The Cave of Gold

E >> Everett McNeil >> The Cave of Gold

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In a couple of minutes he had reached the opening in the wall of rock, a
jagged hole some four or five feet in diameter, into which the sturdy
limb had thrust itself in such a manner that its branches completely
concealed all signs of the opening from below.

"Great! This is great!" Rex exclaimed, as he pushed his way through the
branches into the hole.

In a few minutes more all were through the hole, and were standing on a
narrow shelf of rock, looking down into a deep, narrow gulch, whose
bottom was considerably below the level of the bottom of Lot's Canyon.

"By gum! if we ain't struck th' right spot at last!" and Ham stared in
astonishment up the gulch to where it made a bend, like a crook at the
elbow in a man's bent arm. "Thar's th' Golden Elbow," and he pointed to
the bend; "an' this shore must be Crooked Arm Gulch. Wal, this is what I
call luck! Hurra!" and he swung his hat around his head and yelled at
the very top of his strong lungs; and every man there joined with him in
the yell; and the rocky walls of the narrow gulch echoed and reechoed
the sound, until it seemed as if a hundred men were shouting their
joyous yells of triumph.

"Too bad it is so late in the day that we must put off exploring the
gulch until to-morrow," Mr. Conroyal lamented, when the excitement had
somewhat quieted down.

"Oh, dad, just let us see if the cave is really there!" begged Thure.

"Impossible. See how swiftly the dark shadows of night are gathering. We
must hasten back to Lot's Canyon at once. In fifteen minutes it will be
too dark to see our way plainly. Come on, everybody. I reckon the Little
Woman is some curious to know what has been happening up here," and,
smiling happily, he started back toward the opening, followed by all the
others.

When they again reached the ground at the bottom of the Big Tree, they
found Mrs. Dickson alone. She said that Pedro had asked permission to go
back to where the grizzly bear had been filled to get a chunk of bear
steak for their supper, and had hurried off, taking one of their rifles
with him, as soon as she had said yes. She was nearly wild with joy,
when told of the find they had made, and vowed that she would go with
them in the morning, when they started out to look for the Cave of Gold,
in spite of the seemingly dangerous climb along the big limb of the Big
Tree.

Half an hour later Pedro returned with a big chunk of bear meat, which
was soon roasting on wooden spits placed around the blazing camp-fire.

That was as joyful an evening as the night before had been gloomy. Even
the saturnine spirits of Pedro seemed greatly affected by the general
hilarity; for his sallow face was all smiles and his little black eyes
snapped and twinkled, as he passed hither and thither among the men, and
he was very careful to place the pan in which he washed the dishes
within easy hearing distance of every word they might utter. Indeed, it
seemed almost impossible for him to tear himself away from the sound of
their voices; and, when he was compelled to go to the little spring they
had discovered some twenty rods distant from the Big Tree, after water,
he had gone there and back on the run, as if he was fearful that
something might be said while he was away that he ought to hear. But, to
all this, our friends gave no heed, save that Ham once or twice turned
his eyes on Pedro's excited face, with just a flicker of suspicion in
them.

"Wal, I don't wonder he's some excited, seein' us so upset," he thought.
"Still thar won't be no harm in keepin' as much as possible from him. I
don't believe in trustin' a Mexican nohow, any more than you've got
tew," and Ham lowered his own voice and cautioned the others to do
likewise, when Pedro was near. "Jest tew be on the safe side," he
explained.

"We must de doubly cautious now," warned Mr. Conroyal, when they made
ready for bed, "and keep somebody on guard night and day all the time;
for now that we have found the secret of Crooked Arm Gulch them devils
are likely to be down upon us at the first unguarded moment. We will put
four men on guard again to-night. Rex, you and Dill and Bud and his
father can stand guard for the first half of the night; and you can call
Ham and Frank and Thure and me to relieve you about one o'clock. Now,
get to your stations and we will get to our blankets. Good night,
everybody," and he began rolling himself up in his blanket.

An example that all except the guards followed very speedily.

CHAPTER XXV

THE CAVE OF GOLD

There were no disturbances during the night; and the dawn of the next
morning found everybody up and awaiting eagerly the moment when there
would be sufficient light in the canyon to make the climbing of the Big
Tree and the entrance into Crooked Arm Gulch safe. At last Mr. Conroyal
declared that the great moment had come.

