PURSUED
Jed and Will could hardly believe their good luck. But the mention of
the name of the man he had robbed was too much for Morton. He dared not
stand and face him. Probably he imagined the United States marshal was
with the sturdy old gold miner.
"Say, that was a good idea--a fine one, Jed!" cried Will. "How did you
happen to think of it? You actually fooled me for a moment. I really
thought you saw Gabe."
"I only wish I had."
"Do you s'pose they're gone for good?"
"I don't know. I think we'd better get out of here. But first let's
cover up the places where we took out the nuggets. I was afraid those
scoundrels would see the holes."
"Good thing they didn't. They'd have robbed us, sure pop. What shall we
do next?" Will went on, as he carefully stamped with his feet on the
places where the gold had been found.
"Both of us had better look at this location carefully, so we'll know
how to find it again. It looks like a good place for gold, according to
what Gabe told us. I'll bet there's a rich mine around here. Now we must
find our way back to camp, and tell Gabe. Then we can come here and
stake out three claims--one for each of us."
"It's easy enough to say 'go back to camp,'" remarked Will, "but how are
we going to do it?"
"We've simply got to," responded his brother. "The horses may know their
way back. We must trust to them. Let's see, I should say they must have
come up that valley. They'd naturally travel the easiest way, when there
was no one to drive 'em. Suppose we start down that valley a way, and
see if the horses won't do the rest?"
There seemed nothing better to do, so they put this plan into operation.
Making sure that their precious nuggets were safe, and seeing that the
packs were securely strapped on the backs of the steeds, the two boys
started down the valley, that was near the trail on which they had found
the gold. They walked a little way behind each horse, keeping hold of
the tether ropes.
The animals went willingly enough, though they stopped every now and
then for a mouthful of the sweet grass that grew quite luxuriantly on
the slopes of the fertile valley.
They traveled several miles in a rather leisurely fashion, and, as it
was beginning to get late in the afternoon, they decided to halt and
have a meal before it got too dark. They wanted to go as far as possible
before making camp, and they hoped they would come upon the one where
Gabe had left them, ere nightfall.
"Here's a good place to camp," remarked Jed as he came to a halt. "This
will do all right."
"Suits me," replied his brother.
They made a hasty meal, and looked about them for a good place to spend
the night.
"That looks like a sheltered place over there," remarked Jed, pointing
to an overhanging ledge, screened about with low bushes and fir trees.
"Suppose we take a look."
They walked over, and were just on the edge of the fringe of little
trees when something happened. Jed, who was a little in advance,
suddenly disappeared from his brother's sight. The thing happened so
quickly that Will thought Jed had jumped down some little declivity, but
an instant later he knew this was not so, for Jed's voice came back to
him, sounding far off and muffled:
"Keep back! Don't come down here. I'm in a hole. Keep away!"
Even with that warning Will pressed on. He was not going to desert his
brother in the hour of need. He was almost at the place where Jed had
vanished, when a slipping and sliding of the earth, a movement of
several boulders, and a trembling of the surface of the ground,
convinced him that to go farther would be dangerous, not only for
himself, but perhaps for his brother. He leaped back, and just in time,
for a yawning cavern opened at his very feet.
"Jed! Jed! Where are you?" he cried.
"Down here. In a big hole."
"Are you hurt?"
"Not much. Only bruised a bit. But keep back, or you'll be down here
too. You'll have to stay up there to get me out."
"But how can I do it? Can't you climb out?"
"No. I'm in a regular hole, and the sides are so slippery that I daren't
try to climb out. This place is a regular cave, and I got too close to
the entrance. You'd better get the tether-ropes from the horses, tie
them together, and let 'em down to me. Then you can pull me up."
"All right. I'll do it."
Will turned back from the edge of the hole down which Jed had fallen,
and into which a considerable portion of earth and stones and several
trees had disappeared. Luckily they had toppled to one side, instead of
upon Jed, or he might have been seriously hurt.
Will could not see Jed, though he could hear him, for he dared not
approach close enough to the edge of the hole to look directly into it,
as, if he did, he might cause more of a cave-in. How he was going to
come near enough to lower his brother the rope he did not stop to think
about.
"Keep still until I come back," he called to Jed. "Don't go to trying
any tricks, or you may get buried under a lot of dirt."
