Chapter XV
The Golden Secret
'Good morning, Mr. Howard!' cried Helen gaily. Her cheeks were stillrosy, flushed, thought Howard quickly, less with the flood of the dawnthan with some sudden rush of blood stirred by something that Carr hadbeen saying. Then as she gave him her hand, inspired by the imp of themoment, she ran on: 'You should have been here last night! Shouldn'the, Mr. Carr? Sanchia was here!'
'Mrs. Murray?' demanded Howard, wondering and therefore flounderinginto Helen's trap. 'What was she doing here?'
Helen appeared to be in the lightest of spirits this morning. Herlaughter was one of sheer joyousness. Her eyes were dancing as sheretorted:
'Mrs. Murray? Who said Mrs. Murray? I was talking about Sanchia. Mr.Chuck Evans rode her over last night, asking if we had seen you.'
Howard bit his lip. Carr laughed. Then, seeing the look upon hisfriend's face, he grew grave immediately and put out his own hand,saying merely:
'We wondered what had become of you, Al. And now to have you come infrom that direction--and on foot! What's happened?'
'A side-winder scared my horse into breaking its tie-rope and leavingme on foot. And I've had enough walking to last me seven incarnations.Hello, Mr. Longstreet,' as he saw the professor step out of his canvashouse. Howard went forward to meet him, leaving John Carr with Helen.
'Just the man I was wishing to see,' beamed Longstreet, shaking handsenthusiastically. 'I was on the verge of taking up the matter withyour good friend Carr last night, but something prompted me to waituntil this morning, in hopes you would come. I--I seem to know youbetter, somehow.' He lowered his voice confidentially. 'Those two outthere are just a couple of youngsters this morning. You and I willhave to be the serious brains of the occasion.'
Howard glanced over his shoulder. Carr's broad back was turned to him,Helen's eyes, glancing toward the shack, were sparkling.
'Fire away,' he said colourlessly. 'What's in the wind?'
'First thing--Had breakfast yet?'
Oddly, Howard had no longer any appetite for coffee and bacon, thoughhe had hungrily swallowed his last bit of dried meat an hour ago.
'Then,' said Longstreet eagerly, 'come in here where we can talk.' Andto Helen he called, 'My dear, I want a few words with Mr. Howard.'
'Oh, we won't disturb you,' Helen laughed back at him. It struckHoward that she would laugh at anything this morning. 'Mr. Carr and Iwere just going up on the cliff for the view.'
Longstreet came in and dropped the flap behind him. Then he stepped toa shelf and took down a roll of paper which he spread upon the table.Howard looking at it with lack-lustre eyes saw that it was a sort ofgeological chart of the neighbourhood. Longstreet set his finger upona point where he had made a cross in red pencil.
'It's there,' he announced triumphantly.
Howard was thinking of the view from the cliff and failed to grasp theother's meaning.
'What's there?' he asked.
'Gold, man!' cried Longstreet. 'Gold! Didn't I say it was as simpleas A B C to find gold here? Well, I've done it!'
'Oh, gold.' And even yet Howard's interest was not greatly intrigued.'I see.'
Longstreet stared at him wonderingly. And then, suddenly, Howard cameto earth. Why, the thing, if true, was wonderful, glorious! With allhis heart he hoped it was true; for Longstreet's dear old sake, forHelen's. He studied the map.
'That would be right over yonder? About half a mile from here? In DryGulch?'
'Precisely. And it has been there since the time Dry Gulch was not drybut filled with rushing waters. It has been there for any man to findwho was not a fool or blind. It rather looks,' and he chuckled, 'asthough it had been waiting since the Pliocene age for me.'
'You are sure? You haven't just stumbled upon a little pocket----'
Longstreet snorted.
'I am going into the nearest fair-sized town right away,' he saidemphatically, 'to get men and implements to begin a moderatedevelopment. It is a gold mine, my dear young sir--nothing else orless. Here; look at this.'
It was a handful of bits of quartz, brought up into the light from thedepths of a sagging pocket. The quartz indicated high-grade ore; itwas streaked and pitted with soft yellow gold.
'By the Lord, you've got it!' cried Howard. He wrung Longstreet's handwarmly. 'Good for you. You've got the thing you came for!'
'One of the things,' Longstreet corrected him with twinkling eyes.
'And the other?'
'Another gold mine! As our young friend Barbee puts it, I'm all loadedfor bear this trip, partner!'
'And you haven't told Miss Helen? Or Carr?'