"But," and he glanced around the little group of eager faces, "Ham and I
think, and I am sure you will all agree with us when you stop to
consider the matter, that we ought to leave at least one man here to
stand guard with Pedro. Now, under the circumstances, I had rather not
say who that man shall be, but will ask for a volunteer. Who is willing
to offer himself up as a sacrifice to the good of the public?" and Mr.
Conroyal smiled.

For a moment all stood staring blankly into one another's faces. No one
appeared to be in the least anxious to make this sacrifice. And no
wonder! For, now at the very moment they were about to explore the
mysteries of the dead miner's wonderful Cave of Gold, who would care to
be left behind? Then, with a smile on his face, Frank Holt stepped
forth.

"Reckon I'll stay and keep company with Pedro," he said. "I'm not as
young as I once was, and crawling along that limb some twenty feet above
the ground looks some dangerous to legs as old as mine. But I'd like to
have one of you, if you find the cave all right, come and let me know,"
and the sparkle in his eyes told how great was his interest in the
result.

"I'll come right back and relieve you, dad, just as soon as we find the
cave and see what it is like," Rex Holt promised. "Then you can go and
see for yourself. It was great of you to offer to stay. I'll be back
soon. Good-by," and he hurried after the others, who were already
climbing the Big Tree.

Pedro, all the morning, had been as feverish with excitement as had any
of the others, and had watched their every movement, as a cat watches a
caught mouse, and had tried to overhear every word uttered; but, at the
first mention of a guard being left with him, he had muttered a Mexican
oath and had turned angrily and sullenly away, all his excitement gone.
Evidently he had counted a great deal on being left alone with the
horses and the camp supplies, when the search for the Cave of Gold was
made; and, consequently, the leaving of a guard with him had been a very
great disappointment. But he was too cunning to allow this
disappointment to be seen by his employers, and had turned quickly away
to hide his feelings, until he was again his usual suave self; and so he
did not hear the promise of Rex to hasten back as soon as the cave was
found and relieve his father.

You may be sure that there were no laggards among the climbers up the
Big Tree and along the limb and through the entrance into Crooked Arm
Gulch; and soon all stood on the little shelf of rock, from which they
had had their first view of the gulch the night before.

"Now, th' first thing tew dew is tew git down tew th' bottom," commented
Ham, as the eyes of all eagerly searched the walls of the gulch.

"That looks easy! Right this way!" and Thure began excitedly clambering
down the rocks.

The shelf of rock on which they stood was some fifty feet above the
bottom of the gulch; and from it a series of shelves and jutting rocks
made an easy pathway downward, for mountaineers as experienced as they
were, and soon all our friends stood at the bottom of Crooked Arm Gulch.

"Now for the Golden Elbow!" shouted Thure. "I want to be the first one
in the Cave of Gold," and he started up the gulch as fast as he could
go, jumping and climbing over the rocks that nearly covered its bottom.

"Same here!" and, with a yell, Bud started after him.

In a moment all, even the gray-haired men, had joined madly in the race.
Evidently Thure was not the only one who wished to be the first in the
Cave of Gold.

The gulch was narrow, only about a couple of rods wide at the place
where our friends had reached the bottom, and, some three hundred yards
from here, it made a turn, like the crook in a man's bent arm. This was
evidently the Golden Elbow, and the point for which all were racing.

Thure, owing to his start and his long legs, was the first to reach this
spot, but Bud was not six feet behind him. Then came Rex and Dill and
the others, with Dickson and his wife pantingly bringing up the rear.
All had stopped directly in front of the point of the turn, and now
stood staring excitedly around them, looking for the entrance to the
Cave of Gold and looking in vain.

In front of them the wall of the gulch had been hollowed out into a
great overhanging arch, seventy-five or more feet in height and some
fifteen feet deep.

Could this be the miner's Cave of Gold?

Surely not; for there was no need of torch here, and the bottom
certainly was not covered with gold nuggets, but with hundreds of pieces
of broken rock, some of them as large as two strong men could lift.

"Wal, I swun, if it don't look as if we was up ag'in it ag'in," and Ham
stared excitedly around. "But, if thar is any cave here, it must be
right in thar. Come, git busy," and he began clambering over the rocks
toward the back wall of the arch. "I'll bet a coonskin that I can find
it first."

"Take you!" shouted Thure and Bud, both clambering swiftly after him.

In a minute more all were searching excitedly for the hidden entrance to
the cave, along the entire back wall of the arch; but the rocks of the
bottom seemed to meet a solid wall of rock at the back.

