The Cave of Gold
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Everett McNeil >> The Cave of Gold
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In the lower left-hand corner of the map was a rudely drawn tree, with
three huge limbs, and, from near the end of the upper and third limb, an
arrow pointed slantingly downward, away from the trunk of the tree. In
the lower right-hand corner was a hand holding a flaming torch. Between
the tree and the torch was a cross, marked with the four main points of
the compass. In the lower left-hand corner of the map itself was a small
circle, marked "Hangtown"; and from there a crooked line trailed in a
northeasterly direction to the upper right-hand quarter of the skin,
where a map of Lot's Canyon and Crooked Arm Gulch was drawn with
considerable detail.
[Illustration: THE SKIN MAP.]
For a couple of minutes the two boys studied this map in silence, while
the conviction that the Cave of Gold was no deathbed hallucination, but
a wonderful reality, grew upon them; or else, how came the skin map,
which evidently had been made many days ago?
"Hangtown!" and Thure pointed excitedly to the name on the map. "That's
the name of the mining camp where dad was when he wrote last. And here,"
and his finger followed up the trail marked on the map, "is Lot's
Canyon! and the Big Tree! and Crooked Arm Gulch! and the Golden Elbow!
and--and this black spot, marked 'cave,' right at the point of the
Golden Elbow, must be the Cave of Gold! Great Moses, but I believe the
miner did actually find that Cave of Gold, just as he said he did!" and
Thure's eyes and face glowed with excitement.
"So do I," Bud agreed emphatically. "The skin map, the gold nugget--why,
even his murder! all go to prove the truth of his tale. The robbers
killed him to get this map. They could have got the gold without killing
and got away all right; but they knew of the Cave of Gold and the
map--the miner said he told them--and, expecting to get the map along
with the gold, they killed him to get him out of the way, so that they
could have all the gold in the cave to themselves. Say, but let's hurry
home and tell our mothers. They can't refuse to let us go to the mines
now! And we must start just as soon as possible. Come," and, for the
moment, in his excitement, forgetting the dead body of the miner, he
started to mount his horse.
"But, we can't leave him there!" and Thure pointed to the body. "Just
help me to get him up on the horse in front of me and then we'll get
home as soon as possible," and, picking up the little buckskin bag, he
slipped the nugget and the map back into it, thrust it into his pocket,
and soon, with the help of Bud, was on his horse, with the body of the
dead miner in front of him.
Bud now quickly threw the grizzly bearskin back on his horse, jumped
into his saddle, and the homeward journey was resumed.
CHAPTER IV
AT THE CONROYAL RANCHO
When Thure, bearing in his arms the dead body of a man, and Bud, with
the huge skin of a grizzly bear hanging across the back of his horse
behind the saddle, rode into the open court in front of the Conroyal
rancho, there was great excitement; and, even before they could
dismount, they were surrounded by a crowd of gesticulating,
question-shouting women and children and old decrepit men, all wild with
curiosity to know what had happened. In the midst of all this
excitement, the door of the house was flung open and two young ladies
catapulted themselves through the crowd to where Thure and Bud sat on
their horses.
"Mercy! What has happened?" and Iola Conroyal, her horrified eyes fixed
on the face of the dead miner, came to a sudden halt by the side of
Thure, with Ruth Randolph, round-eyed and white-faced, clinging to one
of her arms. "Is--is he dead?"
"Yes, he is dead," Thure answered gravely. "Murdered for his gold."
Then, seeing how white the faces of the two girls had suddenly grown, he
added quickly: "You girls hurry right back into the house and tell your
mothers that we found a miner, who had been robbed and stabbed, and
started to bring him home with us, but that he died before we got here;
and ask them to have some blankets laid on the floor of the sala for the
body to lie on and a sheet to cover it. Now, hurry. We'll tell you how
it all happened later," and not until the two girls were back in the
house did Thure make a move to get rid of his ghastly burden. Then,
reverently the body of the dead miner was lowered from the horse, and
borne into the large hall-like room of the house known as the sala, and
laid down on the blankets there prepared for it, and covered over with a
sheet.
In the meantime Bud had thrown the great hide of the grizzly to the
ground with the information that it was the skin of _El Feroz_ himself.
"How did you kill him?" "Who shot him?" and, with shouts of wonder and
delight, all the men and the boys, who had not gone into the sala with
the body of the dead miner, crowded around the skin of the fallen
monarch.
