INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
Suddenly Silver Sam’s voice rang out:
“Now, boys! draw a bead on each man. Give it to ’em!”
There was a moment’s silence, then the crash of firearms broke it.
From the fringe of sycamores a line of flame leaped forth. The Mexicans
fell in heaps in the waters of the creek.
Their surprise attack was turned upon them, and quickly proved the
greatest surprise for themselves.
Once again the prospectors fired.
The effect was disastrous in the extreme to the greasers.
They made an attempt to cross the creek and fired a volley.
But it did little damage, and another volley from the prospectors
turned the tide of battle.
Overwhelmed with the force of the attack, the greasers fell back.
Frank sent the Steam Man close to the bank of the creek, and Barney and
Pomp opened fire with their repeaters.
The greasers saw at once that their plan had failed, and they retreated
in wild dismay.
Had it been daylight they might have been badly repulsed.
But in the darkness Silver Sam concluded that it would be folly and
even dangerous to pursue them.
So this course was abandoned.
But the prospectors felt that they had gained an important victory and
their cheers rent the air.
The greasers disappeared, and did not make an appearance again that
night.
Silver Sam was more than elated at the result.
“I tell ye, boys!” he cried, “we kin whip the whole gang of them, even
if they are three to one.”
“An’ what’s more, we’ll do it!” cried Diamond Jake.
The prospectors cheered wildly at this announcement.
Daylight came at length.
The party were all glad to see it, for it would enable them to start at
once upon their expedition into the hills.
As soon as possible, Silver Sam had all put in readiness for the start.
Bill Guernsey and the stage were to carry a part of the company as far
as the stage could go.
Then the others were to press forward on foot or horseback, as the
exigency would demand.
At length the start was made.
The Steam Man accompanied the party as far as the pass which entered
the hills.
Here the nature of the ground forbade its going further.
Had it not been for leaving the Man, Frank, Barney and Pomp all would
have liked to accompany the party.
But as it was, the best thing that they could do was to remain upon the
plain and wait for coming events.
The party were soon out of sight. Hours passed, and the Steam Man
remained at the mouth of the pass.
Frank was not particularly charmed with the situation.
It was terribly monotonous waiting here in this idle manner.
Our travelers longed to be in action, to be doing something. But for
the present, however, there was little or nothing to do but wait.
Hours passed by slowly.
Finally the day began to wane. Then Barney suddenly exclaimed:
“Wud yez listen! I can hear the crack av foire-arms.”
The Celt was right.
Plainly enough to the hearing of all came the distant discharge of
firearms.
This meant a great deal.
Without a doubt the prospectors had become engaged in battle with the
greasers.
Frank listened in a fever of excitement. He would have given much to be
upon the scene.
But this was impossible, for the rocky pass would not allow of the
passage of the Steam Man.
“Whew!” exclaimed the young inventor, impatiently. “It seems terrible
to be compelled to sit here and do nothing.”
“I have it, sor!” cried Barney.
“What?”
“Shure, if yez will agree to it, we will leave the naygur in the Stheam
Man, an’ you an’ I will take a run up through there.”
Frank turned to Pomp.
“How is it, Pomp?” he asked.
“It am jes’ as yo’ says, Marse Frank. Yo’ jes’ go right along fo’ all
ob dis chile.”
“All right!” cried the young inventor, with inspiration. “Come along,
Barney.”
Both seized their Winchesters and left the Steam Man.
Striking into the pass they followed it for some ways.
They then came out upon a sort of tableland high up among the hills.
The sound of firing was now quite plain. But somewhat singularly, they
were unable to locate it.
There existed in the place a strange sort of echo which carried the
sound away into different quarters.
It was quite impossible for Barney and Frank to tell what direction to
take.
So they finally struck out at random.
Leaving the tableland they skirted a part of the mountain wall.
Suddenly a startling thing occurred.
From a chaparral a score of greasers sprang out and surrounded them.
Revolvers were leveled at their heads, and the leader, a villainous
looking fellow, exclaimed:
“Caramba! Move hand or foot and you’re dead men!”
