Obedient to orders, Tom Brixton lay perfectly still on his back, just
where he had fallen, wondering much whether the cord was really cut, for
he did not feel much relaxation of it or abatement of the pain. He
resolved, at any rate, to give no further cause for rough treatment, but
to await the issue of events as patiently as he could.
True to his promise, the Irishman after supper sang several songs,
which, if not characterised by sweetness of tone, were delivered with a
degree of vigour that seemed to make full amends in the estimation of
his hearers. After that he told a thrilling ghost story, which drew the
entire band of men round him. Paddy had a natural gift in the way of
relating ghost stories, for, besides the power of rapid and sustained
discourse, without hesitation or redundancy of words, he possessed a
vivid imagination, a rich fancy, a deep bass voice, an expressive
countenance, and a pair of large coal-black eyes, which, as one of the
Yankee diggers said, "would sartinly bore two holes in a blanket if he
only looked at it long enough."
We do not intend to inflict that ghost story on the reader. It is
sufficient to say that Paddy began it by exclaiming in a loud
voice--"`Now or niver, boys--now or niver.' That's what the ghost
said."
"What's that you say, Paddy?" asked Gashford, leaving his own separate
and private fire, which he enjoyed with one or two chosen comrades, and
approaching that round which the great body of the diggers were already
assembled.
"I was just goin' to tell the boys, sor, a bit of a ghost story."
"Well, go on, lad, I'd like to hear it, too."
"`Now or niver!'" repeated the Irishman, with such startling emphasis
that even Tom Brixton, lying bound as he was under the shelter of a
spreading tree at some distance from the fire, had his curiosity
aroused. "That's what the ghost said, under somewhat pecooliar
circumstances; an' he said it twice so that there might be no mistake at
all about it. `Now or niver! now or niver!' says he, an' he said it
earnestly--"
"I didn't know that ghosts could speak," interrupted Crossby, who, when
not in a bad humour, was rather fond of thrusting bad jokes and blunt
witticisms on his comrades.
"Sure, I'm not surprised at that for there's many things ye don't know,
Crossby; besides, no ghost with the smallest taste of propriety about it
would condescind to spake wid _you_. Well, boys, that's what the ghost
said in a muffled vice--their vices are muffled, you know, an their
virtues too, for all I know to the contrairy. It's a good sentiment is
that `Now or niver' for every wan of ye--so ye may putt it in yer pipes
an' smoke it, an' those of ye who haven't got pipes can make a quid of
it an' chaw it, or subject it to meditation. `Now or niver!' Think o'
that! You see I'm partikler about it, for the whole story turns on that
pint, as the ghost's life depended on it, but ye'll see an' onderstan'
better whin I come to the end o' the story."
Paddy said this so earnestly that it had the double effect of chaining
the attention of his hearers and sending a flash of light into Tom
Brixton's brain.
"Now or never!" he muttered to himself, and turned gently on his side so
as to be able to feel the cord that bound his wrists. It was still
tight, but, by moving his fingers, he could feel that one of its coils
had really been cut, and that with a little patience and exertion he
might possibly free his hands.
Slight as the motion was, however, Gashford observed it, for the
fire-light shone brightly on Tom's recumbent figure.
"Lie still, there!" he cried, sternly.
Tom lay perfectly still, and the Irishman continued his story. It grew
in mystery and in horror as he proceeded, and his audience became
entranced, while some of the more superstitious among them cast
occasional glances over their shoulders into the forest behind, which
ere long was steeped in the blackness of an unusually dark night. A few
of those outside the circle rose and drew nearer to the story-teller.
At that moment a gleam of light which had already entered Brixton's
brain flashed into that of Fred Westly, who arose, and, under pretext of
being too far off from the speaker, went round to the opposite side of
the fire so as to face him. By so doing he placed himself between the
fire and his friend Tom. Two or three of the others followed his
example, though not from the same motive, and thus, when the fire burnt
low, the prisoner found himself lying in deep shadow. By that time he
had freed his benumbed hands, chafed them into a condition of vitality,
and was considering whether he should endeavour to creep quietly away or
spring up and make a dash for life.
"`Now or niver,' said the ghost, in a solemn muffled vice," continued
Paddy--
"Who did he say that to?" asked Gashford, who was by that time as much
fascinated as the rest of the party.