"Thure and I found the old villain just after he had killed a horse, and
shot him," Bud answered hastily, anxious to get to his mother with the
wonderful news of the Cave of Gold as quickly as possible. "Here,
Angelo!" and he turned to a young Mexican boy standing near, "Take my
horse and see that he is properly cared for. And you, Juan, take the
hide of _El Feroz_ and let us see how fine a robe you can make out of
it."
"Si, si, senor," answered the old Mexican exultingly. "He, the ugly
brute, kill my wife's brother, Pedro, whom I, like my own brother,
loved, and 'twill give my soul peace one fine robe to make out of his
big skin. A great glory, the killing of _El Feroz_, senor," and his old
eyes kindled. "Your fame like a swift horse will travel."
"Shucks! Any hunter could have got him the same as we did," and Bud
hurried into the house, all care for the glory of killing _El Feroz_
having been driven out of his head by the dying miner's remarkable
revelations.
At the door of the house Bud was met by his mother and Mrs. Conroyal,
with Ruth and Iola close behind them. The bringing of the dead body of
the murdered miner into the house had greatly excited both women.
"My son," Mrs. Randolph cried the moment she caught sight of Bud, "what
means this tale of murder and robbery and the bringing of the dead body
of a strange man into the house?"
"Oh, mother, mother," and Bud excitedly caught hold of his mother's
hand, "the most wonderful, the most marvelous thing has happened!"
"What?" and the astonished and horrified woman caught hold of both of
his shoulders and shook him. "Have you gone clean crazy, Bud Randolph,
to speak of murder and robbery like that?"
"I--I," stammered Bud, "I forgot the dead miner. We were too late to
save him; but he lived long enough to tell us--" He stopped abruptly and
glanced swiftly around the room. The secret of the Cave of Gold must not
be proclaimed from the housetops! There was no one in the room with
himself, but the two women and the two girls. "Mother, Mrs. Conroyal,"
he continued, lowering his voice, "the old miner before he died told
Thure and me of a wonderful Cave of Gold that he had discovered in a
gulch somewhere in the mountains; and he made Thure and me his heirs,
and gave us a map, showing the way to the cave, and a huge gold nugget,
which the robbers did not get, that he said he had found in the cave,
and he--But here is Thure! He has the--"
"Hush! Not so loud!" and Thure, who at that moment stepped into the room
from the sala, where the body of the dead miner lay, lifted a warning
hand. "There are many ears in there," and he pointed to the door he had
just closed behind him, "that must not hear what we have to tell. Come,
let us go to your room, mother, where there won't be any danger of what
we have to tell you being overheard," and he started for Mrs. Conroyal's
private room, followed by Bud and the two wondering women and the girls.
"I--I," and Thure stopped at the door of his mother's room and looked
hesitatingly at Iola and Ruth, "I--I reckon it is too great a secret to
tell you two girls just now. You had better wait--"
"No!"--"No!" broke in both girls indignantly, while Ruth, looking as if
she would like to box Thure's ears, declared:
"We girls can keep a secret just as well as you boys can, and you know
it; for, haven't we saved you from many a licking by not telling your
dads what you had been up to? But if this is the way you are going to
treat us, we'll fix you next time," and she shook her head
threateningly.
"Besides," supplemented Iola triumphantly, "we know most of the secret
already. It's about a Cave of Gold and a map and--"
"Oh, Christmas! You couldn't keep nothing from the girls!" and the face
Thure turned to Bud showed his disgust.
"Well, I reckon the secret is just as safe with them as it is with us,"
protested Bud stoutly, flushing a little, "especially when they know how
important it is to keep it secret. You will never tell a word of it to
anybody, will you girls? It--it might mean murder, if you did."
"No, no," affirmed Iola emphatically. "We'll not breathe a word of it to
a living human being. We'll die first. We'll not disappoint your trust
in us, Bud," and she glanced a bit scornfully from Bud to her brother.
"Will we, Ruth?"
"Never," and Ruth's red lips closed tightly over her pearly teeth. "Do
you suppose we'd betray those we love?" and her eyes flashed
indignantly.
"All right. See that you don't, then," and Thure's face cleared. To tell
the truth he was just a little ashamed of the lack of confidence he had
shown in his sister and Ruth. "Anyhow, you know so much now that you
might as well be told the rest, so come on," and he opened the door and
carefully closed and locked it, when all had entered the room.
It did not take many minutes for the two eager boys to tell the story of
the day's remarkable experiences, from the killing of the great grizzly
to the death of the old miner; for the narrative, under the lash of
their active tongues, proceeded in running jumps, from the beginning to
the end and was never allowed to lag an instant.
