom, taking them mechanically from their 
 hiding place. 
 
 One of them was inclosed in a crumpled envelope 
 on which was a Mexican postage stamp. And with 
 a gasp of astonishment, Tom immediately recognized 
 both the handwriting and the address. The first 
 was Professor Dean's peculiar chirography, as 
 familiar to Tom as his own, while the address was: 
 
 G. S. GREYSON, 
 
 1917 MONTGOMERY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, 
 
 Up one flight. CAL. 
 
 " The letter was mailed in the City of Mexico the 
 very day the professor received his bundle of 
 New York papers," muttered Tom, turning very pale. 
 
 But what did it mean? How had Saxton, or 
 whatever his name was, come into possession of 
 Professor Dean's letter? What connection could 
 there be between him and this mysterious Mr. Grey- 
 son ? Why 
 
 But conjectures were of no avail, and in a per- 
 fect maze of bewilderment Tom withdrew the letter 
 from the broken envelope, and opened it. It read 
 thus: 
 
 Crrr OF MEXICO, November 3, 1878. 
 G. S. GBEYSON. ESQ. 
 
 DEAB SIB : I have just cut from a New York paper this day 
 received your advertisement relating to a notice inserted in
 
 THAT TREASURE. 155 
 
 city papers some years ago. I had at first intended proceeding 
 at once to San Francisco for a personal interview, but for 
 various reasons must defer it till later, or, at least, till I re- 
 ceive an answer to this letter. 
 
 Now for the subject in hand. I presume from the wording 
 of your notice that you had some strong motive for insert- 
 ing it. 
 
 On the evening of June 30. 1865, 1 went to see a friend off ty 
 the Fall River boat, which left Pier 28, North River, about 
 6 P. M. After the boat had swung away from the wharf, and 
 the crowd was dispersing, I felt a tug at my coat. Looking 
 down, I saw a sturdy looking, well dressed little fellow, who 
 could not speak plainly enough to make me understand any- 
 thing, except that his name was " Tommy," and he wanted his 
 mamma, from whom " a bad man " had taken him. I took the 
 child up, and at once instituted an inquiry oil the pier, but 
 without results. 
 
 I then carried him to my boarding house, and telegraphed 
 the agents of the boat at Fall River regarding the boy. They 
 made all due inquiry on arrival of the steamer; but, strangely 
 enough, without success. I then inserted advertisements in 
 the prominent city dailies, but without avail, nor could the 
 police get any clew whatever to the mother or parents of the 
 lost child. 
 
 The only thing which might furnish a trace as to his identity 
 was a sort of monogram in India ink on his little arm, which 
 proved to be the letters "T. S. G.;" but they were so finely 
 traced, that at the present time only the T is discernible. 
 
 Tom is now about seventeen, and I love him as my own son. 
 My little sayings I intend for him when I pass to the spirit 
 world ; and in every way I have tried to care for his welfare as 
 for my own. 
 
 I think I have now told you all there is to tell. Whatever 
 you may know concerning his parentage, or to his advantage, 
 will be strictly confidential, if you choose to communicate 
 such mformation. I have said nothing as yet to him. for fear 
 of raising false hopes, and shall preserve silence till I hear 
 from you. Hoping that you will reply at once, 
 
 I am very truly, PKOFESSOB DEAN. 
 
 Then followed the address, giving street and 
 number; but Tom read no further. His head was 
 in a perfect whirl, and as the train went jolting 
 along over its uneven road bed, he glanced from the 
 window at the- monotonous landscape, without taking 
 in any of its features. 
 
 "That letter, which Mr. Greyson has probably 
 never read, or he would have answered it at once, 
 will tell my story and prove the truth of it better
 
 156 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 than I myself could do." Such was Tom's exultant 
 thought. 
 
 But how came it in Saxton's possession ? Would 
 the other letter throw any light on this perplexing 
 question ? 
 
 DEAK TOM : I am planning to return to San Francisco just as 
 soon as it is safe to do so. The major and I have a grand 
 scheme in view, -which it will take about two thousand dollars 
 to float. You must get the money for us. Now that you have 
 full charge of old Greyson's rent collecting, correspondence, 
 and money matters generally, this will be a comparatively 
 easy thing. You have put G's name at the bottom of too many 
 smaller checks for my oenefit to stick at this, and if you can't 
 cover up a two thousand dollar error in the accounts ot a man 
 worth a million, you're not the shrewd fellow I take you to be. 
 You must get it some way, and run the chances, for 'there's a 
 pot of nwney in our new scheme about which you shall know 
 in good time. If worst comes to worst, you can light out and 
 join me here but not without bringing the, t<ro thou'. I trust, 
 however, that it will not come to that. You have a shrewdness 
 and sagacity beyond your years, or you never could have 
 played your part as olii Greyson's grandson and possible heir 
 so finely as you have done, since you were ola enough to 
 understand from rne how you really stood in the matter. My 
 address is the same. COLONEL FKANCIS NOKTH. 
 
 Holcomb, Arizona. 
 
 "Well, I wouldn't have believed there was such 
 villainy in the world !" exclaimed Tom, as a shadowy 
 idea of how things really stood began to shape 
 itself in his bewildered mind! 
 
 Carefully folding the two letters, which might be 
 of such inestimable service to him, Tom placed 
 them between the leaves of his diary and gave him- 
 self up to reflection ! 
 
 Whatever else was incomprehensible in the mat- 
 ter, one thins: was plain. Mr. Greyson, instead of 
 being the intimate friend of young Saxton's so 
 called grandfather, was the grandfather himself, 
 though in name only. Colonel North's letter showed 
 very conclusively the imposition which had been 
 practiced upon the wealthy old man for purposes of 
 gain.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 157 
 
 Further than this, all was purely conjecture. Re- 
 solved not to buoy himself up with any false hopes 
 which might never be realized, Tom resolutely tried 
 to dismiss the subject from his mind until he could 
 see Mr. Greyson face to face. 
 
 The voice of Lord Clinghurst, raised above the 
 rattle and rush of the train, disturbed his reflec- 
 tions. 
 
 " Can't understand it, Mr. Beal; 'pon my word I 
 can't," he was saying; " especially in a country 
 where every other fellow goes armed, whether he's 
 traveling or not. I s'pose " turning in his seat 
 "you, Mr. er Dean, carry some kind of a pistol 
 about you eh ?" 
 
 Tom shook his head. 
 
 " Well, you do, Mr. Beal ?" 
 
 " Only a pocket pistol of this kind," returned the 
 cattle drover, pulling a wicker flask from his coat 
 pocket and shaking it gently. 
 
 " I've got one, at any rate," said Lord Clinghurst, 
 exhibiting an elaborately mounted and chased 
 Smith and Wesson, " and if half a dozen desperadoes 
 such as you've been telling about were to enter the 
 train, do you suppose I'd sit quiet and give up my 
 money and valuables " 
 
 The sharp whistle of the locomotive for "down 
 brakes " cut short Lord Clinghurst's boast. 
 
 The grinding of the brakes and sudden slowing 
 down of the train, followed by a shock as though 
 some obstacle on the track had been encountered, 
 caused a general uprising of the passengers. 
 
 " Ladrones ladrones !" yelled the Mexican brake- 
 man, poking his head into the rear door. In au in- 
 stant all was confusion. 
 
 " Chance for your pistol, Clinghurst !" exclaimed 
 Mr. Beal, as he rapidly transferred a capacious 
 pocket book from his coat into a number seven shoe,
 
 158 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 and slipped his watch and chain down the leg of the 
 other stocking. 
 
 But before Lord Clinghurst, whose healthy En- 
 glish color had suddenly fled, could reply, or Tom 
 Dean could collect his own scattered senses, a small, 
 plainly dressed man, whose face was hidden by a 
 crape or cambric mask with eyeholes, stepped 
 quickly inside the door, holding a cocked double 
 barreled gun at his shoulder. 
 
 " Money and valuables, if you please, gentle^ 
 men," he said, in what was evidently a feigned 
 voice. 
 
 A thick set personage, masked like the other, and 
 wearing his blue shirt after the manner of a carter s 
 frock, entered at the rear door. He carried a heavy 
 revolver in his grasp. Walking swiftly up the aisle, 
 the train robber presented his weapon. 
 
 Lord Clinghurst, with a blanched face, handed 
 over his gold chronometer and a well filled note 
 case. Mr. Beal, uttering audible imprecations, ex- 
 tended a worn calf skin wallet. 
 
 " No fooling off with your shoes !" and, heavy 
 hearted, the cattle buyer obeyed. 
 
 "Now you !" was the sharp demand, emphasized 
 by the muzzle of the revolver at Tom's temple; and 
 he had no resource but to obey. 
 
 " Take the money that's in it, but leave me the 
 book and two or three papers," he began, when the 
 diary was snatched rudely from his grasp. With 
 the other valuables, it was handed over to him of the 
 double barrel, who, still holding his gun in readi- 
 ness, walked down the aisle to receive the booty. 
 
 Seizing Tom's traveling bag from the seat, the 
 heavily built man followed his superior officer to the 
 door, and the two stepped out on the platform, 
 where they were reinforced by two from the adjoin- 
 ing car.
 
 THAT TREASUEE. 159 
 
 Suddenly Lord Clinghurst lugged out his revol- 
 ver, and standing erect on his seat, aimed into the 
 group on the platform. 
 
 " For God's sake, Clinghurst !" cried Beal, but the 
 remainder of the protest was lost in the sharp 
 crack ! crack ! crack ! of three successive shots from 
 the self cocker. 
 
 The thick set man, who was nearest the door, 
 staggered and fell backward to the ground from the 
 car platform a limp, lifeless mass; while the smaller 
 of the two, uttering an exclamation of pain, let his 
 gun drop from his grasp, and clapped his hand to 
 his shoulder. 
 
 At the same moment, a partially tipsy Mexican, 
 emboldened by the unexpected result, drew from 
 under the seat a bell muzzled flint lock blunderbuss, 
 of a pattern only seen nowadays in collections of 
 antique weapons. Drawing back the hammer, he 
 pointed it toward the door, shut both eyes, and 
 pulled. 
 
 There was an explosion like that of a tunnel blast 
 a crashing of glass and splintering of wood. 
 
 The Mexican was kicked nearly under the seat by 
 the recoil, but the handful of buckshot and bullets 
 with which the old trabuco was loaded dispersed the 
 train robbers as effectually as a charge of cavalry, 
 and in another moment three mounted men galloped 
 swiftly away, followed by two ineffectual shots from 
 the revolver of Lord Clinghurst, who himself was in 
 the highest state of excitement. 
 
 The Mexican brakeman and conductor appeared 
 as though by magic from somewhere under the car 
 wheels, while the engineer and fireman, who had 
 jumped off when the train came to a standstill, came 
 back to their respective posts as soon as the danger 
 was over. 
 
 Meanwhile the passengers had gathered about the
 
 160 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 body of the train robber, which lay doubled up be* 
 side the track. 
 
 Mr. Beal stooped over and took the revolver from 
 his hand, while the Mexican who had used the blun- 
 derbuss roughly tore the crape mask from the dead 
 mart's face. 
 
 "I'm derned," said Mr. Beal, emphatically, "if it 
 ain't that Britzer that lit out with Diggs's sorril 
 mare ! That bein' the case, it wouldn't surprise me 
 none if that air poker playin' cunnel, and Major 
 Smith hisself, was two more of the gang." 
 
 Neither would it have surprised Tom in the least, 
 as he remembered young Saxton's testimony to the 
 colonel's little peculiarities, together with other sus- 
 picious circumstances. 
 
 But Tom was by no means in a talking mood. He 
 had picked up his traveling bag where it had been 
 dropped, but his money, and what was almost as 
 much to be lamented, the pocket diary with its con- 
 tents, were gone. 
 
 Silently he returned to his seat, hearing, like one 
 in a dream, the excited gabble of tongues about 
 him. After the obstructions had been removed 
 from the track, the train started on again, leaving 
 the body of Britzer where it lay. 
 
 But Tom for the first time felt discouraged and, 
 cast down. His railway ticket, about seven dollars 
 in silver, and the contents of his traveling bag, to- 
 gether with the clothes he stood in, comprised his 
 entire earthly possessions. He hardly dared to 
 think that he should be lucky enough to regain his 
 lost gold or its equivalent. In this cheerful frame 
 of mind, he mechanically ate and slept during the 
 succeeding three days and nights of railway journey- 
 ing, until the blue coated conductor, with an audi- 
 ble sigh of relief, called out " San Francisco V
 
 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE IMPORTANT MEETING. 
 
 PERSONS sometimes speak of the sense of loneli- 
 ness they have known, when, as perfect strangers in 
 some great city, they felt that in all the hurrying, 
 busy throng that passed and repassed, there was 
 not one who either directly or indirectly had the 
 slightest interest in their well being or even their 
 existence. 
 
 Thip is not always the case. Given a well lined 
 pocket book, or even a prospect of immediate ern- 
 ploymentj by which one can pay his own way till 
 something better offers, and this feeling is by no 
 means so depressing. 
 
 But Tom Dean crossed over from the Oakland 
 terminus of the railway, and entered upon the popu- 
 lous thoroughfares of San Francisco, with his travel- 
 ing bag in his hand, and less than ten dollars in his 
 pocket, without acquaintances, friends, or letters of 
 recommendation. I can assure you that such an 
 experience, even to a hopeful nature, is a very trying 
 one. 
 
 True, everything was dependent upon the result 
 of his interview with the mysterious Mr. Grey son. 
 Yet the very uncertainty of his mission, without a 
 scrap of writing to prove his identity or substantiate 
 the story he had to tell, made the situation doubly 
 painful and embarrassing.
 
 16* THAT TKEASURE, 
 
 In this frame of mind, Tom, aided by the advice 
 of a friendly policeman, sought out a cheap but 
 comfortable lodging house on Kearney Street; 
 where, having paid in advance for a room for the 
 night, he left his traveling bag. After having at- 
 tended to his toilet with considerable care, he en- 
 joyed at a neighboring restaurant, for the first time 
 in many weeks, a well cooked meal amid civilized 
 surroundings. 
 
 " Now for it," muttered Tom, as he mentally girded 
 up his loins, and started out. Greatly wondering 1 
 within himself at the ups and downs of the populous 
 thoroughfares, he bent his steps in the direction of 
 Montgomery Street. 
 
 Drifting with the great tide of humanity, he soon 
 reached the wide and busy thoroughfare. 
 
 Suppose he could not find Mr. Greyson! Or sup- 
 pose, having found him, that Mr. Greyson refused 
 even to listen to him! True, somewhere in the 
 United States Tom had awaiting him a small fortune 
 eight or nine thousand dollars, if Britzer's state- 
 ment concerning Mr. Shei*ard's sale of the gold at 
 Holcomb was to be believed. Yet without a sum of 
 money to pursue his search, the lost treasure could 
 hardly be recovered. If he had only gone directly 
 to Denver, which was Mr. Sherard's destination after 
 leaving Holcomb, perhaps he might have discovered 
 something there. 
 
