CHAPTER XXII.
THE HAUNTED MINE.
Mr. Banta kept his word the next morning, for the day was justbeginning to break when he rolled out on the floor and gave the orderto "Catch up." All the miners were astir soon afterward; but there wasno joking or laughing going on in the camp, as there usually was. Themen went silently about their work of cooking breakfast, or satsmoking their pipes in front of the fire, for their thoughts were busywith that mine up in the mountains. Even the talkative Mr. Banta hadnothing to say. He seemed to have run short of stories, all on asudden.
"Say, Julian," remarked Jack, as they stood by the stream washingtheir hands and faces, "why don't Banta talk to us the way he usuallydoes? I'll bet he is thinking about what is going to happen to us."
"I was just thinking that way myself," replied Julian. "But we havegone too far to back out; we have got to go on."
"Of course we have. I wouldn't back out now for anything."
Breakfast was cooked and eaten, and the same silence prevailed; andthat same silence did more to shake the boys' courage than all thathad been said against their mine. Mr. Banta answered their questionsin monosyllables, and when he had satisfied his appetite he put thedishes away unwashed and went out to catch his horse.
"Take hold of the bell-mare and lead her up the path," said he,addressing the miners who were getting ready to accompany him. "Wehave to take her and all the stock along, or the boys' pack-horsewon't budge an inch."
The miners were talkative enough now, when they saw the boys gettingready to start on their journey. They crowded around them, and eachone shook them by the hand.
"Good-bye! kids," said one. "The next time I see you, you will be sobadly scared that you won't be able to tell what happened to you upthere; or, I sha'n't see you at all. I wish you all the good luck inthe world, but I know that will not amount to anything."
"Do you think they can whip all these men?" asked Jack, running hiseye over the miners, who were getting on their horses and making readyto go with Mr. Banta.
"That ain't the thing; you won't see anybody; but the sounds you willhear when you get fairly on the floor of that pit you will never wantto hear again."
The bell-mare was caught and led along the path, the stock allfollowed after her, and the miners brought up the rear. Then Mr. Bantaopened his mouth and proceeded to talk all the way to the mine.
"You boys may come along here pretty sudden, some time, and if youdon't find Dutch Flat you will stray off into the mountains and getlost; so I will just blaze the way for you."
As Mr. Banta spoke he seized a handful of the branches of an evergreenand pulled them partly off, so that they just hung by the bark.
"Now, whenever you see that, you are on the right road," said he; "butif you don't see it, you had better turn back and search for a blazeuntil you find it."
For once the boys did not pay much attention to Mr. Banta's stories,for their minds were fully occupied with their own thoughts. Atlast--it did not seem to them that they had ridden a mile--the manwith the bell-mare sung out "Here we are!" and led the way into asmooth, grassy plain which seemed out of place there in the mountains,and to which there did not appear to be any outlet except the one bywhich they had entered it. It was surrounded by the loftiest peaks onall sides except one, and there the plain was bounded by a precipitousravine which was so deep that the bottom could not be seen from thetop. Near the middle of the plain was a little brook, placed mostconveniently for "washing" their finds, which bubbled merrily over thestones before it plunged into the abyss before spoken of; and close onthe other side were the ruins of the mine--a strong windlass, whichhad hauled up fifty thousand dollars' worth of gold--and the rope thatwas fast to the bucket, or rather to the fragments of it, for thebucket itself had fallen to pieces from the effects of the weather,and lay in ruins on the ground. Still farther away stood thelean-to--firmly built, of course, but not strong enough to stand thefury of the winter's storms. Taken altogether, a miner could not haveselected a more fitting camp, or one better calculated to banish allsymptoms of homesickness while they were pulling out the gold from theearth below. Mr. Banta kept a close watch on the boys, and saw thepleased expression that came upon their faces.
"I know it looks splendid now, but it will not look so before long,"said he, with a knowing shake of his head. "Now, boys, let us get towork. We want to get through here, so as to get back to Dutch Flatto-night."
The miners unsaddled their horses, grabbed their axes and spades, andset in manfully to make the "mine all right," so that the boys couldgo to work at it without delay. Some repaired the lean-to, otherslaboriously cleared the mouth of the pit from the grass and brushwhich had accumulated there, and still another brought from the boys'pack the new bucket and rope which they expected would last just aboutlong enough for one of them to go down and up--and they were positivethat the boy would come up a great deal faster than he went down. Theboys did not find anything to do but to get dinner, and they wererather proud of the skill with which the viands were served up.
