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 IMARI) W TOWNSEND 
 
FORT BIRKETT 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
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 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/details/fortbirkettstoryOOtownricli 
 
Indian Sam hears piirsncrs. 
 
FORT BIRKETT 
 
 ^ Story of Mountain Adventure 
 
 
 BY 
 
 Edward W. Townsend 
 
 W. J. RITCHIE, Publisher 
 
 NEW YORK 70 FIFTH AVENUE 
 
 1905 
 
Other fVorks by the same Author : 
 
 CHIMMIE FADDEN 
 
 A DAUGHTER OF THE TENEMENTS 
 
 NEAR A WHOLE CITYFUL 
 
 DAYS LIKE THESE 
 
 LEES AND LEAVEN 
 
 A SUMMER IN NEW YORK 
 
 ,CPPY^IQHT^, igo3. by EDWARD W. TOWNSEND 
 
 ' * " • * ^ {All rights reserved) 
 
To- 
 One Who Knows and Loves the Somber Mystery of 
 Mountains ; 
 
 The Joy of Danger ; 
 
 The Rugged Hospitality of Miners' Cabins ; 
 The Hard-Earned Rest of Hunters' Camps— 
 My Brother, 
 
 GEORGE TOWNSEND, 
 
 THIS story of mountain ADVENTURE IS AFFECTIONATELY 
 
 dedicated. 
 
 E. W. T. 
 
 ivi27il4 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. 
 
 The Man-Hunt, .... 
 
 I 
 
 II. 
 
 John Birkett's Partner, . 
 
 . 13 
 
 III. 
 
 Turned from the Trail, . 
 
 . 26 
 
 IV. 
 
 Hammatt's Meadow, . 
 
 . 40 
 
 V. 
 
 The Wounded Stranger, . 
 
 . 57 
 
 VI. 
 
 Mr. Pelham's Discovery, . 
 
 . 70 
 
 VII. 
 
 A Midnight Desertion, 
 
 84 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Recruits for Dick Rawlins, 
 
 95 
 
 IX. 
 
 Unexpected Peril, 
 
 109 
 
 X. 
 
 The Capture of Constance, 
 
 12S 
 
 XI. 
 
 Indian Sam's Strategy, 
 
 140 
 
 XII. 
 
 The Adventures of Mr. Pelham, . 
 
 151 
 
 XIII. 
 
 A Fair Hostage, . . . . 
 
 166 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Lennox Uses his Trophy, 
 
 180 
 
 XV. 
 
 The Bandits' New Leader, 
 
 189 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Sam Pays an Old Debt, . 
 
 197 
 
 XVII. 
 
 A Sortie from the Fort, 
 
 209 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 The Hunt for the Fugitives, 
 vii 
 
 221 
 
viii Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XIX. Sam Goes Hunting, . . . .230 
 
 XX. Martha Hammatt's Captives, . 239 
 
 XXI. Parker's Bag of Gold, . . . 250 
 
 XXII. The Pursuers Pursued, . . .258 
 
 XXIII. A Fair Bargain, . , . .267 
 
FORT BIRKETT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE MAN-HUNT 
 
 Four supple, sunburned young men 
 lounged over the gate bars of a loosely built 
 corral, adjoining the rambling stables of a 
 foothill ranch. Near by ran a road, which 
 was broad and straight in the valley below ; 
 narrow and turning, here in the hills; and 
 then became a zigzag trail where it ran into 
 the mountains above. This road and trail 
 made travel possible, during part of the year, 
 from the San Joaquin Valley of California 
 over the Sierra Mountains, into a mining 
 region of Nevada. Although it was now the 
 middle of June no party had gone into the 
 mountains as far as the divide, on account 
 
2 Fort Birkett 
 
 oi snow ; but some prospectors had reported 
 the trail open, even on its highest point. 
 
 There was no suggestion of snow at 
 Anderson's ranch; none in the warm, per- 
 fumed air of the early morning ; none in the 
 suave slopes of the foothills, already ex- 
 changing their green mantle of winter for 
 the golden garb of summer; none in the 
 lightly clothed loungers, watching " Old 
 Man " Anderson and his son, Sid, packing 
 the outfit of a party about to start over the 
 trail. The " party " consisted of a middle- 
 aged man, and a youth, who were now curi- 
 ously noting the nice economy of space, and 
 distribution of weight, with which the bun- 
 dles of their outfit were adjusted on the pack 
 saddles of three horses. 
 
 "Ain't Sid going to take a pack?" in- 
 quired one of the loungers at the gate. 
 
 " No," answered another. " Sid '11 carry 
 his blanket and rifle, and grub off the 
 Easterners." 
 
 " He'll grub on jam and tea, then," com- 
 
The Man-Hunt 3 
 
 mented a third. " I never see the like of the 
 old gent of the party; he's stowed tea in 
 every package of the outfit. I heerd him ask 
 the Old Man if he couldn't leave out one side 
 of bacon and put some more tea in its place. 
 * Ye kin if ye likes,' says the Old Man, ' but 
 v^ater '11 do, if ye run short of tea. Water 
 won't do for bacon, though,' says the Old 
 Man.'' 
 
 The story was received with lazy laughs, 
 as the loungers watched the workers with 
 the interest of experts ; rolling cigarettes the 
 while without diverting their eyes from the 
 scene in the corral. 
 
 *' The young un knows a horse," one re- 
 marked, after filling his huge lungs with 
 smoke which casually escaped through lips 
 and nostrils as he talked. " Sid give him 
 that buckskin — the broncho the Old Man 
 traded off the Greaser, for the casks of claret 
 — ^and, say, he rode him, all right." 
 
 " With long stirrups, too," another critic 
 added with serious approval. '' He's a husky 
 
4 Fort Birkett 
 
 hunk of a chap, that young un is. Sid says 
 he's one of these here college mining experts. 
 He's going over to report on the Nevada 
 borax deposit, for the English company that 
 has bonded it. The other is the company's 
 New York lawyer; a top-notcher, the Old 
 Man says. He fetched a letter from the 
 San Francisco lawyer who won out the Old 
 Man's claim agin the railroad company. 
 That's why the Old Man is sending Sid over 
 with 'em, instead of one of us." 
 
 The San Francisco lawyer's letter had in- 
 troduced DeWitt Pelham, and Vanderlyn 
 Lennox — the latter fresh from his studies in 
 the science of mining — and both New 
 Yorkers had made themselves popular with 
 the people of the ranch in their short visit. 
 
 So, in the early morning of their start, 
 Old Man Anderson cheerfully helped with 
 the task of reducing, and packing, the out- 
 fit. When final selections and rejections were 
 made, the last package adjusted, the last rope 
 cinched until the burdened animals grunted 
 
The Man-Hunt 5 
 
 rebelliously, good-bys exchanged, and the 
 travelers mounted, the Old Man suddenly 
 turned and gazed sharply down the road. 
 All eyes followed his, and were fixed on a 
 swirl of dust, whose extent told that a num- 
 ber of horsemen were advancing at hot pace. 
 Mr. Pelham and Lennox wondered at the 
 concern with which those about them bent 
 their looks upon the approaching riders. 
 Anderson was the first to speak. 
 
 " Sheriff Rumrill ! " he cried, and ex- 
 changed glances of startled interest with his 
 son and the cowboys who had joined the 
 group in the corral. No other word was 
 spoken until the sheriff and four companions 
 checked their horses at the gate. 
 
 "Anyone pass here last night?" called 
 out the sheriff. 
 
 " Not as I heerd," Anderson replied. 
 
 "Any of your horses missing?" next 
 asked the sheriff after a moment's pause, 
 while he looked searchingly at the travelers. 
 
 " No," answered the Old Man. Then he 
 
6 Fort Birkett 
 
 asked, in a voice which seemed to express 
 the combined interest of all the listeners, 
 "What is it. Sheriff?" 
 
 " Evanson and Taggert ! " the sheriff re- 
 sponded. 
 
 " Again ? " cried Anderson excitedly ; and 
 his companions showed that they shared his 
 feelings. 
 
 " South-bound through train, last night," 
 Sheriff Rumrill replied; and added partic- 
 ulars to which his hearers listened eagerly: 
 " Blew open the Express safe. Twenty 
 thousand dollars. Registered mail, too. 
 Don't know how much. Express messenger 
 killed. Fireman badly wounded. County 
 offers five thousand reward — dead or alive. 
 Company another five. State probably offer 
 as much. United States as much more, cer- 
 tain. Fm off with these boys for the South 
 Fork trail, and need more for the North 
 Fork, and the Main Pass." 
 
 No one moved or stirred as the sheriff 
 jerked out this first thrilling news of the 
 
The Man-Hunt 7 
 
 last, and most famous, Evanson and Tag- 
 gert train robbery. But, as the speaker 
 ceased, the cowboys dashed from the corral, 
 and soon hurried back, carrying saddles and 
 rifles. As they caught and bridled horses, 
 Sid looked appealingly at his father; but 
 Anderson shook his head. 
 
 " No, Sid," he said, " a contract's a con- 
 tract. IVe contracted to send you over the 
 trail with this party." 
 
 The sheriff's disappointment at the words 
 seemed as great as the boy's. " I'd like to 
 have Sid go with us, Old Man," he said. 
 *' He did good work last time, and got a 
 thousand of the reward." 
 
 " Oh, dad," urged the young man, " it 
 would be mighty rough on me not to be in 
 this round-up. Even if I don't get any of 
 the reward, I'll be in the man-hunt — and 
 what hunting is like that ? " 
 
 " 'Tain't no use talking, Sid," his father 
 replied. " Why, Sheriff," he added, " these 
 gentlemen have passed me money on a con- 
 
8 Fort Birkett 
 
 tract. More'n that, they're particular 
 friends of my lawyer." 
 
 Pointing to the cowboys fastening blanket 
 rolls to saddles, buckling on cartridge belts, 
 feverishly preparing to join the hunt — the 
 man-hunt! — he added, " See, there ain't no 
 one I can send with the party in Sid's place, 
 or I'd let him go with you. He's got to 
 guide the party; that settles it." 
 
 Both Sid and the sheriff knew that that 
 did settle it, and the latter asked, " Then 
 can't you come along with me yourself, Old 
 Man?" 
 
 "No, he can't!" 
 
 This emphatic veto was uttered by Mrs. 
 Anderson, who had hurried from the kitchen 
 at the sound of the furious riding up the 
 road. " I should think you might remember 
 something, Sheriff Rumrill," she added; and 
 the six-footer she defiantly faced, the bravest 
 officer that ever hunted man in the moun- 
 tains, showed that he wished he had not 
 drawn this fire. " You might remember," 
 
The Man-Hunt 9 
 
 Mrs. Anderson continued, " that the Old 
 Man and Sid went the last time, and left me 
 alone. What happened? Alec Bunker's 
 gang raided me one night, and stole horses ; 
 Dick Rawlins' gang raided me another night, 
 and stole horses. D'ye think we breed 
 horses for mountain bandits to steal? " 
 
 " But you wounded one of 'em," remarked 
 the sheriff in a conciliatory tone. 
 
 ''Yes," assented Mrs. Anderson, some- 
 what mollified by this reference to her 
 prowess, '* and I'd wounded a dozen on 'em, 
 if these here pesky, new-fashioned rifles 
 didn't have more machinery than a six-horse 
 wheat-header. The Old Man '11 stay to 
 home, if you please, Sheriff Rumrill." 
 
 "The Old Woman's in her rights, I 
 guess," Anderson commented, nodding 
 gravely to the sheriff. 
 
 Pelham and Lennox sat their horses in 
 silence during this talk; the elder with in- 
 creasing wonder, the younger with an eager 
 interest that had some furtive longing in it, 
 
lo Fort Birkett 
 
 as he watched the preparations for the hunt. 
 Now, when Mrs. Anderson began serving 
 all the huntsmen with hot coffee, Mr. Pelham 
 said in a puzzled tone, " May I ask what 
 really is the matter — ^the purpose of this 
 armed expedition? " 
 
 " Sir," replied the sheriff, " I've got to 
 run down two of the most desperate robbers 
 that ever held up a train." 
 
 " And with the addition of these young 
 men who are preparing to join you, you 
 number nine. Why do you need more ? " 
 
 " Because,'' said the sheriff, looking at the 
 lawyer in surprise, " if Evanson and Tag- 
 gert get into the mountains ahead of me 
 I'll have a bad gang of their sympathizers 
 to fight." 
 
 " Sympathizers ? " exclaimed Mr. Pelham 
 indignantly. '' Sympathizers with train 
 robbers? I don't understand, sir." 
 
 " All mountain folks — or mostly all — 
 sympathize with Evanson and Taggert," 
 explained Anderson. " And some valley 
 
The Man-Hunt ii 
 
 folks, too," he added significantly. " But 
 I don't. I'm agin the railroad company, 
 of course. Everybody is. Naturally we 
 be, because the company robs us. But I'm 
 not agin the law. I fight with the law, and 
 believe in the law." 
 
 **Sir," said Mr. Pelham, " your sentiments 
 are those of a good citizen, and I'm aston- 
 ished that they're not shared by your neigh- 
 bors." 
 
 Anderson and the sheriff exchanged 
 knowing glances. 
 
 " I trust, sir," continued Mr. Pelham, 
 " that this amazing state of affairs does not 
 constitute a danger to us, in our proposed 
 trip." 
 
 " Of course not," exclaimed Lennox, who 
 had shown increased pleasure in the pros- 
 pect of the trip, since its danger had been 
 suggested. 
 
 " These mountain gangs don't trouble 
 travelers much," the sheriff said. " A pack 
 carrying a bullion shipment isn't none too 
 
12 Fort Birkett 
 
 safe with 'em; and, if stock is scarce, why, 
 hunters and miners who go into the moun- 
 tains horseback, sometimes come out on foot. 
 But I reckon we'll keep 'em too busy looking 
 out for us to leave 'em much time to bother 
 you." 
 
 " Anyway," said Lennox, " Sid and I 
 will be armed." 
 
 " To be sure," assented Mr. Pelham, " and 
 I, if need be, can threaten them with the law." 
 
 "Well, boys, are you ready?" called out 
 the sheriff. 
 
 They were now ready; all their lounging 
 listlessness departed; in its stead a fierce 
 energy that blood-flushed their thin, tanned 
 faces; ready, mounted, sitting with easy 
 seairity their plunging horses. At a word 
 from their leader, the enlarged posse dashed 
 up the road, making to the right, in the direc- 
 tion of the southern trail, at the first cross- 
 ing. Off on the hunt! and no animal, not 
 the wildest, the fiercest, insures to the hunter 
 the danger, the excitement of the man-hunt ! 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 JOHN BIRKETT's partner 
 
 Soon after the departure of the sheriff 
 the Easterners and their guide set forth at 
 a more sober pace, the patient pack animals 
 swinging along slowly in the lead. Sid cast 
 a longing glance at the turn where the posse 
 had gone south, and sighed as he remarked 
 to Lennox, '* Well, they are out for sport, 
 and Fm out for business." 
 
 '' Oh," laughed Lennox, amused at the 
 young man's idea of sport, although he 
 would have joined the hunt had it not been 
 for Mr. Pelham's presence, " we must try 
 to make our trip partly sport. I suppose we 
 may find some game." 
 
 " Bears," replied Sid. 
 
 Mr. Pelham, who was mounted on a staid 
 13 
 
14 Fort Birkett 
 
 old animal, more used to dragging a cultiva- 
 tor between rows of vines than to saddle 
 work, exclaimed w^ith joy at the frequent 
 shifting of foothill scenery caused by the 
 winding of the trail. 
 
 " Nature," he declared, " is indeed a 
 kindly mother. She shows her love for 
 even those who desert her. We have but to 
 return, to be rewarded with renewed youth." 
 
 " Then Mother Nature does better by you 
 if you vamoose the ranch, than if you just 
 stick to the plow," commented Sid. '' I 
 reckon, sir, my dad isn't much older than 
 you, but I can't remember when he wasn't 
 called ' Old Man ' — and looked it, too — 
 while you look as cocky as a mountain 
 quail." 
 
 " Young man," retorted the lawyer po- 
 litely, " I'm gratified that my appearance 
 suggests a comparison so picturesque." 
 
 Late that afternoon they made camp on 
 a gravelly shelf above a creek of some size, 
 and Lennox was taking trout from its clear 
 
John Birketts Partner 15 
 
 water, Mr. Pelham brewing tea, before the 
 guide had wholly unloaded the packs. 
 
 *' Say," remarked Sid, joining Lennox, 
 when the unladen animals were picketed on 
 the grassy bank above the shelf, '^ I've run 
 across some tea in every package I've 
 opened. Going to have tea or coffee for sup- 
 per?" 
 
 '^ Coffee for you and me, with corn-bread, 
 bacon, and these trout," Lennox replied. 
 
 Their next day's journey lay through 
 lightly wooded foothills, but on the following 
 morning they ascended bolder slopes, whose 
 heavier timber, deeper canons, and sharper 
 spurs gave promise of the mighty peaks to 
 come. On the third afternoon camp was 
 made in an open park which lay a few hun- 
 dred yards off the trail, but in sight of it, on 
 the bank of a little lake. 
 
 The guide was busy about the camp-fire, 
 Mr. Pelham indifferently engaged with rod 
 and line, an open book by his side, and Len- 
 nox starting off with his rifle, when a man, 
 
1 6 Fort Birkett 
 
 riding an unkempt little broncho, and leading 
 another, came around a turn in the trail, 
 noted the camp, stopped, and hallooed. The 
 signal was answered promptly and with 
 much interest by Sid; and the others re- 
 garded with some curiosity the first person 
 they had met in their three-days' journey. 
 All went out to meet the stranger, and 
 after greetings, and inquiries concerning the 
 condition of the trail further up, Mr. Pelham 
 said cordially, " Will you not come over to 
 our camp? " 
 
 " Thank ye, sir, thank ye," replied the 
 stranger. '* It's right pleasant to meet any- 
 one up here. If ye've no objections, I'll 
 camp near by." 
 
 He took his saddle and led-horse to a 
 wooded point on the lake shore, picketed 
 them, and walked slowly back to the camp. 
 He was as uncombed and uncouth in appear- 
 ance as his bronchos ; but attractive, because 
 of kindly, clear blue eyes, and a singularly 
 musical voice. 
 
John Birkett's Partner 17 
 
 " Some of your party went on ahead last 
 night, I reckon," he said, curiously watch- 
 ing Mr. Pelham make tea. 
 
 '' No. We only started out with three," 
 replied Sid, to whom the remark meant more 
 than to the others. 
 
 '' Another party passed ye, then," the 
 stranger added. 
 
 *' No one has passed us since we left the 
 ranch — Anderson's ranch," Sid answered, 
 with increased interest. 
 
 '' I didn't see 'em," the stranger said. 
 *' It was dark, and I was lying some to the 
 side of the trail; but, j edging from the 
 sound, thar was three riders, and no packs. 
 They was making time, too. I won 
 dered " 
 
 *' How far up were you ? " interrupted Sid. 
 
 " Twelve or fifteen miles. That's all I've 
 made to-day." 
 
 " Then, as they didn't pass us, they struck 
 into the trail between us and where you 
 camped," Sid asserted. 
 
1 8 Fort Birkett 
 
 "From the south," the stranger said; 
 " the country north is too rough for 
 horses." 
 
 '' From the South Fork trail," Sid said. 
 " There is snow on that, high up. Someone 
 was mighty anxious to get into the moun- 
 tains, and cut across rough country to do 
 it." 
 
 Sid and the stranger w^ere regarding each 
 other with earnest speculation, when sud- 
 denly both jumped to their feet, alert to 
 some sound the others did not hear. But 
 soon the Easterners, too, heard a medley of 
 noises; horses' hoofs beating on granite, a 
 sharp voice of command, the occasional fret- 
 ful cry of dogs, and there came into view a 
 half-dozen armed men, two of them Apache 
 Indians, one in charge of a pair of blood- 
 hounds. As the leader discovered the camp- 
 ers, he swung his rifle into readiness. 
 
 "It's all right, Sheriff," Sid shouted. 
 " I'm Sid Anderson, and this is my 
 party." 
 
John Birkett's Partner 19 
 
 Sheriff Rumrill spoke to his followers, 
 who halted ; then he rode over to the camp. 
 After putting a few questions to Sid, whose 
 answers threw no light on a matter which 
 seemed to be puzzling the sheriff, he turned 
 to the stranger and said sharply: 
 
 " Now, you are John Birkett, I guess. '* 
 
 "Thet's my name, Sheriff," replied Bir- 
 kett. " Ye hev a good rec'lection, for we 
 hev'n't met in twenty years." 
 
 ** Never mind the twenty years ; where are 
 you from now? Where were you last 
 night?" 
 
 " Up the trail ; a day's pack." 
 
 " Then it's your track we cut into five 
 miles up ! " exclaimed the Sheriff in dis- 
 gust. 
 
 '' Like ez not," responded Birkett calmly. 
 
 " But Birkett heard someone last night," 
 Sid interrupted impatiently. 
 
 "Why didn't you say so?" Rumrill 
 asked Birkett angrily. 
 
 " I didn't know ye wanted to know. I 
 
20 Fort Birkett 
 
 never allowed I ken see further into a rock 
 than the pick goes. If ye followed a track 
 of three riders across from the south, over 
 to this trail, you'd hev come up with 'em by 
 going up, 'sted of coming downi. Maybe 
 your dogs, and Injuns, and city detectives 
 took the trail of one rider, and one pack ani- 
 mal, 'sted of three riders." 
 
 Birkett gave this rebuke in a quiet voice, 
 but it was evident that he was hurt by the 
 manner of the sheriff's questions as to his re- 
 cent whereabouts. Rumrill flushed, and 
 said : *' I meant no offense to you, John 
 Birkett, but I'm all riled up by losing the 
 scent. I'll speak to you alone, if you please." 
 
 They stepped aside, and Birkett informed 
 the sheriff minutely as to the clew he pos- 
 sessed of the three riders the sheriff had 
 pursued across rough country from the 
 South Fork trail, only to take up a wrong 
 scent on the North trail. Then Rumrill 
 urged Birkett to join the pursuing party, but 
 the old man resolutely declined. 
 
John Birkett's Partner 21 
 
 When they returned to Mr. Pelham and 
 his companions, the sheriff said to the law- 
 yer, "You mustn't think, sir, I had any 
 suspicion of this man, John Birkett ; I know 
 of him well as an honest prospector and 
 miner. I'm sorry he can't come with 
 me." 
 
 He paused, looking at Sid, and then added, 
 " I wish you could let me have Anderson's 
 boy. I left my own men on the South trail, 
 running down another clew, and have only 
 this outfit " — he glanced contemptuously at 
 his followers — '' that the company sent up 
 to me. Sid's worth a dozen of 'em." 
 
 '' Truly," responded Mr. Pelham, " I dis- 
 like to withhold any aid from you ; but you 
 don't need to be told how utterly we'd be 
 lost, without a guide." 
 
 " You can find your way back now. I'd 
 rather lose a leg than miss this," pleaded 
 Sid, his eyes lighting with excitement. 
 
 " If my objections are not enough," Mr. 
 Pelham rejoined, somewhat severely, ''I 
 
22 Fort Birkett 
 
 remind you that your father refused to let 
 you go with the sheriff, unless we had 
 another guide." 
 
 *' Excuse me," said Birkett softly; "if 
 ye are in no hurry, I'll take ye over the pass. 
 I must go to the valley, first, but I ken be 
 back in three days." 
 
 Mr. Pelham looked at Lennox, who nod- 
 ded assent, realizing that to go on with Sid 
 would be to have a discontented guide. Five 
 minutes later, Sid, riding light was off with 
 the man-hunters. 
 
 Lennox strolled alone to the lake, not 
 daring yet to join his friend, and Birkett, 
 by the camp-fire, lest his regret that he, too, 
 could not join the pursuit should be dis- 
 closed to Mr. Pelham. But an hour with 
 rod and line, and that occupation which the 
 benign Walton saith is " a calmer of un- 
 quiet thoughts, a moderator of passion " sent 
 him to the camp-fire in mood to sympathize 
 with Mr. Pelham's serene pleasure in his 
 surroundings. 
 
John Birketts Partner 23 
 
 " You must bring your pack over here 
 and camp with us," Mr. Pelham was saying, 
 as Birkett, with patient amiabihty, emptied 
 his tin cup of the tea with which it was again 
 and again refilled by the lawyer. 
 
 " If ye don't object, Fll camp a leetle 
 aside," Birkett answered. He turned his 
 face away for a moment, then, looking at 
 the others with a sorrowful smile, added, 
 '' My pack is my pardner." 
 
 " Your partner? " they exclaimed aghast. 
 
 " Tom Matthews, gentlemen. He died 
 yesterday. Tom and me," he continued 
 quietly, in response to the others' looks of 
 inquiry, *' Tom and me hev bin prospecting 
 and mining together for twenty years. We 
 never quarreled over a lucky strike ; we never 
 quarreled when luck was hard and grub 
 was low. We made an agreement once, 
 each w^ith the other, and both together, 
 thet the one who lived after the other died 
 should take the body of the late departed — 
 which was the terms we used — and bury it 
 
24 Fort Birkett 
 
 within the sound of a church bell. Not thet 
 we was much on church-going. We was 
 mostly whar w^e never heerd no church bells ; 
 nor no sound, except the roar of mountain 
 storms, the crash of an av'lanche, a falling 
 tree, or tumbling boulder. But sometimes 
 we used to talk of a church bell we both 
 heerd when we was children together — in a 
 leetle village back East — and we allowed it 
 was the best sound we could remember; so 
 we made our agreement, one with the 
 other, and both together, thet the one who 
 petered out first should be took by the 
 other and buried within sound of a church 
 bell." 
 
 The miner told his story with slow 
 speech; his brave eyes asked no sympathy, 
 and his listeners understood, and spoke 
 none. 
 
 Early the next morning he was away, and 
 at the end of the third day returned; his 
 horse showing the hard pace to which it had 
 been urged. He did not speak of the partner 
 
John Birkett s Partner 25 
 
 he had placed at rest where a church bell 
 could be heard, but, when the campers wel- 
 comed him, he gravely nodded his head, as 
 if in assurance that his agreement with Tom 
 Matthews had been fulfilled. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 TURNED FROM THE TRAIL 
 
 Early the next morning Birkett was busy 
 about the camp, preparing breakfast with 
 but Httle use of the many novel cuHnary aids 
 he found in the packs. He glanced from 
 time to time at his companions, still sleeping 
 soundly, and at last muttered : '' Guess 
 neither the Jedge nor Colonel heerd nothing, 
 or they'd be awake and asking questions. 
 Like ez not they didn't. Hello! Colonel's 
 waking up like a young volcano. What's he 
 going to do now ? Hang me ! " 
 
 This exclamation was caused by the actions 
 of Lennox, who sprang from his blankets, 
 blinking at the sun's rays, nodded cheerfully 
 at Birkett, threw off his night clothes and 
 dashed into the lake, splashing and leaping 
 in its cold water with joyful shouts. When 
 
 26 
 
Turned from the Trail 27 
 
 he returned to dress, laughing and aglow, 
 Birkett asked : '' Sleep purty well, Colo- 
 nel?" 
 
 *' Like the rock of the proverb," the young 
 man replied. 
 
 " And the Jedge; he slept well, too? " 
 
 "The Judge?" 
 
 Birkett indicated Mr. Pelham, who was 
 now making more orderly ablutions. 
 
 "Oh, the Judge, eh?" laughed Lennox. 
 " Yes, he's making up for a life of fitful 
 slumber." 
 
 " Then ye didn't hear nothing last night? " 
 
 "Nothing. Did you?" 
 
 " Well," replied Birkett thoughtfully, 
 after handing Lennox a tin of hot coffee, " I 
 heerd enough to know thet our camp was 
 fairly well prospected. Seemed to be two 
 on *em. Circled us, quietly, being too po- 
 lite, mebbe, to disturb us, but keeping close 
 enough to make sure none on us done any 
 sleep-walking. Leetle before sun-up they 
 pulled their freight — vamoosed." 
 
28 Fort Birkett 
 
 "Tramps?" suggested Lennox. 
 
 " Tramps ! " exclaimed the old man. 
 " Ye never find tramps whar free grub's ez 
 skeerce ez it is in these diggings." 
 
 " What then? " asked the other, suddenly 
 associating in his mind the quest of the posse 
 and the night visitors. 
 
 " Can't say exactly," Birkett responded. 
 " I know we was watched last night, and 
 likely are now. Thought I'd speak to ye 
 alone, 'thout worrying the Jedge." 
 
 " That was quite right," Lennox said hur- 
 riedly, seeing Mr. Pelham approach. " But 
 tell me more, alone, at the first chance." 
 
 " We'll see what happens to-night," Bir- 
 kett responded ; and, having eaten his break- 
 fast, he left the others to theirs, while he 
 packed the animals for the day's march. By 
 the time all was ready for the start, he had 
 made up his mind to suggest a change in 
 their route without waiting for another 
 night's developments. 
 
 " Gentlemen," he said, swinging himself 
 
Turned from the Trail 29 
 
 into his saddle, after a final inspection of 
 the packs, '' guess we'd better turn off whar 
 the sheriff cut across, and make a loop by the 
 South trail, around Bald Peak. We ken 
 fetch back into the North trail t'other side 
 of the divide." 
 
 " But," said Lennox, " the South trail is 
 the one Anderson spoke of as still having 
 snow on it." 
 
 '' Yes," assented Birkett, " more'n likely 
 thar is snow thar, but ef the train-robbers 
 got through we ken." 
 
 "Why change our route?" Mr. Pelham 
 asked in surprise. 
 
 " Well, Jedge, we may strike worse trou- 
 ble than snow on this trail," the guide an- 
 swered. " Thar is not many folks living 
 this far up, but them ez do is friendlier to 
 the robbers than to any posse, or any party 
 thet might be mistook for a posse." 
 
 " Birkett," said Mr. Pelham sharply, " I 
 agreed to take you as guide because I be- 
 lieved you to be an honest man. I make 
 
30 Fort Birkett 
 
 few mistakes in such judgments. I don't 
 distrust you now; but, if you have no better 
 reason than you've offered why we should 
 take an unusual and more difficult route, I 
 order you to continue on this trail." 
 
 For a moment Lennox was inclined to 
 tell his companion of Birkett's discovery in 
 the night, but he shrank from needlessly 
 alarming Mr. Pelham, as it might prove, and 
 finally resolved to remain silent, even if his 
 silence made the guide's warning unheeded. 
 
 Birkett, after waiting for Lennox to speak, 
 said, " Jedge, I ain't no honester than most 
 men, and I hev'n't staked out a claim to be 
 wiser. I had an opinion, and I said it plain, 
 but — we'll stick to this trail unless some- 
 body objects to our company." 
 
 ''Who can object?" demanded the law- 
 yer.. 
 
 " I can't rightly say ez I know," Birkett 
 replied quietly, throwing a pebble at the 
 lead pack-horse to start the outfit up the 
 trail. 
 
Turned from the Trail 31 
 
 Each mile now led into steeper, bolder 
 country. The view before them stretched 
 north and south along endless ranks of 
 snowy peaks, somber purple in shadow, 
 glinting with hints of scarlet and orange in 
 the sun. Behind them were lessening depths 
 and heights of canon and spur, subsiding 
 gradually, afar off, into the untroubled level 
 of the valley. 
 
 That night Lennox lay awake and watched 
 the guide, rolled up in his blanket on the 
 opposite side of the fire. At last he saw him 
 turn very quietly and gaze towards some 
 boulders not one hundred yards away. By 
 patient searching Lennox descried, at the 
 base of one great boulder, two forms, indis- 
 tinctly outlined by starlight, which seemed 
 to be men seated with blankets drawn about 
 their shoulders. 
 
 " Birkett ! " he whispered. 
 " Yes," answered the guide, not mov- 
 ing. 
 
 " What do those men want? " 
 
32 Fort Birkett 
 
 '' Seems like they only want to make sure 
 we camp here all night. Better go to sleep, 
 Colonel, ril watch 'em." 
 
 Lennox, despite his resolve to watch, did 
 sleep. Two or three times he awoke with a 
 start, but always saw the guide lying mo- 
 tionless, with unwearied eyes fixed on the 
 forms at the base of the boulder. 
 