"Say, but isn't it enough to make even a Job swear to be held up like
this, right at the most exciting moment!" and Thure stopped in front of
a large flat rock, that had fallen so that it stood nearly on edge,
leaning against the back wall of the arch. "Come, give me a hand; and
let's see what is behind this rock," and he turned to Bud, who stood
near him. "It looks almost as if it might have been stood up there on
purpose."

In a moment the strong arms of the two boys were tugging at the huge
slab of rock; and, at last, with a mighty effort, they pulled it away
from the wall and toppled it over backward, and it fell, with a crash,
on the rocks between them, revealing a black opening in the solid rock.

"Hurrah!" yelled Bud.

"Found!" shouted Thure; and both excited boys made a dive for the hole,
with the result that their bodies stuck tightly in the opening, the hole
not being large enough to accommodate the entrance of both of them at
the same time.

Ham and Mr. Conroyal pulled them out; and then Ham thrust his big body
into the opening--he could just squeeze in--and began cautiously working
his way forward. It was not a venture for an excited boy to make, the
entrance into that black hole without a light.

In about five minutes Ham came backing hurriedly out.

"Who's got th' candles?" he cried excitedly. "Thar sart'in is a cave in
thar; but it is as dark as the bottomless pit. We must have lights
before we can enter. Give me a candle."

"Here, here they are!" and Mr. Conroyal who in the excitement of the
moment had forgotten the package of a couple of dozen candles he had
tied up and slung over his back just before climbing the tree that
morning, quickly swung the package down on a rock in front of him and
cut the strings.

Ham caught up one of the candles, and, hurriedly lighting it, again
crawled into the hole, holding the candle out in front of him.

Thure and Bud both caught up candles and lighting them, looked
imploringly at their fathers.

Both men nodded, and the boys dove into the hole; but this time
separately.

"The rest of us had better wait outside until we hear from Ham and the
boys," Mr. Conroyal said, staring anxiously into the hole.

For perhaps ten minutes, although to the anxious and excited watchers
outside it seemed more like an hour, not a sound came from the hole into
whose black depths the three men had vanished. Even the lights of their
candles had disappeared. Then, suddenly, the excited voice of Thure was
heard, booming out through the hole.

"It's the cave, the Cave of Gold!" he cried exultantly, his voice
trembling with excitement. "Come in, all of you. There is room for all.
I will hold my candle so that you can see."

"Here, Dickson, you go first, and, Mollie, you follow right behind him,"
and Mr. Conroyal pushed Mr. and Mrs. Dickson excitedly toward the cave
opening, and motioned Rex and Dill and Mr. Randolph to follow them, he
himself entering last.

The hole slanted downward for some ten feet, then, enlarging a little,
turned to the right and ran straight ahead for some thirty feet, still
slanting quite steeply downward, when it suddenly opened out into a
large chamber, worn by the action of water, apparently, out of the solid
rock.

In five minutes all our excited friends stood in this chamber or cave
and were staring wonderingly around them. They found themselves in a
room, some thirty feet long by twenty feet wide at the widest, with an
oval slanting roof, shaped something like the inverted quarter of an
egg-shell. The bottom of the cave was level and composed of a very
coarse gravel, mixed with little rounded chunks of a yellowish metal,
that glowed in the light of the candles like thousands of dull yellow
coals of fire.

In an instant everybody was down on their knees examining these chunks
of metal. For a couple of minutes no one spoke. Then Ham lifted his head
and looked slowly around him, as if he were trying to convince himself
that he was really awake.

"Gosh!" he said, in a voice hardly above a whisper. "It is gold!"

"It is gold!" and Mr. Conroyal looked up, his face white and his eyes
shining. "It is gold; and enough of it to make us all rich beyond our
fondest dreams. No wonder the miner called it the Cave of Gold."

[Illustration: "IT IS GOLD! IT IS GOLD! AND ENOUGH OF IT TO MAKE US ALL
RICH BEYOND OUR FONDEST DREAMS."]

"Gold! Gold! Now Ruth shall have her breastpin nugget and gold
necklace!" and Thure, with hands that trembled so that he could hardly
hold the candle, began an excited search for the largest chunk of gold
that he could find. In two minutes he had found one about the size and
the shape of a robin's egg. "The very thing!" he cried. "That will make
a magnificent breastpin," and he quickly picked it up and began
searching for the nuggets to go into the promised necklace.

During this time Bud was quickly gathering up the largest nuggets he
could find; for a similar purpose but for a different girl; and the
fingers of all the others were busy in the same exciting way.

For half an hour all forgot everything, but the shining pellets that
covered the bottom of the cave. Then Rex suddenly straightened up.

