CONCLUSION
"It's the gleam of the real metal in the rock, sir---what's what
it is," gasped one of the miners, as he held up a lantern to aid
him in his quest.
It lay there, in streaks and rifts, a dull gleaming here and there.
To be sure, it was nothing at all like a solid golden wall, but
Tom Reade could be contented with less than Golconda.
In spots the precious metal showed in darkish streaks, instead
of yellow. But these dark streaks showed admixtures of silver.
"Run and get me a hammer, one of you," cried Tom, breathing fast.
When the miner returned with the chisel-nosed hammer he found
the young engineer eagerly exploring the whole length of the new
wall thus laid bare.
"I knew that a real vein lay here," Tom went on, as he took the
hammer. "The only trouble with us, men, was that we were working
eight or ten feet south of where the true vein lay. Now, by the
great Custer, we've hit it---thanks to the enemy!"
Eagerly Tom chipped off specimens of the rich gold and silver
bearing rock. He loaded down two men and carried more himself.
Every piece of rock was a specimen of rich ore.
Up the shaft they went, emerging into the sunlight.
"I'd like to know who the scamps were that fired the blasts in
the mine," Tom muttered joyously. "I'd like to reward them."
"Party coming, sir," reported a miner, pointing to the southward.
Over the snow came a cutter, drawn by two horses, slipping fast
over the snow. From one side of the cutter a pair of skis hung
outward.
"That's Jim Ferrers and the doctor from Dugout," Tom breathed.
"But who can the other lot of people be."
A pung, drawn also by a pair of horses, contained five men.
Jim was quickly on hand to explain matters.
"I've brought Dr. Scott. He'll have to see Hazelton quickly, and
then get back to Dugout," Jim declared. "The doctor is afraid the
crust may melt, and then he'll be stalled here with his outfit.
"Those men over there?" inquired Reade, as the pung stopped, and
the five men got out "Two of them look familiar to me."
"I reckon," nodded Jim Ferrers. "They're officers---all of 'em.
They've come over here to hunt the rocks to the south of here.
Up at the jail the keepers worried out of Eb some information
about a cave where Dolph Gage hangs out. It seems that Gage and
his pals have been stealing supplies at the Bright Hope Mine."
Jim introduced Dr. Scott, who said:
"I must see my patient and be away in an hour. I don't want to
get stalled here by a thaw."
So Tom led the way to the shack, and did not see the departure of
the law's five officers.
Outside Reade carefully dropped the ore he had brought along and
made a sign to his workmen to do the same. Then the partners
and the physician went inside.
Tom watched closely while the physician placed a thermometer in
Harry's mouth and felt his pulse. Respiration was also counted,
after which Dr. Scott produced a stethoscope and listened at Harry's
chest and back. A little more, and the examination was completed.
"Gentlemen," announced Dr. Scott, "you've brought me all this
distance over the snow-crust to see a patient who is just about
convalescent. This young man may have some nourishment today,
and by day after tomorrow he will be calling loudly for the cook."
"What has been the trouble, doc?" Hazelton asked.
"Congestion of the right lung, my son, but the congestion has
almost wholly disappeared."
A mist came before Tom Reade's eyes. Now that his chum was out
of danger Reade realized how severe on him the whole ordeal had
been.
As soon as Tom found a chance he asked Dr. Scott:
"Will a little excitement of the happiest kind hurt Hazelton any?"
"Just what kind of excitement?"
"We've had a disappointing mine that has turned over night into
a bonanza. I've a lot of the finest specimens outside."
"Bring them in," directed the physician.
Tom came in with an armful.
"Harry," he called briskly, "we were right in thinking we had
a rich vein. The only trouble was that we were working eight
or ten feet south of the real vein. Look over these specimens."
Tom ranged half a dozen on the top blanket. When Harry's glistening
eyes had looked them all over, Tom produced other specimens of
ore. Dr. Scott examined them, too, with a critical eye.
"If you've got much of this stuff in your mine, Reade," said the
medical man, "you won't need to work much longer."
"Won't need to work much longer?" gasped Tom Reade. "Man alive,
we don't want to stop working. When a man stops working he may
as well consult the undertaker, for he's practically dead anyway.
What we want gold for is so that we can go on working on a bigger
scale than ever! And now, Harry, the name for our mine has come
to me."
"What are you going to call it?" Hazelton asked.
"With your consent, and Ferrers's, we'll name it the Ambition
Mine. That's just what the mine stands for with us, you know."
"The best name in the world," Harry declared.
"And now, young man," said Dr. Scott, addressing Hazelton, "I
want you to rest quietly while Tim Walsh sponges you off and the
cook is busy making some thin gruel for you. Reade, in order
to get you out of here I'll agree to go down in your mine with you."
Dr. Scott proved more than an interested spectator when he reached
the tunnel. He possessed considerable knowledge of ores.
"Yes; you have your bonanza here, Reade," declared the physician.
"Almost any ambition that money will gratify will soon be yours.
From the very appearance of this newly-opened vein I don't believe
it is one that will give out in a hurry."
"By the way, Doe," called Ferrers, joining them, "here's that
nugget that you wouldn't take when I offered it to you in Dugout.
You've made your visit, and now the nugget is yours."
"I don't want it," smiled Dr. Scott. "I want real money, in place
of the nugget, and I'll be content to wait for it. The owners
of this mine will be welcome to run up a very considerable bill
with me."