 "They vamoosed agen, jest afore day- 
 light," the guide said to Lennox in the morn- 
 ing. " But they, or some of their kind, are 
 likely watching us now, and hev kept you in 
 sight ever since the sheriff passed us." 
 
 " That's an unpleasant idea," Lennox ex- 
 claimed. " I assume, of course, Mr. Bir- 
 kett," he continued, " that the spying has to 
 do with the man-hunt. But who are these 
 men who are watching us? " 
 
 " Mountain men ; friends of the men the 
 sheriff is chasing," Birkett responded. " In 
 the general run they're a purty tough lot. 
 Some exceptions, to be sure; but a clean-up 
 of the citizens of these here parts would show 
 
Turned from the Trail 33 
 
 a low grade of human nature ; low grade, on 
 the average, Colonel." 
 
 " Why do they fuss about our camp at 
 night in this fashion? " Lennox asked. " If 
 they don't like our company, why not say 
 so?" 
 
 ^* They're acting on orders, I guess," the 
 guide answered. " 'Tain't likely they'll 
 bother us, unless we get too near a hiding- 
 place." 
 
 " That was why you wanted to leave this 
 trail, eh?" 
 
 '^ Exactly, Colonel, exactly. It's not these 
 here men thet's worrying me; but they 
 wouldn't be so particular about our move- 
 ments if thar wasn't something around here 
 thet's got to be hid." 
 
 It was nearly noon, and the guide, who 
 had been looking about for the midday halt- 
 ing-place, suddenly pulled up with a jerk. 
 Attracted by the action, Lennox glanced 
 ahead, and from a projecting ledge of rock 
 caught the gleam of a rifle barrel. His 
 
34 Fort Birkett 
 
 hands went to his own rifle, but Birkett mo- 
 tioned him not to move, and called out, '' All 
 right, stranger. What's wanting?" 
 
 A man, carrying a cocked rifle at ready, 
 stepped from behind the ledge into the 
 trail. 
 
 " No harm meant, gentlemen," he said, 
 grinning. " I had my weapon ready, be- 
 cause sometimes gentlemen get nervous, 
 meeting a stranger on the trail, and pull their 
 guns, and shoot, without knowing if the 
 stranger is friendly or not. Excuse me if I 
 ask you," he concluded, speaking to Len- 
 nox, *' to take your hands a little further 
 from your gun." 
 
 " You villain ! You rascal ! " cried Mr. 
 Pelham. '' What do you mean by display- 
 ing a deadly weapon in that threatening 
 manner? I'll turn you over to the police, 
 you villain! I'll prosecute you! I'll send 
 you to prison for life, you bandit ! " 
 
 At this unexpected assault of words, the 
 man with the rifle was more disconcerted 
 
Turned from the Trail 35 
 
 than if any of the men he faced had drawn 
 a weapon. " Better kind of explain things, 
 Birkett," he said at last. 
 
 '' Jedge," Birkett said quietly, " this gen- 
 tleman — his name is Richard Rawlins — hez 
 the drop on us. Which is why," continued 
 Birkett, when he saw that his explanation 
 had not explained, " which is why we should 
 parley with him." 
 
 For the moment Mr. Pelham's indigna- 
 tion was too tumultuous to admit of further 
 speech, but Lennox remarked dryly : 
 
 " It seems to me that Birkett has the right 
 of it, Mr. Pelham. Indeed, I've never 
 known an occasion when a parley seemed 
 more in order." 
 
 " Parley with a rascal ! Compound a fel- 
 ony ! Reason with a murderous villain ! " 
 cried Mr. Pelham. 
 
 " Say," drawled Rawlins, and his voice 
 now had an ugly tone, '' I'll just excuse you 
 from naming any more of them names. As 
 good a man as you was shot dead on this 
 
36 Fort Birkett 
 
 trail yesterday ; and he didn't call no names, 
 neither." 
 
 The man's words were significant enough 
 to convince a more obstinate man than Mr. 
 Pelham that a fact, not a fantasy, confronted 
 them; and this truth was further borne upon 
 his understanding by the patient manner of 
 Birkett, who now said, " Jedge, it's accord- 
 ing to rule in this country thet when a gen- 
 tleman hez the drop on ye — especial with a 
 cocked, repeating rifle — he's in his rights to 
 ask for a parley. Like ez not it's different 
 whar police is more frequent and handy. I 
 guess Mr. Rawlin,s hez something to say to 
 us; and I don't see, Jedge, how we ken 
 rightly object — seeing ez he hez the drop." 
 
 Mr. Pelham replied, after looking several 
 times from Birkett to Rawlins, " I spoke 
 without thought; police aid, here and now, 
 is, of course, out of the question. Let us 
 hear what this ras — what Mr. Rawlins has 
 to say." 
 
 '' I only want to warn you, gentlemen," 
 
Turned from the Trail 37 
 
 said Rawlins, '' that the trail beyond here is 
 dangerous.'* 
 
 " Anyone bin hurt yet? " Birkett asked. 
 
 " There has," Rawlins replied. '' Several 
 parties has been hurt, and one — I think you 
 gentlemen know him : Jim Anderson's boy, 
 Sid — was killed. A friend of mine lies 
 wounded, a piece up the trail. That's why 
 this route is dangerous for strangers." 
 
 The full meaning of Rawlins' words made 
 itself clear. The sheriff's posse had come 
 upon the robbers and their adherents, and, 
 in the encounter, poor Sid Anderson had met 
 his death. One robber, at least, had been 
 wounded, but not captured; and, until he 
 could be removed, his friends were guarding 
 the trail against all intruders. 
 
 But the situation was one which Mr. Pel- 
 ham and Lennox comprehended slowly, and 
 in shocked silence. They were men of 
 peaceful, conventional lives, who had read of 
 such tragedies with fancied understanding; 
 but the elemental passions in human nature, 
 
38 Fort Birkett 
 
 encountered, aroused, and destroying, were 
 too like a disordered dream to be quickly 
 accepted as grim, present realities. Birkett 
 understood their silence and made no com- 
 ment, and Rawlins paused some time before 
 he continued. 
 
 " I'd advise you gentlemen," he said, " to 
 turn back to where you can make across to 
 the South trail." 
 
 At these words Mr. Pelham flushed, and 
 looked at the guide. He realized the error 
 he had made in refusing to alter their route 
 as Birkett had advised, and was ready to 
 make acknowledgment ; but the guide either 
 did not see, or would not notice. Looking 
 at Rawlins, he said, '' A leetle beyond here 
 is a draw, leading down into Hammatt's 
 Meadow. From thar we could go on into 
 Nevada through Hammatt's trail." 
 
 " That draw is beyond where — is beyond 
 the danger point," Rawlins said. " But," he 
 continued, noting Birkett's disappointment, 
 '' if you've a mind to go by way of the 
 
Turned from the Trail 39 
 
 Meadow, instead of turning back and cross- 
 ing to the south, I can show you a way to 
 the Meadow from here." 
 
 " Another trail from here to the Meadow, 
 besides the one in the draw? " Birkett asked 
 in surprise. 
 
 " You might not just call it a trail," Raw- 
 lins answered, ''but it's a way in ; and it's two 
 days shorter for you than turning back. 
 Suit yourself." 
 
 " Well, Jedge, what do ye say ? " 
 
 Birkett may have had no thought of heap- 
 ing coals of fire, yet there was in his manner 
 a deference, as to a superior judgment, in 
 asking this question, that caused Mr. Pelham 
 to reply deprecatingly : 
 
 " If we can cut short by two whole days 
 this offensive surveillance let us do so, no 
 matter how rough the trail." 
 
 " We'll go by the Meadow," Birkett said 
 quietly to Rawlins, as if translating Mr. Pel- 
 ham's decision. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 hammatt's meadow 
 
 Directed by the bandit, the guide turned 
 the pack animals to the north. Mr. Pelham 
 followed, his fine face fraught with a bur- 
 den of emotion which overweighted the 
 power of speech. Lennox halted, as if to 
 let the bandit precede him, but Rawlins 
 tapped his rifle, grinned, and said, '' I'll be 
 the rear guard of this here little procession, 
 if you don't mind." 
 
 Had he considered only his own safety, 
 Lennox would have taken the odds against 
 him, and fought; for a rage that all but 
 swept reason aside, possessed him. But, 
 checked by a restraining thread of caution, 
 which reminded him that a number of Raw- 
 lins' fellows were probably within sound of 
 40 
 
Hammatt's Meadow 41 
 
 a rifle shot, and that any imprudence on his 
 part would endanger the Hfe of Mr. Pel- 
 ham, he rode on, struggling to conceal his 
 desire to resist. 
 
 Rawlins was right : The route they now 
 followed was not a trail, although there were 
 evidences that it was in occasional use. It 
 led eastward, after a mile of slight descent, 
 to the head of a canon, where all dismounted, 
 and down whose rough sides they scrambled 
 and slid. The sharp declivity led toward a 
 fairer country ; for they were making one of 
 those sudden transitions which carry the 
 surprised traveler in the Sierra Nevadas 
 from inhospitable wildernesses to sheltering 
 valleys; sometimes from drifted snows to 
 warmly fragrant vineyards. At last they 
 reached the upper confines of a park-like ex- 
 panse, some hundreds of acres in extent, 
 where Birkett motioned Rawlins aside. 
 When they had consulted together briefly, 
 the guide beckoned Lennox, and said, 
 " Colonel, this is Hammatt's Meadow." 
 
42 Fort Birkett 
 
 He waited a iiule, as if expecting that 
 the information would produce some effect 
 upon Lennox, but it did not, and he con- 
 tinued, ** Thought ye might hev heerd of 
 him. Most people hev. Mr. Hammatt is a 
 doctor and a gentleman. He's a friend of 
 mine. Xow, the doctor has women folks, 
 Colonel, and it would be sort of disquiet- 
 ing — you might say disquieting — for the 
 women folks if ' 
 
 He hesitated, pulling at his gnarled beard, 
 as if at a loss for some word, 
 
 " It's like this, Mr. Lennox," Rawlins 
 said. '* I've no quarrel with you. even if you 
 have with me. Xow, Birkett. here, don't 
 want no trouble to happen in the Meadow. 
 I tell him that if you'll give me your word 
 not to make no trouble, I won't look for 
 none." 
 
 " I don't quite understand," Lennox 
 said. 
 
 " Give me your word you won't take any 
 advantage, and I'll go along as if I was one 
 
Hammatt's Meadow 43 
 
 of your party — not to keep you covered — 
 so's the women folks won't begin to ask 
 questions, or get scared.'' 
 
 " I agree — so long as we remain in the 
 Meadow," Lennox said, after a pause. 
 
 Rawlins promptly uncocked his rifle, 
 mounted his horse, and, instead of bringing 
 up the rear, led the way down a slightly worn 
 wood path, that seemed to the travelers a 
 fair highway. They had proceeded but a 
 short distance through a grove of bay, inter- 
 spersed with red-limbed manzanita, when 
 two women, both carrying rifles, stepped into 
 the path before them. 
 
 '' Good Heavens! " groaned Mr. Pelham, 
 *' do even the women here ' get the drop ' on 
 us?" 
 
 " Where are you going, Richard Rawlins, 
 and who are with you? " one woman asked, 
 in a tone of authority., 
 
 "It's Birkett, with two Easterners he's 
 guiding over the pass." 
 
 ''Oh, is that you, John Birkett," the 
 
44 Fort Birkett 
 
 woman said, in a more friendly voice. 
 " This is not the pass, you know that." 
 
 " It's all right, Miss Hammatt," Birkett 
 called out. Then, when he had approached 
 closer, he added in a lower voice : " Thar's 
 trouble on the pass. I'll explain to your 
 father." 
 
 " My father is not at home," the woman 
 said. After a pause, she added, with a sig- 
 nificant glance toward Rawlins, who had 
 ridden on, '' He has gone up the pass to at- 
 tend a wounded stranger." 
 
 As they continued to speak in low tones, 
 Mr. Pelham and Lennox instinctively halted 
 some paces away. Lennox's gaze was fixed 
 intently upon the woman who had not yet 
 spoken, when he was startled by hearing 
 Mr. Pelham mutter despairingly : 
 
 ''God bless my soul! There's another 
 creature with a rifle. The very trees are 
 armed ! " 
 
 Lennox, following the other's gaze, dis- 
 cerned in the grove a figure that at first ex- 
 
Hammatt s Meadow 45 
 
 cited a smile at its drollness. It was an In- 
 dian, old, very old, it seemed, for his face 
 was deeply graven with a thousand lines. 
 He wore a weather-stained, battered cavalry 
 hat, ornamented by an eagle's feather, a blue 
 flannel shirt, and brown khaki trousers, 
 tucked into rough, heavy boots. He was 
 lazily smoking a short pipe, and, as he 
 leaned against a tree, seemed, at first 
 sight, to be half asleep; but Lennox dis- 
 covered that his bright little eyes darted 
 keenly from one to the other of the stran- 
 gers, and his rifle rested lightly in his 
 hands. 
 
 " Really, Van," Mr. Pelham said to his 
 companion, *' the sight of so many people 
 bearing arms, including women, and Indians 
 not taxed, is discouraging. I had hoped 
 that these women, at least, might not offer 
 us battle." 
 
 " Anyway," responded Lennox, laughing 
 at his companion's viewpoint, " I see some- 
 thing at the feet of that Indian which sug- 
 
46 Fort Birkett 
 
 gests that these present arms are for sport, 
 not war." 
 
 As he pointed to a freshly slain deer, 
 Birkett called to them, and they rode 
 on. 
 
 *' This," said the guide, as they came up, 
 " is the Jedge, and this is the Colonel, ez I 
 was telling ye of." 
 
 As the gentlemen bowed, the elder of the 
 ladies smilingly completed the introduction. 
 " I am Dr. Hammatt's daughter," she said, 
 " and this is my niece. Miss Farwell. We 
 shall be pleased to have you come home with 
 us, for supper." 
 
 " To sit at a table again will be a treat," 
 Mr. Pelham said. " But we must not earn 
 your hospitality under false pretenses. I 
 am only Mr., not Judge, Pelham; my 
 friend, Vanderlyn Lennox, has yet to earn 
 his commission as Colonel." 
 
 " No offense, Jedge," Birkett said, and 
 rode on after his pack animals. 
 
 Miss Hammatt called to the Indian, telling 
 
Hammatt's Meadow 47 
 
 him they would want some venison for sup- 
 per. He threw the deer on the back of a 
 little pony, brought out from the grove two 
 saddle horses, and, without a word, started 
 the pony off at a jog, trotting along behind 
 it. 
 
 Lennox jumped to the ground to help the 
 ladies mount, but before he reached them 
 they both swung easily into their men's sad- 
 dles, and the four started down the widening 
 road at a sober pace, and for a time in 
 silence. 
 
 The encounter was puzzling on both sides. 
 Who could these women be, who were gen- 
 tle and well-bred — here in the heart of the 
 mountains ? 
 
 Who were these men — gentlemen — sud- 
 denly appearing in the Meadow, led by Raw- 
 lins, a mountaineer of whom no one knew 
 good? 
 
 Miss Hammatt appeared to be about thirty 
 years of age. She was slight, but her figure 
 suggested strength and energy. She was 
 
48 Fort Birkett 
 
 most notably unlike her companion — for 
 their great difference in height was not so 
 noticeable as they rode — in that her not un- 
 pleasing features were habitually stern. 
 Miss Farwell, her junior by full ten years, 
 tall, and of figure more luxuriant, had 
 features of great beauty in repose, but her 
 eyes and mouth were readily disposed to 
 ripple with mischievous smiles — and then 
 her beauty was greater. They were dressed 
 nearly alike, in hats, jackets, and skirts of 
 wood-green; designed in color and fashion- 
 ing for the purpose of the expedition in 
 which they had been surprised — deer hunt- 
 ing. 
 
 " I wonder," said Miss Hammatt, " if you 
 are the people my father thought might be 
 with us to-night when he asked us to bring 
 in a deer." 
 
 '' I think not," Mr. Pelham replied, smil- 
 ing grimly : " we were induced to take this 
 route only an hour ago." 
 
 The women exchanged glances, but sought 
 
Hammatts Meadow 49 
 
 no explanation as to the nature of the " in- 
 ducement " that had caused the change of 
 route. The lawyer learned that Miss Ham- 
 matt knew of the borax mines, the travelers' 
 objective point, and they were soon engaged 
 in sober talk of mines, mining, and transpor- 
 tation. 
 
 Lennox wondered if the young woman by 
 his side — the path had widened to a road, 
 and they were riding in couples, now — 
 would be interested in the problem of borax 
 hauling ; but what he asked her was, " May 
 I not carry your rifle for you? " 
 
 " You are a stranger," she laughed, '' and, 
 having disarmed me, might order me to 
 throw up my hands." 
 "If I promise not to?" 
 " Oh, we may see another deer." 
 Once or twice before this Miss Hammatt 
 had cast swift, sweeping glances along the 
 hillside back of them, and now, after another 
 such quick inspection, made a signal to Miss 
 Farwell, who said, as if in reply, " I shall 
 
50 Fort Birkett 
 
 keep my rifle," and her eyes suddenly became 
 troubled. 
 
 At times, now, the road crossed fenced 
 clearings, through which came glimpses of a 
 distant farm house of considerable size, 
 barns and stables, fields under careful culti- 
 vation, cattle grazing in stream-watered 
 pastures. They had ridden slowly, and 
 Rawlins and Birkett, even the Indian and 
 his laden pony, were out of their sight, 
 presumably at the house. 
 
 Miss Hammatt suddenly said that they 
 would be supperless unless she gave some 
 orders, and after adding, " Be watchful, 
 Constance," to the younger woman, gal- 
 loped off, leaving the road, and going 
 'cross fields, taking fences with sure, easy 
 seat. 
 
 Miss Farwell turned to the men and said 
 abruptly : " Do you know that you were 
 brought here captive — prisoners ? " 
 
 Mr. Pelham only gasped, but Lennox, 
 flushing, said, ''That man Rawlins had what 
 
Hammatt's Meadow 51 
 
 he called ' the drop ' on us for a time, but — 
 I should be sorry to have you think that 
 three of us would submit to one man, as 
 prisoners/' 
 
 " Not one ; three," the girl exclaimed. 
 *' Two others have followed you all the way 
 in. Sam — the Indian — discovered them. 
 They are within rifle shot now. My aunt 
 and I have both seen them." 
 
 *'My dear young lady," cried Mr. Pelham, 
 ** will you please explain what all this 
 means? " 
 
 " No," she said slowly, after a pause. 
 " Not now. Not until I've seen my grand- 
 father — Dr. Hammatt. But you should 
 know at least as much as I've told you. Per- 
 haps you should know more. But I cannot 
 tell now." 
 
 She quickened the pace, and they rode on 
 in silence. The men would have liked to 
 question her, but respected her apparent wish 
 not to say more about the mystery of their 
 surroundings. 
 
52 Fort Birkett 
 
 When the last of the party arrived at the 
 ranch house, a meal, abundant and hot, was 
 ready to be served. Miss Farwell did not 
 join the party at supper, to which her aunt 
 at once invited the gentlemen, and their 
 hostess gave no explanation of her absence, 
 nor said any word about the matter which 
 now keenly engaged the speculations of the 
 younger man, at least. Mr. Pelham either 
 thought lightly of the unusual circumstances 
 which had brought them to the Meadow, 
 or else his enjoyment of conventional fare, 
 under conventional conditions, effaced any 
 reflections of a less pleasant nature. 
 
 " It seems an age, my dear madam," he 
 said to the hostess, '' since I have enjoyed 
 such luxuries as fresh milk, butter, and 
 eggs. And this venison and bacon — 
 ah!" 
 
 Lennox eagerly waited for the younger 
 woman's reappearance, and started with dis- 
 appointment when, soon after their arrival, 
 he saw her, mounted on a fresh horse, dash 
 
Hammatt's Meadow 53 
 
 past a window and down the road in the 
 direction opposite to the one from which they 
 had come. 
 
 After supper they went into an adjoin- 
 ing room which gave the impression of 
 being a scholar's study. A working hbrary 
 housed in home-built shelves, a reading lamp 
 on a broad redwood table strewn with papers 
 and open books, suggested a familiar tenant 
 of the room, concerning whom Mr. Pelham 
 inquired, and Miss Hammatt discoursed 
 freely. They were thus discussing the 
 absent doctor when Miss Farwell returned, 
 and with some agitation called her aunt 
 aside. They spoke together in low tones 
 for a few minutes, then Miss Hammatt 
 turned and said: 
 
 " Gentlemen, I regret that we cannot en- 
 tertain you here to-night." 
 
 *' We had no thought of giving you such 
 trouble," responded Mr. Pelham. "A 
 blanket on the hay, in your barn, will be a 
 bed of luxury, compared to " 
 
54 Fort Birkett 
 
 The elder woman interrupted him 
 brusquely. 
 
 " There are reasons," she said, " which 
 my niece has just learned, why you must 
 camp at some distance from here. There 
 is a good camping ground three miles down 
 the road, to which one of our boys will take 
 you. I am sorry that we must appear in- 
 hospitable; it is not our custom — but I can- 
 not explain." 
 
 *' We are unbidden guests, at best," the 
 lawyer said, " and I beg you not to feel any 
 regret. We will make our departure as soon 
 as 
 
 " At once ! " the lady said. " Your pack 
 train is ready; your guide has had supper; 
 your horses are saddled." 
 
 Lennox was watching Miss Farwell, won- 
 dering what nature of message she could 
 have brought from her grandfather, and the 
 girl reddened as she heard her aunt's words 
 of summary dismissal. She made no sign of 
 dissent, but Lennox's heart quickened as he 
 
Hammatfs Meadow 55 
 
 caught from her eyes a signal. "I will 
 speak with you." 
 
 Mr. Pelham bit his lips, but bowed politely, 
 returned thanks for their entertainment in 
 old-fashioned phrases, and the party went 
 out into the light of the young moon to find 
 Birkett prepared for the start. Rawlins 
 was there, too; mounted, and disposed to 
 continue with the travelers; but Miss Far- 
 well went to him and said in low voice : 
 
 " You are not to watch these people to- 
 night." 
 
 " I have my orders," he responded. 
 " I give you new orders. My grand- 
 father said I might order you to remain here 
 if I promised that none of the travelers 
 would return to-night." 
 
 " And do you give that pledge? " he asked 
 sneeringly. 
 
 " I do," she replied quietly. 
 Rawlins rode back to the stables, and Miss 
 Farwell returned to the house; but in pass- 
 ing Lennox, as he was about to mount, she 
 
56 Fort Birkett 
 
 whispered: *' At the manzanita thicket; an 
 hour after the moon is set." 
 
 The *' boy " who was to guide them to the 
 camping ground was the old Piute Indian, 
 " Captain " Sam. He rode a stubborn, un- 
 saddled little pony in a manner which sug- 
 gested that he was on the deck of a tossing 
 ship, but his was a seat the most eruptive 
 horse had never unsettled. When they had 
 jogged along two miles of the fair road, 
 Sam, rolling along by the side of Lennox, 
 said in a guttural voice, " Captain Sam, him 
 like tobacco." 
 
 Lennox passed him his pouch. The 
 Indian, pretending to be occupied with filling 
 his pipe, whispered hoarsely : '' You sabe 
 manzanita on left? Him very nice clump 
 manzanita." 
 
 " Oh," said Lennox, flushing suddenly. 
 " A very nice thicket indeed." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE WOUNDED STRANGER 
 
 The road down which Captain Sam 
 guided the travelers lost distinctness after 
 leaving the meadovv^ and became again a 
 slight mountain trail. The country, too, 
 resumed its rough and lonely aspect; a turn 
 in the caiion shut out the last sign of human 
 habitation, and again on all sides was 
 Sierra fastland, mysterious, menacing. 
 
 The Easterners neither saw nor heard any 
 hint of man's presence, after leaving the 
 Meadow, but Birkett and the Indian ex- 
 changed glances of caution when, within a 
 mile of the house, they passed a deep draw 
 in the spur forming the south wall of the 
 cafion. Neither made mxore comment than 
 his glance, nor turned to look back. When 
 
58 Fort Birkett 
 
 they had passed on a few hundred yards 
 there emerged from the draw, as the ravines 
 which flute the sides of canons are called in 
 that country, an old, white-bearded man, on 
 horseback. Following him came two men 
 on foot, bearing between them a forest- 
 made litter, on which lay a third man with 
 head and shoulders bandaged. 
 
 "Who were they?" the wounded man 
 asked in a weak voice. 
 
 " The party the doctor's granddaughter 
 told him of. Two men from the East, and 
 John Birkett," a bearer replied. 
 
 " Birkett is not our friend," the other 
 bearer said. 
 
 " Nor our enemy," commented the 
 w^ounded man. " He's not a reward hunter." 
 
 " He's our friend, or our enemy," the 
 other said sullenly. *' Rawlins and his men 
 must see that Birkett keeps moving east, 
 until his party is out of the mountains." 
 
 At the entrance to the Meadow the 
 wounded man was transferred to a cart filled 
 
The Wounded Stranger 59 
 
 with hay and blankets. " When he has 
 rested," said the rider, who was Dr. Ham- 
 matt, *' I shall attempt to extract the bullet 
 from his shoulder. Make him as com- 
 fortable as may be, in the stables." 
 
 " Yes, sir," a bearer replied respectfully. 
 
 Dr. Hammatt then rode rapidly to the 
 house, where his daughter and granddaugh- 
 ter anxiously awaited him. 
 
 " What is it, father? " his daughter asked. 
 
 He replied slow^ly, wearily, after a pause : 
 
 " A stranger has been wounded. I do not 
 know how, and we will not inquire. An 
 operation is necessary, which I could not 
 perform under the conditions in which I 
 found him. Humanity, the obligations of 
 my profession, required that he should be 
 brought here where such skill and appliances 
 as I possess may properly be exercised to 
 save life. If we suspect the circumstances 
 under which he was wounded, we are still 
 justified in caring for him until he can be 
 removed by his friends." 
 
6o Fort Birkett 
 
 He spoke, resting his head heavily on his 
 hand, but now he looked up with a grave 
 smile, and added : 
 
 " I assume, Martha, that your anxiety was 
 aroused by the order I sent by Constance, 
 to have the travelers depart before my re- 
 turn. I regret that we could not entertain 
 them over night. We will speak to each 
 other of this no more, my children." 
 
 The women attended the old man's 
 patriarchal words in silence, and received his 
 final admonition with respectful gestures of 
 assent, yet Constance, after some hesitation, 
 said: 
 
 "The travelers we refused to entertain 
 were not of this country. They were 
 strangers — gentlemen." 
 
 The old man did not speak, but looked at 
 the girl with kindly inquiry. 
 
 " They may learn things," she continued, 
 " which, in view of our treatment of them, 
 may make them " 
 
 vShe stopped, embarrassed, 
 
The Wounded Stranger 6i 
 
 ** May make them misjudge us," he said. 
 •"Well?" 
 
 " I should not like that." 
 
 ''Why, Constance?" 
 
 " It would hurt me," she answered 
 simply. 
 
 He looked from the girl to his own daugh- 
 ter, as if seeking an explanation he did not 
 find, then turned to Constance and said : 
 
 " If it seems important to you, child, or 
 worth any effort whatever, to keep any 
 human being from misjudging our motives, 
 you have my consent to give the travelers 
 such information as shall establish an honest 
 name for us." 
 
 He smiled indulgently as he finished, and 
 kissed the girl, who said earnestly, " Thank 
 you, grandfather ! " 
 
 , • • • • 
 
 Dr. Hammatt was entering upon middle 
 age when, some twenty years before the time 
 of the incidents just related, he resolved to 
 leave the boisterous Western city where his 
 
62 Fort Birkett 
 
 professional practice had earned him a com- 
 petence, and seek a home where he could 
 gratify a desire for rural life, and pursue 
 his speculative studies. He was a widower, 
 whose home was presided over by a married 
 daughter. She, with her husband, Conrad 
 Farwell, civil engineer, a second daughter, 
 Martha, then ten years old, and a few neigh- 
 boring friends, composed the first party to 
 emigrate, with the doctor, to the valley of 
 the San Joaquin, in California. This 
 colony grew by the accession of other friends 
 who learned of the promising fields the 
 pioneers had found. 
 
 From the Government they bought farms 
 officially described as " desert land " ; but 
 investigation convinced the doctor and his 
 son-in-law that it would grow orchards and 
 vineyards if watered by a contiguous stream 
 which emptied into the San Joaquin River. 
 For this work, which was at once under- 
 taken, Farwell was the engineer, and Dr. 
 Hammatt and a few friends supplied the 
 
The Wounded Stranger 63 
 
 funds. The doctor also wisely directed the 
 planting of yearly crops, until the slower 
 growing trees and vineyards should bear. 
 
 Prosperity rewarded intelligent toil. 
 Homes were built ; and a church, where was 
 baptized the colony's first-born, baby Con- 
 stance Farwell. 
 
 Soon, it seemed in this happy industrious 
 life, came the year when nature would answer 
 their hopes, yea or nay, by granting or deny- 
 ing fruit to their vines and orchards. Then 
 it was that spying strangers came into the 
 land, and made no effort to conceal their 
 unfriendliness. The doctor quieted the fears 
 of the settlers. Had he not taken every 
 precaution to safeguard their interests ; con- 
 formed in all ways to the laws of the Gov- 
 ernment whose land they had bought, and 
 made to bloom? 
 
 When nature abundantly fulfilled their 
 hopes, they planned a festival of thanks to 
 the Giver of all mercies: and it was then 
 that a deputy United States marshal came 
 
64 Fort Birkett 
 
 to warn Dr. Hammatt that the settlers oc- 
 cupied lands belonging to a railroad com- 
 pany. They must vacate, or buy again, at 
 the company's price. 
 
 The doctor went to his lawyer, and heard 
 from him a tangled tale of lieu lands, of 
 appeal to the Interior Department, of a 
 commissioner's ruling, an order of evict- 
 ment! 
 
 Could nothing be done ? the doctor asked. 
 " The Government gave the railroad com- 
 pany countless millions of fair acres, but the 
 desert we bought was not included in that 
 gift. There is justice, — somewhere, — some 
 power to appeal to which could avert so sor- 
 rowful a wrong ! " 
 
 No power greater than the company, the 
 lawyer said. It coveted the land made rich 
 by the settlers' toil — their savings. He had 
 appealed to Washington, but doubted if his 
 letters ever reached officials higher than 
 those who had already decided in favor of 
 the company's claim. That was as if he 
 
The Wounded Stranger 65 
 
 had appealed to the company itself. Dr. 
 Hammatt sent the lawyer to Washington, 
 hoping that a personal appeal might avail. 
 From the capital the lawyer wrote : " An 
 influence, which it is unnecessary to explain 
 to you, controls every source of possible re- 
 lief. I made personal appeal to the Presi- 
 dent. He said he was ' disinclined to over- 
 rule a bureau decision which had been af- 
 firmed by a cabinet officer.' " 
 
 It was the day of the festival that Dr. 
 Hammatt received this letter. After thanks 
 had been offered in the little church, the 
 colonists formed near its door in flower- 
 decked ranks ; and there, sorrowful, but hid- 
 ing his fears from the people, the doctor saw 
 a wagon with high board sides coming up the 
 colony road; and, seated by the wagon 
 driver, a lawless character of the neighboring 
 tow^n. His sudden alarm, as he recognized 
 the bully, startled those near the doctor. 
 The procession halted in a quick shiver of 
 panic. 
 
66 Fort Birkett 
 
 '* Who are you and what is your business 
 here? " the doctor asked, as the wagon drew 
 near and stopped. 
 
 '* I am a deputy United States mar- 
 shal," repHed the man on the seat with the 
 driver. ' My business is to serve on each 
 pretended landowner here notice of evic- 
 tion." 
 
 For a moment the settlers were dumb; 
 then there were angry murmurs from the 
 men, sobs from the women. 
 
 " Mr. Marshal," the doctor said, stepping 
 forward, '' we are a peaceful people, occupy- 
 ing land for which we have paid the Govern- 
 ment its lawful price. A cruel crime is 
 being attempted against us. If I accept 
 your notices for all, will you depart, leaving 
 us untroubled, until we can make one more 
 effort to secure justice? " 
 
 " No," replied the man. '' I must serve 
 notice on each colonist in person. This is 
 the company's land." 
 
 A young settler, Frank Evanson, stepped 
 
The Wounded Stranger 67 
 
 from the ranks and stood in front of the 
 doctor. 
 
