THE CAMPFIRE IN THE GULCH--AN ALARM--THE SOLITARY
FIGURE--UNDER COVER--A WHITE MAN--"HAIL,
FRIEND!"--A CORDIAL MEETING--A SECOND STRANGE
CHARACTER.
"Well, Desmond, we've taken a desperate chance, and so far appear to be
losers."
The circumstances under which the words above quoted were spoken were
weird and strange. A man and a mere youth were sitting by a campfire
that was blazing and crackling in a narrow gulch far away in the Rocky
Mountains, days and days travel from civilization.
The circumstances that had brought them there were also very strange and
unusual. Desmond Dare was the son of a widow who owned a small farm in
New York State. There had been a mortgage on this farm which was about
to be foreclosed when Desmond, a brave, vigorous lad, sold his only
possession, a valuable colt, and determined to enter a walking match for
the prize. He was on his way to the city where the match was to take
place when in a belt of woods he heard a cry for help. He ran in the
direction whence the cry came and found three tramps assailing a fourth
man. The vigorous youth sprang to the rescue and drove the three tramps
off, and was later persuaded by the man he had rescued to go with him to
a rock cavern. There the lad beheld a very beautiful girl of about
fourteen whose history was enveloped in a dark mystery; he also learned
that the man he had rescued was known as the wizard tramp. The latter
was a very strange and peculiar character, a victim of the rum habit,
which had brought him away down until he became a tramp of the most
pronounced type. This man, however, was really a very shrewd fellow,
well educated, not only in book learning, but in the ways of the world,
and seeing that Desmond had resolved to take a desperate chance, the
tramp volunteered to land him a winner; he succeeded in so doing. The
champion of the walking match carried his money to his mother, the tramp
went upon an extended spree and spent his share. Afterward the tramp and
Desmond Dare started on the road together. The girl had been placed with
Mrs. Dare on the farm, and the man and boy proceeded West afoot,
determined to locate a gold mine. The former discovered each day some
new quality, and held forth to Desmond that some day he would make a
very startling revelation. The youth had no idea as to the character of
the revelation, but knowing that the tramp, named Brooks, was a very
remarkable man, he anticipated a very startling denouement. After many
very strange and exciting adventures Brooks, the tramp, and Desmond Dare
arrived in the Rockies, and in due time started in to find their gold
mine. The previous history of these two remarkable characters can be
read in Nos. 90 and 91 of "OLD SLEUTH'S OWN."
At the time we introduce the tramp and Desmond Dare to our readers in
this narrative, they had been knocking around the mountains in search of
their mine and had met with failures on every side, and at length one
night they camped in the gulch as described in our opening paragraphs,
and Brooks spoke the words with which we open our narrative.
They were sitting beside their fire; both were partly attired as hunters
and mountaineers, and both were well armed. Brooks, who had practically
been a bloat had lived a temperate life, had enjoyed plenty of exercise
in the open air, and had experienced to a certain extent a return of his
original physical strength and vigor. At the time the whilom tramp made
the disconsolate remark quoted, Desmond asked:
"What do you propose to do--give it up?"
"I don't know just what to do, lad."
"We've scraped together a little gold dust; possibly we may have money
enough to engage in some legitimate business, and what we can't get by
the discovery of a mine, we may acquire in time in speculation. You are
shrewd and level-headed."
"That would be a good scheme for you, lad, but not for me. I am too far
advanced in life to earn money by slow labor now. What I propose is that
you go back, take all the gold we have, and enter into trade; you are
bright and energetic and may succeed."
"And what will you do?"
"I shall continue my search for a mine, and some day I may strike it."
Brooks was a college graduate, a civil engineer, and a mineralogist, and
believed he had great advantages in searching for a mine, but, as has
been indicated, thus far their tramp and search had been a dead failure.
"I'll stick with you," said Desmond.
"No, lad, you must go back."
"I swear I will not; I like this life, and remember, we have gathered
some wash dust and we may gather more. I don't know the value of what we
have gathered from the bottom of that stream we struck, but I do know
that it would take a long time to accumulate as much money in trade.
Remember, we have been in the mountains only six weeks."
"That is all right, but we might stay here six years and not make a
find."
At that instant there came a sound which caused Brooks and Desmond to
bend their ears and listen. Some of the Indians were on the warpath; a
band of bucks had been making a raid and had been pursued by the United
States cavalry into the mountains. Indians, as a rule, do not take to
the mountains, but sometimes when pursued hotly they will separate into
small bands and scatter through the hills; these fellows are dangerous.
They would have murdered any white men they might meet for their arms
alone, without considering the spirit of wantonness or revenge that
might animate them.
Brooks and Desmond rose from their seats beside the fire and moved
slowly away. At any moment an arrow or even a rifle shot might come and
end the life of one or both.
Desmond had become a very expert woodsman; he and Brooks had been
chased by Indians several times and had exchanged shots with one band.
They knew a cover in a crevice in the wall of rock which ran up abruptly
each side of the gulch; from this spot they could survey and also make a
good fight in an emergency. They had good weapons, plenty of ammunition,
and what was more, coolness, skill, and courage. Desmond, especially,
was a very cool-headed chap in times of danger; the use of firearms was
not new to him, nor was the woodsman life altogether a novelty, for he
had been raised in a very wild and desolate mountain region.
Quickly they stole to cover, although they believed it possible that
they might have been seen, for they had absolute proof, well known to
woodsmen, that if there were foes in the vicinity they had been
discovered. Once in their covert they lay low, and a few moments passed,
when they beheld a solitary figure advancing slowly and very cautiously
up the gulch, and as the figure came in the light of the fire Desmond,
whose eyesight was very keen, said:
"It's a white man; he looks like a hunter; we will wait a moment or two,
but I guess it is all right."
The figure, meantime, with rifle poised, advanced very slowly and
finally stood fully revealed close to the fire, and indeed he was a
white man of strong and vigorous frame.
"I'll go and meet him," said Desmond; "you lay low here, rifle in hand
ready to shoot in case he proves an enemy."
"All right, lad, go ahead."
Desmond stepped from his hiding-place and advanced toward the fire. The
stranger saw him, still held his position ready for offense or defense,
and permitted Desmond to approach, and soon he discerned that the lad
was a white man and he called:
"Hail, friend!"
"Hail, to you," replied the lad.
The two men approached and shook hands. The hunter was a splendid
specimen of physical manhood, and his face indicated honesty and
good-nature.
"Are you alone here, lad?"
"No."
"Where's your comrade?"
Desmond made a sign, and Brooks stepped forth from the crevice and
approached the fire.
"Hail, friend," said the stranger hunter.
Brooks answered the salutation, the two men shook hands and the stranger
said;
"What may be your business out here?"
"We'll talk of that later on; but, stranger, you took great chances."
"I did?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"In approaching the fire you were exposed; suppose the fire had been
kindled by Indians?"
The woodsman laughed, and said:
"I knew it was not an Indian's fire."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"How is that?"
"They don't create such a big blaze. I knew white men were around, and
men whom I need not fear, but I was on my guard all the same."
"We could have dropped you off."
"Well, yes, but out here we have to take chances, and it was necessary
for me to do so."
"It was?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"I need food; I have not struck any game lately. The fact is, I've been
up in the peaks where there is no game. I hope you have a cold snack
here, my friends, and some tobacco, for I have not had a regular tobacco
smoke or chew for over a month."
"We were just about to prepare some coffee and make a meal."
"Good enough; did you say coffee? Well, I have struck Elysium; I haven't
tasted a cup of coffee in a year. You see I was snowbound away up in the
mountains; fortunately I had plenty of dried meat, and I was compelled
to wait until I was thawed out."
Brooks commenced making the coffee, and while doing so the woodsman
asked:
"Are you regular hunters?"
"No."
"Ever in the mountains before?"
"Never."
"You've been taking great chances."
"We have?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"The mountains are full of bad Indian fugitives, and they are very ugly.
Some are parts of a raiding gang of bucks, and others are rascals who
have made a kick out at the reservation. I've met twenty of them in the
last ten days; they are in squads of twos and threes, and they are full
of fight."
"We have met some of them."
"And you managed to escape?"
"We had a fight with one party."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"How did you come out?"
"Ahead, I reckon, or we would not be here."
The conversation was between the woodsman and Desmond.
"What brought you into the mountains--are you tourists?"
"No."
"On business?"
"Yes."
"Surveyors?"
"No."
"I thought not; no use to survey out this way. I suppose you are looking
for a lost mine."
"Well, we might take in a lost mine or find a new one, it don't matter."
"Ah! I see; well, so far you've been lucky, but you've been taking
desperate chances."
"Oh! that's a way we have."