'Never a word. And for two very excellent reasons: _Imprimis_, theyboth were poking fun at me last night; Helen said that I couldn't findgold if it were in a minted twenty-dollar gold piece in my own pocket.Now I am having my revenge on them; I'll show them! _Secundo_: Nextweek comes Helen's birthday. I am going to give her a little surprise.A gold mine for a birthday present isn't bad, is it?'
Howard sat down to talk matters over, and since there was still coffeeand some bits of toast left he changed his mind about breakfast and ateand drank while he listened to Longstreet. The university man had madecertain of the value of his discovery only last evening; it hadhappened that Carr was staying over with them and therefore, while heand Helen chatted about a great deal of nothing at all, Longstreet hadample time to think matters over. To-day he meant to go into Big Runand on into the county seat, which he had learned was but a few milesfurther on and was a sizable town. There he would take on a small crewof men and what tools and implements and powder would be needed foruncovering his ledge and there he would attend to the necessary papers,the proving up on his claim, matters upon which he was somewhat hazy.The following day he would return and begin work.
'I've got to go down by the ranch,' Howard told him. 'Then, if youlike, I can go on with you. It is possible I might be of service toyou. At least, I could steer you into the right sort of people.'
Longstreet nodded vigorously. 'That's fine of you. And I won't say itwas not expected. Some day, perhaps, I can repay you for some of yourkindnesses to us. Now, if you are ready, I'll go and call Helen. And,remember, not a word to them about our business.'
'Miss Helen will go with us?'
'I can hardly leave her out here alone, can I?' smiled Longstreet.'And Mr. Carr said that he would have to leave this morning. While heand Helen chat together, you and I can ride on ahead and talk. Thereare any number of matters to discuss.'
Howard hastily expressed his approval of the plan, and if his tonelacked heartiness, Longstreet did not notice.
'We are all going down to Desert Valley ranch,' Longstreet explainedwhen Helen and Carr came at his calling. 'From there we are going toride to Big Run and then on into San Ramon. I want to get some--sometools and things there, to scratch around with, you know,' heconcluded, beaming with that expression that he wore when he had an acein the hole. Helen looked at him with keen suspicious eyes.
'Papa is up to something underhanded,' she announced serenely. 'Hethinks that he can fool me when he pleases and--look at his face! Whatis it, father?'
'Never mind,' said Longstreet hastily. 'Just get yourself ready, mydear. You'll ride with us, Mr. Carr?'
Helen, always ready for a ride, hurried for her hat and gloves; nowfrom the end of the room, her eyes bright with mischief and hidden fromthe men, she called:
'Do come, Mr. Carr. I have to have some one to talk with, you know,and papa and Mr. Howard never let me slip a word in sideways.'
'She wasn't like this when we rode home in the moonlight the othernight,' thought Howard, considerably puzzled. 'What have I done,anyway?'
Carr did not give a direct answer. While he cut the end off a freshcigar, he suggested:
'How about the horses? Al is on foot.'
'That's easy,' Howard answered. 'Chuck Evans is herding a string upthis way and I can get one
of them. Be back while you are gettingready.' And over his shoulder to Carr, feeling vaguely that in hisheart he had been unreasonable and not quite loyal, 'Better come along,John.'
From the edge of the tableland he saw Evans down below. The cowboy sawhim and came at his signal.
'So you're back, are you?' said Chuck. 'We'd begun to wonder if you'dhit the trail for some other where. Special,' he added significantly,'since it's been published kind of wide and large that you and JimCourtot was both packing shooting-irons.'
'I haven't seen Courtot,' Howard told him carelessly, 'and I'mbeginning to believe that he has other calves to brand and has prettywell forgotten all about me. I'm shy a horse, Chuck. Scare one up forme to ride back to the ranch, will you?'
By the time Chuck on his own horse had roped a mount for Howard thelittle party was ready. They rode down into the valley four abreastand across the fields to the ranch-house. Helen seemed a new creaturethis morning, utterly tantalizing and not a little perverse. Howarddid not know what a proud and independent little person she was, nordid he know that each day during the week she had expected him to rideover, and had finally told herself point-blank that it did not matterthe least snap of her fingers whether he ever came or not. Naturally,she did not know what had kept him away or that he had even wanted tocome. Now that she had heard his remark about a lost horse and a longwalk she was burning with curiosity. But that was another matterhidden from Alan.
She did remark the big revolver at his hip and when opportunity arosementioned it to Carr. Wasn't it rather strange, she wanted to know,and even somewhat absurd that a man should go about armed like that?Carr evaded and made a vague remark about a man riding across the BadLands perhaps with money in his pocket. But John Carr was a blunt,straightforward type of a man, little given to finesse incircumlocution, and Helen fixed her frank, level gaze upon him and knewthat he was holding back something. Still higher rose her curiosityabout a man whom she did her feminine best to ignore this morning.
