CHAPTER XXI.
BART AND THE B'AR.
"Well, boys, we sure do seem to be in for a run of hard luck," remarkedBart Witherbee as he climbed out of the auto with the others, and theyruefully surveyed the obstruction. It was a big sugar pine and layentirely across the road. To go round it was out of the question, forthe ground on each side was timber grown and rocky.
"There's only one thing to do--cut it away," pronounced Bart Witherbee,starting back for the tonneau to get the axes.
"No; I've got a better scheme than that," said Billy suddenly, and thenbroke out with a loud: "Look here, fellows!"
He pointed excitedly to the trunk of the tree where it had been severedfrom the roots.
The fresh marks of an axe were upon it.
"It's Luther Barr and his crowd," cried the boy. "They figured onblocking us, and they would have succeeded but for a scheme I've justthought of."
"What's that?" demanded Bart Witherbee.
"Why, let's get the rope out of the tonneau and haul the tree out of theway with the auto."
"Say, that's a good plan," assented Bart Witherbee, starting back forthe auto once more. In a few minutes he had the rope and it was quicklylooped round the tree and then tied to the rear axle of the auto, afterthe machine had been turned round.
Billy took his place at the wheel and started the car up. There was agreat sound of cracking and straining, and for a second the auto'swheels spun uselessly around. Then suddenly as the boy applied morepower the great log started.
Amid a cheer from the boys it was pulled entirely away, and a fewseconds later the road was clear.
"Well, what do you think of men who would descend to a mean trick likethat," demanded Bill angrily as the adventurers resumed the road.
"As it happened it didn't do them much good," remarked Bart.
"I should say not," rejoined Billy. "I reckon they didn't think that wecould hit upon a way of getting it off our track."
The auto chugged on through the sweet-smelling pine woods till thedeclining sun began to tint their dark branches with gold.
"Hadn't we better send the boys a wireless?" asked Billy, and as theothers agreed that it was important to know where they were the mast wasset in position and a call sent out. A reply was soon obtained from theothers, who were camped at a small plateau further up the side of thefoothill.
Half an hour later the boys were all in camp together, and the events ofthe day were discussed with much interest. It was a wild country inwhich they found themselves. Great stretches of barrens mingled withdense pine woods, and Frank and Harry had serious thoughts of once moretaking to the plains. Bart Witherbee, however, assured them that if theykept on to Calabazos they would find a good landing and ascending place,and from there could easily wing their way to level ground. Herepresented to them that they would be taking a short cut also byfollowing this route. So the boys decided to keep on to Calabazos withthe old miner, a decision which was not wholly disinterested, for theywere anxious to see the mine of which he had told them so much.
Naturally, the position of the other contestants in the race was a topicthat came up for a lot of discussion, but the boys were still talking itover when it was time to turn in without having arrived at any definiteconclusion. From what they had heard in White Willow they were prettycertain that Slade's aeroplane was disabled. Concerning the condition ofthe dirigible or her whereabouts, however, there was by no means thesame amount of assurance.
They were chatting thus and speculating on their chance of winning thebig prize when Bart Witherbee suddenly held up a warning hand.
"Hark!" he exclaimed. They all listened.
"Did you hear anything?" he asked of Frank.
"Not a thing," replied the boy.
"I thought I heard footsteps up the trail," returned the old miner, "butI guess I was mistaken."
"Why, who could it be?" asked Billy.
"It might very easily be some of Luther Barr's gang prowling about. Weare near the mine now, and they are no doubt determined to get thepapers showing its location before I have a chance to file my claim,"put in Bart Witherbee.
The boys kept a sharp lookout after this, but they heard no more, if,indeed, there had been any sound, which they began to doubt, and soonafter they were snug asleep in their blankets.
Suddenly Frank was awakened by shots and loud shouts. Springing up fromhis blankets he was amazed to see Bart Witherbee rolling over and overon the ground with somebody who seemed of immense size gripping himtightly.
The boy could hear Bart gasping for breath. He seemed as if he werebeing crushed.
Frank's shouts awakened the others.
"Robbers!" cried Billy.
"Indians!" yelled Harry.
"Murderers!" cried old Mr. Joyce, as their sleepy eyes took in thestruggle.
Harry raised his rifle to fire at Bart's antagonist, whoever he mightbe, and was about to pull the trigger, even at the risk of hitting theminer, when Frank interrupted him with a cry of:
"Don't shoot, you might hit Bart."
"But the robber will kill him."