 *' You will evict no one here to-day," he 
 cried. '' Not to-day ! " 
 
 ''Do you threaten me?" asked the deputy. 
 As he spoke there was an ominous movement 
 in the wagon box. 
 
 " We will defend our homes ! " Evanson 
 answered. 
 
 "Fire!" 
 
 This the deputy shouted. 
 
 A dozen men who had been concealed in 
 the wagon sprang to their feet, leveled rifles 
 at the horror-palsied people, and fired. 
 
 There were cries of agony, cries for 
 mercy, cries of rage. 
 
 "Fire!" 
 
 Again the deputy gave the murder order : 
 himself shooting down Frank Evanson. 
 
 "Fire!" 
 
 The third volley found its victims in the 
 huddle of fleeing men, women, and children. 
 
 " Thou shalt not covet " 
 
68 Fort Birkett 
 
 In the days that followed, though himself 
 wounded, Dr. Hammatt attended to the 
 wounds of others; buried his murdered 
 daughter, and her husband ; gave help to the 
 widowed; and then, with his daughter 
 Martha, and the little, orphaned Constance 
 Farwell, found a new home in a high moun- 
 tain meadow. There he hoped to spend the 
 rest of his sorrowful life, too poor, too re- 
 mote, to attract the vengeance the railroad 
 company swore to visit on all the colonists 
 its murderers had not killed. 
 
 Other colonists went deep into the moun- 
 tains; but not all to clear and cultivate 
 land. 
 
 " So long as I live," swore Frank Evan- 
 son, when he recovered from his wound, " I 
 shall take from the company some part of 
 what they took from us." 
 
 Others made like oath with him, and they 
 became the outlawed train robbers of that 
 country. They could hide in the home of 
 any colonist except Dr. Hammatt. He told 
 
The Wounded Stranger 69 
 
 them if they turned against the law they 
 must be strangers to him. But 
 
 On the night before our travelers were 
 turned aside from the pass, a man went to 
 the Meadow home, and told the doctor his 
 services were needed by a stranger. 
 
 " What is the stranger's name? " 
 
 " Frank Evanson." 
 
 " I will attend the stranger," the doctor 
 said.( 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 MR. PELHAm's discovery 
 
 Vanderlyn Lennox stood beneath the 
 angular, dull-red branches of a manzanita 
 tree, straining his eyes up the trail, which 
 now lay revealed in the faint radiance of 
 starlight, now obscured in shadow too dense, 
 it seemed, to be penetrated even by the mid- 
 day sun. He had left his companions an 
 hour ago; Mr. Pelham deep in untroubled 
 sleep, Birkett on guard, as on previous 
 nights, with no thought of sleep. 
 
 Miss Farwell's hurried words to him at 
 parting, the Indian's actions as they passed 
 the thicket, gave assurance that he was ex- 
 pected there at that hour : but his searching 
 eyes found no sign on the trail, nor had his 
 70 
 
Mr. Pelham's Discovery 71 
 
 eager ears caught any sound but the beating 
 of his own heart. He was startled, there- 
 fore, when at his very side he heard a gut- 
 tural voice : 
 
 " Captain Sam, him like some tobacco." 
 
 " Oh, is it you, Sam ? How did you get 
 here?" 
 
 " You alone ? " the Indian asked, ignoring 
 the other's question. 
 
 " Yes, alone. Where is Miss Far- 
 well?" 
 
 " Here," replied the young woman, and 
 she came softly out of the shadow behind 
 him. 
 
 " Captain Sam, him smoke," the Indian 
 said, and proceeded to do so; noiselessly 
 pacing the trail in front of the thicket where 
 the young people talked. 
 
 Constance told Lennox something of her 
 grandfather's story : a story wholly tradition 
 to her, for she had no recollection of the 
 colony tragedy. 
 
 ** My grandfather," she concluded, ** has 
 
72 Fort Birkett 
 
 been parent, teacher, friend to me. The 
 world would call him a great scholar, so my 
 aunt tells me, but I know him only as a kind, 
 gentle, just man : attending in their sickness 
 the old colonists scattered through these 
 mountains; helping them in their needs. 
 Do you blame him, then, for going to that 
 wounded man, even if he suspects — though 
 he does not know — how he was wounded? 
 Do you think ill of us because of what he has 
 done?" 
 
 "Think ill of you!" cried Lennox, im- 
 pulsively taking the girl's hands in his. He 
 released them slowly, saying, *' No ! " 
 
 There was a silence in which neither 
 stirred, then she continued : 
 
 " Sam learned that Rawlins will accom- 
 pany you only as far as you go to-morrow, 
 and leave you the next morning. Then you 
 will be free to go when and where you please, 
 except that you must not return this way, nor 
 by the pass." 
 
 "Why?" exclaimed Lennox. He could 
 
Mr. Pelham s Discovery 73 
 
 not see the flush of pleasure in her face, 
 brought by his tone of disappointment. 
 
 " Because," she said, " by that time the 
 men who — the men who are hiding — may 
 need arms and ammunition. You have 
 both." 
 
 '' And can use them ! " he declared. 
 
 " There are some with the wounded man 
 who can travel more softly than we," the 
 girl said; "we who just now came behind 
 you and stood for minutes where we could 
 have touched you, yet you did not know. 
 Your arms are of no use against such 
 men." 
 
 Again both were silent until she whis- 
 pered : 
 
 '' Good-by." 
 
 *' Not ' good-by.' I shall see you again." 
 
 " No. It is my grandfather who says you 
 must not return this way." 
 
 ** I shall see you again," he repeated. 
 
 She left him, but without repeating her 
 denial. 
 
74 Fort Birkett 
 
 For a little while Lennox saw the two 
 figures glide up the trail, then disappear, he 
 could not tell where or how, though on a 
 sudden impulse he ran after them in fruitless 
 search. 
 
 The next morning Rawlins appeared in 
 camp before the packing was finished; but 
 neither the travelers nor the guide spoke to 
 him, or seemed to give heed to his presence. 
 Several times Mr. Pelham was minded to 
 protest, but the demeanor of his com- 
 panions caused him to refrain. He saw 
 that the old miner, exasperated by the 
 presence of Rawlins, was controlling his 
 temper under a strong pull, while Len- 
 nox was abstracted and lacked his usual 
 buoyancy. 
 
 The bandit made a mistake common to 
 bullies ; he believed the silence of the others 
 denoted fear of him, and so fashioned his 
 comments to express pleasure in their sup- 
 posed distress. 
 
 " I reckon when you folks started over the 
 
Mr. Pelham's Discovery 75 
 
 pass you didn't know as you'd be met by a 
 committee of distinguished citizens to offer 
 you the freedom of the mountains," he said 
 at last, emphasizing the taunt with an ill- 
 natured chuckle. 
 
 He was again riding in the rear, to hold 
 the others under cover of his rifle ; Birkett in 
 the lead, Mr. Pelham following, Lennox 
 next in front of Rawlins. He laughed 
 again and again at his witticism, but ceased 
 abruptly, with rifle swung into readiness, 
 when Lennox, half turning in his saddle, 
 said quietly, '' Rawlins, the trail is wide 
 enough here for you to go to the front. I 
 want you to do so." 
 
 Lennox had not even lifted his rifle from 
 its sling. Noting this, Rawlins replied, 
 " Well, young fellow, you ain't just rightly 
 fixed to give me orders." 
 
 " I give you an order, nevertheless," 
 Lennox said. '' I see that you are a coward, 
 and you might shoot in the back, without 
 
76 Fort Birkett 
 
 " That's pretty tall talk for you, consider- 
 ing the way my gun is pointed." 
 
 " It ain't p'inted in no friendly way, Dick 
 RawHns." 
 
 This remark from Birkett drew Rawlins' 
 glance. He saw the old miner's cocked rifle 
 aimed at him, and held without a tremor. 
 He slowly lowered his own weapon, and 
 sullenly urged his horse to the front, for 
 John Birkett had a record in no way related 
 to his peaceful occupation of miner and 
 prospector. 
 
 The incident sweetened the mental atmos- 
 phere. The guide and his charges resum.ed 
 their friendly talk, and in its course Lennox 
 lamented the ill luck which had deprived 
 him of the sight of the big game said to 
 abound in the region. 
 
 Since leaving camp they had emerged 
 from the canon which brought them from 
 the Meadow, and for a time had traversed a 
 broad sloping flank of the mountains, 
 scantily furnished with stunted pine, but 
 
Mr. Pelham's Discovery 77 
 
 giving view of heavily timbered lower 
 ranges before them; for they were now 
 descending the eastern slope. 
 
 The barely discernible trail across the 
 mesa took them, near noon, to the edge of an 
 unattractive gorge. So it appeared to all 
 but Birkett ; but he often paused to peer into 
 its depths with critical attention. " An old 
 river bed," he muttered. " Don't jest reelect 
 ever heving heerd of it. Mighty sight of 
 water ran thar once. Cut off, somehow, 
 and turned toward " 
 
 He ceased muttering and called out, 
 " Thar's yer chance. Colonel ; a grizzly, or I 
 ain't never seen one." 
 
 In the bottom of the gorge, lumbering in 
 and out among the boulders, they saw a red- 
 dish-brown bear, whose mighty proportions 
 were impressive even at that great distance. 
 But a shot at such range would be waste of 
 ammunition. Lennox dismounted, and ran 
 back on the trail, shouting, " I'll head him 
 off, and get down into the gorge in front of 
 him." 
 
78 Fort Birkett 
 
 *' Nervy move for a tenderfoot," Birkett 
 commented dryly. " Guess Til go ajong 
 with him, to see thet the bar don't get too 
 intimate on short acquaintance." 
 
 As he started to dismount he chanced to 
 glance at Rawlins. Then he added, settling 
 in his saddle, '' Guess the youngster ken 
 look out for himself." 
 
 Something in Rawlins' expression re- 
 minded the guide that, if he followed 
 Lennox, he would leave Mr. Pelham, un- 
 armed, and three valuable packs, at the 
 bandit's mercy. 
 
 " I think you should go to Mr. Len- 
 nox's assistance," Mr. Pelham said ear- 
 nestly. 
 
 " I will, Jedge," Birkett replied, examin- 
 ing the side of the gorge further along the 
 trail. " We ken all get down a leetle below 
 here." 
 
 " Not with the animals," Rawlins ob- 
 jected. 
 
 " 'Tain't much worse than thet way ye 
 
Mr. Pelham's Discovery 79 
 
 showed us into Hammatt's Meadow," Bir- 
 kett answered. 
 
 He tightened all the packs, and then, lead- 
 ing the horses, they made a long slant down 
 into the gorge, the sure-footed animals cau- 
 tiously feeling out each step of the descent. 
 Before the bottom was reached, a less experi- 
 enced observer than Birkett could have seen 
 that it had been the course of a river. It was 
 not ancient, as geologists use the term; for 
 the sharpness of the water-graven lines on 
 the rocks proved that no great period ago 
 they were cut by a swift, continual current. 
 Now, even when the fast-melting snow kept 
 other river banks full, there was here but a 
 small creek, murmuring lazily. 
 
 While Mr. Pelham was alert for some sign 
 of his absent companion, Birkett was even 
 more intent upon the tale told to him by the 
 rocks, as by a printed page. Rawlins 
 watched the old prospector with wolfish eyes. 
 
 All started at the sound of a rifle shot, 
 and remained in silent expectancy until a 
 
8o Fort Birkett 
 
 second shot was followed by a long 
 " Halloo ! " so plainly the expression of 
 exultant youth that the lawyer smiled in re- 
 lief, and the miner said in a satisfied tone, 
 '' The Colonel hez the bar, Jedge." 
 
 They traveled easily, now, up the creek 
 bed; but, although they heard Lennox's 
 signaling halloos, he was hidden from sight 
 until they passed through a narrow chasm 
 into an oblong basin, forming the abrupt 
 upper end of the gorge. The only break in 
 the wall now surrounding them was the 
 narrow passage which once released, into the 
 gorge below, the tumbling tumult of water 
 plunging into the basin over the edge of its 
 cliff walls, hundreds of feet above. Now 
 the gravelly floor was clean and dry ; except 
 for a little pool, where a wavering silver 
 thread, the wraith of the river that was, fell 
 mistily over the cliff. 
 
 There they found the huntsman standing 
 by his game; hot, disheveled, happy. As 
 they took their midday rest and meal, Lennox 
 
Mr. Pelhams Discovery 8i 
 
 told them that the bear had been wounded by 
 the first shot, but had managed to reach the 
 basin, where he towered at bay until brought 
 down by the second shot. 
 
 ''It's a better fort for a man with a gun 
 to hold, than for a bar," Birkett commented. 
 He said they could likely get out of the 
 gorge without having to climb its steep sides, 
 by following the creek ; for a river, the size 
 of that which once flowed there, had an out- 
 let large enough to give them easy passage. 
 He suggested that they make camp there 
 until the next day. He wanted to " look 
 around a bit," he said. This plan suited 
 Lennox; for it would take several hours to 
 prepare his bear-skin trophy for transporta- 
 tion. 
 
 The horses had been left outside the basin, 
 and Birkett went to attend to them, and the 
 pack. The bandit followed. He appeared 
 to be fascinated by the miner's every move- 
 ment, kept close to his side, made uncouth 
 efforts at friendly advances. 
 
82 Fort Birkett 
 
 After watching Lennox, at work on the 
 hide with his hunting knife, Mr. Pelham 
 went to the pool, in the hope that it might 
 furnish a fish supper. If any trout hved in 
 its clear shallow water, they were not 
 tempted by his casts, and soon the delights 
 of Walton's precepts won him from his 
 practice, and he abandoned the rod for the 
 book, comfortably stretched on the margin 
 of the pool. At times his '' idly meditative " 
 gaze wandered from the page, and in boyish 
 luxury of indolence he dimpled the surface 
 of the pool with a toss of pebbles. Once he 
 balanced a handful of missiles, then, with no 
 conscious purpose, opened the hand, and 
 examined its contents. Something he saw 
 startled him, quickened his pulse. He scat- 
 tered the stuff in his hand over the open 
 leaves of his book; picked out some of the 
 particles that fixed his attention, and then 
 uttered a cry that brought Lennox to his 
 side with a bound. 
 
Mr. Pelham's Discovery 83 
 
 "What is this, Vanderlyn?" he asked, 
 and his voice shook. 
 
 Lennox took what the lawyer held out to 
 him in a hand that trembled, gave it close 
 scrutiny, then, his breath quickening, scraped 
 with hunting knife the dully red object, 
 dropped his knife, and whispered: 
 
 "Gold!" 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 a midnight desertion 
 
 "Gold!" 
 
 Oh, the impetuous pulse, the tumult of 
 heart, aroused in the seeker after gold when 
 the sense of sight is corroborated by the 
 softly-solid touch of the magic metal ! Not 
 the rebellious stuff in which gold, unseeable, 
 unfeelable, is fused with baser metals; not 
 the ore that a chemist's acid, pounding mill, 
 roaring furnace must treat before the dross 
 is burned, ground, melted away; but the 
 free, naked gold, which man with unaided 
 hands may wash from its gravel bed, and 
 see, and touch, as he wins it ! What gloat- 
 ing revels of the mind its sight, its touch, 
 evoke in him who finds it after weary years ; 
 or in the novice — most often the finder ! 
 
 Gold! 
 
 84 
 
A Midnight Desertion 85 
 
 Something in the very attitude of the men 
 told Birkett, when he returned to the basin, 
 what had happened. After one glance at 
 them he hurried to his pack, took shovel and 
 pan, and waded into the pool until he stood 
 knee deep in it. Then he felt with his shovel 
 to find a riffle in the gravel-covered bed- 
 rock, brought the shovel up laden — its 
 weight made him stare and tremble — put 
 the gravel into his pan, and dipped it again 
 and again in the water, tipping and turning 
 it at the same time. Now he would scrape 
 away the top gravel with cautious fingers, 
 then the water would be used to clear away 
 more; and by these means, repeated again 
 and again, the pan was washed until there 
 remained in it a handful of fine particles, of 
 pieces the size of beans, of nuggets the size 
 of a woman's thimble, smoothly irregular, 
 dull reddish-yellow — gold ! 
 
 Mr. Pelham and his companion stood on 
 one side of the pool, watching the old miner 
 in his skillful work, with an excitement they 
 
86 Fort Birkett 
 
 could not have explained ; tingling with a de- 
 light they gave no thought to translate ; con- 
 scious of a thrilling event, yet but vaguely 
 understanding. On the opposite side of the 
 pool stood Rawlins, half crouched, like an 
 animal about to spring, his twitching mouth 
 agape, his snaky eyes fixed, unchanging. 
 
 Birkett took his treasure to where Mr. 
 Pelham and Lennox stood, and held it out 
 for them to see, himself half-dazed. They 
 dipped up the gold in their hands, let it 
 drip through their fingers, and picked out 
 specimens for special praise. 
 
 " By Jove, old man ! " Lennox cried, 
 " there must be a lot of this stuff, for a single 
 pan to yield so much." 
 
 " I wish Tom Matthews could hev seen 
 this," Birkett muttered. '' I'd like Tom to 
 see this ; the richest gravel I ever panned — or 
 ever heerd on." 
 
 He emptied the gold on his own coat 
 spread out on the dry gravel, dropped pan 
 and shovel, and turned sadly away. The 
 
A Midnight Desertion 87 
 
 action seemed to awaken Rawlins out of a 
 trance. He jumped up and down, uttering 
 animal-like cries, then seized the pan and 
 shovel, dashed into the water, and clumsily 
 washed some gravel. This could be done 
 by a prentice hand, for, in the riffles, gold lay 
 fat and heavy; as if nature, during ages, had 
 designed to concentrate such treasure here as 
 would startle man ! 
 
 In a few minutes Birkett turned to the 
 travelers again, and said: 
 
 " Gentlemen, the river thet one time fell 
 over thet cliff, into this here gorge, some- 
 whar or other, cut across a quartz ledge 
 thet was alive with free gold, like the speci- 
 mens jewelers set into rings; a ledge of 
 quartz thet miners dream of — plugged with 
 native gold, free gold, like a wooden target 
 with lead. For centuries thet river was 
 washing thet gold out of the quartz, rolling 
 it along, rolling it along, to toss it at last 
 into this gorge. Why, gravel thet yields no 
 more to the pan than the pinch of salt ye'd 
 
88 Fort Birkett 
 
 put on a potato, is wuth working ; but gravel 
 thet pays a handful to the pan " 
 
 He paused as if seeking some figure of 
 speech that would help, but gave up the 
 search and continued slowly, soberly, 
 '' Jedge, in this basin alone thar are tons of 
 gold! " 
 
 Mr. Pelham and Lennox looked at each 
 other in astounded silence, but Rawlins, who 
 had heard the last words, roared hoarsely: 
 ''Tons of gold! Tons of gold!'' He 
 dashed from the water to the growing pile 
 of nuggets, shouted, laughed; rushed back 
 into the water to resume his work, mutter- 
 ing, laughing yet, but never looking at the 
 others. 
 
 The sight of the fellov/, changed by avarice 
 into a half-crazed beast, repelled the others, 
 and they drew aw^ay from the pool. Out- 
 side the basin entrance, Birkett said, '' Jest 
 to hev everything legal, according to min- 
 ing law, we'd better put up notices of loca- 
 
A Midnight Desertion 89 
 
 The eminent lawyer and the diplomaed 
 mining expert listened respectfully to the old 
 prospector as he explained the law governing 
 location of mining land; the law his whole 
 class know and respect ; and the proper legal 
 forms, simple and brief, were soon written 
 and posted. 
 
 Mr. Pelham's claim included the basin; 
 Lennox's, the next adjoining; Birkett's, the 
 next, for the latter insisted upon this order, 
 giving him the least favorable claim. 
 
 '' Rawlins," he said, " ken locate next to 
 me, down the gorge. I don't jest hanker to 
 hev him for neighbor, but I'll hev to make 
 the best of it. We couldn't get rid of him 
 now, with dynamite." 
 
 '' We'll share both our good and ill luck," 
 Mr. Pelham declared. " Our three claims 
 shall be consolidated into one, each of us to 
 be an equal owner in the whole." 
 
 *' Bravo ! " cried Lennox. 
 
 *' Tom Matthews couldn't bin no fairer, 
 sir," Birkett said. 
 
90 Fort Birkett 
 
 " Then we'll each have to endure but a 
 third of our bad luck, having Rawlins for a 
 neighbor." 
 
 " The trouble with yer first proposition, 
 Jedge, is thet ef I share in the basin claim I'll 
 hev so much gold I'll never hev to prospect 
 agin. Then what '11 I do with my time? " 
 
 *' I've never before heard that problem ad- 
 vanced as an argument against accepting 
 the goods the gods provide." 
 
 '' But a genuine prospector don't hunt for 
 gold for the sake of the goods; no more'n 
 the Colonel shot the bar for the sake of bar 
 meat. It's the fun of the hunt thet pays." 
 
 "Pays him, for instance?" asked Mr. 
 Pelham, pointing to where the bandit was 
 yet working with frantic energy. 
 
 "Him? Oh, he's no hunter! He's a 
 jackal," the miner responded. 
 
 When Rawlins, at last exhausted by un- 
 usual toil, threw aside pan and shovel, supper 
 was being prepared. Only then he dis- 
 covered the posted notices of location. 
 
A Midnight Desertion 91 
 
 '' Do these things mean that I don't get 
 in on the basin gravel ? " he demanded 
 angrily. 
 
 '' Seeing ez how the Jedge first discovered, 
 and first located it, it looks like ye'U hev to 
 go further down the creek," Birkett re- 
 sponded. 
 
 '' And none of that," he gasped, pointing 
 to the pile of gold weighing down Birkett's 
 coat, " none of that is mine? " 
 
 " What's panned out of an honest claim 
 belongs to the owner : no matter who panned 
 it. A considerable number of misfortunit 
 gentlemen hev ben shot, or hanged, jest be- 
 cause they forgot thet law of all mining 
 camps." 
 
 As Birkett said this he eyed Rawlins 
 sharply. The latter's manner changed ab- 
 ruptly; he laughed, said there would be 
 enough for him further down the creek, and 
 set about making himself useful with camp 
 duties. 
 
 Around the drift-wood fire that night, the 
 
92 Fort Birkett 
 
 old miner told tales of other great dis- 
 coveries of gold, in gravel, and in quartz ; 
 alike in that all had been made by accident, 
 usually by inexperts. Then, when the two 
 mountain men rolled themselves in blankets, 
 and seemingly slept, the Easterners talked 
 in low tones of the wondrous adventure of 
 the day; how, for the younger, it altered, 
 expanded, brightened future plans; of fel- 
 low students whose life hopes of achievement 
 through study he would now make real; of a 
 lost prominence to his family he would now 
 restore. The elder man spoke of a home 
 enriched by all that art could supply ; of the 
 gratitude of his alma mater for endowments 
 to add to her renown and usefulness. They 
 spoke slowl}^ their words halted, ceased. 
 All was quiet. For a time Rawlins knew 
 he was watched by Birkett; but the old 
 miner, who for three days and nights had 
 scarcely closed his eyes, fell at last into the 
 sleep of a body fatigued, a mind lulled by 
 dreams of dreams realized. 
 
A Midnight Desertion 93 
 
 The sun had already cast off its early robe 
 of orange when Birkett awoke. His first 
 glance was toward the spot where the fire- 
 light had last revealed the form of Rawlins. 
 The next instant he sprang to his feet, ran to 
 the entrance of the basin, looked down the 
 gorge, and then his shouts awakened his 
 companions : 
 
 " Rawlins is gone, and the horses with 
 him!" 
 
 "And the gold, too!" Mr. Pelham cried 
 angrily. 
 
 " The gold he took isn't a leetle drop in a 
 big bucket to what's left for us to take," 
 Birkett said, and added in a significant tone, 
 '' ef we ken protect ourselves while we mine 
 it." 
 
 '* Protect ourselves? " exclaimed Lennox, 
 puzzled. 
 
 Then, with a shock of understanding, he 
 searched the ground by the side of his 
 blanket, and soon cried in dismay : " He has 
 taken my rifle ! " 
 
94 Fort Birkett 
 
 " Mine, too," Birkett responded dryly. 
 " Well, no man ever discovered gold thet 
 didn't discover trouble with it. Before we 
 start washing out gold, I guess, gentlemen, 
 we'll jest see what kind of a fort this basin 
 will make, and how much grub we hev on 
 hand.'* 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 RECRUITS FOR DICK RAWLINS 
 
 Late the next morning, Rawlins, with his 
 stolen horses dead beat, reached the ravine 
 by which Dr. Hammatt and the wounded 
 " stranger " entered the trail to the Meadow. 
 There he turned aside, picketed the animals, 
 and threw himself on the ground ; exhausted 
 by the toil of the previous day, his sleepless 
 night, the forced march since deserting the 
 party in the basin. He might have made the 
 short distance further to the Meadow, but 
 he wished not to be seen with his stolen 
 horses and arms by others than his fellow 
 bandits. On this account he determined to 
 rest in the ravine, until darkness insured an 
 unobserved visit to the companions he 
 expected to find in hiding near the ranch 
 house. This precaution would have served 
 95 
 
96 Fort Birkett 
 
 his purpose ordinarily; but it chanced that, 
 as he urged his weary animals up the trail, 
 Constance Farwell leisurely rode down it 
 toward a thicket of manzanita. There she 
 dismounted and stood beneath the distorted 
 limbs in reverie. Her senses were so pro- 
 foundly sunk in the pleasant deeps of her 
 thoughts that Rawlins might have discovered 
 her but for a tremor of the reins upon her 
 arm, which roused her to mark the keenly 
 forepointed ears, the questioning eyes, of her 
 horse. Now, as sensitively alert as the 
 animal, she felt, rather than heard, distant 
 brunt of hoof on rock. 
 
 She flushed, and repeated Lennox's 
 words : " Not good-by. I shall see you 
 again." 
 
 ''Could he be returning, already?" she 
 asked herself, and the hope that answered 
 '* Yes " quickened her heart. 
 
 Then, in alarm, came another question: 
 ''Why return so soon?" The flush faded 
 from her face, as her ear told her that the 
 
Recruits for Dick Rawlins 97 
 
 approaching horses were hurried. '' An 
 accident ! " 
 
 Her cheeks slowly re-reddened, as she 
 shyly indulged thoughts of a reason which 
 would return Lennox to her, aye! with the 
 urgency she would go to him — if she might ! 
 
 She withdrew, with her horse, well into 
 the thicket; and, with Indian-taught craft, 
 concealed herself where she could yet com- 
 mand a view of the trail. But Constance's 
 heart had not been taught concealment, and 
 while she took the red man's precaution not 
 to be seen, if it chanced that a stranger ap- 
 proached, her eyes spoke gentle hope that it 
 would be a friend. 
 
 Alas! hope died from the shock of fear 
 which struck her heart at the sight of the 
 first horse that came into view — Lennox's, 
 saddled, but riderless! Then came Birkett's 
 — the rifles of both slung to their saddles — 
 Mr. Pelham's, the pack animals, packless, 
 and last, Rawlins, with evil, haggard face, 
 carrying in front of him on his saddle some- 
 
98 Fort Birkett 
 
 thing heavy, wrapped and bound in a man\ 
 coat. 
 
 Constance must have fainted, for she 
 heard no sound of hoofs when she was again 
 conscious of wondering what calamity had 
 sent back the travelers' train driven by 
 Rawlins ! 
 
 Over a trail so little used, it was an easy 
 task for Constance to trace Rawlins to the 
 ravine. Up that, from tree to tree, stealthy 
 as the shadow of a cloud, she proceeded, until 
 she discovered the tired horses, stripped 
 and picketed, and the bandit asleep, but 
 clutching the package he had carried on his 
 saddle. 
 
 Dr. Hammatt had been called away that 
 morning to attend a colonist's child, at some 
 distance from the Meadow; thus Constance 
 was deprived of the advice to which she 
 would have confidently turned. 
 
 Martha was wise in any emergency, but, 
 rather than concern her with a story but half 
 
Recruits for Dick Rawlins 99 
 
 known, Constance resolved to learn, with 
 the aid of Indian Sam, the fate or where- 
 abouts of the travelers. So, when she re- 
 turned home, it was to him alone she spoke 
 of her day's adventure, and asked his help. 
 
 To track a white man in spectral silence, 
 with a patience that knew no end, was occu- 
 pation more congenial to Captain Sam than 
 to superintend other Indians in the homely 
 labors of the ranch. He accepted the task 
 with gruff assurance of understanding ; say- 
 ing that he would keep Rawlins in sight 
 until he made some move, and report later 
 to Miss Connie. Then, with his aquiline 
 eyes alight with a long-latent fire, he struck 
 off for the ravine. 
 
 Constance knew how certain the Indian 
 would be in his work ; yet, after leaving her 
 aunt as early in the evening as she could 
 without exciting question, she was filled with 
 anxiety when she retired to her room to 
 await the Indian's signal. 
 
 It was full two hours after dark before the 
 
loo Fort Birkett 
 
 signal came, and at its sound — the call of a 
 night bird — she quietly left the house, and 
 joined the Indian where he waited, still as 
 the night itself. 
 
 Without speaking, but with a sign of cau- 
 tion, he led Constance nearly a mile up the 
 trail by which our travelers first reached the 
 Meadow. There he turned to the right, and 
 entered a redwood forest, which they pene- 
 trated a few hundred yards, when they saw 
 the glow of a low-burning camp-fire. At 
 the instant of this discovery Constance was 
 startled by sounds of angry voices. She 
 knew this was the camp of the wounded 
 '' stranger " and his followers, who had left 
 their retreat in the stables early that morn- 
 ing. Sam told her that until now the ban- 
 dits had maintained strict silence, and been 
 guarded by sentries, so she was puzzled by 
 the present disregard of precaution against 
 intruders. 
 
 " Have they quarreled ? " she whispered 
 to the Piute. 
 
Recruits for Dick RavvlinS ibii* i 
 
 '' You see, pretty soon." 
 
 Until then he had kept a mask of trees 
 between them and the fire, but now, with 
 Constance close following, he slowly ad- 
 vanced until, at last, they crouched behind a 
 fallen redwood, whose tangle of upturned 
 roots made a tattered screen, through which 
 the camp came into view like a suddenly dis- 
 closed scene upon the stage. On a bed of 
 boughs, overlaid with a single blanket, lay 
 the wounded man, Frank Evanson ; his face, 
 unshapen by pain and anger, sharply 
 pictured by the firelight. Seated about a 
 saddle cloth spread upon the ground were 
 Rawlins and four of his fellow ban- 
 dits. 
 
 In a tense hush, caused by the sight of 
 something Rawlins had just revealed, the 
 others watched him with rapacious eyes. 
 
 " Proof? '' Rawlins cried. " You say you 
 want proof of what I tell you? There's 
 proof!" 
 
 He flung a handful of gold on the cloth. 
 
,io2 --.Fort Birkett 
 
 The others sprang upon it, tore at it, Hke 
 wolves on a stricken prey. 
 
 Rawlins laughed. " Keep it, boys," he 
 said. '' Here's more ! and more ! " 
 
 He thrust his hands into a bundle held on 
 his lap, and threw more gold on the cloth, 
 while the others snatched, and fought for it, 
 snarling. 
 
 " Don't quarrel, boys," he cried; and, lift- 
 ing Birkett's coat, he poured forth its burden 
 of nuggets in a stream that caught the 
 glow of the fire, and shone ominously 
 red. 
 
 His companions gasped, while wonder 
 stayed their hands. 
 
 " Will you go with me where that can be 
 shoveled up like dust in the road? Is that 
 more worth your while than fighting a 
 sheriff's posse — for nothing? " 
 
 He hesitated at an exclamation of rage 
 from Evanson, but then continued hurriedly, 
 turning his glance from the wounded man to 
 the inflamed faces about him : 
 
Recruits for Dick Rawlins 103 
 
 " It's the old river bed men have hunted 
 ever since men came into these mountains 
 hunting for gold. Everybody knows that 
 some river was yellow with the gold that's 
 scattered through miles of sand and gravel 
 in the upper end of Mojave Desert. It was 
 the river that once fell into that basin and 
 flowed through that gorge. The gold in the 
 Mojave is only the dust that drifted out, 
 miles and miles away. In the gorge it 
 settled, heavy, thick! I heard Birkett tell 
 the Easterners. Is Birkett a fool ? He said 
 that that basin holds tons of gold ! Tons of 
 gold! Are you going to leave it to Birkett, 
 who's not one of us, and those Easterners, to 
 carry away ? It's in our mountains — at our 
 hands to take — tons of gold! " 
 
 As he ceased speaking he, and they who 
 had listened, looked again at Evanson, but 
 defiantly, now. 
 