"To the thief, sor, av coorse, who was standin' tremblin' fornint him,
while the sexton was diggin' the grave to putt him in alive--in the dark
shadow of a big tombstone."
The Irishman had now almost reached the climax of his story, and was
intensely graphic in his descriptions--especially at the horrible parts.
He was obviously spinning it out, and the profound silence around told
how completely he had enchained his hearers. It also warned Tom Brixton
that his time was short, and that in his case it was indeed, "now or
never."
He crept quietly towards the bushes near him. In passing a tree against
which several rifles had been placed he could not resist the temptation
to take one. Laying hold of that which stood nearest, and which seemed
to be similar in make to the rifle they had taken from himself when he
was captured, he drew it towards him. Unfortunately it formed a prop to
several other rifles, which fell with a crash, and one of them exploded
in the fall.
The effect on Paddy's highly-strung audience was tremendous. Many of
them yelled as if they had received an electric shock. All of them
sprang up and turned round just in time to see their captive vanish, not
unlike a ghost, into the thick darkness!
That glance, however, was sufficient to enlighten them. With shouts of
rage many of them darted after the fugitive, and followed him up like
bloodhounds. Others, who had never been very anxious for his capture or
death, and had been turned somewhat in his favour by the bold stand he
had made against the bear, returned to the fire after a short run.
If there had been even a glimmering of light Tom would certainly have
been retaken at once, for not a few of his pursuers were quite as active
and hardy as himself, but the intense darkness favoured him.
Fortunately the forest immediately behind him was not so dense as
elsewhere, else in his first desperate rush, regardless of consequences,
he would probably have dashed himself against a tree. As it was he went
right through a thicket and plunged headlong into a deep hole. He
scrambled out of this with the agility of a panther, just in time to
escape Gashford, who chanced to plunge into the same hole, but not so
lightly. Heavy though he was, however, his strength was equal to the
shock, and he would have scrambled out quickly enough if Crossby had not
run on the same course and tumbled on the top of him.
Amid the growling half-fight, half-scramble that ensued, Tom crept
swiftly away to the left, but the pursuers had so scattered themselves
that he heard them panting and stumbling about in every direction--
before, on either hand, and behind. Hurrying blindly on for a few
paces, he almost ran into the arms of a man whom he could hear, though
he could not see him, and stopped.
"Hallo! is that you, Bill Smith?" demanded the man.
"Ay, that's me," replied Tom, promptly, mimicking Bill Smith's voice and
gasping violently. "I thought you were Brixton. He's just passed this
way. I saw him."
"Did you?--where?"
"Away there--to the left!"
Off went the pursuer as fast as he dared, and Tom continued his flight
with more caution.
"Hallo! hi! hooroo!" came at that moment from a long distance to the
right, in unmistakable tones. "Here he is, down this way. Stop, you
big thief! Howld him. Dick! Have ye got him?"
There was a general rush and scramble towards the owner of the bass
voice, and Tom, who at once perceived the ruse, went quietly off in the
opposite direction.
Of course, the hunt came to an end in a very few minutes. Every one,
having more or less damaged his head, knees, elbows, and shins, came to
the natural conclusion that a chase in the dark was absurd as well as
hopeless, and in a short time all were reassembled round the fire, where
Fred Westly still stood, for he had not joined in the pursuit. Gashford
was the last to come up, with the exception of Paddy Flinders.
The bully came forward, fuming with rage, and strode up to Fred Westly
with a threatening look.
"You were at the bottom of this!" he cried, doubling his huge fist. "It
was you who cut the rope, for no mortal man could have untied it!"
"Indeed I did not!" replied Fred, with a steady but not defiant look.
"Then it must have bin your little chum Flinders. Where is he?"
"How could Flinders ha' done it when he was tellin' a ghost story?" said
Crossby.
Gashford turned with a furious look to the speaker, and seemed on the
point of venting his ill-humour upon him, when he was arrested by the
sound of the Irishman's voice shouting in the distance.
As he drew nearer the words became intelligible. "Howld him tight, now!
d'ye hear? Och! whereiver have ye gone an' lost yersilf? Howld him
tight till I come an' help ye! What! is it let him go ye have? Ah then
it's wishin' I had the eyes of a cat this night for I can't rightly see
the length of my nose. Sure ye've niver gone an' let him go? Don't say
so, now!" wound up Paddy as, issuing from the wood, he advanced into the
circle of light.
