heard a low faint voice in reply, and, looking around, they saw by the
clear moonlight an odd little figure trying in vain to rise from the
ground. The young men hastened to his assistance, and found a queer,
little dwarf, with a long grey beard reaching nearly to his feet.
"Give me water!" said the man. "My horse has thrown me, and all day
long I have lain here in the burning sun, too weak to move, for I am
dying of thirst! Oh give me water, only a drop of water!"
"No water! No water!" cried Dick, in despair. "We, too, are famishing
for want of it! We must on, we have not a moment to lose, or we shall
die here in the desert."
"Do not leave me," cried the little man. "I can show you water, but I
cannot move!" So they placed him upon one of the horses, and he pointed
out the way.
Dick would have thrown aside the bow and quiver, but as he looked at
the curious little being beside him, quaint old Indian traditions came
to his mind.
"This bow may serve me yet," he said, as he secured it to his leather
belt. "Who knows but it belongs to one of the dwarf treasure-guard of
the valley."
All night they traveled on and till nearly noon the next day, when a
little green spot in the desert's sand met their sight. The horses
snuffed the refreshing smell of water, and horses and men, faint,
weary, and famishing, exerting all their strength started on the full
run for the blessed Eden before them, and soon sank down upon the soft
green grass by the side of a clear, bubbling spring.
"Now I will leave you," said the little man. "Give me my bow and
quiver. We are even, I showed you the water, and you brought me to it."
"Not quite so fast, my little friend," said Dick. "Before I give you
the bow and quiver, or permit you to leave us, you must lead us to the
treasure of the valley, then furnish us with a guide, two good mules,
and as much of the treasure as we can carry away."
"I accede to your proposition on one condition! Never attempt to point
out the treasure to any one, or to return to it yourself. If you do,
death will swiftly follow, and the treasure you shall carry away will
be lost to you and your family for ever."
So they gave the promise he required, and as they were very tired they
concluded to wait till morning and made their frugal supper under the
trees, drinking plentifully of the clear, delicious water; and slept
peacefully till morning.
The little gray man woke them early. "Come," he said. "The sun is
rising, we must away." So they arose, and taking a drink of water and
eating a tortilla, started.
For some hours they traveled on in the pleasant morning air, and just
as the sun was beginning to be scorching in its heat they entered a
deep ravine, and there they saw the wonderful Golden Boulder, and
countless precious stones, and nuggets of bright yellow gold scattered
round it upon the shining sand.
Dick and his companions, were bewildered by the glittering spectacle,
and a thousand glowing visions filled their minds. The little gray man
blew a shrill whistle. Another little gray man appeared, and bowing
low, said humbly:—
"What is the will of the master?"
"Food and drink!" answered the master.
The slave prepared a more comfortable meal than the young men had
enjoyed since they left the encampment, and they ate heartily while the
slave served them.
When they had eaten, the chief ordered the slave to lade the mules with
treasure and conduct the young men to the confines of the valley.
Then Dick returned the bow and quiver to the gray chief, and bid him
good-by.
"Never forget your promise, or beware!" said the gray man, as they
turned away, and looking back they saw in the distance the last of the
little man with up-raised fingers.
"He is saying again beware!" said Dick, laughing. How they went,
neither of the young men could tell, but in a wonderfully short time
they were out of Death's Valley. The Indian returned to his tribe, but
Dick, with a happy heart, started for Fort Tejon, and after a speedy
and safe journey he reached his early home.
It soon became rumored about, that he was the richest young man in
the whole country. In a short time, poor Dick, the half-breed, was
forgotten, but every one courted Don Richard Fielding, the rich and
elegant Spanish gentleman.
There was a great feast made at the fort, when Don Richard was united
in the "holy bonds of matrimony" with the Colonel's lovely daughter,
and never was man more happy than he, when he led his golden-haired
bride through the halls of his pleasant mansion.
"We will travel by-and-by, love," he whispered. "But first we will rest
and be happy in our own dear home!"
Transcriber's Note
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations
in hyphenation have been standardized but all other spelling and
punctuation remains unchanged.
End of Project Gutenberg's Fairy Tales from Gold Lands, by May Wentworth