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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19695-8.txt b/19695-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9be862f --- /dev/null +++ b/19695-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4048 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Forty-one Thieves, by Angelo Hall + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Forty-one Thieves + A Tale of California + +Author: Angelo Hall + +Release Date: November 2, 2006 [EBook #19695] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY-ONE THIEVES *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + + Forty-one Thieves + + _A Tale of California_ + + ANGELO HALL + + + + +Copyright, 1919 +THE CORNHILL COMPANY +BOSTON + + + + +DEDICATED TO J. H. K. + +A PARTNER OF WILL CUMMINS AND A NEIGHBOR OF ROBERT PALMER + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I. Dead Men Tell No Tales + + II. The Graniteville Stage + + III. The Girl or the Gold? + + IV. A Council of War + + V. Old Man Palmer + + VI. Two of a Kind + + VII. An Old Sweetheart + + VIII. "Bed-bug" Brown, Detective + + IX. The Home-Coming of a Dead Man + + X. The Travels of John Keeler + + XI. The Snows of the Sierras + + XII. The Golden Summer Comes Again + + XIII. The End of the Trail + + XIV. Golden Opportunities + + XV. Three Graves by the Middle Yuba + + XVI. When Thieves Fall Out + + XVII. Brought to Justice + + XVIII. The End of J. C. P. Collins + + XIX. The Home-Coming of Another Dead Man + + XX. The Bridal Veil + + + + +FORTY-ONE THIEVES + + + +CHAPTER I + +Dead Men Tell No Tales + + +In the cemetery on the hill near the quiet village of Reedsville, +Pennsylvania, you may find this inscription: + + WILLIAM F. CUMMINS + son of Col. William & Martha Cummins + who was killed by highwaymen near + Nevada City, California + September 1, 1879 + aged 45 yrs. and 8 months + + Be ye therefore also ready + For the Son of Man cometh + At an hour when ye think not. + +It is a beautiful spot, on the road to Milroy. In former times a church +stood in the middle of the grounds, and the stern old Presbyterian +forefathers marched to meeting with muskets on their shoulders, for the +country was infested with Indians. The swift stream at the foot of the +hill, now supplying power for a grist-mill, was full of salmon that ran +up through the Kishacoquillas from the blue Juniata. The savages +begrudged the settlers these fish and the game that abounded in the +rough mountains; but the settlers had come to cultivate the rich land +extending for twelve miles between the mountain walls. + +The form of many a Californian now rests in that cemetery on the hill. A +few years after the burial of the murdered Cummins, the body of Henry +Francis was gathered to his fathers, and, near by, lie the bodies of +four of his brothers,--all Californians. The staid Amish farmers and +their subdued women, in outlandish, Puritanical garb, pass along the +road unstirred by the romance and glamour buried in those graves. Dead +men tell no tales! Else there were no need that pen of mine should +snatch from oblivion this tale of California. + +More than thirty-five years have passed since my father, returning from +the scene of Cummins' murder, related the circumstances. With Mat +Bailey, the stage-driver, with whom Cummins had traveled that fatal day, +he had ridden over the same road, had passed the large stump which had +concealed the robbers, and had become almost an eye-witness of the whole +affair. My father's rehearsal of it fired my youthful imagination. So it +was like a return to the scenes of boyhood when, thirty-six years after +the event, I, too, traveled the same road that Cummins had traveled and +heard from the lips of Pete Sherwood, stage-driver of a later +generation, the same thrilling story. The stump by the roadside had so +far decayed as to have fallen over; but it needed little imagination to +picture the whole tragedy. In Sacramento I looked up the files of the +_Daily Record Union_, which on Sept. 3, 1879, two days after the event, +gave a brief account of it. There was newspaper enterprise for you! An +atrocious crime reported in a neighboring city two days afterward! Were +such things too common to excite interest? Or was it felt that the +recital of them did not tend to boom the great State of California? + + + + +CHAPTER II + +The Graniteville Stage + + +On that fateful first of September, 1879, the stage left Graniteville, +as usual, at six o'clock in the morning. Graniteville, in Eureka +Township, Nevada County, is the Eureka South of early days. The stage +still makes the daily trip over the mountains; but the glamour and +romance of the gold fields have long since departed. On the morning +mentioned traffic was light, for people did not travel the twenty-eight +miles through heat and dust to Nevada City for pleasure. Too often it +was a case of running the gauntlet from the gold fields to the railroad +terminus and safety. + +This very morning, Charley Chu, who had thrown up his job as mender of +ditches, was making a dash for San Francisco, with five hundred dollars +in dust and a pistol at his belt. The other passengers were Dr. John +Mason and Mamie Slocum, teacher. Mamie, rosy-cheeked, dark-eyed, and +pretty, was only seventeen, and ought to have been at home with her +mother. She was a romantic girl, however, with several beaux in Eureka +Township; and now that the summer session of school was over, she was +going home to Nevada City, where there were other conquests to be made. + +Dr. Mason, a tall, lean Scotchman, lived at North Bloomfield, only nine +miles distant, whence he had been summoned to attend a case of _delirium +tremens_. The sparkling water of the Sierras is pure and cold, but the +gold of the Sierras buys stronger drink. With a fee of two double eagles +in his pocket, the doctor could look with charity upon the foibles of +human nature. He thoroughly enjoyed the early morning ride among the +giant pines. In the open places manzanita ran riot, its waxy green +leaves contrasting with the dust-laden asters and coarse grasses by the +roadside. Across the caņon of the Middle Yuba the yellow earth of old +man Palmer's diggings shone like a trademark in the landscape, +proclaiming to the least initiated the leading industry of Sierra and +Nevada Counties, and marking for the geologist the height of the ancient +river beds, twenty-five hundred feet above the Middle Yuba and nearly at +right angles to it. Those ancient river beds were strewn with gold. +Looking in the other direction, one caught glimpses here and there of +the back-bone of the Sierras, jagged dolomites rising ten thousand feet +skyward. The morning air was stimulating, for at night the thermometer +drops to the forties even in midsummer. In a ditch by the roadside, and +swift as a mill-race, flowed a stream of clear cold water, brought for +miles from reservoirs up in the mountains. + +Even Charley Chu, now that he was leaving the gold fields forever, +regarded the water-ditch with affection. It brought life--sparkling, +abundant life--to these arid hill-tops. Years ago, Charley Chu and +numerous other Chinamen had dug this very ditch. What would California +have been without Chinese labor? Industrious Chinamen built the railroad +over the Sierras to the East and civilization. Doctor, girl and Chinaman +were too much occupied with their own thoughts to take much notice of +the stage-driver, who, though he assumed an air of carelessness, was, in +reality, on the watch for spies and robbers. For the bankers at Moore's +Flat, a few miles further on, were planning to smuggle several thousand +dollars' worth of gold dust to Nevada City that morning. Mat Bailey was +a brave fellow, but he preferred the old days of armed guards and hard +fighting to these dubious days when stage-drivers went unarmed to avoid +the suspicion of carrying treasure. Charley Chu with his pistol had the +right idea; and yet that very pistol might queer things to-day. + +Over this road for twenty-five years treasure to the amount of many +millions of dollars had been carried out of the mountains; and Mat could +have told you many thrilling tales of highwaymen. A short distance +beyond Moore's Flat was Bloody Run, a rendezvous of Mexican bandits, +back in the fifties. Not many years since, in the caņon of the South +Yuba, Steve Venard, with his repeating rifle, had surprised and killed +three men who had robbed the Wells Fargo Express. Some people hinted +that when Steve hunted up the thieves and shot them in one, two, three +order, he simply betrayed his own confederates. But the express company +gave him a handsome rifle and a generous share of the gold recovered; I +prefer to believe that Steve was an honest man. + +The stage arrived at Moore's Flat, and Mat Bailey hurriedly transferred +baggage and passengers to the gaily painted and picturesque stage-coach +which, drawn by four strong horses, was to continue the journey. A pair +of horses and a mountain wagon had handled the traffic to that point; +but at the present time, when Moore's Flat can boast but eleven +inhabitants, the transfer to the stage-coach is made at North +Bloomfield, several miles further on. But in 1879, Moore's Flat, Eureka +Township, was a thriving place, employing hundreds of miners. The great +sluices, blasted deep into solid rock, then ran with the wash from high +walls of dirt and gravel played upon by streams of water in the process +known as hydraulic mining. Jack Vizzard, the watchman, threaded those +sluiceways armed with a shot-gun. + +At Moore's Flat, six men and two women boarded the stage; and Mat Bailey +took in charge a small leather valise, smuggled out of the back door of +the bank and handed to him carelessly. Mat received it without the +flicker of an eyelash. Nevertheless, he scrutinized the eight new +passengers, with apparent indifference but with unerring judgment. All +except two, a man and a woman, were personally known to him. And these +excited less suspicion than two well-known gamblers, who greeted Mat +cordially. + +"It hurts business, Mat, to ship so much dust out of the country," said +one. + +"Damn shame," said the other. + +Mat paid no attention to these remarks, pretending to be busy with the +baggage. Quite accidentally he lifted an old valise belonging to Will +Cummins, who, dressed in a long linen duster, had just boarded the +stage. Cummins exchanged glances with the driver, and luckily, as Mat +thought, the gamblers seemed to take no notice. + +Will Cummins had been in the gold regions twenty-five years. He had +already made and lost one small fortune, and now at the age of +forty-five, with all his available worldly goods, some seven thousand +dollars in bullion, he was homeward bound to Reedsville, Pennsylvania. +In the full vigor of manhood, he was a Californian of the highest type. +He had always stood for law and order, and was much beloved by decent +people. By the other sort it was well understood that Will Cummins was a +good shot, and would fight to a finish. He was a man of medium height, +possessed of clear gray eyes and an open countenance. The outlines of a +six-shooter were clearly discernible under his duster. + +In a cloud of dust, to the clink of horse-shoes, the stage rolled out of +Moore's Flat, and was soon in the dark woods of Bloody Run. + +"Good morning, Mr. Cummins." + +It was the school-teacher who spoke; and Cummins, susceptible to +feminine charms, bowed graciously. + +"Do you know, Mr. Cummins, it always gives me the shivers to pass +through these woods. So many dreadful things have happened here." + +"Why, yes," answered Cummins, good-naturedly. "It was along here +somewhere, I think, that the darkey, George Washington, was captured." + +"Tell me about it," said Mamie. + +"Oh, George was violently opposed to Chinese cheap labor; so he made it +his business to rob Chinamen. But the Chinamen caught him, tied his +hands and feet, slung him on a pole like so much pork and started him +for Moore's Flat, taking pains to bump him against every stump and +boulder _en route_." + +Charley Chu was grinning in pleasant reverie. Mamie laughed. + +"But the funny thing in this little episode," continued Cummins, "was +the defense set up by George Washington's lawyer. There was no doubt +that George was guilty of highway robbery. He had been caught +red-handed, and ten Chinamen were prepared to testify to the fact. But +counsel argued that by the laws of the State a white man could not be +convicted on the testimony of Chinamen; and that, within the meaning of +the statute, in view of recent amendments to the Constitution of the +United States, George was a white man. The judge ruled that the point +was well taken; and, inasmuch as the prisoner had been thoroughly +bumped, he dismissed the case." + +The story is well known in Nevada County; but Mamie laughed gleefully, +and turned her saucy eyes upon Charley: + +"Did you help to bump George Washington?" + +The Celestial was an honest man, and shook his head: + +"Me only look on. That cullud niggah he lob me." + +Will Cummins glanced at the Chinaman's pistol and smiled. By this time +the stage had crossed Bloody Run and was ascending the high narrow ridge +known as the Back-Bone, beyond which lay the village of North +Bloomfield. By the roadside loomed a tall lone rock, placed as if by a +perverse Providence especially to shelter highwaymen. For a moment +Cummins looked grave, and he reached for his six-shooter. Mat Bailey +cracked his whip and dashed by as if under fire. + +From the Back-Bone the descent to North Bloomfield was very steep, and +was made with grinding of brakes and precipitate speed. Arrived at the +post-office, Dr. Mason and the two gamblers left the coach; and a +store-keeper and two surveyors employed by the great Malakoff Mining +Company took passage to Nevada City. In those halcyon days of hydraulic +mining, the Malakoff, employing fifty men, was known to clean up +$100,000 in thirty days. It was five hundred feet through dirt and +gravel to bed-rock, and a veritable caņon had been washed out of the +earth. + +The next stop was Lake City,--a name illustrative of Californian +megalomania; for the lake, long since gone dry, was merely an artificial +reservoir to supply a neighboring mine, and the city was a collection of +half a dozen buildings including a store and a hotel. Through the open +door of the store a huge safe was visible, for here was one of those +depositories for gold dust locally known as a bank. As the stage pulled +up, the banker and a lady stepped out to greet Will Cummins, who +alighted and cordially shook