It seemed a little odd for Will, the younger brother, to be giving the
advice which usually fell to Jed's part, but he was in a better position
to advise the imprisoned one than was Jed himself.
Will found the two horses where he had left them, quietly browsing on
the rich grass. He took the rope from one, cut off a small piece to be
used for a halter, and tied the animal to a tree. He then started to do
likewise to the other animal, the same steed which had run away at the
farm and caused them such a chase.
"Steady now, old boy," said Will, as he approached the animal, which
began to prance about for no particular reason. "Why, what's the matter
with you?" he asked, as the horse swung about and pulled violently on
the tether-rope, which was, as yet, fast to a tree. "You're getting
skittish in your old age."
Will untied the rope, and was coiling it up in his hand as he walked
toward the animal, intending to fasten it as he had done the first one,
when the horse, with a shrill neigh, threw up his head, yanked the rope
from Will's hand, and started off at a smart trot.
"Whoa! Hold on there! Come back here!" cried Will. "I must catch him,"
he added, "if only to get that rope from him. Without it I can't rescue
Jed."
He started to run after the steed, but the horse, evidently not wanting
to be caught, or else urged on by a mere spirit of mischief, kicked up
its heels again like a colt, and dashed away down the mountain-side.
Poor Will did not know what to do. He knew he must catch the horse, yet
to go after him meant that he would have to leave Jed for some time
alone in the cave. His brother would fear he had been deserted, and
might try to get out unaided. In that case there might be another small
landslide, and he would be buried.
"I've just got to catch him," said Will to himself. "This is worse than
when he ran away the other time."
He was about to place the rope he had already removed from the other
horse down near where the packs were, in order to have both his hands
free, when he happened to think that perhaps he could use it as a lasso
and capture the other steed, though he had had very little practice with
the lariat, and was doubtful as to his success.
The runaway animal had now come to a stop and was gazing back at the
boy, as much as if to say: "Come on, let's have a game of tag."
The long tether-rope, trailing out behind the horse, Will thought would
give him a good chance to capture the animal. Accordingly, he bent his
attention on that, resolving if he could get hold of it that he would
quickly take a hitch with it around a tree, and so "snub" the horse as
one checks the progress of a boat.
"I believe that will be a better plan than trying to lasso him," he said
to himself. "Why didn't I think of that first? But worrying about Jed
has made me so I can't think straight."
He hung the other rope upon a low branch of a tree, where he would see
it on his way back, and then he crept cautiously forward, crouching down
low, so that the horse would not see him, intending to sneak up and grab
the end of the rope.
He tried it, but it would not work. The horse saw him coming, or guessed
his intention, and galloped away just as Will was about to grasp the
trailing rope. This happened several times. It was getting dusk now, and
every second was precious. The chase had led in a sort of irregular
circle about the place where the packs had been lifted off the animals,
the horse sometimes going up the trail, and sometimes down. He did not
seem to want to leave his equine companion, who remained quietly tied.
"I know what I'll do," exclaimed Will at length. "I'll do as we used to
at home, when we want to catch a frisky horse in a big pasture. I'll
give him some sugar."
He hurried to one of the packs, took out a quantity of the sweetstuff,
and placed it in his cap. This he held out to the steed, at the same
time calling persuasively.
The horse was not proof against this. He sniffed the air and came
closer. Then, as he only wanted to get hold of the end of the rope, and
did not need to actually catch the horse, Will turned the sugar out on
the ground where the steed could see it. The boy then backed away, and a
little later the horse was eagerly licking up the sugar. Another moment
and Will had secured the rope, and though the animal started to run,
when it found itself caught, it was too late.
"There, I hope you're satisfied!" exclaimed Will. "You've made me lose
nearly an hour. I wonder if Jed's all right?"
He cut off all but a small piece of that rope, tying the horse to a
tree, and then, with the two lengths, he started back to where he had
left his brother. It was fast getting dark, and he doubted very much if
the rescue could be attempted that night.
"Here I am, Jed," he called as soon as he came within hearing distance.
"Were you wondering what happened to me?"
"Yes, I was beginning to get anxious. What happened?"
Will explained.
"Now how am I going to get you out?" asked the younger brother. "Shall I
throw the rope down to you?"