 With all these conflicting doubts, worries, and re- 
 grets agitating his mind, Tom reached the desig- 
 nated number and entered the great hallway between 
 the different offices. With a fast beating heart he 
 ascended the wide stairway, where a continuous 
 throng was ascending and descending. 
 
 " Come in," said a very gruff voice, as Tom tapped 
 gently on the glazed upper half of a door numbered 
 " 3." In obedience to the summons he entered.
 
 THAT TKEASURE. 163 
 
 " Is this Mr. Greyson ?" asked Tom, doubtfully, as 
 he was confronted by a stern visaged old man, with 
 a red, wrinkled, smooth shaven face, deeply sunken, 
 piercing eyes, under shaggy gray brows, and short, 
 thick white hair, brushed straight up all over his 
 head. 
 
 " It's Cap'n Greyson what do you want ?" was the 
 curt response. 
 
 "I want to say this," returned Tom, standing 
 very dignified and erect before Captain Greyson, 
 who was eying him closely from beneath his heavy 
 brows. And then Tom told his story from begin- 
 ning to end, only omitting such parts of it as had 
 no bearing upon the main point at issue that of his 
 own identity. 
 
 " And here, sir," said Tom, stripping up his sleeve 
 and pointing with his finger to the tattooing on the 
 white flesh, " here is a mark, which perhaps will 
 convince you that I am no impostor." 
 
 If Tom had hoped at this juncture that Captain 
 Greyson, after glancing at the half illegible letters, 
 would fall on his neck, exclaiming, " me own long 
 lost grandson," as happens on the stage, he was 
 doomed to disappointment. 
 
 Captain Greyson grunted, and taking a strong 
 magnifying glass from a drawer of the writing table, 
 closely examined the tracery. 
 
 "The other Tom, who first and last has done me 
 out of six or eight thousand dollars, had exactly the 
 same mark," he said, as he laid aside the glass; and 
 Tom's heart sank within him at the icy tone and 
 manner of the strange man. 
 
 " Allowing that all this dime novel yarn you've 
 been spinning is as you've told it," the captain con- 
 tinued, leaning back in his chair, " what then what 
 of it?" 
 
 "Why," stammered Tom, "I I had hoped "
 
 164 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 
 
 " To discover a grandfather who would leave you 
 a million or so when he slipped his cable," coarsely 
 interrupted the captain, with a grim smile. " Now, 
 see here," he went on, before Tom could utter the 
 indignant protest tfiat rose to his lips; "you've told 
 me your story; now hear what I have got to say. 
 My wife died when our son Tom was born," said Cap- 
 tain Greyson, in a hard, unemotional voice. " He 
 was the only child. I was sailing out of New York 
 then, and making money for myself and the owners, 
 hand over fist, for those were money making days. 
 Tom went to college, and had a big allowance. 
 While I was away on a long voyage he married. 
 The girl, who was only eighteen, was the daughter 
 of a man I hated like poison poor as poverty, with 
 only her pretty face and a talent for music for her 
 dowry. How mad I was when he told me," con- 
 tinued the captain, wrathfully, roughing up his 
 short, bushy hair with both hands, " I needn't say. 
 Not so much with him as the scheming girl " 
 
 "If you're speaking of my mother," hofcly inter- 
 rupted Tom, who felt intuitively that he was listen- 
 ing to the story of his parentage, " I'll trouble you 
 to be a bit more respectful !" 
 
 " Tom all over," muttered Captain Greyson, in 
 an undertone; and Tom, who heard the words, felt 
 a strange thrill of expectancy. But, affecting not 
 to have noticed the remark, he went on: 
 
 "I wouldn't have anything to do with the matter, 
 though I did tell Tom that if he'd separate from her, 
 I'd settle money on her, and Tom could come back. 
 But Tom said ne'd see me well, further first. That 
 settled it. Next thing I heard," said the captain, 
 turning and staring steadfastly out of the window, 
 " Tom had had died suddenly of pneumonia. 
 
 " I had Tom put away in Greenwood beside his 
 mother," Captain Greyson went on, hardening his
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 165 
 
 roice again; " and through my business agent made 
 the widow an allowance. But I offered to treble it 
 if she'd give up Tom's boy baby, so that I could 
 anake him my heir. She wouldn't hear of it. Some 
 city lots here in San Francisco, which I'd invested 
 in twenty years before, turned out a bonanza, and 
 later I came on here to live. Then I fell in with that 
 smooth spoken scoundrel who calls himself Colonel 
 North. There's nothing he won't do for money, ex- 
 cept be honest. He went on East, I paying ex- 
 penses, and managed to get Tom's boy in his posses- 
 sion. The devil helps his own, and it was thought 
 the child had been stolen by some wandering Hun- 
 garian street musicians. Meanwhile North, who 
 was going to start for San Francisco from Boston 
 instead of New York, where he had taken the little 
 three year old, got scared by seeing one of Pinker- 
 ton's detectives on the pier just as he was going 
 aboard the Fall Kiver boat; and in his flurry little 
 Tom got separated from him. North, who was 
 wanted for some old matter, managed to slip aboard 
 the steamer, and after it sailed, I suppose, this 
 Professor Dean, of whom you tell me, ran across the 
 little chap. Tom's widow had a brain fever or some- 
 thing anyhow the police weren't properly notified, 
 and I suppose that was the reason the professor's 
 advertising wasn't a success; and, as near as I can 
 learn from the detective, who has found out consid- 
 erable about the case, Professor Dean went back 
 into the country with little Tom to live. 
 
 " North wasn't going to miss the thousand dollars 
 I'd offered him over and above expenses if he 
 brought Tom's Doy to me, though," continued Cap- 
 tain Greyson, who was nervously pacing the office 
 floor; " so what does he do but get a three year old 
 waif from the Baldwin Street Home, and bring it on 
 to me as Tom's boy. My New York agent, having
 
 166 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 seen the real one, had sent me a description of him, 
 even to the letters ' T. S. G.' pricked into his baby 
 aim through some whim of his mother. North had 
 imitated this with aniline ink, and I swallowed the 
 bait. I paid North his thousand dollars, which 
 gave him a sort of hold on me so much so, that* 
 whenever he chose he made my home his own. 
 When Tom was old enough, I told him of my son's 
 marriage against my wishes, and of the way I had 
 had my grandson (as I presumed him to be) kid- 
 naped. He was sharp enough to know when he had 
 a good thing, so he staid with me, as a matter of 
 course, instead of going into heroics, and rushing 
 off East in search of his mother " 
 
 " Do you mean to say," cried Tom, starting ex- 
 citedly to his feet, " that my that your son's widow 
 is alive ?" 
 
 "I don't know to the contrary; but how can I tell 
 my story if you keep interrupting ?" was the testy 
 reply. 
 
 Holding his hand before his face to hide his emo- 
 tion at this unexpected discovery, Tom allowed Cap- 
 tain Greyson to go on. 
 
 " I thought the boy took it coolly," continued the 
 old man, with an involuntary frown, "but now I un- 
 derstand it. Before that, North had told him the 
 real situation, and given him his choice between be- 
 coming a regular tool in his hands, or being ex- 
 posed to me as a nameless foundling instead of old 
 Greyson's grandson and legal heir. Being what he 
 was a boy with inherited badness, as I shall always 
 think -he naturally chose to stay where he was, and 
 for about three years he has been robbing me in one 
 way and another to put money into that scoundrel's 
 pocket, as well as his own. Then I happened to 
 overhear some talk between him and the colonel, 
 who had got into some scrape or other, and came to
 
 THAT 1BEASUBE. 167 
 
 him for money to help him get safe out of town, and 
 this opened my eyes. And, by a coincidence, my 
 business agent in New York ran across an old file of 
 the Times of 1865, I think, with Professor Dean's 
 notice of finding the three year old boy. This he 
 sent me, and I, keeping the matter secret, had the 
 advertisement inserted that must have brought out 
 the professor's letter you have told about, which 
 was intercepted by that Tom. I suppose this letter 
 roused the boy's suspicions, and, the night before I 
 was going to tell him that I'd found out the whole 
 thing, he slipped off with something like twenty 
 five hundred dollars out of my safe, which he's 
 welcome to, if I never see the young rascal's face 
 again." 
 
 Here Captain Greyson drew a long breath. Tom, 
 whose head was in a perfect maze of bewilderment, 
 sat wondering what would come next. 
 
 He had not long to wait. 
 
 "Now," said Captain Greyson, clearing his throat 
 and speaking in a different tone, as he looked stead- 
 ily at the manly yonng fellow before him, " you've 
 heard my story and I've heard yours. I ain't what 
 might be called fanciful," he observed, rather awk- 
 wardly, "but something has been telling me, since 
 you explained yourself, that you are Tom's boy, and 
 and more than that, I begin to see Tom's face and 
 Tom's ways as I never saw them in the other fel- 
 low. Maybe the proofs you've told of will turn up 
 some day; but never mind that now. I'm a lonely 
 old man, with more money than I know Avhat to do 
 with; and I have neither chick nor cbild in the world 
 to help me spend it, or to inherit it after I'm gone. 
 From this time, Tom," said Captain Greyson, with a 
 curious softening of his harsh voice, as he laid his 
 wrinkled hand on Tom's shoulder, "your home will 
 be with me, and "
 
 *$8 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 " One moment," interrupted Tom, in an agitated 
 voice, "you have spoken of my mother where is 
 
 " G-ood heavens !" exclaimed Captain Greyson, 
 with a total change of voice and manner, " what has 
 that got to do with what I am talking about? I 
 don't know where she is, and, what's more, I don't 
 care. Tom's widow is no more to me than any 
 other designing, scheming, song singing profes- 
 sional " 
 
 Now, Tom had inherited some of the Greyson 
 temper, as well as the Greyson fixedness of purpose, 
 and his face grew so white with anger, that Captain 
 Greyson pulled himself up short. 
 
 " Oh," returned Tom, with a curious inflection of 
 voice, " that is it. Very good, Now, grandfather," 
 he said, rising to his feet and drawing himself up to 
 his full height, "understand me, once for all. If 
 you think that I can, or will, live in ease and plenty 
 while, for aught I knew, my mother" and as he 
 pronounced the sacred name, Tom's voice was trem- 
 ulous with emotion "is friendless, and perhaps in 
 actual want, why you are greatly mistaken. Then 
 you refuse to give me any clew whatever to her 
 whereabouts ?" he said, looking the old man steadily 
 in the face. 
 
 "Yes, I do!" thundered Captain Greyson, stamp- 
 ing violently on the floor; "and what's more, sir, I 
 repeat what I have said " 
 
 " You needn't," interrupted Tom, coolly, " once is 
 enough. Whatever you may think about it, sir," he 
 continued, " my first duty in life is to the mother 
 who gave me birth, and I shall never rest until I 
 have found her: perhaps the day may come when 
 you will see that I am doing only what is right. 
 Good by, grandfather," and before the astounded 
 captain could speak, Tom was gone.
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 169 
 
 XX. 
 
 TOM IN A QUEER COMBINATION. 
 
 '" A. SONG singing professional.'' The words rang 
 tn Tom's ears, as, banging the office door behind 
 mm, he hurried down the wide stairway into the 
 street. " My mother must be some sort of actress," 
 he mused; for Tom, unlike most young fellows of 
 his age at the present clay, was not versed in theat- 
 rical matters; his life having been devoted to other 
 duties and occupations. 
 
 But how to trace her by this slender clew was a 
 most perplexing conundrum. Colonel North, it k 
 true, might know something, directly or indirectly; 
 but Tom had an idea that his chances of again en- 
 countering this most unscrupulous of smooth 
 tongued and gentlemanly villains was, to say the 
 least, an uncertainty. 
 
 A more important question presented itself, after 
 returning to his lodging house and reckoning up 
 the state of his finances. Fifty cents a day, in ad- 
 vance, for a small room on the fourth flight was rea- 
 sonable, all things considered. But when one has 
 less than six dollars in his pocket, and a healthy ap- 
 petite that refuses to be appeased by the scanty fare 
 of cheap eating houses, the most careful economy 
 will only carry one to a certain point, and then 
 what next ? 
 
 Day after day Tom walked the busy streets in 
 search of employment. The papers teemed with ad-
 
 170 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 vertisements for skilled workmen in various depart- 
 ments for journeymen tailors and smart salesmen, 
 barbers, and bookkeepers, electricians, and entry 
 clerks; but, alas 1 without experience in the several 
 branches, it was of no avail to apply. 
 
 Exchanging his stylish suit for a shabby second 
 hand one, Tom gradually drifted from one lodging 
 house to another in a descending scale, and to rest- 
 aurants of a cheaper and cheaper order. Sometimes 
 he got a job about the wharves for half a day. Once 
 he drove a mule team for three whole days, while 
 the proprietor thereof was recovering from a de- 
 bauch. But three weeks of this kind of life was 
 quite enough too much in fact. 
 
 " 111 have one more try," mused Tom, as he rose 
 from a light and unsatisfactory repast of heavy rolk 
 and muddy coffee at a ten cent restaurant on Kear- 
 ney Street, on a certain bright breezy morning; 
 " and if I can't see some way to something better 
 than this sort of existence, I'll go back and ask 
 grandfather Greyson to help me find something to 
 do for very shame's sake he can't refuse." 
 
 "With this determination in his mind, Tom took his 
 way down California Street, half envious of the 
 dapper clerks, the neatly dressed salesmen, and the 
 better class of mechanics, who were hurrying along, 
 each to his own place of employment 
 
 \VANTED-HALF A DOZEN MEN WHO CAN KIDE WELL. 
 
 Apply at the office of the G. C. N. M. & A. A. M. CO., No. 5. 
 1st floor. 
 
 This peculiar placard caught Tom's eye, as he was 
 passing the hallway of a handsome granite block. 
 
 "Any one who can manage a bucking bronco 
 ought to be said to ride well, and I've done that 
 more than once," mused Tom, as he stepped into the 
 wide hall to investigate further' " so I think I'll in- 
 quire into this."
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 171 
 
 " No. 5, 1st floor," was occupied, according to the 
 emblazoned inscription over the door and on the 
 ground glass window, by the Grand Consolidated 
 New Mexico and Arizona Argentiferous Mining 
 Company, duly incorporated according to the laws 
 of the State. The president was one Senor Em- 
 manuel Gromez, and the directors were evidently if 
 names are any criterion titled men of foreign 
 lineage. 
 
 In the small outer room, which Tom entered, some 
 half dozen shabbily dressed individuals of different 
 nationalities were undergoing a sharp cross ques- 
 tioning from a small keen eyed man who represented 
 himself as Mr. Leroy, general business manager of 
 the Grand Consolidated. 
 
 Half an hour later a little cavalcade of horsemen 
 rode down one of the principal streets, whose pe- 
 culiar garb, no less than their method of procedure, 
 created a decided sensation, even in the crowded 
 thoroughfares of a great city where novel and curi- 
 ous sights are the rule, rather than the exception. 
 
