Graham B. Forbes

“ On the train, as they sped along, the young folks lived over again the delightful times spent on the ranch. The thrilling adventures that happened during their stay would never be forgotten.
To Frank Allen, however, the most wonderful event of all was that arduous and dangerous long ride made by Minnie Cuthbert, when, with only Lige Smith, the foreman, for company, she rode forth to carry that letter to Mr. Wallace and see with her own eyes the lofty range of mountains of which she had read and heard so much. ”

“ Frank, between stiff lips. "Keep a grip on yourself, Lanky. It will pass. I guess we'll pull through all right."
There is nothing more apt to carry a feeling of panic to the human heart than to feel the solid earth, which all his life he had deemed staple, quiver and writhe as if in agony. Small wonder then that stout-hearted Lanky Wallace found himself gripped with increasing fear.
Frank caught hold of his chum's arm. He knew that the touch of reassuring fingers was more apt to steady Lanky than any cheering words he might utter. ”

“ There was an immediate rush on the part of the rustlers, and Frank, on noting their scantiness of attire, could not keep from chuckling. He felt positive he would never see the equal of that picture again, and its memory would always bring a laugh to his lips.
Of course no vigorous search could be made, for many reasons. In the first place, none of the punchers were more than half clad; besides, chasing over the wide stretches of the prairie after such a will-o'-the-wisp as that unknown but slippery runt, was out of the question. ”

“ When he came back about noon he carried a string of the fattest and freshest speckled trout Frank and Paul had ever seen.
"Game fighters, every one of 'em, in the bargain!" declared the fisherman. "You must go along with me this afternoon, boys, and we'll lay in enough to feed the whole bunch."
This they did, and with such success that the memory of that day's sport would remain with the young sportsmen as a fragrant memory.
"We sure must ask permission to get busy ourselves to-morrow," said Lanky, as they once more made camp. ”

“ A rush was made into the corral, and lively hustling followed as each puncher picked out his special mount and roped him by the light of the moon's bright rays.
"Good luck, boys!" bellowed the still excited Lanky, as the cowboys galloped madly away. There was a little regret in his heart because he could not leave Frank Allen and join in the mad chase. ”

“ They're powerful and ugly-tempered birds, Paul. There, the boldest in the bunch has dropped down, and is heading up to his feed trough again, with those queer jumps and his wings flopping, as if in challenge to the gang to beat him to it."
"Yes, and the rest have forgotten their alarm, for they're dropping down in hot haste. I reckon they're afraid that chap will gobble the whole meal before they can carry off a snack. Now one curious bird is making for that fresh deer-hide, thinking it's manna that dropped down from the clouds. What fool game has Lanky got up his sleeve?" ”

“ He finished this rush of shouted words with his [Pg 109] familiar old cowboy yell, as if to defy the rush of the flood and the fury of the summer storm.
If they attained their goal and managed to get out of reach of the avalanche of water, it would be by the skin of their teeth. Lanky could not have uttered a word just then, no matter how desperately he tried, for his lips felt as dry as those of a fever-stricken mule-skinner in a caravan, and his breath was coming in pants, as of a hound that had run a long race in chase of a hare. ”

“ AT THE DESERTED MINING CAMP
"Look at the buzzards sitting on that ridge of a two-story building, will you?" exclaimed Lanky, pointing as he spoke.
"There! They're off, flying," said Paul, "each starting with a queer little jump that sends the big bird up several feet before its wings begin to carry it. Always liked to watch turkey-buzzards roosting on a dead tree or dropping down to feed. Make me think of the clowns at a circus, they're so comical."
"I'd call this Camp Desolation, if you asked me," observed Frank, in an aside to his chums. ”

“ See! One of the big birds has dropped down to the ground. What monster wings they have; and they keep flapping them up and down as if ready for a scrap as they hop around sideways."
"Zander told me these vultures are about four feet in length from beak to the end of their tails, but that they have a wing spread of over ten feet!"
"Some birds, I'd say," replied Paul. Lanky was only grinning as he eagerly watched the other scavengers of the air drop down and commence to copy the gyrations of the first pilgrim.
"Gee! I'd sure like to try it out," Frank heard him mutter. ”

“ Frank had a sensation almost of panic, hardly knowing what had happened. Paul, on his part, involuntarily ducked down, as if under the impression that the runt outside had hurled his spade through the window and would possibly follow it with other things still more dangerous.
Lanky, who was himself the culprit, appeared to grasp the situation and its undoubted disastrous consequences better than either of his companions. This was proved when he made a vigorous bolt for the exit of the room, leading outdoors. ”

“ Frank told him.
"Faster, everybody!" called Mr. Wallace, conscious of the magnitude of their danger.
"Yep, move lively, 'case she's a-tearin' down the mountain like greased lightning!" Zander Forbes called out; lapsing into cowboy lingo, college graduate as he claimed to be.
As Jerry had to be in the van to serve as their guide, Zander had taken it upon himself to tow the pack-pony as well as his own mount. This was a tremendous responsibility under such conditions, and few punchers there were who could have managed it; but then Zander seemed to be little short of a wizard among animals. ”

“ Just before Lanky Wallace was struck by the rush of the stolen bronco and knocked to the ground, he had let out the cowboy whoop for help.
It reached the ears of Hoptoad Atkins, the smallest rustler in the Rockspur bunch, as he was emerging from the bunk-house to see what the weather promised for the morning, he having a long gallop before him. At the same moment he heard the racket over at the horse corral, and sensing trouble of some sort sprang back into the house with a shout. ”

“ Not once did Frank catch the slightest sound, as of the spade striking a root or a possible stone. Indeed, in a way it was uncanny. Lanky, being gifted with a lively imagination, could easily picture the queer little man as a ghostly grave-digger, plying his trade at this hour approaching midnight. ”

“ When the lads peeped cautiously in through the opening which a rotten door, hanging by its last rusty hinge, faded to shut entirely, it was indeed a sight worth impressing on their minds.
"Gee whiz!" barked Lanky, his eyes opening unusually wide. "See the ugly things dangling there from every rafter, will you?"
"Is that the way bats sleep, hanging by their toes with their heads downward?" exclaimed Paul, intensely interested. "What strange things you often see when you haven't got a gun. ”

“ But we sure do seem to get our feet in a heap of stirring happenings. It's like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with us these days. But say, when do we eat, I'd like to know?"
Frank chuckled as he went on to say:
"Finished the last crumb of our lunch at noon, you remember." At the words his companion in trouble emitted a groan and began to rub the pit of his stomach sympathetically. "But wait till you hear how manna seems to come down to us, as it did to the Children of Israel in the Arabian desert long years ago. Look over yonder, Lanky. What do you see, boy? Tell me!" ”

“ The ponies seemed to understand intuitively that the buffalo was not the ordinary docile domestic beast, accustomed to the presence of man. They snorted worse than ever, acting as though eager to whirl about and leave that part of the valley as fast as four legs could carry them.
"Whoop! here he comes licketty-split!" yelled Lanky. "I've got a date somewhere else, believe me! [Pg 92] I sure haven't lost any buffalo! Tra-la-la! Old Boss, here's giving you the grand bounce! It's not me you want!"
He let his frantic pony turn as on a pivot, and shoot away, with Frank a good second. ”

“ On looking up to find just how far above him the surface might be, what was his delight to see a bright star peeping in between the sides of the cleft in the rocks.
When three minutes afterwards Frank crept out of his "Jacob's Ladder," as he meant to call the friendly fissure, he found that the clouds had begun to roll away to leeward and many stars dotted the heavens overhead. ”

“ Frank himself was now busily engaged in "sniffing."
"Well, there must be a fire where there's smoke," he said finally, at the same time showing a trace of uneasiness. "Strikes me, it comes from over that way."
"Look at that burst of smoke shoot up on the other side of the house!" cried Lanky. "Some fire, that must be as sure as— There, listen to Charlie Gin Sing giving tongue! The cook's as scared as a singed cat. Let's scoot over that way, Frank, and see what they're doing. Now others are yelling to beat the band! ”

“ For some time the boys rode along, keeping a lookout on every side. It kept growing warmer all the while, for the mountains shut off any breeze from the west, while a ridge called foothills did the same in the opposite quarter.
An hour passed, and not a single glimpse did the boys get of the missing pack pony.
"Looks as if he had gone south instead of this way," commented Frank. "Though it's possible the beast had intelligence enough to head over the rise and start back home."
"Homesick, you mean, Frank?" laughed Paul. ”

“ Now Lanky's managed to get his leg free, and is coming back to camp, carrying the rope and the antelope hide. His little game worked all to the good, but took a turn he didn't count on. See him limp, will you? That left leg feels sore, I bet you!"
"I reckon it serves him about right, as his dad will tell him," observed Frank. "Of all the fool tricks I've ever known that boy to try out, this wanting to lasso a live vulture takes the cake! Most people wouldn't want to touch the horrible things with a ten-foot pole." ”

“ Jerry led the way down into the bed of the canyon, whose treachery none of these travelers would ever forget. Once more their faces were turned upward, as the sure-footed ponies made their way among the loose rocks that dotted the bottom of the defile.
In years long gone past all those headed for the new gold discovery had covered this identical ground. The boys could easily imagine them toiling upward—grizzled prospectors and regular miners, some tot [Pg 135] ing all their possessions on their backs, others enjoying the luxury of a donkey to carry burdens. ”

“ But there was so much fascination connected with the possibility of running upon what they sought at any moment, that he allowed himself to consent to Lanky's eager plea to "go on just a little further." Lanky, on his part, felt absolutely certain that they must be close to that mysterious five-fingered cave so plainly marked on the chart and would stumble on it soon.
"We've got to eat sparingly of this cooked meat," advised Frank, as they sat on a broken stalactite that had fallen from the roof and partook of a "snack," their stomachs having been calling for food for some time. ”

“ Earthquakes and the eruptions of vast volcanoes are the most terrible of all the convulsions of nature; and before them the bravest shrink, unable to cope with such colossal happenings.
Minutes appeared like hours to the two cowering lads. Their hearts seemed to jump into their throats at every fresh outburst of the warring elements, as though they feared the end had come, and they [Pg 179] would never again see the loved ones far away in the old home town.
"Don't believe I can stand this much longer, Frank!" complained Lanky. ”

“ Lanky said in tones that breathed both jubilation and threats. "Me for the window and a long jump!"
"Take things coolly, Lanky," came from Frank. "You may break a leg if you go over in a hurry. The fire hasn't done much on this side of the house so far, and we can take our own time in getting down. Since the stairs are all ablaze, of course our only road is by way of the window. Here's a rope on this old bed mattress. If it's strong enough we can make good use of it."
A test proved this to be a fact, so Frank insisted that Paul go first, to be followed by Lanky Wallace. ”

“ Presently Frank gave a low and suggestive grunt.
"A man, all right," he muttered.
"Heading right this way, too," chucked Lanky, well pleased over the way things were working out.
A hiss from Frank warned the others that greater caution than ever was now necessary. It would be too bad if after all some thoughtless act on their part should frighten off the queer little "sawed-off," as Lanky refereed to the moonlight visitor. ”

“ They even followed the tracks of Whitey Knocker for some little distance, which could be done through a certain queer formation of the pony's off hind hoof.
"No use going any further, Lanky," said Frank finally. "The trail keeps on getting fainter right along, as the soil changes."
"Then, all we've learned," suggested his chagrined chum, "is that when he flew the coop he headed about as straight as the bee flies for Double Z Ranch." ”

“ On discovering signs of coming dawn over in the east Frank took fresh heart, and began to believe he would win his battle with the wolf pack.
Stronger grew the oncoming daylight.
"Showing signs of meaning to throw up the sponge, are you?" he called out tauntingly, as he discovered one of the animals turning tail and slinking away, heading along the mountainside, evidently having a den in that quarter. "Well, here's wishing you better luck in getting supper another time, when it's venison you're stalking and not a poor tenderfoot cowpuncher. Good riddance to bad rubbish. ”

“ They used to turn their animals in there to feed and drink at the spring."
"Shall we stake them out?" asked Frank.
"No need of that," he was informed smilingly. "Nature took charge, and left only one narrow exit and entrance to this highly favored pasture. There are, it seems, several rocks that can be easily moved, and which when placed in position form an excellent barrier that the smartest cow-pony would be unable to jump."
"This sure is the land of marvels," grinned Lanky.
"We'll take all the ponies out there, and shut the gate of the corral on them," promised Frank. ”

“ Shall I take this one with me, Frank?"
"Yes, we ought to have some evidence to show we're not bluffing when we reel off the story of our adventures. Each of us might put a few in our pockets. But go slow, and don't load yourself down, Lanky, became you might start another landslide, you know."
They were actually on their last sliver of torch-wood when they turned their backs on the queer five-fingered cave and plunged into a narrow passage. Frank, after a close examination, decided this must be the one the old prospector had used during his periodical visits to his secret claim. ”