"And now," concluded Thure excitedly, when the last of the wonderful
tale had been told, "Bud and I must both start for the mines just as
soon as we can get ready; and get father and Rex and Dill and Uncle
Frank and Hammer Jones to help us find this Cave of Gold; and when we
have found it--"
"But," broke in Mrs. Conroyal, smiling at Thure's enthusiasm, although
her own face was flushed and her eyes were sparkling with excitement,
"where is this wonderful gold nugget and skin map, that you tell us the
miner gave you in proof of his remarkable story? You seem to forget that
you have not yet shown us your proof."
"Here, here it is!" and the excited boy thrust one hand into his pocket
and triumphantly pulled out the small buckskin bag; and, swiftly turning
the bag bottom side up, dumped its contents into his mother's lap; and
the next moment, the two women and the two girls were as excitedly
examining the big nugget and the rude skin map as ever they had been
examined by the two boys.
"And the miner told you that the bottom of the cave was covered with
gold nuggets like this?" queried Mrs. Randolph, her eyes shining, as she
held up the nugget.
"Yes, yes," answered Bud. "Thousands of them, only smaller. Of course he
picked up the biggest that he could see. We can go to the mines now,
can't we, mother?"
"And this queer skin map tells you how to find this wonderful Cave of
Gold?" and Mrs. Conroyal spread out the map on her lap and stared
wonderingly at it. "I can't see how all this jumble of crooked lines and
letters can tell you anything."
"Why, it's easy, mother," and Thure bent eagerly over the map. "You see
you start from Hangtown and go in a northeasterly direction to Humbug
Canyon and Three Tree Mountain and Goose Neck Lake and the Devil's Slide
to Lot's Canyon; and then up Lot's Canyon until you come to Crooked Arm
Gulch, and then up Crooked Arm Gulch until you come to the Golden Elbow;
and the cave, you see, is right in the point of the elbow," and Thure's
finger rested excitedly on the black spot on the map marked "cave." "The
cave is about five days from Hangtown, the miner said. We can go to the
mines now, can't we, mother?"
"Hangtown! What a horrid name!" and Mrs. Conroyal shuddered. "But," and
she started to her feet excitedly, "wasn't your father's last letter
sent from Hangtown? I am sure it was," and she hurried to her writing
desk, picked up a letter and glanced eagerly at its heading. "See! It
was! Here is the name," and she pointed triumphantly to the letter.
"You see, it won't be difficult to find the Cave of Gold from the map,
mother, not with dad's help. And, mother, we must start for the mines
just as soon as we can get ready to go. You surely will let us go now!"
and Thure caught hold of his mother's hand. "Say, yes, mother, now;
because Bud and I want to start to-morrow morning, and there is much to
be done before we go."
"My boy," and Mrs. Conroyal's face sobered, "you are all the man that
the mines have left me. Husband, son, servants, all have gone to the
mines, until now you and Bud are the only able-bodied men left on the
rancho--and now the mines are calling you!"
"But, mother, think of what the finding of such a mine means to us all!
And father and Mr. Randolph, if they knew about the Cave of Gold and the
skin map, I am sure would want us to come; and Old Juan and Manuel and
the boys can take care of the rancho; and, you know, if we find the Cave
of Gold and get the gold, then all of us, father and the rest, will be
back soon; and we will be rich; and dad can build you the new house that
you want and furnish it the way that you want it furnished; and Bud and
I can go East and get the education that we need to fit us to do a man's
work in the great new State of California that is bound to be made out
of this country, now that it has become a part of the United States. It
is yes, isn't it, mother? And we can start, can't we, to-morrow
morning?" and Thure's arm went round his mother and he drew her
appealingly to him.
For a minute or two Mrs. Conroyal did not answer. She was battling with
her mother-love. She knew what this quest of the Cave of Gold might
mean--hardships, dangers, even death for those she loved. But she was of
pioneer stock, had often seen her dearest go forth to face the dangers
of the unknown wilderness; and, at last, with something of Spartan-like
fortitude, she turned to Thure.
"Yes, my son, you may go," she said. "You may go to your father and tell
him all; and he will decide about the search for the Cave of Gold."
"Hurrah! We can go! Mother says I can go!" and Thure swung his free hand
around his head.
"And mother says I can go! Hurrah for the gold-mines!" and Bud clapped
his sister on the back, by way of letting off some of the surplus steam
of his enthusiasm. "It will be great! And I'll bring you back a necklace
of gold nuggets, sister mine. Now, we must be getting ready."
