ONE ELEVEN COMES THROUGH
“All set!” called Teddy early next morning.
“Let ’em ride!” echoed Roy.
Breakfast was finished and the prospectors were ready to break camp. Nat
Raymond and Jim Casey had come over to help their former cow-punching
comrades take down the tents and pack the duffle for the trip home. Nat
and Jim were just as disappointed in their claims as were the X Bar X
boys, and were also ready to quit.
“This here place is a fake!” Nat grumbled. “Good thing your dad promised
us back our jobs,” he said to Roy and Teddy. “But the worst of it will
be sittin’ on the fence listenin’ to Pop say: ‘I told you so!’ Snakes!”
Bug Eye, who was rolling up blankets, snickered.
“Boy! Me? I’m not kickin’! I got seven hundred bucks out o’ this here
little ole camp, lemme tell you!”
“Well, we sure had an exciting time,” Teddy commented. “Nick, hand me
those ponchos, will you? Hey, who’s this coming?”
Toward them came running a figure, waving his hands wildly.
“Now what’s eatin’ that guy?” Silent asked wonderingly. “Looks like a
windmill on wheels!”
“It’s Maryland!” Roy declared. “Remember him, Teddy? Yes, it’s Maryland,
all right!”
“Thought he was on the wagon,” Gus said. “Boy, he’s sure kickin’ up the
dust!”
Maryland, his face red from his exertions, stumbled toward them.
“Hey,” he yelled. “Hey! Hey!”
“Charleston!” Nick roared. “Hey-hey yourself!”
“Listen, fellers! Listen!” he panted fiercely, trying to get enough
breath to talk with. “Listen! Don’t pull up stakes! I got somethin’ to
tell you!”
“Well, for Pete’s sake, spit it out without all that ‘hey-hey’
business!” Bug Eye exclaimed. “Let’s have it!”
“Well, I been workin’ on my mine--it’s near yours! I dug on a slant,
instead of straight down, an’ the first thing I knew I came out in the
shaft you fellers sunk. But not in any of your tunnels--a different
one.”
“That’s O. K.,” Roy said easily. “You’re forgiven. Take the shaft and
build yourself a house with it.”
“No, but listen, you fellers! That ain’t all! I struck gold! Plenty of
it! Reams of it! An’ most of it is on your claim! An’ _that’s_ why I ran
down here, bustin’ my windpipe, to tell you!”
“Gold!”
Teddy and Roy started forward.
“Well, may I be pinned by the seat of my pants to a clothesline for the
rest of my natural life!” Nick blurted out. “Our last day here, an’ gold
is found on our claim!”
“And then some more!” Maryland went on excitedly. “There’s enough to
make us all rich! By golly, she’s lying around in bucketfuls!”
“I see you-all read romances,” Silent said calmly. But even he was
thrilled at the news. “Bucketfuls, hey? I reckon that means about
fourteen carat alloy. Well, Maryland, you done us a favor!”
How much of a favor Maryland had actually done was not known until the
boys reached their claim. And, strangely enough, Maryland had not
exaggerated. He had struck a pocket exceptionally rich in gold, and the
soil about it promised further deposits. Silent declared the yellow
stuff already unearthed would total nearly forty thousand dollars.
“And that’s the beginning,” he said. “Now, how about stakin’ a few
claims for the boys at home before the rush starts? I want to get one
for Jack Conroy, my partner. An’ I suppose you want one for your dad?”
“Sure do,” Teddy replied. “Say, we’ll give Pop one! Then let’s see what
he has to offer! Baby, if that doesn’t quiet him, nothing will!”
The claims, adjoining One Hundred Eleven, were staked, Gus, Nat, and Jim
Casey abandoning their old diggings and locating near the new ones.
Gus’s prophecy had come true--they had struck gold.
And what a reception Teddy and Roy received when they reached home!
Before leaving Nugget Camp they sold some gold, receiving a certified
check. This check Roy, followed by Teddy, bore to his father.
“Remember the grub stake you gave us?” Roy asked, as Mr. Manley looked
at him quizzically. “What did we say then?”
“Well, you mentioned somethin’ about me gettin’ it back four times
over,” Mr. Manley replied. “Of course, I know you didn’t mean that,
so--”
“Take a look!” chuckled his son.
He thrust out the check. In red perforated figures were the numerals
$25,000.
“For the love of Pete!” Mr. Manley gasped. “Four times! And then some!
Boys, you sure hit it! Wait till I show this to your mother!
Twenty-five thou--well, you bloated bankers, you! Do the boys know about
this?”
Teddy winked.
“Tell you, Dad,” he said, grinning, “I want to wait until Pop gets in
front of something soft, then I’ll flash it on him. He’ll keel over like
a split flagpole!”
And, it might be added in passing, Pop did.
“Did you bring me that gold bracelet?” asked Belle Ada as she greeted
her brothers in the flush of their success.
“Bracelet?” cried Teddy. “I--now--”
“We’ll get you one made of platinum first chance we get,” broke in Roy.
“I reckon you-all can leave that to me!” chuckled Jerry Decker, who had
been brought over to X Bar X ranch to enjoy the celebration. “Guess it’s
customary fer a patient to give his nurse a leetle somethin’, ain’t it?”
he appealed to Mr. Manley.
“Of course!” agreed the rancher.
Later, when Jerry had gone back East and bought with his nuggets a
little farm, a registered package came for Belle Ada. It contained a
wonderful bracelet with two diamonds in it.
“They’re bright like your eyes,” Jerry wrote in the note that
accompanied the gift.
Belle Ada smiled happily.
“And here’s a registered package for you too, Pop,” said Roy.
“For me! Quit your joshin’!”
“No, really! Guess your cousin sent it.”
It was a watch and chain from Mr. Decker. Pop strung it across his
cowhide vest proudly and wore it continually after that, on a horse or
off.
“Read this, Roy!” called Teddy to his brother one day when the mail had
come in, bringing several papers. He tossed the sheet to his brother.
On the front page was an account of the trial and conviction of
Greyhound and most of his gang. They were wanted for many other crimes
than the robbing of Jerry Decker and the killing of the father and
brother of Silent Neville, so there was no need for the ranch boys to
give any testimony.
“Twenty years for Allen,” mused Roy. “He’ll sit in his cell a long
time.”
“Whew! I wouldn’t want to be Allen!”
“Me, either! Come on, I’m crazy for a ride! Beat you around the corral!”
A little later a cloud of dust hid the X Bar X boys and their ponies.
THE END
* * * * *
_This Isn’t All!_
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have
made in this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures
and experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same
author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book,
you will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the
same store where you got this book.
_Don’t throw away the Wrapper_
_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have.
But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a
complete catalog._
* * * * *
WESTERN STORIES FOR BOYS
By JAMES CODY FERRIS
Individual Colored Wrappers and Illustrations by
WALTER S. ROGERS
Each Volume Complete in Itself.
Thrilling tales of the great west, told primarily for boys but which
will be read by all who love mystery, rapid action, and adventures in
the great open spaces.
The Manley Boys, Roy and Teddy, are the sons of an old ranchman, the
owner of many thousands of heads of cattle. The lads know how to ride,
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The cowboys of the X Bar X Ranch are real cowboys, on the job when
required but full of fun and daring--a bunch any reader will be
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THE X BAR X BOYS ON THE RANCH
THE X BAR X BOYS IN THUNDER CANYON
THE X BAR X BOYS ON WHIRLPOOL RIVER
THE X BAR X BOYS ON BIG BISON TRAIL
THE X BAR X BOYS AT THE ROUND-UP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT NUGGET CAMP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT RUSTLER’S GAP
GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK
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THE ROVER BOYS WINNING A FORTUNE
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THE HARDY BOYS are sons of a celebrated American detective, and during
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THE TOWER TREASURE
A dying criminal confessed that his loot had been secreted “in the
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THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF
The house had been vacant and was supposed to be haunted. Mr. Hardy
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THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILL
Counterfeit money was in circulation, and the limit was reached
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THE MISSING CHUMS
Two of the Hardy Boys’ chums take a motor trip down the coast. They
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HUNTING FOR HIDDEN GOLD
Mr. Hardy is injured in tracing some stolen gold. A hunt by the
boys leads to an abandoned mine, and there things start to happen.
A western story all boys will enjoy.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK