A FORTUNE
On their return to Fort Bridger Harry and his companions pounded up the
quartz that had been left there, and found that its average equalled
that of the piece they had tried at the mine. The gold was packed in a
box and sent to Pete Hoskings. A letter came back in return from him,
saying that five of his friends had put in five thousand dollars each,
and that he should start with the stores and machinery as soon as the
track was clear of snow. The season was an early one, and in the middle
of April he arrived with four large waggons and twenty active-looking
young emigrants, and four miners, all of whom were known to Harry. There
was a good deal of talk at Bridger about the expedition, and many
offered to take service in it. But when Harry said that the lode they
were going to prospect was in the heart of the Ute country, and that he
himself had been twice attacked by the red-skins, the eagerness to
accompany him abated considerably.
The fact, too, that it was a vein that would have to be worked by
machinery, was in itself sufficient to deter solitary miners from trying
to follow it up. Scarce a miner but had located a score of claims in
different parts of the country, and these being absolutely useless to
them, without capital to work them with, they would gladly have disposed
of them for a few dollars. It was not, therefore, worth while to risk a
perilous journey merely on the chance of being able to find another vein
in the neighbourhood of that worked by Harry and the men who had gone
into it with him. There was, however, some surprise among the old hands
when Pete Hoskings arrived with the waggons.
"What! Have you cut the saloon, Pete, and are you going in for mining
again?" one of them said as he alighted from his horse.
Pete gave a portentous wink.
"I guess I know what I am doing, Joe Radley. I am looking after the
interests of a few speculators at Denver, who have an idea that they are
going to get rich all of a sudden. I was sick of the city, and it just
suited me to take a run and to get out of the place for a few months."
"Do you think it is rich, Pete?"
"One never can say," Hoskings replied with a grin. "We are not
greenhorns any of us, and we know there is no saying how things are
going to turn out. Straight Harry has had a run of bad luck for the last
two years, and I am glad to give him a shoulder up, you know. I reckon
he won't come badly off any way it turns out."
It was not much, but it was quite enough to send a rumour round the fort
that Pete Hoskings had been puffing up a wild-cat mine in Denver for the
sake of getting Straight Harry appointed boss of the expedition to test
it.
Everything was ready at Bridger, and they delayed but twenty-four hours
there. The teams had arrived from Salt Lake City with the stores a week
before, and the eight waggons set off together. Pete, the three
partners, the two Indians, and the four miners were all mounted. There
were eight other horses ridden by as many of the young fellows Pete had
brought with him, the rest walked on foot. They marched directly for the
mine, as with such a force it was not necessary to make a detour over
the bad lands. At the first halting-place some long cases Pete had
brought with him were opened, and a musket handed to each of the
emigrants, together with a packet of ammunition.
"Now," Pete said, "if the Utes meddle with us we will give them fits.
But I reckon they will know better than to interfere with us."
The rate of progress with the heavy waggons was necessarily very much
slower than that at which the party had travelled on their previous
journey, and it was not until the afternoon of the eighth day after
starting, that they came down into the valley. A halt was made at the
former camping-place in the grove of trees, and the next morning Pete
and the miners went up with Harry and his friends to choose a spot for
the fort, and to examine the lode. As soon as the earth was scraped away
from the spot from which the rock had been taken, exclamations of
astonishment broke from the miners. They had been told by Pete that
Harry had struck it rich, but all were astonished at the numerous
particles and flakes of gold that protruded from the rock. Pete had
forwarded early in the spring to Harry the list of the claimants to the
mine, and the latter and Tom had ridden over to Salt Lake City a few
days before the waggons came up from there to register the claims at the
mining-office, and the first step was to stake out these claims upon the
lode.
"It doesn't run like this far," Harry said to the miners, "and I reckon
that beyond our ground it doesn't run above two ounces to the ton, so I
don't think it is worth while your taking up claims beyond. Of course,
you can do so if you like, and we will allow you an hour off every few
days during the season to work your claims enough to keep possession,
and of an evening you can do a bit of washing down below. You will find
it good-pay dirt everywhere. At least we did as far as we tried it."
They now fixed on the site for the fort. It was upon the top of the
bank, some twenty yards above the lode, and it was settled there should
be a strong double palisade running down from it to the stream, so that
in case of siege they could fetch water without being exposed to the
bullets of an enemy taking post higher up the creek. Among the men from
Denver were two or three experienced carpenters, and a blacksmith, for
whose use a portable forge had been brought in the waggons.
The party returned to breakfast, and as soon as this was over the teams
were put in and the waggons were brought up and unloaded, the stores
being protected from wet by the canvas that formed the tilts. Some of
the men accustomed to the use of the axe had been left in the valley to
fell trees, and as soon as the waggons were unloaded they were sent down
to bring up timber. All worked hard, and at the end of the week a
log-hut fifty feet long and twenty-five feet wide had been erected. The
walls were five feet high, and the roof was formed of the trunks of
young trees squared, and laid side by side.
As rain fell seldom in that region it was not considered necessary to
place shingles over them, as this could, in case of need, be done later
on. The door opened out into the passage between the palisades down to
the water, and the windows were all placed on the same side, loopholes
being cut at short intervals round the other three sides. Another
fortnight completed the preparations for work. The stamps were erected,
with the water-wheel to work them; the stream dammed a hundred yards up,
and a leat constructed to bring the water down to the wheel.
The waggons were formed up in a square. In this the horses were shut
every night, four of the men by turns keeping guard there. During the
last few days the miners had been at work blasting the quartz, and as
soon as the stamps and machinery were in position they were ready to
begin. The men were all told off to various duties, some to carry the
rock down to the stamps, others to break it up into convenient sizes;
two men fed the stamps, others attended to the concentrator and
blankets, supervised by Harry. It was the duty of some to take the
horses down to the valley and guard them while they were feeding, and
bring them back at night. Two men were to bake and cook, Pete Hoskings
taking this special department under his care. Jerry worked with the
miners, and Tom was his uncle's assistant.
The stamps were to be kept going night and day, and each could crush a
ton in twenty-four hours. To their great satisfaction each of the men
was allowed one day a week to himself, during which he could prospect
for other lodes or wash gravel as he pleased. The old cradle was found
where it had been left, and as five of the men were off duty each day,
they formed themselves into gangs and worked the cradle by turns, adding
very considerably to the liberal pay they received. The two Indians
hunted, and seldom returned without game of some sort or other. As the
quicksilver in the concentrator was squeezed by Harry or Tom, and the
blankets washed by them, none but themselves knew what the returns were.
They and their partners were, however, more than satisfied with the
result, for although the lode was found to pinch in as they got lower,
it maintained for the first six weeks the extraordinary average of that
they had first crushed.
At the end of that time the Indians reported that they had seen traces
of the Utes having visited the valley. The number of men who went down
with the horses was at once doubled, one or other of the Indians staying
down with them, preceding them in the morning by half an hour to see
that the valley was clear. A week later the horses were seen coming back
again a quarter of an hour after they had started. The men caught up
their guns, which were always placed handy for them while at work, and
ran out to meet the returning party.
"What is it, Hunting Dog?"
"A large war-party," the Indian replied. "Three hundred or more."
The horses were driven into the inclosure, half the men took their
places among the waggons, and the others, clustered round the hut,
prepared to enter it as soon as the Indians made their appearance.
The partners had already arranged what course to take if the Indians
should come down on them, and were for all reasons most anxious that
hostilities should if possible be avoided.
Presently the Indians were seen approaching at a gallop. As soon as they
caught sight of the log-house and the inclosure of waggons they reined
in their horses. The men had been ordered to show themselves, and the
sight of some forty white men all armed with rifles brought the Indians
to a dead stand-still.
Pete Hoskings went forward a little and waved a white cloth, and then
Harry and the chief, leaving their rifles behind them stepped up to his
side and held their arms aloft. There was a short consultation among the
Indians, and then two chiefs dismounted, handed their rifles and spears
to their men, and in turn advanced. Harry and Leaping Horse went forward
until they met the chiefs halfway between the two parties. Harry began
the conversation.
