BILLIARD SURRENDERS
Toady kept his promise not to mention Billiard's runaway expedition to
anyone else save Gloriana; but being human, he could not keep from
twitting his brother occasionally, and the days which followed that
memorable night were full of misery for the unhappy boy. His cousins
avoided him, Tabitha ignored him, Toady tormented him, and even
Gloriana seemed indifferent to his plight. In his fright at
discovering himself lost on the desert at night, he had resolved to
follow Toady's example and turn over a new leaf. He could not quite
make up his mind to confess his sins to eagle-eyed Tabitha, but was
really sincere in his desire to do better; and was as surprised as he
was disappointed to find that no one paid any attention to the sudden
change in his deportment.
"Might as well have kept on being bad," he growled with an injured air
one afternoon when a fortnight had passed without any noticeable change
in the atmosphere. "Wish I hadn't come back that night. Guess they'd
have sung a different tune then! Maybe a coyote would have got me, or
I'd have stepped into a rattlesnake's nest and been stung to death.
Bet they'd have felt sorry when they found me--," he hesitated. His
picture was too vivid, and he shuddered as he thought what a fate would
have been his had a rattlesnake bitten him as he tramped across the
pathless waste in his flight. "Pretty near dead," he finished finally,
unable to endure the thought that they _might_ have found him dead.
"If I had kept on, I'd be in Los Angeles now,--maybe in the navy
already. I've a good notion to try again. I could almost go by train,
now that my 'lowance has come. Mercy says it takes twelve dollars, and
I've got ten. 'T any rate, I could ride as far as that would take me,
and--by George, I b'lieve I could beat my way without spending a cent!
That's the way tramps travel from city to city."
He winced at the idea of being classed with tramps, and fell to
debating whether he would buy a ticket and ride like a gentleman as far
as his ten dollars would carry him, or whether he would attempt the
hobo's hazardous method of transportation. Before he had arrived at
any satisfactory conclusion, he heard the tramp of feet close by, and
the lively chatter of voices, and around the bend of the path came
Toady with his six cousins. They did not see him at first, half hidden
as he was by the heap of ragged rocks on which he lay stretched full
length, but even when they did become aware of his presence, they
merely glanced indifferently at the lazy figure and passed by without
speaking.
Angered at thus being ignored and left out in the cold, Billiard
resolved to display no interest in them, either, although he was
consumed with curiosity as to where they were bound; but a chance
remark of Susie's about being lowered in a bucket overcame his resolve,
and he called after them, "Where you going, kids?"
"Don't you wish you knew?" Inez flung back with a saucy toss of her
head.
"Up Pike's Peak," said Toady, without so touch as looking back.
"You mean down Ali Baba's cave," suggested Mercedes laughingly.
"Shall we tell him?" asked Irene, relenting as she glanced back at the
lonely figure on the rocks.
"He'll just be bad if we let him come," warned Susie.
"He hasn't been bad for a long time," gentle Irene reminded them.
"Aw, what do you s'pose I care where you are going?" sung out Billiard,
more hurt by their manner than he cared to acknowledge. "Keep on to
Jericho, if you want to."
"We ain't going to Jericho," said Irene, lagging uncertainly behind the
others. "Only just across town to that hill over there where is a--a
'bandoned mine. Toady's never seen what one looks like, so we're
taking him along to get a peek at it. Have you ever seen a mine?"
Billiard shook his head.
"Tabitha says if we're real good, she'll see if the superintendent
won't take us all through the Silver Legion mine before the summer is
over; but to-day we're just going to show Toady how the miners go up
and down the shaft. He won't b'lieve they use a bucket. Don't you
want to come too?"
"Nope, guess not," Billiard answered promptly, though the wistful look
in his eyes belied his words.
"It's int'resting," urged Irene, who somehow seemed to understand that
Billiard did not really mean what he said.
"Is it a real bucket?" he could not refrain from asking.
"Yes."
"Like a water bucket?"
"Yes, only bigger."
"I sh'd think the miners would fall out."
"Oh, it's big enough so they can't tumble if they mind the rules; but
you've got to keep your head down inside, or you'll be killed by the
big beans--" she meant beams--"which are built in to hold the dirt from
caving in and filling up the mine. Come and see for yourself."
"Well, p'r'aps I will." With a great show of indifference, the boy
uncoiled his legs, slid to the ground beside Irene, and hurried with
her after the others, now a considerable distance in advance; but the
little group had reached their goal and were gingerly peering into the
black depths of the abandoned shaft when Billiard and Irene joined them.
"Ugh!" shuddered Mercedes, drawing back with a shiver from the yawning
mouth of the hole. "It smells like lizards. I'll bet the bottom of
the shaft is full of them."