"Who's got hold of him, Flin?" asked one of the men as he came up.
"Sorrow wan o' me knows," returned the Irishman, wiping the perspiration
from his brow; "d'ye suppose I can see in the dark like the moles? All
I know is that half a dozen of ye have bin shoutin' `Here he is!' an'
another half-dozen, `No, he's here--this way!' an' sure I ran this way
an' then I ran that way--havin' a nat'ral disposition to obey orders,
acquired in the Louth Militia--an' then I ran my nose flat on a tree--
bad luck to it!--that putt more stars in me hid than you'll see in the
sky this night. Ah! ye may laugh, but it's truth I'm tellin'. See,
there's a blob on the ind of it as big as a chirry!"
"That blob's always there, Paddy," cried one of the men; "it's a
grog-blossom."
"There now, Peter, don't become personal. But tell me--ye've got him,
av coorse?"
"No, we haven't got him," growled Crossby.
"Well, now, you're a purty lot o' hunters. Sure if--"
"Come, shut up, Flinders," interrupted Gashford, swallowing his wrath.
(Paddy brought his teeth together with a snap in prompt obedience.) "You
know well enough that we haven't got him, and you know you're not sorry
for it; but mark my words, I'll hunt him down yet. Who'll go with me?"
"I'll go," said Crossby, stepping forward at once. "I've a grudge agin
the puppy, and I'll help to make him swing if I can."
Half a dozen other men, who were noted for leading idle and dissipated
lives, and who would rather have hunted men than nothing, also offered
to go, but the most of the party had had enough of it, and resolved to
return home in the morning.
"We can't go just now, however," said Crossby, "we'd only break our legs
or necks."
"The moon will rise in an hour," returned Gashford; "we can start then."
He flung himself down sulkily on the ground beside the fire and began to
fill his pipe. Most of the others followed his example, and sat
chatting about the recent escape, while a few, rolling themselves in
their blankets, resigned themselves to sleep.
About an hour later, as had been predicted, the moon rose, and Gashford
with his men set forth. But by that time the fugitive, groping his way
painfully with many a stumble and fall, had managed to put a
considerable distance between him and his enemies, so that when the
first silvery moonbeans tipped the tree-tops and shed a faint glimmer on
the ground, which served to make darkness barely visible, he had secured
a good start, and was able to keep well ahead. The pursuers were not
long in finding his track, however, for they had taken a Red Indian with
them to act as guide, but the necessity for frequent halts to examine
the footprints carefully delayed them much, while Tom Brixton ran
straight on without halt or stay. Still he felt that his chance of
escape was by no means a good one, for as he guessed rightly, they would
not start without a native guide, and he knew the power and patience of
these red men in following an enemy's trail. What made his case more
desperate was the sudden diminution of his strength. For it must be
borne in mind that he had taken but little rest and no food since his
flight from Pine Tree Diggings, and the wounds he had received from the
bear, although not dangerous, were painful and exhausting.
A feeling of despair crept over the stalwart youth when the old familiar
sensation of bodily strength began to forsake him. Near daybreak he was
on the point of casting himself on the ground to take rest at all
hazards, when the sound of falling water broke upon his ear. His spirit
revived at once, for he now knew that in his blind wandering he had come
near to a well-known river or stream, where he could slake his burning
thirst, and, by wading down its course for some distance, throw
additional difficulty in the pursuers' way. Not that he expected by
that course to throw them entirely off the scent, he only hoped to delay
them.
On reaching the river's brink he fell down on his breast and, applying
his lips to the bubbling water, took a deep refreshing draught.
"God help me!" he exclaimed, on rising, and then feeling the burden of
gold (which, all through his flight had been concealed beneath his
shirt, packed flat so as to lie close), he took it off and flung it
down.
"There," he said bitterly, "for _you_ I have sold myself body and soul,
and now I fling you away!"
Instead of resting as he had intended, he now, feeling strengthened,
looked about for a suitable place to enter the stream and wade down so
as to leave no footprints behind. To his surprise and joy he observed
the bow of a small Indian canoe half hidden among the bushes. It had
apparently been dragged there by its owner, and left to await his
return, for the paddles were lying under it.