hands. Miss Slocum, apparently, was +somewhat piqued because she was not introduced. + +"I was hoping you would accompany us to Nevada City," Cummins said, +addressing the lady, who regarded him with affection, as Mamie thought. + +"You must remember, Will," said the banker, "that Mary hasn't been up to +Moore's Flat yet to see her old flames." + +"Too late!" said Cummins. "The Keystone Club gave a dinner last night, +to wish me a pleasant journey. Eighteen of the twenty-one were present. +But by this time they have scattered to the four winds." + +"Never fear," cried the lady; "I shall find some of our boys at Moore's +Flat. You are the only one travelling in this direction; and the four +winds combined could not blow them over the caņon of the Middle Yuba." + +"I remember you think that caņon deep and terrible, Mary," Will replied; +"but it is not wide, you know. Remember our walk to Chipp's Flat, the +last time you were here? Nothing left there but the old cannon. As the +boys say, everything else has been fired." + +"All aboard!" shouted Mat, who felt that he was wasting time in Lake +City. And so Mary Francis, sister of Henry Francis, bade adieu to Will +Cummins, little knowing that they would never meet again, either in +California or "back home" in Pennsylvania. The stage rolled on, past a +grove of live oaks hung with mistletoe. Cummins had passed this way many +times before. He had even gathered mistletoe here to send to friends in +the East. But to-day for the first time it made his heart yearn for the +love he had missed. Mary Francis was thirty-five now. Twenty-five years +ago he was twenty and she was a little bashful girl. Her father's house +had been the rendezvous of Californians on their occasional visits in +the East. His mind traveled back over old scenes; but soon the caņon of +the South Yuba burst upon his vision, thrilling him with its grandeur +and challenging his fighting instincts. For after winding down three +miles to the river, the road climbed three miles up the opposite +side--three toiling miles through the ambushes of highwaymen. There was +the scene of many a hold-up. And to-day, at his age, he simply must not +be robbed. It would break his heart. In sheer desperation he drew his +six-shooter, examined it carefully, glanced at his fellow-passengers and +sat silent, alert and grim. + +Except for the Chinaman, the passengers were feeble folk. At sight of +the revolver the men began to fidget; and, except for Mamie Slocum, the +romantic, the women turned pale. + +Down the coach plunged into the deep caņon! Little likelihood of a +hold-up when travelling at such a pace. Down, down, safely down to the +river, running clear and cold among the rocks. And then the slow ascent. +Mat Bailey, perched on his high seat as lordly as Ph[oe]bus Apollo, felt +cold shivers run down his spine. From every bush, stump and rock he +expected a masked man to step forth. Could he depend upon Cummins and +the Chinaman? How slowly the horses labored up that fatal hill, haunted +by the ghosts of murdered travelers! Why should he, Mat Bailey, get +mixed up in other men's affairs? What was there in it for him? Of +course, he would try to play a man's part; but he sincerely wished he +were at the top of the hill. + +At last they were safely out of the caņon, and the horses were allowed +to rest a few minutes. Cummins replaced his pistol and buttoned up his +duster; and the passengers fell to talking. The store-keeper from North +Bloomfield began to tell a humorous story of a lone highwayman who, with +a double-barrelled shot gun waylaid the Wells Fargo Express near +Downieville. As he waited, with gun pointed down the road, he heard a +wagon approach behind him. Coolly facing about, he levelled his gun at +the approaching travellers, three workmen, and remarked, + +"Gentlemen, you have surprised me. Please deliver your guns, and stand +upon that log," indicating a prostrate pine four feet in diameter. +Needless to say, the men mounted the log and held up their hands. Then a +load of hay approached, and the driver mounted the log with the others. +Then came another wagon, with two men and a ten-year old boy, George +Williams. The robber ordered these to stand upon the log, whereupon +little George, in great trepidation, exclaimed, + +"Good Mr. Robber, don't shoot, and I will do anything you tell me!" + +About this time one barrel of the robber's gun was accidentally +discharged into the log, and he remarked: + +"That was damned careless," and immediately reloaded with buckshot. + +At length the stage came along; and promptly holding it up, he tossed +the driver a sack, directing him to put his gold dust therein. This +done, he sent each separate vehicle upon its way as cool as a marshal on +dress parade. + +With Nevada City only four miles away, the caņon of the South Yuba +safely passed, and the stage bowling along over an easy road, it seemed +a good story. + +"Halt!" + +Two masked men emerged from behind a stump by the roadside, and Charley +Chu drew his revolver. The passengers in a panic took it away from him. +Mat Bailey pulled up his horses. + +While one robber covered Mat, the other covered the passengers, who at +his command lined themselves up by the roadside with hands raised. +Cummins got out on the side of the stage opposite the robber; and but +for the duster, buttoned from chin to ankles, he would have had the dead +wood on that robber. It was not to be; and Cummins, hands in air, joined +his helpless companions. The robber then proceeded to rifle the baggage. +Charley Chu lost his five hundred dollars. Mat Bailey gave up the +leather bag from Moore's Flat. + +"Whose is this?" demanded the robber, laying his hand on Cummins' old +valise. As if hypnotized, Mamie Slocum answered, + +"That is Mr. Cummins'." + +The robber seized it. Cummins exclaimed: "It is all I have in the world, +and I will defend it with my life." With that he seized the robber, +overpowered him, and went down with him into the dust. If only there had +been one brave man among those cowards! + +"Is there no one to help me?" shouted Cummins; but no one stirred. + +In the gold regions of California each man is for himself. To prevent +trouble his fellow-passengers had disarmed the Chinaman. The other +robber, seeing his partner overpowered, passed quickly along in front of +the line of passengers, placed his gun at Cummins' head, and fired. The +struggle had not lasted fifteen seconds when Will Cummins lay murdered +by the roadside. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +The Girl or the Gold + + +Cummins was killed about one o'clock. Two hours later two prospectors, +in conventional blue shirts and trousers, each with a pack over his +back, were seen in the neighborhood of Scott's Flat. They excited no +suspicion, as no one at Scott's Flat had heard anything about the +hold-up; and even if news had come, there was nothing suspicious in the +appearance of these men. They had looked out for that. As a matter of +precaution they had provided themselves a change of clothing and their +prospectors' outfit. By common consent they had very little to say to +each other; for they knew that a careless word might betray them. They +were in a desperate hurry to reach Gold Run or Dutch Flat to catch the +evening train East; but from their motions you would not have suspected +this. They followed the trails across country at the usual swinging gait +of honest men, and they knew they had six hours to make fifteen miles +over the hills. They passed near Quaker Hill, Red Dog, and You Bet, +keeping away from people as much as they dared to, but not obviously +avoiding anyone. + +At You Bet, Gold Run and Dutch Flat they had taken the precaution to +show themselves for several days past; so that no one should notice +their reappearance. They were not unknown in this region, and there were +men at You Bet who could have identified them as Nevada City jail-birds. +There was O'Leary, for example, who had been in jail with them. But in a +country filled with gamblers and sporting men, where the chief end of +man is to get gold and to enjoy it forever, it is not deemed polite to +enquire too closely into people's antecedents. These men, evidently +native-born Americans, bore the good Anglo-Saxon names of Collins and +Darcy. What more could you ask? They perspired freely, and their packs +were evidently heavy; but men who collect specimens of quartz are likely +to carry heavy packs, and the day was hot. + +At You Bet the men separated, Darcy striking out for Gold Run with all +the gold, and Collins making for Dutch Flat, which is farther up the +railroad. This was to throw the railroad men off the scent, for news of +the murder had probably been telegraphed to all railroad stations in the +vicinity. + +Incidentally, and unknown to his partner, this arrangement necessitated +a momentous decision in the mind of Collins. As he formulated the +question, it was, "The girl or the gold?" Like many young criminals, +Collins was very much of a ladies' man. He associated with girls of the +dance-hall class, but he aspired to shine in the eyes of those foolish +women who admire a gay, bad man. He would have preferred to have his +share of the plunder then and there in order to stay in California to +win the hand of Mamie Slocum. But Darcy was determined to get out of the +country as quickly as possible, and when they separated insisted upon +taking all the gold. It would not do to quarrel with him, for both would +be lost if either was suspected. To share in the plunder he would have +to go East with Darcy, who was to board the same train at Gold Run that +Collins would take at Dutch Flat. + +The girl or the gold? Because of his infatuation for the girl he had +become a highwayman. He had not expected her to come down from +Graniteville that day. He had not counted on being nearly killed by +Cummins, for it was he whom Cummins had overpowered. He had not supposed +that anyone would be killed. Things had turned out in a strange and +terrible way. To gain a few thousand dollars by highway robbery was no +worse than to win it by a dozen other methods counted respectable. Among +the youth of Nevada City with whom he had associated, it was commonly +believed that every successful man in town had done something crooked at +some time in his career--that life was nothing but a gamble anyhow, and +that a little cheating might sometimes help a fellow. + +When he had learned, some months before, how greatly Mamie admired Will +Cummins, he had thought it good policy to pretend a like admiration. +While the girl was in Graniteville, away from her parents, he had seen +her as often as he could, and had, he was sure, acted the part of a +chivalrous gentleman. He had referred to his jail record in such a +magnanimous way as to win her admiration and sympathy. And he had been +magnanimous toward Cummins. He had stoutly maintained that even +gentlemen of the road are men of honor, incapable of petty meanness, +merely taking by force from some money-shark what was rightfully theirs +by virtue of their being gentlemen. Therefore, he argued, no +self-respecting highwayman would rob a man like Will Cummins--the merest +hint that property belonged to him would be sufficient to protect it. He +had waxed eloquent over the matter. + +He was now appalled to think how his argument, though insincere, had +been refuted. That Mamie had spoken those fatal words was not a ruse of +his but an inexplicable accident. How could he ever see the girl again? +And yet, in this one respect he was innocent, and he wished she might +know it. Besides, he was man enough to sympathize with her in her awful +predicament. With what horror she must be thinking of her part in the +tragedy! There was considerable generosity in his nature, and he +actually debated, criminal though he was, whether he might not better +let Darcy keep the loot and stand by Mamie. + +The girl or the gold? Is it surprising that the decision of J. C. P. +Collins was similar to that of other Californians? Similar to Cummins', +for example? He decided to make sure of the gold first and to think +about the girl later. With six or eight thousand dollars in the bank he +would be a more valuable friend than a poor man could be. After this +affair had blown over, and he recalled the fact that Doc Mason had +performed eleven autopsies on murdered men in the last ten years, and +not one murderer had been hanged so far,--he would rescue Mamie from the +demoralization of the gold fields and take her to live in St. Louis or +New Orleans. And now he saw with some satisfaction that her apparent +complicity in the crime would make life hard for her in Nevada City and +impel her to accept such a proposal. + +It might have been just as well if the rattlesnake coiled in his path at +that moment had ended his existence, but the snake was indeed an +honorable highwayman, and sounded a gentlemanly warning in the nick of +time. Collins would have killed it for its pains, but killing had upset +his nerves that day. So he left the reptile to try its fangs on a better +man. Besides, he reflected that he could not consistently advocate +capital punishment, and he sincerely hoped that his humane sentiments +would spread in California. He recalled the fact that there was a strong +party among the good people of the State, represented by several ladies +who had brought him bouquets and jellies when he was in jail, who were +trying to abolish capital punishment. Judging from Doc Mason's +experience in murder cases, the efforts of these good people were not +called for. And yet the law as it stood had unpleasant possibilities for +Collins. + +He was really sorry about Cummins. Of course, Cummins was a fool. A man +of such character would not miss a few thousand dollars in the long run. +What a fool he had been to risk his life! Of course, he, Collins, had +risked his life, too. But how different were the two cases! Cummins had +rich friends who would help him; Collins had no friends, barring a few +silly women. His long suit was women. He really regretted Cummins' death +more on Mamie's account than for any other reason. + +Poor Mamie! But it must be the gold and not the girl this trip. When he +had invested his capital and made his pile, he would play the prince to +his Cinderella. They would both be glad to flee this country. Bah! the +very soil was red! Golden blossoms sprung from it, but the roots were +fed with blood. Collins was a young fellow, by no means a hardened +criminal, and the excitement of the day stimulated intellect and emotion +like the drug of a Chinaman. + +He reached Dutch Flat in due