"Why do my red brothers wish to fight?" he asked. "We are doing them no
harm. We are digging in the hills. Why should we not be friends?"
"The white men killed many of the Utes when they were here last year,"
one of the chiefs replied. "Why do they come upon the Utes' land?"
"It was the fault of the Utes," Harry said. "The white men wished only
to work in peace. The Utes tried to take their scalps, and the white men
were forced against their will to fight. No one can be blamed for
defending his life. We wish for peace, but, as the Utes can see, we are
quite ready to defend ourselves. There are forty rifles loaded and
ready, and, as you may see, a strong house. We have no fear. Last time
we were but few, but the Utes found that it was not easy to kill us. Now
we are many, and how many of the Utes would die before they took our
scalps? Nevertheless we wish for peace. The land is the land of the
Utes, and although we are strong and could hold it if we chose, we do
not wish to take it by force from our red brothers. We are ready to pay
for the right to live and work quietly. Let the chiefs go back to their
friends and talk together, and say how many blankets and how many guns
and what weight of ammunition and tobacco they will be content with.
Then if they do not ask too much, the white men will, so long as they
remain here, pay that amount each year in order that they may live in
peace with the Utes."
The two Indians glanced at each other. "My white brother is wise," one
said. "Why did he not tell the Utes so last year?"
"Because you never gave us time, chief. If you had done so we would have
said the same to you then, and your young men would be with you now; but
you came as enemies upon us, and when the rifle is speaking the voice is
silent."
"I will speak with my braves," the chief said gravely. And turning round
they walked back to their party, while Harry and the chief returned to
the huts.
"What do you think, chief? Will it be peace?"
Leaping Horse nodded. "Too many rifles," he said. "The Utes will know
they could never take block-house."
It was nearly two hours before the two Utes advanced as before, and
Harry and the Seneca went out to meet them.
"My white brother's words are good," the chief said. "The Utes are great
warriors, but they do not wish to fight against the white men who come
as friends. The chiefs have talked with their braves, and the hatchets
will be buried. This is what the Utes ask that the white men who have
taken their land shall pay them."
Harry had arranged that the chief, who spoke the Ute language more
perfectly than he did, should take charge of the bargaining. On the list
being given Leaping Horse assumed an expression of stolid indifference.
"The land must be very dear in the Ute country," he said. "Do my
brothers suppose that the white men are mad that they ask such terms?
Peace would be too dear if bought at such a price. They are willing to
deal liberally with the Utes, but not to give as much as would buy
twenty hills. They will give this." And he enumerated a list of
articles, amounting to about one quarter of the Indians' demands.
The bargaining now went on in earnest, and finally it was settled that a
quantity of goods, amounting to about half the Indians' first demand,
should be accepted, and both parties returned to their friends well
satisfied.
A certain amount of goods had been brought out with a view to such a
contingency, and half the amount claimed was handed over to the Utes.
They had, indeed, more than enough to satisfy the demands, but Leaping
Horse had suggested to Harry that only a portion should be given, as
otherwise the Indians might suppose that their wealth was boundless. It
would be better to promise to deliver the rest in three months' time. A
dozen of the principal men of the Utes came over. The goods were
examined and accepted, the calumet of peace was smoked and a solemn
covenant of friendship entered into, and by the next morning the Indians
had disappeared.
One end of the hut had been partitioned off for the use of the leaders
of the party, and the gold obtained each day was carried by them there
and deposited in a strong iron box, of which several had been brought by
Pete Hoskings from Denver.
The day after the Indians left, a waggon, was sent off under the escort
of eight mounted labourers to Bridger, and this continued to make the
journey backward and forward regularly with the boxes of gold, Jerry and
Pete Hoskings taking it by turns to command the escort. Harry and Pete
had had a talk with the officer in command at Bridger on the evening
before they had started on the expedition.
"You think you are going to send in a large quantity of gold?" the
officer asked.
"If the mines are such as we think, Major, we may be sending down two or
three hundredweight a month."
"Of course, the gold will be perfectly safe as long as it is in the
fort, but if it gets known how much there is, you will want a strong
convoy to take it across to the railway, and it would not be safe even
then. Of course, the bulk is nothing. I should say at any rate you had
better get it in here with as little fuss as possible."
"If you will keep it here for awhile," Pete said, "we will think over
afterwards how it is to be taken further."
The officer nodded. "It mayn't turn out as difficult a business as you
think," he said with a smile. "You are both old hands enough to know
that mines very seldom turn out as rich as they are expected to do."
"We both know that," Pete Hoskings agreed. "I dunno as I ever did hear
of a mine that turned out anything nigh as good as it ought to have done
from samples, but I reckon that this is going to be an exception."
When within a few miles of the fort the escort always placed their
rifles in the waggon and rode on some distance ahead of it, only one or
two with their leader remaining by it. The boxes, which were of no great
size, were covered by a sack or two thrown down in the corner of the
waggon, and on its arrival in the fort it was taken first to the store,
where a considerable quantity of provisions, flour, molasses, bacon, tea
and sugar, currants and raisins, and other articles were purchased and
placed in it. This was the ostensible purpose of the journey to the
fort. Late in the evening Jerry or Pete, whichever happened to be the
leader, and one of the men, carried the boxes across to the Major's
quarters and stored them in a cellar beneath it.
There was a real need of provisions at the mine, for the population of
the valley rapidly increased as the season went on. The upper part of
the bed of the stream had been staked out into claims, the miners and
other men each taking up one, but below them the ground was of course
open to all, and although not nearly so rich as the upper gravel it was
good enough to pay fairly for working. A stout palisading now surrounded
the ground taken up by the machinery and the mine itself, and no one
except those engaged by the company were allowed to enter here.
Considerable surprise was felt in the camp when the first two or three
miners came up and staked out claims on the stream.
"I wonder how they could have heard of it," Tom said to his uncle.
"The fact that we are remaining out here is enough to show that we are
doing something, anyhow. The men who go in are always strictly ordered
to say no word about what our luck is, but the mere fact that they hold
their tongues--and you may be sure they are questioned sharply--is
enough to excite curiosity, and these men have come to find out and see
what the country is like, and to prospect the hills round where we are
working. You will see a lot of them here before long."
As more came up it was determined to open a store. In the first place it
furnished an explanation for the waggon going down so often, and in the
second the fact that they were ready to sell provisions at cost prices
would deter others from coming and setting up stores. There was no
liquor kept on the mine, and Pete and Harry were very anxious that no
places for its sale should be opened in the valley.
During the winter and spring Tom had received several letters from his
sisters. They expressed themselves as very grateful for the money that
he and their uncle had sent on their return to Denver, but begged them
to send no more, as the school was flourishing and they were perfectly
able to meet all their expenses. "It is very good of you, Tom," Carry
said. "Of course, we are all very pleased to know that you have been
able to send the money, because it relieves our anxiety about you; but
we really don't want it, and it makes us afraid that you are stinting
yourself. Besides, even if you are not, it would be much better for you
to keep the money, as you may find some opportunity of using it to your
advantage, while here it would only lie in the bank and do no good. It
would be different if we had nothing to fall back upon in case of
anything happening, such as some of us getting ill, or our having a case
of fever in the school, or anything of that sort, but as we have only
used fifty pounds of mother's money we have plenty to go on with for a
very long time; so that really we would very much rather you did not
send us any over. Now that we know your address and can write to you at
Fort Bridger, it seems to bring you close to us. But we have had two
very anxious times; especially the first, when we did not hear of you
for six months. The second time was not so bad, as you had told us that
it might be a long time before we should hear, and we were prepared for
it, but I do hope it will never be so long again."
There had been some discussion as to whether the mine should be shut
down in winter, but it was soon decided that work should go on
regularly. Six more stamps were ordered to be sent from the east, with a
steam-engine powerful enough to work the whole battery, and in September
this and other machinery had reached the mine. Fresh buildings had been
erected--a storehouse, a house for the officers, and a shed covering the
whole of the machinery and yard. By the time this was all ready and in
place the valley below was deserted, the gravel having been washed out
to the bed-rock. No other lodes of sufficient richness to work had been
discovered by the prospectors, and with winter at hand there was no
inducement for them to stay longer there.
Only two or three of the men at the mine wished to leave when their
engagement for the season terminated. All had been well paid, and had in
addition made money at gold-washing. Their food had been excellent, and
their comforts attended to in all ways. Accordingly, with these
exceptions all were ready to renew their engagements.
An arrangement was made with the Major at Fort Bridger for an escort
under a subaltern officer to proceed with two waggons with the treasure
to Denver. Pete Hoskings and Jerry were to remain as managers of the
mine throughout the winter. Harry and Tom had made up their minds to go
to England and to return in the spring. The ore was now very much poorer
than it had been at first. The lode had pinched out below and they had
worked some distance along it. The falling off, however, was only
relative; the mine was still an extraordinarily rich one, although it
contained little more than a tenth of the gold that had been extracted
from the first hundred and fifty tons crushed.
None but Harry, Pete Hoskings, Jerry, and Tom had any idea of the amount
of gold extracted in less than six months, although the miners were well
aware that the amount must be very large. It was so indeed, for after
repaying the amount expended in preliminary expenses, together with the
new machinery, the wages of the men, provisions, and all outgoings, they
calculated the treasure sent down to be worth one hundred and
twenty-eight thousand pounds, while the mine if sold would fetch at
least double that sum. After a hearty farewell to Pete and Jerry, Harry
and Tom with the two Indians rode with the last waggon down to Bridger.
The iron boxes had all been sewn up in deer-skins when they were sent
down, and at night they were placed in the waggons by Harry and his
companions. Over them were placed the provisions for the journey, as it
was just as well that even the soldiers should not suspect the amount of
treasure they were escorting.
They encountered some severe snow-storms by the way, but reached Denver
without incident. The place had wonderfully changed since Tom had
arrived there more than two years before. It had trebled in size; broad
streets and handsome houses had been erected, and the town had spread in
all directions. They drove straight to the bank, to which Pete Hoskings
had sent down a letter a fortnight before they had started, and the
boxes were taken out of the waggon and carried down into the vaults of
the bank. A handsome present was made to each of the soldiers of the
escort, a brace of revolvers was given by Harry to the subaltern, and
the handsomest watch and chain that could be purchased in Denver was
sent by him to the Major, with an inscription expressing the thanks of
the company to him for his kindness.
"Well, Tom, I am thankful that that is off my mind," Harry said. "I have
had a good many troubles in the course of my life, but this is the first
time that money has ever been a care to me. Well, we are rich men, Tom,
and we shall be richer, for the mine will run another two or three years
before it finishes up the lode as far as we have traced it, and as we
have now filed claims for a quarter of a mile farther back, it may be
good for aught I know for another ten years. Not so good as it has been
this year, but good enough to give handsome profits. Have you calculated
what our share is?"
"No, uncle. I know it must be a lot, but I have never thought about what
each share will be."
"Well, to begin with, a third of it goes to Pete Hoskings and his
friends, that leaves eighty-five thousand. The remainder is divided into
seven shares; I was to have two, the Indians three between them, you
one, and Jerry one. His share is then about twelve thousand, which
leaves seventy-three thousand between you and me. Of course, we shall
divide equally."
"No, indeed, uncle; that would be ridiculous. I have been of very little
use through it all, and I certainly ought not to have as much as Jerry.
You and the chief discovered it, and it was entirely owing to you that
any of the rest of us have a share of the profits, and of course your
arrangement with the two Indians is only because the chief is so fond of
you."
"Partly that, Tom; but chiefly because it is in accordance with red-skin
customs. They are hunters, fighters, and guides, but they are not
miners, and they never go in for shares in an enterprise of this sort.
It went very much against the grain for Leaping Horse to take that three
or four hundred pounds that came to him at the end of the last
expedition, and he would be seriously offended if I were to press upon
him more than his ordinary payment now; he would say that he has been
simply hunting this year, that he has run no risks, and has had nothing
to do with the mine. To-morrow morning we will go out to see what there
is in the way of horse-flesh in Denver, and will buy him and Hunting Dog
the two best horses in the town, whatever they may cost, with saddles,
bridles, new blankets, and so on. If I can get anything special in the
way of rifles I shall get a couple of them, and if not I shall get them
in New York, and send them to him at Bridger. These are presents he
would value infinitely more than all the gold we have stowed away in the
bank to-day. He is going back to his tribe for the winter, and he and
Hunting Dog will be at the mine before us next spring."
