OFF FOR THE WEST
Never before, save, perhaps, when the lightning struck, had there been
such excitement in the Crosby home. The farmer and his wife stared in
amazement at the sight of their two sons doing a good imitation of a
Highland fling, for Will had caught Jed's enthusiasm, and the two boys
were singing and leaping about, "as if they were circus performers," as
their mother said afterward.
"Come on, Nettie, have a waltz!" exclaimed Jed. "We'll send you back
enough gold for a pair of earrings and a bracelet!"
"Jed! Jed!" exclaimed his mother. "Do behave yourself. You're not going
to let them undertake that crazy plan, are you?" she asked of her
husband.
Mr. Crosby did not answer. He, too, was thinking of the golden West, and
his poor farm that hardly supported him.
"Of course we can go. Can't we, dad?" asked Jed. "Why, it will be the
best thing that ever happened!"
"It will--if we get the gold," added his brother, more soberly, for his
first enthusiasm had begun to cool.
"Find the gold? Of course we'll find the gold. Won't we, Mr. Harrison?"
"Well, I always have been pretty lucky," replied the miner. "I always
got gold when I went after it, but I didn't always keep it. If I had the
money the gambler swindled me out of I'd be in good shape now."
"Maybe that gambler your friend wrote about is the same one who swindled
you," suggested Jed.
"No. I guess Con Morton knows enough to keep away from Ted Jordan. He's
looking for him, too. But I'll come across Con some day, and then I'll
wager I'll make him shell out what he stole from me. But, Mr. Crosby,
seriously speaking, why can't these two boys go with me? It will do them
good. As Jed says, you won't need them on the farm now, and they may
strike it rich. Stranger things have happened."
"I don't know that I would object to having them go, in your company,"
said the farmer, "for I know they are good boys, and can take care of
themselves. But I'm afraid I couldn't spare the money for railroad
fares, and for the outfits."
"Don't let that worry you," advised Gabe.
"But it does worry me. You can't do anything in this world without
money."
"It doesn't take much to get an outfit for a gold prospector," replied
the miner. "For that matter I'll undertake to see that they get what
they need. I have friends enough out there to make that part easy."
"But the railroad fares?"
"We won't need any railroad fares."
"How are you going to get out to that place with the queer name, then?"
asked Mrs. Crosby.
"Dizzy Gulch, you mean? That is a queer name, but it's a good one. It
makes you dizzy when you stand on the edge and look down. But we'll get
there all right. It's not more than eight hundred miles from here."
"You can't walk that far," objected Nettie.
"I know that," replied the miner. "We could, but we don't want to. We'll
go on horseback."
"Horseback?" repeated Jed.
"Yes. I've got money enough to purchase a good nag, and I guess your
father would be willing for you boys to take the animals here. He'll not
need them much longer. How about it, Mr. Crosby?"
The farmer looked thoughtful.
"You seem to get over most of the difficulties," he remarked.
"Then we can go, can't we, dad?" exclaimed Jed.
"I don't know. I must consider it further. I suppose you could take the
horses. They'll only be eating their heads off in the barn, after the
crops are in."
"That's the way I figured it," resumed Gabe. "Now I'll tell you what
I'll do. I'll write to Ted and ask him to send me word where is the best
place to strike for. Then I'll get my outfit together, such as there's
left of it, look around for a horse that can travel a long distance, and
we'll set out for the gold regions."
"That's the way to talk!" cried Jed. "We'll all be millionaires soon!"
"Now hold on!" remonstrated Gabe. "Don't get the idea that you can go
out there and pick up gold off the ground. There are some places, I
admit, where the nuggets are close to the surface, but they're few and
far between. If we get any gold we'll probably have to dig for it, and
digging for the yellow boys is as hard as cultivating corn or hoeing
potatoes. I know, for I've tried both. But, at the same time, I don't
see why we haven't as good a chance as lots of others. We'll try,
anyhow--that is, if your father gives his consent."
"I suppose I might as well," said Mr. Crosby slowly. "You three seem to
have it all planned out, anyhow. But I can't spare the horses for a
week or two."
"That will be time enough," replied the miner. "I want to hear from Ted
again." And there the conversation, for the time being, came to an end.
"It hardly seems possible; does it, Will?" asked Jed, when they were
going to bed that night. "To think that we're going to become real gold
miners!"
"Maybe we won't get any gold after all our trouble," suggested his less
hopeful brother.
"Oh, cheer up!" advised Jed. "Wait until Gabe gets to grubbing around
with that lucky pick of his, and the nuggets will just roll out, they'll
be so glad we've come."
Will laughed. There was no withstanding the jolly good nature of his
elder brother.
Enthusiasm for the proposed gold hunt had not waned the next day. Mr.
Crosby had talked the matter over with his wife and, though she was
naturally timid and nervous, she made no objections to letting the boys
go. Mr. Harrison seemed quite confident that in the new diggings there
was a good chance of making a moderate fortune.
"Then you can pay off the mortgage on the farm," said Mrs. Crosby to her
husband.
"If the boys get money enough for that out of their gold mining, I think
I'll give up farming, and become a prospector myself," said Mr. Crosby,
with a smile.
Fortunately for the plan, the barley crop turned out better than any one
expected, and the price was very high. Mr. Crosby received enough money
to insure them against hardships that winter, and even enough to buy
another horse, as he might need one if the boys took the two. He secured
an animal at a low price. It was not as good as the two he had, but Jed
and Will would have to have steeds that could stand a certain amount of
hard life, if they were to go to the gold regions.
In the meanwhile Mr. Harrison had another letter from Ted Jordan, and
this confirmed the first rumors of rich strikes. There was quite a rush
of miners and others to the new fields, Jordan wrote, and he advised
Gabe and the boys to hurry.
So, one morning, with their simple outfits on the saddles back of them,
the boys and Gabe Harrison mounted their horses, and started off for the
golden West.
"Don't you boys go to gambling," cautioned Mrs. Crosby, as she waved a
farewell to her sons.
"Now, mother, you know they won't do that," said Nettie.
"I know it--but--but I--I just had to say something," replied her
mother, as she tried to hide the tears that would persist in coming
into her eyes.
"Look out for a bagful of gold nuggets!" called back Jed. "I'll send
them by the first mail."
"All right," answered his father with a laugh. "Good luck, boys, and
write when you get a chance."
"Good-by!" they chorused, and Gabe Harrison waved his broad-brimmed hat
at the little group standing in front of the farmhouse. Soon they were
out of sight down the road.
"It's--it's lonesome--without the boys," said Mrs. Crosby softly, as she
went in the house and closed the door.