"I suppose this is Dave's room?" Dick Said when he and his friend were
alone.
"Yes, from what he said they lodged here together, but the other two
went somewhere else the day after you were brought in, so that the place
should be quiet, but they come in by turns to sit up with you at night.
I wish they would take us with them on this expedition, Dick."
"I wish they would; it would be a splendid adventure, and we might come
back with no end of gold. At any rate, after being four months under
Collet, I think we have a right to a holiday. I expect they will let us
go with them if you make a strong point of it, Dick."
"It shan't be for want of trying, Tom, anyhow."
The lads had their way. As soon as the three men saw that they
were really bent upon accompanying them, they raised no further
objections.
"We shall be glad enough to have you with us," Dave said, "and though
the work will be toilsome and hard, there is nothing in it that two
active young chaps like you need be afraid of. It is just the
Injuns--they are the worst kind, and have always set themselves against
gold-seekers. That is natural enough, for they know that if gold mines
were once opened in their country, the whites would pour in, and they
would soon be wiped out. Anyhow, everyone who goes prospecting in that
part of Arizona knows well enough that he takes his life in his hands.
"All along the country by the Gila River is the stronghold of the
Apaches, the terror of Northern Mexico. Many parties of miners have set
out, but very few have ever come back again; but those that have tell of
gold richer by a hundred times than ever was seen in California, and
have brought with them sacks of nuggets to prove it. These are men who
have had the luck to get in and out without ever having been seen by the
Injuns; the large parties have never succeeded. So you see, young
fellows, the odds are strongly agin you. Still, if you like to go with
us, you are welcome; but if the time comes when the redskins have got us
shut up in some place we can never get out of alive, remember that you
are there on your own choice, and that we had no hand in getting you
into the scrape."
"We will never blame you, whatever comes of it, Dave. If the risk is not
too great for you and your comrades, it is not too great for us. There
is nothing in the world we should like so much as such an adventure."
"Well, that is settled then, and no more words about it. We shall be
glad to have two more with us, and we intended to go alone only because
it is not everyone that can be trusted."
"What do we take with us?"
"We shall each take a horse, and a Mexican pony to carry our food and
traps. If everything goes right and we find a bonanza, we can load them
up on the way back. Twenty dollars will buy a pony here. Then you will
want a critter each to ride. We are not going to get first-rate ones,
for if the Indians come on us it is fighting that we shall have to do,
not riding. Among those mountains no shod horse of the plains has a
chance with those Indian ponies, which can climb like goats and go at a
gallop along places where a horse from the plains wouldn't dare move.
Then you will want rifles and six-shooters. That is about all; I am
afraid our stock of money will hardly run to it, and I think we had
better work for a while in one of the diggings to make up what we shall
want."
"We have twenty pounds between us," Dick said, "and we can draw on our
fathers for twenty-five pounds each. The Consul here has, of course,
heard of my being wounded and left behind, and I expect he won't mind
cashing our draft."
"There will be more than we want," the miner said. "Still, it is as well
to be on the right side. If we don't find any gold up there, we shall
want a little when we get back to keep us going until something turns
up."
Three days later Dick was strong enough to go with his friend to the
Consul's; they found that Mr. Allen had spoken about Dick, and told him
that should he recover from his wounds, he could cash a draft for him
without any fear. Therefore in half an hour the lads returned to their
lodgings with three hundred and fifty dollars, having changed their
English gold into the currency of the country.
"You have not got your horses yet, I suppose, Dave?"
"No, we shall go up the river about a hundred and twenty miles. There we
shall buy horses cheaper than we can get them here. We have got rifles
and colts; they are things one can't very well do without in knocking
about among the hills. I will go round the town, and I have no doubt I
shall be able to pick you up what you want cheap. There are so many men
get rubbed out one way or the other that such things are pretty often
for sale."
The other two miners, who during Dick's illness had nothing to do but to
stroll about the town, both knew of men who had rifles or revolvers to
dispose of, and in a couple of hours the purchases were completed and a
considerable stock of ammunition was also bought.
"I should recommend yer," the miner called 'Zekel said, as the party
were talking matters over that evening, "to rig yourselves out miner
fashion. Them uniforms looks very nice on board ship, but they aint much
good for knocking about in the mountains; and yer can leave them here,
and take to them again when yer gets back."
The lads thought the advice was good, and next day rigged themselves out
in red shirts and high boots, in which were tucked the bottom of the
thick moleskin trousers. They also bought jackets of the same material
as the troupers.
"You will be glad of them at night," Dave said; "it gets pretty cold up
in the mountains when the sun is down, and we shan't be lighting any
fires, you bet."
They also bought a couple of rough blankets each, a spare shirt, and two
or three pairs of stockings, a couple of long bowie knives, and two
broad-brimmed felt hats.