"It didn't use to be," remarked Susie, dropping a pebble over the brink
and listening to the hollow echoes it awoke as it bounded from timber
to timber.
"Were you ever down there?" asked Toady in surprise.
"No, but papa was one of the men here when the mine was working."
"What did it quit working for?" ventured Billiard, testing the
weather-stained rope still coiled about the winch above the shaft.
"The vein of rich silver stopped all of a sudden and they couldn't make
the other ore pay, so they shut down, and the men went to work in other
mines, or else moved away."
"How deep is a shaft?" asked Toady, as Susie sent another pebble
spinning after the first and counted rapidly until it struck the bottom.
"Some are _hundreds_ of feet deep," replied Mercedes impressively, glad
of a chance to air her meagre knowledge of mining affairs. "But
this----"
"Is only a hole," finished Inez contemptuously.
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Billiard, mystified. "Ain't this
a sure-enough shaft?"
"Oh, yes," Mercedes hastened to inform him; "only 'tisn't the main one.
That's all boarded up, and no one can go down it any more. This was
dug later. Someone thought there was more silver here, and they made
this shaft. It's not very deep----"
"Let's go down it!" proposed Billiard, boyishly eager for such an
adventure.
"Oh, horrors!" shrieked Mercedes. "With all those lizards down there?"
"Shucks! Lizards won't hurt a fellow."
"Maybe there are snakes, too," said Rosslyn, hastily backing away from
the place.
"We'd have heard them," Billiard answered promptly. "Susie has fired
enough rocks at 'em to stir 'em up if there was any there."
"But Tabitha mightn't like it," suggested Irene in troubled tones.
"Did she ever say you _couldn't_ go?"
"N-o."
"Or did your mother?"
"N-o."
"Then what's to hinder?"
"S'posing the rope should bu'st," mused Irene aloud.
"_That_ rope? Why, it's half as big as my arm! Yes, bigger."
"But it has been here a long, long time. Ever since I can remember.
Doesn't rope rot?"
"I'll bet that's as strong as iron," boasted Billiard. "There's
nothing rotten about it. I'll stump any of you to go down with me."
"Will you go first and see if there are any snakes?" demanded Susie,
whose love of adventure was constantly leading her into mischief.
"If you'll promise honor bright to come next."
"I will," Susie rashly promised, her eyes dancing with excitement and
eagerness. "Will you go, too, Toady?"
"Sure, but who's going to let us down? I'll bet it takes some work to
keep the rope unwinding just right."
"I'll lower you all," proposed Mercedes magnanimously, for the idea of
descending into that black, musty hole did not appeal to her in the
least, but she could not bear to appear less brave than fly-away Susie.
"You! Pooh! You are just a girl! The bucket would get away from you
the first thing, and then where'd the rest of us be? No, I've got a
better plan than that. You and Toady and Irene let Susie and Inez and
me down first; and after we have had a look at the thing, we'll come up
and let you down. How does that suit you?"
"It's a go," Toady readily responded.
"All right," quavered Mercedes.
But Irene held her peace. Nothing could tempt her to crouch in that
great, swaying bucket and be dropped into the blackness of that yawning
pit, but she did not mean to voice her opinions until the proper
moment. So she took her place beside Mercedes and Toady and puffed and
panted as the rope slowly unwound, and Billiard, scrooched low in the
bucket, disappeared from view. It was hard work and slow, to pay out
the rope evenly, but Billiard did not seem at all inclined to be
critical, and accepted his rough, jolting descent without a murmur.
Had the truth been known, the boy was too nearly paralyzed with fright
to notice anything of his surroundings, and more than once he was on
the point of signalling for his companions to hoist him to the surface
again, but fear of ridicule kept him tongue-tied until it was too late.
With a final jerk and jolt, the bucket stood still, and cautiously
opening his eyes for the first time since he had stepped into his queer
elevator. Billiard beheld a row of black, shadowy heads hovering over
the brink of the aperture, and heard Toady's voice, sounding strangely
muffled and far away, call cheerfully, "Well, you've struck bottom, old
boy! What does it look like?"
Bottom? Billiard blinked and rubbed his eyes, and peered about him in
surprise; but at first in the semi-darkness, he could distinguish
nothing. Then as he grew more accustomed to the blackness, he could
see before him the mouth of a still blacker cavern, which to his vivid
imagination seemed yawning to swallow him up; and he shudderingly
shrank back into the friendly protection of the bucket.
"Why don't you answer?" demanded an impatient voice from above.
"_Are_ there snakes and lizards?" called Mercedes.
