CHAPTER XXV.
CLAUS, AGAIN.
"There!" said Mr. Solomon Claus, as he entered at a fast walk therailroad depot, passed through it, and took up the first back streetthat he came to; "I guess I have got rid of him. Now, the next thingis to go somewhere and sit down and think about it."
Claus kept a good watch of the buildings as he passed along, and atlast saw a hotel, into which he turned. He bought a cigar at the bar,and, drawing a chair in front of one of the windows, sat down tomeditate on his future course; for this German was not in the habit ofgiving up a thing upon which he had set his mind, although he mightfail in every attempt he undertook. He had set his heart upon having aportion of that money that Julian had come into by accident, and,although something had happened to upset his calculations, he was notdone with it yet.
"That was a sharp trick, sending off the box by express, when theymight as well have carried its contents in their valises," said Claus,settling down in his chair and keeping his eyes fastened upon therailroad depot. "Wiggins was at the bottom of that, for I don'tbelieve the boys would ever have thought of it. I wonder how they feltwhen they found their valises gone? Now, the next thing is somethingelse. Shall I go home, get my clothes, and spend the winter in Denver,or shall I go home and stay there? That's a question that cannot bedecided in a minute."
While Claus was endeavoring to come to some conclusion on these pointshe saw Casper Nevins coming along the railroad and entering the depot.By keeping a close watch of the windows he discovered him pass towardthe ticket office, where he made known his wants, and presently Claussaw him put a ticket into his pocket.
"So far, so good," muttered Claus, as he arose from his chair. "Iguess I might as well get on the train with him, for I must go to St.Louis anyhow. Perhaps something will occur to me in the meantime."
Casper was sitting on a bench, with his hands clasped and his chinresting on his breast, wondering what in the world he was going to dowhen he got back to St. Louis, when he heard Claus's step on thefloor. He first had an idea that he would not speak to him at all; butSolomon acted in such a friendly manner, when he met him, that hecould not fail to accost him with
"You were trying to shake me, were you?"
"Shake you! my dear fellow," exclaimed Claus, as if he were profoundlyastonished. "Such a thing never entered my head! I simply wanted toget away by myself and think the matter over. Have a cigar."
"I don't want it!" declared Casper, when Claus laid it down upon hisknee. "I don't believe I shall want many cigars or anything else verylong."
"Disappointed over not finding that wealth, were you?" asked Claus, ina lower tone. "Well, I was disappointed myself, and for a time I didnot want to see you or anybody else. I have wasted a heap ofhard-earned dollars upon that 'old horse.'"
"Have you given it up, too?" inquired Casper.
"What else can I do? Of course I have given it up. I will go back homeagain and settle down to my humdrum life, and I shall never get overmoaning about that hundred thousand dollars we have lost."
"Do you think we tried every plan to get it?"
"Every one that occurred to me. They have it, and that is all there isto it. What are you going to do when you get back to St. Louis?"inquired Claus, for that was a matter in which he was very muchinterested. He was not going to have Casper hanging onto him; on thathe was determined.
"I suppose I shall have to do as others do who are without work,"replied Casper. "I shall go around to every store, and ask them ifthey want a boy who isn't above doing anything that will bring him hisboard and clothes. I wish I had my old position back; I'll bet youthat I would try to keep it."
"That is the best wish you have made in a long time," said Claus,placing his hand on Casper's shoulder. "If I was back there, with mymoney in my pocket, I would not care if every one of the express boyswould come and shove an 'old horse' at me. I tell you, 'honesty is thebest policy.'"
Casper was almost ready to believe that Claus had repented of hisbargain, but he soon became suspicious of him again. That was a queerphrase to come from the lips of a man who believed in cheating orlying for the purpose of making a few dollars by it. For want ofsomething better to do, he took up the cigar which Claus had laid uponhis knee and proceeded to light it.
"Well, I guess I'll go and get a ticket," remarked Claus, after alittle pause. "I don't know how soon that train will be along."
"'Honesty is the best policy,' is it?" mused Casper, watching Claus ashe took up his stand in the door and looked away down the railroad."Some people would believe him, but I have known him too long forthat. I wish I knew what he has in his head. He is going to try toget his hands on that 'old horse'; and if he does, I hope he willfail, just as we have done. He need not think that I am going to holdfast to him. I have had one lesson through him, and that is enough."
