DIGGING FOR TREASURE
Fred never could distinctly recall, afterward, how he accomplished it,
but he did. As he saw the mass of ice descending toward Mr. Baxter, the
boy, with a swift, comprehensive look, took in the situation. A daring
scheme came into his head.
From where he and Jerry stood, on a sort of little hill, the ice
descended, in a slope, to the mouth of the cave. The frozen surface was
almost as smooth as glass.
"My father will be killed!" cried Jerry.
Falling downward the great icicle struck with a tinkling sound against
the masses of ice on either side. Down, down it came.
With a sudden motion Fred threw himself face forward on the icy slope,
like a boy coasting down hill on a sled. Only Fred had no sled. But his
thick fur garments protected him as much as a contrivance of wood and
steel could have done.
Right down the steep, icy slope he slid, straight at the prostrate
figure of Mr. Baxter. The man, hampered as he was in his heavy suit
of furs, was struggling in vain to rise and get out of the way of the
falling mass of ice.
[Illustration: "The force of the blow shoved the man ahead"
_Page 117_]
But there was no need. Coasting down the declivity, Fred struck Mr.
Baxter on the shoulder with his outstretched hands, and the force of the
blow shoved the man ahead. Straight ahead it forced him, the weight of
Fred's body, with the speed it had attained, being sufficient to send
Mr. Baxter within the cave. Fred followed also, being unable to stop.
An instant later, with a terrific crash, the great icicle came down
where, but a moment before, Mr. Baxter had been prostrate on the ice.
His life had been saved by Fred's brave and quick act.
Mr. Baxter slowly struggled to his feet, within the cave. Fred also got
up. The youth was trembling from the excitement and exertion.
"Fred," spoke up Mr. Baxter, "you saved my life!"
"I am glad I thought of sliding down to you," replied the boy modestly.
"It came to me in a flash that it was the only way."
"Yes, and you came against me like a flash, only a little more solidly,
or it wouldn't have done any good," went on the man.
Jerry, who had watched the rescue with awe-struck eyes, hastened into
the cavern, climbing over the broken masses of the great icicle. His
emotion was such that, for a moment, he could not speak. He had thought
to see his father crushed to death. Then he clasped the hand of his
parent in one of his, and extended the other to Fred.
"I shall never forget what you did," he said to Fred.
"Nor I," added Mr. Baxter. "If we don't get any of the hidden gold I
shall feel that I owe Fred a debt I can never pay."
"Hello dar!" exclaimed a voice at this juncture. "Whar am everybody? Did
anyt'ing happen?"
"It's Johnson," said Mr. Baxter. "Yes, something did happen."
"Whar am yo'?" asked the colored man. "I can hear yo', but I cain't see
yo'."
The entrance to the cave, in which were the three, was partly hidden
from view by the broken ice.
"We're in the cavern," replied Fred, stepping to the opening, where
Johnson could see him.
"Do you think this is the place, father?" asked Jerry, gazing around
curiously.
"I think so. It seems to correspond with the map. But we shall soon find
out. Probably the gold is not buried very deep, as Stults did not have
much time. The cave is small, and it ought not to take long to explore
it thoroughly. George, tell Holfax where we are, have him make a sort of
temporary camp just outside here, and bring up the tools. We'll stay in
the cave, I think. It's warmer than outside."
The colored man went back to join the Indian, while Mr. Baxter and the
boys looked about the cave, as well as they were able to in the
darkness. The cavern was about twenty feet square, and the roof seemed
to be quite high up. It was formed of rock, and here and there water had
leaked through and frozen, long, sharp icicles hanging from the sloping
sides and roof.
"When we get a lantern lighted we can begin to dig for the treasure,"
said Mr. Baxter. "I'm afraid it will be difficult work, though, for the
ground is frozen as hard as a stone."
The thought of being so near the store of precious metal took their
minds off of the narrow escape from death that Mr. Baxter had just had.
Fred recovered his nerve, and waited with impatience the return of
Johnson and Holfax with the lanterns and tools.
The latter were soon at the cave, having brought the dogs and sleds as
close as possible to the entrance. After bringing in the tools, and
several lanterns, fitted to burn alcohol, and arranged to give a more
brilliant light than the usual little blue flame from that fluid, the
colored man and the Indian, in obedience to orders from Mr. Baxter, went
outside.
"I don't want them to see us when we come upon the gold," said Mr.
Baxter. "There is no telling how much there is, and it would not be
right to put temptation in their way. Besides, they must get the camp in
shape before night."
