The Boys of Crawford's Basin Part 5

The fact that he had lost his little all in the core-boring venture did not trouble Tom Connor in the least; the money was gone, and as worrying about it would not bring it back, Tom decided not to worry. The same thing had happened to him many a time before, for his system of life was to work in the mines until he had acc.u.mulated a respectable sum, and then go off prospecting till such time as the imminence of starvation drove him back again to regular work.

It was so in this case; and being known all over the district as a skilful miner, his specialty being timber-work, he very soon got a good job on the Pelican as boss timberman on a section of that important mine.

One effect of Tom's getting work on the Pelican was that he secured for Joe and me an order for lagging--small poles used in the mines to hold up the ore and waste--and our potato-crop being gathered and marketed, my father gave us permission to go off and earn some extra money for ourselves by filling the order which Tom's kindly thoughtfulness had secured for us.

The place we had chosen as the scene of our operations was on the northern slope of Elkhorn Mountain, which lay next south of Mount Lincoln, and one bright morning in the late fall Joe and I packed our bedding and provisions into a wagon borrowed from my father and set out.

We had chosen this spot, after making a preliminary survey for the purpose, partly because the growth of timber was--as it nearly always is--much thicker on the northern slopes of Elkhorn than on the south side of Lincoln, and also because, being a rather long haul, it had not yet been encroached upon by the timber-cutters of Sulphide.

On a little branch creek of the stream which ran through Sulphide we selected a favorable spot and went to work. It was rather high up, and the country being steep and rocky, we had to make our camp about a mile below our working-ground, snaking out the poles as we cut them. This, of course, was a rather slow process, but it had its compensation in the fact that from the foot of the mountain nearly all the way to Sulphide our course lay across the Second Mesa, which was fairly smooth going, and as it was down hill for the whole distance we could haul a very big load when we did start. In due time we filled our contract and received our pay, after which, by advice of Tom Connor, we branched out on another line of the same business.

Being unable to get a second contract, and being, in fact, afraid to take one if we could get it on account of the lateness of the season--for the snow might come at any moment and prevent our carrying it out--we consulted Tom, who suggested that we put in the rest of the fine weather cutting big timbers, hauling them to town, and storing them on a vacant lot, or, what would be better, in somebody's back yard.

"For," said he, "though the Pelican and most of the other mines have their supplies for the winter on hand or contracted for, it is always likely they may want a few more stulls or other big timbers than they think. I'll keep you in mind, and if I hear of any such I'll try and make a deal for you, either for the whole stick or cut in lengths to order."

As this seemed like good sense to us, we at once went off to find a storage place, a quest in which we were successful at the first attempt.

Among my father's customers was the widow Appleby, who conducted a small grocery store on a side street in town. She was accustomed to buy her potatoes from us, and my father, knowing that she had a hard struggle to make both ends meet, had always been very easy with her in the matter of payment, giving her all the time she needed.

This act of consideration had its effect, for, when we went to her and suggested that she rent us her back yard for storage purposes, she readily a.s.sented, and not only refused to take any rent, but gave us as well the use of an old stable which stood empty on the back of her lot.

This was very convenient for us, for though a twenty-foot pole, measuring twelve inches at the b.u.t.t is not the sort of thing that a thief would pick up and run away with, it was less likely that he would attempt it from an enclosed back yard than if the poles were stored in an open lot. Besides this, a stable rent-free for our mules, and a loft above it rent-free for ourselves to sleep in was a great accommodation.

Returning to the Elkhorn, therefore, we went to work in a new place, a place where some time previously a fire had swept through a strip of the woods, killing the trees, but leaving them standing, stark and bare, but still sound as nuts--just the thing we wanted. Our chief difficulty this time was in getting the felled timbers out from amidst their fellows--for the dead trees were very thick and the mountain-side very steep--but by taking great care we accomplished this without accident. The loading of these big "sticks" would have been an awkward task, too, had we not fortunately found a cut bank alongside of which we ran our wagon, and having snaked the logs into place upon the bank we kidded them across the gap into the wagon without much difficulty.

We had made three loads, and the fine weather still holding, we had gone back for a fourth and last one, when, having got our logs in place on the cut bank all ready to load, Joe and I, after due consultation, decided that we would take a day off and climb up to the saddle which connected the two mountains. We had never been up there before, and we were curious to see what the country was like on the other side.

Knowing that it would be a long and hard climb, we started about sunrise, taking a rifle with us; not that we expected to use it, but because it is not good to be entirely defenseless in those wild, out-of-the-way places. Following at first our little creek, we went on up and up, taking it slowly, until presently the pines began to thin out, the weather-beaten trees, gnarled, twisted and stunted, becoming few and far between, and pretty soon we left even these behind and emerged upon the bare rocks above timber-line. Here, too, we left behind our little creek.

For another thousand feet we scrambled up the rocks, clambering over great boulders, picking our way along the edges of little precipices, until at last we stood upon the summit of the saddle.

To right and left were the two great peaks, still three thousand feet above us, but westward the view was clear. As far as we could see--and that, I expect, was near two hundred miles--were ranges and ma.s.ses of mountains, some of them already capped with snow, a magnificent sight.

"That is fine!" cried Joe, enthusiastically. "It's well worth the trouble of the climb. I only wish we had a map so that we could tell which range is which."

"Yes, it's a great sight," said I. "And the view eastward is about as fine, I think. Look! That cloud of smoke, due east about ten miles away, comes from the smelters of San Remo, and that other smoke a little to the left of it is where the coal-mines are. There's the ranch, too, that green spot in the mesa; you wouldn't think it was nearly a mile square, would you?"

"That's Sulphide down there, of course," remarked Joe, pointing off towards the right. "But what are those other, smaller, clouds of smoke?"

"Those are three other little mining-camps, all tributary to the smelters at San Remo, and all producing refractory ores like the mines of Sulphide. My! Joe!" I exclaimed, as my thoughts reverted to Tom Connor and his late core-boring failure. "What a great thing a good vein of lead ore would be! Better than a gold mine!"

"I expect it would. Poor old Tom! He bears his disappointment pretty well, doesn't he?"

"He certainly does. He says, now, that he's going to stick to straightforward mining and leave prospecting alone; but he's said that every year for the past ten years at least, and if there's anything certain about Tom it is that when spring comes and he finds himself once more with money in his pocket, he'll be off again hunting for his lead-mine."

"Sure to. Well, Phil, let's sit down somewhere and eat our lunch. We mustn't stay here too long."

"All right. Here's a good place behind this big rock. It will shelter us from the east wind, which has a decided edge to it up here."

For half an hour we sat comfortably in the sun eating our lunch, all around us s.p.a.ce and silence, when Joe, rising to his feet, gave vent to a soft whistle.

"Phil," said he, "we must be off. No time to waste. Look eastward."

I jumped up. A wonderful change had taken place. The view of the plains was completely cut off by ma.s.ses of soft cloud, which, coming from the east, struck the mountain-side about two thousand feet below us and were swiftly and softly drifting up to where we stood.

"Yes, we must be off," said I. "It won't do to be caught up here in the clouds: it would be dangerous getting down over the rocks. And besides that, it might turn cold and come on to snow. Let us be off at once."

It was fortunate we did so, for, though we traveled as fast as we dared, the cloud, coming at first in thin whisps and then in dense ma.s.ses, enveloped us before we reached timber-line, and the difficulty we experienced in covering the small intervening s.p.a.ce showed us how risky it would have been had the cloud caught us while we were still on the summit of the ridge.

As it was, we lost our bearings immediately, for the chilly mist filled all the s.p.a.ces between the trees, so that we could not see more than twenty yards in any direction. As to our proper course, we could tell nothing about it, so that the only thing left for us to do was to keep on going down hill. We expected every moment to see or hear our little creek, but we must have missed it somehow, for, though we ought to have reached it long before, we had been picking our way over loose rocks and fallen trees for two hours before we came upon a stream--whether the right or the wrong one we could not tell. Right or wrong, however, we were glad to see it, for by following it we should sooner or later reach the foot of the mountain and get below the cloud.

But to follow it was by no means easy: the country was so unexpectedly rough--a fact which convinced us that we had struck the wrong creek. As we progressed, we presently found ourselves upon the edge of a little canon which, being too steep to descend, obliged us to diverge to the left, and not only so, but compelled us to go up hill to get around it, which did not suit us at all.

After a time, however, we began to go down once more, but though we kept edging to the right we could not find our creek again. The fog, too, had become more dense than ever, and whether our faces were turned north, south or east we had no idea.

We were going on side by side, when suddenly we were astonished to hear a dog bark, somewhere close by; but though we shouted and whistled there was no reply.

"It must be a prospector's dog," said Joe, "and the man himself must be underground and can't hear us."

"Perhaps that's it," I replied. "Well, let's take the direction of the sound--if we can. It seemed to me to be that way," pointing with my hand. "I wish the dog would bark again."

The dog, however, did not bark again, but instead there happened another surprising thing. We were walking near together, carefully picking our way, when suddenly a big raven, coming from we knew not where, flew between us, so close that we felt the flap of his wings and heard their soft _fluff-fluff_ in the moisture-laden air, and disappeared again into the fog before us with a single croak.

It was rather startling, but beyond that we thought nothing of it, and on we went again, until Joe stopped short, exclaiming:

"Phil, I smell smoke!"

I stopped, too, and gave a sniff. "So do I," I said; "and there's something queer about it. It isn't plain wood-smoke. What is it?"

"Sulphur," replied Joe.

"Sulphur! So it is. What can any one be burning sulphur up here for?

Anyhow, sulphur or no sulphur, some one must have lighted the fire, so let us follow the smoke."

We had not gone far when we perceived the light of a fire glowing redly through the fog, and hurried on, expecting to find some man beside it.

But not only was there n.o.body about, which was surprising enough, but the fire itself was something to arouse our curiosity. Beneath a large, flat stone, supported at the corners by four other stones, was a hot bed of "coals," while upon the stone itself was spread a thin layer of black sand. It was from these grains of sand, apparently, that the smell of sulphur came; though what they were or why they should be there we could not guess.

We were standing there, wondering, when, suddenly, close behind us, the dog barked again. Round we whirled. There was no dog there! Instead, perched upon the stump of a dead tree, sat a big black raven, who eyed us as though enjoying our bewilderment. Bewildered we certainly were, and still more so when the bird, after staring us out of countenance for a few seconds, c.o.c.ked his head on one side and said in a hoa.r.s.e voice:

"Gim'me a chew of tobacco!"

And then, throwing back his head, he produced such a perfect imitation of the howl of a coyote, that a real coyote, somewhere up on the mountain, howled in reply.

All this--the talking raven, the mysterious fire, the encompa.s.sing shroud of fog--made us wonder whether we were awake or asleep, when we were still more startled by a voice behind us saying, genially:

"Good-evening, boys."

Round we whirled once more, to find standing beside us a man, a tall, bony, bearded man, about fifty years old, carrying in his hand a long, old-fas.h.i.+oned muzzle-loading rifle. He was dressed all in buckskin, while the moccasins on his feet explained how it was he had been able to slip up on us so silently.