"I didn't know you boys could do cooking like this," said Mr. Banta,as he seated himself on the grass and looked over the table--a blanketspread out to serve in lieu of a cloth. "If the cooking was all youhad to contend with you could live like fighting-cocks as long as youstay here."
"We had hardly enough money to pay for a housekeeper while we were inSt. Louis, and so we had all this work to do ourselves," said Julian."You must give Jack the credit for this. We kept bachelor's hall whilewe were at home. He cooked, and I swept out and helped wash thedishes."
"Now, boys," said Mr. Banta, after he had finished his pipe, "I guesswe have Julian and Jack all ready to go to work whenever they feellike it. Look over your work, and see if there is anything you havemissed, and then we will go back to Dutch Flat. I tell you, I hate toleave you up here in this sort of a way."
"You need not be," said Jack. "If you will come up here in two weeksfrom now, we will have some gold-dust to show you."
Mr. Banta did not say anything discouraging, for he had alreadyexhausted all his powers in that direction. He inspected all the work,to satisfy himself that it was properly done, and then gave the orderto "catch up."
"Of course your stock will go back with us," said he. "You could notkeep them here away from that old bell-mare."
"That was what we expected," said Julian; "we may be so badlyfrightened that we won't think to bring our weapons with us."
"I am not afraid to say that I'll risk that," said Mr. Banta, leaningover to shake Julian by the hand. He told himself that the miner'sheart was in that shake. It was very different from the clasp of thehand that he gave him when he was first introduced to him in Denver."Good-bye, Julian. That is all I can say to you."
The other miners rode up to take leave of them, and all looked verysolemn. Some had a parting word to say, and some shook them by thehand without saying anything, the man with the bell-mare led off, thestock followed, the miners came last, and in two minutes more theywere alone. Julian sat down on the grass feeling lonely indeed, butJack jumped up and began to bestir himself.
"Come on, boy--none of that!" said he, beginning to gather their fewdishes together. "We must get these things out of the way and I mustget ready to go into that mine."
"Are you going down to-day?" asked Julian. The time had come at last.For long months Julian had talked about going down into that mine--notboastingly, to be sure, but he had said enough to make people believehe would not back out, and now the opportunity was presented for himto do as he had agreed. "Why can't you let it go until to-morrow?"
"Because I am just ready to go now," said Jack; and there was adetermined look on his face which Julian had never seen there before."I am fighting mad, now, and to-morrow I may be as down-hearted as youare."
"Do you think I am afraid?" exclaimed Julian, springing up andbeginning to assist his chum. "I'll show you that I am not! If youwant to go first you can go, and I will go the next time."
Julia
n went to work with a determination to get the dishes done assoon as possible. When they had got them all stowed away where theybelonged, Jack stopped to roll up his sleeves, examined his revolver,which he strapped to his waist, lighted his lamp, and led the waytoward the mine without saying a word. Julian gave a hasty glance athim and saw that his face was as calm as it usually was, and he beganto take courage from that.
"It looks dark down there, does it not?" asked Julian, leaning on thewindlass and peering down into the pit.
"It is dark enough now, but it will be lighter when I get down therewith my lamp," replied Jack. "Now, Julian, are you sure you can holdme up?"
"Of course I can. If I can't, we had better get another man up here."
Jack stopped just long enough to shake Julian by the hand, then seizedthe rope and stepped into the bucket, his partner holding the windlassso that he would not descend too rapidly. Slowly he went down, untilfinally the bucket stopped.
"All right!" called Jack; and his voice sounded strangely, coming upfrom thirty feet underground. "This hole is bigger down here than itis at the top. Somebody has cut away on each side to try to findgold," and at last he started off toward the gully.
Julian leaned over the pit and followed his companion's movements bythe light of his lamp. He saw him as he went around to the "falsediggings," and finally his lamp disappeared from view as Jack wentdown toward the ravine. His face was very pale; he listened intently,but could not hear that rustling of feet nor that moaning sound thathad frightened two men away from there, and his courage all came backto him.
"I wonder what those men were thinking of when they started that storyabout this mine being haunted?" Julian muttered to himself. "There isnothing here to trouble anyone."
Hardly had this thought been framed in Julian's mind than there came amost startling and thrilling interruption. The boy was leaning overthe pit with his head turned on one side, so that he could hear anyunusual sounds going on below, and all of a sudden he sprang to hisfeet and acted very much as though he wanted to go below to Jack'sassistance. He distinctly heard that rustling of feet over the rocksbelow, some of them made by Jack as he ran toward the bucket, and theother by something else that made Julian's heart stand still. And withthat sound came others--moans or shrieks, Julian couldn't tellwhich--until they seemed to fill the pit all around him. This lastedbut a few seconds, and then came the report of Jack's revolver and thesound was caught up by the echoes until it appeared to Julian that awhole battery of artillery had been fired at once.
"There!" said Julian, greatly relieved to know that Jack had seensomething to shoot at. "I guess one ghost has got his death at last!"
A moment afterward came Jack's frantic pull on the rope, accompaniedby his frightened voice--
"Pull me up, Julian! For goodness' sake, pull me up!"
Julian jumped for the windlass and put every atom of his strength intoit. At first the resistance of the bucket was just about what it wouldhave been if Jack had stepped into it; but suddenly the resistanceceased, the crank was jerked out of his hand, and Julian was thrownheadlong to the ground.
"What was that?" exclaimed the boy, regaining his feet as quickly ashe could. "Jack, did you fall out of the bucket?"
There was no response to his question. He leaned over and looked intothe pit; but Jack's light had gone out, and everything was silentbelow. The rustling of feet had ceased, the moans had died away, andthe mine was as still as the grave.
"Something has happened to Jack!" exclaimed Julian, running to hislean-to after his revolver and lamp. "I am going down there to seeabout it if all the ghosts in the Rocky Mountains should be there tostop me!"
Julian worked frantically, and in less time than it takes to tell ithe was ready to go down to Jack's help. He hastily unwound the ropeuntil all the length was out except the extreme end, which wasfastened to the windlass by a couple of staples, and swung himselfinto the mine. He went down much faster than Jack did, and when hereached the bottom he let go his hold on the rope, and, holding hisrevolver in readiness for a shot, he turned slowly about, as if hewere expecting that whatever had frightened Jack would be upon himbefore he could think twice. But nothing came. In whatever directionhe turned his light, everything seemed concealed by Egyptian darkness,and finally he resolved to let the ghosts go and turned his attentionto Jack. There he lay, close to Julian's feet, his lamp extinguishedand his revolver at a little distance from him; and it was plain thathe was either frightened or dead, for Julian had never seen so white aface before. His own face, if he only knew it, was utterly devoid ofcolor, and his hands trembled so that he could scarcely use them.
"I would like to know what it was that could make Jack faint away inthis fashion," muttered Julian, first looking all around to make surethat nothing had come in sight before he laid his revolver down. "Howto get him into that bucket, and the bail over him, is what bothers mejust now; but he must go in, and get out of this."
Jack was a heavyweight, and if any boy who reads this has ever beencalled upon to handle a playmate who remained limp and motionless inhis arms he will know what a task Julian had to put him into thebucket. And remember that he must go inside the bail, otherwise hecould not pull him out; and the bail would not stay up withoutsomebody to hold it. But Julian worked away as only a boy can undersuch circumstances, and was just getting him in shape, so that in amoment more he would have had him in, when he noticed that one of hishands was wet. He stopped for a moment to look at it, and at the sightof it he seemed ready to sit down beside Jack and faint away, too.
"It is blood!" murmured Julian. "My goodness! you must get out ofhere, and be quick about it! What was that?"
Julian straightened up again, but he had his revolver in his hand.That moaning sound was repeated again, but the boy could not tellwhere it came from. It was not so great in volume as the first onethat had saluted Jack, but it was a complaining kind of a sound, suchas one might utter who was being deserted by the only friend he hadupon earth. Julian stood there with his revolver in his hand, but,aside from the sound which rung in his ears for many a nightafterward, his eyes could not reveal a single thing for him to shootat. Julian thought now that he had got at the bottom of the mystery.Hastily slipping his revolver into his belt, he turned his attentionto Jack, and in a few moments had him ready to hoist to the top. Thenhe seized the rope, and, climbing it hand over hand, he reached thesurface, when, throwing off his hat and revolver, he turned around tohaul up Jack.