"Guess you'll have to. Only don't come too close. I'll tell you what
you'd better do. Go up on that little ledge opposite here, on the other
side. Fasten the rope to a tree or stump, and throw one end down here.
Then I can pull myself up. If I put any strain on the rope on the side
where you are now, there may be another cave-in."
Will started to do as his brother had directed, but he had not gone far
before there came another rumble of the earth, and more dirt slid down
into the hole where Jed was hidden from sight.
"Jed! Jed! Are you hurt?" cried Will. "Did it fall on you?"
But there was no answer, and, waiting in the fast gathering blackness,
Will felt a great fear in his heart. What if Jed had been killed, and he
was left all alone there in the mountains, with that band of
unprincipled men close after him?
"Jed! Jed!" he cried again, but no answer came back.
Will started forward, and then he recollected that if he went too close
the landslide might be made worse than it now was. He tried to see some
path by which he might get nearer, but it was too dark.
"I must kindle a fire so as to have light," he said.
He gathered some dry wood, and soon had a little blaze. By the glare of
it he went as close as he dared and peered down into the place where Jed
was imprisoned. All he could see was bare earth and piles of rocks.
"Jed! Jed!" he shouted in a frenzy of fear. "Where are you? Are you
alive? Speak to me!"
Was it an echo, or was that a voice replying to him? At first he could
not be sure what it was, then, as he listened, he made sure that it was
some one answering.
"Where are you?" he cried.
"Farther down," came the faint reply. "I'm all the way in under now, and
can't see any way out. Your voice sounds right over my head."
"Can you hear me now?" asked Will eagerly.
"Yes. You're right over my head. Knock on the ground so I can hear it."
Will stamped his feet, and at once his brother cried:
"Hold on! That's enough. You nearly brought the whole ceiling down on
me. You're right above me, that's sure enough."
"How can I get you out?"
"You'll have to dig a hole--sink a shaft, I suppose, so you can lower a
rope through. But be careful how you do it. You'd better wait until
morning."
"And leave you there all night--buried in a cave!"
Back came the faint answer:
"I don't mind. This is a big place, and there's plenty of fresh air.
Stand by until morning, and then see what you can do."
This seemed the only advice possible under the circumstances. The light
of the fire was too uncertain to permit of the rescue work going on. It
was a dreary night. Occasionally Will called to Jed, who answered, and
the younger lad sat by the campfire, which he kept up, anxiously waiting
for the dawn. He dozed off toward morning, and awoke with a start to see
a streak of light in the east. Then, calling to his imprisoned brother
that he was going to begin soon, he brought up his pick and shovel from
the packs.
"Stand back as far as you can toward the sides of the cave," advised
Will. "I may shake down a lot of dirt. But first, are you sure there's
no other way out?"
"I can't see any," was the faint reply, and with that Will set to work.
He located the place where he could hear Jed's voice the plainest,
rightly judging that to be the thinnest part of the top of the cave--the
earth-crust that held his brother a prisoner. Cautiously he began to
dig, using the pick lightly, and slowly shoveling out the dirt he
loosened.
As he got down with his shaft he found that the soil was a sort of clay,
which was firmer than the loose earth on top, and not so likely to break
through with a rush when he had nearly finished his work.
"How are you now, Jed?" he asked when he was down about three feet.
"Pretty fair," was the reply, and the answer was plainly heard, showing
that there was not much more earth to be taken out.
"Better go slow now," advised Jed, who could distinguish his brother's
tones more audibly now. "Don't you come tumbling down here, or neither
of us'll get up. Better get out of the hole now, and punch the rest of
the dirt with a long tree branch."
Will concluded that this was good advice, and got out to cut a sort of
crowbar, which he fashioned from a sapling, the end of which he chopped
quite sharp with a small hatchet. Then, standing on the edge of the
hole, he began to jab the pole into the bottom.
"Hold on! You're through!" yelled Jed suddenly. "I can see the end of
the pole now."
Will thereupon began to punch it through more cautiously. In a little
while he had an opening over a foot in diameter, and he could hear Jed
almost as plainly as if he stood beside him.
"Now for your ropes, Will!" cried Jed. "I'm all ready to climb out.
Better fasten one end to a tree, and I'll come up hand-over-hand."