Snakes! Lizards! Billiard had forgotten them, but with a sigh of
relief he realized that there was not a sound of anything stirring
about him. "Naw!" he yelled back, trying to make his voice sound brave
and scornful. "Guess not. I can't see a thing. Might as well haul me
up, 'cause no one could tell what a mine looks like in this blackness."
"Got any matches?" inquired Toady.
Billiard rapidly felt through his pockets. "One," he announced.
"Then here's a candle. Catch it!"
Toady let it drop almost before the words were out of his mouth, and
with a tremendous thump it struck poor Billiard on the head before he
had caught the significance of the directions from above; and with a
yelp of surprise and pain, he tumbled out of the bucket against a
timber, which shivered and splintered under his weight. But in some
mysterious manner, he found himself in possession of the candle when he
had righted himself once more and brushed the rotten wood from his eyes
and mouth. He lost no time in striking his one lone match and lighting
the slender taper in his hand, much to the relief of the group hovering
anxiously about the shaft.
"There!" he heard Susie ejaculate. "I was sure he had killed himself."
"You mean that Toady did," spluttered the indignant Billiard. "What do
you think my head is made of--iron?"
"_I_ couldn't tell that it would hit you on the head, could I?"
protested the younger boy apologetically. "Why didn't you dodge?"
"Dodge? D'ye think I'm a cat with eyes that see in the dark?"
"Never mind," soothed Irene, who had ventured near enough the curbing
to take an occasional peep down into the blackness. "It's too bad it
hurt you. Put some cold water on the bump----"
A derisive shout from her sisters stopped her, and even Billiard had to
smile, though he felt grateful toward the little twin who was sorry he
was hurt. By this time the pale candle flame had ceased to sputter and
flicker uncertainly, but burned with a steady light, and with a thrill
of exultation Billiard looked curiously about him, relieved to find no
snakes or crawly things in the abandoned shaft, and pleased beyond
measure to think he had actually braved the terrors of the dark to
explore this mysterious place, so he could crow over his brother and
cousins because of his courage.
"Say, but it's great down here," he called, venturing just inside the
timbered cross-cut and staring at the rocky walls which here and there
glistened alluringly. "And there's pecks of silver sticking out of
every stone. Why don't you come on down, Toady?"
"Can't till you come up. It's Susie and Inez now. Going, girls?"
"You bet!" cried Susie enthusiastically. "Pull up the bucket and help
me in."
Eagerly they turned the creaking old windlass and Susie descended to
join Billiard in his underground explorations. Being much lighter than
her cousin, it was easier to lower her down the shaft; and still easier
with Inez in the bucket; but once the trio were safely at the bottom,
the little group above became all impatience for their turn. Mercy's
courage had returned as she saw how simple an operation it was to let
down the loaded bucket, and even Irene began to feel a desire to
explore the mysteries of the abandoned mine with the rest of her mates.
Only Rosslyn and Janie hung back, but no one cared. In fact, it
simplified matters not to have to bother with such little tads; but it
was a nuisance to have Billiard linger so long when he knew the others
were just dying to go down.
At last Toady could resist temptation no longer. "I'm going, too," he
announced with determination.
"Before Billiard comes up?"
He nodded grimly.
"But s'posing you're too heavy for just Irene and me," suggested
Mercedes.
"I shall slide down the rope. I'd rather do that than have you drop me
or let the rope out too fast."
"But--how can you?" Mercedes demurred.
"It's so far down there," said Irene.
"Aw, in gym work at school we slide down poles and bars and all sorts
of things. It oughtn't to be any harder with a rope. I'm going to
try, anyway."
Silently but enviously, the girls watched him spit on his palms, test
the rope, and finally let himself slowly down into the shaft, with legs
wrapped tightly about his slender, swaying support, and hands grasping
the rough strands with a desperate grip, for, too late, he realized
what a horrible fate would be his if he should fall; but when he would
have gone back, he could not.
"How in the world will we ever get them up?" whispered Irene
wonderingly; but before Mercedes could frame a reply, there was a crash
from below, a cry, a grating sound of falling rock and then hideous,
horrible silence.
"Toady!" shrieked the girls in frenzy, "did you fall?"
"No," came back a muffled answer. "I'm all right, but we have knocked
down some boards and can't get out."
"Can't get out!" they repeated dully.
"No. Run for help! Our candle has gone out and it's as black as pitch
in here."
"Who'll I go for?" wailed panic-stricken Mercedes, while Irene danced
frantically around the shaft and wrung her hands as she chanted,
"They'll smother, they'll smother, they'll smother!"
"Anyone, but hustle up!" yelled Toady impatiently, for his companions
in the disaster had uttered not a sound since their first wild scream,
and a horrible fear that they were hurt or even killed gripped his
heart.
