CHAPTER XII
A RIDE FOR LIFE
Jack Bailey did not know what to do or say. He just stood there in themorning light, gazing at Mr. Argent, as though to make sure of the miner'swords. Finally he faltered:
"Do you really mean it?"
"Mean it? Of course I do!" was the answer. "It's a joke on those rascals.They've had all their trouble for their pains. They've gone off with a setof dummy letters, plans and other mining information that will take themseveral weeks to digest. And they'll waste a lot of time trying to locatethe claim. Only they'll be from fifty to a hundred miles from it. Oh,they'll be fooled all right!"
Jack experienced a sudden revulsion of feeling. He swayed and seemed aboutto fall. Dr. Brown caught him.
"Hold on! This won't do!" the physician exclaimed. "We must get him home.Why he's hurt!" he cried, as he saw the blood on Jack's hands.
"It's just some cuts--from the glass I sawed the rope on," the ladmurmured. Already his strength was coming back to him. He was so glad therobbers had not obtained the real letters. It was a clever ruse on the partof the miner.
There was a spring not far from the place where Jack had recovered the mailbags, and he was given some water from this. His cuts were also washed andattended to by Dr. Brown. Then on a spare horse that had been brought alongJack rode back to Rainbow Ridge, one of the men carrying the mail andexpress stuff.
There was considerable excitement in town when the cavalcade returned.Already preparations were under way for the organization of a posse to huntthe robbers, and if necessary, scour the country for Jack.
But he had been found, and the mail and express matter, except the decoyletters, recovered. So the only thing left to do was to set out after theunscrupulous men who had attacked Jack.
There was little chance that they would be apprehended, however. They had astart of several hours, and probably had good horses.
"Besides," said Mr. Argent, "they will very likely head for the supposedlocation of the mine. It will take them out of this immediateneighborhood," he chuckled.
"And for a good while, I hope," said Mr. Perkfeld.
"Oh yes, it will take them a few weeks to find out they've been fooled,"the miner said. "But then they may come back again."
"If they do we'll arrest 'em!" declared Jed Monty, cracking his stage whip.
As had been expected, the posse could get little trace of the hold-up men.They had disappeared after having cast aside the rifled mail pouches. Itdeveloped, however, that a few pieces of registered matter, and someexpress stuff had been taken, in addition to the bogus letters. The stolenstuff was jewelry, and there was not much chance that it would berecovered. Those to whom it was consigned would have to stand the loss.
But when it was considered that nearly all the valuable mail had comethrough safe, or rather, had been recovered, and that Mr. Argent's realletters were still safe, every one said it was a very lucky outcome indeed.
Jack's cuts did not amount to much, and he wanted to ride the route thenext day after his experience, but Dr. Brown and his father would not lethim. So a substitute was provided, furnishing his own horse, for Jack saidSunger was too tired to be used without some rest. The pony had made thetrip alone, over the trail, and it was his appearance at the Watson homewhich had led to the alarm.
A good rest, and the knowledge that nothing really serious had happened,did much to restore Jack, and on the second day following his experience hewas back in the saddle again. His cuts had been well bandaged, so he coulduse his hands. He was not actually required to ride the express route, buthe would not let any one else do it.
"Maybe I'll get a chance to trace those robbers," he said. "I feel sure Iwould know at least one of them again--the man who sat on his horse all thewhile. I'm going to be on the watch for him."
The excitement caused by the hold-up of the pony express soon died away. Inwestern communities there is so much going on that interest is soon shiftedto newer events.
The posse that went out to seek the robbers had no luck in finding them.All traces seemed to disappear after the bags were found in the oldmine-hole. A man was kept in hiding at that place for nearly a week, readyto give the alarm if the hold-up men returned to get the pouches which theyhad hidden. But they did not come back.
Meanwhile Jack soon became himself again. His father, too, improved slowly,though he was far from well, and would not be able to ride the trail againfor a long time.
Of course, Jennie had to hear the whole story of the hold-up from Jackhimself, and she sympathized deeply with him.
"Oh, it was just terrible!" she exclaimed, in her impulsive, but sweet andgirlish fashion. "I just can't bear to think of your lying out there allalone, in the dark, and tied up with ropes!"
"Well, it wasn't exactly a picnic," Jack admitted.
"And to think of your cutting yourself on the glass!" she went on, as shelooked at his hands, one of which she held gently.
"Oh, it might have been worse. If it hadn't been for the glass I might havelain there a while longer, and in that case I probably would not have foundthe stolen mail bags, for if I had waited there until the rescuers came I'dnever have walked down the trail."
"Perhaps it was all for the best," Jennie admitted. "But I do hope nothinglike that happens again."
"Same here!" exclaimed Jack. "Now have you the mail ready?"
And then, for a time, it was business.
For two weeks or more Jack rode the trail, back and forth, carrying themail and the pony express matter. He was not again disturbed, and Mr.Perkfeld gave orders that, except in case of great necessity, he should notmake night trips.
Nothing more was seen of the hold-up men, and Mr. Argent heard no newsconcerning his mining business. Whether or not those who had taken thebogus letters tried to locate the rich claim was not disclosed.
"But the real letters will come along some day--any day now--Jack," theminer said, "And when they do--"
"When they do no one shall get them away from me!" Jack exclaimed, and hewas not boasting. He meant it. And you shall see how he kept his promise.
Several more attempts were made on the part of those who wanted Jack'splace to supplant him as pony express rider. But he had made himself afavorite with the stage drivers, as well as with Mr. Perkfeld, who saidJack could keep on riding the trail until his father was ready to resumehis duties. Several mean little things occurred, which, like the looseplanks in the bridge, Jack felt were designed to make trouble for him. Buthe avoided them, fortunately, and none was as serious as the bridgeincident. The author of that remained a mystery, though Jack had hissuspicions.
Jake Tantrell continued to sneer at our hero. He made several efforts toget Jack's place, even offering to do the work for less money, but hisoffer was not accepted.
Then came an unpleasant season, when the fall rains set in. The sun seemedto have forgotten how to shine, and Jack fairly lived in his poncho, or bigrubber riding blanket that went over his head, protecting him and the mailbags.
"How's the Ponto river, Jack?" asked his father one day, when the lad hadstopped to speak to the invalid. "Is she rising much with all this waterthat's falling?"
"Yes, she's getting pretty high, Dad."
"Look out for the bridge there. It isn't any too strong, and it may go outwith the high water."
"Oh, I'm not worrying about that. They've strengthened it within these lasttwo weeks, and I guess it will hold. Still the water is high in themountains. There's some talk of the Richfield dam not holding."
"Is that so? Well, if that goes out the folks down below will get awetting."
"That's what they will! But it may hold until it stops raining."
The Richfield dam was a new one, built above the small settlement of thatname on the flats about three miles to the northeast of the Ponto river.The Richfield river was a branch of the latter, and was a turbulent stream,often rising rapidly, for It was confined between steep, high! banks.
Jack had his talk with his fath
er vividly recalled to his mind two nightslater. It was the first time since the hold-up that he had been obliged toride at night, but there was some valuable mail that had been delayed, andthat must be put through.
The pony express lad was on his trip toward Rainbow Ridge from GoldenCrossing, and it was dark when he reached the point where the Richfieldriver branched off from the Ponto. And at the sight which met his eyes thelad exclaimed:
"Say, this is certainly high water! I wonder if the dam is holding."
It had rained hard all day. Now it was but drizzling.
"I'm going to take a run down there," Jack decided. "It won't take me tenminutes, and you can easily make that up; can't you Sunger?"
The pony whinnied in answer.
"I've time enough, anyhow," Jack went on. "I'll just go and take a look atthe dam. The water must be two feet over it now."
He turned off the main trail, and was soon approaching the dam. Before hereached it he could hear the sullen roar of the pent-up water. And when hehad a view of the impounded flood he saw at once that it had approached thedanger point.
Jack looked critically at the dam. He knew something about such structures,and about high water.
"I don't believe that dam will last," he argued. "There's too much waterpressure on it." Even as Jack spoke a small portion of the dam, near itsjuncture with the shore, gave way, and a large volume of water rushed out.
"That's the start!" cried the pony rider. "She'll all go in half an hour.I've got to ride down below and warn the Richfield people. Otherwisethey'll be swept away. I've got to ride and warn them!"
There was nothing else to do. Jack called to his faithful pony and guidedhim into the trail that led to Richfield on the flats below. If that volumeof water were suddenly to be released through the breaking of the dam, partof the village would be wiped out. If they were warned in time the populacein the danger zone could take to the hills on either side and escape.
"Come on, boy!" called Jack to his pony. "It's a ride for life all right!"