CHAPTER XX
PURSUED
Jed and Will could hardly believe their good luck. But the mention ofthe name of the man he had robbed was too much for Morton. He dared notstand and face him. Probably he imagined the United States marshal waswith the sturdy old gold miner.
"Say, that was a good idea--a fine one, Jed!" cried Will. "How did youhappen to think of it? You actually fooled me for a moment. I reallythought you saw Gabe."
"I only wish I had."
"Do you s'pose they're gone for good?"
"I don't know. I think we'd better get out of here. But first let'scover up the places where we took out the nuggets. I was afraid thosescoundrels would see the holes."
"Good thing they didn't. They'd have robbed us, sure pop. What shall wedo next?" Will went on, as he carefully stamped with his feet on theplaces where the gold had been found.
"Both of us had better look at this location carefully, so we'll knowhow to find it again. It looks like a good place for gold, according towhat Gabe told us. I'll bet there's a rich mine around here. Now we mustfind our way back to camp, and tell Gabe. Then we can come here andstake out three claims--one for each of us."
"It's easy enough to say 'go back to camp,'" remarked Will, "but how arewe going to do it?"
"We've simply got to," responded his brother. "The horses may know theirway back. We must trust to them. Let's see, I should say they must havecome up that valley. They'd naturally travel the easiest way, when therewas no one to drive 'em. Suppose we start down that valley a way, andsee if the horses won't do the rest?"
There seemed nothing better to do, so they put this plan into operation.Making sure that their precious nuggets were safe, and seeing that thepacks were securely strapped on the backs of the steeds, the two boysstarted down the valley, that was near the trail on which they had foundthe gold. They walked a little way behind each horse, keeping hold ofthe tether ropes.
The animals went willingly enough, though they stopped every now andthen for a mouthful of the sweet grass that grew quite luxuriantly onthe slopes of the fertile valley.
They traveled several miles in a rather leisurely fashion, and, as itwas beginning to get late in the afternoon, they decided to halt andhave a meal before it got too dark. They wanted to go as far as possiblebefore making camp, and they hoped they would come upon the one whereGabe had left them, ere nightfall.
"Here's a good place to camp," remarked Jed as he came to a halt. "Thiswill do all right."
"Suits me," replied his brother.
They made a hasty meal, and looked about them for a good place to spendthe night.
"That looks like a sheltered place over there," remarked Jed, pointingto an overhanging ledge, screened about with low bushes and fir trees."Suppose we take a look."
They walked over, and were just on the edge of the fringe of littletrees when something happened. Jed, who was a little in advance,suddenly disappeared from his brother's sight. The thing happened soquickly that Will thought Jed had jumped down some little declivity, butan instant later he knew this was not so, for Jed's voice came back tohim, sounding far off and muffled:
"Keep back! Don't come down here. I'm in a hole. Keep away!"
Even with that warning Will pressed on. He was not going to desert hisbrother in the hour of need. He was almost at the place where Jed hadvanished, when a slipping and sliding of the earth, a movement ofseveral boulders, and a trembling of the surface of the ground,convinced him that to go farther would be dangerous, not only forhimself, but perhaps for his brother. He leaped back, and just in time,for a yawning cavern opened at his very feet.
"Jed! Jed! Where are you?" he cried.
"Down here. In a big hole."
"Are you hurt?"
"Not much. Only bruised a bit. But keep back, or you'll be down heretoo. You'll have to stay up there to get me out."
"But how can I do it? Can't you climb out?"
"No. I'm in a regular hole, and the sides are so slippery that I daren'ttry to climb out. This place is a regular cave, and I got too close tothe entrance. You'd better get the tether-ropes from the horses, tiethem together, and let 'em down to me. Then you can pull me up."
"All right. I'll do it."
Will turned back from the edge of the hole down which Jed had fallen,and into which a considerable portion of earth and stones and severaltrees had disappeared. Luckily they had toppled to one side, instead ofupon Jed, or he might have been seriously hurt.
Will could not see Jed, though he could hear him, for he dared notapproach close enough to the edge of the hole to look directly into it,as, if he did, he might cause more of a cave-in. How he was going tocome near enough to lower his brother the rope he did not stop to thinkabout.
"Keep still until I come back," he called to Jed. "Don't go to tryingany tricks, or you may get buried under a lot of dirt."
It seemed a little odd for Will, the younger brother, to be giving theadvice which usually fell to Jed's part, but he was in a better positionto advise the imprisoned one than was Jed himself.
Will found the two horses where he had left them, quietly browsing onthe rich grass. He took the rope from one, cut off a small piece to beused for a halter, and tied the animal to a tree. He then started to dolikewise to the other animal, the same steed which had run away at thefarm and caused them such a chase.
"Steady now, old boy," said Will, as he approached the animal, whichbegan to prance about for no particular reason. "Why, what's the matterwith you?" he asked, as the horse swung about and pulled violently onthe tether-rope, which was, as yet, fast to a tree. "You're gettingskittish in your old age."
Will untied the rope, and was coiling it up in his hand as he walkedtoward the animal, intending to fasten it as he had done the first one,when the horse, with a shrill neigh, threw up his head, yanked the ropefrom Will's hand, and started off at a smart trot.
"Whoa! Hold on there! Come back here!" cried Will. "I must catch him,"he added, "if only to get that rope from him. Without it I can't rescueJed."
He started to run after the steed, but the horse, evidently not wantingto be caught, or else urged on by a mere spirit of mischief, kicked upits heels again like a colt, and dashed away down the mountain-side.
Poor Will did not know what to do. He knew he must catch the horse, yetto go after him meant that he would have to leave Jed for some timealone in the cave. His brother would fear he had been deserted, andmight try to get out unaided. In that case there might be another smalllandslide, and he would be buried.
"I've just got to catch him," said Will to himself. "This is worse thanwhen he ran away the other time."
He was about to place the rope he had already removed from the otherhorse down near where the packs were, in order to have both his handsfree, when he happened to think that perhaps he could use it as a lassoand capture the other steed, though he had had very little practice withthe lariat, and was doubtful as to his success.
The runaway animal had now come to a stop and was gazing back at theboy, as much as if to say: "Come on, let's have a game of tag."
The long tether-rope, trailing out behind the horse, Will thought wouldgive him a good chance to capture the animal. Accordingly, he bent hisattention on that, resolving if he could get hold of it that he wouldquickly take a hitch with it around a tree, and so "snub" the horse asone checks the progress of a boat.
"I believe that will be a better plan than trying to lasso him," he saidto himself. "Why didn't I think of that first? But worrying about Jedhas made me so I can't think straight."
He hung the other rope upon a low branch of a tree, where he would seeit on his way back, and then he crept cautiously forward, crouching downlow, so that the horse would not see him, intending to sneak up and grabthe end of the rope.
He tried it, but it would not work. The horse saw him coming, or guessedhis intention, and galloped away just as Will was about to grasp thetrailing rope. This happened several times. It was getting dusk now, andevery secon
d was precious. The chase had led in a sort of irregularcircle about the place where the packs had been lifted off the animals,the horse sometimes going up the trail, and sometimes down. He did notseem to want to leave his equine companion, who remained quietly tied.
"I know what I'll do," exclaimed Will at length. "I'll do as we used toat home, when we want to catch a frisky horse in a big pasture. I'llgive him some sugar."
He hurried to one of the packs, took out a quantity of the sweetstuff,and placed it in his cap. This he held out to the steed, at the sametime calling persuasively.
The horse was not proof against this. He sniffed the air and camecloser. Then, as he only wanted to get hold of the end of the rope, anddid not need to actually catch the horse, Will turned the sugar out onthe ground where the steed could see it. The boy then backed away, and alittle later the horse was eagerly licking up the sugar. Another momentand Will had secured the rope, and though the animal started to run,when it found itself caught, it was too late.
"There, I hope you're satisfied!" exclaimed Will. "You've made me losenearly an hour. I wonder if Jed's all right?"
He cut off all but a small piece of that rope, tying the horse to atree, and then, with the two lengths, he started back to where he hadleft his brother. It was fast getting dark, and he doubted very much ifthe rescue could be attempted that night.
"Here I am, Jed," he called as soon as he came within hearing distance."Were you wondering what happened to me?"
"Yes, I was beginning to get anxious. What happened?"
Will explained.
"Now how am I going to get you out?" asked the younger brother. "Shall Ithrow the rope down to you?"
"Guess you'll have to. Only don't come too close. I'll tell you whatyou'd better do. Go up on that little ledge opposite here, on the otherside. Fasten the rope to a tree or stump, and throw one end down here.Then I can pull myself up. If I put any strain on the rope on the sidewhere you are now, there may be another cave-in."
Will started to do as his brother had directed, but he had not gone farbefore there came another rumble of the earth, and more dirt slid downinto the hole where Jed was hidden from sight.
"Jed! Jed! Are you hurt?" cried Will. "Did it fall on you?"
But there was no answer, and, waiting in the fast gathering blackness,Will felt a great fear in his heart. What if Jed had been killed, and hewas left all alone there in the mountains, with that band ofunprincipled men close after him?
"Jed! Jed!" he cried again, but no answer came back.
Will started forward, and then he recollected that if he went too closethe landslide might be made worse than it now was. He tried to see somepath by which he might get nearer, but it was too dark.
"I must kindle a fire so as to have light," he said.
He gathered some dry wood, and soon had a little blaze. By the glare ofit he went as close as he dared and peered down into the place where Jedwas imprisoned. All he could see was bare earth and piles of rocks.
"Jed! Jed!" he shouted in a frenzy of fear. "Where are you? Are youalive? Speak to me!"
Was it an echo, or was that a voice replying to him? At first he couldnot be sure what it was, then, as he listened, he made sure that it wassome one answering.
"Where are you?" he cried.
"Farther down," came the faint reply. "I'm all the way in under now, andcan't see any way out. Your voice sounds right over my head."
"Can you hear me now?" asked Will eagerly.
"Yes. You're right over my head. Knock on the ground so I can hear it."
Will stamped his feet, and at once his brother cried:
"Hold on! That's enough. You nearly brought the whole ceiling down onme. You're right above me, that's sure enough."
"How can I get you out?"
"You'll have to dig a hole--sink a shaft, I suppose, so you can lower arope through. But be careful how you do it. You'd better wait untilmorning."
"And leave you there all night--buried in a cave!"
Back came the faint answer:
"I don't mind. This is a big place, and there's plenty of fresh air.Stand by until morning, and then see what you can do."
This seemed the only advice possible under the circumstances. The lightof the fire was too uncertain to permit of the rescue work going on. Itwas a dreary night. Occasionally Will called to Jed, who answered, andthe younger lad sat by the campfire, which he kept up, anxiously waitingfor the dawn. He dozed off toward morning, and awoke with a start to seea streak of light in the east. Then, calling to his imprisoned brotherthat he was going to begin soon, he brought up his pick and shovel fromthe packs.
"Stand back as far as you can toward the sides of the cave," advisedWill. "I may shake down a lot of dirt. But first, are you sure there'sno other way out?"
"I can't see any," was the faint reply, and with that Will set to work.
He located the place where he could hear Jed's voice the plainest,rightly judging that to be the thinnest part of the top of the cave--theearth-crust that held his brother a prisoner. Cautiously he began todig, using the pick lightly, and slowly shoveling out the dirt heloosened.
As he got down with his shaft he found that the soil was a sort of clay,which was firmer than the loose earth on top, and not so likely to breakthrough with a rush when he had nearly finished his work.
"How are you now, Jed?" he asked when he was down about three feet.
"Pretty fair," was the reply, and the answer was plainly heard, showingthat there was not much more earth to be taken out.
"Better go slow now," advised Jed, who could distinguish his brother'stones more audibly now. "Don't you come tumbling down here, or neitherof us'll get up. Better get out of the hole now, and punch the rest ofthe dirt with a long tree branch."
Will concluded that this was good advice, and got out to cut a sort ofcrowbar, which he fashioned from a sapling, the end of which he choppedquite sharp with a small hatchet. Then, standing on the edge of thehole, he began to jab the pole into the bottom.
"Hold on! You're through!" yelled Jed suddenly. "I can see the end ofthe pole now."
Will thereupon began to punch it through more cautiously. In a littlewhile he had an opening over a foot in diameter, and he could hear Jedalmost as plainly as if he stood beside him.
"Now for your ropes, Will!" cried Jed. "I'm all ready to climb out.Better fasten one end to a tree, and I'll come up hand-over-hand."
