Jim had gone but a short distance, when, still fascinated by his
great terror, he reined up his horses and looked back at the moonlit
lake and the little island in its center. Could he believe his eyes?
_Yes; it was moving._ He saw it slowly float toward the wood, until,
unable to control his excessive fear, he once more gave the rein to
his animal, and did not pause until he was far beyond sight of the
lake and its Enchanted Island.
The negro rode a considerable distance, when, as objects around him
began to wear a singular look, he drew his animals down to a walk,
and, on the edge of a rocky grove of small trees, came to a dead halt.
“Dis yere looks strange! I disremember dese trees; Ise afeerd Mr.
Tubbs is off de track, an’ how is he gwine to git on agin, am de
question.”
The country through which he was journeying, was a broad valley,
interspersed with streams and canons, trees and open spaces, and huge
boulders piled promiscuously here and there, and in some places so
thickly strewn as to become almost impassable. There were acres where
one could gallop as free as upon the beaten road, and then, for the
same distance, it was the utmost that a horseman could do to pick his
way along.
In the hurried manner in which Jim had made headway across the
desolate tract, it was not to be supposed that he entertained a very
vivid recollection of the landmarks; but he had quite a memory of
places, and after he had rested his animal for a few moments, he
became certain that he was lost. Under these circumstances, his only
resource was to fall back on general principles, and take the course
which he believed would eventually lead him to the neighborhood of
the cave.
By carefully studying the position of the moon, he believed he was
going too much to the south, and, turning to the right, he followed
this course at a slow walk, watching carefully for some landmarks
which could be recognized. Discovering none, and it being well on
toward midnight, he checked his horses, with the intention of waiting
until morning.
Jim was pretty tired, and, tying the horses together, he lay down on
the ground beside a rock, and in a few moments was asleep. He was
undisturbed until daylight, when he was awakened in a manner which
brought a howl of terror from him.
Some crushing weight descended upon his foot, and, starting up,
he gazed about him for the cause. It proved nothing less than the
baggage mule so frequently referred to, which, in journeying straight
forward in the path which he had been started upon, had thus come
directly upon the sleeping African.
“What!” he shouted, placing himself directly in front of the animal,
and checking him in the same manner that a wall of rock would have
done. “Dat ’ere is queer!” he laughed, “dat I put myself right afore
you. Shouldn’t wonder now if you was on de right track; leastways
we’ll try you.”
The mule was fired up, and, as it moved on again, the negro
followed on the back of his own horse. To his great surprise and
gratification, he had gone but a short distance when he caught sight
of a small clump of trees which he recognized as a point passed by
him shortly after he had started in pursuit of the Mohave and his
prey.
He was highly pleased at this, and pressing on until he had reached
the grove, became convinced that he was on the right track, and would
rejoin his friends in the course of an hour. Beyond this spot all was
familiar, and he advanced without hesitation or misgiving. Reaching
the point where their animals had been tethered, he drove them in
among the trees, and, first securing them, started out in quest of
his friends.
Jim had walked but a few yards, when it suddenly occurred to him,
as he recalled the previous night’s experience, that there might be
danger in advancing so openly to the cave. It was a very easy matter
for a party of aborigines to conceal themselves along the banks, and
rush upon and secure him before he could help himself.
It struck him, too, as he approached the cave, that an unnatural
stillness reigned around it. The sun was now up, and it was high
time that his friends were bestirring themselves. A vague fear took
possession of the African, as he halted some rods away, and looked
furtively about him. Everything was so quiet--nothing moving except
the stream, and that made scarcely a ripple as it glided over its
sandy bed.
Jim was standing in this apprehensive state when a slight noise in
the rear startled him. Turning his alarmed gaze, he expected to
behold a whole troop of painted red men about to swoop down upon him;
but, in the place of that, recognized the smiling face of young Edwin
Inwood.
“Bress me, but you scart dis chile dat time!” said Jim, his teeth
fairly chattering at the remembrance of his shock.
“I threw a stone to let you know I was near; I didn’t mean to
frighten you.”
“It wasn’t de stone dat scart me, it was de thought dat I tink it was
sumfin’ else. Whar’s George?”
“Inside the cave.”
“Had breakfast?”
“No; we were just going to prepare it. Here he comes!”
At this moment, George Inwood made his appearance above ground, and
he greeted the negro with great gladness. The latter soon gave an
account of his pursuit and capture of the horses, and his safe return
with them.
“You have done very well, Jim, especially when we remember that you
had no gun with you. There are few men who would have dared to do so,
even when fully armed.”
“But, dat ain’t all,” added the colored man, as he heaved a great
sigh, “I seen de most awfulest ting you ever heard tell on.”
In answer to their anxious inquiry, he gave what has already been
given by us, winding up with the declaration:
“An’ when I looked back de last time, what do you ’spose I seen? Why,
I seen dat island rise up, flap its wings, an’ fly away!”
“There, Jim, that’s a little too much,” laughed the elder Inwood.
“When it flapped its wings, didn’t it also crow?” asked Edwin, whose
interest in the narrative was turned into equally intense amusement
at this culmination.
“You folks can laugh,” retorted Jim, indignantly, “but wait till you
see what I did, an’ de shivers will run all ober you.”
“It may be possible that it was a _mirage_,” said George, somewhat
impressed by the earnest manner of his sable friend.
“A _mirage_ by moonlight?” inquired Edwin.
“Such things have been heard of, I believe, although very rarely.”
“What’s a _mirage_?” demanded Jim.
By great perseverance, George succeeded in giving Jim a sort of an
idea of what he meant, although, in all probability, he would have
regarded the _mirage_ itself equally mysterious and wonderful as the
bodily exit of a _bona fide_ island before his eyes.
“All I got to say is, you jes’ go an’ see it, an’ den you’ll stop
laughing at dem as what undertakes to explanify it to you.”
“Perhaps we shall have the opportunity, as I have concluded to leave
these quarters.”
“What fur?”
“In the first place, our safety demands it. The Indians have found
out we are here, and they will hover about and watch us, until some
time they will pounce down upon us before we know it.”
“What ob dat? Didn’t they do it last ebening?”
“Yes; and Providentially we were able to drive them off; but you
can see that if a hundred of them should come down here, they could
keep us in the cave until we died of thirst or starvation, or were
compelled to surrender, and our end in each case would be the same.”
“But we hadn’t orter leave de gold jus’ as we ’gin to find it.”
“We shall leave a very small quantity of it behind. The supply has
about run out. You remember that we had a small lot yesterday. The
reason was that we had gathered about all there was, and so you see
there is nothing to keep us here, while we have every inducement to
draw us away.”
As this was undoubtedly the case, there was no gainsaying the
argument of Inwood, and it was decided to move their quarters without
further delay. Breakfast was prepared, during which Edwin took his
station and kept a sharp watch for straggling Indians. None were
discovered, and he descended and joined them in the morning meal.
Their baggage was piled on the mule, the five tiny sacks which
contained the yellow dust, were taken in charge by George, and while
it was yet early in the day, they took up the line of march.
Very appropriately, Jim led the way, he riding his nag with all
the dignity of a conqueror at the head of his army. Inwood was not
so particularly anxious to see the Enchanted Island, as he was to
make sure that no Mohaves were following or watching them. The most
vigilant scrutiny failed to detect any of the dreaded creatures, and
our friends finally ventured to believe that with due prudence they
could reach a place of safety.
It was past noon, when Jim, who was riding a short distance in
advance, ascended a small elevation, and then suddenly made a signal
for his companions to hurry alongside of him. The next moment the
three were side by side.
“Dere!” said Jim, pointing off to the east, “is de lake an’ de
island.”
The beautiful, circular sheet of water lay a half mile away, and
right in the center was an island about fifty feet in length, and
half that distance in breadth. It was covered with young trees and
dense vegetation, and in the bright sunlight had a cool, fresh
appearance, which made it still more pleasant than when viewed under
the witching rays of the moon.
George Inwood produced a small spy-glass from his pocket, and scanned
it long and narrowly. There was something about this little island,
aside from the marvellous stories related of it by Jim, which
awakened his curiosity. While apparently still and devoid of life, he
saw signs which convinced him that more than one person was upon it.
In among the leaves he could detect a fluttering, tremulous motion,
and around the edge of the island were ripples which must have been
caused by human hands, as the surface of the lake in every other
portion was as smooth as a mirror. He thought he heard once or twice
a plashing sound, which came either from the island itself, or from
directly behind it. He decided to say nothing of his suspicions until
he had learned more of it, what certainly wore a singular look, to
say the least.
He was on the point of lowering his glass, when a slight movement
among the bushes on the eastern shore of the lake caught his eye, and
he immediately directed his gaze toward that point.
The naked vision would have discovered nothing, but by the aid of
the lens he discovered a man standing on the very edge of the wood,
and scrutinizing the party. At first glance, he took him to be
an Indian, but a continued examination satisfied Inwood that the
stranger was a white man, dressed and painted as a red man. What gave
this impression was the fact that his outfit was not complete, being
deficient about his head. This, instead of being bare, with the long,
wiry black hair stained and ornamented with eagle feathers, (as is
the custom of the Mohaves and Apaches) was surmounted by a slouched
hat which entirely concealed the short hair.
The painted white man gazed long and intently upon the party, from
which fact Inwood judged that he was displeased at their appearance
and anxious to keep himself invisible. This, united with the curious
facts noted regarding the appearance of the island, furnished food
for speculation, and Inwood lowered his glass and placed it away with
the conviction that there was some mystery connected with this lake
and the tiny island resting in the center, which, perhaps, it might
be well for him to attempt to fathom.
“What you tink ob him?” inquired Jim, much wondering at the continued
silence of Inwood.
“It is the finest scene I have ever looked upon. Nothing could be
more beautiful than the lake, and the island, and the green shores
which surround, and the white mountain peaks away in the distance.”
“Wait till you see it fly away--den I guess you tink it beautifuller
yet.”
“I am afraid I shall have to wait a good while,” said Inwood.
“Shall we go on?” inquired Edwin.
“I rather like the appearance of the country around here, and I think
we are as likely to find gold as in any other place. We will hunt up
some good spot, take up our quarters, and go to prospecting. The best
plan, I think, is for us to turn square around and start back again.”
“What dat for?”
Edwin, too, looked an inquiry, but George said he had a good reason,
and accordingly it was done.