season, and found several old cronies at +the railroad station, where people were discussing the death of Cummins. +He succeeded in showing the due amount of interest and no more, and was +diplomatic enough not to suggest that the murderers were now on their +way to San Francisco. He took the train going East according to +schedule, and found Darcy playing poker in the smoking car. Collins +betook himself to his pipe at the other end of the car, glad that night +had come, and that he would soon bid farewell to the Sierras. He felt +the train swing round the horse-shoe curve through Blue Caņon, and +shortly afterward he noticed that they had entered the snow sheds, which +for forty-five miles tunnel the snow drifts of winter, and which in +summer lie like a huge serpent across the summit of the mountains. Once +out of the sheds they would speed down the valley from Truckee into +Nevada. + +The fugitives were well over the line before they took any notice of +each other. Except for themselves the smoker was now empty, and they had +prepared to spend the night there like honest miners who were down on +their luck. + +Collins remarked in an undertone: + +"Darcy, we have given them the royal sneak." + +"Know what I've been thinking?" replied Darcy. "I've been thinking of +that wise remark of Ben Franklin's when he signed the Declaration of +Independence." + +"What was that?" + +"We've got to hang together or we'll hang separately." + +"That's no joke." + +"You bet your soul it's no joke. And you'd better shut up and go to +sleep." + +Silence for ten minutes. Then Collins said, + +"You're a tough nut to talk about sleep when you've killed the best man +in Nevada County." + +"Where would you be, J. C. P. Collins, if I hadn't killed him? You'd be +in hell this minute." + +"Thanks, awfully. But I wish the man wasn't dead." + +"What did the fool put up a fight for? He could see we had him." + +"That's what I say. He was a fool to risk his life. He could see there +was no help coming from those sports." + +"Well, Collins, there was one of them that made me feel nervous--that +Chinaman. But the rest of them had him corralled. Mat Bailey couldn't do +nothing up there in the air. Cummins was a fool, that's all." + +"Must have wanted his gold pretty bad. And I wish to God he had it right +now." + +"Here, take a nip of brandy. Your health's getting delicate." + +"Well, partner, no harm meant. But I must say I sympathize with Cummins. +He and I have made the same choice to-day." + +"How's that?" + +"The girl or the gold--and we both chose the gold. And I'll be hanged if +I don't think we were both right." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A Council of War + + +Six days had elapsed. It was evening, and in the large room over +Haggerty's store at Moore's Flat the lamps had been lighted. Here ten +members of the Keystone Club had gathered to see if something might not +be done to avenge the death of Cummins. Henry Francis presided; but the +meeting was informal. These men had not met to pass resolutions, but to +decide upon some line of action. So far not a trace of the murderers had +been found, except for their discarded clothing. Sheriff Carter's +blood-hounds had followed a hot scent to Deer Creek, several miles above +Nevada City, and the posse who followed the dogs were led to a pool, in +the bottom of which, weighted with stones, was the clothing. Further +than this the dogs could not go. They were soon sneezing as the result +of inhaling red pepper, scattered on the rocks. And the robbers had +probably waded up or down stream to insure complete safety. + +Several suspicious characters had passed over the railroad to Sacramento +and San Francisco; but this was an every-day occurrence, and the police +had learned the futility of arresting men who were probably innocent +miners pursuing the gay life. + +Nothing thus far had been accomplished. Hence the meeting over +Haggerty's store. Dr. Mason and Mat Bailey were present. The doctor came +because of a sense of civic duty. His British sense of justice had been +outraged beyond endurance. + +"You know, Mr. Francis," he said, "I have performed autopsies upon +eleven murdered men within the last ten years; and in no case has one of +the murderers been brought to justice. It is outrageous, scandalous. +Decent men cannot afford to live in a community where people are more +interested in making money than in enforcing the law. Decent men become +marked men--marked for slaughter as Cummins was. We must do something, +if only to protect ourselves." + +"You are quite right, Doctor," replied Francis, "and we propose to +investigate for ourselves. Did you notice any suspicious circumstance +when you rode down from Eureka South the other day?" + +The doctor could not think of anything important unless it was the +remarks of the gamblers at Moore's Flat about shipping gold dust out of +the country. But if they were accomplices they would hardly have spoken +so carelessly. And why did they leave the stage at North Bloomfield? +They were still there; but no one had observed anything remarkable in +their behavior. + +That Cummins was leaving California, probably with gold, was a +well-known fact. That he would go armed, considering the character of +the man, was almost certain. And this was a good reason why bankers at +Moore's Flat or Lake City might ship bullion that fatal day. Mat Bailey +nodded solemn assent, for he knew that this was sound logic. + +It was now his turn to offer suggestions. A stage-driver is always a +person of importance, especially in California. For the past six days +Mat had found his public importance rather embarrassing. Every trip past +the robbers' hiding-place had brought an avalanche of questions from +curious passengers. Probably Mat Bailey had been forced to think of the +tragedy more constantly than had any other person. His opinion ought to +be valuable. + +He hesitated, and seemed loath to speak his mind. + +"Out with it, Mat," said Francis. "This hearing is among friends, not +official. Tell us just what you think." + +"Well," replied Mat, "there is one circumstance you gentlemen ought to +know. Up to this time nobody has mentioned it; and I hate to be the +first to speak of it." + +Everybody's interest was aroused. After a pause Mat continued: + +"When the robber was going over the baggage he came to Mr. Cummins' +valise, and asked, 'Whose is this?' One of the passengers spoke up and +said, 'That belongs to Mr. Cummins.' Then the row began." + +"Who is the guilty man?" cried Francis. + +Mat looked embarrassed: "It wasn't a man. It was Miss Slocum." + +There was a moment of silence. Everybody was shocked, and trying to work +out in his own mind some logical connection between the school-teacher +and the crime. + +"That's where you've got us guessing, Mat," said one. "What can a crowd +of bachelors do if you drag a woman into the case?" + +"And yet," said another, "what else ought we to expect? A woman's at the +bottom of everything, you know." + +"Yes, we would none of us be here in this wicked world except for our +mothers," remarked the doctor sarcastically. "How has Miss Slocum been +acting since the tragedy, Mat? I must confess I can't think ill of that +girl." + +"Well, Doctor," replied Mat, "she has acted just as you would expect an +innocent girl to act. She's been all broken up--down sick a good part of +the time. And I don't believe there's a man, woman, or child in Nevada +City who mourns Will Cummins more than she does. That's why I hate to +mention her name. And that's why I haven't said anything up to this +time. But some of those cowards who looked on while Cummins was murdered +have begun to talk; so you would have heard the story sooner or later +anyhow. Still, I hate to mention the girl's name." + +"You have done right," said Francis. "The girl might have helped the +robbers without intending to. Frightened out of her wits, perhaps. +Somebody might question her kindly, and see what's back of this. And, +gentlemen, as Bailey spends a good deal of his time at Nevada City, it +seems to me he is the man to follow up this clue. Call on the girl, Mat, +and see what you can find out." + +So out of a sordid tragedy there was spun a thread of romance. The +school-teacher and the stage-driver are about the only characters who do +not require the "gold cure." Mat had ridden over the mountains at all +seasons until he loved them. His chief delights were the companionship +of his stout horses and his even more intimate companionship with +nature. To scare up a partridge, to scent the pines, to listen to the +hermit thrush were meat and drink to him. That there was gold in these +noble mountains moved him very little, though this fact provided him +with a livelihood for which he was duly grateful. The school-teacher was +fortunate to be brought up with a sharp turn so early in life, and to +find so true a friend as Mat Bailey. + +But this was only the beginning of the council at Moore's Flat. It was +suggested that John Keeler, Cummins' old partner, be employed to scour +the country in search of the assassins. There was no more trustworthy +man in Eureka Township than Keeler. His affection for Cummins was well +known. But his peculiarities might unfit him for the proposed mission. +His Southern sense of chivalry unfitted him for detective work that +might involve deceit and downright lying. He cared more for his honor +than he did for money, and had been known to refuse very tempting +offers. Finally, he was opposed to violence. He had refused to act as a +watchman for a ditch company on the ground that he might be expected to +shoot some one. It was a question whether Keeler could be induced to +bring a man to the gallows. + +Presently, Dr. Mason spoke up: + +"You couldn't employ a better man than Keeler. He is the soul of honor, +as you all admit. For several years he was Cummins' partner. As sheriff +of Nevada County he would free it of thugs and murderers as he frees +every claim that he works of rattlesnakes. He is death on rattlers. +Killed more than a hundred of them last summer. But the lawless element +of this county take mighty good care that Keeler is not elected sheriff. +So much the better for us, for he is free to manage this business." + +The doctor's speech made an impression. But these Californians had not +yet learned the value of honor. They seemed to think that they could +catch the murderers if they put up enough money. They themselves were +too busy making money to hunt down the outlaws; but they assumed that +money would do it; and they were willing to put up thousands of dollars. +But numerous rewards for the apprehension of desperadoes were +outstanding at that very hour; and the desperadoes were still at large. +As a money-making proposition, mining with all its uncertainties was +more attractive than professional detective work. Then again, these +Californians could not trust a man actuated by motives higher than their +own. Indeed, their chairman, Henry Francis himself, for some subtle +reason which it would have been well for him to analyze, was opposed to +employing honest John Keeler. It would have been well for Francis, +before it was too late, to realize to what an extent money standards +were replacing honor in his own life. It takes determination, loyalty, +devotion, to accomplish a difficult task; and such qualities cannot be +bought. + +When Captain Jack and his Modocks held a council of war in their lava +beds, they accomplished things which it was beyond the power of these +fortune-hunters to accomplish. Captain Jack had no gold, but the skill, +loyalty, and devotion of every Indian of his band were at his command. +And yet Francis would have imagined himself the superior of Captain +Jack. + +As time was passing, with little accomplished, Francis suggested that +they might first decide upon the amount to be offered as a reward for +the apprehension of the murderers. It was voted to offer a reward of +$10,000, or $5,000 for either of the two men. + +"Now, gentlemen," said Francis, "I shall have to go over to Fillmore +Hill to-morrow to see Mr. Palmer, who holds a note against Will Cummins. +You know I am settling the estate. Keeler will be over there, they say, +and I will talk with him. But on the way over, I shall look up a man +worth two of John Keeler in a business like this." + +"Who is that?" asked the doctor. + +"Mr. William Brown." + +No one seemed to know William Brown. + +"He lives a mile up the caņon," continued Francis. + +"Oh, you mean Bed-bug Brown," said Mat Bailey. + +"Yes," replied Francis, "that's the name he commonly goes by." + +"I know the man," said the doctor. "Says he came here in '54 and that he +has had a picnic ever since. Though he couldn't have had much of a +picnic that first winter, when he camped out by the big log; and only a +few winters ago Palmer had to send him a quarter of beef." + +"Well, Brown is a born detective," said Francis. "He worked up the +Caffey case like a professional." + +Ben Caffey's brother had been hanged in Wisconsin, in the region of the +lead mines, ten years before. He was innocent of the crime charged, and +Ben had vowed vengeance on the jury. All twelve of the jurors, though +scattered over the country from New Orleans to the caņon of the Middle +Yuba, had met violent deaths. The last man had been a neighbor of +Brown's. Just before his death a stranger with a limp left arm had +appeared at Moore's Flat; and Brown had proved to his own satisfaction +that the same man with a limp arm had appeared at New Orleans just +before the death of the eleventh juror in that city. The man with the +limp arm was Ben Caffey. Such was Brown's story. People had not paid +much attention to it, nor to the murdered man's lonely grave by the +river. Henry Francis, evidently, gave Brown full credence, but others +present regarded "Bed-bug Brown" as a joke. True, he was an intelligent +little man. He had taught school at Graniteville several winters, and +had succeeded better at this business than at placer mining on the bars +of the Middle Yuba. But "Bed-bug Brown," perennial picnicker, was not a +scientific sleuth. + +So when the council of war broke up, a feeling of skepticism prevailed. +Mat Bailey saw more possibilities in his own suggestion than in the +$10,000 reward. Dr. Mason saw more possibilities, however slight, in the +reward than in the proposed detective. And Henry Francis, though he had +known Cummins from boyhood, and was even now settling up his estate, +pretended to see more possibilities in a stranger than in honest John +Keeler--or himself. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +Old Man Palmer + + +Robert Palmer, tall, thin, bent with toil, had lived in California +thirty years. In May, 1849, when the snow drifts were still deep in the +caņons of the Sierras, he had crossed the mountains, past Donner Lake +and the graves of the Donner party, through Emigrant's Gap, to the +valley of the Sacramento. He was thirty-two years old at that time,--no +mere youth, seeking treasure at the end of a rainbow. He was already a +man of experience and settled habits, inured to hardship and adverse +fortune. As a youth he had left his native hills of Connecticut, to sell +clocks, first in the South and then in the lumber camps of Michigan. +There, the business of Yankee pedlar having failed, he found himself +stranded. His father was a prosperous farmer; but a stepmother ruled the +household. So young Palmer hired out to a Michigan farmer, for he was +one of those hardy New Englanders who ask no favors of fortune. +Imagining a pretty frontier girl to be a sylvan goddess, with a +Puritan's devotion he made love to her, only to be scorned for his +modesty. But failure and disappointment served but to strengthen him, +and he struck out for California. + +He nearly perished on the way there, while crossing the deserts of +Nevada. In Wyoming he had fallen into the hands of that brave true man, +John Enos, then in his prime, who had guided Bonneville, Fremont and the +Mormon pilgrims, and who,--living to the age of a hundred and four +years,--saw the wilderness he had loved and explored for eighty years +transformed to a proud empire. Enos had guided Fremont through Wyoming. +It is rather too bad that Palmer could not have accompanied Fremont and +Kit Carson when, in February, 1844, they crossed the snowy summit of the +Sierras and descended through the deep drifts to Sutter's Fort and +safety. That was four years before the discovery of gold in El Dorado +County. + +Palmer was not crazy for gold. Arrived in the Sacramento Valley, he +spent three or four years at farming. Perhaps his Yankee shrewdness saw +larger profits in hay and cattle than in washing gravel. But certainly +his New England integrity and soberness of character were more in +keeping with the spirit of the pioneer than with the spirit of the +adventurer. + +While reckless young men were swarming up the valleys of South, Middle +and North Yuba, finding fabulous quantities of gold and squandering the +same upon the Chinese harlots of Downieville, Robert Palmer was making +hay while the sun shone, which was every day in the Sacramento Valley. +But land titles were so uncertain that in 1853 he turned to mining,--at +Jefferson, on the South Yuba. He prospered to such an extent that by +1859 he had sent $8,000 back to Connecticut to pay his debts; and he had +laid by as much more. Frozen out of his claim by a water company--for +without water a miner can do nothing--he sold out to the company in +1860, and went over to the Middle Yuba, where he bought a claim on +Fillmore Hill, with a water ditch of its own. + +Here Palmer lived and toiled for twenty years, washing the dirt and +gravel of an ancient river-bed high up on the hill-top between Wolf +Creek and the Middle Yuba. He rented water from his ditch, sometimes at +the rate of two hundred and fifty dollars a month, to other miners. From +the grass roots on the hillside some lucky fellows cleaned up $10,000 in +a few days. For several years John Keeler and Will Cummins rented water +from Palmer and helped the "old man" keep his ditch in repair. + +The old man lived alone, industrious, and so economical as to excite the +mirth or the pity of his rough neighbors. Some who heard that he had +loaned $60,000 to a water company at 12 per cent. interest, regarded him +contemptuously as a miser. How else explain his shabby clothes, his old +rubber boots, that were out at the toes, his life of toil and +self-denial? Palmer never gambled, nor caroused, nor spent money on +women. He attended strictly to business, bringing to the bank at Moore's +Flat from time to time gold dust of high grade, worth from $19 to $20 an +ounce. And those who bought his gold marked how rough and torn were the +old man's fingers, the nails broken and blackened and forced away from +the flesh. + +But Keeler and Cummins had seen through the rough exterior. They knew +something of his charities. They had tasted his good cheer; for he kept +a well-stocked larder. They had seen with amusement his family of pet +cats seated at table with him, and each receiving its rations in due +order, like so many children. Keeler told with glee about the old man's +horse and mule, idly eating their heads off on the hillside. They had +come to Palmer in payment of a debt, and although he had had a fair +offer for the mule he had refused to sell, on the ground that without +the mule the horse would be lonesome. + +Robert Palmer knew what it was to be lonesome. True, he employed a hired +man or two occasionally, and when he cleaned up his sluices he employed +several--and, let it be said, he paid good wages. There were neighbors, +but with most of them he had little in common. The Woolsey boys, at the +ranch in the bottom of the caņon, whose widowed mother had come from St. +Louis to marry old Sherwood, had grown up under his kindly eye. In early +boyhood their active limbs had scaled the forbidding ledges of Fillmore +Hill, and Robert Palmer had granted them permission to hunt on his +claim. + +One night in his cabin on the mountain top, when the gold dust from the +last clean-up had not yet been disposed of, he was startled by a noise +outside. He blew out the light and hid his little bag of treasure in the +ashes of his forge. None too soon, for there was a summons at the door, +and when he opened it he was confronted by three masked men. With drawn +pistols they demanded his money. He said he had none. It was useless to +resist, so he let them bind him hand and foot. Again they demanded his +money. Again he said he had none. They knew better, and they threatened +to burn him alive in his cabin. But Palmer was firm. Then they burnt his +legs with a hot poker, and threatened to shoot him, as they might have +done with impunity in that lonesome place. Still he was firm, so they +set him on the hot stove and tortured him in that way. One of the party, +more humane than the rest, protested against more extreme measures; so +that, after searching the cabin, they gave up their enterprise, baffled +by that indomitable man. Before leaving him one of the men asked: + +"Mr. Palmer, do you know us?" + +Realizing that such knowledge meant death, he replied: + +"No, I don't know any of you." + +And so they left him. The lone miner no doubt had suspicions concerning +several of his worthless neighbors; but to the day of his death he kept +such suspicions to himself. + +Is it any wonder, living in that lawless country, that Robert Palmer +became almost a recluse? But why should he work so? He was working +unselfishly for others, as you will see when you read his will, for his +twenty-nine nephews and nieces. As if a heap of double eagles would be +of any particular use to relatives who had well-nigh forgotten him! No, +they had not forgotten. For one nephew borrowed money, which was, +however, repaid, and one niece secured five hundred dollars by sharp +practice worse than robbery. Robert Palmer made the mistake that many an +unselfish man has made, the mistake that insurance companies insist is +wisdom: he labored to provide others with gold, as though gold were a +substitute for thrift, prudence, and self-reliance. Never mind, the old +fellow did nephews and nieces no harm, though he disappointed several +who had depended upon him to lift them from poverty; for in the end his +hard-earned money was lost. His only legacy was his example of thrift, +unselfishness, and integrity. When men go about gathering riches for +others, let them gather things of the spirit. The answer to this, +perhaps, is that even such riches cannot be transmitted, that every soul +must enrich itself. That is true; but a noble character is at least +inspiring, and leaves the whole world richer. + +In the case of one nephew, Robert Palmer found a man who loved him but +needed none of his gold. This man was an astronomer, who, returning from +a scientific expedition to Behring Strait in 1869, paid his uncle a +visit. At that time this meant a trip of forty miles into the mountains +by stage and on horseback from the line of the newly constructed +railroad; for the narrow gauge from Colfax to Nevada City was not built +until 1876. It was a happy day for Robert Palmer when his sister's +son,--covered with dust,--scaled Fillmore Hill. Here was a meeting of +two strong men, blue-eyed Anglo-Saxons, large of frame, spare, rugged, +their fair skin tanned by the blazing sun of California. + +What a glorious visit they had! And how they revelled in a thousand +recollections of their New England home! For nine days the astronomer +shared his uncle's cabin, a new one, built of sawn timbers and boards, +and quite comfortable. Several days they worked together in the mine; +and when at last the hour of parting came, Robert Palmer sent by his +nephew a present to his grandnephews in Washington, the astronomer's +three small sons. It was the gold mined in those nine days, some one +hundred and thirty dollars in value. Thereafter the boys played miners +and stage-robbers and wild West generally, with sheet gold in the guise +of yellow envelopes hidden away between the leaves of books to represent +gold mines. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Two of a Kind + + +The day after the council of war at Moore's Flat, John Keeler crossed +the caņon of the Middle Yuba to talk over the death of his old partner +with Robert Palmer. As he clambered up the steep side of Fillmore Hill +to the claim he had worked with Cummins fifteen years before, all the +poetry and all the sadness of life in California came over him. How +vividly he remembered his arrival, at the age of eighteen, in this land +of romance and adventure! He had reached Moore's Flat on the Fourth of +July, 1860, when bronzed miners were celebrating in reckless fashion. +The saloons were crowded, and card games were in progress, with gold +coins stacked at the corners of the tables. Out of doors some red-faced +fellows were running races in the streets and shouting like wild +Indians. Over the door of a restaurant was the sign "Eat, Drink, and Be +Merry," and the youth pondered the words of Scripture following these +festive words, but not quoted by the enterprising proprietor. + +He remembered now, after nineteen years, the strange aspect of nature in +this strange land. What great mountains! What deep caņons! What huge +pines, with cones as large as a rolling-pin! The strange manzanita +bushes, the chaparral, the buck-eye with its plumes, the fragrant +mountain lily, like an Easter lily, growing wild. It had seemed good to +him, a stranger in this strange land, to see old friends in the +squirrels that scampered through the woods and crossed his path, to find +alders, and blossoming dog-wood, the mountain brake, and his childhood's +friend the mullen stalk. Even to this day when he came upon an orchid, +or a wild rose, with its small pink petals (smaller in this red sterile +soil than in his native country), or when a humming bird in its shining +plumage came to sip honey from the flowers, or when in the still woods +he heard the liquid notes of a hermit thrush, the romance and the +reverence of youth thrilled him. + +John Keeler was something of a poet, though the needs of his family at +Eureka South kept the bread and butter question in the foreground. He +must see "old man Palmer" to talk over the death of Cummins. He was +comforted a little when the old man's small black dog, Bruce, came +frisking down the trail to meet him; and when Sammy, the cat, tail in +air and purring a thousand welcomes, rubbed his sleek fur against the +visitor's boots, Keeler fore-tasted sweet solace for sorrow. + +"Why, hello, Keeler! Mighty glad to see you!" And then in a changed +voice, "You're fagged out. It's an all-fired steep trail. Come in." + +"No, thank you," replied Keeler, and he seated himself upon a chair in +the door-yard. "It's pleasant out here under the pines. I want to talk." + +"I've been expecting you," said Palmer, "ever since the news came about +Cummins." + +"Well, if it wasn't for my wife and boy, I'd pull up stakes, and get out +of California." + +"Don't blame you. This thieving and promiscuous killing are enough to +discourage anybody. Too bad they can't get the robbers, just this once, +and string 'em up." + +"I'm a peaceable man, as you know, Mr. Palmer. But I'd be willing to +hang those fellows with my own hands. It wouldn't help Will Cummins any, +but it would give me solid satisfaction." + +"Well, Keeler, I'm glad of one thing, Cummins was a bachelor, like me, +and not a married man." + +"I've thought about that, but it don't give me any comfort. Will ought +to have married years ago. His life might have counted for something +then; but now it seems as if it had been wasted." + +"Maybe you think my life's been wasted, too?" + +"No, Mr. Palmer, you know I could never think that, after your kindness +to Will and me." + +"Well, Will Cummins was more generous than I ever was," answered Palmer. +"Main trouble with Will was his temper, which was no better than mine. +Every bad man in these mountains knew that Will Cummins was ready to +treat him to his own medicine." + +"Yes, I wish he hadn't said so much about defending yourself. I wish he +hadn't carried a pistol that day. He wouldn't have been so ready to +fight, perhaps." + +"One thing certain," observed Palmer, "if he was going to carry a pistol +at all, he ought to have had it handy, not under his duster." + +"Well, it was natural to think the danger past when they had got safely +away from the South Yuba. The robbers knew their man, and they played a +shrewd game." + +"It's easy enough to win when you play with loaded dice. I get boiling +mad when I think of these low-down, worthless rascals who don't stop at +any meanness, ready to commit murder for fifteen cents. They ought to be +treated worse than rattlesnakes. But, as you said just now, all this +don't help Will Cummins. But Will is all right, John. You know that as +well as I do." + +"I came up here to hear you say so. I've pretty near lost faith in God +and man, I reckon." + +"I lost faith in man long ago," answered Palmer, smiling sardonically. +"If the fall of Adam and the curse of Cain are fables,--as they are, of +course,--they are just as true as Æsop's fables, for all that. They hit +off human nature. But man isn't all. I've never belonged to any church, +as I've often told you. But the longer I live the more I trust in +Providence. Will Cummins was a good man, and he's all right, I tell +you." + +"I feel that way myself. But I know my feeling in the matter don't alter +the facts any. How do you figure it out?" + +"Well, my creed's about this: in spite of all the wickedness, this is a +beautiful old world. How gloriously the stars shine down every night +upon these mountains! Or, take Bruce and Sammy here"--and the old man +caressed his pets--"why, they love me to distraction. And I love both +the scamps, I certainly do. But what is that to your affection for your +partner, John Keeler? It is a good old world, I say. Then the Power +that's in it and back of it, 'in whom we live and move and have our +being,' is a good Power. Well, then, God is good. And that's all we need +to know. If God is good, we can depend upon Him in life and death. We +don't know what death means. But it's only a natural thing. It can't +matter much. I will know more about it, I guess, when I am dead." + +"I don't doubt you're right, Mr. Palmer. Once, back in Maryland, I heard +a minister say that grief comes to open our hearts to God. It was at my +mother's funeral. I reckon he was right, too. But my heart bleeds for +Will Cummins." + +Palmer looked at him critically a moment, as if weighing him in the +balance. Then, as if completely satisfied with his friend, he spoke: + +"John Keeler, I want to talk business. I want you to hunt those rascals +down. I'll back you for any amount. I'm past sixty, or I might attend to +the business myself. You're still a young man. I'll see that Mrs. Keeler +and the boy lack for nothing while you are gone. And I don't expect you +to take any risks. I simply want you to get the facts, then turn them +over to the authorities. Will you do it?" + +Keeler hesitated. "There's very little to go on. The robbers have +cleared out, and nobody knows who they were or where they went." + +"Don't you believe it," said Palmer. "If decent people don't know, there +are the other kind." + +"I reckon you and I would be about as helpless as babes with 'the other +kind.' We've always despised them and kept away from them." + +"But they're human, like the rest of us. You and I understand human +nature pretty well. We won't breathe a word to any one. You tell Mrs. +Keeler you're attending to important business for me, that I'm +grub-staking you, and that there's something in it for you and the +family. If the neighbors get wind of it, they'll think, perhaps, you are +attending to money matters for me. They seem to be mighty curious about +my money." + +"Well, I might do it, if I only knew how to go about it." + +"Well, Keeler, I think I can give you a start. And while we eat some +dinner I'll tell you a story that will surprise you." + +These Californians were certainly two of a kind; but then, two of a +kind, though both be kings, is not a strong hand. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +An Old Sweetheart + + +When his guest had been abundantly supplied with the best the larder +afforded, not forgetting condensed milk for the coffee, Palmer began his +story. + +"Since you were here last, Keeler," he began, "I've been to San +Francisco. Nothing remarkable about that, of course. Any man might have +business at the Hibernia Bank. Then again, it's worth the trip from +Moore's Flat just to stand on the seashore an hour." + +"Yes," said Keeler with enthusiasm, "there's a noble sight." + +"But," continued Palmer, "I'm too old a man for pleasure trips. And for +that matter, I'm about through with business, too. I went to San +Francisco for a special reason." + +Keeler looked up from his coffee inquiringly. + +"I went to see an old sweetheart." + +Here Keeler smiled. It seemed odd to think of old man Palmer going upon +such a mission. + +"I suppose I ought to say that the woman snubbed me when I was young, +and later cared more for my money than she did for me. But I loved that +woman thirty years ago, and was fool enough to think I might win her if +I could strike it rich here in California. I'm older now, and wiser, I +hope. If a woman won't marry a man 'for richer or poorer'--especially +poorer--she oughtn't to marry him at all. There's my nephew who was out +here ten years ago. Married without a dollar and got the best wife in +the world. No, Keeler; I may be a fool; but I'm not the kind of fool to +marry an old woman because she hankers after my money. + +"I went to San Francisco because I pity the woman, and because I thought +I might help her to become more decent and self-respecting." + +Here the old man paused. Keeler noticed that he was much embarrassed. + +"I would have kept this affair to myself, Keeler; but we must get the +rascals who shot Cummins, so you ought to know the whole story. + +"Harriet Chesney was a pretty girl thirty years ago. Rather too proud of +her good looks, and a selfish minx. But a young man who has had a good +mother thinks all women are good, I guess. I was terribly cut up when +she refused me; but I hate to think now what might have happened if she +had accepted me!" + +"Why, here ten years back, a brother of mine in Michigan wrote to warn +me that Harriet Chesney was coming to California to murder me. He said +she had burned two houses for the insurance; had got mixed up with +several men and had robbed them." + +"A regular she-devil," remarked Keeler. + +"Well, sure enough, she turned up here in California, nearly ten years +ago. And very likely she would have killed me if she could have got hold +of my property. And if all the gold I ever mined could have saved her +from the sin and misery of these past ten years, she would have been +welcome to it. But I couldn't buy her a clear conscience, could I? + +"She got as far as Moore's Flat. Hung around there several days till she +saw me at Haggerty's store. My old clothes must have disappointed her. +It would certainly humiliate any woman, good or bad, to associate with +such a scarecrow. So she cleared out, and went to San Francisco. I guess +she found out she was only a novice compared with the women down there. +And I guess in a year or two she was like all the rest. I tell you, it +was an awful thing to think of. It's bad enough to see a man go +wrong--but a woman!--and a woman you once loved--and still love, as God +still loves her!" + +The old man had to pause here; and he arose abruptly, as if to put aside +his dishes; and Keeler, respecting his emotion, looked out of the +window. + +"Well, last March, Harriet wrote me a letter. Gave me her address. Said +she was dying, and would like to see me. It was a week or more before +the letter reached me, for the trails were badly drifted and I had been +shut up here some time. John Woolsey brought the letter, and stayed +until I read it, to see if anything was wanted. Said he would look out +for Bruce and Sammy, so I got on my snow-shoes and started. + +"I reached San Francisco next day. I almost wished the woman was dead, +as she had a right to be by that time. If she was dead, I wouldn't have +to say anything to hurt her. Well, I called at the address she gave, +which was in the edge of Chinatown. I tell you it was disgusting to run +the gauntlet there, among those creatures.--I found the woman had been +taken to the city hospital several days before and whether she was dead +or alive the head she-devil of the place didn't seem to know or care. + +"I found her at the hospital, sure enough. The doctor said she was +getting better, and would probably live. I didn't know whether to be +glad or sorry; and I was tempted to go home and write her a letter. She +might not care to see me now, anyway. + +"But I stayed and had a talk with her; and I am glad I did, though I +couldn't help remembering the old rhyme, + + "When the Devil was sick, the Devil a saint would be: + When the Devil got well, the devil a saint was he." + +"Harriet Chesney needed a friend, and she was glad to see me. She was +more than glad to know that I had come as soon as I could. Said she had +told herself I would not fail her--that it was the snow and the caņon +and not some other reason that kept me away. Said she thought she was +going to die; and that she wanted me to know she was sorry she had done +wrong. The doctor had told her she would get well, so she was going to +be an honest woman if I would help her. And what do you suppose she +wanted me to do?" + +"Lend her some money, most likely," said Keeler. + +"No, sir. She didn't want any money. Said she wanted to write to me +every Sunday, and to see me whenever I came to San Francisco. Of course, +I agreed, though I told her I don't go down to the city once a year, as +a usual thing. I told her if she thought she needed me to write and I +would try to get down. That seemed to satisfy her. + +"Well, she has written to me every week since then. By the first of June +she was able to work. And since then she has earned an honest living, +scrubbing floors. Here is her last letter." + +Keeler took the proffered sheet and read: + + "San Francisco, Sept. 5, 1879. + Mr. Robert Palmer. + + Dear Sir: + + I have just read about the murder of Mr. Cummins. The papers say he + lived at Moore's Flat, and worked a claim once on Fillmore Hill. So + he must have been a friend of yours. It is too bad. I might help + you find the murderers, as all the bad men of Nevada County are + known down here. If you will come down here or send somebody, I + will help you all I can. + + I am getting along all right. + + Very respectfully, + Harriet Somers." + +"I thought you said her name was Chesney," remarked Keeler, as he +returned the letter. + +"Oh well, she claims to have been married to two or three different men. +Calling herself Mrs. Somers seems to help her keep her self-respect. She +says Somers is dead. For my part, I never enquired whether there ever +was a sure-enough Mr. Somers or not. But I am sure she can help us in +this business. I wish you would have a talk with the woman." + +"There is no harm in that. I'll do it. And if I can find anything to go +on, I'll undertake to follow up those fellows. Perhaps I can find out +something at Nevada City. I reckon I'll have to let you look out for +Mrs. Keeler and the boy, as you say." + +"I'm mighty glad to hear you say that. And I'll make out a check right +now. Smith, the livery man at Eureka South, will cash it; and you can +take the stage out to-morrow morning." + +"All right. I reckon we'd better not lose any time." + +Palmer had already got out pen and ink. It was something of a "chore" +for the old man to draw a check. Miners' paralysis was creeping on, and +two years later the best he could do was to make his mark. But to-day he +prolonged his labors, making out a second check, to be cashed when +Keeler reached San Francisco. + +The business was hardly transacted when Henry Francis walked in. + +"Glad to see you, Francis!" exclaimed the old man. "What news from +Moore's Flat?" He exchanged glances with Keeler which seemed to mean +that their business should be regarded as strictly private, although +Henry Francis was the friend of both, and had won the confidence and +affection of old man Palmer. Francis and Palmer held the same political +faith. The former came of a distinguished Democratic family, so that the +old man's protection and loyalty had been bestowed upon him upon his +arrival in the gold fields twenty years before. Furthermore, the old man +had proved the unfailing honesty of the younger man. Jew bankers, in +blowing dirt and impurities from gold dust offered for sale, were not +over-careful about blowing away gold dust, too, which would be caught on +buckskin placed out of sight behind the counter. Palmer's dust was very +fine, and more than once he had suffered through such sharp practice, +only to vow he never would suffer so again. In Francis he had found a +strictly honest banker, whose virtue he was inclined to attribute to +correct political principles, overlooking the moral delinquencies of +other Democratic neighbors. But the old man, through long years of +experience with human nature in California, had grown extremely cautious +and secretive. Probably no one would ever have been the wiser in regard +to his old sweetheart and her sad history except for the escape of +Cummins' murderers. And now it was not necessary that any man other than +Keeler should know. + +"Glad to see you, Francis. What news from Moore's Flat?" + +Francis looked grave. "I suppose Keeler has told you all I know. Seven +days gone and nothing heard of the robbers. I shall expect a telegram +to-morrow or next day, telling of Will Cummins' burial in the village +cemetery at home. And his old father and mother are going to be denied +the small comfort of knowing that the murderers have been caught. + +"Keeler, you were Cummins' partner once. Do you have any idea who the +robbers were?" + +"I am sorry to say, I don't. This country is full of bad men. I have +thought of the blacklegs along Kanaka Creek. A robbery in Jackass Ravine +was traced to that gang. But the rascals stand together, and are ready +to defend a partner with alibis or pistols." + +If Keeler felt constrained to withhold information about his intended +visit to San Francisco in the capacity of detective, Francis on his part +saw no reason to state that he had just employed Bed-bug Brown in a +similar capacity. For in descending the caņon of the Middle Yuba, he had +gone a mile out of his way up the river to the cabin of this worthy +gentleman, and finding him at home had promptly engaged his services. +Brown, like Keeler, was to take the stage to Nevada City on the morrow, +provided with a fee for current expenses. + +"Well," said Palmer, "I am glad for my part that the California gold +craze is coming to an end. When the farmers down in the Sacramento +Valley get the upper hand, they will stop hydraulic mining, for it keeps +covering their good soil with sand and clay. The Government authorities +say we are filling up San Francisco Bay, too; so Uncle Sam is going to +step in and do something. Then those rowdies along Kanaka Creek and all +the other bad men in this country will have to move on." + +"And so will the rest of us," smiled Francis. "A man who has made his +pile can afford to retire. But what about Keeler here, and me?" + +"Well," persisted Palmer, "I think Will Cummins was right in wanting to +leave the gold fields. Gold makes people crazy. Half our gamblers and +thieves would be decent men in a decent community." + +"Mr. Palmer means," said Keeler, "that Pat Flynn, who is a good +Democrat, but who doesn't pay back the fifty dollars he borrowed from +Mr. Palmer last winter, would be a better Democrat back in Connecticut, +making wooden hams and nutmegs." With this he shook hands with his +friends and departed, for it was evident Francis had some private +business with the old man. + +When they were alone, Francis said: + +"You know, Mr. Palmer, that we Pennsylvanians stand together. I have +undertaken to settle up Cummins' affairs. I find you hold his note for a +thousand dollars." + +"I do. Lent him the money when he made a fresh start a few years back. +But I supposed I stood to lose it when the robbers took Cummins' gold +the other day. I certainly could afford to lose it." + +"Well, you don't have to lose it, Mr. Palmer. Cummins left mining stock +at the bank in my care that will more than cover the debt. The fact is, +I borrowed the value of the stock from him. Strictly speaking, I got him +to put a couple of thousand into a paying proposition; and he left +everything in my hands. So I am going to get you to cancel Cummins' note +and to take mine instead." + +"Francis, you are an honest man. The money is no great object with me. +But because I have found out that honesty is a thing that ought to be +encouraged, especially among friends, I will take your note and cancel +the other." + +So this business was settled. Robert Palmer, governed by kindly feeling +rather than hard sense, overlooked his friend's weakness for +speculation, rather counting it as honesty. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +"Bed-Bug Brown," Detective + + +When Mat Bailey drove the stage out of Graniteville the next morning, +John Keeler and "Bed-bug Brown" were the only passengers. Brown had +spent the previous evening learning all that he could about Mamie Slocum +and her young admirers. He had actually learned that a young man from +Nevada City who signed himself J. C. P. Collins had paid her attentions. +He had also discovered that the young school-teacher had more than once +expressed much admiration for Mat Bailey. In view of what Henry Francis +had told him of Mat's reflections on the school-teacher, Brown resolved, +quietly and of his own accord, to keep an eye upon Mat as well as upon +Mamie. + +The little man was unusually quiet, revolving various theories in his +head, and contemplating the magnificence of the ten thousand dollar +reward. But the presence of John Keeler, Cummins' old partner, suggested +the wisdom of gleaning information from this source. So, in order to +impress Keeler with his seniority and larger experience, he began: + +"You don't remember, I suppose, Mr. Keeler, when camels were introduced +here in the gold fields?" + +"No, that was before my time." + +"It was back in fifty-six, before the water-ditch companies had fairly +got started. It was as dry as Sahara on these mountains then, and it is +no wonder somebody thought of camels." + +"Well, when you think of our ostrich farms, camels don't seem out of +place in California. Did you ever think, Mr. Brown, what extremes of +climate we have right here in Nevada County? Along about the tenth of +December they are cutting ice up in the Sierras while they are picking +oranges in the western end of the county." + +"That is pretty good for the banner gold county of the State. Most of us +forget everything but the gold," replied Brown, smiling inwardly, to +think how easily this remark would lead up to the desired topic. + +"I'm getting sick of the gold," replied honest John Keeler. "All that +was handy to get at has been carried away. No chance left for a poor +man. It takes a big company with capital to run the business of +hydraulic mining as they do at Moore's Flat and North Bloomfield. Quartz +mining is still worse. By the time you've sunk a shaft and put up a +stamping-mill, you've mortgaged your quartz for more than it is worth, +perhaps. It takes capital to run a quartz mine." + +"Yes," assented Brown, "this country has seen its best days." + +"That's what old man Palmer says," remarked Keeler, looking across the +caņon at Palmer's Diggings. + +"You and Cummins did pretty well over there fifteen years ago," and the +little detective's eyes twinkled at his own cleverness. + +"We made a living; that's about all." + +"But Cummins was a wealthy man some years back." + +"Well, his partner never was," laughed Keeler. "If I could scrape +together the dust, I'd leave these mountains as he tried to." + +"Who do you suppose the robbers were?" + +"If I could make a good guess, I'd go after that ten thousand dollar +reward," replied Keeler. + +"There's an awful tough gang over in Jim Crow Caņon," said Brown, +throwing out another feeler. + +"Can you tell me of a place in these gold fields where you won't find a +tough gang? I was in Forest City the other day. I took the trail over +the mountains through Alleghany. Both of those places are live towns +with cemeteries,--well settled places, you know. But a tougher lot of +citizens you never saw. Gambling, drinking, and fighting, and Sunday the +worst day of the seven." + +"What impresses me most about Alleghany," said Brown, "is the vast +number of tin cans on the city dump. It makes a man hungry for the grub +his mother used to cook." + +"You're right there," said Keeler, and lapsed into silence. + +They were at Moore's Flat presently, where they changed to the +four-horse stage-coach; and the little detective's attention was +absorbed by the actions of Mat Bailey, who seemed strangely quiet. A +guilty conscience, perhaps? + +Several people were going down to Nevada City. So Keeler and Brown did +not resume their conversation, but journeyed on, each absorbed in his +own thoughts. To Keeler the trip was a sad one. In the dark woods along +Bloody Run, and as they passed the tall rock by the roadside beyond, he +thought of robbers and his murdered partner. At the store in North +Bloomfield he could hardly resist the impulse to insult the cowardly +store-keeper who had stood by and allowed Cummins to be shot. As they +dove down into the caņon of the South Yuba, he groaned to think of the +murders for gold committed therein. Could not a protecting Providence +have saved his friend? Was it the decree of fate that one who had +manfully defended the right for twenty-five years in that lawless +country should be cut off just when he was quitting it forever? Perhaps, +he thought, this very hour his partner was being laid at rest in his +"ain countree."--And his soul? Well, he believed as Palmer did, that all +is well with the soul of a brave man. Was he, Keeler, on a fool's errand +to San Francisco? Well, he had determined on his own account to do a +little investigating in Nevada City that very day. So had Mat Bailey. +Hence his unusual taciturnity. So had "Bed-bug Brown," and he kept the +secret to himself. + +Arrived at Nevada City, with its steep streets, compactly built up at +the centre of the town, church and county court-house on the hillside, +the traveler finds himself fairly out of the mountains, the luring fatal +mountains, whose very soil has now the color of gold and now the color +of blood. Mat Bailey's first concern was the care of his horses. Keeler +went to look up his friend Sheriff Carter. And "Bed-bug Brown" partook +of a frugal dinner at the moderate cost of two bits. He sat where he +could observe the movements of Mat, and lingered in the neighborhood +until the stage-driver had disposed of his own dinner and set out to +call upon Mamie Slocum. + +This young lady now spent most of her time at home. She had hardly +recovered from the shock of the tragedy; and her imagination had +conjured up a visit from the sheriff for her part therein. Instead it +was only that splendid Mat Bailey, flicking the dust from his boots with +his handkerchief, and mustering up courage to knock at the door! How +glad she was to see him! And Mat thought that she looked very sad and +pretty! She conducted him to the parlor, and proffered the seat of +honor, a hair-cloth rocking-chair. + +"Let me call Mother. She will be so glad to hear about her friends in +Graniteville." + +"I'd rather see you alone, if you don't mind." And Mat blushed through +his tan, but assured himself that duty prompted, if pleasure did +consent. It was the best arrangement all round, as "Bed-bug Brown" +himself thought,--for this worthy gentleman was eaves-dropping in the +cellar, with only a floor of thin boards between himself and these +interesting young people. + +Under other circumstances Miss Slocum would have been fascinated at the +idea of a _tęte-ā-tęte_ with this interesting, stalwart man of the +mountains. But something in his manner, and her own overwrought nerves, +told her there was trouble ahead. Should she run away, should she use a +woman's wiles in self-defense, or should she confide in this handsome +man? Distracted by these conflicting thoughts, she presented a charming +picture of alarmed innocence, as Bailey thought; and his heart yearned +to offer protection. + +"Miss Slocum, I don't know how to put it, and I don't know what mean +things you are going to think of me"-- + +And now Mamie began to sympathize with the big stage-driver, who seemed +as much embarrassed as she. + +"The fact is, Mr. Francis asked me to see you." + +"Mr. Francis is a good friend of mine. He secured the school at +Graniteville for me." + +Bailey, grateful for this help, continued: + +"He thought I might inquire about a matter"-- + +"Heavens!" thought Mamie, "does Mr. Francis know about my trouble? Mat +Bailey must have told him!" If her intuition guided her truly in this +matter, it no less truly recognized a friend in Mat. + +"The fact is"--he began, and then he hesitated. "Damn it!" he thought, +"how could he say things that would hurt this lovely creature?" + +"Mr. Bailey, I think I know what you mean. You want to know why I told +that robber about Mr. Cummins's valise. It has nearly worried me to +death; and I don't wonder you all demand an explanation." + +"Don't put it that way, I beg of you, Miss Slocum!" exclaimed Mat, +greatly relieved that she had come to his rescue, but no less greatly +concerned that he should appear in the hateful character of accuser and +informer. "We don't demand anything. We know you didn't have anything to +do with those robbers. Mr. Cummins was a friend of yours; and you +wouldn't do nothing to injure an enemy!" + +Mat could use negatives properly when not excited. + +The conversation was becoming less and less interesting to the little +man in the cellar. But it was not easy to beat a retreat. + +Mamie began to weep softly, but more from joy than otherwise. After the +strain of the past week these honest words of Mat were balm to her. + +"I--I will tell you everything, Mr. Bailey. Oh, how I have wanted to +talk to some friend about it! But it was so dreadful! I couldn't breathe +a word of it even to Mother." + +Mat was all tenderness now; and the man under the floor began to prick +up his ears. + +"I was talking with a young man only a week before that dreadful day, +and he said highwaymen are too generous to steal money from people like +Mr. Cummins. And that the best thing anyone could do when a stage is +robbed would be to tell the robbers about the property of passengers +like him. I didn't believe it at first, and now I know how frightfully +foolish I was. But the young man, who had been in jail once himself, was +so positive, that I really believed a criminal has a sense of honor. And +when the robber asked whose valise that was, I was so frightened the +words came right out before I realized what I had done." + +"Every word you say is God's truth, Miss Slocum, and I hope you will +forgive me for bothering you this way." It did occur to Mat that he +might inquire who that young jail-bird might be. And "Bed-bug Brown" was +hoping that his name would be mentioned. But Mat reflected that this was +none of his business; and that it did not matter anyhow. If Miss Slocum +did not care to mention the man's name he would not ask for it. She had +behaved nobly, and he admired her from the bottom of his heart. + +"Really, Mr. Bailey, I am glad you gave me this chance to explain. You +don't know what I have suffered. And then to think that I deserved to +suffer it, and more, too, for causing the death of my own friend!" And +here the tears came again, honest tears, as Mat knew full well. He +rather envied Cummins that so beautiful a creature should grieve for +him. + +"Now look here, Mamie, it is all right to be sorry that Mr. Cummins got +killed. Every honest man and woman in Nevada County is sorry. But you +didn't cause his death, any more than I did. I never felt meaner in my +life than I did that day, holding those horses and looking down into the +barrel of that robber's gun. He had me, until he started for Cummins. +And it was all over so quick, I hardly knew what happened. But I can't +quite forgive myself for not jumping down after that robber as soon as +ever he uncovered me. It would probably have been too late; and the +horses would have run away, most likely; but still I wish I had jumped. +But because I didn't jump I'm not going to hold myself responsible for +Cummins' death. The robbers must hang for it, and not you and me. As for +what you said, I don't believe it made any difference at all. They were +bound to get all the gold on the stage that day; and they knew Cummins +had some."-- + +"That's just it, Mr. Bailey, and that's what makes it so hard for me." + +Mat saw he had been swept off his feet by his own eloquence, and so he +tried again. + +"Well, they would have got it anyhow. They might have wasted a minute or +two more hunting for it, but they would have found it, and Cummins would +have fought for it just the same." + +"Yes, that is what I've thought," said Mamie. "Oh, why did he risk his +life so?" + +"I'll tell you, Mamie," said Mat, "everybody in this country is crazy +about gold--miners, gamblers, bankers, robbers,--everybody. They're like +hungry wolves, ready to tear one another to pieces. Only the wolves have +more sense. Gold is of no earthly use to anyone. I'm sick and tired of +the whole business." And Mat rose, hat in hand, to go. + +"I hope you'll call again, Mr. Bailey," said the the girl shyly. Here +was a friend in need! A great bashful, manly fellow, so kind and +sympathetic! + +"I'll be more than pleased to," replied Mat, determined to prove his +philosophy that there are things far more precious than gold. + +Fascinated with the idea, he loitered in the neighborhood longer than he +would otherwise have done; and, glancing back at the dear girl's house, +he was astonished to see "Bed-bug Brown" emerge from the cellar. Brown +saw him at about the same time. There was no escape for either, so they +drifted together good-naturedly. The little man extended his hand: + +"Congratulations! When is the wedding to be?" + +Bailey simply smiled, and said: + +"Bed-bug Brown, detective!