"It's not a robber at all," suddenly cried Frank, as the two contestantsrolled over nearer to the firelight. "It's a big bear!"
"Give me a knife--quick!" gasped Bart, as he and the bear rolled about.Hastily Frank threw toward him a big hunting weapon. One of the hunter'sarms was free, and he reached out and grabbed the weapon. With a rapidthrust he drove it into the bear's eye. With a howl of pain the animalraised its paws to caress its injury. At the same instant Frank's riflecracked and the animal rolled over, seemingly dead.
"Are you hurt?" asked the boys, rushing forward to Bart.
"No, I don't think so," cautiously replied the miner, feeling his ribs."I feel as if that thar critter had caved me in, though."
An examination soon showed that Bart was uninjured and the bear quitedead.
"That was a close call," remarked the miner, wiping his knife. "I guessthat must have been what I heard prowling around here early in theevening, although that dead brute there was no more dangerous than thatold sharp, Luther Barr."
"Did you think it was some of his gang attacking you?" asked Billy.
"I sure did," replied the miner. "I was lying nice and quietly asleepwhen all of a sudden I felt something nosing me, and could feel its warmbreath on the back of my neck. If I had not been so sleepy, I'd haveknown it was a b'ar by the strong smell of its fur, but as it was, Ithought it was Hank Higgins or Noggy Wilkes. I soon found out mymistake, though."
After this interruption the boys turned in and slept quite soundly tilldaybreak, when they were up and the journey to Calabazos resumed, afterthe bear had been skinned and the steaks enjoyed. Before the start wasmade Bart gave the boys full instructions for landing the _Golden Eagle_in Calabazos, which lay across a small canyon not very many miles ahead.
The road now began to dip down hill, and the auto rattled along at alively clip. Here and there the boys noticed small huts, and tunnelsdrilled in the hillside, which the miner told them were abandonedclaims.
"Some of them is worked yet by Chinamen," he explained: "but when thepoor yellow men do unexpectedly make a strike there's always some meancuss ready to come along and take it all away from them. I think thegov'ment ought ter do something about it.
"Half a mile ahead now is the bridge across the canyon, and then we'veonly got a short distance to go before we're in Calabazos. My mine isabout ten miles from there," he said a few minutes later. "I wonder whois sheriff there now. You see, that makes a whole lot of difference whenyer are filing a claim against a rival. You've got to have the sheriffon your side, for he can make a lot of trouble for you in getting to thegov'ment office, where first come, first served is the rule."
"But you have your claim staked, have you not?" asked Billy.
"Sure; but that don't bind it till you've registered your claim,"rejoined the miner. "You see, mine's an abandoned claim, too. Old
fellowname of Fogg had it once. At least I found his name cut on a tree."
And now they came to a sharp turn in the road.
"The bridge is right around the corner," said the miner, "you had betterput on your brakes, Billy, or we may have a runaway, for there's aterrible steep bit of hill runs right down to it."
The boy obeyed, and it was well he did so, for while they were speedingtoward the bridge, a rude affair of pine trunks laid across longstringers suspended high in the air above a pine-clad canyon, there wasa sudden shout from Bart Witherbee, who was acting as lookout.
"Hold up, boy! Stop the car!" he shouted.
"What's up?" asked Billy, shutting down his emergency brakes with a snapin obedience to the miner's urgent tone.
"Look there!" The miner pointed ahead.
At first the boys could see nothing the matter with the bridge, but asecond glance showed them that something very serious indeed hadoccurred to it.
Somebody had removed two of the trunks that formed a roadway, and rightin the centre of the structure was a gaping hole. Had the auto come uponit unexpectedly it must have gone through into the depths of the canyonbeneath.
They all got out of the auto, all, that is, but Mr. Joyce, who was busyfiguring on an invention, and hastened down to the bridge. The planks,there was no doubt, had been deliberately removed by some one, and thatthose persons were Luther Barr and his party none in the party could fora moment doubt.
Suddenly the bell of the wireless on board the auto began to ring.
"The boys are sending us a message," exclaimed Billy.
He and Lathrop raced back up the hill to the car, where the latterplaced the detector over his ears and tapped out his "ready" signal.
The others watched him eagerly. It was not a minute before they saw thatsomething serious was the matter. The boy's face paled, and he seemedmuch concerned.
"What is the matter?" anxiously asked Bart Witherbee. "Air the boys introuble?"
"The worst kind of trouble, I am afraid," breathed Lathrop in a tone ofdeep concern. "They are in the hands of Luther Barr."
"Where?"
"On the other side of the canyon."