CHAPTER VI.
ONLY A SNAKE--LOCATING A MINE.
Harry Redburn hurried off toward the cabin, which was some steps away.In Anita's scream there were both terror and affright.
Walsingham Nix, the hump-backed, bow-legged explorer and prospecterhobbled after him, using his staff for support.
He had heard the scream, but years' experience among the "gals" taughthim that a feminine shriek rarely, if ever, meant anything.
Redburn arrived at the cabin in a few flying bounds, and leaped intothe kitchen.
There, crouched upon the floor in one corner, all in a little heap,pale, tumbling and terrified, was Anita. Before her, squirming alongover the sand-scrubbed floor, evidently disabled by a blow, was anenormous black-snake.
It was creeping away instead of toward Anita, leaving a faint trail ofcrimson in its wake; yet the young girl's face was blanched with fear.
"You screamed at that?" demanded Redburn, pointing to the coilingserpent.
"Ugh! yes; it is horrible."
"But, it is harmless. See: some one has given it a blow across theback, and it is disabled for harm."
Anita looked up into his handsome face, wonderingly.
"I guv et a rap across the spinal column, when I kim into the valley,"said General Nix, thrusting his head in at the door, a ludicrous grinelongating his grisly features. "'Twar a-goin' ter guv me a yard or souv et's tongue, more or less--consider'bly less of more than more ofless--so I jest salivated it across ther back, kerwhack!"
Anita screamed again as she saw the General, he was so rough andhomely.
"Who are you?" she managed to articulate as Redburn assisted her torise from the floor. "What are you doing here, where you were notinvited?"
There was a degree of haughtiness in her tone that Redburn did notdream she possessed.
The "General" rubbed the end of his nose, chuckled audibly, thenlaughed, outright.
"I opine this ar' a free country, ain't it, marm, more or less? When afeller kerflummuxes rite down onter a payin' streek I opine he's goin'ter roost that till he gits reddy to vamoose, ain't he?"
"But, sir, my brother was the first to discover this spot and build usa home here, and he claims that all belongs to him."
"He do? more or less--consider'bly less of more than more uv less, eh?Yas, I kno' yer brother--leastways hev seen him an' heerd heeps abouthim. Letters uv his name spell Ned Harris, not?"
"Yes, sir; but how can you know him? Few do, in Deadwood."
"Nevyer mind that, my puss. Ole Walsingham Nix do kno' a few thingsyet, ef he ar' a hard old nut fer w'ich thar is not cra'kin'."
Anita looked at Redburn, doubtfully.
"Brother would be very angry if he were to return and find this manhere, what would you advise?"
"I am of the opinion that he will have to vacate," replied Harry,decidedly.
"_Nix_ cum-a-rouse!" disagreed the old prospecter. "I'm hayr, an'thar's no yearthly use o' denyin _that_. Barrin' ye ar' a rightpeart-lookin' kid, stranger, allow me ter speculate thet it would takea dozen, more or less--consider'bly less uv more than more o'less--ter put me out."
Redburn laughed heartily. The old fellow's bravado amused him. Anitahowever, was silent; she put dependence in her protector to arrangematters satisfactorily.
"That savors strongly of rebellion," Redburn observed, sitting downupon a lounge that stood hard by. "Besides, you have an advantage; Iwould not attack you; you are old and unfitted for combat; deformedand unable to do battle."
"Exactly!" the "General" confidently announced.
"What good can come of your remaining here?" demanded Anita.
"Sit down, marm, sit down, an I'll perceed ter divest myself uv w'atlittle information I've got stored up in my noddle. Ye see, mum, myname's Walsingham Nix, at yer sarvice--Walsingham bein' my great,great grandad's fronticepiece, while Nix war ther hind-wheeler, likenor w'at a he-mule ar' w'en hitched ter a 'schooner.' Ther Nix familywere a great one, bet yer false teeth; originated about ther timeJoner swallered the whale, down nigh Long Branch, and 've bin handeddown frum time ter time till ye behold in me ther last surrivin'pilgrim frum ther ancestral block. Thar was one remarkablepecooliarity about ther Nix family, frum root ter stump, an' ther war,they war nevyer known ter refuse a gift or an advantageous offer; inthis respeck they bore a striking resemblance ter the immortell G'orgeWashington. G'orge war innercent; he ked never tell a lie. So war ourfamily; they never hed it in their hearts to say _Nix_ to an offer uva good feed or a decoction o' brandy.
"It war a disease--a hereditary affection uv ther hull combinedsystem. The terrible malady attacked me w'en I war an infant prodigy,an' I've nevyer yit see'd thet time when I c'u'd resist the temptationan' coldly say 'nix' w'en a brother pilgrim volunteered ter make aliberal dispensation uv grub, terbarker, or bug-juice. Nix ar' a wordthet causes sorrer an' suffering ter scores 'n' scores o' people, moreor less--generally more uv less than less o' more--an' tharfore Inevyer feel it my duty, as a Christyun, ter set a bad example w'ichothers may foller."
Redburn glanced toward Anita, a quizzical expression upon his genialface.
"I fail to see how that has any reference as to the cause of your stayamong us," he observed, amused at the quaint lingo of the prospector.