Claus did not seem anxious to renew his conversation with Casper. Hehad heard all the latter's plans, as far as he had any, and now hewanted to think up some of his own. He walked up and down the platformwith his hands behind his back, all the while keeping a bright lookoutdown the road for the train.
"I must go to Denver, because I shall want to make the acquaintance ofsome fellows there whom I know I can trust," soliloquized Claus. "Ican get plenty of men in St. Louis, but they are not the ones I want.I must have some men who know all about mining, and perhaps I can getthem to scrape an acquaintance with Julian. That will be all thebetter, for then I can find out what he is going to do. Well, we willsee how it looks when I get home."
For half an hour Claus walked the platform occupied with suchthoughts as these, and finally a big smoke down the track told him thetrain was coming. He stuck his head in at the door and informed Casperof the fact, and when the train came up he boarded one of the forwardcars, leaving his companion to do as he pleased.
"You are going to shake me," thought Casper, as he stepped aboard thelast car in the train. "Well, you might as well do it at one time asat another. I have all the money I can get out of you, but I am notsquare with you by any means. From this time forward I'll look out formyself."
And the longer Casper pondered upon this thought, the more heartily hewished he had never seen Claus in the first place. He did not sleep awink during his ride to St. Louis, but got off the train when itreached its destination and took a straight course for his room. Theapartment seemed cheerless after his experience on the train, but heclosed the door, threw himself into a chair, and resumed hismeditations, for thus far he had not been able to decide uponanything.
"I am hungry," thought he, at length, "and after I have satisfied myappetite I will do just what I told Claus--go around to the differentstores and ask them if they want a boy. I tell you that will be a bigcome-down for me, but it serves me right for having anything to dowith Claus."
We need not go with Casper any further. For three nights he returnedfrom his long walks tired and hungry, and not a single storekeeper towhom he had applied wanted a boy for any purpose whatever. Sometimeshe had sharp words to dishearten him. "No, no; get out of here--youare the fifth boy who has been at me this morning;" and Casper alwayswent, for fear the man would lay violent hands on him. On the fourthnight he came home feeling a little better than usual. He had beenhired for a few days to act as porter in a wholesale dry-goods store,and he had enough money in his pocket to pay for a good supper. Thewages he received were small--just about enough to pay for breakfastand supper; but when the few days were up the hurry was over, andCasper was once more a gentleman of leisure. And so it was during therest of the summer and fall. He could not get anything to do steadily,his clothes were fast wearing out, and the landlord came down on himfor his rent when he did not have a cent in his pocket. Utterlydiscouraged, at last he wrote to his mother for money to carry him tohis home; and so he passes out of our sight.
As for Claus, we wish we could dispose of him in the same way; butunfortunately we cannot. Everybody was glad to see him when he enteredthe pool-room where he had been in the habi
t of playing, and more thanone offered him a cigar. He told a long story about some business hehad to attend to somewhere out West, and when he talked he looked upevery time the door opened, as if fearful that Casper would come in tobother him for more money. But Casper was sick of Claus. The lesson hehad received from him was enough.
Claus remained in St. Louis for two months; and he must have beensuccessful, too, for the roll of bills he carried away with him wasconsiderably larger than the one which Casper had seen. When he wasready to go he bade everybody good-bye, and this time he carried histrunk with him. He was going out West to attend to "some business,"which meant that he was going to keep watch of Julian and Jack in someway, and be ready to pounce upon them when they worked theirmine--that is, if they were successful with it.
"That will be the only thing I can do," decided Claus, after thinkingthe matter over. "They have the buildings by this time, at any rate,so that part of it has gone up; but when they get out alone, and areworking in their mine, that will be the time for me to take them. Theywill have all the work, but I will have the dust they make."
When Claus reached this point in his meditations, he could not helpremembering that some of the men who were interested in the mines weredead shots with either rifle or revolver, and that if he robbed theboys he would be certain to have some of them after him, and what theywould do if they caught him was another matter altogether.
"I can shoot as well as they can," thought he, feeling around for hiship pocket to satisfy himself that his new revolver was still in itsplace. "If I have some of their money in my pocket, I would like tosee any of the miners come up with me."
When Claus reached Denver, his first care was to keep clear of Julianand Jack, and his next was to find some miners who were familiar withthe country in the region bordering on Dutch Flat; for thus far Claushad not been able to learn a thing about it. Dutch Flat might be fivemiles away or it might be a hundred, and he wanted somebody to act ashis guide. He put up at a second-rate hotel, engaged his room, andthen came down into the reading-room to keep watch of the men whotarried there.
"I must find somebody whose face tells me he would not be abovestealing a hundred thousand dollars if he had a good chance," decidedClaus; "but the countenances of these men all go against me--they aretoo honest. I guess I'll have to try the clerk, and see what I can getout of him."
On the second day, as Claus entered the reading-room with a paper inhis hand, he saw before him a man sitting by a window, his feetelevated higher than his head, watching the people going by. He was aminer,--there could be no doubt about that,--and he seemed to be inlow spirits about something, for every little while he changed hisposition, yawned, and stretched his arms as if he did not know what todo with himself. Claus took just one look at him, then seized a chairand drew it up by the man's side. The man looked up to see who it was,and then looked out on the street again.
"Excuse me," began Claus, "but you seem to be a miner."
"Well, yes--I have dabbled in that a little," answered the man,turning his eyes once more upon Claus. "What made you think of that?"
"I judged you by your clothes," replied Claus. "Have a cigar? Then,perhaps you will tell me if you know anything about Dutch Flat, wherethere is--"
"Don't I know all about it?" interrupted the man. "Ask me somethinghard. A bigger fraud than that Dutch Flat was never sprung on any lotof men. There is no color of gold up there."
"Then what made you go there in the first place?" asked Claus.
"It got into the hands of a few men who were afraid of the Indians,and they coaxed me and my partner to go up," replied the man. "Butthere were no Indians there. I prospected around there for six months,owe more than I shall ever be able to pay for grub-staking, andfinally, when the cold weather came, I slipped out."
"I am sorry to hear that," remarked Claus, looking down at the floorin a brown study. "I have a mine up there, and I was about to go upand see how things were getting on there; but if the dirt pans out asyou say, it will not be worth while."
"You had better stay here, where you have a good fire to warm youduring this frosty weather," said the man, once more running his eyesover Claus's figure. "If you have a mine up there you had better letit go; you are worth as much money now as you would be if you stayedup there a year."
"But I would like to go and see the mine," replied Claus. "There was afortune taken out of it a few years ago, and it can't be that the veinis all used up yet."
"Where _is_ your mine?"
"That is what I don't know. I have somehow got it into my head themine is off by itself, a few miles from everybody else's."
"Do you mean the haunted mine?" asked the man, now beginning to takesome interest in what Claus was saying.
"I believe that is what they call it."
"It is five miles from Dutch Flat, straight off through the mountains.You can't miss it, for there is a trail that goes straight to it."
"Do you know where it is?"
"Yes, I know; but that is all I do know about it. I saw two men whowent there to work the pit, and who were frightened so badly that theylit out for this place as quick as they could go, and that was all Iwanted to know of the mine."
"Then you have never been down in it?"
"Not much, I haven't!" exclaimed the man, looking surprised. "I wouldnot go down into it for all the money there is in the mountain."
"Did those men see anything?"
"No, but they heard a sight; and if men can be so badly scared by whatthey hear, they don't wait to see anything."
"Well, I want to go up there, and who can I get to act as my guide?"
"I can tell you one thing," answered the man, emphatically--"you won'tget me and Jake to go up there with you. I'll tell you what I mightdo," he added, after thinking a moment. "Are you going to stay herethis winter?"
"Yes, I had thought of it. It is pretty cold up there in themountains--is it not?"
"The weather is so cold that it will take the hair right off of yourhead," replied the man. "If you will stay here until spring opens, youmight hire me and Jake to show you up as far as Dutch Flat; but beyondthat we don't budge an inch."
"How much will you charge me? And another thing--do I have to pay youfor waiting until spring?"
"No, you need not pay us a cent. We have enough to last us all winter.I was just wondering what I was going to do when spring came, and thatmade me feel blue. But if you are going to hire us--you will be gonethree or four months, won't you?"
Yes, Claus thought that he would be gone as long as that. Then heasked, "How far is Dutch Flat from here?"
"Two hundred miles."
The two then began an earnest conversation in regard to the money thatwas to be paid for guiding Claus up to Dutch Flat. The latter thoughthe had worked the thing just about right. It would be time enough totell him who Julian and Jack were, and to talk about robbing them,when he knew a little more concerning the man and his partner. He hadnot seen the other man yet, but he judged that, if he were like theminer he was talking to, it would not be any great trouble to bringthem to his own way of thinking.