Launching this frail bark without a moment's delay, he found that it was
tight; pushed off and went rapidly down with the current. Either he had
forgotten the gold in his haste, or the disgust he had expressed was
genuine, for he left it lying on the bank.
He now no longer fled without a purpose. Many miles down that same
stream there dwelt a gold-digger in a lonely hut. His name was Paul
Bevan. He was an eccentric being, and a widower with an only child, a
daughter, named Elizabeth--better known as Betty.
One phase of Paul Bevan's eccentricity was exhibited in his selection of
a spot in which to search for the precious metal. It was a savage,
gloomy gorge, such as a misanthrope might choose in which to end an
unlovely career. But Bevan was no misanthrope. On the contrary, he was
one of those men who are gifted with amiable dispositions, high spirits,
strong frames, and unfailing health. He was a favourite with all who
knew him, and, although considerably past middle life, possessed much of
the fire, energy, and light-heartedness of youth. There is no
accounting for the acts of eccentric men, and we make no attempt to
explain why it was that Paul Bevan selected a home which was not only
far removed from the abodes of other men, but which did not produce much
gold. Many prospecting parties had visited the region from time to
time, under the impression that Bevan had discovered a rich mine, which
he was desirous of keeping all to himself; but, after searching and
digging all round the neighbourhood, and discovering that gold was to be
found in barely paying quantities, they had left in search of more
prolific fields, and spread the report that Paul Bevan was an eccentric
fellow. Some said he was a queer chap; others, more outspoken, styled
him an ass, but all agreed in the opinion that his daughter Betty was
the finest girl in Oregon.
Perhaps this opinion may account for the fact that many of the miners--
especially the younger among them--returned again and again to Bevan's
Gully to search for gold although the search was not remunerative.
Among those persevering though unsuccessful diggers had been, for a
considerable time past, our hero Tom Brixton. Perhaps the decision with
which Elizabeth Bevan repelled him had had something to do with his late
reckless life.
But we must guard the reader here from supposing that Betty Bevan was a
beauty. She was not. On the other hand, she was by no means plain, for
her complexion was good, her nut-brown hair was soft and wavy, and her
eyes were tender and true. It was the blending of the graces of body
and of soul that rendered Betty so attractive. As poor Tom Brixton once
said in a moment of confidence to his friend Westly, while excusing
himself for so frequently going on prospecting expeditions to Bevan's
Gully, "There's no question about it, Fred; she's the sweetest girl in
Oregon--pshaw! in the world, I should have said. Loving-kindness beams
in her eyes, sympathy ripples on her brow, grace dwells in her every
motion, and honest, straightforward simplicity sits enthroned upon her
countenance!"
Even Crossby, the surly digger, entertained similar sentiments regarding
her, though he expressed them in less refined language. "She's a
bu'ster," he said once to a comrade, "that's what _she_ is, an' no
mistake about it. What with her great eyes glarin' affection, an' her
little mouth smilin' good-natur', an' her figure goin' about as graceful
as a small cat at play--why, I tell 'ee what it is, mate, with such a
gal for a wife a feller might snap his fingers at hunger an' thirst,
heat an' cold, bad luck an' all the rest of it. But she's got one fault
that don't suit me. She's overly religious--an' that don't pay at the
diggin's."
This so-called fault did indeed appear to interfere with Betty Bevan's
matrimonial prospects, for it kept a large number of dissipated diggers
at arm's-length from her, and it made even the more respectable men feel
shy in her presence.
Tom Brixton, however, had not been one of her timid admirers. He had a
drop or two of Irish blood in his veins which rendered that impossible!
Before falling into dissipated habits he had paid his addresses to her
boldly. Moreover, his suit was approved by Betty's father, who had
taken a great fancy to Tom. But, as we have said, this Rose of Oregon
repelled Tom. She did it gently and kindly, it is true, but decidedly.
It was, then, towards the residence of Paul Bevan that the fugitive now
urged his canoe, with a strange turmoil of conflicting emotions however;
for, the last time he had visited the Gully he had been at least free
from the stain of having broken the laws of man. Now, he was a fugitive
and an outlaw, with hopes and aspirations blighted and the last shred of
self-respect gone.