"But, first we all have a solemn duty to perform," Mrs. Conroyal said
gravely. "We must give the dead miner decent burial, as we would wish
our own dear ones buried, should they die amongst strangers. See that
the grave is dug, my son; and notify all that the funeral will be held
in the house-sala at the going down of the sun. Come, we will make ready
the house for the funeral," and, followed by Mrs. Randolph and the two
girls, she hurried from the room.
A half an hour later, all who were left on the rancho gathered in the
sala to pay the last respects of the living, who soon must die, to the
dead, who but a short time before lived. There was no minister, no
priest to be had. Mrs. Conroyal read the church service for the dead
over the body of the unfortunate miner; and then six of the oldest and
strongest boys gently lifted the boards on which the corpse lay to their
shoulders and, just as the rays of the setting sun redden the tops of
the western mountains, bore the body slowly to its last resting place,
beneath the outstretched arms of a sturdy oak, on the top of a little
hillock, near the murmuring waters of a small stream that flowed close
by the house.
That night was a busy night at the Conroyal rancho. Everything must be
got ready for the going of Thure and Bud in the morning; and it was
surprising how many things there were that needed doing. But, at length,
long after midnight, everything was in readiness and the two boys
entered their sleeping room for their last night's rest, for they knew
not how long, in the dear old home-house.
"I can hardly realize that we are to start for the mines in the
morning," Thure said, as he quickly undressed and jumped into bed. "All
that has happened to-day seems more like a dream than the reality; and I
am almost afraid that I will wake up in the morning and find that I have
been only dreaming."
"Well," declared Bud, "if it's only dreaming, I'm going to get into bed
and dream some more as quick as I can; so, not meaning to be impolite,
shut up and good night," and he settled himself down comfortably in the
bed and closed his eyes. And, in five minutes, in spite of the feverish
excitements of the day, the two tired boys were sound asleep.
CHAPTER V
OFF FOR THE GOLD-MINES
The next morning when the sun rose, in all the golden glory of dawning
day in beautiful California, above the tops of the eastern mountains and
shone down into the Valley of the Sacramento, its rays fell on an
interesting scene in front of the Conroyal house, where nearly all the
men, women and children of the place had gathered about two heavily
laden pack-horses, four saddled horses, and two boys, and two girls. The
two boys were Thure and Bud, ready to start for the mines, the two girls
were Iola and Ruth, who were to ride with the boys for an hour or so on
their way, the four saddled horses were their riding horses, and the two
pack-horses bore the outfits of the young miners, as well as sundry
tokens of love and affection sent to the dear ones at the mines. The
boys stood at their horses' heads, ready to mount. The very moment of
departure had come.
"Well, I reckon we must be going now. Good-by, mother," and Thure turned
for a last embrace in those dear arms, and then swung himself up into
his saddle.
"God bless you, and protect you, and bring you safe home, my son," and
Mrs. Conroyal, trying in vain to keep back the tears from her eyes and
the sobs from her voice, embraced and kissed Thure farewell and bravely
saw him mount.
Bud tried very hard to control his feelings, but his voice choked a
little and there were tears in his eyes, as he kissed his mother good-by
and jumped into his saddle; and then, just to break the gloom that
seemed to be gathering too thickly about the parting, he jerked off his
hat, and, swinging it around his head, shouted: "Hurrah, for the
gold-mines! Hurrah, we're off for the mines!"
And everybody shouted with him; and, in the midst of the shouting, the
two boys, leading their pack-horses and with Iola and Ruth on their
horses by their sides, rode out of the house-court and started across
the valley toward the distant eastern mountains.
The search for the dead miner's Cave of Gold had begun.
Iola Conroyal and Ruth Randolph were two very lively and high-spirited
girls, just old enough to see all the romance and little of the rough
reality and danger of such a quest as their two brothers had begun. The
wonderful tale of the dying miner, with its Cave of Gold, its
rough-drawn map and its big gold nugget, had appealed very strongly to
their vivid and romantic imaginations; and the starting of Thure and Bud
in search of this marvelous cave had surrounded them, in their eyes,
with something of the glamour that gilds the heroes of romance. They
envied them their quest; they would have gone joyfully with them, if
they could; and now, as they rode along by their sides in the cool
morning air, they could think or talk of little else than this wonderful
quest and of what would happen, if the boys should really and truly find
that marvelous Cave of Gold.
"Will you--will you promise to give me the first gold nugget you pick up
in this wonderful cave?" Ruth said, after they had been riding and
talking for some little while, glancing up a bit shyly into Thure's
face. "I will have a breastpin made out of it and always wear it in
remembrance of that great event--and--and of you," she added in a lower
voice, her face flushing a little.
