THE ESCAPE
"Two kings," was the answer from one of the men.
"What kings?" was the query.
"King Nate and King Sid," replied the first named, "and they have two
loyal subjects with them."
"Let the kings and their subjects proceed," the unseen voice went on,
and a moment later the boys found themselves in front of a sort of
cave in the mountain side, from the depths of which a fire glowed,
disclosing the figures and shadows of several men.
"Had luck, eh?" asked some one, and Nate replied with a grunt, at the
same time asking if "grub" was ready.
"Of course it is," one of those grouped about the fire replied. "But
you might tell us how you made out."
"Couldn't be better," replied Sid. "We got the two boys and one of
the rings. We don't need two. I guess I can fix up a duplicate that
will fool Tevis."
"What you going to do with the kids?" another man inquired. "They're
going to be a nuisance."
"No, they won't," Sid answered. "We'll keep 'em here until we get
what we want, and then we'll turn 'em loose. I'm not going to harm
'em."
By this time several men had surrounded the captives. Jack and Nat
could see that the cave was a large one, extending back some distance
under the mountain. Far back was another fire, about which were one
or two men. It looked like the mountain cavern of a band of brigands.
"Take 'em inside," Sid ordered one of those in the group about Nat
and Jack. "Take care of their horses and whatever they have about
them. Then give 'em a bit of grub. I reckon they're hungry."
The boys were grateful for the relief they experienced as their bonds
were loosened and they were allowed to dismount from their horses.
They were so stiff they could hardly walk and the men helped them,
roughly, along over the rock-strewn entrance to the cavern. The boys
were led inside the cave, and then, their guide turning sharply,
conducted them into a sort of gallery branching off from the main
one. There the lads found some animal skins on the floor, and were
glad enough to lie down.
Hung about the cave were several lanterns, and by the light of them
the two lads could see they were in the power of a gang of rough men.
There were a half dozen of the fellows and when the boys had
stretched out on the skins in a corner, they gathered near the
entrance to the inner cave for a conference. The boys could not hear
what their captors were talking about, but that it concerned them
seemed certain, as the men glanced frequently in the direction of the
prisoners.
"They must be planning something desperate," said Jack in a low tone.
"Probably they're going to hurry to Orion Tevis and make trouble for
him."
"Do you think they'll hurt us?" asked Nat.
"I don't believe so," Jack replied. "I think they want to keep us
here until they can get at Mr. Tevis. Guess they'll have their own
troubles though, finding him."
Further conversation was interrupted by the approach of a man with
some cold meat and chunks of bread. He also had a tin pail of water
and two cups, and, though the meal was anything but a good one, Nat
and Jack made the best of it, for they were hungry, and, though they
were worried, they did not let it interfere with their appetites.
If they had any hope of escaping that night they must have been
disappointed as one of the gang was constantly on the watch, and the
boys knew it would be useless to try to leave the cave.
"I wonder where John is," said Nat, just before he fell asleep. "Why
did he desert us?"
"He hasn't deserted us," said Jack, speaking with conviction. "I'll
bet he's gone for help."
"Looked as if he was running away," remarked Nat, who had not lost
the sudden distrust he felt on the Indian's part.
In spite of their plight the boys slept well, and when morning came
they were given some boiled eggs, bread and coffee, a meal, which, as
Jack remarked, would have been a credit to a city hotel, to say
nothing of a cave in the mountains. It made little difference, the
boys thought, that the eggs were of some wild bird, and not of the
domestic hen.
After breakfast the man who had been addressed as Sid came to where
the captives were, in the smaller cave.
"If you boys will promise not to try to escape," he said, "I'll let
you out for a breath of fresh air."
"You mean not try to escape at all?" asked Jack.
"That's what," Sid replied.
"Then we'll stay here," announced Jack.
"We're going to get away just as soon as possible, and the longer you
keep us here the worse it will be for you."
"My, but you have a quick temper," remarked Sid, not unkindly. "Well,
I think I'll take a chance. You'll get sick if we keep you cooped up,
and that isn't what we want. You can go out, but I warn you the first
time you try to make a break for liberty you may get shot. Some of
the men are pretty quick with a gun."
"We'll go out, but we don't promise," Jack replied, as following Sid,
he and Nat left the cave.
Once outside the boys found there was little chance of getting away.
There were half a dozen men about, all armed, and the camp was
surrounded by a natural wall of high rock, which to any one crawling
over presented difficulties that would delay him long enough to
permit of capture. The entrance to the camp was guarded by a man with
a rifle.
But, what astonished the boys more than the appearance of the
stronghold, was the work at which the men were engaged. This seemed
to be mining, but of a kind the boys had heard very little about,
though it is more or less common in the west.
A man was directing a stream of water, from a big pipe against the
side of a gravelly bank, and the dirt and fluid that washed down ran
into a big sluiceway. This was formed of boards, there being a bottom
and two sides. The top was open, but was braced with numerous cross
pieces. The sluiceway was about four feet wide and three feet deep,
and there was a great quantity of water flowing through it.
Part of the sluiceway was wider and more shallow, and this part had,
nailed across the bottom, narrow strips of wood, in the shape of
cleats. They were placed to catch the heavier dirt, containing the
gold, as it flowed down in the water.
As the boys watched the stream was turned off, and men took from the
cleats quantities of mingled muck and gravel, which they proceeded to
"wash" to extract the gold.
The boys were so interested in this that they forgot the plight they
were in, and, almost, their desire to escape. They looked at the
miners with their pans, as the men swirled them around to cause the
water and dirt to flow over the edge and the gold to remain.
"Is it goin' to pay?" Jack heard one miner ask of another of the
gang.
"Don't look so," was the reply. "Yet they say there's a fortune
locked up in that hill. An old hermit showed Sid the place, but it's
been most a year since we repaired this old sluiceway which was here
before we came and begun washing, and not more than enough to pay
expenses have we had out of it. I'm gettin' tired."
"Maybe there's better luck ahead."
"How do you mean?"
"Why in the capture of these kids. Didn't you hear Sid tell? He
expects to get a hold on a fellow named Tevis now and maybe some rich
timber lands that he's been after for ten years or more. There's a
fellow named Ranger or Roberts mixed up in it, but Sid has never been
able to land him, though he tried hard enough. Some of the boys
nearly got Roberts' partner here not long ago, but he got away,
though he was shot. Then Sid and Nate got on the trail of the boys,
and here--"
"Shut up!" exclaimed the other miner, as he noticed Jack and Nat
taking in what his companion was saying. "They're too close now."
At that the miners went on with their "washing" operations, and the
two boys, pondering over what they had heard, walked away.
"What do you think of that?" asked Nat, in a low voice.
"Just as I expected," Jack rejoined. "I hope John brings us help in
time to warn Mr. Tevis and help rescue my father. Maybe we could have
a whack at this gold mine then."
The boys were allowed to wander about the camp at will, but they
noticed the men kept close watch over them. They were much interested
in the sluiceway, and went to where they could see it stretching for
a long distance down the mountain side.
"Quite a piece of work," observed one of the men, a short, stocky,
rather jolly looking individual, who seemed out of place in a gang of
ruffians. "It runs for five miles," he went on, "all the way down to
a big gulch they say, though I've never been to the end of it. It was
built a long while ago, but we changed it a bit, and only use the
upper end. We get our water from a little lake on the top of the
mountain, and only the overflow goes down the sluiceway. Still that's
enough," and he looked at the solid stream, flowing swiftly but
silently between the heavy planks.
"It would make a good shoot-the-chutes," observed Nat.
"Rather risky," observed the miner. "You couldn't stop until you got
to the end of it and it's a long ride. Have to look out for the cross
pieces, too."
A sudden light seemed to come into Jack's eyes as he turned away. He
motioned to Nat to follow him, and, when they were out of earshot he
whispered:
"That's how we can escape."
"How?" asked Nat in an excited whisper.
"Wait," answered Jack, "Here comes Sid."
"Haven't got away yet, eh?" the man asked with a sneer.
"Not yet," was all Jack answered.
That night, as he tossed restlessly on the pile of skins in the cave,
Jack thought over a plan of getting away. It seemed practical enough,
if he could only elude the vigilance of the men. But there was the
hard part. He got up softly about midnight to see if he could sneak
from the cave. No one was in sight. He called Nat and both crawled
out into the open.
"Now we're free!" whispered Jack. "Come on, Nat."
"Where?"
"Down the sluiceway. I know where there are two big planks."
Leading the way, and keeping in the shadows as much as possible, Jack
went to where two planks, each about seven feet long, lay near the
boarded race.
"We'll float down the sluiceway to freedom!" he cried, as he placed
the plank on the edge of the flume. Nat did likewise, and, when Jack
climbed over into the big oblong box, his companion followed. They
had entered the sluiceway at a place where there was scarcely any
current. Then they moved forward, crouching to avoid the cross
pieces.
"Here we go!" whispered Jack, throwing himself on the plank, an
example which Nat followed. The next instant the two boys were being
whirled down the sluiceway on top of the water at a swift pace. And,
as they shot ahead they, heard a voice calling:
"The kids have got away!"