The lanterns were lighted, and then the work of digging for the treasure
was begun. It was warm enough in the cave to allow the three to lay
aside their heavy outer coats, as the exercise of digging would keep
their blood in circulation.
"Now we'll divide the cave floor into three parts," said Mr. Baxter,
"and each one of us will take one. In this way we will be able to make
sure that we have covered every foot. There is no need to go down very
deep."
The work was soon under way. It certainly was difficult, for the frozen
earth was like stone in hardness. But the picks were sharp, and they
were wielded by sturdy arms, the owners of which were urged on by the
desire to get at the buried wealth.
It was slower work than Mr. Baxter had calculated on, and when it came
time to eat dinner, they had, altogether, turned up only a small part of
the cave floor to a depth of about two feet.
"No sign of treasure yet," said Fred, about the middle of the afternoon.
"I think I'll go outside far a breath of fresh air, and to rest myself."
"I'll go along," declared Jerry.
When the two boys reached the mouth of the cavern, they were surprised
to find that it was quite dark outside. The short day was ended, and the
sun, which never got far above the horizon, had set some time before.
The Northern Lights were beginning to shoot across the sky.
Close to the cave, Holfax and Johnson had arranged the sleds with their
loads, and had tethered the dogs, that were now howling for their supper
of frozen fish.
"That reminds me I'm hungry too," said Jerry; "aren't you, Fred?"
"Not so very. I'm too anxious to find the gold. I'm going back and dig."
They used their picks on the flinty soil for an hour more, and then Mr.
Baxter, with something like a sigh of disappointment, announced that
they would have the night meal.
"I don't suppose any of you came across any stray gold nuggets, did
you?" he asked the boys.
"No," replied Fred soberly. "Do you think the treasure is here, Mr.
Baxter?"
"Well, I hope so. If it isn't we can at least prove that there is no
Stults treasure, and that the story is all a myth, Fred."
"Oh, I hope such a thing as that doesn't happen."
"I hope so myself."
It got much colder after they had had their hot tea and meat, so, as
they were very tired, Mr. Baxter decided they would do no more digging
until the next morning.
"We ought to finish up the cave to-morrow," he said.
"Suppose we don't find the gold, dad?"
Mr. Baxter said nothing. It was a thing he did not like to contemplate.
They had dug over more than half the floor of the cavern, and had seen
no signs of where Stults, years before, had made an excavation to hide
his gold. The cave looked as if it had not been disturbed for centuries.
"This is the right place, according to the map," said Fred, as though to
assure himself and the others that they must be on the track of the
hidden wealth.
"It is," admitted Mr. Baxter, "but there are so many chances for error,
that we can never be sure. There are probably more caves and waterfalls
than this in Alaska, and Stults was not an expert map-maker. He may have
thought he was setting down very explicit directions, when, as a matter
of fact, he may be miles and miles off. But we can tell better in the
morning."
None of the gold-seekers rested well. Though they were more sheltered
than at any time since beginning their journey,--for the cave made a
fine place to camp in,--their sleep was disturbed by a haunting vision
of disappointment. Suppose there should be no gold after all?
They resumed the digging soon after breakfast. By noon they had covered
nearly the entire floor of the cavern. Fred was using his pick in one
corner of the cave. Of the third assigned to him, not more than a square
yard remained. The others had about the same still to explore, and, up
to now, there had not been the slightest indication of the buried
wealth. Fred's heart began to fail him.
He raised his pick high over his head, and brought it down with great
force in the frozen dirt. Somehow it seemed to penetrate easier than it
had before. It stuck in nearly up to the handle. The sharp point had
entered something soft.
The boy's heart gave a convulsive throb. He pried up on the pick handle.
Something was giving way. Had he discovered the hole in which the gold
was hidden?
An instant later, as the light from one of the lanterns gleamed on the
spot where he was digging, Fred uttered a joyful cry.
"What is it?" shouted Mr. Baxter, as he and Jerry threw down their picks
and hastened to the lad's side.
The boy was down on his knees, scooping at something with his hands. The
others looked.
Then they saw what they had come so far to seek. Fred's pick had pierced
through a canvas bag, buried a short distance below the frozen surface.
It was a bag of gold nuggets, and they lay scattered about in the dirt.
"The treasure!" cried Fred. "Here it is! I have found it!"
And so he had. Almost on the verge of failure he had unearthed the gold
buried so long before by the old German, Max Stults!