Will did as directed, and soon saw the rope beginning to become taut asJed put a strain on it.
"Is it going to hold?" asked Jed.
"Yes. Come on."
A little later Jed was out of the cave. Will clasped him in his arms.
"Poor old Jed!" he exclaimed. "You did have a time of it!"
Jed plainly showed the effects of his terrible night. He was pale, andhis clothes were covered with dirt. There was also a long cut on hisforehead, where a rock had grazed him, and his arms and legs werebruised.
"Come on, I'll get you something to eat, and you can tell me about itafter that," said Will, and soon he was handing Jed a cup of hot coffee.
"That cave extended back quite a way under the earth, from the face ofrock where we were going to camp. I fell into it, and must have restedon a sort of shelf, until the second landslide came. Then I was rolledright back into the main part of the cavern, and the outlet was closedup. I tell you I was scared there, one spell."
"I should think you would be," commented Will. "But I'm glad it was noworse. Can you travel?"
"I'm afraid not. I think we'll have to rest a bit to-day. I may be ableto start late in the afternoon. I'd like to get some sleep. I didn'thave any down in that hole."
They spent the best part of the day, after Jed had slept some, intalking over what had happened, and wondering what had become of theirpursuers.
"Oh, they'll keep after us," said Jed. "We can't shake 'em off soeasily. I think we'd better move our camp away. I don't like this place.Let's move on a few miles and spend the night there. I t
hink it will besafer."
"Do you think you can travel?"
"Sure. I'm much better now. Let's pack up, get some supper and move ourcamp."
They did not waste much time over "grub," merely making coffee andeating some bread and cold meat. They were just strapping the packstogether again preparatory to fastening them on the backs of theanimals, when, from down below them, sounded the footfalls of severalhorses.
"Some one's coming!" exclaimed Will.
"Maybe it's Gabe," spoke Jed hopefully. "Shall I give a yell?"
"Wait a minute. Perhaps it isn't him. If it is, he has some one withhim."
"Probably he's brought some of his friends to help look for us. Isuppose we are to blame for all this. Never mind, when he hears what wehave to tell him, he'll not scold us. I guess we'd better----"
But the sentence was never finished. At that moment there appeared,coming around the trail, three horsemen. And it needed but a glance toshow that they were the same bad men who, early the day before, hadretreated after Jed had given his warning whistle.
"Here they are!" cried Con Morton. "We've got 'em now!"
"Not yet!" cried Jed. "Come on, Will! Jump on your horse! The animalsare rested and can carry us and the packs!"
With a quick motion he was in the saddle. Will followed his brother'sexample.
"Now, Pete!" cried Jed to the horse. "Let's see what sort of stuffyou're made of!"
"Hold on there!" cried Con Morton, as he saw the two lads were about toescape him.
"Haven't time!" shouted back Jed.
"I want to speak to you!" went on the gambler.
"No, you don't!" said Will to himself. "I know what that means!"
He kicked his heels on his horse's sides, and the good old plow horseincreased its pace. Owing to the fact that the steeds of the boys werefresh, and to the circumstance that the animals of the gamblers hadquite a slope to climb, the boys secured a good lead. They did not rideback up the valley, but down it, though they turned into another trail,as it divided just where they had halted for their meal. To get on thistrail Morton and his cronies would have to breast a slope, and thenswing over to the left. The boys lost sight of them for a moment.
"I wonder why he came back after us?" asked Will.
"Probably they were hanging around. They saw that no one came to joinus, and they imagined it was safe to tackle us. But I'm not going togive up."
"Me either. I'll fight first!"
With set faces the brothers urged their horses on. But now theirpursuers had gained the turn, and were thundering down the second valleyafter them.
"Stop! stop!" yelled Morton.
Jed and Will returned no answer.
"If you don't halt we'll shoot!" added Haverhill.
"Do you suppose they will?" asked Jed's brother anxiously. "One of themhas a revolver out," he added, as he gave a hasty backward glance.
"I don't believe so. They can't shoot very straight anyhow, with the waytheir horses and ours are going."
"Are you going to stop?" yelled Morton again.
"No!" cried Jed, as he urged his horse on down the mountain slope, whilethe pursuers came galloping on behind them.