 Each of the six wore the picturesque garb of a 
 Mexican haciendo, attired in holiday costume. A 
 short, natty looking, black cloth jacket, adorned 
 with large silver plated buttons, without a vest, 
 worn over a fancifully ruffled white shirt; black 
 trousers, with a double row of buttons following the 
 seam; high top boots, silver placed spurs, and a red 
 sash, together with a rather briganclish sombrero 
 this was a dashy, not to say showy, sort of street ap- 
 parel; and the troupe, headed by Tom Dean, on a 
 silver gray horse, speedily began to attract general 
 attention. 
 
 Before him, on his saddle, each man carried a 
 bright colored Mexican serape; a neatly coiled lasso 
 was suspended from the high pommel, and over his 
 left arm hung a bundle of small handbills, which
 
 172 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 were distributed right and left to the wondering 
 crowd 
 
 From a copy of one of the latter, which lies before 
 me, I quote as follows: 
 
 The newly formed combination of wealth and enterprise, 
 known as the Grand Consolidated New Mexico and Arizona Ar- 
 
 entiferous Mining Company, whose office is at 304 California 
 treet, have taken this novel and unique method of calling the 
 attention of the public to an undertaking which promises, be- 
 yond the shadow of a doubt, the most satisfactory returns to 
 investors ever offered in San Francisco. 
 
 Then follows a most enticing statement, or pros- 
 pectus, of the mining company in question, showing 
 the impossibility of losses and certainty of enormous 
 profits to stockholders who were willing to buy one 
 or more shares at the low figure of ten dollars per 
 share; the purchase money to be used in the further 
 development of the rich mining lands recently dis- 
 covered in Northwestern Arizona, the sole property 
 of the G-. C. N. M. and A. A. M. Co., together with 
 the affidavits of various prospectors, civil engineers, 
 and assayers. 
 
 But with the truth or falsity of these glowing 
 statements Tom Dean had nothing to do. He was 
 to be paid two dollars a day for a comparatively easy 
 task, the novelty of which was not altogether un- 
 pleasant. Mindful of Mr. Leroy's parting injunc- 
 tions to keep in the principal and busiest streets, 
 Tom guided the little troupe through the thronged 
 thoroughfares, without much trouble, occasionally 
 pausing at some street corner long enough to circu- 
 late a large number of handbills to a gaping 
 crowd, and then riding slowing onward to another 
 point. 
 
 Down through Montgomery Street and into 
 Kearney rode the novel cavalcade, scattering their 
 yellow placards right and left, till the supply was 
 exhausted. Two men were sent back to the office
 
 THAT TKEASUKE. 173 
 
 for a fresh supply, while the four others sat in their 
 saddles, surrounded by the usual cosmopolitan 
 crowd peculiar to the streets of San Francisco, and 
 patiently awaited their companions' return. 
 
 " How like you this way to make the two dollar a 
 day, armgof" laughingly inquired the circus per- 
 former, reining up his fiery little Pinto steed beside 
 Tom, whose own horse was rendered restive by the 
 encroaching throng. 
 
 Tom's reply was prevented by a sudden outcry 
 from the outskirts of the croAvd, which began scat- 
 tering right and left with marvelous celerity. 
 
 " Look out, lady !" shouted half a dozen excited 
 men from the nearest place of safety, as a tall, hand- 
 somely dressed lady, escorted by a small hungrj 
 faced man in broadcloth, started to cross the 
 street. 
 
 The warning came an instant too late. A wild 
 eyed, long horned steer, which had escaped from a 
 drove at North Beach, came dashing round the 
 corner of Pacific Street with gleaming eyeballs and 
 distended nostrils, bearing straight down toward 
 the lady and her escort. 
 
 Now a steer fresh from the ranch is as dangerous 
 to life and limb as a mad bull. It is not very sur- 
 prising that the small man, casting one terrified 
 glance at the approaching beast, turned still paler, 
 and, forgetful of his companion, made good his 
 own escape into the nearest store door across the 
 way. 
 
 Tom Dean was in no sense an expert in the use of 
 the lasso, yet under the instruction of his former as- 
 sociate, William the plainsman, he had learned to 
 throw one with some little degree of accuracy. No 
 sooner had his eye taken in the lady's peril, than, 
 snatching the lariat from his saddle pommel, he 
 Swung it thrice round bis head, and in another in-
 
 174 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 stant the slender coil went hurtling through the 
 air. 
 
 A shout of exultation arose from the excited on- 
 lookers. By the merest good luck in the world the 
 slip noose settled down over the upraised fore toot 
 of the ferocious animal, whose long, sharp horns 
 were lowered to impale the terror stricken victim. 
 
 Fortunately for Tom Dean, who himself had no 
 very clear idea what next he had better do, the 
 horse beneath him decided the question. 
 
 For the intelligent animal was one of a number 
 that had belonged to a standard " Wild West Com- 
 bination," Mr. Leroy having bid in the horses and 
 their equipments at the sheriff's sale for a very low 
 figure. 
 
 And mindful of his equestrian performances with 
 the clumsy buffalo, no sooner had the lariat, whose 
 other end was fast to the pommel of Tom's saddle, 
 straightened out like a bowstring, than the horse 
 fell suddenly back on his haunches in such a way 
 that only Tom's firm seat in the saddle saved him 
 from a downfall. 
 
 But the desired effect was attained. The steer's 
 leg was suddenly jerked from beneath him, and with 
 a bellow of terror the huge beast rolled ignomini- 
 ously in the dust, where he was at once dispatched 
 by a ball from the revolver of a valiant policeman. 
 
 Amidst what is known as " thunders of applause," 
 Tom recovered his lariat, and hung it in its coil on 
 the saddle peg, gazing rather interestedly the while 
 after the lady. Having shewn some slight symp- 
 toms of faintness, she had been assisted into the 
 nearest drug store. 
 
 But the two others had now returned with a fresh 
 supply of handbills. Laughingly escaping the 
 queries of a sharp eyed reporter, Tom and his com- 
 panions rode on as before.
 
 THAT TREASUBE. 175 
 
 With an interval for lunch at a cheap restaurant 
 at noon, the six continued their occupation till 
 nearly nightfall. Then, having left their horses and 
 exchanged their clothing at the stable, they all re- 
 ported at the office, where each promptly received 
 his pay and departed. 
 
 " Stop a bit, young man," said Mr. Leroy, in an 
 undertone, as Tom, who happened to be last, was 
 leaving the anteroom; "the chief has seen that little 
 affair of yours lassoing the steer, you know in the 
 evening edition of the Chronicle, and wants to speak 
 to you in the other room." 
 
 And before Tom, who was considerably surprised 
 at the remark, could reply, Mr. Leroy had ushered 
 him into an adjoining apartment. Its fittings and 
 furnishings, the showy oil paintings hanging against 
 the frescoed walls, and the rich carpet on the floor, 
 were of such a luxurious order as to make Tom 
 open his eyes more widely than was his wont. 
 
 "President Gomez, this is the young man you 
 wished to see," said Mr. Leroy, respectfully, as a 
 medium sized personage, elaborately attired in 
 broadcloth and fine linen, wheeled about in a revol- 
 ving chair, and confronted Ihem. 
 
 If Senor Gomez started slightly, as Mr. Leroy 
 left Tom standing in the full glow of the softened 
 electric light, he cleverly covered the movement by 
 quickly rising and stepping to the marble mantel, on 
 which stood a box of choice cigars. 
 
 Senor Gomez was comparatively young, to judge 
 by the glossy blackness of his hair and carefully 
 trimmed mustache, both of which, however, betrayed 
 a suspicious purplish hue in certain lights. But 
 traces of crows' feet and wrinkles were visible in the 
 searching light, and Tom began to suspect that the 
 senor might have had recourse to art to conceal the 
 marks of advancing years.
 
 176 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 Kather to Tom's surprise, President Gomez be- 
 trayed a curious sense of embarrassment or uneasi- 
 ness, as though in some way he had expected to see 
 a very different person from his visitor. 
 
 " I read in the papers of your lassoing the steer 
 this forenoon," he finally said, speaking in a rather 
 low mumbling voice, and using singularly good En- 
 glish for even an Americanized Spaniard. "It is a 
 good advertisement for us, and here you will take 
 this." 
 
 Nervously puffing at his cigar as he thus spoke, 
 the president, whose face was slightly averted, held 
 out a glittering five dollar gold piece. 
 
 " There, bueno, no thanks," hastily interrupted the 
 senor, as Tom very gratefully took the unexpected 
 benefaction. "Now I have business; vaya, adios." 
 
 Cling-g-g went the telephone bell at that mo- 
 ment. Seemingly forgetful, for the moment, of 
 Tom's presence, Gomez stepped quickly to the in- 
 strument. 
 
 " Yes what do you want ?" he said in reply to 
 some far away questioner; and Tom, whose hand 
 was on the door knob, started in his turn. 
 
 An indistinct murmur was heard, and in clear, 
 even, and remarkably familiar tones, Senor Gomez 
 replied with his lips at the orifice: 
 
 " No ! And have the extreme goodness, Major 
 Smith, to tell him, with my compliments, that if he 
 took a thousand shares the rate would be precisely 
 the same. Good by." 
 
 That the speaker was President Gomez, of the 
 Grand Consolidated Mining Company, was to out- 
 ward seeming an assured fact; but the voice, to 
 which Tom could have sworn anywhere, was that of 
 Colonel North, the avowed champion of the peace 
 and good morals of the border town, where Tom 
 had first met him.
 
 THAT TBEASUBE. 177 
 
 CHAPTEK XXL 
 
 TOM'S QUEST. 
 
 WHAT did it mean ? 
 
 " Well, pray, what are you stopping for ?" angrily 
 demanded the president of the Grand Consolidated, 
 as he turned from the telephone and encountered 
 Tom's bewildered gaze. 
 
 "I was thinking," replied Tom, forgetting his 
 usual caution in the excitement of his discovery, 
 " how much your voice sounded like that of a Col- 
 onel North " 
 
 " Oh," interrupted the other, coolly, and before 
 Tom was aware of his intention, he had stepped to 
 the door, locked it, and dropped the key in his 
 pocket; " that was what you were thinking, eh ? 
 And suppose, for the sake of argument, I prove to 
 be the gentleman you mention what are you going to 
 do about it ?" 
 
 Throwing aside all attempts at disguise, the col- 
 onel had seated himself and relighted his cigar. He 
 was regarding the young fellow before him with a 
 look of rather malicious triumph. 
 
 "Sit down, Tom," said the colonel, blandly; and 
 Tom, still rather bewildered, obeyed. 
 
 " To be frank, which I seldom claim to be, Tom," 
 the colonel went on, daintily flicking the ashes from 
 his cigar, " I never dreamed that you were the mem- 
 ber of my advertising troupe who er so distin-
 
 178 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 guished himself today, or I need hardly say I should 
 not have had you called in, though I flatter myself 
 my disguise is perfect. I prefer as far as possible 
 to avoid disagreeable and unnecessary explanations 
 to a sharp eyed young fellow like yourself. Not," 
 he added, with a smile, " that I fear anything you 
 might say about little eccentricities of mine " 
 
 " Such as abducting a child from its mother, or 
 passing off a fictitious grandson upon an old man, 
 and making him a tool to serve your own ends, for 
 example," interrupted Tom, impetuously. 
 
 " Ah, so you have met my worthy friend, Captain 
 Greyson," blandly remarked the unabashed colonel, 
 regarding Tom through a fragrant cloud wreath; 
 "so much the better, as it paves the way to some- 
 thing I have to say. My Tom told me of the curious 
 discovery he had made as to your identity, and upon 
 my word I could hardly believe it; it was too much 
 like the unexpected turning up of the missing heir, 
 you know. And I suppose that you showed the 
 proofs of your story to Captain Greyson, and are 
 now elevated to your rightful position, eh ?" 
 
 " The proofs were taken from me by train robbers, 
 headed by a man about your size, carrying a double 
 barreled gun exactly like the one you had at the 
 Vendome, Colonel North," replied Tom, looking 
 squarely in the face of his interlocutor. 
 
 " Sorry to hear it," was the unmoved reply. " Go 
 on, Tom." 
 
 " Captain Greyson my grandfather," the young 
 fellow continued, rather bitterly, " was good enough 
 to accept my statements as to my relationship with- 
 out demanding further proof than what I had to tell 
 him. But when he proposed giving me my proper 
 place as his grandson and heir, yet in the same 
 breath told me that, if I so do, my mother, who, as I 
 now know, is living, must be forever dead to me; and
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 179 
 
 when he refused to give me the slightest clew to her 
 whereabouts, I " 
 
 " You kicked, eh ?" said the colonel. Tom, remem- 
 bering to whom he was thus expressing himself, had 
 stopped suddenly. 
 
 "TJm," exclaimed Colonel North, thoughtfully, 
 after a slight pause, " and so you resign the er 
 flesh pots of Egypt, for the sake of your mother, 
 whom you've never seen, and probably or perhaps 
 never will. That," continued the colonel, inquiring- 
 ly, " explains your masquerading in the livery of the 
 Grand Consolidated at two dollars a day thrown 
 on your own resources, are you ?" 
 
 It was impossible to resist the easy good nature 
 of the man, bad and evil as Tom knew him to be. 
 
 "Yes," returned Tom, with a sigh and a down- 
 ward glance at his shabby clothing, "I've been in 
 rather hard luck since grandfather Greyson turned 
 the cold shoulder on me." 
 
 But Colonel North did not seem to hear Tom's last 
 remark. His crafty brain was at work planning 
 how to avert any possibility of an exposure on the 
 
 Eart of this young fellow. For Tom, ;if he but knew 
 is power, could make some damaging statements, 
 which might be used to his decided disadvan- 
 tage. 
 
 As therefore he made no response to Tom's ad- 
 mission of ill success, the latter glanced carelessly 
 at the columns of the evening paper on the table be- 
 side him, which was carefully folded at a certain 
 paragraph. On closer inspection this proved to be 
 the item concerning Tom's " gallant exploit," for so 
 it was headel. After a glowing account of the 
 affair, Tom read as follows: 
 
 The lady rescued from such imminent peril, through the 
 bravery or the employee of the Grand Consolidated Mining 
 Company, which is meeting with a success unparalleled in the
 
 180 THAT TEEASUEE. 
 
 history of San Francisco stock enterprises, proves to have been 
 Madame Norman, the once celebrated public singer. It may 
 be remembered that she met with a somewhat unfavorable re- 
 ception from our city audiences, and returns to the East very 
 soon. Madame Norman has a voice which still retains its 
 sweetness and flexibility, but in departing from the established 
 usages of the concert stage we fear the singer has made, a great 
 mistake. That is, in undertaking to substitute for a more cul- 
 tured musical repertoire a programme consisting almost entirely 
 of the simple old fashioned ballads, etc., etc. 
 
 Tom read thus far, when Colonel North's voice in- 
 terrupted him. 
 
 " Tom," he said, somewhat abruptly, " though 
 Captain Greyson would give you no clew to your 
 mother's whereabouts, has it occurred to you that 
 possibly / might be able to do so ?" 
 
 Tom started to his feet in an instant, 
 
 " You, sir?" he exclaimed, half incredulously, and 
 then, remembering the colonel's complicity in his 
 own abduction, it suddenly came to him that the 
 colonel might accidentally or otherwise be speak- 
 ing the truth. He eagerly listened to what Colonel 
 North had to say. 
 
 And perhaps in all the great city of San Francisco 
 there was no lighter heart than that which was beat- 
 ing under Tom Greyson's threadbare coat, when, 
 after a prolonged interview with the President of 
 the Grand Consolidated, he ran lightly down the 
 marble steps into the crowded thoroughfare. 
 
 For, in the first place, he had gained an undoubted 
 clew to the whereabouts of his mother. Some time 
 after recovering from the brain fever occasioned by 
 the shock of her loss, she had removed to Massachu- 
 setts, where her late husband had owned a house, in 
 a town close to Boston, so Colonel North said. 
 
 Snugly stowed away in Tom's substitute for a 
 pocket book was a through ticket for the far away 
 city of Boston, and a handsome sum in cash, pre- 
 sented to him by the generous or prudent coloneL
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 181 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIL 
 
 ON THE EAST BOUND TRAIN. 
 
 TOM GBEYSON began his eastward journey with a 
 heart full of pleasing anticipations and hopeful ex- 
 pectancy. He found the section allotted him by 
 his sleeper ticket in the Pullman car of the long- 
 train, which, on the morning following the events of 
 the previous chapter, was being made up in the 
 great depot. 
 
 Having seated himself next the wide plate glass 
 window, he disposed his traveling bag at his feet, 
 and began watching the different passengers as they 
 entered the luxurious car, which was to be their 
 abiding place for the following few days. 
 
 There were millionaires and their wives, wealthy 
 ranchers and distinguished travelers, adventurers 
 and actors, a lecturer or two, and the invariable 
 newly married couple on their marriage tour; but 
 these had only a passing degree of interest for 
 Tom. 
 
 His own seatmate proved to be a smiling olive 
 hued young Japanese nobleman, making a tour of 
 the States, under the guardianship of Lis tutor, a 
 grave looking Oxford graduate, who sat opposite. 
 
 Tom's attention was diverted by the entrance of a 
 lady, whose escort, as he saw with a little start of 
 surprise, was the foreign looking gentleman who 
 had given him the card of Madame Norman, on the 
 previous day. This lady was the singer herself.
 
 182 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 She seated herself quietly in the compartment op- 
 posite the one where Tom was sitting, and began 
 gazing abstractedly from the window. 
 
 Her attendant disposed her traveling bag, books, 
 cloak, and one or two packages, conveniently to 
 hand, after which, with a low bow, he betook him- 
 self into another car. With a curious degree of in- 
 terest, for which he could hardly account, Tom re- 
 garded Madame Norman's face attentively. 
 
 The fine, calm, and still handsome features, the 
 dark and abundant hair, threaded here and there 
 with gray, the deep, luminous eyes where had he 
 seen Madame Norman in his lifetime ? 
 
 But it was useless to try to recall either time or 
 place, and as he was wondering whether the lady 
 would recognize in himself the gayly dressed Mexi- 
 can ranchero of the day before, the last " all aboard " 
 of the conductor from without was followed by the 
 slow movement of the train. 
 
 Day after day the long train sped eastward now 
 zigzagging its way along the sides of rocky steeps, 
 crossing dizzy chasms and passing through deep 
 defiles, or across barren plains and fertile valleys. 
 
 Tom amused himself by reading, and dreaming 
 bright dreams of the future, in which the mother 
 he was hoping to meet, I need hardly say, was the 
 prominent feature. 
 
 " I beg your pardon." 
 
 Tom was returning from the dining car to his seat 
 on the fourth day of his journey, when the low, sweet 
 voice of Madame Norman, evidently addressed to 
 himself, arrested his attention. 
 
 "Will you sit down here a moment?" pursued the 
 singer, with a quiet frankness, which somehow put 
 Tom quite at his ease. Tom respectfully seated 
 himself opposite the lady, and wondered what was 
 coming.
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 183 
 
 " I remember faces very well, as a general thing," 
 Madame Norman continued, earnestly regarding the 
 manly young fellow before her, "but for some little 
 time I could not recall where I had Been you, till 
 just at this moment it came to me that you were my 
 rescuer a few days since is it not so ?" 
 
 " It was not very much to do," replied Tom, try- 
 ing to laugh off his slight embarrassment, yet with 
 a feeling of inward pleasure at the recognition. 
 
 " It was a very brave and skillful act," warmly re- 
 turned the lady; "and I am glad that I have the 
 opportunity of thanking you most heartily, Mr. 
 Dean. One of your mounted companions told your 
 name to my old music teacher, Monsieur Pierre, 
 who travels with me as accompanist at my con- 
 certs." 
 
 It was hardly worth while for Tom to explain that 
 he had given his old name to the manager of the lit- 
 tle equestrian troupe, so he allowed the error to re- 
 main uncorrected, and very briefly explained how 
 he happened to be masquerading in such a guise 
 without, of course, going into unnecessary detail. 
 
 Evidently pleased with the frank manliness of 
 Tom's speech and manner, the singer drew him into 
 further conversation. By inquiring as to the way 
 he learned to throw the lasso, she led him to speak 
 of his previous life on the plains, in which Madame 
 Norman seemed greatly interested. 
 
 Tom was modestly replying to her questions, when 
 M. Pierre entered the car, and greeted him effusively. 
 " Unjeune brave it is, madam," said M. Pierre, beam- 
 ing at Tom over his spectacles, " and while I, who 
 should have pr-r-reserved you from the monstaire 
 animal, did act the lache the cow-ard, the br-r-rave 
 youth fly himself to your rescue !" 
 
 M. Pierre then settled himself comfortably in the 
 corner as a fixture.
 
 184 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Madame Norman, noticing that Tom spoke guard- 
 edly concerning his own personal history, delicately 
 refrained from questioning him, though it was quite 
 evident that her curiosity was somewhat aroused on 
 the subject. 
 
 She talked quite freely of her professional tour; 
 but like Tom himself, she told nothing of her per- 
 sonal history. 
 
 The days, like the cars, rolled on, and the passen- 
 gers began to disperse. 
 
 At New York the young Japanese noble and his 
 tutor said good by. Madame Norman and Monsieur 
 Pierre took their departure at New Haven, where 
 they were billed for a concert. 
 
 " We may never see each other again," said the 
 singer, bending her dark and still lustrous eyes on 
 Tom's face, as he rose respectfully for the final fare- 
 well, " but I shall not forget your kindness and 
 courtesy. Would that I had such a son to be the 
 stay of my declining years adieu." And with a 
 kindly smile, the singer, accompanied by M. Pierre, 
 took her departure. 
 
 There were now only strangers, Tom thought, in 
 the car. He was sitting well forward, where he 
 caught an occasional glimpse of the occupants of 
 the two seats immediately behind him, in the narrow 
 strip of mirror before him. 
 
 And all at once he was conscious of receiving a 
 mocking glance from the dark eyes of a fashionably 
 attired young man in one of the rear seats. 
 
 " If it wasn't for the mustache, I could almost 
 swear that was the colonel's Tom, as I saw him when 
 he first left the train at Holcomb!" mentally ex- 
 claimed Tom, with considerable excitement. "If 
 I could hear him speak, that would settle it." And 
 acting on the impulse of the moment, he rose and 
 stepped back a little.
 
 THAT TREASURE 185 
 
 "I I "beg your pardon," he stammered, as the 
 young man, without betraying the slightest symp- 
 toms of recognition, lifted his eyes inquiringly, " but 
 are you not that is I took you for " 
 
 Slightly elevating his dark eyebrows, the individ- 
 ual thus addressed checked Tom's embarrassed ut- 
 terance by raising the tip of his gloved finger first 
 to his lips and then his ear, shaking his head slowly 
 as he did so. 
 
 " He's a deaf mute, I guess," volunteered an old 
 lady who sat in the same seat. " I've be'n a-askin' 
 of him questions ever sence I come aboard, but can't 
 git a word out of him. It's a dretful misfortun' for 
 sech a nice lookin' young feller as he is." 
 
 Was it fancy, or did the merest shadowy sem- 
 blance of a smile flash over the well dressed passen- 
 ger's features at this juncture ? 
 
 The long railway journey was now nearly at an 
 end. The day drew to its close, and as the length- 
 ening shadows began to fall across the Berkshire 
 hills, the long train entered the outskirts of the 
 Hub. Amid a clangor of engine bells, it slowed 
 down and stopped in the Fitchburg station, as the 
 brakeman flung open the door, and announced in a 
 stentorian voice, "Boston!" 
 
 Scarcely waiting to swallow a hasty meal at the 
 lunch counter, Tom obtained the necessary direc- 
 tions, and proceeded at once to Mapletown a few 
 minutes' ride by rail from Boston. At the station 
 he was directed to the street and number given him 
 by Colonel North. 
 
 Making his way hurriedly through the main 
 thoroughfare, Tom quickly found himself in Clifton 
 Avenue, at the corner of which stood an unpretend- 
 ing two story house, known, so the station agent 
 said, as " the Grey son place." 
 
 Tom's heart thumped furiously against his ribs,
 
 186 THAT TKEASUKE. 
 
 as, having pulled the bell, he stood waiting for some 
 one to answer it. The door was suddenly opened by 
 a tall, gray haired woman, with a severe aspect, and 
 a very red nose, and his hopes fell. This was never 
 the mother of his dreams. 
 
 " Does Mrs. Thomas Greyson live here ?" he asked, 
 in faltering accents. 
 
 " Land of c'mpassion no," snapped the woman, 
 raising the hand lamp she was holding for a better 
 view of the speaker; " there's no sech person in this 
 neighborhood, that I know of." 
 
 " Ask if she was a kind of stage singer ?" called a 
 masculine voice from the open door of an adjoining 
 room; "for 'pears to me the name's kinder fa- 
 miliar." 
 
 " I think she was," returned Tom, hesitatingly. 
 
 " Same woman I'm thinkin of, then," responded 
 the voice. "I remember now about it; the lawyer 
 that had the mor'gage on her place here foreclosed, 
 and she went off somewhere, and died in some kind 
 of a 'sylum out West, some five or six years ago." 
 
 " Thank you good night," said Tom, faintly, and, 
 swallowing a great sob, he hurried back to the 
 station, where he took the first train to Boston, feel- 
 ing lonely and sick at heart. 
 
 The next morning he sat near one of the long 
 windows of the reading room at Parker's, in the 
 depths of dejection and disappointment. 
 
 Only one effort more remained to be made, and 
 this more as a matter of duty than from any ex- 
 pected results. 
 
 " I don't care so much about the money, but I 
 should like to know something about Mr. Sherard 
 and Miss Dolly," he told himself. And sitting at 
 the writing desk, Tom drew up the following notice : 
 
 If this notice should reach the eyes of Mr. Hartley Sherard or 
 his daughter Dolores, who left Arizona at some time during
 
 THAT TREASURE. 187 
 
 the present year, will they communicate at once with the un- 
 dersigned ? Address : 
 
 T. G., Boom 309, Parker House, Boston. 
 
 Tom had little hope that this would aid him. 
 
 His principal mission had utterly failed, and all 
 that remained to do was to return to San Francisco 
 and try to effect a reconciliation with his grandfa- 
 ther. Writing briefly to this effect to Captain Grey- 
 eon, Tom posted the letter, and took his advertise- 
 ment to tbe Globe office. 
 
 Three or four days passed without incident. 
 
 Indeed, Tom had fully decided that henceforth 
 his life was destined to move on in the ordinary 
 groove of every day mortals. 
 
 His only acquaintances were the managers of the 
 periodical counter, with whom he chatted occasion- 
 ally, as he bought his papers from day to day. 
 These gentlemen, always courteous and well in- 
 formed on all points of interest, seemed to know by 
 sight all the "notables " who were in the habit of 
 frequenting the room, whether guests or habitues. 
 
 " See that young chap with the diamond solitaire 
 and swell velvet smoking coat, coming 1 his way?" 
 observed one of them in a confidential undertone, as 
 Tom leaned idly against the news stand. "They say 
 he's a daisy for spending the dollars," continued the 
 pleasant faced speaker, as Tom, with a great start of 
 surprise, recognized in the individual thus designa- 
 ted no other than the young deaf mute of the rail- 
 road train. " His name is Caton, from New Orleans, 
 with a big pile of money. He booked here last 
 night, engaged the best single room in the new An- 
 nex, and " 
 
 Here the speaker stopped abruptly, as the gilt 
 edged youth, who did not notice Tom, stepped to 
 the counter. 
 
 " Morning papers, please," he said, and Tom drew 
 a long breath.
 
 188 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 " I knew I wasn't- mistaken. His voice gives him 
 away," he muttered in considerable bewilderment. 
 
 Young Caton took his papers to a seat near the 
 window, and after a moment's hesitation Tom fol- 
 lowed, and dropped into the nearest chair. 
 
 "Have you got back your hearing as well as your 
 voice, Saxton?" he dryly asked; and the other dupli- 
 cated Tom's previous start of surprise, while he 
 changed color visibly as he encountered Tom's 
 gaze. 
 
 " Confound it, Dean, or Greyson, whichever I'm to 
 call you," he exclaimed, irritably, " pray what is 
 your object in dogging me round in tins manner?" 
 
 "I hardly know what you mean," was Tom's 
 quiet reply, " unless you refer to our meeting on 
 the train, when I was uncertain whether it was you 
 or not. And as for the rest," he continued, " I've 
 been stopping here for the past four or five days, 
 and as you only arrived last night, you can hardly 
 accuse ma of dogging you." 
 
 There was something in Tom's voice and manner 
 which carried the evidence of his truthfulness, even 
 to his hearer, who, being untruthful and deceitful 
 himself, was accustomed to regard the world in gen- 
 eral as similarly afflicted. 
 
 Caton, as I shall have to call him, looked cau- 
 tiously at Tom for a moment, and then his counten- 
 ance cleared. 
 
 "All right, old chap," he said, resuming his usual 
 easy address. "I'm glad to see you, though I don't 
 mind saying that I'd nearly as soon have met the 
 old man Greyson himself as you on the train coming 
 East. That's why I bluffed you as I did." And the 
 speaker chuckled gleefully at the recollection of his 
 ruse. 
 
 " But why ?" wonderingly asked Tom. 
 
 " Well," was the half laughing reply, " a fellow
 
 THAT TREASURE. 189 
 
 hates tremendously to run across anybody who might 
 call his past crookedness to mind that was one rea- 
 son." 
 
 Tom only started at this very unexpected admis- 
 sion, and \\ondered what on earth was coming. 
 
 " Then you hadn't heard of my streak of luck, eh, 
 Tom ?" he said, with a sharp glance at his compan- 
 ion, " or that I'd cut the whole concern North and 
 all the rest of it ?" 
 
 "I haven't heard a word about you personally 
 since I said good by to you in Holcomb," was the 
 quiet reply, "though I have thought about you 
 more than once, and wondered how you enjoyed the 
 ' free wild life of the plains ' which you were antici- 
 pating." 
 
 " Ah," said the other, slowly. " Look here, Tom, 
 I'm not fool enough to try to pull the wool over 
 your eyes, especially when I know that you heard 
 old man Greyson's story, eh ?" 
 