"Then can you stay a few days?" queried Tom eagerly. "Until good
old Harry is wholly out of danger."
"Yes; I'll stay a few days, if you wish it, Mr. Reade."
Finally Jim had the presence of mind to pilot the physician to
the cook shack.
Quietly enough the officers from Dugout had reentered camp. With
them they had borne one long, covered object---the remains of
Dolph Gage, who had been shot and killed while resisting arrest.
Gage's two remaining companions had been brought in, handcuffed.
These expert sheriff's officers from Dugout had been able to
find a trail, even on the hard-frozen snow crust, and had tracked
the criminals directly to their cave.
Jim Ferrers went over to where the body of Gage lay on the snow.
Gently he turned down the cloth that covered the dead man's face.
For a few moments Ferrers gazed at the still face; then, awkwardly,
after hesitating, he lifted his hat from his head.
"That man killed your brother, Jim," murmured Tom, stepping up
to his Nevada partner. "You had other reasons for hating him.
In the old days you would have run Dolph Gage down and killed
him yourself. In these newer days you have left Gage to the hands
of the law. It is a much better way, and you will never even have
to wonder whether you have done any wrong."
"The law's way is always best, I reckon," returned Jim Ferrers,
slowly.
That same day, after the officers had gone with their men, Jim
Ferrers, finding that the crust was holding, drove fresh horses
to the doctor's cutter. The physician remained behind to take
care of Harry Hazelton, but Jim went fast toward Dugout City.
He was armed with letters from Dr. Scott that told certain dealers
in Dugout what unlimited credit the partners ought to have on
account of their mine.
Before Harry was sitting up vehicles had been employed to bring
to Ambition Mine considerable supplies of dynamite, food and all
else that was needed, including half a dozen of the latest books
for the amusement of the invalid engineer.
Everything went on swiftly now. More miners, too, were brought
over, while the hard crust lasted, and a score of carpenters.
Lumber camp also. There was a constant procession of vehicles
between Dugout and Ambition Mine. Tom did not hesitate to avail
himself of his sudden credit, for every day's work showed that
the vein was not giving out. An ore dump was piling up that meant
big returns when the ore could be hauled to the smelter.
Ambition Mine proved a steady "payer." No; our young men did
not become multi-millionaires. Mines that will do that for three
partners are scarce, indeed. Ambition, however, did pay enough
so that, by spring, Tom and Harry, after looking over their bank
account, found that they could go ahead and furnish their engineer
offices on a handsome scale. Some thousands, too, found their
way to their families in the good old home town of Gridley.
The mine was turned into a stock company. Tom, Harry and Jim
each retained one-fourth interest. The remaining fourth of the
stock was divided evenly between Cook Leon and the twenty-four
miners who had stood by so loyally, so that now each of the original
miners, in addition to his day's pay, owned one per cent. of the
gold and silver that went up in the new elevator that replaced
the tub-hoist.
Alf Drew did not receive one of the small shares in the mine property.
His cigarette smoking had made him lazy and worthless, and he had
done nothing to promote the success of the once desperate
mining venture.
However, there was hope for Alf. At the time when he threw his
remaining "coffin nails" in the cook's fire he really did "swear
off," and he afterwards was able to refrain from the use of tobacco
in any form. He grew taller and stouter and developed his muscles.
Tom and Harry employed him at the mine as a checking clerk, where
he actually earned his money, and saved a goodly amount of it
every month.
"Tom, you rascal, you promised some day to show me how you scared
that boy stiff with your rattlesnake click," Harry reminded his
partner.
"Nothing very difficult about it," laughed Tom. "Can you make
a noise by grinding your molars together---your grinding teeth?
Try it."
Harry did. The noise came forth from his mouth, though it didn't
sound exactly like the rattle of a rattler.
"Keep on practicing, and you'll get that rattle down to
perfection---that's all," nodded Tom.
Spring found the young engineers restless for new fields. They
longed to tackle other big feats of engineering. Jim Ferrers
understood, and said to them:
"You youngsters know, now, that you can trust me to run this mine."
"We always knew that we could trust you," Tom corrected him.
"Well, you know it now, anyway. You want to get back into the
world. You are restless for new fields to conquer. Go ahead;
only come back once in a while and shake hands with old Jim.
While you're away I'll send you a monthly statement of your earnings
and see that the money is placed to your credit."
On their ride to Dugout, Tom and Harry were favored with the company
of Mr. Dunlop, promoter of the Bright Hope Mine.
"I suppose it's a lucky thing for you boys that you stuck to your
own mine," said Dunlop. "you've come out a good deal better.
I wish I had secured your services, though. We're making some
money over at the Bright Hope, but we'd make a lot more with the
right engineers in charge. I'm on my way to Dugout to use the
telegraph wires in earnest. I've learned that the real way to
make money out of a mine is to have a real engineer in charge."
Tom and Harry delayed but a couple of hours at Dugout. Then-----
However, their further adventures must be delayed in the narration
until they appear between the covers of the next volume in this
series. It will be published at once under the title, "_The Young
Engineers In Mexico; Or, Fighting the Mine Swindlers_."
In this new volume will be described what Tom and Harry did in
a land of mystery and romance; a land where the sharp contrasts
of wealth and squalor have fostered the development of many noble
characters and have created some of the vilest among men. The
forthcoming story is one filled with the glamour and the fascination
of that neighbor-country of hot-blooded men. In Mexico, Tom and
Harry encountered their most startling adventures of all.