The Silver Canyon: A Tale of the Western Plains by George Manville Fenn
CHAPTER NINE.
FIRST SEARCHES FOR GOLD.
The three men uttered a loud cheer, and ran and leaped upon their fallenenemy, but Bart ran back, loading his piece as he went, to where he hadleft the Doctor with poor Joses.
Bart felt his heart beat heavily, and there was a strange, chokingfeeling of pain at his throat as he thought of rough, surly-spokenJoses, the man who had been his guide and companion in many a hunt andsearch for the straying cattle; and now it seemed to him that he was tolose one who he felt had been a friend.
"Is he--"
Bart panted out this much, and then stopped in amazement, for, as heturned the corner of some rocks that lay between him and the tent,instead of addressing the Doctor, he found himself face to face withJoses, who, according to Bart's ideas, should have been lying upon thestones, hideously clawed from shoulder to heel by the monster's terriblehooks. On the contrary, the rough fellow was sitting up, with his backclose to a great block of stone, his rifle across his knees, and bothhands busy rolling up a little cigarette.
"Why, Joses," panted Bart, "I thought--"
"As I was killed? Well, I ain't," said Joses, roughly.
"But the bear--she struck you down--I saw her claw you."
"You see her strike me down," growled Joses; "but she didn't claw me, mylad. She didn't hit out far enough, but she's tore every rag off myback right into ribbons, and I'm waiting here till the Doctor brings mesomething else and my blanket to wear."
"O Joses, I am glad," cried Bart, hoarsely; and his voice was full ofemotion as he spoke, while he caught the rough fellow's hands in his.
"Don't spoil a fellow's cigarette," growled Joses roughly, but his eyesshowed the pleasure he felt. "I say are you glad, though?"
"Glad?" cried Bart, "indeed, indeed I am."
"That's right, Master Bart. That's right. It would have been awkwardif I'd been killed."
"Oh, don't talk about it," cried Bart, shuddering.
"Why not, my lad? It would though. They'd have had no end of a job todig down in this stony ground. But you've killed the bear among you?"
"Yes; she's dead enough."
"That's well. Who fired the shot as finished her? Don't say you letJuan or Sam, or I won't forgive you."
"I fired the last, and brought her down," said Bart quietly enough.
"That's right," said Joses, "that's right; you ought to be a good shotnow."
"But are you not hurt at all?" asked Bart.
"Well, I can't say as I arn't hurt," replied Joses, "because she knockedall the wind out of me as she sent me down so quickly, and she scratcheda few bits of skin off as well as my clothes, but that don't matter:skin grows again, clothes don't. Humph, here comes the Doctor with thethings."
"A narrow escape for him, Bart. But how about the grizzly?"
"Dead, sir, quite dead," replied Bart. "Are we likely to see MrGrizzly as well?"
"No, I think not, my boy. Mother and cubs generally go together."
"Now, Joses, let me dress your back."
"No, thank ye, master, I can dress myself, bless you."
"No, no, I mean apply some of this dressing to those terriblescratches."
"Oh, if that's what you mean, master, go on. Wouldn't they be just aswell without?"
"No, no; turn round, man."
Joses obeyed, and Bart shuddered as he saw the scores made by themonster's hideous claws, though Joses took it all quietly enough, andafter the dressing threw his blanket over his shoulders, to walk withhis master and Bart, to have a look at the grizzly lying there in thegathering shades of night.
It was a monster indeed, being quite nine feet long, and massive inproportion, while its great sharp curved claws were some of them nearlysix inches from point to insertion in the shaggy toes.
Such a skin was too precious as a trophy to be left, and before daylightnext morning, Juan, Harry, and Sam were at work stripping it off, Bart,when he came soon after, finding them well on with their task, Josesbeing seated upon a fragment of rock contentedly smoking his cigaretteand giving instructions, he being an adept at such matters, havingstripped off hundreds if not thousands of hides in his day, from bisoncattle and bear down to panther and skunk.
"I ain't helping, Master Bart," he said apologetically, "being a bitstiff this morning."
"Which is a blessing as it ain't worse," said Harry; "for you might havebeen much worse, you know."
"You mind your own business," growled Joses. "You're whipping off greatbits o' flesh there and leaving 'em on the skin."
"Well, see how hard it is when it's cold," grumbled Harry; and then toJuan, "I shan't take no notice of him. You see he's a bit sore."
Harry was quite right, poor Joses being so sore that for some days hecould not mount his horse, and spent his time in drying the twobear-skins in the sun, and dressing them on the fleshy side, till theywere quite soft and made capital mats for the waggon.
One morning, however, he expressed himself as being all right, andwhatever pains he felt, he would not show the slightest sign, butmounted his horse, and would have gone forward, only the Doctor decidedto spend another day where they were, so as to more fully examine therocks, for he fancied that he had discovered a metallic deposit in onespot on the previous night.
It was settled, then, that the horses should go on grazing in the littlemeadow-like spot beside a tiny stream close by the waggon, and that theDoctor, Juan, Joses, and Bart should explore the ravine where the Doctorthought he had found traces of gold, while Sam and Harry kept watch bythe camp.
For days past the neighbourhood had been well hunted over, and with theexception of a snake or two, no noxious or dangerous creature had beenseen; the Indians seemed to have gone right away, and under thecircumstances, all was considered safe.