 Here he paused interrogatively, while Tom nodded. 
 Looking a trifle disconcerted, the colonel's Tom 
 continued: 
 
 " Very well, I don't deny that I've been a bad lot, 
 a very bad lot, but what could be expected of a 
 foundling, brought up without any good influences 
 to keep him straight, and all the while under the 
 thumb of a man like North ? But we won't speak of 
 that. To make a long story short, after I left you I 
 joined a party of prospectors, bound for the Great 
 Northwestern Divide. We made the richest find of 
 the season; and when I came back to 'Frisco I sold 
 out my interest to capitalists, who bought the terri- 
 tory, staked it out, and formed the Grand Consoli- 
 dated " 
 
 "N. M. & A. A. Mining Company, with Senor 
 Gomez, alias Colonel North, for President," inter- 
 rupted Tom.
 
 190 THAT TKEASURE. 
 
 " So you know all about it, said Caton, with an 
 uneasy glance at his companion. 
 
 "I know nothing whatever about the company or 
 its workings, excepting that the colonel is itu presi- 
 dent, and the fact that Major Smith if such is his 
 real name is in some way connected with it," care- 
 lessly replied Tom. Then he briefly explained his 
 recognition of the colonel, at which Caton drew a 
 sigh of evident relief. 
 
 " Smith is was secretary of the company," he 
 said, rather awkwardly; "but to go on with my 
 story. The colonel, of course, hung on for me to 
 stay by, but I had made up niy mind that if I ever 
 was going to turn round and cut the concern, that 
 was the time So I kept my counsel and my money, 
 which was close to ten thousand dollars, and slip- 
 ped off without letting any one know where I was 
 going and here I am, Mr. Tom Caton, of New Or- 
 leans, very much at your service. I came East be- 
 cause I wanted to see something of the country, and 
 I'm glad I did, for I've fallen in with some nice 
 people, and I'm getting interested in a pretty girl, 
 whose father has no end of money. She and her fa- 
 ther have given me an invitation to go yachting 
 with them in a vessel that belongs to the young 
 lady's uncle," he added, with an air of triumph. 
 
 " You haven't told me yet, what brought you to 
 Boston," continued Caton, eying Tom, curiously. 
 
 Without going into lengthy detail, Tom briefly 
 spoke of his errand and the sad disappointment he 
 had met. Young Caton expressed no particular sur- 
 prise; and only a few polite regrets. 
 
 " Then I suppose you go back to San Francisco at 
 once," he said, inquiringly. 
 
 Tom hesitated. 
 
 " I was fortunate enough to be of some service to 
 a gentleman and his daughter who belonged origin-
 
 THAT TBEASUEE. 191 
 
 ally in New York, while I was in Arizona," he finally 
 explained, with a little awkwardness, " and, as I 
 would like to see them again, for certain private 
 reasons, I shall stay two or three days longer, hop- 
 ing to get an answer to this advertisement." 
 
 And Tom extended a copy of the Globe, indicating 
 the notice with his finger. 
 
 " A lady in your case, too," laughed Caton. 
 
 Then he stopped abruptly, as, with the journal 
 held in such a way that it hid his face, he glanced 
 at the designated paragraph. 
 
 "If that is all that keeps you here," he said at 
 length, speaking in a curiously constrained voice, 
 " you can start tomorrow; for you'll never hear from 
 thai advertisement." 
 
 "What do your mean?" wonderingly asked Tom. 
 
 " Simply this," replied Caton, dropping the paper 
 and speaking with easy assurance. "I remember 
 very well that some time last spring this same Mr. 
 Hartley Sherard, and pretty Dolly, his daughter, 
 were in 'Frisco and called on old man Greyson. Mr. 
 Sherard said he had made a small fortune in Ariz- 
 ona he did not explain how and had decided to 
 buy a coffee plantation in some part of South 
 America. "VVe went down to see them off the day 
 they sailed, and that was the last known of them, as 
 the steamer was never heard from, and is supposed 
 to have gone down with all on board." 
 
 Now, if Mr. Caton had stopped here, things might 
 have taken a very different turn. 
 
 But one of his weaknesses was a fondness for 
 boasting of his success with the fair sex, and he 
 went on, while Tom was almost stunned by the un- 
 expected news, which he had no earthly reason for 
 doubting, 
 
 " Dolly and I had got well acquainted, while she 
 was there, and the truth is, I rather flatter my
 
 192 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 self I made a very strong impression upon her sus- 
 ceptible heart ! " 
 
 Tom's color rose, and with it the Greyson temper 
 at these boastful words, and the insolent look which 
 accompanied them. 
 
 "You!" he scornfully ejaculated, forgetful of self 
 restraint and courtesy alike. And he had no need 
 to add aloud his meaning, "you, the impostor, liar, 
 and thief ! " for Caton read it all too plainly in his 
 voice and manner. 
 
 All the inherent and acquired evil in the young 
 man's nature seemed for one brief moment to be 
 shadowed on his features, and he retorted hotly. 
 
 Then followed a general uprising as a handsomely 
 dressed young man sprang to his feet, with the im- 
 print of four muscular fingers across his pale face. 
 
 Uttering a fierce imprecation, he made a spring 
 at Tom; but the heavy weight head porter promptly 
 bore down upon him. 
 
 "Aisy, now, misther," he remarked, in persua- 
 sively Hibernian accents, as, pinning Caton's arms 
 to his side, he held him in the grasp of a vise; "this 
 ain't no place for sich doin's a gintleman like you, 
 too!" 
 
 "All right, porter; I forgot myself for a moment," 
 said the young man, controlling himself with a 
 mighty effort, as a small crowd of guests began 
 (gathering about the little group. 
 
 "And so did I. I heartily apologize for such a 
 show of temper," impulsively exclaimed Tom. As 
 he spoke he extended his hand, but Caton cast one 
 look of supreme hatred at his late companion, and 
 hastily left the room. 
 
 Greatly ashamed at the ebullition of temper which, 
 as he was painfully aware, had made him the focus 
 of a number of pairs of eyes, Torn dropped into his 
 chair again.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 1C3 
 
 " I fancy you've made a dangerous enemy, young 
 man," said the smooth, even voice of a plainly 
 dressed, middle aged gentleman, with rather inex- 
 pressive, smooth shaven features, who was sitting in 
 the chair vacated by Caton. "He is an acquaintance 
 of yours ?" inquiringly continued the speaker, with 
 seeming carelessness, as Tom only nodded in 
 reply. 
 
 " I have met him before," answered Tom, dis- 
 tantly. 
 
 " Urn," was the dubious response. Then, drawing 
 from a side pocket some business cards, he handed 
 one to Tom. " It is always well to be prepared for 
 emergencies," he said, gravely, " and this company 
 which I represent, the Risk and Accident Insurance 
 Company, provides against loss to your family by 
 shooting." 
 
 " But I have no family, Mr. er Blake," returned 
 Tom, glancing at the name at the bottom of the 
 card, and laughing, in spite of himself, at the 
 speaker's business-like tone. 
 
 Unlike most insurance men, Mr. Blake did not 
 pursue his favorite topic, but drifted off into gener- 
 alities. Little by little, yet seemingly without in- 
 tent, he tried to lead the talk back to the incident 
 of a few moments previous; but Tom, seeing his 
 drift, was very guarded in his replies. 
 
 Finally Mr. Blake took his departure, and Tom 
 took up a paper which had been left in one of the 
 chairs, and began to glance over it, though the 
 image of Caton seemed scampering up and down 
 the columns. 
 
 Suddenly his eye caught the headline of one of 
 the abbreviated dispatches, dated San Francisco, 
 and he uttered a low whistle of astonishment.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A TRAP FOB TOM GREYSON. 
 
 THE paragraph which caused Tom Greyson's as- 
 tonishment read as follows : 
 
 The absconding secretary of the Grand Consolidated N. M. 
 & A. A. Mining Company is now presumed to have made 
 good his escape, with nearly $10,000 of the company's funds, in 
 one of the Pacific coast steamers. President Gomez has sub- 
 mitted a sworn statement showing that the company's pecu- 
 niary standing is not affected in the slightest degree by the 
 defalcation. A dividend has just been declared which delights 
 the stockholders. Unless the matter is taken up by outside 
 parties, it is understood that President Gomez will oner no re- 
 ward for the apprehension of the fugitive. 
 
 " Well, Major Smith has feathered his nest, for a 
 fact," thought Tom. 
 
 Meanwhile Caton, having changed his apparel 
 for a handsome walking suit, had started out and 
 walked rapidly along Washington Street in the di- 
 rection of the West End. His cheek still tingled 
 from the effects of Tom's blow, and his thoughts 
 were fiercely vindictive. 
 
 " I must quiet myself down with a pipe lucky 
 old Lin met me in the street and gave me his card, 
 for I shouldn't like to go into a strange ' joint,' " 
 he said, half aloud, glancing at a pasteboard he had 
 drawn from his vest pocket, on which, under some 
 Cninese characters, was printed : 
 
 HOP LIN, CHINESE LAUNDRY, 
 1000 HARRISON AVENUE. 
 
 Caton turned into Harrison Avenue from Tremont
 
 THAT TBEASUEE. 195 
 
 Street, without paying much heed to what was going 
 on about him. 
 
 " No. 1000 " was on a corner and evidently one of 
 the better class of laundries. Everything was neat 
 and orderly in the room which Caton entered from 
 the street. 
 
 Producing his card he pointed to the Chinese 
 characters at the top . One of the Chinamen grinned 
 vacantly, and nodded in the direction of a door at 
 the back. Passing through this, the new comer 
 found himself in a tolerably large, well furnished 
 room, the atmosphere of which was redolent with 
 the fumes of some peculiar drug. 
 
 It was an opium joint. Along the side was a row 
 of canvas cots, only two of which were occupied; 
 one by a Chinaman, the other by a thick set, burly 
 man in his shirt sleeves, who was puffing laboriously 
 at his own pipe, which had not apparently produced 
 much effect. 
 
 Lin, the proprietor, a sinister looking Celestial, 
 welcomed Caton with a slight twitching of the 
 muscles of one eye, which might be construed into 
 a wink, and motioned him to one of the couches. 
 
 Like most who begin the fearful habit of opium 
 smoking, Caton had " hit the pipe " for the first 
 time simply for the novelty of it ; but now its ter- 
 rible hold was becoming firmly fastened upon him. 
 On this particular occasion, for some reason or 
 other, he could not forget himself in the delirious 
 stupor peculiar to the soul and body destroying 
 narcotic. 
 
 He tossed and turned on the couch, after the pipe 
 had fallen from his hands, and finally began talking 
 aloud in a voice of fierce energy. 
 
 The occupant of the other couch, who evidently 
 was trying the use of the drug for the first time with 
 unsatisfactory results, raised himself on his elbow.
 
 196 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Erecting himself to a sitting position on the edge 
 of the cot, he began listening, carelessly at first, 
 then with evident eagerness, to the words which 
 fell from the lips of the half delirious sleeper. Then, 
 paying for his pipe, he went out. 
 
 An hour later, Tom Caton was roused from his 
 stupor by Lin. 
 
 " You sleepee on long 'nough for one dol' noder 
 man want hittee pipe," he said, without the slight- 
 est pretense of a show of courtesy; aud Caton 
 pulled himself together, drew on his coat, and made 
 his way out. 
 
 Leaning against the side of the building, with 
 folded arms, stood a powerfully built man with a 
 most villainous cast of features, whose natural ugli- 
 ness was heightened by a stubby growth of reddish 
 gray beard, unkempt hair of the same hue, a scarred 
 face and broken nose. 
 
 Tom glanced curiously at him, and was stepping 
 past, when, greatly to his surprise, the man touched 
 his arm. 
 
 " I'll walk along of you a bit," he said, with a 
 somewhat sinister smile ; " I want a bit of a yarn 
 with you, Mr. Caton." 
 
 "Pray who are you? and how do you know my 
 name?" sharply demanded Caton, made doubly irrit- 
 able by the headache and nausea which had followed 
 his opium indulgence. 
 
 "Well, I'm Cap'n Bill Smith of the schooner 
 Bess," was the cool reply, " an' whilst you was talk- 
 in* in yer sleep on the cot next to mine down in that 
 air den, you give away yer name an' c'nsiderable 
 more besides, if I'm any jedge of what embezzlin' 
 some one else's money means." 
 
 With all his self command, Tom Caton could not 
 repress a slight start of dismay. But quickly re- 
 covering, he laughed scornfully.
 
 THAT TEEASUKE. 197 
 
 " You'll have hard work to make out a case of 
 embezzlement from what a man says under the in- 
 fluence of an opium pipe," he returned, with affected 
 carelessness. 
 
 " That ain't to the point, exuc'ly," replied Captain 
 Smith; " I ain't in that kind of bizness, but mebbe I 
 ana in a line of bizness where, if I was paid enough, 
 I might get that young feller outer the way for 
 you." 
 
 " How do you know I want any one put out of the 
 way?" asked Caton, with a different intonation of 
 voice. 
 
 "Men is mighty ap' to speak out their real minds 
 sometimes whilst they're asleep," Captain Smith re- 
 plied, with a grin; " an* when I heard you sayin' 
 that you'd give five hundred dollars to hev a chap 
 Greys'n you called him knifed or flung overboard, 
 you didn't care which, why I jest drawed my own 
 c'nclusions." 
 
 " Suppose, captain," said Caton, blandly, " that 
 you and I have something to drink to our better 
 acquaintance." 
 
 Shortly afterwards the two were seated at one of 
 the little tables in a neighboring saloon. 
 
 Putting their heads together, both literally and 
 figuratively, the plotters talked long and earnestly 
 in an undertone, punctuated by occasional drinks 
 consumed by the bibulous captain, on whom his 
 frequent potations produced no visible effect. 
 
 "Very good," said the latter, finally, as he rose to 
 his feet, after having listened to a certain proposal 
 advanced by his younger companion ; " you 'tend to 
 your part of it, an' you kin jest make sure that I'll 
 tend to mine; an' 'member, I don't ask no pay till 
 the feller is fairly under hatches." 
 
 And Captain Smith, plunging his huge hands into 
 the pocket of his pilot cloth coat, rolled heavily
 
 198 THAT TREASUKE. 
 
 away in the direction of Atlantic Avenue, while 
 young Caton, after a few moments' reflection, 
 stepped into a small stationer's shop near at hand. 
 Having bought a sheet of the cheapest note paper 
 and an envelope, he asked permission to write a 
 letter, which, of course, was readily granted. 
 
 Tom Grreyson, after strolling aimlessly about the 
 streets during the day, had suddenly made up his 
 mind that he was only wasting time and money by 
 lingering in Boston, now that the two objects of his 
 visit had proved purposeless, and his cherished 
 hopes were at an end. 
 
 So, after supper, Tom settled his bill at Parker's, 
 and decided to take the fast night express to 
 Chicago, which left at 10 P. M. After a short rest in 
 the latter city he meant to proceed direct to San 
 Francisco. 
 