"Sure I will! I--that is exactly what I had planned to do anyhow," Thure
declared. "And I'll see that it is a big one, Ruth, the biggest that I
can find. And the next nugget I pick up you shall have for a ring; and
then I'll pick up a lot of little nuggets and make you a gold necklace
out of them."
"That will be glorious," and Ruth's eyes shone. "And--and I shall prize
them all very much. Oh, dear, I don't see why we girls were just born
girls and not boys! I never wanted to do anything as much as I want to
go with you and Bud, and help hunt for this Cave of Gold. I'd go anyway,
if mother would let me."
"So would I," Iola declared, her dark eyes and cheeks glowing at the
thought. "It is terrible to be just a girl, when there is anything like
this to be done. We, at least Ruth and I, do not want to be put in a
cage and fed, like canary birds. We want to do things, too; and we could
do things, too, if folks would only let us."
"Hoity-toity!" laughed Thure. "I reckon God knew what He was about when
He made you 'just girls'--just sisters, sweethearts, wives, mothers, the
dearest words spoken in every language the world over; and, for one, I
am powerful glad that He did make you 'just girls.'"
"So am I," Bud agreed, so emphatically that all laughed.
"But, it really does seem too bad that Iola and I have got to stay at
home with our mothers, where nothing exciting ever happens," persisted
Ruth, "while you two, just because you are boys, can go hunting caves of
gold and have all sorts of wonderful adventures--not that I really and
truly would like to be a boy," she added hastily and a little
contradictorily. "Boys are so awkward and have such big feet and hands,
and--and--"
"And are such good fellows to wait on girls," grinned Bud provokingly.
"Which shows girls' real superiority," smiled back Ruth.
"Well, if you are satisfied, what are you kicking for? You haven't heard
Thure and me wishing that we were girls, have you?" queried Bud
triumphantly.
"Well, I should say not, not when you are off on a hunt like this
anyhow!" Ruth rejoined. "Oh, but I do hope you will find that Cave of
Gold! And come back covered with gold nuggets and glory!"
By this time our young friends had reached the foot of the ridge, on
whose top it had been agreed they were to say farewell to one another;
and the thought of the nearness of the parting was suddenly pressed home
to each heart, and they rode to the top of the ridge without speaking a
word. Here they pulled up their horses; and, for a moment, their eyes
looked wistfully into one another's faces, while they sat silent in
their saddles.
"Oh, come, let's have the agony over!" and Bud tried to make his voice
sound cheery and unconcerned. "Good-by, Ruth," and, urging his horse up
close to the side of his sister's horse, he leaned over, threw his arms
around her neck and kissed her. Then he turned and quickly served Iola
in the same way; and, striking spurs into his horse, started off, his
pack-horse tugging at the rope behind him.
Thure hesitated a moment; and then, following Bud's example, quickly
kissed Iola and Ruth good-by, and started after Bud.
"Don't forget that you have promised me the first gold nugget that you
pick up in the cave!" called Ruth.
"Nor the gold necklace!" warned Iola.
Thure and Bud waved their hands and shouted in reply; but rode steadily
on.
The two girls sat on their horses and watched them, until, with final
shouts and the waving of their hats, they passed over the top of a
distant ridge and vanished from sight. Then Iola and Ruth turned their
horses homeward and rode silently down the other side of the ridge. They
did not care to talk, even about the wonderful Cave of Gold, just then.
They had ridden something like a couple of miles on their way homeward
and their tongues were just beginning to wag, girl-like, again, when
both were considerably startled by a loud hallo, coming from behind.
They turned quickly and saw two horsemen, who had just ridden out from
behind a small grove of trees, some twenty rods back and to the right,
and who were now riding toward them.
"I wonder who they can be!" exclaimed Ruth. "I am sure that I never saw
them before; but I suppose we had better wait and find out what they
want. They might be lost. They look like strangers to this part of the
country," and she pulled up her horse.
"Yes," agreed Iola, halting her horse by the side of Ruth. "They are
probably foreigners on their way to the mines; and we had better wait to
see if we can be of any help to them."
In the holster that hung from the pommel of the saddle of each girl
there was a double-barreled pistol, loaded and ready for instant use;
and it was not there for ornament. Both girls had been trained to use
the rifle and the pistol; and never, since Iola's frightful experience
with the Mexican desperado, Padilla, some three years before,[1] had
either girl been permitted to ride, even a short distance from the
house, without having one or both of these weapons with her.
Consequently, trained and armed as they were, they saw nothing to fear
in meeting the two strange horsemen, although they were alone in a
little valley and out of sight and hearing of every other human being,
so far as they knew.
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