However, little Rosslyn was already half-way down the mountain, fairly
skimming over the rocks and rubbish, and almost before the distracted
girls had recovered their senses enough to be of any aid to the
prisoners, the little fellow stumbled across the threshold of the
Eagles' Nest, gasping, "They've caved in--Bill and Toady and the girls.
I guess maybe they're dead by now!"
Tabitha was on her feet in an instant and the pan of potatoes which she
was peeling went spinning across the floor. "Where, Rosslyn?"
Mutely he pointed, too spent for words; and the girl, remembering the
old, unprotected shaft of the abandoned Selfridge mine, flew to the
rescue of her brood, pausing only to snatch a lantern from a peg on the
wall, and a handful of matches from the pantry shelf.
Mercedes had disappeared when she reached the spot of the accident, but
Irene was tugging desperately at the huge windlass, slowly winding up
the heavy bucket, moaning all the while in a distracted undertone,
while tears of fright trickled down her dirty face. So busy was she
that she never heard the patter of Tabitha's feet behind her, and the
first intimation she had of help at hand was when the older girl jerked
her back from the mouth of the shaft, released the half-raised bucket,
and sent it hurtling back into the pit once more.
"Go for the assayer," she commanded hoarsely, seizing the heavy rope
with both hands, and preparing to descend as Toady had done. "Run,
hurry! And then get Dr. Hayes. We may need him."
The windlass creaked and groaned, the rope swayed and strained, as
Tabitha slid out of sight, while Irene raced madly away to do her
bidding. Unmindful of bumps or bruises, and almost unaware that her
hands were cruelly burned and torn from her too rapid descent, the
black-eyed girl had scarcely touched the bottom of the shaft before she
had her lantern lighted and was digging like mad at the fallen rock and
debris which almost completely blocked the entrance of the narrow
cross-cut.
"Who is it?" called a voice from behind the barrier.
"Thank God!" breathed Tabitha, working with renewed fury. "That you,
Toady?"
"Bet you!" came the cheering response.
"Are you hurt?"
"Nope!"
"Where are the others?"
"Here!"
"Safe?"
"I--don't know. I can feel 'em, but they don't answer."
At that instant, without any warning, one of the fallen timbers slipped
from its position, and revealed a narrow aperture into the crosscut,
through which Tabitha caught a glimpse of Toady's white face and the
gleam of Susie's scarlet dress.
"Can you crawl through?" she demanded.
"Yes."
"Carefully now, so as not to start another landslide. There! Now, can
you help me make the opening bigger?"
But other aid was at hand. The assayer with three men from the town
had arrived and the rescue of the quintette at the bottom of the shaft
was speedily effected.
"Are they--" Tabitha's voice faltered as she stood at last on the
rocky mountainside and looked down into the still, white faces of
Billiard, Susie and Inez. How could she ever have let them out of her
sight? How could she ever break the news to the mother?
"Merely stunned," replied the doctor, examining the victims with rapid,
practised fingers. "See, the girls are coming to their senses. It's
nothing short of a miracle that-- Hello, Susie, what did you say?"
"It wasn't gold at all," murmured the child faintly; "just quartz, but
he wouldn't b'lieve it."
Billiard opened his eyes slowly. "She says gold don't look like gold
in a mine, but I got a pocketful of--" His sentence ended in a groan
of pain, and the hand he was trying to thrust into his trousers fell
limply at his side.
"Aha!" cried the doctor. "Let's see what we have here."
"A break?" questioned the assayer.
"Bad sprain, I think, but it will keep the young man out of mischief
for one while. Are your legs all right? Then I reckon we better move
on to town."
So it happened that no serious results came from their latest prank,
but Tabitha, in her thankfulness that all her brood was safe and sound,
fell into a fit of bitter weeping as soon as the children were back in
the Eagles' Nest once more and the rescuers had departed.
"Don't," begged Janie tearfully. "I loves 'oo! I was dood!"
"Please don't," pleaded the other sisters in great distress. "We'll
never do it again."
"It was all my fault," cried Toady contritely. "I'm ever so sorry."
"It was not," muttered Billiard, wincing with the pain in his arm, but
truly repentant. "I dared 'em to go. Honest, Tabby, _I_ was to blame!
Will you--will you--er--forgive me? I'm horribly--sorry. Won't you
try me again?"
So sincere was his tone, so straightforward his confession, so manly
his bearing, that Tabitha could not fail to be convinced of his
earnestness of purpose, and drying her eyes, she took Billiard's
proffered hand in a hearty grasp, saying with quivering, smiling lips,
"Let's all try each other again."
"Let's!" cried the rest of the brood; and they meant it, every one.