 He had his traveling bag brought down from his 
 room. Taking the evening paper to a chair under 
 the reading chandelier, he began looking it over. 
 
 Curiously enough, Mr. Blake, the insurance man, 
 was there, and from his manner Tom received a 
 vague impression that he had been expecting to see 
 him. He welcomed Tom's entrance by a nod and 
 a friendly smile, after which he drew a chair beside 
 him with the familiarity of an old acquaintance. 
 
 " Anything new in the papers tonight ?" he 
 asked, as Tom uttered a slight exclamation at 
 something which had caught his eye in the news 
 column. 
 
 " Nothing much," replied Tom, who went on read- 
 ing: "The embezzling secretary has been traced to 
 Chicago, and descriptive circulars have been sent 
 out, now that he is known to be still in the States, 
 instead, as was first reported, of having effected his 
 escape in one of the Pacific coast steamers." 
 
 Tom finished and looked suddenly up to find Mr.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 199 
 
 Blake very coolly glancing at the same paragraph 
 over his shoulder. 
 
 "Curious," remarked the latter, unabashed by 
 Tom's look of annoyance : " but today I happened 
 to run across one of those very descriptive circulars 
 mentioned in the paper there just listen." 
 
 And, greatly to Tom's astonishment, Mr. Blake 
 unfolded the document between his fingers, from 
 which in a mumbling undertone he read: 
 
 "FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS' REWARD. 
 
 "The above sum will be paid for the apprehension of the 
 absconding secretary of the G. C. N. M. and A. A. M. Co. of San 
 Francisco. The following is his description: Age between 18 
 and 19, height about 5 ft. 8, weight 145. Good looking, dark 
 eyes and hair slightly inclined to curl, gentlemanly address 
 and regular features. Wears small black false mustache, 
 and " 
 
 " But," suddenly interrupted Tom, who had been 
 listening with the utmost amazement, " that's all 
 wrong Major Smith is a heavily built man \\ith " 
 
 " I don't know any Major Smith," rather curtly 
 interposed Mr. Blake; "the fellow described here 
 has gone by the name of Tom Caton and one or two 
 other aliases." 
 
 Like thunder out of a clear sky, a sudden realiza- 
 tion of the truth flashed across Tom's mind. For a 
 moment he sat staring, open eyed, at Mr. Blake, 
 who, having accomplished his purpose, regarded 
 him with a somewhat humorous smile, and placed 
 the refolded paper in his pocket. 
 
 "At first," he said, dropping his voice, "I was in 
 doubt which of you two young fellows to look after, 
 but I know my man now. I suppose you can't tell 
 me where he is, this evening ?" 
 
 " I can't and if I could I wouldn't," bluntly re- 
 turned Tom. 
 
 " Precisely," was the bland response. " My object 
 in opening your eyes as I have," added Mr. Blake, in
 
 200 THAT TREASUKE. 
 
 a graver tone, " is simply that you may be on your 
 guard against further association with a criminal, 
 who will probably be arrested before morning ;" and 
 rising, the detective, for such he was, strolled out 
 into the office, leaving Tom in a state of intense ex- 
 citement. 
 
 " Letter for you, sir chap that brought it didn't 
 wait for no answer," said one of the bell boys, enter- 
 ing the room. 
 
 "In answer to my advertisement; what can it 
 mean?" muttered Tom, noticing the address written 
 in a scrawly hand: " T. GL, Room 309, Parker house." 
 
 Tearing it hastily open, Tom read as follows: 
 
 ON BOED SCOONER AT 
 PECK'S WHARF. 
 
 Seeing your notis in the paper I rite these few lines by a ship- 
 mait to say if your first Name is Tom who was in arizony with 
 mr Sherard i can tel you something about him that you may 
 like to no having jest cum from a south america voyige where 
 i see mr sherard at the consinee's ofis and he sent a mesige to 
 the states that i gess is for you by yore notis tho he said Tom 
 Dean, i am sick in my bunk "with roomatiz. come tonite 
 thursday about nine as the vesel sales erly tomorrer mornin. 
 she lays to the end of the peer, pecks wharf, a white scooner 
 with a lantern hangin in the fore rigin. 
 
 JOHN PERRY abel seem an. 
 
 Not a shadow of doubt as to the genuineness of the 
 letter crossed Tom's mind, as he finished the epistle, 
 and placed it in his pocket. 
 
 Glancing at the clock, he saw it was half past 
 eight. Only the day before Tom had enjoyed 
 a stroll along the wharves, and knew very nearly 
 where to find the designated pier. 
 
 " I can have my interview with John Perry, and 
 then take a herdic straight to the station, without 
 coming back bere to the hotel at all," he thought. 
 Recovering his traveling bag from the coat room, 
 Tom gave friendly Mr. Shea, at the news counter, a 
 cordial good by, and passing Mr. Blake, who did not 
 look up, he ran down the steps into the street.
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 201 
 
 The clock in the Old South steeple struck nine as 
 Tom reached the pier, on either side of which were 
 several schooners. 
 
 Guided by the dull glimmer of the lantern hang- 
 ing in the vessel's rigging, Tom made his way 
 through the darkness to the very end of the pier, 
 where lay the vessel mentioned in the letter. 
 
 The tide was running out, and the schooner's 
 deck was several feet below the level of the pier. 
 Tom, still retaining his traveling bag in one hand, 
 swung himself into the rigging, and descended to 
 the sheerpole. 
 
 " Is there a sailor named Perry John Perry, who 
 is sick with rheumatism on board this vessel ?" Tom 
 called to a man who was walking along the deck. 
 
 " Yes if you're the chap he's expectin' you'll find 
 him down the fore peak in his bunk," gruffly re- 
 turned the person addressed. 
 
 Clambering down to the deck, Tom stumbled for- 
 ward. Rightly conjecturing that the small open 
 hatchway near the windlass, from which issued a 
 gleam of light from below, led to the fore peak, Tom 
 dropped his traveling bag to the unseen floor be- 
 neath, and then began climbing down a clumsy lad- 
 der. 
 
 But scarcely had his feet reached the bottom, 
 when the companion way slide over his heard was 
 pushed suddenly to, and he heard a faint " click," as 
 though a key was turned in a padlock. 
 
 " Mr. Perry !" called Tom, in considerable alarm, 
 as he turned toward the bunks on either side of the 
 dingy hole, which was faintly illumined by a smoky 
 swinging lamp " what does this mean ? Some has 
 fastened the slide overhead !" 
 
 But there was no reply. As his eyes became ac- 
 customed to the dim obscurity, he saw that the 
 bunks, save for two or three dirty gray blankets and
 
 202 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 dingy pillows, were all empty. And then for ihe first 
 time came the terrifying thought that he had been 
 decoyed on board for the purpose of robbery pos- 
 sibly murder. 
 
 Sitting down on one of the lockers in the dirty 
 place, Tom tried to conjure up some way of escape, 
 but all in vain. He was fairly trapped and at the 
 mercy of his captors. 
 
 Hour after hour dragged slowly by. An occa- 
 sional sound of heavy footsteps on the deck, and 
 the murmur of voices, sometimes reached his ear, 
 and then all would be still. The close atmosphere 
 made his head feel dull and heavy, and finally, ar- 
 ranging the blankets in one of the bunks, Tom 
 threw himself down upon them with a groan of de- 
 spair. 
 
 The tramping of feet directly over his head, min- 
 gled with the rattle of masthoops and the slatting 
 of canvas, aroused Tom from his drowsiness. 
 
 "They are getting under way from the pier," was 
 his thought. Springing from the bunk, Tom stood 
 on the ladder and beat frantically against the under 
 side of the scuttle, but all in vain. 
 
 He heard the plash of lines let go on the pier, 
 and felt the gentle swing of the hull as it moved 
 away. Then a slight heeling over was followed by 
 the noise of the ripple under the bows. 
 
 Throwing himself again in the bunk, in an agony 
 of mind hardly to be expressed in words, Tom lay 
 there hour after hour. The increased motion of the 
 vessel told him it must be well down the harbor, 
 while an unpleasant nausea foretold approaching sea 
 sickness. 
 
 All at once the slide was pulled back, but no sum- 
 mons on deck followed. After waiting a moment, 
 poor Tom clambered upon the ladder and emerged 
 from his prison.
 
 THAT TREASURE. 203 
 
 A groan escaped his lips as lie glanced around 
 him. A thick drizzling rain was falling, and the 
 land on either hand was hidden by gray fog wreaths. 
 Under all- sail the forty ton schooner was dashing 
 over a short chop sea, with a strong northerly wind 
 distending her canvas.
 
 204 1HAT TBEASUBS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 TOM FINDS FKIENDS. 
 
 WHEN Tom came upon the schooner's deck half a 
 dozen rough looking men in oilskins and heavy sea 
 boots were gathered aft, while a poorly clad young 
 fellow about Tom's age, apparently an Italian, was 
 scrubbing the deck. 
 
 " Hallo, who's this ?" called out a burly man, with 
 bloated features, who, as Tom felt instinctively, was 
 the captain. 
 
 " A stowaway," suggested another, and as a hoarse 
 laugh followed, the commander, no other than Cap- 
 tain Smith, came rolling forward. 
 
 " So, young feller, you thought to smuggle yerself 
 off to sea in my vessel's fore peak, did you?" he 
 roared; " an' a nice mess you've got yerself into by 
 doin* of it, f er my schooner ain't no deep water craft. 
 She's jest an eyesterman bound fer Delaware capes, 
 so now, my hearty, you kin make the best of it an* 
 turn to lively, for I'm boss here d'ye understan' ?" 
 
 " I understand that I've been trapped into coming 
 aboard either by you or some one else," returned 
 Tom, firmly, " and if there's law in America " 
 
 " Shet up!" roared Captain Smith; "none of yer 
 back talk here !" 
 
 And before poor Tom knew what was coming, he 
 caught a right hander from Captain Smith's huge 
 fist, which sent him reeling against the windlass.
 
 THAT TEEASUM^ 205 
 
 The Greyson temper blazed out. With a cry of 
 rage, Tom snatched a short capstan bar from the 
 deck, and in another moment Captain Smith was 
 laid prostrate. 
 
 Tom hardly knew what he was doing. He recalls 
 striking out madly right and left, till a terrible blov/ 
 from behind rendered him insensible. 
 
 He woke to renewed consciousness to find himself 
 lying in one of the fore peak bunks, having on only 
 his underclc thing. The rest of his garments were 
 nowhere to be seen, but lying on one of the lockers 
 were a ragged woolen shirt, the sleeves of which 
 were torn off at the elbows, a pair of patched trous- 
 ers, and an old Scotch cap. 
 
 " You, Beppo," he heard Captain Smith roar, " git 
 down for'ard, an' if that there Tom has come to, tell 
 him to put on them duds on the locker, an' git on 
 deck mighty sudden, d'ye hear ?" 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir!" and the Italian came tumbling 
 rapidly down the ladder. 
 
 "Better do what them says dey awful bad mans,'* 
 whispered Beppo, as Tom, seeing there was no help 
 for him, climbed painfully from the berth, and began 
 to don the dingy apparel. Then both went on deck- 
 
 " Go to work and kile up them halyards !" shouted 
 Captain Smith, whose head was bandaged with t- 
 very dirty handkerchief. 
 
 " Show him how to coil 'em, Beppo," growled an- 
 other villainous looking fellow, a Pennsylvania 
 Dutchman called Hawes, who acted as a sort of 
 officer. 
 
 Resistance was useless. It was plain enough to 
 poor Tom that at the faintest show of disobedience 
 he was liable to be battered and bruised at the will 
 of his captors, who only perhaps waited a sufficient 
 pretext for putting him out of the way altogether, 
 now they had possession of his money.
 
 206 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Beppo kindled a fire in the rusty stove in one 
 corner of the fore peak, after he had silently given 
 Tom his first lesson at seamanship; while the rest of 
 the crew, with the exception of the man at the 
 wheel, went down into the little cabin aft. 
 
 "Keep her well to the east'ard of tLe cape looks 
 like we waa goin' to hev a change of wind, an' I want 
 a good offiu' 'fore nightfall," bawled the captain up 
 the after companion way. 
 
 The rest of that day and night, Tom was merci- 
 fully left to himself in all the agonies of seasickness; 
 and on the following morning, somewhat revived by 
 some hot coffee prepared by Beppo, he managed to 
 get on deck again. 
 
 That evening the schooner lay almost totally be- 
 calmed a few miles east of Block Island, while grad- 
 ually the soft fog wreaths, drifting in from the south 
 and east, veiled the face of the deep. 
 
 In vain Captain Smith stamped and whistled and 
 swore; his vessel lay idly rocking on the long swells 
 without steerage way. In the distance, Block Island 
 light was barely discernible, and the hoarse whistle 
 of the automatic buoy on Cow Reef sounded 
 strangely through the stillness. 
 
 The wheel spoke was put in a becket; a jug of 
 applejack was brought out from the captain's priv- 
 ate locker, and placed on the cabin table, together 
 with a pack of greasy cards, and a jar of fine cut 
 tobacco. All hands gathered about the festive 
 board, leaving Tom and Beppo on deck, with direc- 
 tions to blow an immense tin fog horn at intervals. 
 
 Tom stole softly aft and reconnoitered. Unlike 
 most vessels, there was no after companion way 
 door through which to descend to the cabin, but 
 situply a slide with hasp and staple, like that over 
 the entrance to the fore peak. 
 
 " Easy as slipping off a log," he murmured, and,
 
 THAT TEEASUEE. 207 
 
 for the first time since his capture, Tom laughed, 
 but very softly. Tobacco smoke and the fumes of 
 liquor ascended, both through the open hatchway, 
 and through a funnel hole in the middle of the roof, 
 immediately beneath which swung the cabin lamp. 
 
 " Do you want to get away from here, Beppo ?" 
 asked Tom, stepping forward to the Italian's side, 
 as he sat on the heel of the bowsprit, and blew dis- 
 cordant blasts on the fog horn. 
 
 " You trya me," whispered Beppo, showing his 
 white teeth. Tom hastily confided his plan, and the 
 other assented readily. 
 
 Tom whittled a stout thole pin to the required 
 size, and, placing it in his pocket, drew a bucket of 
 water from alongside, which he placed on deck. 
 
 The hilarity below grew louder and stronger, as 
 the applejack waned in the jug. 
 
 " Take a look round on deck, an* see if there's any 
 signs of a breeze, Hawes; I'll play your hand till 
 you come back," said Captain Smith. Tom, who 
 had just tiptoed away from t^e after cabin, laughed 
 again. 
 
 For Hawes, presuming the slide to be open, as a 
 few moments before, hurried to obey without glanc- 
 ing upward. And as his bullet head came forcibly 
 in contact with the closed slide, which was of toler- 
 ably thick oak, he uttered a howl and fell backward. 
 
 At the same moment, a drenching torrent of salt 
 water was poured down through the funnel hole in 
 the roof, instantly extinguishing the lamp, and 
 drenching the table beneath. 
 
 The jug of applejack was overthrown in the sud- 
 den uprisal, and then followed a perfect pandemon- 
 ium. There was no other means of exit, except 
 through the scuttle, and even the little plate glass 
 bull's eyes in the side of the trunk were tightly 
 closed and screwed up.
 