 " Dick Rawlins," Evanson said, with 
 effort to be calm, '' the gold belongs to the 
 men who discovered it." 
 
I04 Fort Birkett 
 
 ** Of course no one else here ever took 
 gold that wasn't his," Rawlins sneered. 
 
 " You mean that for me, and you dare to 
 say it because I'm wounded, helpless," con- 
 tinued Evanson. " Yes, I've taken money 
 that didn't belong to me; took it from a com- 
 pany that robbed and wronged me, that 
 murdered my people. I risk my life to take 
 it, and give it to those who need it. You 
 ask these men to desert me ; to murder those 
 who've done us no harm, who've been guests 
 under the roof of Dr. Hammatt, our best 
 friend. Cowardly ! If I could raise a hand 
 to hold a gun, you'd not ask my men to help 
 you rob strangers of gold, after you'd stolen 
 their arms." 
 
 He paused to note the effect of his words, 
 and his eyes filled with angry contempt ; for 
 none listened to him as they fondled the 
 gold, absorbed in Rawlins' plans. 
 
 ''It's the easiest game you ever had, boys," 
 he was saying. " They're caught like 
 coyotes in a trap. They've no guns to fight 
 
Recruits for Dick Rawlins 105 
 
 with, nor horses to run with. Evanson will 
 be all right. I'll let Piute Sam know that 
 he's here alone, and the Indian will fetch 
 what's needed." 
 
 '' That won't do," exclaimed one. '' The 
 Indian will tell the doctor's granddaughter, 
 and we'll have worse than unarmed men to 
 fight, in spite of the doctor being away." 
 
 ** What do you mean?" Rawlins asked, 
 turning on the speaker. 
 
 " Oh, she was mightily taken with that 
 pretty Easterner you brought through 
 here." 
 
 "She was, eh?" Rawlins said, discom- 
 fited by the laugh greeting the other's re- 
 marks. '' Well, she'll be mightily taken 
 with me when I court her with a bagful of 
 gold. You needn't fear Indian Sam ; a few 
 of these nuggets will fix him. The Piute 
 never lived who wouldn't sell his best friend 
 for yellow dust." 
 
 ''Did you bring away their ammuni- 
 tion?" 
 
io6 Fort Birkett 
 
 " I brought Birkett's. The rest I couldn't 
 find. Anyway, I had to push the horses, 
 and didn't care to load them with useless 
 weight. What cartridges they've got will 
 harm nobody — with no guns to shoot 'em 
 with." 
 
 Rawlins saw now that the men were ready 
 to desert with him; and when one asked his 
 plan, he spoke as if in acknowledged au- 
 thority : 
 
 '' To-morrow we'll move down to the 
 mesa and camp above the basin. We'll have 
 a look at Birkett's party to see if they've done 
 anything to defend themselves, and decide 
 whether to rush 'em then, or make into the 
 gorge lower down, and come upon 'em in the 
 night." 
 
 "If we wait until to-morrow night they'll 
 be gone with all the gold they can pack on 
 their backs," said one of the bandits. 
 
 " The more gold they take out the less trou- 
 ble for us," Rawlins responded. " If they 
 try to make a run for it without horses, we'll 
 
Recruits for Dick Rawlins 107 
 
 soon overtake 'em. But the chances are Bir- 
 kett will stick to the basin, and not try to get 
 away without saddle or pack animals." 
 
 Sam, peering through the screen of roots, 
 felt Constance signal to him with her hand 
 on his arm, and followed her as she moved 
 silently toward the road. When they had 
 retreated some distance she whispered, '' Did 
 you see the rifles Rawlins stole? They 
 leaned against the opposite side of the roots; 
 I could almost touch them." 
 
 The Indian nodded. 
 
 '' Can you get them when the men are 
 asleep? " 
 
 " Get 'em now." 
 
 '' As soon as you can. Bring them to me 
 at home." 
 
 As she started to leave, he said : 
 
 '' Miss Connie." 
 
 "Well, Sam?" 
 
 " Maybe Sam bad Indian. Maybe he sell 
 Miss Connie for yellow dust." 
 
 She put her hand on the old man's arm and 
 
io8 Fort Birkett 
 
 said, '' You would not betray Miss Connie — 
 not for your life's blood." 
 
 She left him; and when obliterating 
 shadow effaced her form, he stroked the place 
 on his sleeve where Constance's hand had 
 rested; and, while, with steadfast eyes, he 
 watched a star traverse its hour's arc of the 
 heavens, he yet gently stroked the sleeve as if 
 it were some small creature that he loved. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 UNEXPECTED PERIL 
 
 After ascertaining what they supposed to 
 be the worst of their phght, and finding that 
 Rawlins had not levied on their store of pro- 
 visions, the party in the basin held a council ; 
 and therein Birkett made a blunt statement 
 of their exigency, which, he saw, the East- 
 erners did not yet realize. He told them in 
 his way that the men with Evanson, though 
 less noted outlaws than the train robbers, 
 were more to be feared. They were of a class 
 with Rawlins; desperadoes, without Evan- 
 sons' measure of grace ; lawless vagabonds of 
 the foothills and mountains, who robbed 
 miners' cabins of small stores of gold, stole 
 horses, invaded isolated settlements where, 
 if resisted, murder was added to other crimes. 
 The protection they gave Evanson and Tag- 
 109 
 
no Fort Birkett 
 
 gert was not based on the motive which in- 
 fluenced Dr. Hammatt in his care for 
 wounded '' strangers," but was in return for 
 a share of the train robbers' booty. 
 
 "It appears, then," said Mr. Pelham, 
 whose boisterous wrath had subsided into 
 calm heed of their state, ''that we face a 
 probable encounter with men who will not 
 hesitate at bodily harm if we attempt to 
 maintain our lawful occupancy of this 
 ground." 
 
 "Thet's purty nigh the proposition, 
 Jedge," assented Birkett, and then mur- 
 mured softly, " Bodily harm ! Be-eautiful ! " 
 
 " Then it is our duty," resumed Mr. Pel- 
 ham, '' to leave here at once, return with an 
 adequate force, arrest these villains, and re- 
 cover our gold mines." 
 
 Birkett looked at the speaker for some time 
 before he replied. " Excuse me, Jedge," he 
 said at last, patiently, " ye don't savvy the 
 game ez it is laid out — and ez it's laid out it 
 must be played." 
 
Unexpected Peril iii 
 
 " One moment, Mr. Birkett," interrupted 
 the lawyer, blinking in his effort to master 
 the guide's figure of speech. " There is a 
 game, it appears, governed by rules in whose 
 making we have no choice. So. It fur- 
 ther appears that we are required to play, 
 whether we are sportively inclined or 
 the contrary. Very well: now, what is 
 the game? " 
 
 '' Jedge," exclaimed Birkett delightedly, 
 ** it's easy to explain to a party thet hez yer 
 knack at catching the idee. The game is 
 this : We know too much to be let to trail 
 out of here. We know whar this amazing 
 pay gravel is; we know whar this gang is, 
 and, ez you was remarking, ef we got out 
 we'd likely come in with an ad'quet force — 
 which I take to be a posse — and thet would 
 upset Rawlins' gang's plan ez to this here 
 gold; and likewise upset the gang. I don't 
 jest reckon thet Rawlins' party would let us 
 pull our freight, knowing what we'd do ef we 
 got out." 
 
112 Fort Birkett 
 
 '' Do we wholly depend upon Rawlins* 
 permission to go? " 
 
 *' Not ef WQ had animals to travel on. 
 Without horses, yes." 
 
 " The fact seems to be, sir," said Lennox, 
 '' that, whether we wish to or not, we must 
 make a stand; and, without arms, we can 
 make some sort of defense here; in the 
 open, none." 
 
 Mr. Pelham pursed his lips, looked from 
 Lennox to Birkett, but remained silent. 
 
 " The Colonel," remarked the old miner, 
 " hez put the case in what ye might call a 
 neat and tasty manner." 
 
 " It's not a question, then," Mr. Pelham 
 said at last, " whether we shall retreat or 
 defend ourselves, but how best to defend our- 
 selves." 
 
 '' Precisely, Jedge," exclaimed Birkett. 
 " It's root hog or die." 
 
 " The choice," said Mr. Pelham, in sud- 
 den cheeriness, '' is easily made. Let us 
 root" 
 
Unexpected Peril 113 
 
 *' Good," cried Lennox. " Now, friend 
 Birkett, what's to be done ? " 
 
 " In the fust place, Colonel," said Birkett, 
 his grizzled face reflecting the others' cheer- 
 fulness, '' ye get out of those purty store 
 riding clothes, put on the rough togs I've 
 seen in the pack, thet I reckon you meant to 
 examine the borax deposit in, and then ye'll 
 be more fit for work." 
 
 "And the work?" 
 
 '' The work is, to build what ye might call 
 a fort." 
 
 All day they worked ceaselessly. Across 
 the narrow entrance to the basin, and bridg- 
 ing the stream, a wall of logs and rocks, six 
 feet high, was built. Inside the basin, eight 
 feet back from the wall and the same space 
 apart, two posts were set up, and a log, rest- 
 ing on these posts, made a support for the 
 roof, which extended thence to the top of the 
 w^all. The roof, better to resist bullets fired 
 from above, was made of stout pifion boughs, 
 packed with bunch grass, and overlaid with 
 
114 Fort Birkett 
 
 as much sand as it would bear. Thus they 
 had a retreat open toward the pool, and on 
 both sides, but walled across the gorge side, 
 from which direction, the builders supposed, 
 attack would most likely come. Indeed, the 
 only other point of attack was from the edge 
 of the precipice above the basin. Entrance 
 from the gorge was under the low bridge 
 made by the span of the wall across the creek. 
 Within the fort, on one side of the creek, was 
 a margin of pebbly beach, affording room 
 for storage of packs, and on the other side 
 was ample space for their blanket beds. 
 
 Birkett cooked the bear meat, sacked it, 
 and stored it on a rock shelf. 
 
 '' This, gentlemen," he said, when, 
 wearied, but content with the result of their 
 labor, they sat down to supper, " this isn't 
 jest wh^t might be called a Palace Hotel 
 parlor bedroom, but, considering things, we 
 hev a tol'ably fair cabin; warranted bullet 
 and earthquake proof." 
 
 "And its name," Mr. Pelham declared, 
 
Unexpected Peril 115 
 
 handing the guide a cup of tea, then rising 
 and bowing to him ceremoniously, " is Fort 
 Birkett!" 
 
 " Hurrah for Fort Birkett ! " cried Len- 
 nox, jumping to his feet. '' In the cup that 
 cheers Mr. Pelham, and inebriates no one, 
 let us drink to the success of Fort Birkett. 
 Speech ! speech ! " 
 
 " Gents, all," said the old miner, rising 
 slowly, then pausing to take a scalding 
 mouthful from the tin cup he held, " gents, 
 all, ye do me honor. Not wishing to be in 
 better company, but only wishing he could 
 know what good pardners I hev at present, I 
 wish Tom Matthews could see me now." 
 
 '' John Birkett," said Mr. Pelham, " if the 
 late Mr. Matthews was as good a man as his 
 partner, he is where he can look down on 
 you now, or I forswear my creed." 
 
 " Thank ye, Jedge, thank ye. A good 
 word for Tom's memory is pleasant to hear, 
 sir." 
 
 The night was divided into three watches. 
 
ii6 Fort Birkett 
 
 The first was given to Mr. Pelham, but he 
 had the others to share it with him, for sleqp 
 would not come at their bidding. The sec- 
 ond watch Birkett stood, and Lennox the 
 third. 
 
 The gorge was yet in the somber gloom 
 of night, although a ghostly dawnlight was 
 already revealing the high peaks to the south 
 when Lennox, pacing the bank of the creek 
 a little outside the fort, halted abruptly, in 
 a daze, then sprang down the gorge crying, 
 ''Constance! Constance!" He had heard 
 his own name called, and, far away and faint 
 as was the voice, he knew it was hers. Led 
 by each other's voice, they drew together, 
 calling " Constance," " Vanderlyn." But 
 when they met, and he clasped her hands, she 
 drew away from him, and in a voice which 
 had been brave and steady when they were 
 far apart, but trembled now, she asked, 
 " You are safe — well — all of you, Mr. Len- 
 nox? " 
 
 '' Yes, Miss Farwell." 
 
Unexpected Peril 117 
 
 She had come into the gorge some miles 
 below, where the south bank was more shal- 
 low, and less steep. She had ridden her 
 horse until she had heard Lennox call her 
 name. '' Then I left him," she said. " He 
 was so slow, finding his way in the dark, 
 among the boulders. He would not hurry ! " 
 She was suddenly glad of the darkness, that 
 he could not see how she blushed at what 
 she said. 
 
 '' I hurried, too," he answered. 
 
 " Here," she said quickly. " I brought 
 your rifle, and Mr. Birkett's. And I have my 
 own." 
 
 He took the two rifles with a cry of de- 
 light. 
 
 '' I have a belt of cartridges for my rifle," 
 she continued. '' I brought none for yours, 
 because I knew that Rawlins did not take 
 your ammunition." 
 
 " I have cartridges, and you give me heart 
 by returning to us the means of using them." 
 
 As they talked, he asking anxious ques- 
 
Ii8 Fort Birkett 
 
 tions about her night ride from the Meadow, 
 she answering simply, the dawn rushed down 
 the sides of the mountains, flooding the 
 gorge with its orange glow, and at last they 
 could look into each other's eyes. Then 
 they spoke no more. 
 
 " Jedge ! Jedge ! It's a woman ! " 
 
 Lennox, hearing this shout at the fort, led 
 Constance there, and she was greeted with 
 many words of praise and wonder for her 
 plucky ride to their aid. 
 
 " And Miss Hammatt — did she come with 
 you ? " Mr. Pelham asked. 
 
 " No," said Constance, smiling at some- 
 thing. ''She wanted to come; but my 
 grandfather is away, and one had to remain 
 at home." 
 
 They listened with increased wonder as 
 she told them how she had learned the ban- 
 dits' plans — though she said nothing of her 
 ride to the manzanita thicket, where she first 
 discovered Rawlins' perfidy. The Indian, 
 Sam, she said, would remain at the Meadow 
 
Uuexpected Peril 119 
 
 until the bandits left ; do what was required 
 for Evanson's comfort, and then follow. He 
 would keep near enough to the bandits, or, if 
 necessary, join them, until he learned their 
 immediate purpose. 
 
 " With only five men surrounding you, I 
 can slip through their lines without much 
 danger,'' Constance said. " I can bring Sam 
 in, too, if he seems more needed here than 
 outside. It is now a matter of holding out 
 until my grandfather's return, when he will 
 learn at once of your situation, from my 
 aunt." 
 
 "And when will Dr. Hammatt return?" 
 Mr. Pelham asked with some concern. 
 
 " In two or three days, if there is no call 
 for his help other than that he set out to 
 answer. Then, within a day, he can collect 
 enough good men to drive Rawlins' people 
 away. In the meantime, with three rifles, 
 and protected as you are, you can repel these 
 wicked men if they are so desperate as to at- 
 tack you." 
 
I20 Fort Birkett 
 
 *' My dear young woman," exclaimed Mr. 
 Pelham, '* 3^ou have done us a wonderful 
 service. You have planned your movements 
 like a general ! I hope to escape from here if 
 only to devise proper means of showing you 
 our gratitude and affection ! " 
 
 Constance glanced at Lennox, and seemed 
 content, when their eyes met, that he made 
 no other acknowledgment of what she had 
 done. 
 
 " Now, my dear Miss Farwell," continued 
 Mr. Pelham, '' you have been without sleep, 
 and are fatigued. You require rest and re- 
 freshment." 
 
 She had thought little of the hardship of 
 her task, for the motive which urged her 
 on had monopolized her thoughts; but she 
 was a very womanly young woman, and the 
 gallantry of the lawyer's speech, Lennox's 
 silent approval, Birkett's frank praise, 
 pleased her. With the first coquetry she had 
 ever praticed she now courtesied to the law- 
 yer, and, translating his manner into the 
 
Unexpected Peril 121 
 
 feminine, replied, '* My dear Mr. Pelham, a 
 cup of tea made by you will be sufficient evi- 
 dence of your gratitude and affection. Then 
 I will rest, for to-night I must meet Sam, 
 and learn what plans of the enemy you 
 should prepare to resist." 
 
 '' Brava ! " cried Mr. Pelham. " Here we 
 have a lady of the salon, a general, and an 
 army, combined in one charming young per- 
 son. Brava ! Van, bacon, sir, in your best 
 manner. Birkett, such cakes as you never 
 made, for Captain Molly Pitcher ! '' 
 
 When all had breakfasted, the fort was 
 given up to Constance. Mr. Pelham went 
 to the pool to practice with the gold- 
 washing pan, while Birket and Lennox 
 discussed the news brought in by Miss 
 Farwell. 
 
 " One thing is certain. Colonel," the guide 
 said. " Jest ez soon ez Rawlins finds out thet 
 our rifles are missing, he'll hustle along in 
 this direction. Shouldn't be surprised ef we 
 heerd signs of him by noontime." 
 
122 Fort Birkett 
 
 " Thank Heaven, we are prepared for 
 him, now.'' 
 
 " It's mighty comforting to feel this gun 
 in my hands agin. Reckon we'd better load 
 up, so's to be ready for any leetle gun picnic 
 we may be invited to jine. I see thet Raw- 
 lins hez pumped all the cartridges out of the 
 magazines of our rifles." 
 
 " My cartridges are in the package we 
 have not opened yet ; the one with the extra 
 bacon and coffee." 
 
 Birkett stared at Lennox. 
 
 " Not in thet package, Colonel," he said, 
 and his voice faltered. " I've lost my sense 
 of heft ef thar's lead in thet package ! " 
 
 Lennox ran to the fort, brought the pack- 
 age, nervously opened it, and disclosed three 
 sides of bacon, three tins of coffee, and six 
 parcels of tea. He stared at the things 
 vacantly, then called to Mr. Pelham. " Do 
 you remember, sir," he said, " taking some 
 cartridges out of one of the bundles ? " 
 
 "Eh? What?" asked the lawyer, look- 
 
Unexpected Peril 123 
 
 ing up from his work. " Cartridges? Oh, 
 to be sure. They were in the way when I 
 was packing a little extra tea I had, 
 and " 
 
 "And you put them in another bundle," 
 interrupted Lennox desperately. 
 
 ^' No-o," replied Mr. Pelham. " I recall 
 thinking that you could not possibly need so 
 much ammunition, so I left them with my 
 extra baggage at Anderson's. Why, Van- 
 derlyn! What's the matter? What is it, 
 my boy? " 
 
 Lennox, nigh overcome by the sudden 
 effacement of hope, turned away without 
 speaking. Birkett walked to the upper 
 end of the basin, put his head in the spray of 
 the falls, and muttered, " Extraordinary 
 man, the Jedge ! Extraordinary, ez ye mir;ht 
 say.'' 
 
 No one spoke for many minutes. Each 
 felt that nothing could be said which would 
 not certainly be futile, and probably regret- 
 tably. Then Constance appeared, refreshed, 
 
124 Fort Birkett 
 
 she said, by her rest, and Mr. Pelham told 
 her the story; sparing himself in no degree. 
 " Now," he added, and his manner was as if 
 their ages were reversed, " now, my wise 
 friend, what can I do? " 
 
 " My father's rifle is of the same caliber as 
 yours," she said. '' He has a supply of car- 
 tridges." 
 
 " I will go and get them," the lawyer said 
 simply. 
 
 '' 'Twouldn't be wuth trying, Jedge," 
 Birkett commented. " No one with less craft 
 than Miss Constance could get out of here, 
 unless he was looking for more trouble than 
 we ken let ye get into. It will be mighty 
 risky even for her to go out. It's no use, 
 Jedge." 
 
 "Birkett, Vanderlyn," said Mr. Pelham 
 deliberately, " I have done a deed of crass 
 stupidity, at best; of criminal stupidity, as 
 events prove. I shall make an effort to rem- 
 edy the wrong I've done, even at the cost 
 of my life, I believe you know how I feel. 
 
Unexpected Peril 125 
 
 and thank you for the restraint you show in 
 sparing reproach. As to my making the 
 effort, it is not a matter for discussion — I 
 shall make it — and you will add to your kind- 
 ness by not opposing me." 
 
 He spoke gravely, showing that he real- 
 ized the danger he chose to encounter ; and, 
 while Birkett only looked at him admiringly, 
 Lennox grasped his hand, and exclaimed, 
 " There was no possibility of your — of any- 
 one's — ^knowing that the cartridges would 
 become a life or death necessity. There is 
 no reproach for you in my heart." 
 
 The lawyer answered the young man with 
 an affectionate smile, then turned to Con- 
 stance and asked, " Now, what is to be done 
 to start this marplot on the way to the 
 Meadow?" 
 
 Constance hesitated, but a sign from Len- 
 nox told her not to try to dissuade Mr. Pel- 
 ham. She said it was useless to attempt to 
 go back by the trail, as anyone doing so 
 would meet Rawlins coming by that route. 
 
126 Fort Birkett 
 
 For the same reason, it was not safe, even, 
 to go out by the less steep side of the gorge 
 to the southland turn north at the head of the 
 basin. Therefore he could not make use of 
 her horse. The only way was to scale the 
 steeper side to the north, and then make due 
 west. Mr. Pelham, she said, would have a 
 rough country to travel, but, if his strength 
 was equal to the journey, he should reach the 
 Meadow before daylight the next morning. 
 She warned him not to speak to any of the 
 ranch laborers, who were casually hired In- 
 dians, and not to be trusted. '' Go directly 
 to my aunt, explain everything to her, and 
 abide by her advice as to the manner of your 
 return," she said. 
 
 Mr. Pelham listened to the girl as if she 
 were a client explaining the vital point of an 
 important case, and when she concluded, he 
 said, " I understand; I shall start at once." 
 
 And he did start as soon as Birkett had 
 made up, and fastened to his belt, a little 
 package of food. 
 
Unexpected Peril 127 
 
 They watched him make the steep ascent 
 up the north side of the gorge, showing un- 
 expected skill in selecting boulders and 
 stunted trees to aid his progress; and finally 
 returned his cheerful hand- wave before he 
 disappeared beyond the edge of the bluff. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF CONSTANCE 
 
 It was not more than an hour after the 
 lawyer's departure when Birkett, who had 
 kept close scrutiny on the woods fringing the 
 upper edge of the basin, said quietly, '' I 
 guess, Colonel, we'd better get inside the 
 fort and find out ef it's bullet-proof." 
 
 " I've seen no signs of men," said Lennox, 
 who also had been watching. 
 
 " Neither hev I," replied the guide. '' But 
 I figure out thet the birds hev — them ez hez 
 bin flying from the woods up yonder. Look 
 like they was kind of skipping out for their 
 health." 
 
 Inside the fort Constance helped to pre- 
 pare dinner, and a half-hour passed before 
 further alarm, but this was one that made 
 them all start — a crash of rifles, followed by 
 128 
 
The Capture of Constance 129 
 
 a battering of bullets on the roof, and a 
 shower of sand which sifted down on the 
 inmates. 
 
 '' Thet suit was played to see ef we hev 
 cards to follow," Birkett said. '' We'll give 
 'em a notion thet we're holding tol'ably 
 strong hands. Hold yer rifle out, Colonel, 
 jest ez I hold mine, so ez it ken be seen. 
 Now, Miss Connie, don't expose yerself, but 
 pump out three shots, fast ez ye ken. I 
 reckon the trick will fool 'em." 
 
 Constance obeyed, when another volley 
 had been sent down from above, and while 
 conspicuous display was made of the three 
 rifles from as many sides of the fort, she 
 fired three times, rapidly. 
 
 The ruse had an effect, for the attacking 
 party withdrew, evidently for consultation. 
 Later, single shots from various places on 
 the cliff were directed at a single point on the 
 roof, with the purpose, it seemed, of tear- 
 ing a breach through which the fort's in- 
 mates could be reached. Lennox, when he 
 
130 Fort Birkett 
 
 realized this design, took Constance's rifle, 
 saying, " It must be made unsafe for them to 
 bore a hole through our defense. Can you 
 locate any of those men for me, Birkett ? " 
 
 The guide lay on his back and slowly 
 pushed his head out beyond the line of the 
 roof, screening himself with one of the pinon 
 boughs which littered the ground near by. 
 Lennox did the same, and Birkett directed 
 his attention to a movement of the under- 
 brush by the side of a tree growing so close 
 to the edge of a cliff that some of its roots 
 were exposed. 
 
 " Thar's one gun," he whispered. '' I 
 kain't see the man back of it; but when he 
 fires his hands will be in sight." 
 
 Lennox, with Constance's rifle in hand, 
 crouched inside the fort, like a runner await- 
 ing the signal to start. 
 
 *' Let me know when that fellow fires," 
 he said to Birkett. There was one shot, then 
 another, and at the second the guide shouted : 
 " Now ! " On the word, Lennox sprang 
 
The Capture of Constance 131 
 
 into the open, raised, and sighted his rifle 
 as he did so, and as he stood erect fired. The 
 shot was answered by a cry of pain, and 
 something rattled down the side of the cliff, 
 falling at the edge of the pool. Lennox, a 
 target for several hasty shots, dashed for 
 the fallen object and brought it to the fort — 
 a rifle, broken and bent. 
 
 " We have one gun less to fight," he said, 
 as he handed the weapon to Birkett. 
 
 The old man took the gun, and remarked 
 as he examined it, '' And they hev one less 
 hand to pull a trigger." He pointed to a 
 smear of blood on the stock. " It was a good 
 shot. Colonel. It hez made 'em draw off 
 agin, so I'll jest hustle and patch up the roof. 
 But look to Miss Connie ! " 
 
 Constance had said nothing when Lennox 
 took her rifle; had watched him with con- 
 cern, but approval, as he left the shelter of 
 the fort ; had shown pride as he brought in 
 the weapon, but, at the sight of the blood, 
 some quick change in her emotions nearly 
 
132 Fort Birkett 
 
 overcame her. Lennox thought she had 
 been moved by that which had made him 
 pale — for the first sight of blood, shed when 
 life is at stake, is a dreadful thing. He 
 threw the useless weapon far into the gorge 
 and hastened to her side. 
 
 "You were hurt!" she said. "That 
 blood — it is yours? " 
 
 " Not mine," he answered, and flushed, 
 noting the relief that calmed her eyes. 
 
 Birkett, who rightly supposed that the 
 damage to the enemy's force and the enemy's 
 surprise at finding the fort armed, would 
 cause a halt in hostilities, hastily repaired the 
 roof as well as he could from the inside, re- 
 placing the bullet-torn boughs with heavier 
 ones. 
 
 " Never made a defense from an at- 
 tack on high. Had to learn a leetle from 
 experience," he remarked, when he finished 
 the work. " My cup of coffee being sugared 
 with sand, I'll trouble ye for another. Miss 
 Connie. Better take one vourself." 
 
The Capture of Constance 133 
 
 " I shall make us all a good hot meal,'* 
 Constance replied cheerfully, and the old 
 man turned away to hide his grin of delight 
 in her change of mood. 
 
 There were no further signs of the 
 enemy, but so long as daylight lasted the 
 watchfulness of the besieged was not 
 relaxed. 
 
 When darkness came Constance prepared 
 to go out for her planned meeting with the 
 Indian. Lennox objected to her project. 
 There was nothing in their situation, he 
 urged, to call for the risk of her departure 
 alone. Why was it necessary for her to go 
 at all? Constance replied that unless she 
 communicated with Sam, they would remain 
 wholly in ignorance of the bandits' designs. 
 Without an assurance of Mr. Pelham's re- 
 turn with a supply of ammunition, their 
 only hope lay in a knowledge which would 
 enable them to outwit the besiegers; and, in 
 that respect, Sam alone could render aid. 
 She must see him. 
 
T34 Fo^^ Birkett 
 
 '' Then," declared Lennox, " I shall go 
 with you." 
 
 Constance was silent and embarrassed, for 
 she feared that her reason for wanting to go 
 alone would be interpreted by the young 
 man as a doubt of his courage. Birkett, 
 curiously watching their perplexed faces by 
 the light of the camp-fire, spoke, at last, 
 for the girl. 
 
 " It's like this. Colonel," he said. '' Miss 
 Connie is no ord'nary mountaineer. I 
 watched her grow up, and know she ken 
 give any of us cards and spades at finding 
 her way, off a trail ez well ez on. She could 
 pass a foot from a mountain lion, and him 
 not know anyone was nearer than the man 
 in the moon. Ef ye go out with her, you'll 
 more than double the chance agin her. Thet 
 chance is big enough ez it is. To be sure, if 
 Rawlins' gang find her 'tain't likely they 
 would harm her. But if they get you " 
 
 The old man paused, and Lennox, seeing 
 his meaning, exclaimed hotly, " Do you sup- 
 
The Capture of Constance 135 
 
 pose any danger I might run would keep me 
 from going out? " 
 
 *' Certainly not, Colonel/' Birkett replied, 
 unruffled. '' Certainly not. But how about 
 Jedge Pelham, ef he gets back — not to men- 
 tion one John Birkett? Ef ye go out, and 
 don't get in agin, our chance will be mighty 
 slim." 
 
 Lennox did not reply, and Constance said, 
 " You could not help me by going ; you can 
 help your friends by staying." 
 
 Lennox's mind was in a struggle between 
 a desire to accompany the girl and a sense of 
 duty to his friends. Birkett, seeing that it 
 was wise not to further urge the young man, 
 turned to Constance, and said, " Going to 
 take your horse out? " 
 
 She explained that the nature of the coun- 
 try where she hoped to meet the Indian made 
 it inexpedient for her to ride, if the bandit 
 sentinels were not all wholly deaf. Even her 
 skirt would be a great handicap to her.. Bir- 
 kett looked at the young man who, all un- 
 
136 Fort Birkett 
 
 observant, sat with his face buried in his 
 arms. Then Birkett carefully extracted from 
 a litter of Lennox's belongings the young 
 man's riding clothes, nodded at them gravely 
 as he made them into a compact bundle, and 
 said, " Yes, Miss Connie, skirts be a handi- 
 cap, ez ye was saying. Ef ye only was 
 dressed in men's clothes, ye could make twice 
 the distance in half the time, without a quar- 
 ter of the noise or risk." 
 
 The young woman blushed furiously when 
 she first understood Birkett's meaning, but 
 as he continued to urge, by indirect word, 
 the advantage of the change, she, at last, 
 laughing softly, nodded assent, and Birkett 
 hid the bundle for her a little way down the 
 gorge. 
 
 She went alone. As Lennox, standing the 
 first watch of the night, saw her noiselessly 
 fade into the shadow of the gorge, he was in 
 a tumult of doubt and fear. Had he done 
 right ? Should he not have gone with her — 
 or kept her with him? 
 
The Capture of Constance 137 
 
 Before she began the ascent to the trail, 
 the hunting suit Constance wore disap- 
 peared, and she made the rough cHmb in bet- 
 ter-adapted garb. 
 
 She blushed and laughed at the theft, but 
 soothed her conscience with the thought that 
 Lennox's riding clothes, which Birkett had 
 appropriated for her, made possible a route 
 which required her now to creep among 
 rocks and trees, now to cautiously force a 
 passage through underbrush, guided only by 
 the stars that gave so little light in the for- 
 est. Slowly working westward, she had 
 reached a point about a mile above the basin, 
 but not more than a hundred yards to the 
 south of the trail, when she began to strain her 
 eyes for signs of the Indian, for it was near 
 their appointed meeting place. At a sound 
 she stopped, startled at hearing Sam's voice. 
 Who could he be talking to ? Himself ? Not 
 at such a time, at such a place ! The sound 
 was now a crooning song of the Indian's 
 tribe, and a half-sense of danger checked the 
 
138 Fort Birkett 
 
 girl ; for it was the song the old Indian had 
 crooned to lull her panic over childish mis- 
 haps — a fall from a bareback horse, her first 
 sight of a bear. She could see nothing, and 
 resumed her cautious advance. The song 
 ceased, and the Indian said, " Sam he take 
 smoke. Nobody come, I think. Better not, 
 I think." 
 
 A flaming match lit up his face for an in- 
 stant, but in that moment's view Constance 
 saw the Indian's eyes gleam with a look she 
 could not understand, and his lips moved 
 excitedly. The girl's heart sank. Was Sam 
 mad ? Had his fears for her, or some dismal 
 tragedy at home, made the faithful fellow 
 distraught? She would go to him; relieve 
 his fears, or hear his dread tale ! Abandon- 
 ing caution, she took a careless step for- 
 ward. At the same time, directed by the 
 sound of her movement, Sam sprang toward 
 her. As he did so, a voice whose first drowsy 
 tones quickly turned into sharp accent of sus- 
 
The Capture of Constance 139 
 
 picion, called out, '' Hello ! hello ! What's 
 up, Sam ? " 
 
 Constance recognized the voice of one of 
 Rawlins' men, and, half fainting with dis- 
 may, turned to fly. It was too late, for on 
 the heels of the Indian came the bandit. Sam 
 caught Constance by the arm, and called out, 
 *' Sam catch man. He see who? '* 
 
 As he spoke he dragged Lennox's soft hat, 
 which Constance w^ore, far over her eyes, 
 then said calmly, " Sam catch one travel 
 man. Him Lennox, I think." 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 INDIAN SAM^S STRATEGY 
 
 Before Constance left the Meadow, on 
 the night of her ride to Fort Birkett, she told 
 her aunt the story of treachery she had 
 learned by her visit to the camp of the ban- 
 dits. Miss Hammatt listened in dismay 
 turning to rage, but she did not attempt to 
 dissuade Constance from her purpose of try- 
 ing to restore to the travelers the arms Raw- 
 lins stole. She saw that the girl was deter- 
 mined to go, and deplored that she could not 
 go herself, for she realized better, perhaps, 
 than did her niece, how urgent was the un- 
 dertaking. 
 
 " God grant," she exclaimed, " that you 
 
 safely carry to those unfortunate men the 
 
 means by which they can defend themselves 
 
 until father returns ! Then we will organize 
 
 140 
 
Indian Sams Strategy 141 
 
 a party that will make these mountains safe 
 for future travelers ! " 
 
 Constance noted the " we " in that threat, 
 and regretted that the necessity of safeguard- 
 ing their home kept her aunt from at once 
 joining in her dangerous enterprise. They 
 did not speak of the danger, however, but 
 thoughtfully discussed every detail of the 
 venture they could foresee, until, far into 
 the night, they heard Sam's signal. The In- 
 dian brought with him trophies of his stealth 
 and cunning, the rifles of Lennox and Bir- 
 kett, recovered from Rawlins' loot. The 
 women planned with him for his next night's 
 meeting with Constance, and she, after re- 
 ceiving final words of advice and caution, 
 rode away to the relief of Fort Birkett. 
 
 The next morning Sam seemed to have 
 nothing on his mind but the methodical daily 
 care of the ranch. With much vigor of in- 
 vective he lectured upon the sins of laziness, 
 which he observed and lamented in his Dig- 
 ger Indian subordinates. Thus engaged, he 
 
142 Fort Birkett 
 
 paused to grunt a careless salute to Raw- 
 lins' men as they rode into the house 
 grounds ; but the party halted, and, at a com- 
 mand from Rawlins, Sam approached the 
 bandit, repeating " How ! " 
 
 " Sam," said RawHns sharply, " someone 
 stole rifles from our camp last night." 
 
 *' Plenty bad man in mountain. I think," 
 Sam commented. 
 
 *' Plenty bad Indian," Rawlins rejoined. 
 
 " Yep," grunted Sam. '' Bad Digger. All 
 Digger Indian bad. Some white man, him 
 bad, too. I think." 
 
 This speech was greeted by a laugh in 
 which Rawlins did not join. He glared at 
 Sam for a time, but the Indian met the look 
 with calm eyes. Rawlins called his men 
 aside, and, after a whispered consultation, 
 returned to Sam and said confidentially : 
 
 " Wounded stranger all alone. You have 
 Digger boy look after him? " 
 
 Sam nodded. 
 
 " We go catch plenty of gold. Travel 
 
Indian Sam's Strategy 143 
 
 man find heap dust. We catch him. 
 Sabe?" 
 
 Again Sam nodded. 
 
 '' Maybe travel man catch rifles we lost. 
 Then we need help. You like come help? " 
 
 '' What I get? " Sam asked stolidly; and 
 Rawlins turned to wink to his compan- 
 ions. 
 
 " Sam catch hatful gold. All for Sam." 
 
 There was a moment's gleam in Sam's 
 eyes, which to Rawlins was a proof of the 
 Indian's cupidity. Sam reflected; this pro- 
 posed trip with the bandits did not favor 
 his plan to meet Constance; but they were 
 five, and armed; and he divined that their 
 suspicions would be aroused if he refused to 
 accompany them after such an offer of re- 
 ward. He felt, too that they wanted him 
 with them as much to prevent his giving 
 aid to the travelers, as to secure his help for 
 themselves. He concluded that if he went 
 with them he could devise a scheme to carry 
 out his plan to meet Constance, and then he 
 
144 Fort Birkett 
 
 looked at Rawlins shrewdly and asked, 
 "Sam get hatful yellow dust, sure?" 
 
 " Sure! " the bandit replied. 
 
 "Well, Sam, he go. I think." Then he 
 added, grinning, " I tell Miss Hammatt, and 
 Miss Connie, Sam go with you to get some 
 deer, some bear, for camp." 
 
 " Yes, tell 'em anything," Rawlins as- 
 sented with a laugh. " I say, Sam," he 
 added at a sudden thought, as the Indian 
 turned toward the house, " the ladies both 
 well? Both home?" 
 
 "What for!" the Indian exclaimed. 
 " Where they go six o'clock morning? You 
 big fool ! " and he walked away. 
 
 " I believe he's telling the truth," Raw- 
 lins said to his fellow^s. " I reckon the Dig- 
 gers stole the rifles. They can sell them for 
 rum the next time they get to a settlement. 
 I knew we'd get Sam with a promise of the 
 dust." 
 
 " It won't do any harm to keep an eye on 
 him," one said. 
 
Indian Sam's Strategy 145 
 
 *' Certainly," Rawlins responded. " We'll 
 keep him in sight all the time." 
 
 This thought of caution would have been 
 emphasized had the bandits known that Sam 
 spoke to Miss Hammatt in his native lan- 
 guage, when she came from the house to 
 meet him, had they seen the expression of 
 her determined face as she listened to the In- 
 dian's hurried guttural speech. A little later, 
 the horsemen, joined by Sam on his stout lit- 
 tle broncho, started on a smart jog down the 
 trail toward the basin. Once or twice Raw- 
 lins endeavored to maneuver the Indian to 
 the front, but without success. He noticed, 
 too, that Sam never slung his rifle, but al- 
 ways carried it in his right hand. 
 
 " It's only a Piute's natural caution," 
 Rawlins thought. 
 
 Sam showed no great interest in the affair 
 of the first attack on the fort, for he under- 
 stood, better than the others, the strength of 
 shelter afforded by the roof. But one thing 
 he discovered was not so reassuring; when 
 
146 Fort Birkett 
 
 three rifles were seen projecting from the 
 fort, and three shots were fired, Sam, alone, 
 detected that all were fired from Constance's 
 rifle. The bandits agreed that Birkett, Pel- 
 ham, and Lennox had each fired. Again, 
 when Lennox sprang into the open, and de- 
 livered the shot that shattered the right hand 
 of a bandit named Dunning, the Indian saw, 
 or his wonderful sense of hearing told him, 
 that the young man had used Constance's 
 rifle. This informed him that Constance 
 had reached the basin in safety, but that hers 
 was the only effective weapon in the fort. 
 The fact puzzled him, but his stolid face be- 
 trayed no concern; so, when the bandits 
 planned their night watch against any at- 
 tempt the travelers might make to escape, 
 Sam had so far gained the confidence of 
 Rawlins that he was assigned to the post he 
 asked for. This w^as the one farthest west 
 on the trail, and it stationed him not far 
 from the point where he had agreed to meet 
 Constance. 
 
Indian Sam's Strategy 147 
 
 One sentry was posted on the edge of the 
 cHff overlooking the fort, one on the steep 
 north ridge, and two watched the trail on 
 the south, where an attempt to leave the 
 gorge would most likely be made. Rawlins 
 rode from post to post, and, as he did so, saw 
 that the weakness of his siege lay in his lack 
 of sentries. He felt no apprehension that the 
 fort's inmates would make an immediate at- 
 tempt to escape; but he feared that after a 
 few days of siege, with food and ammunition 
 running low, such attempt would surely be 
 made, desperate as it would be for " tender- 
 feet," with no mountain craft. He disliked 
 to send for help, for that would mean a 
 further division of the gold ; but he finally re- 
 alized that, to make sure of the riches at 
 stake, a force was required large enough to 
 prevent the escape of even one of the be- 
 sieged. If but one escaped he could collect 
 a posse on the Nevada side, and return within 
 a week — far too short a time for him and his 
 fellows to rob the basin of its gold, and 
 
148 Fort Birkett 
 
 make off with it. Rawlins reached his de- 
 cision when he was at the easternmost post, 
 and directed Dunning, the man on guard 
 there, to take a message for assistance ; stop- 
 ping on his way to order Sam to guard the 
 post the messenger left vacant. 
 
 As Rawlins and Dunning left the post 
 Constance glided across the unguarded trail 
 on her way to meet Sam. 
 
 The messenger, after going to the camp 
 to make some preparation for his journey, 
 rode up the trail, arriving at Sam's post a 
 moment after the Indian had entered the 
 forest to meet Constance. A few seconds 
 later Sam would have been safely out of 
 sight, but hearing Dunning dismount, and 
 follow him, he endeavored to signal Con- 
 stance, as we have seen. 
 
 " Lennox, eh ? The one who plugged 
 me ! " Dunning exclaimed, when Sam so 
 announced his captive. " Sam, you'll get 
 an extra hatful of gold from me for taking 
 that fellow into camp." 
 
Indian Sams Strategy 149 
 
 There was a moment when the Indian's 
 cocked rifle was within an inch of Dunning's 
 back. He wanted to shoot the fellow and 
 rush Constance to his horse; but he knew 
 that the sound of a shot would bring other 
 bandits upon them, before he could reach 
 either his or Dunning's animal, for both 
 horses had been left on the trail, so the rifle 
 was reluctantly lowered. Muttering that he 
 would make good use of the two hatfuls of 
 gold, he trudged along, making hard work of 
 the rough walk back to the trail. He grum- 
 bled at his own awkward slips, until the ban- 
 dit jeered him. " Look out, there, Sam," he 
 cried. " You too old. You no better woods- 
 man than tenderfoot. Lennox make better 
 work than Sam." 
 
 " Yep, Sam too old," the Indian assented; 
 and, under pretense of more grumbling, 
 managed to tell Constance to drop her rifle 
 and cartridge belt, which, dark as it was, he 
 concealed as he seemed again to stumble. 
 In the faint starlight which reached them in 
 
150 Fort Birkett 
 
 the open trail, Dunning remarked that the 
 captive was unarmed. 
 
 " I wonder," he said, '' if the smarty 
 dropped his gun in the woods. If he did 
 we'd better find it." 
 
 He had retraced but a few steps, when 
 Constance and Sam both started at a faint 
 sound on the trail, in the direction of the 
 Meadow. For a moment they stood hke 
 forest animals at the first sense of alarm: 
 motionless, alert. 
 
 Constance, with a touch of caution on the 
 Indian's arm, whispered, " It may be Mr. 
 Pelham ! He must get to the fort with car- 
 tridges. Warn him ! " 
 
 Sam nodded, and called aloud to Dunning, 
 " I go see gun. You watch man," and 
 slipped away as Dunning returned to the side 
 of Constance. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF MR. PELHAM 
 
 Mr. Pelham's journey, from the fort to 
 Hammatt's Meadow, was through a country 
 no horse would have traveled, and which 
 man, probably, had never traversed before. 
 He had to overcome no single great diffi- 
 culty ; but, such as they were, the obstacles to 
 progress were almost continuous, after the 
 first mile of fairly good ground near the head 
 of the gorge. Perhaps the intrepid gentle- 
 man might have been dismayed had he 
 known that where he plodded painfully, but 
 never flagged, was a region of " bad lands,*' 
 which mountaineers, on horse or on foot, 
 never cross, though to avoid a few miles of it 
 means an extra day's march. Yet this city- 
 bred man plunged on, not allowing his mind 
 151 
 
152 Fort Birkett 
 
 to dwell on the nature of his task; except 
 that once, smiling shrewdly, he said aloud : 
 *' For twenty years I've endured the sus- 
 picion of mild insanity because, in all 
 weather, I've w^alked the four miles to my 
 office, and the four miles back. There have 
 been storms wherein I admitted that it was a 
 species of pig-headedness which kept me true 
 to that daily walk; but now I know it was 
 a provision of Providence — I was fitting my- 
 self to perform this day's work." 
 
 He had gone but a few miles when his 
 clothing was in tatters, his hands bleeding 
 and swollen, and at last he knew that some 
 of the rock-cuts through his shoes had made 
 his feet bleed ; but he would not stop to ex- 
 amine. He ate his meager food at times 
 when some brief stretch of less evil going 
 did not require the use of hands, as well as 
 feet ; and then brightened at the thought that, 
 at the journey's end, a fine-looking w^oman, 
 a bit severe, perhaps, would greet him — 
 pleasantly, maybe! 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham 153 
 
 On he struggled. Night came; but ever 
 to the west, guided by his phosphorescent 
 compass, he stubbornly battled, scarcely con- 
 scious of his wounds ; concerned only lest, in 
 the dark, some severe stumble would wholly 
 disable him. 
 
 Mr. Pelham had no means of measuring 
 distance or speed ; and, supposing the best he 
 could hope for was to reach his destination 
 by midnight, he rejoiced, some hours earlier, 
 to feel the rough earth rapidly subside into 
 the park-like forest land fringing the 
 Meadow. Then, after a gradual descent, he 
 found himself at the Meadow itself, with the 
 lights of the Hammatt home welcoming him. 
 As he made this cheerful discovery his legs 
 gave abrupt notice of intention to quit work. 
 For some time a numbness had suggested 
 that his own had been replaced by wooden 
 legs, carrying him forward mechanically, 
 without the usual nerve communication be- 
 tween them and his brain. With a heroic 
 purpose to complete his journey at any cost, 
 
154 Foi't Birkett 
 
 he fairly ran the hundred yards to the front 
 door — and there collapsed ! 
 
 A moment later a steady voice inquired 
 from within, " Who is there? " 
 
 " Mr. Pelham," the lawyer answered; and, 
 determined to meet Miss Hammatt erect and 
 like a man, though he died for his pride, he 
 dragged himself to his feet. 
 
 The door opened, and the lady appeared, 
 rifle in hand, but looking, as Mr. Pelham 
 had hoped, not at all severe. 
 
 After a glance at her visitor, Miss Ham- 
 matt put one arm around him, and half 
 carried him to a chair in the study. Then 
 she fastened the door, laid her rifle on the 
 table, surveyed the lawyer carefully, and at 
 last said : 
 
 " Well ! " 
 
 " I admit, madam, that I was in some per- 
 plexity as to my knees," Mr. Pelham ex- 
 plained, smiling, '' but I am confident of soon 
 feeling quite restored if you w411 kindly give 
 me" 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham 155 
 
 " A hot supper, of course ! " she inter- 
 rupted. " I will. But while I prepare it, 
 you talk. Tell me everything. First, Con- 
 stance. Is she all right ? " 
 
 Resting comfortably, and revived by his 
 cheerful surroundings, Mr. Pelham related 
 all of their adventures; again not sparing 
 himself as to the cause of the fort's lack of 
 ammunition. Miss Hammatt did not inter- 
 rupt, nor pause in her preparations for his 
 comfort; but, when he finished, she said in 
 a manner which would have made protest 
 absurd, '' Take that kettle of hot water to my 
 father's room. Bathe, in as hot water as you 
 can endure; put on some of my father's 
 clothes ; then I'll have supper ready." 
 
 With no word Mr. Pelham started up- 
 stairs, steaming kettle in hand. 
 
 " As hot as you can bear, remember ! " 
 Miss Hammatt called after him. " You 
 have a ride to make before daylight, and the 
 hot water will make you fit for it — if any- 
 thing will." 
 
156 Fort Birkett 
 
 A tone of doubt in the last words made the 
 lawyer reply, as he found the doctor's room, 
 " Depend upon me, madam. I shall parboil 
 myself." 
 
 He reappeared, a droll figure: dad in a 
 corduroy suit of the doctor's; coat sleeves 
 overhanging his hands, like a mandarin's; 
 trouser legs rolled in bulky coils about 
 ankles. But spirits, as well as muscles, were 
 improved by the parboiling process, and he 
 was now as suavely attentive to Miss Ham- 
 matt as if she were his guest, in his own 
 house. 
 
 " This is a horrible state of affairs," the 
 lady said, when they were seated at supper. 
 
 " I find it wholly charming," the lawyer 
 commented. 
 
 She ignored the remark, continuing, " I 
 wish I could return with you ; but I must stay 
 here to guard the house — which would be 
 looted and burned if left unprotected — and 
 to help my father gather a posse when he 
 returns." 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham 157 
 
 Mr. Pelham bowed approval, and she re- 
 sumed : 
 
 '' You must reach the fort before day- 
 light. You can do that by riding my horse 
 to a point as near the head of the gorge as is 
 safe. Leave the horse there to find his way 
 back, and you reach the fort as you left it, 
 by the north side. After what you have 
 already done that will be a hard ride. Can 
 you do it? " 
 
 '' My dear Miss Hammatt," the lawyer 
 responded, '' I claim no skill, for I have none, 
 as a horseman, but this I assure you, I shall 
 stay on the back of that horse — somehow ! " 
 
 ** I believe you," she exclaimed, regarding 
 him with a look that made him more self- 
 conscious than usual. Then she added, 
 '' Well, you have grit ! " 
 
 " Have I ? I think I never had that said to 
 me before." 
 
 " Perhaps no one ever saw you, with 
 bruised hands and feet, cheerfully undertake 
 a dangerous night ride." 
 
158 Fort Birkett 
 
 She said this impulsively, and then blushed 
 a little; then a little more as she saw his pale 
 face flush. 
 
 '' It may be," he said, " that I am prov- 
 ing the truth of the tradition, that our 
 soldiers — I refer to the New York City 
 troops in the War of the RebeUion — outdid 
 their country cousins when emergencies re- 
 quired forced marches. Perhaps city-bred 
 men acquire a nerve force which stands in 
 lieu of muscles upon sudden demand." 
 
 She smiled, perhaps at his precise lan- 
 guage, and then she said briskly, " My horse 
 is ready, and the cartridges in the saddle bag. 
 I attended to that myself. It would be un- 
 safe to let our boys — the ranch hands — ^know 
 what is going on. You must start soon, or 
 you will be too sore and stiff to start at all. 
 I cannot spare you a rifle, but here is a re- 
 volver you may take." 
 
 " No," he said, turning from the formida- 
 ble weapon she pointed to. "I never had a 
 deadly weapon in my hand, and the posses- 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham 159 
 
 sion of one would be dangerous only to me. 
 A stick would serve me better. I am ready 
 to start." 
 
 She brought the horse to the front of the 
 house, helped Mr. Pelham to mount, gave 
 him one of the stout sticks her father carried 
 about the Meadow, and then said quietly, " I 
 wish you success, sir." 
 
 " Thank you, madam. I hope fortune 
 may grant me opportunity to resume an ac- 
 quaintance which has been most " 
 
 *' You must be off, sir," she interrupted. 
 
 He bowed, turned the horse's head down 
 the Meadow road, and clattered away : keep- 
 ing his seat, not by skill, but, as he had 
 promised, " somehow " ! 
 
 " I do not believe there's a man in these 
 mountains who could make the trip he did 
 to-day," mused Miss Hammatt, as she 
 turned toward the lonely house. " I hope 
 Sequoia does not bolt with him." 
 
 " Sequoia," her horse, named for the giant 
 redwoods because he was the tallest horse on 
 
i6o Fort Birkett 
 
 the ranch, did not bolt with Mr. Pelham; 
 indeed, seemed to have a horsely sense of his 
 duty as he loped steadily down the trail. 
 When the rider reached a point, as nearly as 
 he could judge, a mile above the gorge, and 
 was proceeding with greater caution, he was 
 startled to hear his name whispered, close to 
 his side. 
 
 " Mr. Pelham. Friend speak," said the 
 voice. He checked Sequoia, and faintly dis- 
 cerned the figure of a man. 
 
 " No friend ! " he cried, raising his stick. 
 " I've no friend here. Come on ! Come on, 
 you villain ! " 
 
 *' Sam, Indian boy. I catch word from 
 Miss Connie. I think." 
 
 " If you are a friend, put down that rifle." 
 
 " All right. You put down him club. No 
 talk loud. Get off horse." 
 
 Reassured, as he recalled that Constance 
 was to meet the Indian that night, Mr. Pel- 
 ham dismounted, and listened in dismay to 
 Sam's story of the mischance which had re- 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham i6i 
 
 suited in the capture of Constance. Sam 
 gave no assurance that the bandits would re- 
 lease the girl, when her identity was dis- 
 closed; nor was he certain of effecting her 
 escape without help. But he would protect 
 her from harm, with his life. 
 
 Having carefully noted all that Sam had to 
 tell, Mr. Pelham began to take his precious 
 store of cartridges from the saddle bags, but 
 the Indian stopped him. 
 
 " Ride horse to north side gorge," Sam 
 whispered. '' One sentinel man there. 
 Him Parker. He see you on foot, shoot. 
 See you on horse, think you Rawlins. Him 
 say, ' How with you ? ' ; you say * Ton of 
 gold.' Maybe he no see you. Good. If 
 see you, you say ' Ton of gold.' Let you 
 ride close. You hit him club. I think." 
 
 Sam gave minute directions to the lawyer 
 for his change of route, and then silently dis- 
 appeared down the trail to where he had left 
 Constance. 
 
 Mr. Pelham crossed north, far enough 
 
1 62 Fort Birkett 
 
 above the head of the gorge to avoid the sen- 
 tinel there, then he went east along the north 
 edge of the gorge. He was congratulating 
 himself that he had reached, unobserved, a 
 point where he could safely descend to the 
 fort, when he heard the challenge, " How 
 with you?" Even as the sentinel's voice 
 came to him he was encouraged by its tone, 
 for it was that of a drowsy, unalert man. 
 Pulling the doctor's broad brimmed hat 
 over his eyes, and not checking Sequoia, 
 Mr. Pelham answered gruffly, " Ton of 
 gold." 
 
 At this reply the bandit relaxed the small 
 vigilance he had shown ; and the lawyer drew 
 nearer, his heart fast beating, but nerves 
 steady. He was within a yard or two of 
 striking distance when the sentinel started, 
 and cried, as he swung up his rifle, " Who 
 the devil " 
 
 That was all he spoke. Sequoia, startled 
 by a sharp dig in the sides, bounded forward, 
 and Mr. Pelham brought his heavy stick 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham 163 
 
 down on the head of the bandit, who rolled 
 from his horse. Mr. Pelham was unseated 
 by the shock of the collision, but was nimbly 
 on his feet, and in possession of the rifle. 
 
 " Now, you rascal," he shouted to the half- 
 stunned bandit, " to your feet ! " 
 
 Then, recalling the command which had 
 once so enraged him, he roared, '' I have the 
 drop on you ! " and added, " Throw up your 
 hands!" 
 
 Parker slowly rose, hands up; and as the 
 fast diffusing morning light revealed the 
 lawyer with the rifle pointed, he muttered, 
 ** Don't shoot! I give up." 
 
 As he spoke the rifle was discharged, and 
 a bullet sang by his ear. 
 
 " God almighty I " he shouted. " Would 
 you shoot an unarmed man ! " 
 
 The shot was accidental, for the possession 
 of the rifle had shaken Mr. Pelham's nerve 
 more than had the encounter. But his wit 
 was undisturbed. 
 
 " Villain ! " he roared, " I shall not shoot 
 
164 Fort Birkett 
 
 you unless you resist, or disobey. That 
 shot, fellow, was to show that I am an expert 
 with firearms. I meant to clip a lock of your 
 hair. Did I?" 
 
 " I don't know, boss," Parker replied, not 
 daring to lower his hands. " But I reckon 
 you did." 
 
 " Very well, rascal," exclaimed Mr. Pel- 
 ham. " Now, my saddle bags on your 
 shoulder. Ahead of me into the gorge ! Be- 
 ware, fellow ! If you so much as turn your 
 head — a bullet in your brain ! That will be 
 my answer. Lively, now ! " 
 
 Astonished at the language of the little 
 gentleman, and in deadly fear of a second 
 shot, Parker shouldered the bags, and made 
 his way down the cliff as best he could, Mr. 
 Pelham behind him, praying that the gun 
 might not go off again, but fearful that it 
 would. Thus they were discovered by Birkett 
 and Lennox, struck dumb at the sight of the 
 bandit sullenly marching up to the fort, with 
 his priceless burden, their friend following. 
 
Adventures of Mr. Pelham 165 
 
 his well-proved stick in one hand, the 
 troublesome gun in the other. 
 
 ** Gentlemen! " shouted Mr. Pelham gayly, 
 " I greet you. I return in good case, with 
 one prisoner of war, and two hundred car- 
 tridges." 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A FAIR HOSTAGE 
 
 The sound of the shot accidentally fired 
 by Mr. Pelham was heard by Rawlins, and 
 by two of his men, who, at the first signs of 
 daylight, left their posts, and returned to 
 the camp on the bluff over the fort. Their 
 alarmed surmises were interrupted by the 
 appearance of Dunning and Sam with a 
 prisoner, the supposed Lennox. 
 
 "Hello!" shouted Rawlins. "Did any 
 of you fire that shot? " 
 
 " No," replied Dunning. " This fellow 
 tried to escape by the south, and Sam cap- 
 tured him." 
 
 "That's the game, then," Rawlins de- 
 clared. " The others are trying the north 
 side, and Parker fired to drive them back. 
 I66 
 
A Fair Hostage 167 
 
 That's it ! Get over there, you Calkins and 
 Ferris, and see if Parker needs help. Hurry 
 up!" 
 
 The bandits he addressed mounted their 
 worn horses, and made for the north of the 
 gorge. The leader then ordered Dunning to 
 carry the message for re-enforcements ; curs- 
 ing him for not having gone about that busi- 
 ness, instead of returning to camp v^ith the 
 prisoner. 
 
 " I thought the Piute wasn't any too good 
 to be watched," the man retorted sullenly. 
 
 " If he was good enough to capture a man 
 — who had slipped past you ! — ^he was good 
 enough to bring him in without your help. 
 Here you are, not fit to handle a rifle, Parker 
 not accounted for yet, one man needed to 
 guard the prisoner, and that leaves just two 
 of us to take care of this job; perhaps with a 
 chase on our hands. I want help, not back 
 talk!" 
 
 Dunning, in bad temper, rode off to the 
 trail. Rawlins went to the edge of the cliff 
 
1 68 Fort Birkett 
 
 and peered down into the basin. It was 
 darker there than on the heights, and only by 
 the fluttering flame of the newly fed camp- 
 fire could he discern the fort. '' Someone's 
 there, or has been lately. Looks like getting 
 breakfast, too," he said. '* Who alarmed 
 Parker, then?" 
 
 He turned to where Sam kept his prisoner 
 as much as possible in deeper shadow, and 
 exclaimed, '' Well, young fellow, who did 
 you leave in the fort? " 
 
 " Him no talk. Heap scared. I think," 
 Sam said. 
 
 " Scared, eh ? He'll have something to 
 be scared about when we make up our mind 
 what to do with him for shooting off Dun- 
 ning's trigger finger. Hello ! What the 
 hell is this ! " 
 
 *' This," was Calkins and Ferris, returning 
 with two led horses. The men explained 
 that they had been to Parker's post, where 
 they found his and a strange horse, riderless 
 and astray. There was nothing about the 
 
A Fair Hostage 169 
 
 animals, nor the deserted post, to account 
 for the shot, or the sentinel's disappear- 
 ance. 
 
 Rawlins, who had been staring at the 
 second animal, suddenly exclaimed, " Look 
 here, boys, that's Miss Hammatt's horse! 
 I've seen her ride it, many a time." 
 
 " The doctor's daughter ! " cried Ferris. 
 
 " What do you make of it, then? " Calkins 
 asked. '' You don't reckon the woman shot 
 Parker and flew away with him. Where is 
 she? Where is Parker? Mighty queer 
 work, seems to me ! " 
 
 Rawlins was silent ; he shared the evident 
 nervousness of his companion. Like most 
 mountain folk, the bandits were supersti- 
 tious, and a less bewildering aspect than this 
 would have shaken their nerves. 
 
 " Well, here's Sam," Rawlins said at last. 
 *' He knows the horse. Eh, Sam ? " 
 
 " Him Sequoia. Miss Hammatt ride him. 
 She magic shot. Kill him deer one thousand 
 yard. I think." 
 
170 Fort Birkett 
 
 The Indian cunningly took full advantage 
 of the situation. 
 
 "If she killed Parker at a thousand yards 
 what has she done with his body?" asked 
 Rawlins, laughing nervously. 
 
 Ferris, cautiously inspecting the basin, 
 now called out : '' Look here ! What do you 
 call this?" 
 
 The others looked where he pointed. As 
 they did so, the low sun, ranging southward, 
 found the mouth of the gorge, and shot a 
 brilliant shaft of light up to the very basin, 
 revealing Parker, bearing a burden on his 
 shoulder, followed by a slightly built 
 figure. 
 
 "It's Miss Hammatt!" 
 
 " In the doctor's clothes ! " 
 
 " Parker carrying her saddle bags ! " 
 
 The bandits gasped these announcements. 
 
 *' He's a dirty traitor! " cried Rawlins. 
 
 " No," Sam said, and his stolid features 
 showed nothing of his delight. " She catch 
 him prisoner. What for shoot if no fight 
 
A Fair Hostage 171 
 
 Parker ? Sure ! Miss Hammatt heap brave. 
 I think." 
 
 The two figures disappeared into the fort 
 before the bandits recovered enough from 
 their astonishment to shoot. For some 
 minutes none of them could put thought into 
 speech. They v^ere in a panic. The be- 
 sieged already re-enforced to the extent of 
 their loss, while the besiegers had lost one 
 wounded, and one captured! 
 
 When at last they did discuss the turn of 
 affair, Rawlins and his companions anx- 
 iously considered how soon Dunning could 
 return with assistance. He had gone to the 
 hiding place of Taggert, Evanson's fellow 
 train robber. If Taggert's gang had not 
 been routed by the man-hunters, they were 
 camped near the pass, in the ravine down 
 which the wounded Evanson was carried to 
 the Meadow. With no farther than that to 
 go. Dunning should return with some of 
 Taggert's men by sunset, or soon after. 
 This was the point which now gave Rawlins 
 
172 Fort Birkett 
 
 most concern. He had found, as he sup- 
 posed, that a man as Httle crafty as Lennox, 
 could sHp between his scattered sentries. 
 Another escape might not be followed by a 
 lucky capture. Rawlins felt that with his 
 advantage of position he could repulse a day- 
 light sortie; but he needed men for guard 
 that night, and must have them to rush the 
 fort the next day. 
 
 " If Taggert's fellows have not had to use 
 up their horses, we can look for them before 
 dusk," was Rawlins' conclusion. 
 
 "But if they don't come?" persisted 
 Ferris. 
 
 " Then we'll send word down to Birkett 
 that another attempt to escape will be the 
 death warrant of the fellow we have cap- 
 tured," Rawlins replied with a grin of 
 triumph. 
 
 Calkins and Ferris shouted approval. 
 
 " Say, Dick Rawlins, you're a good enough 
 leader for us. Let's have a fair look at the 
 dude, anyway," said one. 
 
A Fair Hostage 173 
 
 At these words Sam began to dance and 
 utter sounds which answered with him for 
 laughter. When the bandits began their 
 council, the Indian turned his back upon 
 them as if indifferent to what they might say, 
 but they spoke no word he did not hear. 
 When Calkins suggested that they have a 
 fair look at the supposed Lennox, Sam 
 jumped to his feet, brushed Constance's hat 
 from her head, and began the antics which 
 attracted the others' attention. 
 
