Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice
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Victor Appleton >> Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice
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"But we didn't abandon it!" declared Tom. "We only went away to get
the stakes."
"The claim was abandoned, and we have 'jumped' it," went on Mr.
Foger, and he cocked his rifle. "I need hardly tell you that
possession is nine points of the law, and that we intend to remain.
Andy, is your gun loaded?"
"Yes, pa."
"I--I guess they've got us--fer th' time bein'," murmured Abe, as he
motioned to Tom and the others to come away. "Besides they've got
guns, an' we haven't--but wait," added the miner, mysteriously. "I
haven't played all my tricks yet."
CHAPTER XXIII
ATTACKED BY NATIVES
To state that Tom and his friends were angry at the trick the Fogers
had played on them would be putting it mildly. There was righteous
indignation in their hearts, and, as for the young inventor he felt
that much blame was attached to him for his neglect in not remaining
on guard at the place of the lucky strike while Ned went to call the
others.
"I guess Andy must have been spying on us," spoke Ned, "or he would
never have known when to rush up just as he did; as soon as we
left."
"Probably," admitted Tom, bitterly.
"But, bless my penholder!" cried Mr. Damon. "Can't we do something,
Abe? Won't the law--?"
"There ain't any law out here, except what you make yourself," said
the miner. "I guess they've got us for th' time bein'."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Tom, detecting a gleam of hope in
Abe's tone.
"Well, I mean that I think we kin git ahead of 'em. Come on back to
th' ship, an' we'll talk it over."
They walked away, leaving Andy and his father in possession of the
rich deposits of gold, and that it was much richer even then than
the hole Abe had first discovered was very evident. The two Fogers
were soon at work, digging out the yellow metal with the pick and
shovels Tom and Ned had so thoughtlessly dropped.
"What little law there is out here they've got on their side," went
on Abe, "an' they've got possession, too, which is more. Of course
we could go at 'em in a pitched battle, but I take it you don't want
any bloodshed?" and he looked at Tom.
"Of course not," replied the lad quickly, "but I'd like to meet Andy
alone, with nothing but my fists for a little while," and Tom's eyes
snapped.
"So would I," added Ned.
"Perhaps we can find another pocket of gold better than that one,"
suggested Mr. Damon.
"We might," admitted Abe, "but that one was ours an' we're entitled
to it. This valley is rich in gold deposits, but you can't allers
put your hand on 'em. We may have t' hunt around for a week until we
strike another. An', meanwhile, them Fogers will be takin' our gold!
It's not to be borne! I'll find some way of drivin' 'em out. An'
we've got t' do it soon, too."
"You mean if we don't that they'll get all the gold?" asked Mr.
Damon.
"No, I mean that soon it will be th' long night up here, an' we
can't work. We'll have t' go back, an' I don't want t' go back until
I've made my pile."
"Neither do any of us, I guess," spoke Tom, "but there doesn't seem
to be any help for it."
They discussed several plans on reaching the ship, but none seemed
feasible without resorting to force, and this they did not want to
do, as they feared there might be bloodshed. When night closed in
they could see the gleam of a campfire, kindled by the Foger party,
at the gold-pocket, from bits of the scrubby trees that grew in that
frigid clime.
"They're going to stay on guard," announced Tom. "We can't get it
away from them to-night."
Though Abe had spoken of some plan to regain the advantage the
Fogers had of them, the old miner was not quite ready to propose it.
All the next day he seemed very thoughtful, while going about with
the others, seeking new deposits of gold. Luck did not seem to be
with them. They found two or three places where there were traces of
the yellow pebbles, but in no very great quantity.
Meanwhile the Fogers were busy at the pocket Ned had located. They
seemed to be taking out much of the precious metal.
"And it all ought to be ours," declared Tom, bitterly.
"Yes, and it shall be, too!" suddenly exclaimed. Abe. "I think I
have a plan that will beat 'em."
"What is it?" asked Tom.
"Let's get back to the ship, and I'll tell you," said Abe. "We can't
tell when one of their natives might be sneakin' in among these ice
caves, an' they understand some English. They might give my scheme
away."
In brief Abe's plan, as he unfolded it in the cabin of the RED CLOUD
was this:
They would divide into two parties, one consisting of Ned and Tom,
and the other of the three men. The latter, by a circuitous route,
would go to the ice caves where the Fogers had established their
camp. It was there that the Indians remained during the day, while
Andy and his father labored at the gold pocket, for, after the first
day when they had had the natives aid them, father and son had
worked alone at the hole, probably fearing to trust the Indians. At
night, though either Andy or his father remained on guard, with one
or two of the dusky-skinned dog drivers.
"But we'll work this trick before night," said Abe. "We three men
will get around to where the natives are in the ice cave. We'll
pretend to attack them, and raise a great row, firing our guns in
the air, and all that sort of thing, an' yellin' t' beat th' band.
Th' natives will yell, too, you can depend on that."
"Th' Fogers will imagine we are tryin' t' git away with their sleds
an' supplies, an' maybe their gold, if they've got it stored in th'
ice cave. Naturally Andy or his father will run here, an' that will
leave only one on guard at th' mine. Then Tom an' Ned can sneak up.
Th' two of 'em will be a match for even th' old Foger, if he happens
t' stay, an' while Tom or Ned comes up in front, t' hold his
attention, th' other can come up in back, an' grab his arms, if he
tries t' shoot. Likely Andy will remain at th' gold hole, an' you
two lads kin handle him, can't you?"
"Well, I guess!" exclaimed Tom and Ned together.
The plan worked like a charm. Abe, Mr. Damon and Mr. Parker raised a
great din at the ice cave where the Foger natives were. The sound
carried to the hole where Andy and his father were digging out the
gold. Mr. Foger at once ran toward the cave, while Andy, catching up
his gun, remained on the alert.
Then came the chance of Tom and Ned. The latter coming from his
hiding-place, advanced boldly toward the bully, while Tom, making a
detour, worked his way up behind.
"Here! You keep away!" cried Andy, catching sight of Ned. "I see
what the game is, now! It's a trick!"
"You're a nice one to talk about tricks!" declared Ned, advancing
slowly.
"Keep away if you don't want to get hurt!" yelled Andy.
"Oh, you wouldn't hurt me; would you?" mocked Ned, who wanted to
give Tom time to sneak up behind the bully.
"Yes, I would! Keep back!" Andy was nervously fingering his weapon.
The next instant his gun flew from his grasp, and he went over
backward in Tom's strong grip; for the young inventor, in his
sealskin shoes had worked up in the rear without a sound. The next
moment Andy broke away and was running for his life, leaving Tom and
Ned in possession of the gold hole, and that without a shot being
fired. A little later the three men, who had hurried away from the
cave as Mr. Foger rushed up to see what caused the racket, joined
Tom and Ned, and formal possession was taken of their lucky strike.
"We'll guard it well, now," decided Tom, and later that day they
moved some supplies near the hole, and for a shelter built an igloo,
Eskimo fashion, in which work Abe had had some experience. Then they
moved the airship to another ice cave, nearer their "mine" as they
called it, and prepared to stand guard.
But there seemed to be no need, for the following day there was no
trace of the Fogers. They and their natives had disappeared.
"I guess we were too much for them," spoke Tom. But the sequel was
soon to prove differently.
It was three days after our friends had regained their mine, during
which time they had dug out considerable gold, that toward evening,
as Tom was taking the last of the output of yellow pebbles into the
cave where the airship was, he looked across the valley.
"Looks like something coming this way," observed the young inventor.
"Natives, I guess."
"It is," agreed Ned, "quite a large party, too!"
"Better tell Abe and the others," went on Tom. "I don't like the
looks of this. Maybe the sudden disappearance of the Fogers has
something to do with it."
Abe, Mr. Damon and Mr. Parker hurried from the ice cave. They had
caught up their guns as they ran out.
"They're still coming on," called Tom, "and are headed this way."
"They're Indians, all right!" exclaimed Abe. "Hark! What's that?"
It was the sound of shouting and singing.
Through the gathering dusk the party advanced. Our friends closely
scanned them. There was something familiar about the two leading
figures, and it could now be seen that in the rear were a number of
dog sleds.
"There's Andy Foger and his father!" cried Ned. "They've gone and
got a lot of Eskimos to help them drive us away."
"That's right!" admitted Tom. "I guess we're in for it now!"
With a rush the natives, led by the Fogers, came on. They were
yelling now. An instant later they began firing their guns.
"It's a fierce attack!" cried Tom. "Into the ice cave for shelter!
We can cover the gold mine from there. I'll get my electric gun!"
CHAPTER XXIV
THE WRECK OF THE AIRSHIP
Almost before our friends could retreat into the cave which now
sheltered the RED CLOUD, the attacking natives opened fire.
Fortunately they only had old-fashioned, muzzle-loading muskets,
and, as their aim was none of the best, there was comparatively
little danger. The bullets, however, did sing through the fast-
gathering darkness with a vicious sound, and struck the heavy sides
and sloping front of the ice cave with a disconcerting "ping!"
"I don't hear Andy or his father firing!" called Tom, as he and the
others returned the fire of the savage Indians. "I could tell their
guns by the sharper reports. The Fogers carry repeating rifles, and
they're fine ones, if they're anything like the one we took from
Andy, Ned."
"That's right," agreed Tom's chum, "I don't believe Andy or his
father dare fire. They're afraid to, and they're putting the poor
ignorant natives up to it. Probably they hired them to try to drive
us away."
This, as they afterward learned, was exactly the case.
The battle, if such it could be called, was kept up. There was about
a hundred natives, all of whom had guns, and, though they were slow
to load, there were enough weapons to keep up a constant fusilade.
On their part, Tom and the others fired at first over the heads of
the natives, for they did not want to kill any of the deluded men.
Later, though, when they saw the rush keeping up, they fired at
their legs, and disabled several of the Eskimos, the electric gun
proving very effective.
It was now quite dark, and the firing slackened. From their position
in the cave, Tom and the others could command the hole where the
gold was, and, as they saw several natives sneaking up to it the
young inventor and Ned, both of whom were good shots, aimed to have
the bullets strike the ice close to where the Indians were.
This sort of shooting was enough, and the natives scurried away.
Then Tom hit on the plan of playing the searchlight on the spot, and
this effectually prevented an unseen attack. It seemed to discourage
the enemy, too for they did not venture into that powerful glow of
light.
"They won't do anything more until morning," declared Abe. "Then
we'll have it hot an' heavy, though, I'm afeered. Well, we'll have
t' make th' best of it!"
They took turns standing guard that night, but no attack was made.
The fact of the Fogers coming back with the band of Indians told
Tom, more plainly than words, how desperately his enemies would do
battle with them. Anxiously they waited for the morning.
Several times in the night Mr. Parker was seen roaming about
uneasily, though it was not his turn to be on guard. Finally Tom
asked him what was the matter, and if he could not sleep.
"It isn't that," answered the scientist, "but I am worried about the
ice. I can detect a slight but peculiar movement by means of some of
my scientific instruments. I am alarmed about it. I fear something
is going to happen."
But Tom was too worried about the outcome of the fight he knew would
be renewed on the next day, to think much about the ice movement. He
thought it would only be some scientific phenomena that would amount
to little.
With the first streak of the late dawn, the gold-seekers were up,
and partook of a hot breakfast, with strong coffee which Mr. Damon
brewed. Tom took an observation from the mouth of the cave. The
searchlight was still dimly glowing, and it did not disclose
anything. Tom turned it off. He thought he saw a movement among the
ranks of the enemy, who had camped just beyond the gold hole.
"I guess they're coming!" cried the lad. "Get ready for them!"
The adventurers caught up their guns, and hurried to the entrance of
the cave. Mr. Parker lingered behind, and was observed to be
narrowly scanning the walls of the cavern.
"Come on, Parker, my dear man!" begged Mr. Damon. "We are in grave
danger, and we need your help. Bless my life insurance policy! but I
never was in such a state as this."
"We may soon be in a worse one," was the answer of the gloomy
scientist.
"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Damon, but he hurried on without
waiting for a reply.
Suddenly, from without the cave came a series of fierce yells. It
was the battle-cry of the Indians. At the same moment there sounded
a fusillade of guns.
"The battle is beginning!" cried Tom Swift, grimly. He held his
electric gun, though he had not used it very much in the previous
attack, preferring to save it for a time of more need.
As the defenders of the cave reached the entrance they saw the body
of natives rushing forward. They were almost at the gold hole, with
Andy Foger and his father discreetly behind the first row of
Eskimos, when, with a suddenness that was startling, there sounded
throughout the whole valley a weird sound!
It was like the wailing of some giant--the sighing of some mighty
wind. At the same time the air suddenly became dark, and then there
came a violent snow squall, shutting out instantly the sight of the
advancing natives. Tom and the others could not see five feet beyond
the cave.
"This will delay the attack," murmured Ned, "They can't see to come
at us."
Mr. Parker came running up from the interior of the cave. On his
face there was a look of alarm.
"We must leave here at once!" he cried.
"Leave here?" repeated Tom. "Why must we? The enemy are out there!
We'd run right into them!"
"It must be done!" insisted the scientist. "We must leave the cave
at once!"
"What for?" cried Mr. Damon.
"Because the movement of the ice that I predicted, has begun. It is
much more rapid than I supposed it would be. In a short time this
cave and all the others will be crushed flat!"
"Crushed flat!" gasped Tom.
"Yes, the caves of ice are being destroyed! Hark! You can hear them
snapping!"
They all listened. Above the roar of the storm could be made out the
noise of crushing, grinding ice-sounds like cannon being fired, as
the great masses of frozen crystal snapped like frail planks.
"The ice caves are being destroyed by an upheaval of nature!" went
on Mr. Parker. "This one will soon go! The walls are bulging now! We
must get out!"
"But the natives! They will kill us!" cried Mr. Damon. "Bless my
soul! what a trying position to be in."
"I guess the natives are as bad off as we are," suggested Ned.
"They're not firing, and I can hear cries of alarm, I think they're
running away."
There was a lull in the snow flurry, and the white curtain seemed to
lift for a moment. The gold-seekers had a glimpse of the natives in
full retreat, with the Fogers--father and son--racing panic-stricken
after them. Tom could also see a big cave, just beyond the gold
hole, collapse and crumble to pieces like a house of cards.
"We have no time to lose!" Mr. Parker warned them. "The roof of this
cave is slowly coming down. The sides are collapsing! We must get
out!"
"Then wheel out the airship!" cried Tom. "We must save that! We
needn't fear the natives, now!"
The young inventor hurried to the RED CLOUD calling to Ned and the
others. They hastened to his side. It was an easy matter to move the
airship along on the wheels. It neared the opening of the cave. The
rumbling, roaring, grinding sound of the ice increased.
"Why--why!" cried Tom in surprise and alarm, as the craft neared the
mouth of the ice cavern, "we can't get it out--the opening is too
small! Yet it came in easily enough!"
"The cave is collapsing--growing smaller every moment!" cried Mr.
Parker. "We have only time to save our lives! Run out!"
"And leave the airship? Never!" yelled Tom.
"You must! You can't save that and your life!"
"Get axes and make the opening bigger!" suggested Ned, who, like his
chum, could not bear to think of the destruction of the beautiful
craft.
"No time! No time!" shouted Mr. Parker, frantically, "We must get
out! Save what you can from the ship--the gold--some supplies--the
guns--some food--save what you can!"
Then ensued a wild effort to get from the doomed craft what they
could--what they would need if they were to save their lives in that
cold and desolate country. Food, some blankets--their guns--as much
of the gold as they could hastily gather together--their weapons and
some ammunition--all this was carried from the cabin outside the
cave. The entrance was rapidly growing smaller. The roof was already
pressing down on the gas-bag.
Tom gave one last look at his fine craft. There were tears in his
eyes. He started into the cabin for something he had forgotten. Mr.
Parker grabbed him by the arm.
"Don't go in!" he cried hoarsely. "The cave will collapse in another
instant!" He rushed with Tom out of the cavern, and not a moment too
soon. The others were already outside.
Then with a rush and a roar, with a sound like a great explosion,
with a rending, grinding and booming as the great pieces of ice
collapsed one against the other, the big ice cave settled in, as
does some great building when the walls are weakened!
Down crashed the roof of the ice cave! Down upon the RED CLOUD,
burying out of sight, forever, under thousands of tons of ice and
snow, the craft which was the pride of Tom Swift's heart! It was the
end of the airship!
Tom felt a moisture of tears in his eyes as he stood there in the
midst of the snowstorm.
CHAPTER XXV
THE RESCUE--CONCLUSION
For a few moments after the collapse of the cave, and the
destruction of the airship, on which they depended to take them from
that desolate land, no one spoke. The calamity had been too
terrible--they could hardly understand it.
The snow had ceased, and, over the frozen plain, in full retreat,
could be seen the band of attacking Indians. They had fled in terror
at the manifestation of Nature. And Nature, as if satisfied at the
mischief she had wrought, called a halt to the movement of the ice.
The roaring, grinding sounds ceased, and there were no more
collapses of caves in that neighborhood.
"Well, we are up against it," spoke Tom, softly. "Poor old RED
CLOUD! There'll never be another airship like you!"
"We are lucky to have escaped with our lives," said Mr. Parker.
"Another moment and it would have been too late. I was expecting
something like this--I predicted it."
But his honor was an empty one--no one cared to dispute it with him.
"Bless my refrigerator! What's to be done!" exclaimed Mr. Damon.
"Start from here as soon as possible," decided Abe.
"Why, do you think the natives will come back?" asked Ned.
"No, but we have only a small supply of food, my lad, an' it's hard
to git up here. We must hit th' trail fer civilization as soon as we
kin!"
"Go back--how; without the airship?" asked Tom, blankly.
"Walk!" exclaimed the miner, grimly. "It's th' only way!"
They realized that. There was no hope of digging through that mass
of fantastically piled ice to reach the airship, and, even if they
could have done so, it would have been crushed beyond all hope of
repair. Nor could they dig down for more food, though what they had
hastily saved was little enough.
"Well, if we've got to go, we'd better start," suggested Tom, sadly.
"Poor old RED CLOUD!"
"Maybe we can get a little more gold," suggested Ned.
They walked over to the hole whence they had taken the yellow
nuggets. The "pocket" was not to be seen. It was buried out of sight
under tons of ice.
"We'll get no more gold here," decided Abe, "lf we get safely out of
th' valley, and t' the nearest white settlement, we'll be lucky."
"Bless my soul! Is it as bad as that!" cried Mr. Damon.
Abe nodded without speaking. There was nothing else to do. Sadly and
silently they made up into packs the things they had saved, and
started southward, guided by a small compass the miner had with him.
It was a melancholy party. Fortunately the weather had turned a
little warmer or they might have been frozen to death. They tramped
all that day, shaping their course to take them out of the valley on
a side well away from where the hostile natives lived. At night they
made rude shelters of snow and blocks of ice and ate cold victuals.
The second day it grew colder, and they were slightly affected by
snow-blindness, for they had lost their dark glasses in the cave.
Even the gold seemed too great a burden to carry, and they found
they had more of it than at first they supposed. On the third day
they were ready to give up, but Abe bravely urged them on. Toward
the close of the fourth day, even the old miner was in despair, for
the food they could carry was not such as to give strength and
warmth, and they saw no game to shoot.
They were just getting ready to go into a cheerless camp for the
night, when Tom, who was a little in advance, looked ahead.
"Ned, do I see something or is it only a vision?" he asked.
"What does it look like?" asked his chum.
"Like Eskimos on sleds."
"That's what it is," agreed Ned, after an observation. "Maybe it's
the Fogers, or some of the savage Indians."
They halted in alarm, and got out their guns. The little party of
natives kept coming on toward them.
Suddenly Abe uttered a cry, but it was one of joy and not fear.
"Hurrah!" he yelled, "It's all right--they're friendly natives!
They're of the same tribe that helped me an' my partner! It's all
right, boys, we're rescued now!"
And so it proved. A few minutes later the gold-seekers were on the
sleds of the friendly Eskimos, some of whom remembered Abe, and the
weary and hungry adventures were being rushed toward the native
village as fast as the dogs could run. It was a hunting party that
had come upon our friends just in time.
Little more remains to be told. Well cared for by the kind Eskimos,
Tom and his friends soon recovered their spirits and strength. They
arranged for dog teams to take them to Sitka, and paid their friends
well for the service, not only in gold, but by presenting what was
of more value, the guns they no longer needed. Tom, however,
retained his electric rifle.
Three weeks after that they were on a steamer bound for
civilization, having bidden their friends the Eskimos good-by.
"Homeward bound," remarked Tom, some time later, as they were in a
train speeding across the continent. "It was a great trip, and the
gold we got will more than repay us, even to building a new airship.
Still, I can't help feeling sorry about the RED CLOUD."
"I don't blame you," returned Ned. "Are you going to build another
airship, Tom?"
"Not one like the RED CLOUD, I think. But I have in mind plans for a
sort of racing craft. I think I'll start it when I get back home."
How Tom's plans developed, and what sort of a craft he built will be
related in the next volume of this series, to be called "Tom Swift
and His Sky Racer; or, the Quickest Flight on Record." In that will
be told how the young inventor foiled his enemies, and how he saved
his father's life. Our friends arrived safely at Shopton in due
season. They learned that the two Fogers had reached there shortly
before them. Tom and his party decided not to prosecute them, and
they did not learn the identity of the men who tried to rob Tom of
the map.
"But I guess Andy won't go about boasting of his airship any more,"
said Ned, "nor of how he got our gold mine away from us. He'll sing
mighty small for a while."
The store of gold brought from the North, proved quite valuable,
though but for the unforeseen accidents our friends could have
secured much more. Yet they were well satisfied. With his share Abe
Abercrombie settled down out West, Mr. Damon gave most of his gold
to his wife, Mr. Parker bought scientific instruments with his, Ned
invested his in bank stock, and Tom Swift, after buying a beautiful
gift for a certain pretty young lady, used part of the remainder to
build his Sky Racer.
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