 108 THAT TKEASUEE. 
 
 " Now, then, Beppo," exultantly exclaimed Tom, 
 " give me a hand with the top dory quick !" 
 
 In another moment the buoyant craft was tossing 1 
 alongside. As its stem bumped heavily against the 
 vessel's hull, the tremendous din in the cabin sud- 
 denly ceased. 
 
 " You, Tom Beppo 1" bellowed the voice of the 
 imprisoned captain, hoarse with rage and applejack, 
 " take off this here slide, or I'll murder you when I 
 get on deck !" 
 
 " You won't get on deck in a hurry, by the looks 
 of things," called Tom, glancing at the stout ash pin 
 which confined the slide; "hope you're enjoying 
 yourself down there good by !" 
 
 " Bime by you be plenty warm, cap'n," shouted 
 Beppo ; " I empty kerosene on old sail down blow, 
 an' set him 'fire, 'fore we go off in you dory !" 
 
 " Good heavens, Beppo !" exclaimed Tom, aghast, 
 " you haven't " 
 
 Bat a reassuring wink from the Italian showed 
 Tom that Beppo was revenging himself for the 
 abuses he had suffered, by working on the fears of 
 his former persecutors, at the expense of truth. 
 
 " I shmell the smoke a'ready," yelled Hawes, in 
 terrified accents; "ve shall burn like rats in von 
 hole !" 
 
 Amid a chorus of frenzied shouts and entreaties, 
 the dory was pushed off from the side by the two 
 fugitives. Beppo took the oars, and with half a 
 dozen strokes left the schooner astern, completely 
 hidden by the thick mist wreaths. 
 
 Sitting in the dory's stern, Tom steered toward 
 the luminous pin point representing Block Island 
 light, which seemed much further away than it 
 fteally was, by reason of the fog. 
 
 " Saya, Tom," Beppo suddenly remarked, "how 
 ?*u getta caught 'board dat vessel eh ?"
 
 THAT TREASUKE. 209 
 
 Tom briefly explained. 
 
 " Captain Smith, or some one of his gang, wrote 
 the decoy letter, I suppose," he said, " and so " 
 
 "No, no," interrupted Beppo, shaking his head 
 rapidly; " I tell you sometings. Night we sail, men 
 all 'shore 'cept Cap'n Srnit'. I lay bunk aft, 'mos' 
 sleep. Bime by, Smit' he come down with young 
 fella all dress up like gen'leman. 'So my letter 
 f etcha him ?' dis young chap say, an' show he teeth. 
 Den cap'n laugh, an' say: 'Got him sure.' Young 
 fella pull out money; I see him finger shake when 
 he hand over bill. * Member, cap'n/ he say, low 
 like, 'all I want get him out my way few week 
 not'in' more.' Cap'n Smit' grin. ' I take care of 
 him,' he say; den bot' go on deck." 
 
 " Could you see the young fellow's face ?" eagerly 
 demanded Tom, as a sudden shadowy suspicion 
 flashed across his mind. 
 
 " See him all plain," promptly returned Beppo. 
 " I know him 'gain anywheres. He " 
 
 " Stop rowing a bit," exclaimed Tom, quickly. 
 
 Out of the surrounding mist and gloom rose a 
 clear and beautiful contralto voice, upborne on the 
 light breeze. 
 
 " Hark ! " breathlessly interposed Tom, as Beppo 
 was about to speak. 
 
 " Where is my wandering boy tonight, 
 
 The boy of my tend'rest care ? 
 The boy that was once my soul's delight, 
 
 The child of my love and prayer." 
 
 It was only a melody from the too often derided 
 " Gospel Hymns." But the wonderful pathos and 
 sweetness of the singer gave to the simple words a 
 strangely moving power, and Tom Greyson's eyes 
 suddenly filled. 
 
 "Pull round, Beppo; there is a vessel somewhere 
 near in the fog, and we must board her," said Tom,
 
 210 THAT TEEASUKE. 
 
 in a voice of repressed emotion, for somehow his 
 whole being had been strangely stirred by what he 
 had heard. 
 
 Beppo silently obeyed. A few strokes of the 
 oars, and out of the murk loomed the hull of a 
 large schooner, with her booms guyed out to catch 
 the fitful puffs of air that barely kept the white 
 sails full. 
 
 " Schooner 'hoy !" called Beppo, as he rounded 
 the dory to alongside the moving vessel. In answer 
 to the hail, two or three men came running to the 
 rail, and took the fugitives on deck. 
 
 " Show the poor fellows into the cabin, Mr. 
 Meyer," called a pleasant voice from the quarter, 
 where four or five persons were sitting. " I want to 
 question them." 
 
 Mr. Meyer, evidently the first officer, motioning 
 Tom and Beppo to follow, ushered them into the 
 after cabin. 
 
 The pleasant voiced gentleman, who, as Tom con- 
 jectured, was the owner of the yacht, descended the 
 after companion way, followed by the rustling 
 skirts of a couple of ladies, who entered their state- 
 rooms. 
 
 A third lady was sitting at a small, upright piano 
 in an alcove. As she turned her head at the en- 
 trance of the little party, Tom with difficulty re- 
 pressed an exclamation of astonishment, for it was 
 no other than Madame Norman. It was not sur- 
 prising that she did not at first recognize Tom in 
 his disfiguring apparel. 
 
 " Step forward, here, more into the light," said 
 Mr. Bivers, the yacht's owner, and very reluctantly 
 Tom followed Beppo, who was not in the least 
 abashed by his surroundings, but stood, cap in 
 hand, glancing about him with childish delight. 
 
 Beppo told the story of the schooner Bess and
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 211 
 
 her villainous crew. How he himself had been in- 
 duced to ship through the promise of large wages, 
 and, once on board, had been kept there a drudge 
 and a slave. 
 
 But Madame Norman was not listening. She was 
 studying Tom's face with a puzzled look. 
 
 "I cannot be mistaken," she said rising to her 
 feet. " Mr. Rivers, this young man is the one of 
 whom I was telling you he who acted so bravely 
 in San Francisco." 
 
 " Impossible, Mrs. Greyson," returned Mr. Rivers, 
 as the lady stepped forward and took Tom's hand 
 in her own. 
 
 Mrs. Greyson ! But before Tom could frame the 
 questions that were trembling on his lips, the singer 
 drew him forward. 
 
 " Madame Norman was only my stage name ; 
 I am really only Mrs. Greyson," she said, with a 
 smile. 
 
 " But I that is my name is Tom Greyson," ex- 
 claimed Tom, in great agitation; "and there are the 
 initials, T. S. G., that my father, whom I cannot 
 remember, pricked into my arm when I was a child," 
 he added, pointing to the tattoed monogram on his 
 arm. 
 
 " Will you tell me more ?" gasped Mrs. Greyson, 
 sinking into the nearest chair, but without relin- 
 quishing Tom's hands, while her eyes were fixed on 
 his agitated face with an eager, hungry look. 
 
 "Captain Greyson, my grandfather, was angry at 
 his son's marriage," said Tom; " and after my father 
 died he had me kidnaped by a man named 
 North " 
 
 But before Tom could continue, Mrs. Greyson 
 drew him toward her. 
 
 " My boy," she said, tremblingly, " my little lost 
 Tom 1" With a stifled cry, Tom sank on his knees
 
 212 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 and hid his face in her lap, and his mother placed 
 her arms about his neck. 
 
 " Thank God thank God !" she whispered, " for 
 this my son was dead and is alive again, was lost 
 and is found." 
 
 A slight rustling was heard at the further end of 
 the cabin, where, with visibly astonished looks, a 
 young and a middle aged lady stood as though 
 transfixed at the unexpected tableau. 
 
 But Mr. Rivers, recovering from his own shock 
 of surprise, waved them back with a mute gesture. 
 Then, seizing Beppo, who was grinning with de- 
 light, by the collar, he marched him rapidly on 
 deck. 
 
 "It beats melodrama and novels all hollow," he 
 exclaimed to the two gentlemen who stood there ; 
 " wait a little while, and I'll take you in to hear the 
 whole story." 
 
 But feminine curiosity was not thus to be held 
 in check. Long before the three masculines ven- 
 tured to intrude upon the scene, such a chorus of 
 voices was heard, that Mr. Rivers was fain to knock 
 loudly at the cabin door. 
 
 " The sailing master complains that you're all 
 making such a row he can't hear the automatic buoy 
 on Cow Reef," he called. 
 
 " Come in," was the reply, and Mr. Rivers, fol- 
 lowed by his two male companions, entered the 
 cabin. 
 
 "Papa papa Sherard what do you think?" 
 breathlessly cried a lovely girl in a becoming yacht- 
 ing suit, as she seized one of the gentlemen by the 
 hand and dragged him forward; " here is Tom our 
 Tom only he isn't Tom Dean, but Tom Greyson, 
 my dear Mrs. Greyson's long lost son ! And oh, 
 papa !" said Miss Dolly Sherard, " isn't it too lovely 
 for anything?"
 
 THAT TKEASUEE. 213 
 
 " "Well, I should say it was," vacantly responded 
 Mr. Sherard, staring at Tom in utter bewilderment; 
 " Tom, my boy " 
 
 And, dropping Tom's hand before he had quite 
 wrung it off, Mr. Sherard turned suddenly round 
 and stared very hard at the barometer, the index 
 needle of which was pointing to "sudden change." 
 
 "Here, Caton, come and be introduced," called 
 Mr. Bivers, to make a diversion; but the third gen- 
 tleman of the party had suddenly vanished through 
 the door, with a face that was livid in its pallor. 
 
 " What's the matter with Caton ? I didn't know 
 he was ever troubled with bashfulness," laughed 
 Mr. Rivers. 
 
 " The young gentleman has seemed rather nerv- 
 ous ever since his impatience to leave Boston started 
 us all off a couple of days before we had arranged 
 to go," said Mr. Sherard, shrugging his shoulders; 
 '* otherwise, we might have had a longer time to 
 enjoy our comfortable suite of rooms at Parker's." 
 
 At Parker's ! Then Mr. Sherard and Dolly had 
 been under the same roof as Tom ! No wonder that 
 scheming Caton had wanted to get him out of the 
 way, lest he should meet the Sherards, and in some 
 way betray his knowledge of Caton's antecedents. 
 
 Like one in a dream, Tom sat holding his moth- 
 er's hand, while Mrs. Greyson, speechless with joy, 
 regarded her new found son with emotions too deep 
 for utterance. 
 
 It was Dolly who did the talking. She told of 
 her father's accidental meeting with the wealthy 
 young planter from New Orleans, at a broker's office 
 in Boston, where the latter was exchanging some 
 gold for bills. Being pleased with his appearance, 
 Mr. Sherard had invited him to call at their rooms 
 at Parker's, and he had haunted them ever since. 
 And when Mr. Eivers, who was a brother to Mr.
 
 214 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 Sherard's deceased wife, had proposed the present 
 yachting trip, which, after a brief touching at New 
 York on some of Mr. Sherard's business, was to con- 
 tinue till midsummer, young Mr. Caton had con- 
 trived very shrewdly to have himself included in the 
 invitation. 
 
 It was evident that Tom felt ill at ease in his rag- 
 ged garb, notwithstanding his delightful sur- 
 roundings, a fact which Mr. Sherard was first to 
 discover. 
 
 " Come, Tom, I want you myself for a few mo- 
 ments," he said. Comprehending his meaning, Tom 
 left his mother, with a promise that he would soon 
 return, and accompanied Mr. Sherard to his own 
 stateroom, where the latter's wardrobe was placed 
 at his disposal. 
 
 Half an hour later, Tom passed out on deck, and 
 tossed over the rail his late ragged habiliments. 
 
 " Saya, Tom," eagerly observed Beppo, who seemed 
 to have been lying in wait for him, " maybe you not 
 b'leeve me, but while 'go I seea dat young fel' what 
 I tell you was 'board the Bess, an* give cap'n money; 
 him was on deck with oder gen'lemen." 
 
 But Tom could now believe anything, and, in fact, 
 Beppo's assertion only confirmed his own suspicions. 
 Bidding Beppo say nothing about it to any one, 
 Tom penciled on a card these few lines: 
 
 TOM: As I know everything that you are the embezzling 
 secretary of the Grand Consolidated, and that you forged the 
 letter by which I was decoyed on board the oyster schooner, 
 from which I have just escaped, it may not be pleasant for us 
 to meet. I will keep your secret as long as I can, but you must 
 know the truth will have to be told sooner or later. 1 heartily 
 and freely forgive you on my own part. TOM. 
 
 Knocking at the door of Caton's stateroom, he 
 slipped the card under the door, and made his way 
 to the cabin, which was tenanted solely by pretty 
 Dolly.
 
 THAT TREASURE 215 
 
 His mother, so Dolly told him, with a charming 
 Bmile, was lying down, after so much excitement, 
 and Mrs. Rivers was with her. The two older gen- 
 tlemen were on the quarter, and Mr. Caton had sent 
 word that he had a headache and did not wish to 
 be disturbed. 
 
 " But, Dolly," said Tom, grown wondrously bold, 
 as he took both her small hands in his own, " do 
 you know I have not had time to tell you that not 
 the least of my happiness is that of finding you 
 again ?" 
 
 And, if you will believe me, this same audacious 
 Tom drew blushing Dolly toward him, and touched 
 his lips to her rosy cheek. 
 
 "What Dolly would have said, but for the entrance 
 of Mr. Sherard, I am unable to state. But she be- 
 gan talking very fast all at once, and the theme of 
 her conversation was Tom's mother. Mrs. Greyson 
 had been unsuccessful in her pet project in fact, 
 had lost nearly all her little savings. Then she left 
 the concert stage, and advertised for music pupils. 
 But Dolly, who had fallen in love with the graceful 
 lady at sight, persuaded her father that she wanted 
 her for companion, chaperone, and music teacher, all 
 in one. 
 
 And so the night wore on. Mrs. Greyson and 
 Mrs. Rivers rejoined them, and shortly afterward 
 Mr. Rivers came below, with the announcement that 
 a favorable breeze was rising, and that the yacht 
 would be in New York harbor on the following 
 morning. 
 
 Mr. Sherard had a long talk in private with Tom, 
 after the others had retired. He had prospered in 
 a wonderful manner, through certain investments, 
 and though he had turned Tom's share in with his 
 own, he was amply able to repay it with interest. 
 It was arranged that, on their arrival in New York,
 
 216 THAT TKEASURE: 
 
 Mr. Sherard should at once proceed to make the 
 proper transfers, and Tom felt that he was in a fair 
 way of seeing his cherished dream of a home, and 
 a humble competency, in which his mother was to 
 share, fully realized. 
 
 At early dawn, every one, except Caton, turned 
 out to enjoy the beautiful scenery in sailing up the 
 harbor. A little later the steward reported that Mr. 
 Caton was not iu his stateroom. Not only were his 
 traveling bag and overcoat missing, but also the 
 dory in which Tom and Beppo had made their es- 
 cape. 
 