Will did as directed, and soon saw the rope beginning to become taut as
Jed put a strain on it.
"Is it going to hold?" asked Jed.
"Yes. Come on."
A little later Jed was out of the cave. Will clasped him in his arms.
"Poor old Jed!" he exclaimed. "You did have a time of it!"
Jed plainly showed the effects of his terrible night. He was pale, and
his clothes were covered with dirt. There was also a long cut on his
forehead, where a rock had grazed him, and his arms and legs were
bruised.
"Come on, I'll get you something to eat, and you can tell me about it
after that," said Will, and soon he was handing Jed a cup of hot coffee.
"That cave extended back quite a way under the earth, from the face of
rock where we were going to camp. I fell into it, and must have rested
on a sort of shelf, until the second landslide came. Then I was rolled
right back into the main part of the cavern, and the outlet was closed
up. I tell you I was scared there, one spell."
"I should think you would be," commented Will. "But I'm glad it was no
worse. Can you travel?"
"I'm afraid not. I think we'll have to rest a bit to-day. I may be able
to start late in the afternoon. I'd like to get some sleep. I didn't
have any down in that hole."
They spent the best part of the day, after Jed had slept some, in
talking over what had happened, and wondering what had become of their
pursuers.
"Oh, they'll keep after us," said Jed. "We can't shake 'em off so
easily. I think we'd better move our camp away. I don't like this place.
Let's move on a few miles and spend the night there. I think it will be
safer."
"Do you think you can travel?"
"Sure. I'm much better now. Let's pack up, get some supper and move our
camp."
They did not waste much time over "grub," merely making coffee and
eating some bread and cold meat. They were just strapping the packs
together again preparatory to fastening them on the backs of the
animals, when, from down below them, sounded the footfalls of several
horses.
"Some one's coming!" exclaimed Will.
"Maybe it's Gabe," spoke Jed hopefully. "Shall I give a yell?"
"Wait a minute. Perhaps it isn't him. If it is, he has some one with
him."
"Probably he's brought some of his friends to help look for us. I
suppose we are to blame for all this. Never mind, when he hears what we
have to tell him, he'll not scold us. I guess we'd better----"
But the sentence was never finished. At that moment there appeared,
coming around the trail, three horsemen. And it needed but a glance to
show that they were the same bad men who, early the day before, had
retreated after Jed had given his warning whistle.
"Here they are!" cried Con Morton. "We've got 'em now!"
"Not yet!" cried Jed. "Come on, Will! Jump on your horse! The animals
are rested and can carry us and the packs!"
With a quick motion he was in the saddle. Will followed his brother's
example.
"Now, Pete!" cried Jed to the horse. "Let's see what sort of stuff
you're made of!"
"Hold on there!" cried Con Morton, as he saw the two lads were about to
escape him.
"Haven't time!" shouted back Jed.
"I want to speak to you!" went on the gambler.
"No, you don't!" said Will to himself. "I know what that means!"
He kicked his heels on his horse's sides, and the good old plow horse
increased its pace. Owing to the fact that the steeds of the boys were
fresh, and to the circumstance that the animals of the gamblers had
quite a slope to climb, the boys secured a good lead. They did not ride
back up the valley, but down it, though they turned into another trail,
as it divided just where they had halted for their meal. To get on this
trail Morton and his cronies would have to breast a slope, and then
swing over to the left. The boys lost sight of them for a moment.
"I wonder why he came back after us?" asked Will.
"Probably they were hanging around. They saw that no one came to join
us, and they imagined it was safe to tackle us. But I'm not going to
give up."
"Me either. I'll fight first!"
With set faces the brothers urged their horses on. But now their
pursuers had gained the turn, and were thundering down the second valley
after them.
"Stop! stop!" yelled Morton.
Jed and Will returned no answer.
"If you don't halt we'll shoot!" added Haverhill.
"Do you suppose they will?" asked Jed's brother anxiously. "One of them
has a revolver out," he added, as he gave a hasty backward glance.
"I don't believe so. They can't shoot very straight anyhow, with the way
their horses and ours are going."
"Are you going to stop?" yelled Morton again.
"No!" cried Jed, as he urged his horse on down the mountain slope, while
the pursuers came galloping on behind them.