 " Hello, Sam ! What's up? " cried Raw- 
 lins. 
 
 " Him no Lennox ! Him Miss Connie ! " 
 the Indian answered. 
 
 The astonished bandits stared at Con- 
 stance, who looked embarrassed as to her 
 disguise, but pretty enough, and not much 
 frightened. 
 
 " Well ! " said Rawlins slowly, after a 
 pause, " when did you find this out? " 
 
 " Now. Miss Connie sleep. Hat fall off. 
 I see." 
 
174 Fort Birkett 
 
 " She did look like the dude, in the half- 
 light, with the hat on," mused Rawlins. 
 
 " Sam, him think sure dude," the Indian 
 commented in the tone of deep conviction. 
 He turned his wrinkled old face to the sun, 
 blinked slowly, and added, in feigned un- 
 concern that deceived all but Constance, 
 " Now we give her Sequoia. Send home. 
 Man no fight squaw. I think." 
 
 " I guess that's what we'll have to do," 
 Rawhns said. " I suppose she was trying 
 to get into the gorge on the south side, when 
 she ran into you and Dunning; and Miss 
 Hammatt went to the north side." 
 
 The Indian took Constance by the hand, 
 and started toward Sequoia, but stopped, as 
 Rawlins shouted, " Hold on there a min- 
 ute!" 
 
 Sam's face showed no emotion, but he 
 dropped Constance's hand, balanced his rifle 
 lightly, and his eyes measured the distance to 
 Sequoia. The bandits moved to a point 
 between the Indian and the horses, and spoke 
 
A Fair Hostage 175 
 
 together in whispers. Then Rawlins turned 
 and said : 
 
 '' Sorry, Miss Farwell, but you're too use- 
 ful right here, to be turned loose now. 
 We've got to do a little fine work to keep 
 those people in the basin, until we're ready 
 to go in there ourselves. They wouldn't en- 
 danger a lady's life," he added with a smirk, 
 " by cutting up any nonsense." 
 
 Constance seemed about to speak, but a 
 word that Sam muttered silenced her. 
 
 " No let Miss Connie go? " inquired Sam. 
 His face bore only a look of simple surprise, 
 except that his half-closed eyes were brightly 
 comprehending. " What for she no 
 go?" 
 
 " That's my business," Rawlins answered ; 
 and turned to speak again in low tones with 
 his companions. The Indian led Constance 
 back to where he had spread a blanket for 
 her, at the edge of the cliff. He saw in her 
 face the first look of hopelessness, and 
 whispered, "No fear; Sam, him watch. 
 
176 Fort Birkett 
 
 All day, all night. All day, all night, again. 
 No fear, Miss Connie." 
 
 " The Indian is a fool, and likely did not 
 see who his prisoner was until it got bright 
 daylight," Rawlins was saying. 
 
 " Of course not," said Ferris. " If he 
 knew who she was, he would 've let her go." 
 
 " But Dunning was with him," suggested 
 Calkins. 
 
 " What could Dunning do ? He'd only a 
 pistol — and a left hand to use it with ? " 
 
 '' It's a mighty lucky strike," declared 
 Rawlins. *' Maybe the Indian knew, maybe 
 he didn't. Anyway, we'll keep an eye on 
 him. First, we'll send word into the basin ; 
 then breakfast, and take turns at sleeping." 
 
 With a stub of pencil and scrap of paper he 
 
 produced this message : 
 
 John Birkett : You know us. We will do what 
 we promise. We have got the doctor's grand- 
 daughter. She will be all right if none of your 
 party tries to get out to-day or to-night. She won't 
 be if you do try. Take notice ! Even if you try ! 
 
 Securing this note between flat stones tied 
 
A Fair Hostage 177 
 
 firmly together, Rawlins went to the edge 
 of the cliff, waved his neckerchief, and 
 hallooed. Lennox was soon seen to leave 
 the fort and come into the open, rifle in 
 hand. 
 
 " Read this ! " Rawlins shouted, and 
 tossed the stones far out into the basin. 
 They saw Lennox pick up the message, and 
 re-enter the fort: Birkett, standing by the 
 fort with rifle ready, covering Rawlins, the 
 while. 
 
 After breakfast, while Ferris and Calkins 
 slept, Rawlins, with rifle across knees, sat 
 where he could overlook the basin, and at the 
 same time keep watch on the Indian and 
 Constance. 
 
 " Better take a nap, Sam," he said. 
 
 " Bimeby. I think. Miss Connie she 
 sleep now." 
 
 But Constance kept her eyes steadily fixed 
 on the fort, while in low tones she told the 
 Indian the experience of the travelers since 
 they left the Meadow, Sam grunted ap- 
 
178 Fort Birkett 
 
 proval when she spoke of Lennox. " Him 
 come help. Some way get out gorge. Him 
 smart for white man. When httle man on 
 Sequoia tell him Lennox, what I say, him 
 Lennox sure come help. Him brave man. 
 I think." 
 
 " I think so too," Constance said simply, 
 and then blushed when the old Indian, blink- 
 ing at the sun^ smiled grimly. 
 
 An hour had passed thus when Sam, gaz- 
 ing into the gorge some hundred yards be- 
 yond the entrance to the basin, whispered, 
 " Him funny bear ! " 
 
 Constance, following his gaze, saw what 
 had attracted the Indian's attention and be- 
 came agitated. 
 
 " Hey, Sam ! " Rawlins called out a 
 minute later. '' See that grizzly in the 
 gorge?" 
 
 "Sam see. What for?" 
 
 *' I'll try a shot at him." 
 
 " No, no ! " gasped Constance in a whisper 
 to Sam. 
 
A Fair Hostage 179 
 
 " Too far/' Sam said, stealthily pointing 
 his rifle at Rawlins. '' If kill bear, catch 
 grub for man in fort. You big fool. I 
 think." 
 
 " That's so," laughed Rawlins. " I would 
 be a fool to provision the fort." 
 
 As he shifted his rifle across his knees 
 again, Constance sighed with relief. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 LENNOX USES HIS TROPHY 
 
 When Mr. Pelham was again safely 
 lodged in the fort, his young companion 
 affectionately congratulated and embraced 
 him, and patted his shoulder — finding that 
 hand-shaking was a painful salute for the 
 lawyer. John Birkett gazed at him in 
 hearty admiration, as he murmured, " Most 
 extraordinary man, the Jedge is! most ex- 
 tra-or-di-nary ! " But when he discovered 
 the condition of Mr. Pelham's hands and 
 feet, he bathed them, covered them liberally 
 with bear fat, and bandaged them with a 
 gentleness surprising in one of his rough ap- 
 pearance. Then Mr. Pelham said that he 
 wished to speak alone with his companions, 
 and Parker was ordered out into the gorge. 
 " Whar," said Birkett to him, " ye will stop 
 1 80 
 
Lennox Uses his Trophy i8i 
 
 quiet, like a sensible man, seeing ez ye hev 
 no gun, while we hev a number, and one of 
 the same will always cover ye." 
 
 Parker stretched himself on a gravelly bed, 
 where the sun was already warming the dry, 
 still air, and soon slept as if no evil had beset 
 his path. 
 
 Mr. Pelham then told his story. He said 
 but little of his painful journey to the 
 Meadow, his ride on Sequoia, or his en- 
 counter with Parker ; but related in detail all 
 that the Indian had reported to him. Len- 
 nox started, then became very grave, as he 
 heard of Constance's plight; and, when the 
 story was finished, Birkett glanced at the 
 young man, then turned away with a satis- 
 fied look. 
 
 " I shall go out at once to help Miss Far- 
 well," Lennox said quietly. 
 
 '' At once! " exclaimed Mr. Pelham. 
 
 *' At once ! " Lennox repeated. 
 
 ** The Colonel is right," Birkett said. 
 " Thar are only three men up thar, now, and 
 
1 82 Fort Birkett 
 
 they are a tired and sleepy lot. Fact is, 
 Jedge, thet ef we had a horse each I'd advise 
 thet we all make a break for it, now. But 
 without horses we'd make mighty leetle dis- 
 tance before they'd run us down. To-night, 
 I reckon, none of us would hev much chance 
 to git out, even with a horse, for they'll 
 likely hev eight or ten men watching us, and 
 all wide awake, too." 
 
 "Then Van's best chance is now," Mr. 
 Pelham said, rather sorrowfully. 
 
 " Now," Birkett replied. " Ef the Colo- 
 nel ken git a few hundred yards down the 
 gorge, without being seen, he'll hev a safe 
 start, anyhow." 
 
 " But how is he to get from the fort, un- 
 seen?" Mr. Pelham asked. 
 
 " The lower wall of the basin will hide me 
 from the lookout on the bluff, for the first 
 hundred yards," Lennox answered. " From 
 there I'll chance a dash for it." 
 
 " And git shot in the back," observed Bir- 
 kett. " No, we've got to fool 'em/' 
 
Lennox Uses his Trophy 183 
 
 He reached out from under the shelter of 
 the fort, and dragged in a heavy bundle : the 
 bear skin, the prize which first led Lennox 
 into the gorge. As he began to spread out 
 the uncouth trophy, already stiffening in the 
 moistureless air, his purpose was seen by the 
 others, and in spite of the seriousness of their 
 state, they burst into laughter. 
 
 " Ye won't make a prime-looking grizzly, 
 at close hand," Birkett remarked, as he 
 soberly proceeded to unfold the clumsy hide, 
 "but I'll gamble ye'll pass for bar to an 
 innocent and unsuspecting fellow citizen, at 
 long range." 
 
 Lennox repressed his youthful sense of 
 fun in the enterprise, and energetically helped 
 Birkett manipulate the heavy hide, which 
 yielded to their combined efforts until it was 
 pronounced fit for its designed duty. As 
 they were about ready to enrobe Lennox, 
 there came the incident of the message from 
 Rawlins. When the note was taken from its 
 stone envelope, and read, no word of 
 
1 84 Fort Birkett 
 
 comment was spoken, but the work of 
 starting Lennox on his venture was 
 hurried. 
 
 " Before we fit on the Colonel's uniform," 
 Birkett remarked, when all other prepara- 
 tions were complete, "I'll jest shift Parker a 
 leetle." 
 
 The prisoner was wakened, and directed 
 to go to the upper end of the basin. 
 
 " Ye'll find my pan by the pool," Birkett 
 said to him. " Yer father was a miner, and 
 ye was meant for the same, so ye ken amuse 
 yerself panning out some of the gold ye'll 
 never own. While ye're at it, keep yer back 
 to the fort, and save trouble." 
 
 Parker, who had had some experience in 
 placer gold mining, quickty noted, with 
 staring eyes, the richness of the gravel, and 
 lost all interest in the movements of his 
 captors. 
 
 It was difHcult to adjust the grizzly's skin 
 so as to give It even a slight appearance of 
 naturalness, but the task was finally accom- 
 
Lennox Uses his Trophy 185 
 
 plished to the satisfaction of all. To extend 
 the monster's head properly, the front part of 
 the hide was supported by Lennox's rifle, 
 strapped to his back, its muzzle projecting 
 beyond his head. 
 
 " It do give Ephraim a powerful stiff 
 neck," remarked Birkett, " but I reckon thar 
 ain't no cure for it." 
 
 Receiving his companions' final well 
 wishes, Lennox lumbered away. He at 
 once turned sharply from the fort entrance, 
 in order to put the lower wall of the basin 
 between him and the watch on the bluff, 
 then made down the rough gorge. Power- 
 fully built though he was, he found his task 
 a hard one, and, drenched in perspiration, he 
 soon ached under the stress of bearing such 
 a burden in such unaccustomed posture. He 
 looked longingly at each bush or rock which 
 could screen him while he dropped his dis- 
 guise, but his determination to insure his 
 pwn safety, for the sake of Constance, in- 
 duced caution, so he struggled along more 
 
i86 Fort Birkett 
 
 than half a mile before he stopped behind a 
 safe shelter. 
 
 Lennox was so relieved when he did cast 
 aside the ungainly hide, that he resolved to 
 explore the gorge thoroughly; for a retreat 
 in that direction might become a last chance ; 
 and he felt that he could now spare the time 
 for this work, as he did not expect to effect 
 communication with the Indian or Constance 
 until after dark. 
 
 When, unencumbered, he had proceeded 
 briskly another half-mile, he was rejoiced to 
 find Constance's horse, nibbling bunch grass 
 contentedly, and seeming pleased at the 
 sound of a human voice. Constance, before 
 leaving the gorge, had relieved her horse of 
 saddle and bridle, but the animal submitted 
 readily to Lennox's mounting him bareback, 
 and, being Indian broke, was guided by a 
 touch of halter, or hand, on his neck. Lennox 
 rode quickly down the gorge; encouraged 
 as he saw that its sides to the south grew 
 flatter, and less rough. This disclosed what 
 
Lennox Uses his Trophy 187 
 
 had puzzled both him and Birkett: how 
 RawHns had taken the horses out ; for where 
 they had first scrambled down into tlie gorge, 
 they never could have climbed up out of it. 
 Lennox pushed on until, about five miles 
 from the fort, he was stopped by a precipice 
 descending to a second gorge below. 
 
 They were between two falls — each an 
 impassable barrier ! — and a numerous guard 
 that night would make the sides of the gorge 
 equally impassable! The young man dis- 
 mounted and, with heavy heart, found that 
 escape over the second cliff, even if that way 
 out of the gorge became the party's last 
 chance, would be impossible. 
 
 It may be explained here that the river 
 which once ran through that gorge, before 
 some caprice of nature diverted its course, 
 found its way to a Nevada desert over a 
 succession of falls ; and, like the Carson and 
 Humboldt rivers of that State, finally sank 
 into the earth. Where it sank, ages of shift- 
 ing sands, the slow growth of sage brush, 
 
1 88 Fort Birkett 
 
 had covered its scattered gold. Thus there 
 remained no gHttering clew for the eye of 
 the prospector, no beckoning sign, to send 
 him into those gorges in search for gold ; and 
 the treasure of the basin remained unsus- 
 pected until it weighted Mr. Pelham's idle 
 hand. 
 
 Above the second fall, the flank of the 
 gorge to the south had an easy grade for 
 some distance, and was not high ; so Lennox, 
 his exploration now wholly ended, reached 
 the trail with no difficulty. Crossing it, he 
 found that the country to the south, tim- 
 bered scantily, but thickly undergrown, yet 
 allowed passage for a mounted man. The 
 very difficulties to rapid progress would be 
 his safety, as the undergrowth concealed him 
 from the trail at but a short distance. After 
 noting these things, and that the trail, as far 
 as could be seen, was clear, Lennox con- 
 sidered his immediate plans. For a moment 
 he thought of a rush along the trail easterly 
 to the Nevada mining camp which had been 
 
Lennox Uses his Trophy 189 
 
 their objective point. But that was two 
 days' journey with pack animals ; and even if 
 he could make it, riding light, in one night, 
 it would be two days, at least, before he could 
 return with help. Next he considered the 
 chance of reaching the Meadow, and secur- 
 ing horses there : for now that he had found 
 a saddle-way out of the gorge, there was a 
 hope of thus rescuing his friends in the fort. 
 But, keenly as he realized his obligation to 
 strive for the safety of Mr. Pelham, he could 
 not pursue any plan that would delay his 
 attempt to help Constance Farwell. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE bandits' new LEADER 
 
 Abandoning all other purpose, Lennox 
 rode toward the bandits' camp with such 
 haste as he could; for, already, the sinking 
 sun had cloaked with evening shadows the 
 snow-capped peaks before him, changing 
 them into majestic towers of purple. At in- 
 tervals he dismounted and stole to the edge 
 of the trail, to see if any early sentinel had 
 yet been posted, and to note his position. 
 After one such inspection, finding that he had 
 gone west as far as he designed, a little above 
 the basin, he was about to return to his horse 
 and wait for darkness, when he paused, ar- 
 rested by the sound of hoof-clatter and 
 shouts of laughter to the west. He dropped 
 in the thick underbrush, and a moment later 
 heard another sound, that of a horseman ap- 
 190 
 
The Bandits' New Leader 191 
 
 preaching from the east. The latter, who 
 proved to be RawHns, came first into view. 
 He stopped close to where Lennox lay con- 
 cealed, and looked eagerly up the trail. The 
 riders from the west presently came to a 
 jolting, clanging, dusty halt, greeting Raw- 
 lins with noisy shouts. 
 
 There were six men in the party, includ- 
 ing Dunning, whom, with right hand ban- 
 daged and in a sling, Lennox supposed to be 
 the man he had wounded. Next to Dunning 
 rode a lumpish, middle-aged man, physically 
 much unlike the others ; noticeably so, to the 
 hidden observer, as the only full-bearded 
 bandit he had seen. This was Alec Bunker, 
 leader of the outlaws who had been project- 
 ing Taggert in his hiding place. 
 
 Bunker, whose leadership was a tribute to 
 his greater ferocity, rather than cunning, was 
 not a native of these mountains. He had 
 been a gambler, and "gun man," in a Nevada 
 mining camp, where he had been sent to 
 prison for murder. He escaped in a famous 
 
192 Fort Birkett 
 
 prison break', in which the warden was shot. 
 Since then he had Hved in the mountains with 
 other outlaws ; knowing that the reward for 
 his capture, " dead or ahve," would be pre- 
 ferred under the first alternative by any peace 
 officer of either State upon whose borders he 
 marauded. The others in the party were in 
 type like those Lennox had already seen: 
 slight figures ; not tall ; pale blue eyes, sunken 
 and restless ; high cheek bones ; small blond 
 mustaches. Over flannel shirts they wore 
 cross-belts of cartridges, and, besides rifles, 
 carried revolvers. Their boots were spurred 
 and high-heeled ; and every man wore about 
 his throat a handkerchief, invariably knotted 
 in the back. 
 
 Bunker's men had been celebrating, after 
 their manner, the good news brought by 
 Dunning ; and their first greetings were fol- 
 lowed by a general production of flasks, with 
 boisterous invitations to Rawlins to " liquor 
 up." 
 
 "Well, Dick," exclaimed Bunker, after 
 
The Bandits' New Leader 193 
 
 flasks had been drawn upon with wishes of 
 *' good luck," '' how's the game going? " 
 
 RawHns told of the capture of Parker by 
 the supposed Miss Hammatt, and of his 
 threat concerning Constance Farwell. '* And 
 the threat turned the trick," boasted Rawlins ; 
 " for not a mother's son of them has poked 
 a head outside the fort all day. We've 
 only seen Parker working in the pool with 
 shovel and pan." 
 
 Bunker was most interested in the news 
 that the captive, supposed to be one of the 
 travelers, was Dr. Hammatt's granddaugh- 
 ter. " What have you done with her? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Kept her safe in camp all day, of 
 course." 
 
 "That won't do!" 
 
 " Why not? " asked Rawlins hotly. 
 
 " Because," said Bunker, scowling as he 
 noticed Rawlins' manner, " that young 
 woman's our trump card. Suppose we don't 
 fix these people in the basin to-morrow ? " 
 
194 Fort Birkett 
 
 ''Well?" 
 
 " Well ! Dr. Hammatt will be home to- 
 morrow or the next day. He'll round up a 
 party of colonists " — so the former neigh- 
 bors of the doctor were known in the moun- 
 tains — '' in another day. If we're not in the 
 basin by that time, we must make terms with 
 the doctor. We want the gold, and we want 
 to be let alone while we're getting it. The 
 girl's the winning card in that game. She 
 must be sent away, where she can't be taken 
 from us if the doctor's party is stronger than 
 ours. You're a fool, Rawlins, for keeping 
 her here as long as you have." 
 
 When Bunker ceased speaking, Rawlins, 
 shaking with rage, exclaimed : " Seems to 
 me, Alec Bunker, you're taking a mighty big 
 hand in this game ! Who located this plant ? 
 Who's kept those folks in the basin so far ? 
 Who asked you here? " 
 
 '' Looks-ee here, old son ; you must be 
 crazy," Bunker replied. '' There are six of 
 us. How many have you got ? " 
 
The Bandits' New Leader 195 
 
 Rawlins shot a glance at Dunning, for the 
 number of men Bunker named showed that 
 he included Dunning in his party, and the 
 grin on Dunning's face was evidence that the 
 claim was warranted. Bunker saw the look, 
 and continued : 
 
 " Fm the boss of this outfit ; and don't 
 you forget it ! " 
 
 From where Lennox lay he could see the 
 faces of the men, fixed in sinister assent to 
 this defiant usurpation. Rawlins' eyes had 
 murder in them; Bunker watched him with 
 threat and question in his looks; Dunning's 
 sneer at the deposed leader showed his loyalty 
 to the new; the others sat their horses im- 
 movably, only that their rifles lightly swayed 
 in ready balance, and their cruel eyes fol- 
 lowed every motion of Rawlins. 
 
 The latter first broke the silence, his voice 
 rough with the rage he tried to conceal. 
 
 " Well, Alec, I ain't such a fool that I 
 don't savvy the lay-out. It looks like you're 
 dealing this game. It don't count much, 
 
196 Fort Birkett 
 
 anyway, which of us leads. I know that 
 you'll stand for a square divvy, when we get 
 the dust." 
 
 " That's the kind of talk, Dick ! " Bunker 
 exclaimed, with affected heartiness. '' I'm 
 older than you, and I've been in a job or two 
 that taught me how to break in, or out, of a 
 strong place. As to standing for a square 
 divvy, why, I'm a square man. Now, let's 
 liquor up, and then go and have a look at 
 your camp — and the girl." 
 
 After flasks were again passed around, the 
 party rode down the trail until they turned 
 north toward the camp, where Lennox lost 
 sight of them. 
 
 The young man*3 heart swelled with rage, 
 then nearly ceased to beat from despair, as he 
 thought of the odds now piled up against 
 him. But he resolved to follow to the edge 
 of the camp, as soon as the gathering dark- 
 ness deepened, observe every move relative to 
 Constance, and accept any chance, no matter 
 how desperate, for her rescue. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 SAM PAYS AN OLD DEBT 
 
 As soon as Bunker reached camp he as- 
 signed sentinels to various posts ; and, when 
 all the men had gone, except Rawlins, Sam, 
 and Dunning, he turned to the Indian and 
 said, " Sam, you go north side post. Watch 
 close.'* 
 
 " Sam no watch to-night," the Indian re- 
 plied quietly. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Sam, him sleepy." 
 
 " It's no use," Rawlins whispered. " He 
 won't leave the girl." 
 
 "Won't, eh? Well, we'll make him," 
 Bunker responded. 
 
 " Yes," said Rawlins, " you and me and 
 Dunning together can rush him. One of us 
 197 
 
198 Fort Birkett 
 
 can plug him, but he'll settle one or two of 
 us while we're about it. I've tried all day 
 to catch him off guard. Might as well try 
 to fool a hawk." 
 
 " We'll pretend to send him off with the 
 girl," Bunker said, " and plug him in the 
 back when they've started. He won't be the 
 first Piute I've put a bullet into." 
 
 All the day while they talked, and when, 
 overcome by fatigue, Constance slept, the 
 Indian had guarded the girl with tireless 
 endurance, and cunning that never ceased. 
 He knew that his conduct had convinced 
 Rawlins that he was an enemy; knew that 
 Rawlins had sought to trap him into one 
 moment of fatal heedlessness, but his com- 
 posure had never been disturbed. He knew 
 now that Bunker and Rawlins conspired for 
 his death ; but the serenity of his patient old 
 face remained unchanged, except that, at the 
 first sight of Bunker, it had lighted with a 
 sudden flash of joy. 
 
Sam Pays an Old Debt 199 
 
 Many years ago Sam had guided a party 
 in pursuit of some convicts who had escaped 
 in the famous prison-break that was led by 
 Alec Bunker. In an encounter, Sam had 
 been wounded by a shot fired by Bunker ; and 
 the unskillful treatment he had first received 
 had left him lame. Alone, for more than a 
 year, he continued his hunt — not for the re- 
 ward, for revenge — but the infirmity, caused 
 by the bullet yet buried in his leg, grew upon 
 him, and hampered his hunt. It was at this 
 time that the Indian, chancing to pass 
 through the Meadow, was treated and cured 
 of his lameness by Dr. Hammatt, whose 
 sympathy, as well as professional interest, 
 was aroused. Sam's gratitude for being 
 relieved of his disgrace — for so his tribe 
 consider physical abnormity — made him 
 agree to abandon his hunt, and remain in the 
 Meadow, where Dr. Hammatt, in his own 
 absence, had much need of a faithful guard- 
 ian for his daughter and grandchild. 
 Since then Sam had been Constance's in- 
 
200 Fort Birkett 
 
 structor in lore of the wood and mountain — 
 her slave, in his heart. 
 
 But the Indian never forgot Bunker. He 
 recognized him in the new bandit leader, 
 bearded, and otherwise changed as the con- 
 vict was — as a hound, even after years, 
 recognizes an enemy. With nerves as 
 steady as if no danger threatened he watched 
 and waited now for the moment when, for 
 revenge, and for Constance, he should give 
 his life : caring nothing for that, only dumbly 
 hoping that the sacrifice might save her. 
 He spoke softly to Constance, telling her that 
 if an attack was made on him she was to rush 
 to Sequoia, and dash for the trail. " Only 
 three man now," he said, " and Dunning 
 shoot with left hand. Him only half man. 
 You ride away, fast. Miss Connie. Sam 
 keep three man busy." 
 
 " Who's to take the girl away when we get 
 rid of the Indian? " Rawlins asked. 
 
 "Why, Dick, I thought you'd like that 
 
Sam Pays an Old Debt 201 
 
 job," replied Bunker, grinning in a way that 
 made Rawlins grin in return. " The Indian 
 can't stay awake forever; I'll look for a 
 chance to settle him to-night, while I'm on 
 watch. You can pull out early in the morn- 
 ing, and take the girl to my cabin. You 
 know it ; a nice retired place where you won't 
 be bothered by visitors. It's a long ride 
 for you, so turn in now and get some 
 sleep." 
 
 Rawlins needed no urging to rest, and was 
 soon asleep on the ground. Bunker woke 
 Dunning, and ordered him to the north side 
 post; warning him not to be captured by a 
 woman if he expected a share of the dust. 
 
 When Dunning had ridden away, and 
 Rawlins slept heavily, Bunker spoke to the 
 Indian in a friendly tone. '' Sam," he said, 
 '' we won't need you to watch to-night. 
 Sleep. To-morrow you take young lady 
 away." 
 
 Sam neither answered nor made sign that 
 he understood; and Bunker, thinking he was 
 
202 Fort Birkett 
 
 already half asleep, himself affected drowsi- 
 ness as he sat at the camp post overlooking 
 both fort and Indian. 
 
 A few minutes later Constance, sitting 
 close by the side of her faithful protector, 
 felt him start. It was only a slight tremor 
 of his body, but she believed that it meant 
 an important discovery ; so, striving to show 
 no interest, she sought with her eyes the 
 point on which Sam's were fixed. Beyond 
 Bunker, and nearly in line with him, she saw, 
 in the faint starlight, a movement in the 
 underbrush. 
 
 The Indian yawned, and asked sleepily, 
 " Mr. Bunker, if Sam take Miss Connie 
 away, what horse we ride? " 
 
 " She'll ride Sequoia, and you your pony, 
 of course," Bunker answered. 
 
 " Yep, I forgot Sequoia. Him picket last 
 horse west ; mine picket next. Sam so much 
 sleepy him fool, I think." 
 
 The Indian said this in a loud, clear voice, 
 unusual with him. As if directed by Sam's 
 
Sam Pays an Old Debt 203 
 
 words, the person in the underbrush moved 
 westward, noiselessly. Constance followed 
 the movement with her eyes. Sam did not. 
 He was now intently watching Bunker, who, 
 slowly, very slowly and carefully, was turn- 
 ing his rifle so that its aim crept gradually 
 nearer and nearer the Indian. Constance, 
 whose hearing was now so acute it seemed to 
 have added the senses of touch and sight, 
 knew that someone was cautiously moving 
 among the horses. Her desire to know what 
 the movements out in the darkness boded 
 became so keen that she restrained herself 
 only by summoning some of the Indian's 
 self-control, when he muttered to her, " No 
 move yet. Wait." 
 
 It was too dark now to see into the forest, 
 but the girl's hearing told her that horses 
 had been moved to a point between the camp 
 and the trail. So she waited, as the Indian 
 commanded; motionless, but alert to all 
 things: the distant neighing of sentries' 
 horses, far cries of night birds. Suddenly 
 
204 Fo^^ Birkett 
 
 she realized that Sam's hands were steadily, 
 slowly moving. She did not look, but knew 
 that they held his rifle. 
 
 There was a flash, a report that seemed 
 horribly loud and near, and a bullet from the 
 Indian's rifle tore through Bunker's body, 
 just as his finger closed on the trigger of the 
 rifle he had aimed at Sam. As Bunker fell 
 back dead, his own shot flew high into the 
 air. 
 
 Sam jumped to his feet, dragging Con- 
 stance with him, as Lennox dashed out of the 
 brush toward them. Rawlins, rising from 
 sleep in confused alarm, was knocked down 
 by a blow from Lennox, who then lifted 
 Constance from the ground and whirled her 
 into Sequoia's saddle; and in an instant the 
 three were riding hard from the trail, fol- 
 lowed by Rawlins' wild shots. The sentry 
 on the post occupied by Sam the night before 
 was above them, the others were below; so 
 they rode straight across the trail into the 
 woods beyond. 
 
Sam Pays an Old Debt 205 
 
 " We catch Miss Connie's rifle, first," said 
 Sam; and through the dark he led to the 
 place of its concealment. There they stopped 
 to note the position of their pursuers, several 
 of whom were heard on the trail between 
 them and the meadow. 
 
 " We cut off," the Indian said, after listen- 
 ing to the shouts, and sound of galloping 
 horses. " No can get home to-night. Wait 
 to-morrow. Then see. Sam no smoke all 
 day. Him smoke now. I think." 
 
 The old philosopher deliberately filled and 
 lit his pipe; then he guided his companions 
 further into the forest. When they had 
 traveled south about two miles, they came 
 to a refuge of natural strength ; an inclosure 
 protected by great boulders, suggesting the 
 fallen ruins of an ancient tower, or that 
 nature had played there at fortifications. 
 Sam, who seemed to know the place well, 
 found an opening, between two lichen- 
 flecked boulders, through which they rode, 
 single file, into the comparatively clear in- 
 
2o6 Fort Birkett 
 
 terior. He was soon rolled in the blanket 
 he wore, and stretched on the ground. 
 
 '' You watch one hour," he said to Len- 
 nox, " then Sam watch until sun," and 
 with the last words was asleep. 
 
 Since the escape Constance had spoken 
 but few words. The shooting of Bunker; 
 her suspicion of the outlaws' intended treach- 
 ery to her and Sam ; the thought of her fate, 
 had not the Indian's animal-like wariness 
 anticipated the shot designed to leave her a 
 prisoner without a protector, had dazed her 
 with terror. Lennox, with fond sympathy, 
 understood her feelings, and strove to dispel 
 the gloom oppressing her. He eagerly re- 
 assured her that the worst of her plight was 
 past; urged hopefully that their situation 
 promised a speedy end of all peril; told 
 gayly of Birkett's quaint devices for their 
 comfort in the fort, of his own masquerade 
 as bruin ; and soon the buoyancy of healthy 
 youth triumphed; Constance walked by his 
 side with spirits restored, as he paced the 
 
Sam Pays an Old Debt 207 
 
 circle of their stronghold, peering into the 
 gray, silent night at each opening between 
 the boulders. 
 
 When Sam awoke, punctual on the hour, 
 he looked at the two without moving, heard 
 Constance's cheerful tones, their quiet laugh- 
 ter, and muttered, " Him watch other hour. 
 Him think half-hour," turned over and went 
 to sleep again. 
 
 Thus the night passed; not slowly with 
 the young people, who patrolled the rounds, 
 talking in low voices, or at times silent, 
 but that they sighed, never noting the hours. 
 At intervals the Indian awoke, observed the 
 pair ; his old face softened with a smile, and 
 then he slept again. 
 
 '' See ! " at last whispered Lennox, " ' Re- 
 vealing day through every cranny spies.' " 
 
 " ' Brand not my forehead with thy pierc- 
 ing light,' " answered Constance, with a 
 happy laugh that she had recognized his 
 quotation. Her face turned toward the 
 dawnlight, faintly flushed, like the clouds 
 
2o8 Fort Birkett 
 
 she saw. " ' Revealing day ' will disclose 
 me as a boy," she added, blushing more 
 deeply. " But, sir, I am a woman — though 
 I was bravest in the dark." 
 
 " How the Indian has slept ! " Lennox 
 said, seeming not to notice her new alarm, 
 though he could not but think how pretty 
 she looked, wholly girlish in the masquerade. 
 *' ril call him now ; then you can sleep while 
 Sam and I watch." 
 
 " Hush ! " she said, laying her hand on 
 his arm, as all its new color left her face. 
 
 " I hear nothing," he whispered. 
 
 As he spoke, Sam stood by their side. 
 
 '' One, two, three, four," the Indian slowly 
 counted, as he listened to some sound from 
 the west. '' Four man. Go north, go south. 
 Come nearer each turn." 
 
 They were silent and motionless for a 
 minute, then the Indian added quietly, " And 
 two man come from east." 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 A SORTIE FROM THE FORT 
 
 John Birkett and Mr. Pelham watched 
 the progress of Lennox down the gorge as 
 long as he remained in sight; then the 
 lawyer, with a sigh, turned to the camp-fire, 
 saying: '' Now, as to this prisoner of ours, 
 I know that we are sore beset by villains; 
 that this fellow is one of them ; that he would 
 not have hesitated to deprive me of my 
 life, had I not chanced to overpower him; 
 yet, Mr. Birkett, to hold a fellow-being in 
 captivity is a monstrous thing — except, of 
 course, under due process of law, and by 
 judgment of a court of proper jurisdiction." 
 
 ''To be sure, Jedge; certainly," assented 
 
 Birkett gravely. '' Thet young fellow is 
 
 enjoying freedom, so long as he's washing 
 
 out nuggets; but night will be coming on, 
 
 209 
 
2IO Fort Birkett 
 
 and he must be jurisdicted proper; ez to the 
 court, I ain't jest certain ef this here basin 
 hes in Cahfornia or Nevada. It's nigh the 
 Hne. Such being the due process, I reckon 
 he'U be jurisdicted most proper to-night ef 
 I rope him, hand and foot, and give him a 
 gravel bed to sleep on." 
 
 '' But v^e have no authority in law for such 
 restraint of his person." 
 
 " No more he'll hev for shooting one or 
 t'other of us in the back; which the same he'll 
 do ef he gets a chance." 
 
 ''Indeed!" exclaimed Mr. Pelham; feel- 
 ing of his own back as he spoke. 
 
 " He ain't a low-grade sample, by rights, 
 neither," resumed Birkett. " His father is 
 an honest man; not quite in my line, being 
 a quartz miner. The son got running off 
 his proper location lines, fell in with this 
 mountain gang, and here he is." 
 
 '' I should like to speak to him," Mr. Pel- 
 ham said. 
 
 Parker came into the fort, shaking with 
 
A Sortie from the Fort 211 
 
 excitement and exertion, his pockets heavy 
 with gold. He was so dazed by the riches 
 which even his brief work had disclosed, 
 that at first he gave only witless answers to 
 Mr. Pelham. After some fruitless ques- 
 tions, the lawyer said, ** I am sorry I had to 
 use some force on you this morning." 
 
 ''All right, mister; all right. God! I 
 never thought there was the like of this in the 
 world." 
 
 " Are you suffering from the blow I gave 
 you?" 
 
 " No, mister. I'm all right. Let me in 
 on this strike, and I'll fight for you." 
 
 " We must first have assurances of your 
 intention to reform. Mr. Birkett says you 
 come of honest folks." 
 
 '* Yes, yes ! Give me a little share of this 
 — only a little share — and I'll live honest." 
 
 " Will you give your word of honor that, 
 if we do not use force to restrain you, you 
 will not attempt to escape from " 
 
 " Escape from this? " interrupted Parker, 
 
212 Fort Birkett 
 
 plunging his hands into the gold that bulged 
 his pockets. 
 
 '' Nor attempt to do us any injury," con- 
 cluded Mr. Pelham. 
 
 '' Yes, I promise. I swear." 
 
 " Then, if you keep your word, and we 
 end this adventure alive, I promise to use 
 my influence to save your neck." 
 
 " I swear — anything ! Will I have a share 
 of the gold?" 
 
 " I should prefer that your purpose to 
 reform was inspired by a moved conscience 
 rather than by the prospect of reward. 
 Why, young man, you have the possibility 
 of a cleanly life — a life that will not em- 
 bitter the old age of your honest father." 
 
 Some of the madness of greed was sud- 
 denly washed out of Parker's eyes. He 
 had never before been spoken to in just that 
 way. 
 
 *' What do you say, my man ? " 
 
 " I'd like to be quit of the gang," he an- 
 swered. 
 
A Sortie from the Fort 213 
 
 Birkett spoke : " Ef we git out of this, the 
 Jedge will do right by ye in the court, and 
 I'll do right as to the dust. Ef we don't git 
 out alive, Rawlins will jump your share, for 
 being captured. So you'd better be honest.'* 
 
 " A masterly summing up," murmured 
 Mr. Pelham. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Parker, '' I give you 
 my word of honor; I won't try to escape; 
 and if you'll let me have my gun, I'll help 
 you fight." 
 
 Mr. Pelham glanced at Birkett, as if ask- 
 ing his opinion of the proposal. 
 
 " We — ell," drawled the old man, after 
 a thoughtful pause, " we'll split the differ- 
 ence with ye. Ye ken hev the free run of 
 the basin — but I'll keep the gun." 
 
 Parker mumbled his gratitude, and at 
 once resumed panning out gold in the pool. 
 He kept at the work until he fell on the bank, 
 unable to move, and there he slept. 
 
 " Mr. Birkett," said Mr. Pelham, as they 
 sat in the fort, one watching the gorge, one 
 
214 Fort Birkett 
 
 the cliff, '' the doctor's daughter seems to be 
 a superior woman." 
 
 '' Miss Marthy? I should say the word 
 you used was the right one; a superior 
 woman, Jedge." 
 
 '' Aged, one might guess, about thirty? " 
 
 " I reckon ye've hit it off to a year. I've 
 knowed her, Jedge, these fifteen years, and 
 every year she grows more superior. She 
 hez a lot of book-learning from her father, 
 but it never spoiled her ez a superior woman. 
 Why, sir, she ken ride, shoot, and — and — 
 well, Jedge, there is few superior things thet 
 I call to mind, that Miss Marthy can't do ez 
 well ez if she never seen the inside of a book 
 in all her born days." 
 
 " I observed, too," Mr. Pelham resumed, 
 ''that when I was there the other even- 
 ing " 
 
 " Last evening," interrupted Birkett. 
 
 " Bless my soul ! So it was. It seems as 
 if some time had intervened since I saw — 
 since then. I observed, as I was saying, that 
 
A Sortie from the Fort 215 
 
 she possesses the quahties we most admire 
 in a housewife — diffuses an atmosphere of 
 domestic refinement, and bears herself with 
 admirable decorum at the head of a table." 
 
 " When it comes to decorum, Jedge, I 
 should say thet thet was her strong holt," 
 Birkett declared, holding the coal of fire from 
 his pipe in the hollow of his hand, as he 
 filled the pipe with his fingers. " In all her 
 dips, spurs, and angles, as we say in mining. 
 Miss Marthy is a superior woman, and spe- 
 cially strong on decorum. Her brandy 
 peaches, particular, they are what I call 
 straight goods in the line of decorum. When 
 I visit the Meadow, which I do mostly twice 
 a year, I always say, ' Miss Marthy, a game 
 of old sledge with yer father, and a sample 
 of yer brandy peaches, makes a civilized man 
 of me for the next six months.' " 
 
 " One is surprised that so superior a 
 woman remains a spinster." 
 
 " Huh ! " exclaimed the old man, tamping 
 with his finger the coal he had placed in his 
 
2i6 Fort Birkett 
 
 pipe. *' Thet lady hez refused a dozen men 
 to my knowing. She's said ' No ' to men 
 with good-paying mines, and to men with 
 good-paying ranches. They're all one to 
 Miss Marthy. I reckon she ain't to be 
 caught by no marrying nonsense." 
 
 "Indeed," said Mr. Pelham, and he did not 
 see the miner's eyes twinkling beneath their 
 heavy brows. 
 
 Birkett smoked in serene silence until Mr. 
 Pelham, worn and sleepy, lay back on his 
 blanket, and was deep in slumber. The 
 miner took his own blanket and covered the 
 lawyer with it, then resumed his familiar 
 position — flat on his back, head outside the 
 fort, but masked, as usual, with a pinon 
 bough. Now, however, his watch w^as con- 
 centrated on a special object; for, from 
 where he lay, he saw a part of the Indian's 
 figure, close to the edge of the cliff above 
 him ; and, whenever the bandit on guard was 
 inattentive, Sam, with the hand Birkett saw, 
 made signs, slight motions, repeated over 
 
A Sortie from the Fort 217 
 
 and over. The miner had some acquaint- 
 ance with the sign language of the Piutes, 
 in which both hands are freely used; but 
 Sam now used only one hand — the other 
 never released his rifle — and for a long time 
 Birkett was in doubt as to the signal's mean- 
 ing; and he many times returned a signal, 
 showing that he did not understand. Fi- 
 nally, he was satisfied that Sam indicated 
 some place to the south, two miles distant; 
 and that a meeting was desired, or had taken 
 place. More than that he could not read. 
 
 He pondered long on what the unrevealed 
 message might be, and upon what he ought 
 to do to take advantage of the slight hint 
 he had received. He determined to go to 
 the nearest point on the edge of the trail; 
 concluding that Sam might devise some plan 
 to communicate further with him there. 
 Besides, though he had concealed this from 
 Mr. Pelham, he was almost resolved to make 
 an attempt to effect his own and the lawyer's 
 escape that night. He would do his scout- 
 
2i8 Fort Birkett 
 
 ing alone, believing it safe to leave the pris- 
 oner unguarded for a while, though he care- 
 fully hid Parker's rifle before leaving the 
 fort. 
 
 As soon as the gorge was in darkness, 
 Birkett ascended its south side ; but when he 
 cautiously hazarded a view of the trail, his 
 heart sank. He saw that the sentries there 
 were too numerous and vigilant to be evaded 
 by Mr. Pelham — probably even by him. 
 This was a double blow to his hopes; it 
 forced him to abandon the desperate chance 
 he was willing to take to effect Mr. Pelham's 
 escape that night, and also shut off Lennox's 
 return! Without the latter, there was but 
 one available rifle, his own, with which to 
 meet a direct assault upon the gorge; and', 
 that the re-enforced bandits would make 
 such an attempt the next day, he did not 
 doubt. 
 
 Heavy-hearted, but not yet discouraged — 
 for he resolved to inspect the north side, hop- 
 ing to find less unfavorable conditions there 
 
A Sortie from the Fort 219 
 
 — he was about to descend to the gorge 
 when he heard the sound of a rifle shot, an- 
 other, then, a half-minute later, three or 
 four in quick succession. 
 
 " The young man is in trouble," he 
 thought in dismay ; but then his heart leaped 
 with hope as he heard the sentinels on the 
 trail riding hard for the bandit camp. 
 When the last shouting horseman had gal- 
 loped past him up the trail, Birkett leaped 
 and ran down the steep descent and regained 
 the fort. Neither man there had been 
 roused by the shooting. Birkett quietly 
 awakened Mr. Pelham, drew him outside 
 the fort, gave him Parker's rifle, and whis- 
 pered excitedly : 
 
 '' Come along, Jedge. The trail is clear 
 and we must go." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " Two miles to the south, first." 
 
 ** Why, without horses ? " 
 
 " Because the Colonel's in trouble. IVe 
 got to help him fight or help him escape. I 
 
220 Fort Birkett 
 
 don't care much of a damn which 'tis. An- 
 other day in thet trap of a fort would make 
 John Birkett crazier nor a loon. Come on, 
 Jedge." 
 
 He dragged Mr. Pelham along as if he 
 were a child. His wrath, long repressed, 
 that it might not alarm his companions, was 
 now exploding in a fashion that astonished 
 Mr. Pelham. 
 
 " I never was made, nohow, to be packed 
 in a coop and pot-hunted by a gang of gun 
 men. Come on, Jedge? Come on!" 
 
 " We will have the law on them, sir," 
 panted Mr. Pelham, who was being pushed, 
 dragged, and at times wholly carried. " Pll 
 prosecute those villains myself — if I have to 
 read criminal law to do it. I can walk, my 
 dear sir; you need not carry me. We will 
 have the law on them." 
 
 " All right, Jedge, ye hev the law on *em ; 
 but what John Birkett is a yearning for is to 
 hev the drop on 'em." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE HUNT FOR THE FUGITIVES 
 
 Not only the sentries Birkett heard on the 
 trail, but all others on sentry duty, hurried 
 into camp at the sound of firing; and there 
 was a confusion of questions, with but little 
 explanation. The recruits, enraged by the 
 death of Bunker, angrily demanded 
 an account of the trouble. Rawlins could 
 explain little. He was awakened, he said, 
 by the first shot, but, before he was on his 
 feet, received a blow that half stunned him. 
 Within a minute, however, he had fired at 
 three faintly seen figures, riding rapidly to- 
 ward the south. The missing Indian, and 
 woman, accounted for two ; the third he sup- 
 posed was one of the men from the fort. 
 
 Hasty investigation showed that only two 
 horses were missing from camp; and as the 
 
 221 
 
222 Fort Birkett 
 
 bandits did not know that Constance had 
 visited the basin, and left her horse in the 
 gorge, they concluded that the third rider 
 Rawlins saw was not one of the besieged. 
 This caused uneasiness, for it seemed to 
 prove that Constance and the Indian had 
 been helped by an outsider, who, probably, 
 was not alone. 
 
 " If that's so,'' said Rawlins, " our first 
 hustle is to round up that girl. We'll make 
 this chase like we was on the dead square — 
 let anyone see us that's trying to — and then, 
 if we have to stand trial for this job, we'll 
 be all right." 
 
 ''All right, how?" sneered Maskell, 
 Bunker's lieutenant, who sought leadership. 
 
 " Because," RawHns replied, " we're 
 honest white folks, out hunting a thieving 
 Piute who carried off the doctor's grand- 
 daughter." 
 
 This evidence of his cunning made some 
 of the men disposed to restore leadership 
 to Rawlins. He saw his advantage and 
 
The Hunt for the Fugitives 223 
 
 continued boldly, '* I don't care who's with 
 the Indian. Both of 'em are to be shot on 
 sight for running off with the girl, just as 
 we was going to send her home. That's all 
 we'd have to prove to a jury in this neck 
 of woods. But we've got to have the girl 
 now, more than ever. When the doctor gets 
 the colonists together we'll have no card to 
 play for the gold, or for our necks, without 
 the girl." 
 
 Rawlins had but adopted Bunker's 
 scheme; still its renewed promise of reward 
 and safety strengthened him with the ma- 
 jority of his hearers. Maskell made another 
 bid : '' One woman's as good as another for 
 that game," he said. '' If the doctor isn't 
 home yet, we ought to hustle a couple of our 
 boys up to the Meadow, and get the other 
 woman — the doctor's daughter. The Digger 
 Indians there won't interfere with us." 
 
 '' You fool ! " cried Rawlins, " the other 
 woman is in the fort. We saw her go in, 
 dressed in the doctor's clothes ; and covering 
 
224 Fort Birkett 
 
 Parker with a rifle, at that. I see the whole 
 game, now; the two women put on men's 
 clothes, and tried to get into the gorge. Sam 
 met the young one, but Dunning was with 
 him, so the Indian made a bluff of capturing 
 her." 
 
 " That's so," declared Dunning. '' Sam 
 didn't dare leave the girl go while I was 
 with him. I recollect he went up the trail, 
 pretending to look for her gun, and I reckon 
 that's when he steered the other woman to 
 the north of the gorge." 
 
 This explanation, fortunately, fitted so 
 well with the supposed fact of Miss Ham- 
 matt's being in the fort, that the suggestion 
 to raid the Meadow was dropped. 
 
 " What are we to do, Dick? " one asked. 
 
 " Get up the trail farther than the Indian 
 and the girl; open out across the country, 
 and beat back this way, both sides of the 
 trail, until we hunt 'em out," Rawlins re- 
 sponded briskly. 
 
 '' How about the folks in the fort? " 
 
The Hunt for the Fugitives 225 
 
 " We've got to take a chance with them. 
 Dunning's not fit for rough work; he can 
 stay and watch the trail. If Birkett's party 
 come out at all, they'll have to foot it, and 
 Dunning can bring us word soon enough 
 for us to run 'em down before they've got 
 far." 
 
 When he developed this plan of campaign, 
 which the others considered masterly, Raw- 
 lins was again the admitted leader. 
 
 Dunning was ordered back to the trail, 
 grumbling that the pain of his wound, his 
 lack of sleep, the poor condition of his over- 
 ridden horse, made him unfit for any duty; 
 but he was warned that a slip at his post 
 would earn him the sentence already passed 
 on Parker — no share in the gold ! With six 
 followers, Rawlins rode up the trail more 
 than a mile, beyond which it was certain that 
 the fugitives could not have passed in their 
 slower progress off the trail. At that point 
 the party divided : four — Rawlins, Calkins, 
 Ferris, and Maskell — going to the south, the 
 
226 Fort Birkett 
 
 others to the north. One man in each di- 
 vision had orders to ride near enough to 
 the trail to keep it under observation. 
 
 There was a stronger reason than the one 
 he explained to his fellows, which prompted 
 Rawlins to adopt speedy means to cut off 
 Constance's return to the Meadow. The 
 young girl's beauty had aroused in him a 
 passion which, until now, had been unfed by 
 hope. He was not a colonist, had never 
 been a welcome visitor to the Meadow, yet 
 had not been excluded from the shelter which 
 the doctor bestowed without question upon 
 any wayfarer. During the past year Raw- 
 lins had made more frequent requests than 
 usual for the privilege of resting himself 
 and animals a day or two at the Meadow; 
 and though he was not a visitor at the house, 
 accepting, as did others of his class, the 
 bed and fare of the ranchman's quarters, 
 these occasions afforded him sight of the 
 women of the family. He often thought 
 to dare the colonists' wrath, and abduct Con- 
 
The Hunt for the Fugitives 227 
 
 stance, when one of her longer rides or hunt- 
 ing trips gave opportunity. But Constance 
 never rode beyond the Meadow unaccom- 
 panied by Sam; and no mountaineer was 
 ignorant of the Indian's courage and marks- 
 manship. 
 
 Now, that chance gave the bandit the role 
 of seeking Constance's safety, he resolved 
 that when she was recaptured he would 
 make her liberty depend upon her marrying 
 him. 
 
 '' I've men enough now," he thought, " to 
 keep her until we've made terms for the gold. 
 Then, if the colonists get too strong for me, 
 I can hide her until my terms for her are 
 agreed to, or — well, I'll have her, and the 
 gold, too, with or without agreement." 
 
 As dawn came, and the slow work of the 
 hunters took them nearly in line with the 
 basin, Ferris joined Rawlins, and asked If 
 it was not likely that Sam had gone farther 
 east, or even into the basin. 
 
 " No," said Rawlins, " the Piute's too cun- 
 
228 Fort Birkett 
 
 ning to trust to a trap of a fort. He knows 
 weVe men enough to rush that, if the colo- 
 nists hurry us, and, if we don't rush it, that 
 we'll soon have the fort starved. The only 
 thing the Indian's got on his mind is to get 
 the girl home. We were fools not to see 
 that from the first. He'll take any chance 
 rather than go farther east — away from the 
 Meadow. When he found that we had him 
 cut off from the trail, he'd look for good 
 fighting ground. That's Indian." 
 
 The leader's reasoning was confirmed a 
 little later, when Ferris sighted the horses in 
 the stronghold. The agreed signal quickly 
 brought Calkins and Maskell. The latter 
 was hurried off to call in the three men north 
 of the trail, and Calkins was ordered to make 
 a safe detour around the stronghold, and 
 watch it from the east. 
 
 Rawlins and Ferris slowly advanced; 
 creeping from boulder to boulder, from tree 
 to tree ; but, when for some time they made 
 no new discovery, Ferris impatiently said : 
 
The Hunt for the Fugitives 229 
 
 " We can cripple them by knocking over 
 their horses; I'll " 
 
 " By the Lord ! " interrupted Rawlins, 
 " Lennox is in there ! He's getting careless. 
 I'd rather have a shot at him than at the 
 Indian. Don't shoot the horses. Keep quiet, 
 and that tenderfoot will give me a chance to 
 spoil his good looks." 
 
 '' There's your chance ! " declared Ferris a 
 few minutes later. " Drop him, and I'll look 
 out for the Indian." 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SAM GOES HUNTING 
 
 Sam was the son of a chief, and in his 
 youth, before the Piutes had been broken and 
 scattered, was a warrior to whom the old 
 men looked with hope. He, they said, would 
 restore to his people their departing glory; 
 their right to boast of their strength; to 
 celebrate in song the mighty deeds of their 
 traditional ancestors — the brave Bannocks, 
 the cunning Shoshones ; but Sam, wiser than 
 the tories of his tribe, foresaw the Indians' 
 final defeat ; urged his people to acknowledge 
 the right of the white man's might; and him- 
 self lived in peace with the superior race he 
 and his fathers had fought. 
 
 Throughout the years of his humble life 
 Sam had suppressed the old tribal spirit of 
 «3o 
 
Sam Goes Hunting 231 
 
 pride and daring, but it had survived; and 
 now, in this supreme moment of danger, he 
 was a warrior again, brave, commanding. 
 He stood proudly erect by the young people's 
 side, counting the enemies none of them 
 could see; and the change he made in his 
 dress when Constance first told him to track 
 the bandits, suited his new posture : his head 
 uncovered, a bright blanket hanging from his 
 shoulders, feet moccasined, a single eagle 
 feather in his hair. 
 
 The approach of Rawlins' party was dis- 
 covered while the bandits were yet ranging 
 the country; and long before they were in 
 sight; but Sam concealed his force at once, 
 indicating a position for each. Lennox, as 
 they faced west, was to the left, Sam to the 
 right, Constance between them, their stations 
 being about ten yards apart, each protected 
 by a boulder. The young man searched the 
 well-covered country, eager for a sight of the 
 enemy; but Sam only listened, as he quickly 
 built across the space between his boulder 
 
232 Fort Birkett 
 
 and the next a low wall of stones, ingeniously- 
 devised to afford openings for lookout and 
 rifle rest. He heard the signal when Ferris 
 discovered the horses, guessed its meaning; 
 and shrewdly accounted for the movements 
 he heard when Maskell left to call in the men 
 ranging north of the trail, and Calkins 
 started on his detour to the east of the 
 stronghold. He supposed that the two re- 
 maining men would advance, and then, for 
 the first time, he began to watch as well as 
 listen. Presently he caught glimpses of 
 Rawlins and Ferris making cautious ap- 
 proach, but never exposed to fire, for they 
 took skillful advantage of every protection. 
 
 Constance noted Sam's first work, and she, 
 too, built a low wall behind which she could 
 crouch, and safely command a view. 
 
 Until Sam caught sight of the enemy, he 
 continued to direct the others; cautioning 
 Constance, advising Lennox about building 
 his wall, with which the young man had 
 poor success. But when he saw the bandits, 
 
Sam Goes Hunting 233 
 
 he became silent, motioned to the others to 
 remain so, too; and, now lying flat behind 
 his shield, now peering from behind one 
 boulder, then the other, his eyes darted like 
 the play of lightning, searching every tree- 
 trunk, rock, bush, that might conceal the 
 enemy's careful approach. 
 
 At last, somewhat to his right, he saw a 
 rifle barrel project beyond a charred tree- 
 trunk, and he grunted approval of the craft 
 which had selected a mask against which the 
 rifle was barely distinguishable. Next he 
 discovered that the second bandit was behind 
 a rock in front of Constance. He glanced at 
 her, saw that she was wholly protected and 
 aware of the situation ; then he resumed his 
 watch. 
 
 In the meantime, Lennox impatiently 
 abandoned his attempt to build a creviced 
 wall through which he, like his companions, 
 could see and remain unseen. He arose, 
 stood behind his boulder, and peered around 
 its side. The nearest cover, nearly two 
 
234 F^^^ Birkett 
 
 hundred yards away, showed no sign to him 
 of danger. If, to the right, he saw Raw- 
 hns' rifle, he supposed it to be a blackened 
 branch of the burnt tree. So he further ex- 
 posed himself, and, as he did so, stood where 
 Rawlins caught his first glimpse of him. 
 At this moment Sam discovered that the 
 man behind the charred tree was Rawlins, 
 and that he would be a target for anyone 
 thirty or forty yards to the right. In a 
 second the Indian was nearly flat on the 
 ground, making rapid progress toward the 
 point where he knew he would have Rawlins 
 in view. 
 
 Constance, after noting Sam's movement, 
 turned again to watch Lennox, and as she 
 did so, her heart stopped beating. He had 
 discovered Ferris, almost opposite Con- 
 stance, but had not yet discovered Rawlins. 
 He stood with his cocked rifle in readiness, 
 peering around the boulder, and slowly mov- 
 ing his body round, still safe from Ferris, 
 the only enemy he saw, but each second 
 
Sam Goes Hunting 235 
 
 coming more into Rawlins' range. She did 
 not dare to warn him, for she felt that if 
 she did he would instinctively start toward 
 her, and that would bring him wholly into 
 Rawlins' view. 
 
 Sam, creeping along the ground, had al- 
 most reached the point he had selected, when 
 he was startled by hearing a gasping sob 
 from Constance. 
 
 One swift glance showed him that Con- 
 stance, to protect Lennox, was waiting with 
 rifle aimed, for the instant of time Rawlins, 
 when he should shoot at Lennox, must ex- 
 pose himself to fire. The Indian knew that 
 the girl's agonized eyes meant fear for the 
 life of the young man by her side; horror 
 that she contemplated taking a life ! 
 
 No cunning now could save either Lennox 
 from losing, or Constance from taking, life. 
 In a second or two the Indian would have 
 reached a spot where he could prevent both 
 tragedies, and be safe himself. But half a 
 second might be too late. The Indian knew 
 
236 Fort Birkett 
 
 this as a thing that has been done; but all 
 the craft and cunning, all the caution of his 
 nature was swept away by that look in the 
 girl's eyes, and for her sake he jumped to his 
 feet in the open — a target for Ferris. He 
 stood straight and lithe, as in youth ; and he 
 smiled scornfully as his eyes swept past Fer- 
 ris. In another instant the Indian's bullet 
 struck Rawlins dead — as Ferris fired ! 
 
 Sam did not fall, nor sink, when Ferris' 
 shot struck him. That would have told the 
 enemy what must be concealed. He stooped 
 as if in ordinary caution ; crawled back to his 
 boulder; smiled grimly as he heard Ferris 
 yell with pain, when Lennox fired, then sank 
 down, dying. 
 
 Constance, in a tumult of fear, hope, 
 shock, saw Lennox's life saved, saw him 
 shoot Ferris, then saw the Indian sink to the 
 ground. 
 
 '' Sam! Sam! " she cried, running to him, 
 " you are wounded ! " 
 
 She placed a hand on the old man's moist 
 
Sam Goes Hunting 237 
 
 forehead, and while his eyes, all softness 
 now, looked his gratitude, he whispered in 
 tone of reproof, '' Miss Connie no cry ! 
 Maybe enemy hear you cry — ^know some 
 man here killed." 
 
 He beckoned with his eyes to Lennox, 
 who bent over him. 
 
 " You take care Miss Connie? " 
 
 " I will," replied Lennox, much moved, 
 for he realized what the fast failing voice 
 meant, " I will, with my life ! " 
 
 *' More man come. Six. Eight, maybe. 
 Him find one dead : Rawlins ; one wounded. 
 Then afraid. No rush you. You careful. 
 Help Connie — Connie safe ! " 
 
 " I shall be careful," Lennox answered 
 gravely. 
 
 " Safe till doctor come. That good." 
 
 He was silent a little while, then said, 
 " Good-by, Miss Connie." 
 
 The girl bent down and kissed the old 
 man, but she could not speak. He smiled, 
 proudly raised his head, and whispered. 
 
238 Fort Birkett 
 
 ''Now — Sam — go — hunting " — then fell 
 back, dead. 
 
 Constance, kneeling, prayed for the brave, 
 faithful soul, and Lennox knelt by her 
 side. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 MARTHA HAMMATT's CAPTIVES 
 
 Miss Ham mattes temperament little in- 
 clined her to serve by waiting. After Mr. 
 Pelham's departure with the supply of am- 
 munition, she restlessly considered whether 
 her duty was to guard the home until her 
 father's return, or to go at once to Con- 
 stance's aid. The long absence of her niece 
 caused her keen anxiety, which would not 
 abate, although she strove to quiet her alarm 
 by dwelling on the girl's daring and wood- 
 craft; and when morning came with no 
 word of Constance, her heart sickened with 
 apprehension. 
 
 Events at the Meadow added to her dis- 
 quiet. Two Digger Indians — the only re- 
 maining servants, for the one white em- 
 ployee was with the doctor — had been or- 
 239 
 
240 Fort Birkett 
 
 dered by Sam to take provisions to Evanson 
 in his hiding place. After their second 
 visit to him the Indians neglected their duties 
 about the stables, and toward evening dis- 
 appeared, and with them two horses. Miss 
 Hammatt guessed aright that the Diggers 
 were gone in search of Evanson's pursuers, 
 greedy for such share of the reward as they 
 could bargain for in return for information 
 of the train robber's hiding place, and help- 
 lessness. 
 
 She felt no personal fear, though her state 
 was now lonely and insecure; but when an- 
 other night approached without news of 
 Constance, who, she knew, could be detained 
 so long only by great danger. Miss Hammatt 
 resolved to go in search of her. Inaction 
 had become intolerable. Her father would 
 return the next morning, but to wait for him 
 might involve disastrous delay: so, con- 
 vinced that it was her duty to act, she wrote 
 a note to inform her father of events, and, 
 soon after dark, left the house, afoot, for the 
 
Martha Hammatt's Captives 241 
 
 horses left at the Meadow were not trained 
 for the work of her enterprise. She carried 
 her rifle, and over her shoulder was slung a 
 light pack of supplies, such as only a sur- 
 geon's daughter would have carried. The 
 journey before her was long, but not rough, 
 unless she were obliged to leave the trail; 
 and some doubt of her endurance which she 
 first felt vanished when she recalled the 
 harder, trailless journey the lawyer had 
 made. 
 
 Miss Hammatt had been an elder sister to 
 Constance, rather than an aunt, and there 
 was strong affection between them, the 
 greater, because of their almost total isola- 
 tion from the society of other women ; so her 
 anxiety on the girl's behalf was deep, 
 though it did not, in truth, exclude a lively 
 apprehension for the travelers. Mr. Pel- 
 ham's excellent spirits, his courtly deference 
 to her, so unlike the grave, commanding 
 manner of her father, had excited a pleasant 
 interest in her mind. 
 
242 Fort Birkett 
 
 When the first gray of day imposed more 
 caution in her progress, she turned from the 
 trail into the thicket to the south; making 
 her way slowly until she judged that she was 
 far enough east. She was about to venture 
 north across the trail, and had nearly reached 
 its edge, when she heard voices, and quickly 
 withdrew into shelter. Attempts to gain a 
 position from which she could see the 
 speakers failed, for, hampered by skirts, she 
 could not move without displacing some- 
 thing — a fallen leaf, a stone, a bit of brush 
 — whose movements seemed to rack the hush 
 of dawn like crashing trees. Once she 
 fancied the voices abruptly ceased, as if the 
 speakers caught some hint of her, and at- 
 tended in suspecting silence. Her stealthy 
 advance, made while her blood surged so 
 that it roared in her ears, took her only near 
 enough to the speakers to distinguish oc- 
 casional words. But those magnified her 
 alarm. 
 