Explorations had shown them that the place they were in rose like, as itwere, a peninsula of rocks from amidst a sea of verdure. This peninsulaformed quite a clump some miles round, and doubtless it had been chosenas a convenient place by the bear, being only connected with themountain slope by a narrow neck of _debris_ from the higher ground.
As the party went on, the Doctor told Bart, that his intention was tojourney along by the side of the mountain till he found some valley orcanyon, up which they could take the waggon, and then search the rocksas they went on whenever the land looked promising.
Upon this occasion, after a few hours' walk, the Doctor halted by thebed of a tiny stream, and after searching about in the sands for a timehe hit upon a likely place, took a small portion of the sand in ashallow tin bowl, and began to wash it, changing the water over and overagain, and throwing away the lighter sand, till nothing was left but asmall portion of coarser fragments, and upon these being turned out inthe bright sunshine and examined, there were certainly a few specks ofgold to be seen, but so minute that the Doctor threw them away with asigh.
"We must have something more promising than that," he said. "Now Ithink, Bart, you had better go along that ridge of broken rock close upto the hills, and walk eastward for a few miles to explore. I will gowith Juan to the west. Perhaps we shall find a likely place for goingright up into the mountains. We'll meet here again at say two hoursbefore sundown. Keep a sharp look-out."
They parted, and for the next two hours Bart and Joses journeyed alongunder what was for the most part a wall of rock fringed at the top withverdure, and broken up into chasms and crevices which were filled withplants of familiar or strange growths.
Sometimes they started a serpent, and once they came upon a little herdof antelopes, but they were not in search of game, and they let theagile creatures go unmolested.
The heat was growing terrific beneath the sheltered rock-wall, and atlast, weakened by his encounter with the bear Joses began to show signsof distress.
"I'd give something for a good drink of water," he said. "I've beenlonging this hour past, and I can't understand how it is that we haven'tcome upon a stream running out into the plain. There arn't been nocha
"Shall we turn back?"
"Turn back? No! not if we have to go right round the whole world,"growled Joses. "Come along, my lad, we'll find a spring somewheres."
For another hour they tramped on almost in silence, and then all at oncecame a musical, plashing sound that made Joses draw himself up erect andsay with a smile:
"There's always water if you go on long enough, my lad. That there's afall."
And so it proved to be, and one of extreme beauty, for a couple ofhundred yards farther they came upon a nook in the rough wall, where thewater of a small stream poured swiftly down, all foam and flash andsparkle, and yet in so close and compact a body that, pulling a cow-hornfrom his pocket, Joses could walk closely up and catch the pure coldfluid as it fell.
"There, Master Bart," he said, filling and rinsing out the horn two orthree times, "there you are. Drink, my lad, for you want it bad, as Ican see."
"No, you drink first, Joses," said the lad; but the rough frontier manrefused, and it was not until Bart had emptied the horn of what seemedto be the most delicious water he had ever tasted, that Joses would filland drink.
When he did begin, however, it seemed as if he would never leave off,for he kept on pouring down horn after horn, and smacking his lips withsatisfaction.
"Ah, my lad!" he exclaimed at last, "I've drunk everything in my time,whiskey, and _aguardiente_, and grape wine, and molasses rum, but thereisn't one of 'em as comes up anywhere like a horn of sparkling waterlike that when you are parched and burnt up with thirst."
"It is delicious, Joses," said Bart; "but now had we not better goback?"
"Yes, if we mean to be to our time; but suppose we go a little lowerdown there into the plain, and try if there's anything like what themaster's hunting for in the sands."
They went down for about a quarter of a mile to where there was a smoothsandy reach, and a cup being produced, they set to and washed severallots of sand, in each case finding a few specks but nothing more, and atlast they gave it up, when Joses pointed to some footprints in the soil,where there was evidently a drinking-place made by deer.
"What are those?" said Bart, "panthers?"
"Painters they are, my lad, and I daresay we could shoot one if we hadtime. Make a splendid skin for little Miss. I dessay we could find askunk or two hereabouts. Eh! nasty? Well, they are, but their fur'slovely."
They saw neither panther nor skunk, though footprints, evidently madethe previous night, were plentiful about the stream; and now, as timewas getting on, they sturdily set themselves to their backward journey,Joses praising the water nearly all the way, when he was not telling ofsome encounter he had had with Indian or savage beast in his earlierdays.
"Do you think we shall see any more of the Indians, Joses?" said Bart atlast.
"What, Old Arrow--in--the--arm!"
"Yes."
"Sure to," said Joses. "He's a good fellow that is. 'Taint an Indian'snatur to show he's fond of you, but that chap would fight for the masterto the last."
"It seemed like it the other day, but it was very strange that he shouldgo off as he did."
"Not it, my lad. He's gone to watch them Injuns, safe."
"Then he will think us ungrateful for going away."
"Not he. Depend upon it, he'll turn up one of these days just when wedon't expect it, and sit down just as if nothing had happened."
"But will he find our trail over such stony ground?"
"Find it? Ah! of course he will, and before you know where you are."
They trudged on in silence now, for both were growing tired, but justabout the time appointed they came within sight of their starting-place,the Doctor meeting them a few minutes later.
"What luck?" he asked.
"Nothing but a glorious spring of water, and a stream with some specksof gold in the washing."
"I have done little better, Bart, but there is a valley yonder thatleads up into the mountains, and with care I think we can get the waggonalong without much difficulty."