 It had been left towing alongside, and some time 
 during the night had been utilized by the missing 
 passenger, as was apparent from the following brief 
 note, left on the untouched berth: 
 
 Circumstances over which I have no control having necessi- 
 tated a somewhat hasty leave taking, I tender my heartfelt 
 thanks for courtesies received. Mr. Greyson, who I will merely 
 say is a white man, every inch of him, will give the full partic- 
 ulars. Am glad he found his mother indeed, he might give me 
 the credit of that. Love to Dolly. CATON. 
 
 " But what does it all mean ?" exclaimed Dolly, 
 coloring with vexation at the concluding passage in 
 this impudent, but very characteristic missive ; and 
 then Tom made a clean breast of the wnole matter 
 of Caton's career, from beginning to end. 
 
 Space does not allow me to describe at any 
 length the mingled astonishment and indignation 
 of the entire party, when they found they had been 
 sheltering and entertaining an audacious young 
 criminal. 
 
 Arrived in New York, Tom's first act was to send 
 to his grandfather the following dispatch : 
 
 Can't come back. Have found mother. Will write particu- 
 lars. TOM. 
 
 And that night, after Tom and Mr. Sherard had
 
 THAT TKEASTTKE. 217 
 
 had a most satisfactory adjustment o? their busi- 
 ness matters, Tom received the following answer: 
 
 Come at once and bring your mother with you. 
 
 GREYSON. 
 
 The tears rose to Mrs. Greyson's eyes, as Tom, 
 with his arms about her neck, read this altogether 
 unexpected reply. 
 
 " Ah, Tom, it all seems too good to be true, and I 
 am continually fearing to waken and find it all a 
 dream," she softly said. 
 
 " It seems real enough to me," responded irre- 
 pressible Dolly, pouting never so slightly, " for if 
 you go, I only find dear friends to lose them again 
 immediately." 
 
 "It need not be," eagerly exclaimed Tom, "if Mr. 
 Sherard and yourself would give up this yachting 
 cruise and take the trip with us." 
 
 And the upshot of the matter was that Mr. Eivers, 
 greatly to his disappointment, had to hunt up an 
 entire new yachting company; while the happiest 
 quartet that ever traveled by rail went flying off 
 for San Francisco a few days later. 
 
 But why prolong this story further? At Los 
 Angeles, in Southern California, two beautiful 
 estates stand side by side. One belongs to Captain 
 Greyson. The captain daily repents in figurative 
 sackcloth and ashes his harshness and cruelty to 
 " Tom's widow," whom he now regards as a daugh- 
 ter. 
 
 Mr. Sherard owns the other estate, and has 
 settled down, so he asserts, for life. Dolly Sherard 
 is perfectly content, as well she may be. Both she 
 and Tom look back upon their peculiar experiences 
 with something of the feeling with which one re- 
 calls a bewildering dream. . 
 
 Perhaps it may not be amiss to say just here, 
 that young Caton was finally apprehended by per-
 
 fc.8 THAT TREASURE. 
 
 sistent detective Blake. He now serves the State in 
 a massive stone building, where he will have a 
 chance to reflect upon the result of wrong doing 
 for the next ten years. 
 
 It was from Tom that I obtained the facts which 
 I have incorporated into this story. In a letter re- 
 cently received from him, he says: 
 
 Dolly and I are to be married some day. I tell you this, 
 thinking that you, as well as any who may read the story 
 which you say you have written about us, will know that at 
 last I have found 
 
 THAT TEEASUBE. 
 
 THE END.
 
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 (i)
 
 HORATIO AIX.ICR, Jr. 
 
 One of the best known and most popular writers. Good, clean, 
 healthy stories for the American Boy. 
 
 Adventures of a Telegraph Boy Mark Stanton 
 
 Dean Dunham Ned Newton 
 
 Erie Train JBoy, The ]STew York Boy 
 
 Five Hundred Dollar Check Tom Brace 
 
 From Canal Boy to President Tom Tracy 
 
 From Farm Boy to Senator "Walter Griffith 
 Young Acrobat 
 
 C. B. ASIILKY. 
 
 One of the best stories ever written on hunting, trapping and ad- 
 venture in the West, after the Ouster Massacre. 
 
 Gilbert, the Boy Trapper 
 
 A:NXH: ASHMORE. 
 
 A splendid story, recording the adventures of a boy with smugglers. 
 Smuggler's Cave, The 
 
 CAPX. RALPH BOXEZIIIJL. 
 
 Capt. Bonehill is in the very front rank as an author of boys' 
 stories. He writes also under the name of Stratemeyer and Winfield. 
 These are two of his best works. 
 
 K"eka, the Boy Conjurer Tour of the Zero Club 
 
 WAI/TER F. BRUXS. 
 
 An excellent story of adventure in the celebrated Sunk Lands of 
 Missouri and Kansas. 
 
 In the Bunk Lands 
 
 FRA1SFK H. CONVERSE. 
 
 This writer has es'ablished a splendid reputation as a boys' author, 
 and although his books usually command $1.25 per volume, we offer 
 the following at a more popular price. 
 
 Gold of Flat Top Mountain In Southern Seas 
 
 Happy-Go-Lucky Jack Mystery of a Diamond 
 
 Heir to a Million That Treasure 
 
 In Search of An Unknown Race Voyage to the Gold Coast 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
 (ii)
 
 HARRY COLLIXC;\VOOD. 
 
 One of England's most successful writers of stories for boys. His 
 best story is 
 
 Pirate Island 
 
 GEORGE II. COOMER. 
 
 Two books we highly recommend. One is a splendid story of ad- 
 venture at sea, when American ships were in every port in the world, 
 and the other tells of adventures while the first railway in the Andes 
 Mountains was being built. 
 
 Boys in the Forecastle Old Man of the Mountain 
 
 DAI/TON. 
 
 Three stories by one of the very greatest writers for boys. The 
 stories deal with boys' adventures in India, China and Abyssinia, 
 These books are strongly recommended for boys' reading, as they con- 
 tain a large amount of historical information. 
 
 Tiger Prince "War Tiger 
 
 "White Elephant 
 
 EDWARD S. ELLIS. 
 
 These books are considered the best works this well-known writer 
 ever produced. No better reading for bright young Americans. 
 
 Arthur Helmuth Perils of the Jungle 
 
 Check No. 2134 On the Trail of Geronimo 
 
 From Tent to White House "White Mustang 
 
 GEORGE 
 
 For the past fifty years Mr. Fenn has been writing books for boys 
 and popular fiction. His hooks are justly popular throughout the 
 English-speaking world. We publish the following select list of his 
 boys' books, which we consider the best he ever wrote. 
 
 Commodore Junk Golden Magnet 
 
 Dingo Boys Grand Chaco 
 
 'Weathercock 
 
 EXSKiX CLARKE FIXCH, U. S. X. 
 
 A graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and tho- 
 roughly familiar with all naval matters. Mr. Fitch has devoted him- 
 self to literature, and has written a series of books for boys that every 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
 (iii)
 
 young American should read. His stories are full of very interesting 
 information about the navy, training ships, etc. 
 
 Bound for Annapolis Cruise of the Training Ship 
 
 Clif, the Naval Cadet From Port to Port 
 
 Strange Cruise, A 
 
 WILLIAM MURRAY CRAYDON. 
 
 An author of world-wide popularity. Mr. Graydon is essentially a 
 friend of young people, and we offer herewith ten of his best works, 
 wherein he relates a great diversity of interesting adventures in various 
 parts of the world, combined with accurate historical data. 
 
 Butcher of Cawnpore, The In Barracks and Wigwam 
 
 Camp in the Snow, The In Fort and Prison 
 
 Campaigning with Braddock Jungles and Traitors 
 
 Cryptogram, The Hajah's Fortress, The 
 
 From Lake to "Wilderness "White King of Africa, The 
 
 LIEUT. FREDERICK GARRISON, U. S. A. 
 
 Every American boy takes a keen interest in the affairs of West 
 Point. No more capable writer on this popular subject could be found 
 than Lieut. Garrison, who vividly describes the life, adventures and 
 unique incidents that have occurred in that great institution in these 
 famous West Point stories. 
 
 Off for West Point On Guard 
 
 Cadet's Honor, A West Point Treasure, The 
 
 West Point Rivals, The 
 
 HEADON MILL. 
 
 The hunt for gold has always been a popular subject for considera- 
 tion, and Mr. Hill has added a splendid story on the subject in this 
 romance of the Klondyke. 
 
 Spectre Gold 
 
 HENRY HARRISON LEWIS. 
 
 Mr. Lewis is a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and 
 has written a great many books for boys. Among his best works are 
 the following titles the subjects include a vast series of adventures 
 in all parts of the world. The historical data is correct, and they 
 should be read by all boys, for the excellent information they contain. 
 
 Centreboard Jim Ensign Merrill 
 
 King of the Island Sword and Pen 
 
 Midshipman Merrill Valley of Mystery, The 
 
 Yankee Boys in Japan 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
 (iv)
 
 LIEUT. LIOTVEL LOUNSBERRY. 
 
 A series of books embracing many adventures under our famous 
 naval commanders, and with our army during the War of 1812 and 
 the Civil War. Founded on sound history, these books are written 
 for boys, with the idea of combining pleasure with profit ; to cutivate 
 a fondness for study especially of what has been accomplished by 
 our army and navy. 
 
 Cadet Kit Carey Randy, the Pilot 
 
 Captain Carey Tom Truxton's School Days 
 
 Kit Carey's Protege Tom Truxton's Ocean Trip 
 
 Lieut. Carey's Luck Treasure of the Golden Crater 
 
 Out With Commodore Decatur "Won at "West Point 
 
 BROOKS McCORMICK. 
 
 Four splendid books of adventure on sea and land, by this well- 
 known writer for boys. 
 
 Giant Islanders, The Nature's Young Nobleman. 
 
 How He "Won Rival Battalions 
 
 WALTER MORRIS. 
 
 This charming story contains thirty-two chapters of just the sort of 
 school life that charms the boy readers. 
 
 Bob Porter at Lakeview Academy 
 
 STANLEY MORRIS. 
 
 Mr. Norris is without a rival as a writer of "Circus Stories" for 
 boys. These four books are full of thrilling adventures, but good, 
 wholsome reading for young Americans. 
 
 Phil, the Showman Young Showman's Pluck, The 
 
 Young Showman's Rivals, The Young Showman's Triumph 
 
 LIEUT. JAMES K. ORTOP?. 
 
 When a boy has read one of Lieut. Orton's books, it requires no 
 urging to induce him to read the others. Not a dull page in any of 
 them. 
 Beach Boy Joe Secret Chart, The 
 
 Last Chance Mine Tom Havens with the "White 
 
 Squadron 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
 (v)
 
 JAMES OTIS. 
 
 Mr. Otis is known by nearly every American boy, and needs no in- 
 troduction here. The following copyrights are among his best : 
 
 Chased Through Norway Unprovoked Mutiny 
 
 Inland "Waterways "Wheeling for Fortune 
 
 Reuben Green's Adventures at Yale 
 
 GILBERT PATTEN. 
 
 Mr. Patten has had the distinction of having his books adopted by 
 the U. S. Government for all naval libraries on board our war ships. 
 While aiming to avoid the extravagant and sensational, the stories 
 contain enough thrilling incidents to please the lad who loves action 
 and adventure. In the Rockspur stories the description of their Base- 
 ball and Football Games and other contests with rival clubs and teams 
 make very exciting and absorbing reading ; and few boys with warm 
 blood in their veins, having once begun the perusal of one of these 
 books, will willingly lay it down till it is finished. 
 
 Boy Boomers Jud and Joe 
 
 Boy Cattle King Rockspur Nine, The 
 
 Boy from the "West Kockspur Eleven, The 
 
 Don Kirke's Mine Rockspur Rivals, The 
 
 ST. GEORGE RATIIIIORXE. 
 
 Mr. Bathborne's stories for boys have the peculiar charm of 
 dealing with localities and conditions with which he is thoroughly 
 familiar. The scenes of these excellent stories are along the Florida 
 coast and on the western prairies. 
 
 Canoe and Camp Fire Chums of the Prairie 
 
 Faddling Under Palmettos Young Range Riders 
 
 Rival Canoe Boys Gulf Cruisers 
 
 Sunset Ranch Shifting "Winds 
 
 ARTHUR SEWELI*. 
 
 An American story by an American author. It relates how a 
 Yankee boy overcame many obstacles in school and out. Thoroughly 
 interesting from start to finish. 
 
 Gay Dashleigh's Academy Days 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
 (vi)
 
 CAPT. DAVID SOUTHWICK. 
 
 An exceptionally good story of frontier life among the Indians in 
 the far West, during the early settlement period. 
 
 Jack "Wheeler 
 
 The Famous Frank Merriwell Stories. 
 
 BURT I*. STAP9DISH. 
 
 No modern series of tales for boys and youths has met with any- 
 thing like the cordial reception and popularity accorded to the Frank 
 Merriwell Stories. There must be a reason for this and there is. 
 Frank Merriwell, as portrayed by the author, is a jolly whole-souled, 
 honest, courageous American lad, who appeals to the hearts of the 
 boys. He has no bad habits, and his manliness inculcates the idea 
 that it is not necessary for a boy to indulge in petty vices to be a hero. 
 Frank Merriwell' s example is a shining light for every ambitious lad 
 to follow. Six volumes now ready : 
 
 Frank MerriwelFs School Days Frank Merriwell's Trip "West 
 Frank Merriwell's Chums Frank Merriwell Down South. 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Foes Frank Merriwell's Bravery 
 
 VICTOR. ST. CLAIR. 
 
 These books are full of good, clean adventure, thrilling enough to 
 please the full-blooded wide-awake boy, yet containing nothing to 
 which there can be any objection from those who are careful as to the 
 kind of books they put into the hands of the young. 
 
 Cast Away in the Jungle Little Snap, the Post Boy 
 
 For Home and Honor Zig-Zag, the Boy Conjurer 
 
 From Switch to Lever Zip, the Acrobat 
 
 MATTHEW 'WHITE, JR. 
 
 Good, healthy, strong books for the American lad. No more in- 
 teresting books for the young appear on our lists. 
 
 Adventures of a Young Athlete My Mysterious Fortune 
 
 Eric Dane Tour of a Private Car 
 
 Guy Hammersley Young Editor, The 
 
 ARTHUR HI. \VIXFIi:i,I>. 
 
 One of the most popular authors of boys' books. He writes also 
 under the name of Bonehill and Stratemeyer. Here are three of his 
 best. 
 
 Mark Dale's Stage Venture Young Bank Clerk, The 
 
 Young Bridge Tender, The 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
 (vii)
 
 Ci A YI.i; 
 
 This very interesting story relates the trials and triumphs of a 
 Young American Actor, including the solution of a very puzzling 
 mystery. 
 
 Young Actor, The 
 
 A. YOUNG. 
 
 This book is not a treatise on sports, as the title would indicate, but 
 relates a series of thrilling adventures among boy campers in the 
 woods of Maine. 
 
 Boats, Bats and Bicycles 
 
 DAVLD McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia. 
 
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