"Sart'in not, sart'in not! I had just begun ter git thar. I've onlybin gi'in' ye a geological ijee uv ther Nix family's formation; I'llnow perceed to illustrate more clearly, thr'u' veins an' channelshitherto unexplored, endin' up wi' a reg'lar hoss-car proposal."
Then the old fellow proceeded with a rambling "yarn," giving moreguesses than actual information and continued on in this strain:
"So thar _war_ gold. I went ter work an' swallered a pill o' opium,w'ich made me sleep, an' while I whar snoozin' I dreampt about therperzact place whar thet gold war secreted. It war in a little pocketbeneath the bed of a spring frum which flowed a little creeklet.
"Next mornin', bright an' early, I shouldered pick, shuvyel an' pan,an' went for thet identical spring. To-day thet pocket, havin' beentraced into a rich vein, is payin' as big or bigger nor any claim onSpring creek."[B]
Both Redburn and Anita were unconsciously becoming interested.
"And do you think there is gold here, in this flower-strewnpocket-valley?"
"I don't think it--I know it. I hed a dreem et war hayr in bigquantities, so I h'isted my carcass this direction. Ter-nite I'll hevernuther nighthoss, an' thet'll tell me precisely where ther strikear'."
Redburn drummed a tattoo on the arm of the lounge his fingers; he wasreflecting on what he had heard.
"You are willing to make terms, I suppose," he said, after a while,glancing at Anita to see if he was right. "You are aware, I believe,that we still hold possession above any one else."
"True enuff. Ye war first ter diskiver this place ye orter hev yer sayabout it."
"Well, then, perhaps we can come to a bargain. You can state yourprices for locating and opening up this mine, and we will consider."
"Wal, let me see. Ef the mine proves to be ekal ter the one thet Ilocated on Spring creek, I'll take in a third fer my share uv thedivys. Ef 'tain't good's I expect, I'll take a quarter."
Redburn turned to Anita.
"From what little experience I have had, I think it is a fair offer.What is your view of the matter and do you believe your brother willbe satisfied?"
"Oh! yes, sir. It will surprise and please him, to return and find hisParadise has been turned into a gold-mine."
"All right; then, we will go ahead and get things to shape. We willhave to get tools, though, before we can accomplish much of anything."
"My brother has a miner's outfit here," said Anita. "That will saveyou a trip to Deadwood, for the present."
And so it was all satisfactorily arranged. During the remainder of theday the old "General" and Redburn wandered about through theflower-meadows of the pocket, here and there examining a little soilnow chipping rock among the rugged foothills, then "feeling" in thebed of the creek. But, no
t a sign of anything like gold was to befound, and when night called them to shelter, Redburn was prettythoroughly convinced that Nix was an enormous "sell," and that hecould put all the gold they would find in his eye. The "General,"however, was confident of success, and told many doubtful yarns offormer discoveries and exploits.
Anita prepared an evening meal that was both tempting and sumptuous,and all satisfied their appetites after which Harry took down theguitar, suspended from the wall, tuned it up, and sung in a clearmellow voice a number of ballads, to which the "General," much to thesurprise of both Redburn and Anita, lent a rich deep bass--a voice ofsuperior culture.
The closing piece was a weird melody--the lament of a heart that wasbroken, love-blasted--and was rendered in a style worthy of aprofessional vocalist. The last mournful strains filled the cabin justas the last lingering rays of sunlight disappeared from the mountaintop, and shadows came creeping down the rugged walls of rock toconcentrate in the Flower Pocket, as Anita had named her valley home.Redburn rose from his seat at the window, and reached the instrumentto its accustomed shelf, darting a glance toward sad Anita, a momentlater. To his surprise he perceived that her head was bowed upon herarm that lay along the window-ledge--that she was weeping, softly, toherself.
Acting the gentlemanly part, the young miner motioned for Nix tofollow him, and they both retired to the outside of the cabin tolounge on the grass and smoke, and thus Anita was left alone with hergrief and such troubles as were the causes thereof.
Certain it was that she had a secret, but what it was Redburn couldnot guess.
About ten o'clock he and Nix re-entered the cabin and went to bed in aroom allotted to them, off from the little parlor. Both went to sleepat once, and it was well along toward morning when Redburn was arousedby being rudely shaken by "General" Nix, who was up and dressed, andheld a torch in his hand.
"Come! come!" he said in a husky whisper, and a glance convinced Harrythat he was still asleep, although his eyes were wide open andstaring.
Without a word the young man leaped from bed, donned his garments, andthe old man then led the way out of the cabin.
In passing through the kitchen, Redburn saw that Anita was up andwaiting.
"Come!" he said, seizing a hatchet and stake, "we are about todiscover the gold-mine, and our fortunes;" with a merry laugh.
Then both followed in the wake of the sleep walker, and were led tonear the center of the valley, which was but a few steps in the rearof the cabin. Here was a bed of sand washed there from an overflow ofthe stream, and at this the "General" pointed, as he came to a halt.
"There! _there_ is the gold--millions of it deep down--twenty orthirty feet--in sand--easy to get! dig! DIG! DIG!"
Redburn marked the spot by driving the stake in the ground.
It now only remained to dig in the soil to verify the truth of the oldman's fancy.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote A: A fact.]