"Great Washington! I'm forgetting dad!" he exclaimed. "I must go to dad
at once," and he started for the hole that gave passageway to the outer
world.

Naturally Rex was greatly excited and made all possible haste to get
back to his father with the good news. The distance was not great, and
in ten minutes he had reached the hidden entrance to Crooked Arm Gulch,
and, hurriedly crawling through the narrow opening, he pushed the
concealing branches aside--and found himself looking directly into the
red face of Bill Ugger.

"God in heaven!" and Rex struck out with all the strength of his strong
right arm.

The face was not three feet away and the blow landed squarely on the
broken nose. There was a low cry, the crash of broken branches, and the
huge body of Bill Ugger plunged downward from the limb.

For an instant Rex stared blankly after the body; and then, suddenly
realizing the value of every moment, if they would not all be caught in
a trap from which there would be no escape, he whirled about and raced
back to the Cave of Gold, almost wild with the thought of what might
happen, if the gang of robbers should capture their horses and supplies
and hold them captive in Crooked Arm Gulch, as they could easily do,
once they secured possession of the Big Tree. Then there was his father.
What had happened to him? No wonder his face went white, and he risked
limb and life a dozen times in his mad scramble down the rocks and up
the gulch and into the opening of the Cave of Gold.

"Quick! Everybody, back to the Big Tree!" he shouted, as he plunged into
the cave, where our excited friends were still busily picking up the
nuggets. "The robbers! They have got dad! Quick!" and he whirled about
and rushed back.

In an instant the gold was forgotten. Every man jumped for his rifle,
which had been left near the entrance to the cave, and sprang after Rex,
leaving the startled and frightened Mrs. Dickson to follow as best she
could.

There was not one of them but understood on the instant the seriousness
of their peril. If the robbers secured their horses and supplies and
held the entrance to Crooked Arm Gulch, they would be absolutely at
their mercy; for, so far as they knew, the only way out of the gulch was
by way of the Big Tree, and half a dozen men, armed with rifles, could
hold this narrow opening against their most desperate efforts to get
out, and in a few days, could starve them into surrender, for they had
no food with them. They must at all costs, if it was not already too
late, keep the entrance to Crooked Arm Gulch from falling into the hands
of the robbers.

Hammer Jones, by desperate efforts, reached the side of Rex, just as he
was about to plunge into the passageway between Crooked Arm Gulch and
Lot's Canyon; and one of his great hands closed down on the excited
man's shoulder just in time to stop the reckless act.

"Cautious! Cautious!" warned Ham, as he jerked Rex back. "If them skunks
have got th' camp, 'twill be death to sot foot on that big limb."

"But, dad--"

"'Twon't help him none for you tew git killed. I'll take a look first,"
and the great strength of Ham forced Rex back, while he himself began
cautiously, yet rapidly, crawling through the narrow opening.

In a moment he had reached the limb of the Big Tree, and, carefully
parting the branches so as to make no noise, he cautiously looked down.

The camp had been pitched under the Big Tree almost directly beneath
him; and the first look showed him everything apparently safe and
undisturbed. The next look--and, with the cry: "Come on, everybody, as
quick as th' Lord will let you," he sprang out on the limb and began
working his way down the tree so recklessly that more than once he was
in danger of falling. The moment he reached the ground he leaped toward
an object that lay tightly bound up in a blanket on the ground near the
trunk of the tree; and, with a swift hand began cutting the ropes that
were tightly wound around it from head to foot, in a manner exactly
similar to that in which they had found Mrs. Dickson on the night she
had been so mysteriously bound in her tent.

By the time Rex had reached his side he had uncovered Frank Holt, with
his hands bound behind him and a gag in his mouth, but otherwise unhurt,
except for a big lump on the back of his head. In a moment more Rex had
pulled the gag out of his father's mouth and Ham had freed his hands.

"Pedro!" Holt gasped and staggered a little dizzily to his feet. "He
struck me down from behind, and tied and gagged me, as you found me.
Where is Pedro?" and he looked excitedly and a bit wildly around. "Ah,
now I remember," and his face cleared. "He has gone for the rest of the
gang. I overheard him and another man, after I had recovered my senses
and lay tightly bound up in the blanket, planning how he would go and
get the rest of the gang, while the other man climbed the tree and kept
guard over the narrow opening. Their plan was to capture the camp and
hold the Big Tree, so that none of you could get out of Crooked Arm
Gulch, and then starve you into surrendering everything; and they came
mighty nigh doing it," and he glanced anxiously down the canyon.
"They'll be due in about half an hour, I judge from what I overheard.
They were not calculating on any of you getting back so soon," and he
smiled grimly.

