A STARTLING ARRIVAL
Whether the gruff words of the somewhat crusty guide cast a spell over the
boys or they themselves shared in the dark vision presented by him no one
knew. At all events silence soon rested over the little camp and in a
brief time all were asleep.
Now that Fred and George had been cared for and the immediate peril into
which they had fallen was gone a feeling of relief had come to the three
Go Ahead Boys. They were still anxious concerning their missing companion,
but their confidence in Pete and their knowledge that John was not likely
to incur any unnecessary risks, to say nothing of the search which Kitoni
was making, all combined to strengthen their hope that the missing Go
Ahead Boys would soon be with them.
When the light of the following morning appeared the camp was astir and
Zeke, who was awake before his young charges had opened their eyes, was
already preparing a simple breakfast. It had been difficult for him to
obtain wood with which to kindle the fire but after a diligent search in
the barren region where they had halted he at last obtained a sufficient
number of dead and dried branches that had fallen from the few trees on
the side of the canyon.
When breakfast had been prepared and eaten, the courage of the boys
promptly revived. Frequently each turned and looked far down the great
gulch, hoping to obtain a view of John or the absent guide, but as yet
nothing was seen to indicate that the young Navajo had found the missing
member of the party.
Already in the sunlight the air was Intensely warm. In the shade, however,
it was so cool that Fred declared an overcoat would not be uncomfortable.
"I'm getting in a hurry," he said.
"It won't do you any good if you be," said Zeke solemnly. "You'll have to
take things as they come."
"The trouble is they don't come," laughed Fred. "I want Pete and John
here."
"I guess you'll have to put up with those of us that haven't got lost or
tried to fall over the rocks," growled Zeke, his eyes twinkling as he
spoke. "Here's Thomas Jefferson," he added, "he'll help you pass the
time."
The Navajo had not passed the night near the spot which the boys had
selected. No one was aware whether he had departed to rejoin his friend or
had merely sought another resting place.
"They always show up about breakfast time," growled Zeke under his breath.
Nevertheless the guide at once prepared some food for the Indian who now
had rejoined the party.
"Did you see anything of our friends?" inquired Grant eagerly.
"I saw nothing," replied the Navajo. "I do not expect all people here to
be safe."
"Why not?" demanded George.
"I have explained already," replied the Indian. "This is no place for
white men. It belongs to the Indians, and the spirits of those who live
here do not love to have white men come. I have never heard of one who
tried to enter who did not have bad luck before long."
"Yes," laughed Fred, "but I have known people to have bad luck who never
heard of Thorn's Gulch."
"They may have bad luck without coming here," said Thomas Jefferson, "but
they are sure to have it if they do come."
"Why don't you go and help find your friend?" spoke up Zeke, addressing
the Navajo as he spoke.
"Kitoni will come."
"Do you think he will find John and Pete?" inquired Fred eagerly.
"He will find them," answered the Navajo. "It may take two days, it may
take more."
"Why I couldn't have been as many miles away as that," declared Fred.
"It's not the number of miles, it's the difficulty of finding the gulch
into which they have gone while they were looking for you."
"Do you think they separated?" asked Fred.
The Navajo nodded affirmatively, but did not speak.
"In course they separated," spoke up Zeke. "One looked for you and the
other stayed in camp so that you wouldn't be making any mistake when you
came back and passed the place."
"Thomas Jefferson," spoke up Grant, "why do you think the spirits of the
Indians live here in Thorn's Gulch?"
Whatever the opinion of the Navajo may have been he did not explain.
Indeed he did not even reply to the question. It was manifest that he
himself thoroughly believed in what he had said. Even his three years in
the Eastern school had not been sufficient to deprive him entirely of the
superstitions which he had inherited from his ancestors.
"Do you think we'll find that mining claim?" inquired George.
"I don't know," replied the Indian.
"But what do you think?" persisted George.
"I don't know," again said the red man.
Convinced that it was useless to attempt to obtain any opinion from the
young Indian, the boy ceased to question him.
Striving to possess their souls in patience they waited while the sun
climbed higher into the heavens and still its light did not betray any
signs of the coming of their missing friends. By turning and leaning a few
feet over the way, the three boys were able to see much farther into the
gulch behind them.
Patiently they kept watch but the slow minutes moved on and still John did
not come.
It was late in the afternoon when Grant suddenly sprang to his feet and
after gazing long and earnestly in the direction in which the guide was
looking, he said excitedly, "Zeke, isn't that two men coming up the
trail?"
"Yes," replied the guide shortly.
Instantly the three Go Ahead Boys were standing and peering excitedly in
the direction indicated by Grant.
"That can't be String and Pete," said George in a low voice. "They would
come from the other direction, wouldn't they, Zeke?"
"Yes," replied the guide abruptly.
"Then who are these men?"
"Not knowing, I can't tell you. I can say though that I hope you'll be
quiet and not forget that children are to be seen and not heard. In course
I mean if those two men come here, as I think they will."
The unexpected discovery of two men in the gulch was of itself startling.
Seldom had the foot of man trod these weary wastes. There was an air of
complete desolation that rested over the entire region. The discovery
therefore of two men coming along the side of the canyon and following the
way over which Zeke had gone was doubly surprising.
Conversation lagged while all four carefully watched the actions of the
approaching men.
Whoever the strangers might be it was evident that they were not entirely
unfamiliar with the region. They picked their way with confidence and made
surprisingly good time as they advanced.
When they had come within fifty yards of the place where the boys were
standing, Fred excitedly seized George by his arm and said, "Do you see
who those two men are?"
"Who are they?" asked George.
"They are the same two white men that came into our camp over on the
canyon."
"Is that so, Zeke?" demanded George in surprise as he turned to the guide.
"Yes," answered Zeke sharply. "Now see if you can keep from talking too
much."
In a brief time the two white men advanced to the camp. From their actions
it was apparent that they had not been aware of the presence of the young
prospectors. Their surprise consequently was as great as that of the Go
Ahead Boys.
When they entered the camp the long, livid scar on the cheek of the
smaller man convinced the boys that their visitors were indeed the same
men who previously had come to their camp and to whose actions they had
attributed the loss of the diary of Simon Moultrie, as well as the strange
disappearance of the second boat.
The visitors were the first to speak as the taller man said, "What are you
folks doing here?"
"Just now we're doing nothin'," replied Zeke brusquely. "Can't you see?"
"That's about the same job we've got," laughed the man with the scar.
"We've been busy enough," growled Zeke.
"Doing what, may I ask?" inquired the larger of the visitors.
"Oh, looking for a lost boat--"
"Nice place to look for a boat," replied the man with the scar as he
laughingly pointed to the desert wastes all about them.
"That makes no difference, we've found it just the same," declared Zeke.
For a moment the two white men stared blankly at him, and then both
laughed as one said, "If you don't mind I wish you'd tell us where you
found a boat up here."
"I didn't say it was up here," explained Zeke. "I said we'd found a boat
where the men who took it had smashed."
"How do you know it was smashed?" inquired the man with the scar.
"Tell him," said Zeke abruptly, turning to Fred, "I wasn't myself in the
party," he explained, "but this boy was and he knows all about it."
"Pete was the one who found the boat," exclaimed Fred, "but we all saw
it."
"We likewise also are looking for a lost diary," broke in Zeke.
"It's a nice place to look for that, too," said the man with the scar.
For a moment the two visitors looked keenly at each other while neither
spoke.
"I tell you," said Fred excitedly in a whisper to George, "they are both
bad men and I wish we were out of this."