“Heavens!” gasped Frank, in dismay. “We are in for it, Barney.”
“Bad luck to the omadhouns,” muttered the Celt, in disgust.
In a twinkling the two prisoners were disarmed and their hands were
bound behind them.
Then the Mexicans led them away into the chaparral.
After going some ways bandages were bound across their eyes.
Thus blindfolded they were led along for over an hour.
Then suddenly the buzz of voices came to their ears and the bandages
were removed.
A startling scene was spread before Frank and Barney.
They were in a deep dell among the hills.
Tall, solemn-looking mountain pines overshadowed the place.
About them stood a line of armed men. The leader now advanced and said:
“We know you, senors. You have come here with your Steam Man to make
war upon Miguel Costello. By his orders we now consign you to a living
death. You shall feel the weight of Costello’s vengeance.”
Then he turned and waved his hands to his men.
Instantly two of them advanced and laid hands upon the prisoners.
And now Frank saw the mouth of a deep mining shaft before him.
Its ragged sides and the decayed beams showed that it had long been
disused.
A chill of horror came over the young inventor.
“My God!” he reflected, “they mean to throw me down there.”
It seemed at that moment as if he was doomed to an awful death.
But the leader of the greasers, who seemed to read his mind, said:
“Fear not, senor. We shall not relieve you of life in so summary a
manner.”
A rope was quickly wound about Frank’s waist and then about Barney.
Both men were led to the mouth of the shaft and then the other end of
the rope thrown over the windlass.
Several men operated the windlass, and Frank and Barney were swung into
space over the mouth of the shaft.
It was a frightful moment for them.
What the distance was to the bottom of the shaft they could only guess.
It was in reality a thousand feet.
Down they were slowly lowered.
The windlass creaked above them, the light of day went out, and it
seemed truly as if they were going out of the world forever.
A mocking voice came down the shaft.
“I hope you will find it pleasant down there, senors. Many good men
have gone there before you, and you will find their bones. You can know
your fate now. Nobody will ever find you down there, for the existence
of this shaft is known to no one but Costello and his men.”
Frank Reade, Jr., was ordinarily as brave as a lion.
But it seemed at that moment as if he must yield to despair.
“Death!” he muttered, with white lips. “Why should I fear it, and yet I
cannot face it.”
Poor Barney was beside himself with terror.
“Bad cess to the omadhouns!” he muttered. “I wud jest loike a chance
fer to git a whack at them greasers wid a good shillelah. I’d vinture
to clane out the lot av thim alone.”
“You will hardly get the chance, Barney,” said Frank, lugubriously. “I
fear that we are done for.”
“Bejabers, thin, I’ll cum back an’ haunt the omadhouns, that I will!”
cried Barney, angrily.
But now they reached the bottom of the pit.
Only a faint light could be seen overhead, and all was dense gloom.
Gradually, however, as their eyes became accustomed to the shadows,
they were able to distinguish objects within reach.
No sooner had they struck the bottom of the shaft, than the rope came
tumbling down after them.
What a terrible position was theirs!
One thousand feet below the earth’s surface, at the bottom of a mining
shaft.
They were literally buried alive.
Frank groaned in the bitterness of the realization.
“My soul!” he muttered, “this is the end of all. We shall never be
rescued from here.”
“But perhaps we can escape,” ventured Barney.
“How?”
Ah, that was the question and it was not an easy one to answer.
How could they hope to scale the smooth walls of that shaft?
It was plainly impossible. The thought was at once dismissed.
Frank suddenly recoiled with a cry of horror.
A bleaching skeleton lay at his feet. There were others near, remains
of former victims.
This taught the two buried men plainer than words that it was useless
to attempt the finding of another outlet to the labyrinth passages
leading from the main shaft into the bowels of the earth.
Hope was abandoned and both sank down in mute despair.
They had but to await death. It was certain, inevitable, and the sooner
it came the sooner they would be spared the suffering and
misery of their awful fate, more awful than words can express.