Before they came to the ranch-house Helen and her father were ridingahead, while the two friends dropped further and further back. Carrlistened with keen interest as Alan sketched the happenings of the lastfew days. He whistled softly at what he learned of the man on thetrail of Jim Courtot. But he shook his head when Alan predicted that,soon or late, Kish Taka would kill the gambler.
'It's white man and Indian, Al,' he said. 'The thing always works outthe same way. Jim got one of the two of them, didn't he? Well, he'llget the other. And what I know of the breed of your friend Kish Taka,they're a pretty low-lived bunch and there'd be precious little harmdone if they killed each other.'
But Alan shook his head. 'Kish Taka is a pretty deep shade of dark onthe outside, but he's white clean through under the hide of him. AndI've got it clear in my head that he'll never quit on the trail untilhe's squared accounts with Courtot.'
'By the way,' said Carr carelessly after a moment, 'the professor seemsall excited about something or other this morning. What's it allabout?'
'What do you mean?' countered Howard.
'Oh, nothing. Only from the way he grabbed on to you I fancied that hehad told you. I thought that if there were anything I could do forhim----'
'No. There's nothing. He did tell me, but he asked me not to sayanything about it. I'll tell you as soon as I can, John. To-night,maybe, or to-morrow.'
'Oh,' said Carr. 'I didn't mean to stampede in on a secret.' Heturned to other matters and presently they fell silent, jogging alongtogether, their eyes for the most part upon the girl riding ahead ofthem.
'Papa,' Helen was saying at her first opportunity, 'where has Mr.Howard been?'
'I have no idea, my dear,' said her father placidly.
'What! You mean to tell me that you two have done all the talking youhave, and that he hasn't said a word about where he has been hidinghimself all this week?'
'Not a word.'
'H'm,' said Miss Helen, 'that's funny.' And then, 'Papa, do you knowif he has had trouble with anyone lately?'
'What makes you ask that?' he queried uneasily, and Helen satstraighter in the saddle and looked him full in the face. For now shewas positive that Alan had had trouble and that her father knew aboutit.
Longstreet hesitated. He had no desire to recount his experience atMoraga's saloon in Big Run. He had judged himself fortunate since theaffair that Helen had been so absorbed in her new environment that shehad not thought to call upon him for an accounting of the family funds.But even so, all along he had had a sort of fatalistic fear that in theend she would know everything; she always did.
'Well,' said Helen commandingly, 'tell me all about it.'
'Eh?' He started guiltily. 'About what?'
'About Mr. Howard's trouble with another man.'
Then Longstreet told her what he must. How, while he was with Barbee,a man named Jim Courtot had joined them. How Howard had happenedalong, looking for him, and had said that Jim Courtot was no gentleman.Ahem!--he had said it very emphatically, very. Longstreet did notrecall the exact terms employed, but their purport was that Courtot wasa crook and a--a man-killer. Courtot had whipped out a revolver,Howard had hurled himself upon him and had knocked him down. Table andchairs were overturned, and at first Longstreet thought that Courtotwas dead. He was still unconscious when they left.
'Table?' said Helen. 'And chairs? Where were you? In whose house?For this didn't happen at the hotel and there was no table in thestore.'
'In the--the house of a man named Moraga, I believe,' Longstreetanswered hurriedly.
Helen looked at him severely.
'A saloon, wasn't it?' she asked, quite as a school teacher may put aleading question to a squirming little boy. When he did not answerimmediately, Helen did not wait.
'I think,' she informed him judicially, 'that it will be better for youif I don't lose sight of you in these cattle and mining towns afterthis. And it would be a better thing for Mr. Howard if he did notfrequent such places.'
'But you sent him for me!'
Helen merely sniffed at him. She was wondering if Jim Courtot reallywere a man-killer? She shuddered. Then she set her brain to work uponthe name--Jim Courtot. It had a familiar ring; certainly she had heardit before. She and her father rode on in silence. She could hear Alanand Carr talking together again. Suddenly she remembered. It had beenthat afternoon when they went to Big Run. The two men had spoken ofMrs. Murray, remarking that she was in town. It had been Alan who hadsaid on the heels of this remark:
'I'll bet you Jim Courtot has turned up again!'
That was it! Sanchia Murray--Jim Courtot. What had the one to do withthe other? Had the enmity of the two men, Howard and Courtot, begunover Sanchia Murray?
When they came to the ranch-house and Alan was at her side to help herto the ground, Helen said, 'No, thank you,' quite stiffly and slippeddown unaided.