In the morning Harry was two hours at the bank, where he saw the gold
weighed out, and received a receipt for the value, which came to within
a hundred pounds of what they had calculated, as the dust had been very
carefully weighed each time it was sent off. In accordance with the
arrangement he had made with Pete Hoskings and Jerry the amount of their
respective shares was placed to their credit at the bank. Drawing a
thousand pounds in cash, he received a draft for the rest upon a firm at
New York, where he would be able to exchange it for one on London. He
then inquired at the hotel as to who was considered to possess the best
horses in the town, and as money was no object to him, he succeeded in
persuading the owners to sell two splendid animals; these with the
saddles were sent to the hotel. He then bought two finely finished
Sharpe's rifles of long range, and two brace of silver-mounted
revolvers.
"Now, Tom," he said, "I shall give one of these outfits to the chief and
you give the other to Hunting Dog; he has been your special chum since
we started, and the presents will come better from you than from me. I
expect them here in half an hour; I told them I should be busy all the
morning."
The two Indians were delighted with their presents, even the chief being
moved out of his usual impassive demeanour. "My white brothers are too
good. Leaping Horse knows that Straight Harry is his friend; he does not
want presents to show him that; but he will value them because he loves
his white brothers, even more than for themselves." As for Hunting Dog,
he was for a long time incredulous that the splendid horse, the rifle
and pistols could really be for him, and he was so exuberant in his
delight that it was not until Leaping Horse frowned at him severely that
he subsided into silent admiration of the gifts.
"Here are papers, chief, that you and Hunting Dog had better keep: they
are the receipts for the two horses, and two forms that I have had
witnessed by a lawyer, saying that we have given you the horses in token
of our gratitude for the services that you have rendered; possibly you
may find them useful. You may fall in with rough fellows who may make a
pretence that the horses have been stolen. Oh, yes! I know that you can
hold your own; still, it may avoid trouble."
They had now no further use for their horses, so these were sold for a
few pounds. They purchased a stock of clothes sufficient only for their
journey to England.
"You may as well put your revolver in your pocket, Tom," Harry said as
they prepared to start the next day. "I have sewn up the draft in the
lining of my coat, but sometimes a train gets held up and robbed, and as
we have six hundred pounds in gold and notes in our wallets, I certainly
should not give it up without a fight."
The Indians accompanied them to the station. "Now, chief, you take my
advice and look out for a nice wife before next spring. You are forty
now, and it is high time you thought of settling down."
"Leaping Horse will think over it," the Seneca said gravely. "It may be
that in the spring he will have a wigwam in the valley."
A few minutes later the train started east, and five days later they
reached New York. A steamer left the next day for England, and in this
they secured two first-class berths; and although Tom had managed very
well on his way out, he thoroughly enjoyed the vastly superior comfort
of the homeward trip. They went straight through to Southampton, for, as
Harry said, they could run up to London and get their clothes any day;
and he saw that Tom was in a fever of excitement to get home. Harriet
came to the door of the little house at Southsea when they knocked. She
looked surprised at seeing two gentlemen standing there. In the two
years and a half that had passed since Tom had left he had altered
greatly. He had gone through much toil and hardship, and the bronze of
the previous summer's sun was not yet off his cheeks; he had grown four
or five inches, and the man's work that he had been doing had made
almost a man of him.
"Don't you know me, Harriet?" Tom said.
The girl at once recognized the voice, and with a loud cry of delight
threw her arms round his neck. The cry brought Carry out from the
parlour. "Why, Harriet," she exclaimed, "have you gone mad?"
"Don't you see it's Tom?" Harriet said, turning round, laughing and
crying together.
"It is Tom, sure enough, Carry; you need not look so incredulous; and
this is Uncle Harry."