 The speakers were Maskell, and the three 
 
Martha Hammatt's Captives 243 
 
 bandits he had signaled to the trail. He 
 described to them the place where the fugi- 
 tives had been found, and gave them Raw- 
 lins' orders to go far enough down the trail 
 to join Calkins and surprise the stronghold 
 by a rear attack. The others asked Maskell 
 if it was certain that the girl was in the 
 stronghold, and he told them that he had 
 seen there the horse, Sequoia, which Miss 
 Farwell rode when she escaped from 
 camp. He was to return to Rawlins and 
 help keep the fugitives' attention to the west, 
 until the others came upon them from the 
 east. 
 
 Miss Hammatt caught enough of this to 
 know that the man who should strike into 
 the rough land near her was going direct to 
 where Constance was besieged, and him she 
 resolved to follow. This she did ; less fear- 
 ful when Maskell began his journey, for she 
 knew that man, or beast, when in motion, is 
 less likely to discover a pursuer than when 
 motionless. The bandit was never out of 
 
244 Fort Birkett 
 
 her sight; she quickened or slackened her 
 pace with his, stopped when he stopped to 
 signal; and felt, rather than saw, his sur- 
 prise that his signals were not answered. 
 
 Skillfully screening himself, he advanced 
 again; again halted, and softly signaled; 
 once more moved forward, creeping, toward 
 a definite point — and Miss Hammatt felt 
 that she was nearing Constance. Maskell 
 suddenly drew back, half rising, and with a 
 muffled cry of fright. He had crept upon 
 Rawlins' body. After a wondering pause, 
 he moved to his right, directed by the sound 
 of groans, and she saw him bend over Ferris, 
 and give attentive heed as the wounded man 
 told the story of the attack and repulse. 
 
 Then, for the first time, Miss Hammatt 
 dared to divert her look from Maskell, and 
 examine the country ahead. It was some 
 seconds before her eyes, filled with the yet 
 almost level rays of the sun, could define 
 objects; but, slowly, a familiar form fixed 
 itself out of the shimmer of light — her own 
 
Martha Hammatt's Captives 245 
 
 horse, Sequoia. Next, a little way from the 
 animal, targets for Maskell, should he dis- 
 cover them, she saw Constance and Lennox, 
 standing by the side of something they had 
 covered with a blanket. 
 
 To call out to her friends would betray 
 herself and them to Maskell; so after a 
 moment's indecision, and a prayer that her 
 voice should not disclose her fear, she said, 
 slowly, distinctly: 
 
 *' If you turn, I'll shoot." 
 
 Maskell started violently, but did not 
 turn. 
 
 " I am Miss Hammatt : I am aiming my 
 rifle at your head." 
 
 She felt her knees giving way; steadied 
 herself, and added : 
 
 " Put your rifle behind you, without turn- 
 mg. 
 
 Maskell did as he was told. 
 
 " Put the wounded man's rifle behind 
 you." 
 
 He obeyed. 
 
246 Fort Birkett 
 
 " Now, hold up your hands, and keep 
 them up/' 
 
 The bandit's hands went up, and they 
 shook more, even, than hers. Noting this, 
 Miss Hammatt gained composure, and she 
 called out boldly : 
 
 " Constance ! Constance ! " 
 
 At the sound of the voice, Lennox sprang 
 from the inclosure and ran toward her; 
 amazed at the sight of Maskell, hands aloft, 
 perspiring in terror of the unseen menace 
 following him. When Lennox ordered the 
 bandit to precede him into the stronghold. 
 Miss Hammatt dropped her rifle, rushed to 
 Constance, clasped the girl in her arms, and 
 struggled against a sudden disposition to 
 faint. 
 
 Lennox took his prisoner remote from 
 where the women sat with arms around each 
 other, sobbing delightedly, and bound him, 
 not speaking as he worked. Maskell, too, 
 was silent; his amazed eyes fixed upon Miss 
 Hammatt, until the bridle straps were well 
 
Martha Hammatt's Captives 247 
 
 drawn at his ankles, knees, and wrists. 
 Then he whispered hoarsely : " Young fel- 
 low, you might as well shoot me. I can't 
 live in these here mountains after this — after 
 being held up and captured by a crying 
 woman." 
 
 " The hangman will save you from endur- 
 ing a mortified existence very long," Lennox 
 said. 
 
 He turned to put the women in places of 
 safety, when all started at the sound of two 
 rifle shots, to the east. Lennox hurried 
 Constance and her aunt behind protecting 
 boulders, picked up his rifle, and was seeking 
 a station for himself, when, glancing in the 
 direction of the alarm, he shouted joyfully, 
 and dashed out toward Birkett, running 
 toward him — dragging Mr. Pelham after 
 him. 
 
 "Don't tech the Jedge: he's hurt," cried 
 Birkett, as Lennox caught hold of his friend. 
 
 '' Nothing serious, Vanderlyn. Nothing 
 much, I assure you," Mr. Pelham said. 
 
248 Fort Birkett 
 
 in reply to the young man's alarmed 
 looks. 
 
 Birkett, when the inclosure was reached, 
 said ruefully, '* Calkins done it. I'm to 
 blame. I was looking for this here place; 
 but I should hev seen him. I'm deaf and 
 dumb and blind. But Calkins won't lie in 
 ambush for nobody else — except his friend 
 the devil." 
 
 He took off Mr. Pelham's coat, and found 
 a wound in the lawyer's left arm. The old 
 miner was applying a bandage, tenderly 
 enough but clumsily, when Miss Hammatt, 
 whom neither he nor Mr. Pelham had seen, 
 bent over the lawyer, and said, " John Bir- 
 kett, stick to your rifle : nursing the wounded 
 is woman's work." 
 
 "Bless my soul! this is an unexpected 
 pleasure," Mr. Pelham exclaimed, when he 
 saw who the new nurse was. 
 
 Miss Hammatt quickly took from her 
 pack everything needed for properly dress- 
 ing the wound, and said, as she skillfully 
 
Martha Hammatt's Captive 249 
 
 worked, " Uhexpected ? To be sure, you 
 could not expect me to expect to find you 
 wounded." 
 
 '' I spoke of the pleasure of meeting you 
 again." 
 
 " Oh, pshaw ! You must never be sur- 
 prised at anything I do," she replied, " for 
 example, sir, I just now captured a man." 
 
 " Madam, you have captured two," de- 
 clared Mr. Pelham — and winced as the 
 nurse gave a wry turn to the bandage. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 Parker's bag of gold 
 
 Not long after Birkett and the lawyer left 
 the basin, Parker awoke from tortured sleep, 
 screaming, " No, no ! Not the gold ! My 
 life first! I can fight!" 
 
 It was a minute before he shook off the 
 horror of his dream, and realized that he was 
 not attacked, not robbed, that the gold was 
 really there by his side. Hearing no sound 
 in the fort he went there, and was amazed 
 to find signs of its hasty abandonment. 
 
 Alone? and with all that gold! All that 
 he, and the others, had taken out ! AH that 
 he might yet filch from the pool before 
 morning! The poor fellow wept in an 
 ecstasy of greed. He dashed into the shal- 
 low pool and, by the uncertain light from a 
 small fire he scarcely stopped to replenish, 
 250 
 
Parker's Bag of Gold 251 
 
 worked with insane energy. Insane, indeed, 
 when, from a natural bed-rock riffle, his drip- 
 ping shovel brought up nearly as much gold 
 as gravel, and the pile of dully gleaming 
 treasure grew until its weight was more 
 than he could lift! Then, finding that he 
 had more gold than he could carry away, 
 his distracted mind broke under the strain of 
 thwarted avarice. 
 
 Putting into a sack all that he could carry, 
 cursing that all could not be taken, laugh- 
 ing at the weight under which he bent, the 
 madman struggled up to the trail ; only to be 
 met, as he chattered of his escape, by Dun- 
 ning, just awakened from an all-night sleep. 
 
 " Hello, Parker ! '* exclaimed Dunning, 
 **how did you get out? God, man! what 
 have you got ? " 
 
 '' Gold ! Gold ! '^ cried Parker. He was 
 haggard and disheveled; face, hands, 
 clothes smeared with wet earth. ''Gold! 
 My gold ! Your horse ! I must get to the 
 valley." 
 
252 Fort Birkett 
 
 Before Dunning could steady his wits, 
 shaken by the other's words and looks, 
 Parker staggered to the horse, and tried to 
 fasten his precious burden to the saddle. 
 
 " Hold on there ! " commanded Dunning. 
 He drew his pistol with his left hand and 
 pointed it, unsteadily, at Parker. " If that's 
 gold a share of it's mine." 
 
 " It's mine ! All mine ! " Parker screamed. 
 " Drop your gun! Drop it, I say, or I'll kill 
 you!" 
 
 He settled the sack in the saddle, then 
 turned and faced Dunning, who now saw 
 that he had a madman to encounter. But 
 he saw at the same time the full bulk — al- 
 most felt the weight — of the gold bag ; and, 
 doubtful of his lefthand aim, said coaxingly, 
 "We're pals, Parker, ain't we? Divide 
 equal. We'll pack the stuff down to the 
 valley before the other boys know we've got 
 It. That's fair, Parker. Divide even. 
 Think of the good times we'll have together. 
 There's enough for both. Divide even." 
 
Parker's Bag of Gold 253 
 
 " I'll not divide. It's all mine. Drop 
 your gun, I say." 
 
 Dunning aimed, and fired. As he did so 
 the madman sprang, and closed with him, 
 and they fought for the pistol. The struggle 
 was short, for Dunning was sorely dis- 
 tressed by his wounded hand. As he felt 
 the pistol slip slowly from his grasp he cried, 
 " I've got enough. Parker ! I say I've got 
 enough. For God's sake don't shoot me! 
 I'm wounded — unarmed — don't " 
 
 Parker pressed the pistol against Dun- 
 ning's side, fired, and they fell together. 
 
 The horse, quietly cropping the scattered 
 growth of grass that found scant lodgment 
 by the side of the trail, turned to look, with 
 troubled eyes, at the silent, prostrate figures ; 
 then shook itself to dislodge the unwelcome 
 weight in the saddle. The bag fell to the 
 rocky trail with a crashing blow, burst, and 
 scattered its flood of yellow, until it mixed 
 with a trickle of red, flowing from the 
 motionless bodies. The animal sniffed at 
 
254 Fort Birkett 
 
 the yellow grains, turned from them, dis- 
 appointed, and slowly pursued its patient 
 search for food. 
 
 Such was the scene the three bandits came 
 upon before they turned from the trail on 
 their way to attack Indian Sam's stronghold 
 on the east. They were walking their tired 
 horses, when one of the men halted and 
 pointed to the bodies in the trail. 
 
 '' It's Dunning ! " exclaimed one. " And 
 Parker ! " he added excitedly, as they drew 
 nearer. 
 
 " Both dead," declared another, who first 
 dismounted and bent over the bodies. 
 *'What kind of a job is this? Parker is 
 shot clean through the body, yet he's got the 
 only gun. Poor Dunning drilled through, 
 too!" 
 
 A bandit, who had turned from the bodies, 
 searching for some explanation of the 
 tragedy, uttered a cry which drew the others 
 to his side. He was on his knees gathering 
 
Parker s Bag of Gold 255 
 
 handfuls of gold — and, as he worked, his 
 hands were crimsoned. Dropping their 
 rifles, the others flung themselves on the 
 ground, saw the sack, and fought for it; 
 rolled over each other; cursed, tore at one 
 another's throats, then at the bag, now 
 empty, but still fought for with blind 
 savagery. 
 
 At last, one, strongest and youngest, 
 sprang aside, seized his rifle, and shouted, 
 *' If this is each man for himself, I've got the 
 drop on you fellows. If it's to be a fair 
 divide, stand apart, here, and agree on the 
 game." 
 
 The other two looked as if they would like 
 an equal chance to fight for the whole 
 treasure; but quickly realized their disad- 
 vantage, rose, gasping, and listened while 
 the young man spoke. He proposed that, 
 after an equal division of the gold, they 
 should hold together for mutual defense 
 until they were out of the mountains. 
 
 *' No need of us now," he said, '' to cap- 
 
256 Fort Birkett 
 
 ture the girl Rawlins wants to hold for this 
 gold. We've got the gold. Do you agree 
 that the haul is to be divided into three equal 
 parts?" 
 
 They growled assent. 
 
 " Dunning must have gone into the gorge 
 and helped Parker out. No one man packed 
 that weight of dust up to the trail. I reckon 
 they was chased by the parties in the basin, 
 and both shot while making a stand here. 
 Anyway, they're out of the game; and as 
 they was the only one of our party that had 
 any claim on the stuff, it's ours, now." 
 
 ** If they were shot by parties from the 
 basin, why didn't those parties take the 
 dust?" one asked. ''I figure it out that 
 Parker and Dunning quarreled and killed 
 each other." 
 
 '* All the more reason for us not to quarrel, 
 and leave the dust and our bodies for Raw- 
 lins' pets to find. Now, how'll we divvy? " 
 
 It was agreed that the common glass 
 whisky flask each carried should be the 
 
Parker's Bag of Gold 257 
 
 measure. Each was to fill his flask in turn, 
 and refill, until the finer dust was divided. 
 The nuggets were then to go: one to each 
 bandit, in turn, the order of choice to be 
 decided by lot, and that order to be main- 
 tained until all were chosen. When they 
 had sworn to abide by this agreement, the 
 young man said, '' Now get to work, or 
 Rawlins will be sending a man for us, and 
 we'll have to give him a share, or " 
 
 " Or let him share with Dunning and 
 Parker," interrupted another grimly. 
 
 They returned to the gold, and worked ac- 
 cording to the agreed plan ; each placing his 
 rifle behind him : '' For fear of accidents," 
 the young man said. 
 
 Watching each other with wolfish eyes, 
 each filled his flask, in turn, and emptied it 
 into his own division ; the many nuggets too 
 large to be forced into the flasks being 
 placed in a fourth pile, for final division. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE PURSUERS PURSUED 
 
 The party we left in the stronghold made 
 hasty preparation for retreat to the Meadow. 
 For the Indian they made a tomb of rocks, 
 where they laid him, wrapped in his blanket, 
 his rifle by his side, after Mr. Pelham had 
 asked the Father of all mercies to be merci- 
 ful to the soul of the man who had given his 
 life in charity — which is love. Ferris was 
 carried into the inclosure, where Miss Ham- 
 matt gave his wound such care as she could, 
 and Birkett left with him his own food and 
 water. 
 
 Then they started for the trail ; the women 
 
 on the horses, guarding Miss Hammatt's 
 
 prisoner; Mr. Pelham next on the pony; 
 
 Birkett and Lennox on foot in the rear, from 
 
 258 
 
The Pursuers Pursued 259 
 
 which direction only they looked for at- 
 tack. 
 
 When they reached the trail, Birkett ad- 
 vised that the women and Mr. Pelham ride 
 for the Meadow, as fast as possible, leaving 
 him and Lennox to follow with the prisoner 
 at their best gait. Mr. Pelham demurred to 
 this; saying that he was as able to walk as 
 the others, but his argument was abruptly 
 closed by the appearance above them on the 
 trail of three horsemen, at the sight of whom 
 Miss Hammatt exclaimed, " Thank God, my 
 father!" 
 
 The doctor was accompanied by the serv- 
 ant, who had been absent from the Meadow 
 with him, and the colonist whose family the 
 doctor had visited. 
 
 Dr. Hammatt embraced his daughter and 
 Constance, saluted the men gravely, and then 
 listened to Birkett's account of the strength, 
 and probable whereabouts, of the surviving 
 bandits. 
 
 At the close of the miner's narration. Dr. 
 
26o Fort Birkett 
 
 Hammatt said, " Our horses are not fresh, 
 but we shall at once pursue, and try to run 
 down these villains/' 
 
 " But they are five," exclaimed his daugh- 
 ter, " and you are but three." 
 
 " We are at least four," Lennox said. 
 
 The doctor looked approval of the young 
 man's avowed purpose to join in the pursuit; 
 and bowed acknowledgment when Birkett 
 said, " Counting me, we are five, Colonel." 
 
 Constance turned pale and said, '' Grand- 
 father, Mr. Lennox — and Mr. Birkett — are 
 much worn — by fatigue, hunger, lack of 
 sleep. Should you not wait until a larger 
 party can be collected ? " 
 
 " What you say will justify Mr. Lennox, 
 as well as Mr. Pelham, in returning to the 
 Meadow with you. I go on at once," the 
 doctor replied. 
 
 " Ez for me," said Birkett, " I hev quite 
 a leetle mining interest down in thet thar 
 gorge, which I am afeered those rascals will 
 not respect. I go with the doctor." 
 
The Pursuers Pursued 261 
 
 " And I, also," Lennox said. He stepped 
 to Constance's side, and whispered, " But I 
 shall return to you." 
 
 '' Sir ! " cried Mr. Pelham to the doctor, 
 *' we shall outnumber those villains. I shall 
 go with you." 
 
 Miss Hammatt seemed about to say 
 something of a decided character to the 
 lawyer, but checked herself and looked at her 
 father in a way to bring an expression of 
 great surprise into his face. She flushed at 
 her father's glance; but was reassured when 
 he said, " Mr. Pelham, I appreciate your 
 spirit, sir; but a fighting force is hampered 
 by its wounded. Besides, I shall feel re- 
 lieved to know that the ladies of my family 
 are protected at home by so brave a gentle- 
 man as you prove yourself to be." 
 
 Bowing as he concluded, the doctor 
 started down the trail, followed by his com- 
 panions. Without further word Miss Ham- 
 matt and Constance dismounted and turned 
 their horses over to Birkett and Lennox, who 
 
262 Fort Birkett 
 
 swung into the saddles and spurred to the 
 pursuit. 
 
 When the party had proceeded down the 
 trail as far as the head of the gorge Birkett 
 said, " I'd better prospect ahead here, doctor. 
 Mebbe I ken locate whar they turned off to 
 the south. It '11 save time ef we start fair on 
 their trail." 
 
 The others drew rein while Birkett went 
 ahead on foot. In a few minutes he hur- 
 ried back, signaled to them to dismount, and, 
 when they joined him, whispered, " They're 
 trapped, doctor ! They're taking a meal off 
 the bait, jest now, but we'll spring the trap 
 on 'em ez sure ez I'm a foot high! Kindly 
 hev your guns handy for use, gentlemen, 
 and follow me." 
 
 Without asking explanation, the party 
 silently followed Birkett until the bandits, 
 absorbed in their work over the division of 
 the gold, came into full view. Then they 
 halted, as Birkett stepped into the middle of 
 the trail, and called out : 
 
The Pursuers Pursued 263 
 
 " We hev the drop ! The first man ez 
 touches his gun is dead/' 
 
 The old man's voice was clear and steady 
 — ^had, even, its usual kindly quality of tone, 
 but its effect on those addressed was of an 
 angry thunder crash. Their hands trembled, 
 and their heads dropped as if dodging blows. 
 
 " Jest take a quiet look this way ; heving 
 in mind what I remarked about guns," Bir- 
 kett continued. 
 
 The bandits turned affirightedly; and ut- 
 tered snarling curses when they saw five 
 steady rifles covering them. 
 
 " Thank ye for being so obleeging," Bir- 
 kett said. " Now, the man to the left, 
 nighest the gorge, will please step this way; 
 continuing to obleege by holding up his 
 hands, ez he comes." 
 
 The man obeyed, as did the other two in 
 their turn; and the doctor and Lennox 
 guarded them, while Birkett and the colonist 
 bound them. 
 
 " I hev assisted," continued the old miner, 
 
264 Fort Birkett 
 
 as he superintended these proceedings, " I 
 hev ably assisted — which was the words of 
 the editor who wrote a piece about it in the 
 Placerville paper — at a small affair which 
 related to three other gents ez got mixed up 
 with some dust they didn't wash out, but 
 another man did. In thet affair, it being in 
 the early days, we didn't waste much rope on 
 their arms — we needed the rope for their 
 necks. But we're more civilized these here 
 days. Honest men, who ketches a thief 
 stealing, ain't allowed to punish the thief; 
 but hez to prove to twelve other men, as 
 didn't see, and is likely not to believe, thet 
 they did ketch the thief stealing. Now, 
 doctor," he added, " I reckon ye' re anxious 
 to get to the Meadow, to look after the 
 women folks, and see ef Miss Marthy's give 
 the Jedge's arm proper treatment." 
 
 " True," said the doctor. " But why do 
 not you and Mr. Lennox return to the 
 Meadow with us ? We've accounted for all 
 of the rascals you've seen, but others may 
 
The Pursuers Pursued 265 
 
 have been sent for; and that makes me 
 averse from leaving you here." 
 
 "We'll return with ye," Birkett answered, 
 " ef ye'll wait while the Colonel and me col- 
 lect these few specimens of dust." 
 
 They walked to where the gold was 
 divided, the dust in three piles, the nuggets 
 in another, and, at the sight, Dr. Hammatt 
 uttered an exclamation of wonder. 
 
 " Nice specimens ez I ever see," Birkett 
 remarked. " At a rough reckon I should 
 calculate it at twelve to thirteen hundred 
 ounces — wuth upwards of twenty-two, or 
 three, thousand dollars, say." 
 
 " And is there more gravel that will pay 
 like this ? " Dr. Hammatt asked, in amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 *' Doctor ! " — the old fellow's face worked 
 nervously for a moment, then he blurted — 
 *' we're all rich ; you, the Jedge, the Colonel, 
 and old John Birkett. Yes, sir; I'm so 
 derned rich it would be going against Provi- 
 dence to prospect any more; but what I'll do 
 
266 Fort Birkett 
 
 when I kain't prospect I jest naturally try 
 not to think on." 
 
 .While Birkett and Lennox collected and 
 packed the gold, the others buried the men 
 who died in quarreling over it ; and then the 
 whole party started out for the ]\Ieadow. 
 One halt was made while Lennox, helped by 
 two of the prisoners, brought Ferris from 
 the stronghold to the trail; where Dr. 
 Hammatt contrived a litter for him between 
 two of the prisoners' horses. 
 
 Events at the iMeadow had brought the 
 sheriff there, and he took charge of the 
 prisoners, much to the reHef of the doctor 
 and his companions. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A FAIR BARGAIN 
 
 When, during some pleasant weeks at the 
 Meadow, the business of incorporating the 
 "Birkett Consolidated Gold Mining Com- 
 pany " was disposed of, Mr. Pelham turned 
 his attention to the trial of the bandits, who 
 had been promptly indicted upon evidence 
 a-bundantly presented to the grand jury 
 through the district attorney. 
 
 John Birkett was the chief adviser in this 
 matter. He it was who urged that the 
 charge of murder, based upon the death of 
 Indian Sam and young Anderson, should be 
 dropped. The mountaineers, who would 
 form the trial jury, sympathized with Evan- 
 son and Taggert, also then on trial in an ad- 
 joining county; and to try the accused ban- 
 dits for the crime of killing Anderson would 
 267 
 
268 Fort Birkett 
 
 give the defense an excuse to relate the ban- 
 dits' case with the train robbery. 
 
 " Stick to the charge of gold stealing, 
 Jedge," urged Birkett to Mr. Pelham. 
 " Since the days of what the story books 
 calls the Argonauts, a miner's pan or sack 
 of gold hez bin what ye might call sacred 
 property. Horse stealing in a stock country, 
 and gold stealing in a mining country, them 
 hez always bin crimes easier to punish a man 
 for, than for taking another man's life." 
 
 In the preparation of his address to the 
 jury Mr. Pelham was again advised by the 
 old miner. " Tech 'em up with some of 
 them words ye're so handy with, Jedge. A 
 mountain man jest naturally do love beauti- 
 ful language. Their ears is used to sounds 
 ez be natural poetry : the wind singing soft 
 through the trees ; brooks that make sounds 
 like the wood instruments the fellow plays 
 in the theater ; lullabys ye hear, kind of mur- 
 mur-like, when ye sleep whar the night 
 breeze carries the music of a far-off water- 
 
A Fair Bargain 269 
 
 fall. Facts is a good thing to convince a 
 valley man, as mostly hears nothing more 
 comfortable than a railroad train ; but ef ye 
 want to prove a thing to a mountain man, 
 put it to him purty, and he'll believe ye — 
 even if he knows ye're lying." 
 
 The evidence was in ; the attorney for the 
 defense made a passionate appeal to the jury, 
 and then Mr. Pelham rose to speak. He 
 talked for ten minutes, without alluding to 
 the case on trial ; and Lennox, and the people 
 from the Meadow, began showing signs of 
 nervousness. But John Birkett, facing the 
 jury, and nodding grave approval if he 
 chanced to meet a juryman's eye, grew every 
 minute more confident. 
 
 " Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth, Long- 
 fellow," murmured Dr. Hammatt, checking 
 off the authors Mr. Pelham was appropriat- 
 ing liberally. " Will he never reach the 
 case? Keats, Moore — how he quotes! 
 What a prodigious memory ! " 
 
 Lennox, sitting near the table behind 
 
270 Fort Birkett 
 
 which Mr. Pelham stood, began to shake 
 with suppressed laughter. When he could 
 control his voice he whispered to Dr. Ham- 
 matt, " Those are not law books spread out 
 before Mr. Pelham : they are your complete 
 set of British Poets ! " 
 
 Having exhausted all that his poets had 
 written to or of the mountains, Mr. Pelham 
 concluded with an original tribute to the 
 " majesty and grandeur of your snow- 
 capped cathedrals; the haunting beauty of 
 your heaven - canopied canons!" This 
 caused Lennox to bury his smiling face in 
 his hands ; but Birkett murmured, '' He's 
 fetched the twelfth man ! " 
 
 Mr. Pelham, also having discovered that 
 he had " fetched the twelfth man," sat down ; 
 and in five minutes a verdict was returned : 
 " Guilty as charged." 
 
 The crowded courtroom cheered, and 
 spectators, jury, officials, nearly fought in 
 eagerness to shake hands with Mr. Pelham, 
 and assure him that as fine and strong a legal 
 
A Fair Bargain 271 
 
 argument had never before been heard in 
 the country. Miss Hammatt quietly 
 gathered up the poets and concealed them. 
 
 The next day, the party having returned 
 to the Meadow, Mr. Pelham announced that 
 business he could no longer neglect obliged 
 him to go to New York. Birkett urged the 
 lawyer to remain longer. " Ye oughtn't to 
 go, Jedge," he said; '' ye're ten years younger 
 already since ye came into the mountains; 
 and another month here will put ye in the 
 same class, for age, with the Colonel." 
 
 ^'I shall return," said Mr. Pelham; ''I 
 shall come again before snow, to see how 
 you and Mr. Lennox are working the 
 mines." 
 
 That evening Mr. Pelham and Miss Ham- 
 matt sat under the great pine in front of the 
 house. Inside, the doctor was reading; in 
 the stables Birkett prepared a pack train, to 
 start out in the morning for the machinery 
 of a sawmill needed to get out lumber for 
 mining flumes, and sluice boxes; down the 
 
272 Fort Birkett 
 
 path, toward the lower end of the Meadow, 
 strolled Constance and Lennox. The still 
 air was sweet with mountain odors, and 
 suffused with a new moon's faint light. 
 Perhaps it was the fatigue of his day's work, 
 or the mystery hush of the night, that made 
 Mr. Pelham disinclined to speech ; but what- 
 ever its cause, his companion seemed not to 
 resent his silence — rather to sympathize with 
 it. Birkett's musical voice was heard, giv- 
 ing final instructions to the colonists who 
 were to take out the pack train ; the doctor's 
 movements, between the reading table and 
 book shelves, told of his pursuits ; but under 
 the pine the couple long remained idly 
 silent. 
 
 "Martha," Mr. Pelham at last said. 
 She turned to him quietly. '' Martha, I've 
 been thinking that the trip to New York will 
 be a — a task to me — if I go alone." 
 
 " And Fve been thinking, De Witt, of the 
 same thing." 
 
A Fair Bargain 273 
 
 " Thank you, Martha ; I never before pro- 
 posed marriage, and lack, no doubt, in some 
 of the graces the occasion demands." He 
 took her hand, and kissed it. " I shall speak 
 to your father." 
 
 " I will go with you," she said ; and, arm 
 in arm, they entered the house. 
 
 Constance and Lennox talked more gayly 
 than they ever did before: he of his travels 
 and studies; of New York, his birthplace, 
 but a stranger city to him; how he should 
 seek, now that fortune had come, to establish 
 for himself the place among his own people 
 which his father had held: she of her life 
 in the mountains, which had never seemed 
 lonely until 
 
 " Until ? " he asked, but she did not reply. 
 " Will it seem lonely when I am gone ? My 
 life, even in the great city, will be lonely, 
 unless " 
 
 They were silent until they came to the 
 manzanita thicket. There he took her 
 
274 Fort Birkett 
 
 hands, and said, " I loved you, Constance, 
 the night we first met here. Do you love 
 me, dear? " 
 
 In the little sitting room Mr. Pelham and 
 Martha were in great spirits, and Dr. Ham- 
 matt, though quieter than even his wont, 
 smiled affectionately upon his daughter, 
 seeing her happiness. It was the doctor who 
 noted the long absence of the young people. 
 "Where are Constance and Lennox?" he 
 asked. 
 
 Even as he spoke they entered, hand in 
 hand: Lennox exultant, and Constance 
 blushing. 
 
 " De Witt," whispered Miss Hammatt, 
 " it will be a double wedding ! " 
 
 **My granddaughter has my consent," Dr. 
 Hammatt said, when Lennox promptly 
 asked that assurance of happiness. " But," 
 he added, sadly, though his fine face was 
 brightened by the joy reflected from those 
 about him, '' you gentlemen are not fair 
 traders with a lonely old man. You find for 
 
A Fair Bargain 275 
 
 him merely a fortune — you take from him 
 his children ! " 
 
 "Sir!" declared Mr. Pelham, "we are 
 more than fair: we throw into the bargain 
 two dutiful sons ! '* 
 
 The following summer Dr. Hammatt left 
 his books, and Birkett his mines, to travel to- 
 gether to New York, for the christening of 
 Vanderlyn Birkett Lennox and Martha 
 Hammatt Pelham. 
 
 In dumb wonder John Birkett visited with 
 the " Colonel " the sights of New York; was 
 stricken with inward terror by magic shoots 
 to heights of towering buildings; by mad 
 whirls through insane streets, in satanic 
 vehicles propelled by lightning; marveled, 
 until mind-weary, at the splendor of his 
 friends' homes, their servants, their luxuries, 
 the bewildering beauty of " Miss Marthy's " 
 and " Miss Connie's " gowns ; was fairly 
 dazed when a great financier, at Mr. Pel- 
 ham's table, paid him marked attention ; say- 
 
276 Fort Birkett 
 
 ing that the street had been favorably affected 
 by the bulHon output of Camp Birkett. 
 
 His greatest hour of triumph was when 
 Mrs. Lennox slyly induced him to tell, be- 
 fore a roomful of splendid men and women, 
 the story of his dismissal as a nurse, by Mrs. 
 De Witt Pelham. He told the story to such 
 applause as frightened him, at first; but he 
 grew accustomed to it before the end of his 
 visit, for Constance demanded the story 
 whenever she had an audience for him. 
 The unvarying conclusion, which was re- 
 ceived with an enthusiasm the old miner 
 never understood, was, " So I hustles in the 
 Jedge, with a bullet through his arm, and I 
 starts to dressing of the wound. Miss 
 Marthy, she comes up, and she says to me, 
 *John Birkett,' says she, 'stick to yer 
 rifle. Nursing the wounded is woman's 
 work.' Well, she located the Jedge right 
 then and thar; and neither the Jedge nor 
 Miss Marthy hez set up no conflicting loca- 
 tion since, I reckon," 
 
A Fair Bargain 277 
 
 When the visitors set forth for the moun- 
 tains again, Birkett was in charge of a car- 
 load of house furnishings which he was 
 directed to transport to the Meadow if he 
 had to build a wagon road to do it. He de- 
 clared that he meant to build a road, any- 
 way, so that the youngsters might reach the 
 Meadow. He intended to see them once a 
 year, but would not again risk mind and 
 life by a visit to New York. 
 
 So, each summer the little ones and their 
 parents visit the old home, now enlarged by 
 quaintly straggling additions, where the 
 doctor in serene old age, and Birkett with in- 
 creasing gentleness, welcome them. 
 
 John Birkett's pleasure is to teach Con- 
 stance's boy to ride; to show him the Meadow 
 trails which lead to quiet retreats of deer ; to 
 know the rocks, the trees, the harmony of 
 music and incense revealed only to those who 
 know and love the mountains. 
 
 THE END. 
 

 M271 14 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY