AT CHOKO'S FIND
After losing the trail many times only to stumble into it again and
again, and then slipping, sliding, or jolting down the steep side of the
mountain where the timber-line ended near the cliff, Eleanor finally
recognized the ravine where the cave was located.
"Oh, thank heavens! We're almost there," she cried, trying to find the
easiest way down to the ledge.
Polly and Anne were sitting before the entrance to the cave, when they
heard shouts and saw three weary riders coming along the rocky ledge
that led to their refuge.
"Why--it's Nolla and Bob and a man!" exclaimed Polly, jumping up to run
and meet the girls.
"What's wrong--any one hurt?" cried Anne, the moment she saw the faces
of the girls.
Eleanor then told about the forest-fire, and where the men were. The
more recent excitement had quite driven the story of Hank and his
claim-jumpers from her mind. But Polly anxiously asked for her mother.
"Oh, yes--Simms and the party hadn't arrived when we left Four Mile
Blaze. But they will be all right, as Mike is gone to meet them. Then
your mother and Jeb will ride back to warn the forest-rangers about the
fire," explained Barbara.
"Why, no, Bob. Don't you remember, Mike said he would have to tell
Polly's father about the drunken men and the fire, first," Eleanor
corrected her sister.
"Well, I'm not worrying about mother because she knows too much to run
into unnecessary danger; but father always wants to save everybody and
everything from disaster, and so takes his life in his hands, over and
over again," Polly worried.
"Mr. Brewster'll be all right with Bill around, Miss Polly," said the
young man who had accompanied the city girls. "No one is allowed to run
any risks for nuthin', when the Sheriff is there to stop 'em."
"I just hope Bill _will_ keep father in bounds!" declared Polly.
Very little smoke reached the ravine, which was on the opposite side of
the mountain from that where the fire raged, so the girls knew not how
matters fared until late in the afternoon. Then, to their great relief,
Mr. Brewster shouted a signal from the lodge-pole pine forest.
Polly gave an answering call, and then ran along the dangerous ledge
until she reached the place where the pine trees had been blown down the
day of the blizzard. Here she could see the dim outlines of several
riders as they waited for some evidence that they were on the right
trail.
Before Polly could climb the slope to wave her hat, she saw Mike riding
up behind the party and then go on before them down the trail leading to
the cave.
Polly was kept busy with answering the girls who stood at the cave
entrance, and in calling to her parents and friends who were approaching
as fast as the down-trail would permit. When they rode near enough for
Polly to see their faces, she recognized her mother and Jeb in the
party; she thought they expressed great concern over something that must
have happened to the party--or perhaps something that might happen.
"Well, Polly, you've had all day to dig the gold out of your mine; got
it tied in bags for us to lug home?" called Mr. Simms, jocularly.
"Mr. Simms, you needn't worry over that gold as long as there is
something worse to trouble you. What is it?" answered Polly.
"Ha, ha, ha! Poll must be feeling lonesome; when she talks like this,
it's a sure sign she needs jolly company," replied the lawyer.
"Maybe she thought we were chewed up by the grizzlies," added Mr.
Brewster, forcing a gayety similar to that of Mr. Simms.
"What's the matter with you men? Is there any danger from the fire?"
demanded Polly.
"No, the fire's burning over the down-slope on the other side. You know
it won't come this way," returned Mrs. Brewster.
"Well, then--where are the other men? Did those drunken miners shoot any
one?" persisted the girl.
"Don't bother with questions, Polly. Let us get some supper before we
think of anything else," advised her mother.
Mike was soon busy unpacking the outfit for cooking, and Mrs. Brewster
joined him to give any assistance he might need. Polly went over to her
father to try and get more satisfactory information from him, regarding
that day's experiences.
"Did you say the miners who came up ahead of us to-day were in Bill's
custody, Daddy?"
"Ah didn't say anything; but now Ah'll _tell_ you-all that they are
shipped safely to a place where they can do no harm."
"Oh! Did Bill go down the Trail with them?" continued Polly.
"No, Bill's man went down-trail to watch in case of any new trouble."
"See here, father! Out with your secret! What are you-all keeping from
me?" asked Polly, anxiously.
"Good gracious, Poll! Can't a man feel riled after such a wearing day
and with nothing to eat, without his women-folks asking plaguey
questions?" cried Mr. Brewster, testily.
Polly was silenced for the moment, but she went out to the ledge where
her mother was helping Mike, and there she began again.
"Mother, I know something unusual concerns you-all, so you may as well
confide in me."
"I reckon the men are vexed because we lost all this day hunting up
those wretched miners who must have accidentally set the fire going on
the other side," was all the reply Polly received.
Mike glanced up to look covertly at Mrs. Brewster and the inquisitive
girl caught his expression.
"Even Mike is laughing at the poor way in which you are fencing with me.
Now treat me as if I were sensible--not like a baby, or like Bob!"
demanded Polly.
"Well, to tell the truth, Polly, I'm afraid to tell you everything. If
those girls know they will go clean daffy," sighed Mrs. Brewster,
passing her hand over a troubled brow.
"Mother! Did I go daffy when that blizzard carried Choko over the
ledge--and what did I do up on Grizzly when the snow and ice covered the
trail? Did I lose my nerve?"
At that moment Mr. Simms called out to Mike: "'Most done cookin', Mike?
Ah want you-all to go with me to ketch a grizzly afore it is too dark to
see him. Ah promised mah wife she should have a bear-skin rug this
trip."
Mike looked at Mrs. Brewster who nodded for him to go. She calmly took
the ladle and continued stirring the soup that the Indian had been
attending to, then Mike hurried after Simms.
"There now--I know it is something serious and it is much better for me
to _know_ what may happen than to have it come upon me like a
thunder-bolt," said Polly.
"Well, then, keep on stirring this broth while I busy myself over the
rest of the supper, and I'll tell you. Don't exclaim, or show any shock.
It is important for us to keep cool," advised Mrs. Brewster, as she
toasted some dry bread over the embers.
"I wasn't present when this occurred but father told me. The men found
the miner who had been shot, and down the slope further on, they saw the
forms of the other two. But the panic-stricken horses that had been
hobbled and left to graze, were so frightened at the clouds of smoke and
crackling fire, that a few of the men had to lead them back to a clear
place. There they were tied securely to some trees.
"Your father, Bill, and one of his men, jumped down the steep sides
where the fire was raging, and began to beat out the flames. They could
see the two drunken miners just beyond the fire-line down the trail, but
they seemed so overcome with whisky and smoke that they failed to
respond to any shouts from the men, or to the fear of the on-driving
fire.
"Our men had beaten out the ground-fire half-way to the miners, when a
terrific rumbling sounded, as from a distance behind them. Bill's man
was far in advance of the other two rescuers, and perhaps, the
crackling on the ground and the raging fire in the trees overhead,
deafened him to this other portentous sound.
"Father, however, felt that it meant something more terrible than a
fire, so he shouted to Bill and tried to warn the man. But a fit of
coughing from inhaling the smoke, cut his call short. Bill then cried,
'Go on back, Sam--I'll get my man!'
"So your father managed to force his way back towards the Top Trail.
There he saw a great white cloud swooping down from the peak of Grizzly
Slide. He turned, screamed at Bill and waved his arms to warn them out
of the track of the avalanche, if possible. Bill and his man saw this
new danger and turned to climb back to safety.
"Father was leading, Bill a short distance behind him, and the man not
far in the rear, when the first two heard a scream. They turned and saw
the horse had stumbled and fallen. He tried to scramble to his feet
before the onrush of the half-frozen earth and rock and snow could reach
him, but it caught and whirled him away on its crest.
"Father and Bill were thrown down with the shaking of the ground caused
by the terrific slide, and several times they were almost sucked into
the vortex caused by the overwhelming ever-growing stream. Had it not
been for Mike who had heard the rumble and knew what it meant, both Bill
and father would have been lost. But Mike threw out a rope that father
caught and quickly wound about himself, while Bill clutched on to
father's legs. Thus Mike dragged them up to the tree where he had bound
himself. The horses are gone!"
Mrs. Brewster seemed overcome at the recital of the awful ordeal the men
had passed through, but Polly said encouragingly:
"Don't take on so, mother! 'All's well that ends well' and father and
Bill are safe, you know."
"Oh, but this isn't all, Polly! Mike says when Grizzly starts an
avalanche like that first one, the very force of its tearing away keeps
on breaking away the ice-fields all around the peak. Another slide may
come at any moment and pour down this side, you see. The men who had
taken care of the horses when the others were fighting the fire were
left stationed at the timber-line to watch. If they notice the faintest
sign of another serious break on the peak, they are to signal a lookout
left on the crest of this slope. And they in turn must warn Bill's son
who was left sitting on top of this ledge. That is where Simms and Mike
have gone now. There must have been a signal from Bill's boy to Simms."
Mrs. Brewster looked at her daughter to see if she could bear the rest
of the story. Finding Polly as calm as she herself was, she continued:
"Father said the experience Simms and he went through was mere child's
play to what it might be should Grizzly loosen up and send down a slide
on this side of the peak. Of course, the fire and smoke added to the
horror on the other side, but the actual avalanche was not as tremendous
because the slope was partly protected by the abrupt drop of thousands
of feet from the peak to the valley, down which the greater flood must
have rushed.
"This side is on the direct down-slope from the peak, with nothing to
break a snow-slide, or to carry off the bulk of the debris.
"This morning, when I rode up with Simms' party, we met two old trappers
who were coming down. They had passed Old Grizzly Slide yesterday, and
they said there must have been an awful thaw going on under the
surface-ice of the Slide, as the yawning chasm where you discovered the
crevice the other day was frightful. It made even their courageous
spirits tremble at sight of it. But they turned again and rode up with
us, as they said they could be useful to Bill. They are up on Top Notch
now, scouting for the first symptoms of a slide."
Polly turned white as she heard the story, but she still had control of
her voice, so she whispered: "Why don't we-all start down-trail
to-night? Why lose time cooking supper, and have the men up there
watching for the trouble?"
"Mike says we are safer in this cave than on the trail. It is impossible
to go down the Indian trail at night, and Top Notch Trail is bad enough
in the daytime, so that in the dark it is forbidding. He says this cave
is high enough up on the ledge and near enough to the crest to escape
most of the drift. The trash will be swept clear over the entrance and
down into the ravine, while any snow or ice that might lodge up on the
ledge before the cave will soon melt again. Then we can get away, when
all is over."
Polly said nothing, but she was thinking seriously. Mrs. Brewster was
grateful that her daughter could bear such awesome news without a
tremor. So the two completed the supper, and were ready to serve it,
when Sam Brewster rode down the ledge.
"Come on, Daddy! Just in time for a bowl of hot soup!" called Polly,
gayly waving a ladle.
Her mother admired the self-control the girl showed over any fear or
danger, and followed the brave example set her. "Yes, Sam, if Simms
wants to chase a bear in the twilight, let him! You will do far better
to enjoy the supper."
So they sat down to eat toasted bread and soup, while Polly talked
vivaciously and caused many a laugh from the unsuspecting girls. As the
meager supper was almost finished, however, Mr. Brewster mentioned in a
casual tone: "Girls, Ah expect John and his friends early to-morrow, you
know. Mike is going down to meet them."
"Oh, yes! And won't we have exciting adventures to tell him!" exclaimed
Anne, thinking only of John and his coming.
"Mrs. Brewster is going down with Mike, to meet the boys. So we-all
thought you gals would like to ride down, too, instead of sitting up in
front of this cave all day and night," continued Mr. Brewster.
"Why, how foolish! to kill the horses with all that climbing! Up to-day,
down to-morrow, and up again the next day! No horse could stand that!"
declared Anne, amazed at her host's suggestion.
"Well, Ah've been thinking you-all had best stay down, once you get
there. This is no sort of life for women-folk, anyway. When John and Tom
Latimer get here they can look after your mining interests better than
you can yourselves."
"But, Mr. Brewster, you haven't even seen the hole inside of that cave,
where I followed after Polly the day we discovered the gold!" exclaimed
Eleanor, greatly disappointed in Polly's father.
"Ah haven't had time, Nolla. What with the doings of the claim-jumpers
and everything, Ah've had a full day. Besides, it looks as if we-all are
going to have _some_ time up here, and Ah'd feel a heap easier if you
women were safe at home."
"Are there signs of other claim-jumpers coming up, Mr. Brewster?" asked
Eleanor, anxiously.
"From what our scouts report, up on the Trail, we're going to have such
a time, if we remain here, that we may not have another good opportunity
to escape with our lives," returned the distracted man.
"Oh dear me! Can't we start now? I never want to see any claim-jumpers
again!" cried Barbara, wringing her hands.
"Keep quiet, Bob! We'll do just as Mr. Brewster says, but your
whimpering won't help any," said Anne.
"Well, girls, I'm so eager to see John again, that I'm willing to ride
down with Mike and mother," said Polly, acting her part perfectly.
"Oh, Polly! I don't want to go and leave the gold mine, but I want you
to stay with me," cried Eleanor.
"Goodness me, Nolla! Don't you s'pose we can ride up again when the
danger blows over? A lot of good the mine would do either one of us if a
dozen claim-jumpers put lead through us all at one time!" laughed Polly,
but feeling far from humorous.
"I suppose I'll just _have_ to go, if all the rest of you do!" cried
Eleanor, stamping her foot angrily.
So, after much arguing and explaining, it was decided that every one
should be ready to start down-trail at the earliest streak of daylight.
That night the girls and Mrs. Brewster slept on the pine-beds--or at
least the city girls slept, while Polly and her mother rested even as
they waited for the first warning call from the guard, who sat by the
fire that was started to keep away the wild beasts.
The hours passed without any new signals, and at three o'clock Mike
called out that he was ready to start. The girls demurred about getting
up at that hour, but Polly was too energetic to give them any peace. So,
shortly after three, the entire party started down Indian Trail,
traveling as swiftly as possible.
"Now see here! why do all you men come down, too? I thought it was only
the womenfolk who had to get out of the way!" exclaimed Eleanor,
wonderingly.
"If, any claim-jumpers are about to stake out our land up there who is
there left to stop them?" added Anne, suspiciously, when she saw the
deep concern on every man's face as he rode single file down the path.
"Wall, now, seem' as we-all are well along the way down, Ah may as well
tell you-all: thar hain't goin' to be no danger of any claim-jumpers
staking your land if Old Grizzly knows anything about it. Thar war a
turrible avalanche yesterday and a leetle one at suppertime; it looks
like-es-how anuther powerful one will hit the trail any moment. That's
why we-all air runnin' away as fast as our hosses kin go," explained
Bill.
"Oh! Tell Mike to hurry!" cried Barbara.
"No fear but what we-all are as crazy to git down as you kin be, young
leddy," said Bill, soothingly.
After four hours' hard traveling, the riders came to a small park where
Mike said they could rest and cook their breakfast, and feed the horses.
From a certain spot on the clearing on this mountain-side, the peak of
Old Grizzly Slide could be seen opposite them, dazzling in the sunshine.
"Well, the old rascal is still up there," declared Anne.
"But you-all can't say how soon its skirts will whisk and send down the
trash that always ruins a forest," added Bill.
Even as he spoke, a strange sight was presented to the group who were
admiring the sparkling peak. A great mist seemed to rise suddenly from
its pinnacle, spreading out and obscuring the sun for a time. Then an
ominous rumble echoed along the crest, and rolled down the slopes. The
mist was suddenly sucked down by some tremendous force, and then a
mighty tremor shook the ground where the escaped riders stood.
The horses seemed to know instinctively that there was some upheaval of
nature taking place, for they quivered along their sensitive nerves and
nosed the air questioningly. Several of the highbred animals pulled at
their halters and, with drawn-back lips, snapped viciously at the air
as if to warn away the destruction.
"Oh, oh! Will it hit us?" wailed Barbara.
"No, we are safe on this opposite up-trail now. But a few hours delay in
getting away this morning and we would have been caught in the drift,"
said Sam Brewster, wiping beads of cold perspiration from his brow.
"Daddy, you don't think that avalanche was on the side of our gold mine,
do you?" asked Polly, plaintively.
"Pretty close to Choko's Find, Polly dear," said her father.
"Humph! Gol' all gone dis time!" added Mike, dramatically.
"Oh no! don't say that, Mike!" wailed Polly.
"Not _our gold mine_!" added Eleanor, with gasping breath.
"Mebbe no! Mike t'ink yes."
There fell a silence at that, and each one looked at the other, while
the same thought passed through their minds: "If that slide buried
Choko's Find again, where would they all have been had they remained in
the cave?"