There were a few minutes of wild joy, then they calmed down and
assembled in the sitting-room.
"It is lucky the girls have all gone home to dinner," Carry said, "or
they would certainly have carried the news to their friends that we were
all mad. It is a half-holiday too, nothing could be more fortunate. Now
we want to hear everything. Tom's letters were so short and
unsatisfactory, uncle, that he told us next to nothing, except that you
had found a mine, and that you were both working there, and that it was
satisfactory."
"Well, my dears, that is the pith of the thing," Harry said. "The first
thing for you to do is to send round notes to the mothers of these
children saying that from unforeseen circumstances you have retired from
the profession, and that the school has finally closed from this
afternoon."
There was a general exclamation from the girls:
"What do you mean, uncle?"
"I mean what I say, girls. Tom and I have made our fortunes, and there
is no occasion for you to go on teaching any longer. We have not yet
made any plans for the future, but at any rate the first step is, that
there is to be no more teaching."
"But are you quite, quite sure, uncle?" Carry said doubtfully. "We are
getting on very nicely now, and it would be a pity to lose the
connection."
Harry and Tom both laughed.
"Well, my girl," the former said, "that is of course a point to be
thought of. But as Tom and I have over thirty-five thousand pounds
apiece, and the mine will bring us in a good round sum for some years to
come, I think we can afford to run the risk of the connection going."
After that it was a long while before they settled down to talk quietly
again.
A week later they all went up to London for a month, while what Harry
called "outfits" were purchased for the girls, as well as for him and
Tom, and all the sights of London visited. Before their story came to an
end, the grand consultation as to future plans had been held, and a
handsome house purchased at Blackheath.
Tom did not return to Utah in the spring; his uncle strongly advised him
not to do so.
"I shall go back myself, Tom; partly because I should feel like a fish
out of water with nothing to do here, partly because I promised the
chief to go back for a bit every year. I am beginning to feel dull
already, and am looking forward to the trip across the water, but it
will certainly be better for you to stay at home. You left school early,
you see, and it would be a good thing for you to get a man to come and
read with you for two or three hours a day for the next year or two. We
have settled that the three younger girls are to go to school; and I
don't see why you, Carry, and Janet, should not go, in the first place,
for two or three months on to the Continent. They have had a dull life
since you have been away, and the trip will be a treat for them, and
perhaps do you some good also. It will be time enough to settle down to
reading when you come back."
The mine returned large profits that year, the increased amount stamped
making up to some extent for the falling off in the value of the ore,
and the shares of the various proprietors were more than half what they
had been at the end of the first season's work. The third year it fell
off considerably. There was a further decrease the year after, and the
fifth year it barely paid its expenses, and it was decided to abandon
it. Harry Wade went over every season for many years, but spent only the
first at the mine. After that he went hunting expeditions with Leaping
Horse, who, to his amusement, had met him at his first return to the
mine with a pretty squaw, and Hunting Dog had also brought a wife with
him. Two wigwams were erected that year near the mine, but after that
they returned to their tribe, of which Leaping Horse became the leading
chief.
Tom's sisters all in due time married, each being presented on her
wedding-day with a cheque for ten thousand pounds, as a joint present
from her uncle and brother.
Tom himself did not remain a bachelor, but six years after his return to
England took a wife to himself, and the house at Blackheath was none too
large for his family. Harry Wade's home is with Tom, and he is still
hale and hearty. Up to the last few years he paid occasional visits to
America, and stayed for a while with his red brother Leaping Horse, when
they lamented together over the disappearance of game and the extinction
of the buffalo. Hunting Dog had, at Harry's urgent advice, settled down
in the ways of civilization, taking up a ranche and breeding cattle, of
which he now owns a large herd. Jerry Curtis and Pete Hoskings made a
journey together to Europe after the closing of the mine. They stayed
for a month at Blackheath, and ten years later Tom received a lawyer's
letter from Denver saying that Peter Hoskings was dead, and that he had
left his large house and other property in Denver to Mr. Thomas Wade's
children. Jerry still lives at the age of seventy-five in that city.
End of Project Gutenberg's In the Heart of the Rockies, by G. A. Henty