The Slave of the Mine; or, Jack Harkaway in 'Frisco by Bracebridge Hemyng
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ESCAPE FROM THE MINES.
Alfonso, the desperate murderer, had effectually put an end to all hisearthly sufferings.
Jack quickly recovered from the shock which his death had given him.
Taking a knife with which he was accustomed to eat his dinner, hesearched for the spot in the man's leg where he claimed to have hiddenthe diamond.
It was with very little hope of finding it that he did so.
The whole story seemed like the delirious ravings of a madman. Cuttingaway the skin, a hard substance fell out, which Jack picked up.
He had been at work in the mines long enough to know what a diamond was.
Holding it to the light, he uttered a cry of surprise, for he saw thathe was the possessor of a jewel of the first water and of prodigioussize.
Alfonso had not lied to him.
The story was not the invention of a maniac, but a solemn fact.
What should he do with it?
This question could not be decided off-hand, so he slipped it in hispocket, with the reflection that he yet had half the day to think thematter out.
The convicts were only searched at night, before retiring to theirquarters.
He was running a great risk, and he knew it.
If a diamond was found upon the person of a convict he was instantlyshot.
Not even a drum-head court-martial was held upon him.
A squad of soldiers was ordered up with loaded rifles, and in less timethan it takes to tell it the unlucky finder of the stone was dead.
Making his way to the shaft, where he knew a guard was alwaysstationed, Jack went to make his report.
"What do you want, my man?" asked the officer of the guard.
"Come to report, sir," replied Jack.
"Well?"
"I worked with convict No. 9, Alfonso by name. Overseer Pedro accusedhim of shirking his work, and an altercation ensued. Pedro threatenedto report him twice. Alfonso attacked him with his pick. A shot wasfired; but Pedro was killed."
"Ha!" cried the officer; "an overseer slain?"
"Yes, captain."
"What were you about, not to prevent it?"
"I was powerless to interfere."
"How so?"
"The whole thing was so sudden, captain," said Jack.
"Where is the assassin?" inquired the officer.
"He is dead."
"Dead also?"
"Yes. He snatched up the pistol of Pedro and shot himself dead."
The officer turned to his men.
"Sergeant," he said, "take a file of the guard. Go into that workingand verify the truth of this man's statement."
The sergeant saluted.
"If there are any dead bodies, bring them to the shaft," continued theofficer.
He again bestowed his attention upon Harkaway.
"You will consider yourself under arrest," he added.
Jack nodded, and sat down on the ground between two soldiers.
He wondered what would happen next.
Men who live an uncertain life enjoy an excitement similar to thatexperienced by gamblers.
Jack did not know whether he would live to see the sun set, and yet hefelt more inclined to whistle than cry.
At length the dead bodies were brought out and sent up to the surfacein the cage.
The officer followed with Jack.
On being informed of the tragedy, the governor of the mines held anexamination.
Harkaway told his story with such a straightforward, truthful air, thathe was instantly believed.
No blame attached to him.
"It wasn't your quarrel, my good fellow," said the governor, "and I donot see how you could have interfered successfully. These affairs mustoccur in such a population as ours. It was clearly Pedro's own faultfor not using his pistol with more celerity and not taking a betteraim. You are discharged."
"Thank you, sir," replied Jack. "Might I ask you one favor?"
"Name it."
"I should like to work in the open air."
"Would you? That is not extraordinary. Most people would."
"Cannot I wash the dirt when it comes out of the mines?"
"We have enough already."
"If I go below I shall see those two men quarreling. It will be enoughto drive me crazy, and if I become insane, the State will lose avaluable servant."
The governor laughed.
"I should think you had been a lawyer," he observed.
"Why so?"
"You know how to plead your cause so well."
He paused for a moment, as if reflecting.
"Your answer, excellency," exclaimed the officer.
"To what?"
"This man's prayer."
"Oh, yes. I had forgotten him. His request is granted. I was thinkingof something else. Send up the band of the regiment to my house. I haveto entertain two strangers to-day. They come from Rio with letters fromthe Emperor himself."
The governor went away, and Jack was at once taken to a stream, where,standing up to his waist in water, he washed the dirt in a sieve as itwas brought to him in a barrow, from the mouth of the mine, by anotherconvict.
The bank of the stream on one side was several feet above the water.
Jack had not been at work long before he heard voices.
Looking up, he saw the governor and two gentlemen.
What was his surprise to see his friends, Harvey and Mr. Mole?
They had evidently lost no time in following him to the Brazils.
He was about to make an exclamation, when Mr. Mole's foot slipped andhe fell into the water.
Splashing about like a huge fish, he seized Jack and pulled him down.
They rolled over and over.
"Help! I'm drowning!" cried Mole. "Never could swim a stroke in mylife, you know. Help me, you clumsy slave, or I'll have you whipped!"
"No, you won't, Mr. Mole," said Jack, helping him up.
"Ha! you know my name?"
"Yes; look at me."
"Jack!"
The professor delightedly threw his arms round Jack's neck, and huggedand kissed him with every demonstration of unbounded affection.
The governor was astonished.
"What is the matter with your friend?" he asked. "Is he crazy?"
"I don't know," replied Harvey.
The professor waved his hand.
"I've found him," he exclaimed. "It's Jack!"
They speedily made their way to the bank, and Harvey was as muchpleased as Mr. Mole had been.
"Jack, my dear old fellow," he said; "thank God you are alive and well."
Turning to the governor, he added:
"This, sir, is the gentleman whose pardon I have brought you from theEmperor."
The governor bowed.
"One of our best prisoners," he replied. "I am sorry to lose him; but,of course, he is free."
Jack was profoundly affected.
"We lost no time in following you," said Harvey. "My wound was not adangerous one, and as soon as I got well enough to travel, we were off."
That day Jack, in a new suit of clothes, dined with the governor andhis friends.
He kept the diamond, which he had cut in San Francisco afterward, andhandsomely set.
"For Lena," he said.
They made their way to the city of Rio and took the first steamer forAspinwall, where they crossed the Isthmus to Panama, and took shipagain for 'Frisco.
On their arrival they bought the _Chronicle_, and Jack read a paragraphin the fashionable intelligence:
"Miss Lena Vanhoosen and Mr. Alfred Vanhoosen are staying at Black'sHotel, in the Yosemite Valley."
"Dick," he exclaimed, "we must travel again."
"How?"
"Lena is in California."
That evening they were traveling toward Merced, and the next day theytook the stage for the far-famed valley, where they hoped to meet theVanhoosens.
Of Lord Maltravers they heard absolutely not
He seemed to have disappeared from the scene.