"But that other man? Where is that other man?" and Mr. Conroyal--by this
time all, even Mrs. Dickson, had made their way down the Big
Tree--looked anxiously around.

Rex started and glanced quickly toward the wall of the canyon, directly
under the opening to Crooked Arm Gulch; and then his face cleared.

"I reckon that's him," and he pointed to a huddled heap that lay on the
rocks. "I knocked him off the limb of the Big Tree. But, we had better
make sure he is where he can do no harm," and he hurried to the body.
"Dead as a stone. Neck broken," he declared, as he turned the corpse
over.

"Broken-nose! It's Broken-nose!" and Thure, who had hurried up with Rex,
started back, as the man's face came into view.

"Wal, th' world's better off by havin' one less scoundrel in it," and
Ham scowled down on the face of Bill Ugger, ugly and repulsive even in
death. "Now," and he turned quickly to Holt, "didn't you say that thar
Mexican skunk, Pedro, had gone tew git th' rest of th' gang?"

"Yes," answered Holt; "and we must be ready for them, when they get
here. They are camped down near the Devil's Slide; and I calculate it
will take them about half an hour yet to get here."

"An' the skunks are a-calculatin' on findin' th' camp unguarded?" and
Ham's eyes began to twinkle brightly.

"Yes, I heard Pedro tell the other fellow that he felt quite sure none
of us would be back for two hours or more; but, to make things safe,
Brokennose, as Thure calls him, said he'd climb the tree and knock the
head off anyone that tried to come through the narrow opening into
Crooked Arm Gulch. I reckon Rex got there just at the right moment to
spoil that little game."

"I certainly did," and Rex smiled grimly. "A minute later, and he would
have got me, instead of my getting him. But, we must be getting ready
for the return of Pedro," and his eyes glanced anxiously down the
canyon.

"Say," and Ham turned to Conroyal, "why can't we give them th' same kind
of a s'prise they was a-calculatin' on givin' us? They ain't expectin'
tew find us here, an' will come a rushin' up unsuspicious-like, an', if
we hide, we can give 'em a mighty warm reception a-fore they know what's
happenin'."

"Bully! Where'll we hide?" and Mr. Conroyal glanced eagerly around.
"There, those rocks will be just the place," and he pointed up the
canyon to where a row of big rocks stood up, almost like a rampart,
something like a hundred feet from the Big Tree. "Now we must leave the
camp looking just as it was when Pedro left it. Here, somebody, quick,
we'll tie the body of Ugger up in the blanket, and leave it where we
found Frank. That will sure fool them," and he hurried to where the
corpse of Ugger lay; and, in a few minutes, the body was tightly bound
up in a blanket and laid down on the exact spot where Ham had found
Holt.

"All got plenty of powder and lead?" and Mr. Conroyal glanced swiftly
from man to man.

All answered in the affirmative.

"Then get behind the rocks," and, with a final look around the camp to
see that every suspicious sign had been removed, Mr. Conroyal led his
little company to the rocky rampart to await the coming of Pedro and the
band of robbers; and soon all had vanished from the sight of anyone
coming up the canyon.

In front of them and the Big Tree there was a space some three hundred
feet wide, clear of trees or underbrush or rocks large enough to shield
a man.

"We will wait for them until they get out into the open," Mr. Conroyal
said, pointing to this space. "Now everybody see that his rifle and
pistols and knife are ready; and remember to keep down out of sight and
on no account to fire until I give the word."

They did not have long to wait; for hardly had Mr. Conroyal uttered his
last words of warning, when they saw Pedro coming around the bend in the
canyon some two hundred yards below them. At first Pedro advanced very
cautiously, darting from rock to rock and keeping his body concealed as
much as possible; but, at last, coming to where he could get a clear
view of the camp and seeing nothing to awaken his suspicions, he
appeared to be satisfied that all was safe and turned and began
beckoning excitedly with both his hands. In response a little company of
heavily armed men instantly sprang into sight, coming from around the
bend in the canyon, and hurried up to where Pedro stood awaiting them.

For two or three minutes they stood there, while Pedro, gesticulating
excitedly and frequently pointing toward the quiet-seeming little camp
under the Big Tree, appeared to be explaining the situation to them.
Then all began advancing cautiously, yet rapidly toward the Big Tree,
taking advantage of the rocks and trees and bushes to conceal their
movements as much as possible.

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