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +The Home-Coming of a Dead Man + + +Meanwhile the body of the murdered man--noble countenance peaceful now +after twenty-five years of adventure--had been traveling eastward to its +final resting place. The body of William F. Cummins came home in +state--home at last, where the familiar caw of crow and tinkle of +cow-bell might almost conjure the dead back to life again. Three years +before, at the time of the great Centennial, when, in the full vigor of +manhood, Will Cummins had visited his native town, no sounds had so +stirred old memories of fields and mountains as those homely sounds of +crow and cow-bell. + +Then neighbors had flocked about the bold Californian, eager to press +his hand and to look into his fearless eyes. Now, robbed and murdered, +he came home again, life's journey ended. The quiet village was +appalled, and shaken with anger. Friends and neighbors flocked to the +funeral--indignant youths, solemn old men and women. True, the younger +generation had hardly known of the Californian's existence. To them he +seemed to have come out of the Sierras like a Rip Van Winkle, who slept +soundly on, asking no questions. But to the old men he had died a youth, +full of promise. They remembered well the eager buoyancy with which he +and his comrades had set out for the gold fields. Middle-aged men and +women remembered his school days in Reedsville, when he was one of them, +when they were all healthy, merry boys and girls together. + +The funeral over, and the Californian safely laid in his native soil on +the hillside, men gathered in groups on the corners of the village +street, or stepped into the bank to look at the six-shooter which had +failed their friend in his hour of need. The local minister, gazing upon +the dead man's revolver, was heard to remark: + +"They that take the sword shall perish with the sword." + +But the bystanders would not endure the doctrine. Their Anglo-Saxon +blood recoiled. And a former Californian, who was an old friend of +Cummins, stepped forward and said: + +"Mr. Lamb, Will Cummins was not afraid to perish with the sword. And, if +he could have drawn that revolver, there would have been two dead +robbers. This doctrine of non-resistance is wrong, dead wrong. We proved +that in California, just as you people proved it here in the Civil War. +Will Cummins was not afraid to defend his rights." + +"But," replied the minister, who in spite of his name seemed eager for +the combat, "the Civil War was a national crime. Think of the hundreds +of thousands of young men, North and South, who perished." + +"Yes, Mr. Lamb, the war _was_ a crime. And Jeff Davis and the other +criminals ought to have been hanged, just as those stage-robbers ought +to be." + +"Don't you see, my friend," replied the minister, "that violence breeds +violence?" + +"Then," rather scornfully, "you think Will Cummins did wrong to defend +his property?" + +"He would have been alive to-day if he hadn't." + +"But that's not the point. Will Cummins died for a principle. He +believed in self-defense, and was not afraid to risk his life." + +"Of course," said the minister, "I admit that he was a brave man. But +Christ said, 'if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak +also'--'turn the other cheek'--'resist not evil'--'they that take the +sword shall perish with the sword.'" + +"Well," said the Californian, "I don't dispute the fact that people who +carry weapons are likely to get killed. What I say is, I admire a man +who is not afraid of getting killed when he knows he's right. It may be +just as honorable to perish with the sword as to be crucified." + +This statement, savoring of the heresy that was introduced into American +thought both by soldiers returning from the Civil War and by men +returning from the lawless life of the West, rather shocked the +minister, who was a good and sincere man. But he only said: + +"Surely, you are a Christian?" + +"Well," replied the Californian, "I don't know. If Jesus Christ said +self-defense is wrong, then He was mistaken." + +Here the argument ended. But the theme is a fruitful one; and every +thoughtful man and woman in Reedsville was bound to consider it. Dead +men tell no tales and make no arguments. Will Cummins slept peacefully +on. But the facts of the case were too plain to be ignored; and the +Californian's doubt of Christ's infallibility was widely discussed. + +It was indeed a great issue, involving the fundamental principles of +Christianity. A brave man, who is not a scoffer, attacks the doctrine of +non-resistance, and lays down his life for the faith that is in him. A +martyr, then. Martyrdom in itself cannot establish a principle; but we +respect martyrdom. Turn the argument around: the martyrdom of Christ did +not establish the correctness of His teaching. + +But this leads to a further question, namely, the nature of Christ--was +Christ human or divine? We may honestly say He was both; for if ever man +was inspired He was. But He might have made mistakes, as other inspired +teachers have done. And what did He really teach? Not one word of +Scripture was written by His hand. The spirit of Christ--this is the +important thing. The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life. Did He not +caution us to look not to Himself but to God? "Why callest thou me good? +One there is who is good, even God" ... "Not those who say, 'Lord, +Lord,' but those who do the will of My Father which is in heaven." + +Self-defense is a duty which civilized man owes to civilization. Will +you tell me that the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who, making no +resistance, have perished like sheep at the hands of the Turks, were +better men than the four thousand who fled to the mountains and fought +off their persecutors till help arrived? Read of the heroic defense, +when for fifty-three days the men of that gallant band, with a few +rifles, saved their women and children from worse than death. I say +these men performed a duty to God and man--to the Turk himself, into +whose black heart they shot more virtue and honesty than ever were +implanted by the hundreds of thousands who died like sheep. + +Civilized man must maintain himself, else the world will relapse into +barbarism. To perish with the sword in defense of home and friends may +be a sacred duty. If I have any quarrel with the Californians it is not +with their courage and daring. These were exemplary. And if it is right +to defend one's life, it is right to defend one's property, by means of +which life is supported. + +But the dead men sleep soundly there on the hill, unmindful of praise or +blame, and old man Palmer, himself in a pauper's grave by the Middle +Yuba, robbed in his turn, and by a trusted friend, tells no tales, for +he sleeps serenely. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +The Travels of John Keeler + + +John Keeler had found his friend the sheriff at the Citizens' Bank, +putting up money on a bet that Cummins' murderers would not be caught +within a year. Sheriff Carter was dealing in futures, as it were. +Nothing would have pleased him better than to lay hands on those +highwaymen; but,--thoroughly discouraged at the outlook,--like a true +sportsman he enjoyed the humor of betting against himself in the vague +hope that such action might lead to something. He was more than pleased +to see Keeler, whose mysterious air clearly indicated that something was +up. They walked immediately to the court-house, and were soon closeted +together. + +"Now look here, Keeler, if you're going to play detective, you don't +want to hang out a sign, 'John Keeler, Detective.' There's blood in your +eye. Any crook could spot you a block away." + +Keeler laughed, and looked rather sheepish. + +"Well," he said, "there's no harm done, I reckon. Those fellows are +probably a thousand miles from here by this time." + +"What makes you think so?" asked Carter. "They may be right here in +Nevada City. Some of those fellows can throw a perfect bluff on a pair +of two-spots." + +"Well, Carter, I thank you for your suggestion. After this, I'll be +careful. That is, I'll appear to be careless. I haven't any inkling as +to where those thugs are, and I've come to you to get some points." + +"I don't blame you a bit, Keeler, for wanting to look into this affair. +Cummins was your partner once; and a better man never lived in Nevada +County. I hope to God I can string up the men who killed him. Just step +in here." + +In an ante-room Carter had set up two straw men dressed in the discarded +clothes of the highwaymen. + +"Of course, this ain't going to help much," explained Carter, +deprecatingly. "But it does give you a fair idea of the height of those +fellows. Mat Bailey was in here the other day to help me with these +dummies. He seems to have a pretty good idea of what the men looked +like." + +As his mission to San Francisco was confidential, and inasmuch as +Palmer's Mrs. Somers was an unknown quantity, Keeler refrained from +mentioning her. He proceeded to San Francisco that day; looked up Mrs. +Somers, who gave him the names and descriptions of a dozen bad men of +Nevada County; and the next day he returned to hunt up some of these +same bad men. One of them was O'Leary of You Bet, whom he found without +trouble. But he got very little encouragement from O'Leary; and he very +soon discovered how hard it is for an honest man to get any sort of +satisfaction from thieves and liars. + +In the absence of any definite information he resolved to turn eastward, +across the Sierras. He was on the right track, as we know. As far as +Omaha it was not so very difficult to make a fairly thorough search for +the criminals. However, this took time, and although he happened to pick +up information here and there about a couple of rather odd-looking +Californians traveling eastward with gold, he often felt that he was on +a fool's errand. He fell in with Californians everywhere. If the +building of the transcontinental railroad had served no other purpose, +it had sent a steady stream of people away from the gold fields--a +circumstance that made his mission seem all the more hopeless. Among so +many how could he distinguish the criminals? True, he could distinguish +an ex-miner among a thousand. And whenever such a man extended his right +hand and said, "Put it there, partner!" Keeler could not refuse the +proffered hand-clasp. + +At Louisville he encountered a man whom he was sure he had seen in +Nevada City. The man evidently recognized him also, and for an instant +Keeler thought he saw a wild gleam in the man's eye. Then it was, "Put +it there, partner!" and Keeler placed his clean right hand into the +grimy palm indicated. + +"The drinks are on me, this morning," said the man, marching him off to +the nearest bar. And Keeler was so much in the humor of the thing that +he was soon telling the story of the Frenchman who took lessons in +English from a Kentuckian: + +"What do you say in Anglais when one offer you a drink, and you accep' +le invite?" + +"Don't care if I do," replied the instructor. + +"Don car fido," repeated Frenchy. "And what eef you do not accep' le +invite?" + +The Kentuckian looked grave, slowly shook his head, and finally answered +in despair: + +"You've got me there, Frenchy!" + +The Californian laughed heartily--rather too heartily, Keeler thought; +and then inquired: + +"Going East or West?" + +"Westward for me," replied Keeler; "and you?" + +"Well, I reckon I've played my last game of poker in Nevada City. The +East for me. With a little dust for capital, this country seems right +good. Why, out there in the Sierras, you know as well as I do, the +soil's too poor to feed lizards. Not much like the blue grass country of +Kaintuck." + +"Well," said Keeler, "if I had made my pile, Maryland would be good +enough for me. As it is, California is all right, barring those same +pesky lizards." + +"The boys set too stiff a pace out there, though," replied the ex-miner. +"Why, many a Saturday night I've seen fellows drop into town with a +hundred and fifty dollars in dust, and then borrow the money to take the +stage out Monday morning." + +"I don't go in for sporting myself," said Keeler, "so I guess my +character won't be ruined. The churches have got started, and they are +giving the saloons a good deal of trouble." + +"By thunder! that reminds me," quoth the Californian, "this here is a +Christian country, and I'm going to join the church, first thing I do." + +"And spin California yarns to a Sunday-School class," suggested Keeler. +"Bet your class will be a large one." + +"I'll do it, by thunder! The very thing! And I'll shoot any lad as gets +impertinent." + +Keeler was clearly out of his element, and thought it time to terminate +the brief acquaintance. + +"John Keeler is my name; and I can swear I've seen you in Nevada City. +But you have the best of me." + +"Why," replied the Californian, as cool as you please, "my name's +Darcy." + +It was the man who had killed Will Cummins! But John Keeler was none the +wiser, as Darcy quickly saw. He and Collins had reached Louisville +undetected. Had there assumed the character of honest miners, shipped +their bullion by express, a part to New Orleans and a part to +Philadelphia, and were on the point of dissolving partnership. + +Darcy soon afterward assumed the name of Thorn, set up in the lumber +business at Union City, Indiana, where it is but a few steps across the +border into Ohio,--and became a prosperous and respected citizen. He +actually associated himself with the leading church of the town and was +looked upon by the young men as a Californian who had succeeded. + +Honest John Keeler, who was well acquainted with the type, as he +thought, could only remark, as his train sped westward, "There is a +sensible miner! One who has safely transferred his money from saloons +and gambling dens and robbers to the famous blue grass country. Good +luck to him!" + +He had well-nigh forgotten the incident when Darcy was arrested three +years later. + +A whole year had passed before Keeler returned home, discouraged. In the +meantime, as we shall see, the snows of the Sierras had not chilled the +budding affections of Mat Bailey; but the hot sun of another California +summer had stricken down old man Palmer. Keeler mistrusted that +something was wrong, as he had not heard from his old friend for several +months. Fortunately, his wife and child were well and happy, but they +had impatiently waited for his return. From them he had heard every week +or two. + +At length he was safely back across the Sierras. The caņon of the +American River had never seemed more terrible as the train hovered over +the brink of it. And now they were at Colfax, the junction of the narrow +gauge railroad, whence, at nine cents a mile, you travel northward to +Nevada City. The iron bars on the high, narrow windows of the station, +the low whistle of the little engine, like the lonesome cry of a wolf, +as it took the high trestle over Bear River, the very bars of dirt in +the river bed far below, proclaimed to John Keeler that he had returned +to the land of robbers and gold mining. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +The Snows of the Sierras + + +After the heat and turmoil of a day when the children have been +especially vexing, what mother does not smile in forgiveness upon the +peaceful faces of her offspring, whose characters in sleep appear as +spotless as the sheets which cover them? So smiled the sun upon the +grown-up children of the Sierras asleep under the winter snow. After the +heat and turmoil of the summer, the mad search for gold was over. Save +when there was a heavy snowstorm, the Graniteville stage traveled over +the mountains, as usual; but no highwayman molested it. It would have +been a practical impossibility for a robber to have made off with booty. +The snow was light and feathery, and the drifts were often twenty-five +feet deep. The web-footed snow-shoes of New England could not be used +with advantage in such snow, so recourse was had to skis. But it was +difficult to manage these upon the steep trails of the caņons, so that +people generally were content to hibernate like grizzlies. Many a miner, +glad to indulge his liking of conviviality, would take up his residence +in some mountain village for the winter, spending with a liberal hand +the precious yellow dust that he had worked so hard to get. Many, forced +to keep the wolf from the door, found work with lumbermen and ditch +companies. + +In my opinion, Mat Bailey and Dr. Mason had a decided advantage over +both miners and villagers. Like the man-o-war's man of song they enjoyed +steady occupations summer and winter, and spent much of their time in +the open. The cold was never extreme, the thermometer very rarely +dropping below zero Fahrenheit. The dust of summer was buried deep under +the gleaming snow, and the air was crisp and exhilarating. Often the +doctor was one of Mat's passengers. Often he would leave the stage where +some trail wound down into a caņon, and putting on his skis glide away +among the great pines, which, covered with snow and ornamented with +shining icicles, were scattered over the mountain slopes like great +wigwams of white canvas. A doctor anywhere is a welcome visitor and a +friend in need; in the wilderness, in the depth of winter he ranks but +little lower than the angels. Often, coming to a lonely cabin, fairly +buried in snow-drifts, he would climb in through the gable window of the +loft; and no doubt his descent to the patient lying below suggested the +arrival of a heavenly visitor. + +One glorious winter day Mamie Slocum through Mat's persuasions +accompanied him from Nevada City to Graniteville. He wanted her to see +the magnificence of the Sierras in winter. Mamie needed little coaxing. +Indeed, her admiration for Mat was making her unmindful of very eligible +suitors. Besides, she enjoyed life in the open almost as much as he did. +But I suspect on that beautiful winter morning both enjoyed each other's +society even more than the scenery. As far as North Bloomfield, she was +the only passenger, so well had Mat and the weather bureau contrived +matters. He explained that he was really in need of her assistance, for +in the open places where the snow had drifted across the road, it was +often necessary to attack the drifts with a snow-shovel. He would then +pass the reins to Mamie, who, demurely perched aloft, rosy-cheeked and +most bewitching, was a picture for an artist. + +No wonder Mat should have grown confidential and talked about his +personal history--which was usually bad form in California, where +present fortune counted for everything and family history was regarded +as ancient history. He told her how in boyhood he came to California +from Virginia with his parents. That was back in the fifties, when +respectable women were so rare in the gold fields that their arrival was +hailed by the rough miners with a sort of religious fervor. One of Mat's +earliest recollections was a scene with emigrant wagon and camp-fire in +the background, and in the foreground his mother, clasping him by the +hand and greeting a score of bearded men, who, with hats off, were +paying her homage. + +He could remember, too, how they had come over the mountains through +Emigrant Gap, passing the graves of the Donner party. The tragedy of the +snow-bound emigrants had made a deep impression upon his imagination. He +spoke of it to Mamie, and she rather saucily inquired what he would do +with her if they, too, were caught in a severe snowstorm. + +"In the first place," said Mat, "I wouldn't let you start out in a +snowstorm. And in the second place, if we should get caught, on the +return trip, we would make for the nearest shelter and stay there till +traveling was safe again." + +"Oh, dear, what a stupid adventure that would be! There's very little +excitement in this civilized country." + +Mat laughed. "So this is what you call a civilized country? I don't see +any signs of civilization except this road and the water ditch yonder." + +Mat was quite right. In every direction the frost-king held sway over an +unbroken wilderness. The massive ranges of the Sierras, clothed all in +white, were as majestic and as untamed as when Fremont and Kit Carson +gazed down upon them from their snowy summit. To cross that mountain +barrier, ninety-three hundred feet above the level of the sea, would +require as much heroism as ever. The wise old Indians knew better than +to attempt it; and so did the miners. Only a Fremont or a Kit Carson +might pass over that awful divide in safety, pushing on through the deep +drifts, half their mules and horses dead, and their comrades staggering +with exhaustion. How absolutely essential was that stage-road, winding +over the snow fields! + +Soon Mat perceived signs that made him anxious. They would reach +Graniteville without mishap. But the return trip to-morrow? A falling +barometer could not have made him feel more certain of an approaching +storm. He began to question the disinterestedness which had led him to +show Miss Slocum the splendor of the winter landscape. The girl's gay +chatter could not drown the voice of his accusing conscience. +Fortunately for Mat, at this juncture Dr. Mason came to the rescue like +a fairy godfather. + +They picked the doctor up at North Bloomfield. His baggage included not +only his skis and medicine-case but a violin as well. For the doctor was +a musical genius; and it had been his proud achievement to construct his +own instrument, which friends vowed was as excellent as a Stradivarius. +Often of a winter evening his music was more sought after than his +medicine. Mamie was delighted. + +"So there's going to be a party to-night," she exclaimed. Mat promptly +seized the opportunity to secure the lion's share of the dances, and +immediately congratulated himself upon the approach of the storm, hoping +it might bring a whole series of parties. + +"Bless you, my children," said the doctor, "it will be a pleasure to +call off the figures for the likes of you." The word "eugenics" had not +been coined as yet, but like all wise physicians the doctor believed in +the idea. It made his heart rejoice to watch the budding affection of +these normal, healthy young people. And he knew the magic of the violin. +And so they waltzed on to their heart's content in the large dining-room +of the hotel at Graniteville. At midnight, the feathery snow began to +fall, insuring several other blissful nights. Between dances they looked +out of doors and windows; when the drifts buried the whole first story +of the hotel, the warmth of that great bare room seemed even more +genial. + + "The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men-- + Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again, + And all went merry as a marriage bell." + +When refreshments were served, so pleased was the doctor with his young +friends' pleasure, that he drew them aside to tell them a bit of his +family history. + +"My family," said the doctor, "lived for many generations in Ayrshire, +Scotland, neighbors to the family of Robert Burns. And, like the poet's +people, they were very poor. No wonder! The poor man has no chance in +the old country. Years ago an ancestor of mine leased a tract of +worthless swamp land for forty-nine years at a penny an acre per year. +By hard labor and perseverance he drained the land and made it +productive. So when the forty-nine years were up and the family sought +an extension of the lease, the rent went up to one pound an acre. This +was pretty hard; but by frugality and perseverance the family still +prospered. At the end of the second forty-nine years the rent demanded +was five pounds an acre. Think of it--twenty-five dollars a year! That +was too much to endure, so my father, then a young blacksmith, was sent +over to Canada to buy land. He bought three farms of a hundred acres +each, one for himself, one for his brother, and one for their father, +paying four dollars an acre. Here again the rich man had the upper hand. +For this same land had been sold by the British Government to +capitalists for twenty-five cents an acre. Of course, my people had no +money to pay cash down, but they quit Scotland nevertheless. They came +over in 1832, in a small sailing vessel, which took four weeks to make +the passage. Then came another struggle. The land was very productive, +but money was scarce and crops brought hardly anything. But at least the +Mason family had enough to eat. Finally, after many years, the mortgages +were paid off, and the family established." + +The doctor paused, and Mat thought he saw a reason for Scotch grit. He +contrasted such a history with the get-rich-quick methods of California! + +"America," continued the doctor, "is the land of opportunity. With good +health and industry the poor man can succeed." And he looked at Mat +significantly. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +The Golden Summer Comes Again + + +The golden summer had come again. To old man Palmer, living alone on the +top of Fillmore Hill, the great snow banks stored high upon the +mountains meant abundance of water for mining. The strange flowers of +California, yellow and red, grown familiar now after many years, made +their appeal to him. With the returning summer he welcomed the yellow +bird with red crown and black wings. He loved the exhilarating air and +the glorious sunshine. But I am afraid the golden glow of morning +suggested gold. + +He was cleaning up several square rods of bed-rock in the ancient river +bed on the hill-top, and the dirt was rich in gold. Every morning early, +leaving his breakfast dishes unwashed, he carefully shoveled this dirt +into his sluices, and watched the water carry mud and sand away. Once in +a while he would shut off the water to examine the rich amalgam at each +cleat across the trough, removing that which was saturated with gold and +replacing it with fresh mercury. This clean-up was going to be +especially good, and he was glad to be alone. + +Treasure like this would tempt his lawless neighbors. He wanted no such +rogues round as they had at Angels Camp, Calaveras County, where, +according to his last copy of "The California Democrat," the post-office +had been robbed of a thousand dollars, including one hundred dollars' +worth of postage stamps. Postage stamps! He laughed to think to what +straits thieves had come in Calaveras County. + +Then he thought of his own hard-earned treasures, safely locked up in +the Hibernia Bank of San Francisco and with D. O. Mills of Sacramento. +Some day kindred back in Connecticut would have cause to praise his +frugality and self-denial. Sometimes he thought of his blasted romance +and of the poor woman in San Francisco who scrubbed floors for an honest +living. Ah, well, life is hard. His own years of toil were nearly over, +as he knew by unmistakable signs. Perhaps this rich clean-up would be +his last. And so it was; though nearly two years elapsed before a +merciful Providence released the old man from this world where thieves +break through and steal the fruits of our labors. + +The Woolsey boys, young men now, with the strength of the hills in bone +and muscle, were the old man's chief reliance. They could see that he +was failing, and felt sincerely sorry. They noted with what grim +determination he stuck to his work. The tenacity inherited from a +hundred generations of strong men, farmers, sea-kings, warriors, nerved +his old arms and kept strong the will within him. + +One day about the first of August, in the early afternoon when the sun +is hottest, they found the old man within doors, washing dishes. + +"Sit down, Mr. Palmer," said John, the older of the boys, "and we will +do the dishes for you." + +"Well, boys, go ahead. I know what famous pot-wrastlers ye be. I can't +compete with you." And he gladly sat down, to examine a legal document +the boys had brought him. For one Dupre, who had a rough farm at the +bottom of the caņon and sold the old man vegetables, had sued him for +damages, because the dirt washed down from Palmer's diggings had covered +up a few square rods of grass land. The damage was slight, but the +Frenchman was thrifty, and had sued for a round sum. Palmer was quite +willing to pay actual damages, but he had refused to be robbed. A +compromise had finally been made, and Dupre agreed to withdraw his suit +upon the payment of fifty dollars. To this contract the old man now +affixed his signature, in a very shaky hand. + +"There, I'm glad that's settled," said he. And a moment later he had +fallen out of his chair upon the floor. + +Miner's paralysis! Even the Woolsey boys knew the symptoms. They lifted +the old man up and put him on his bed, gave him whiskey, and then +consulted as to their next duty. They could not leave him there alone +upon the mountain-top; nor was it an easy matter to descend to the +bottom of the caņon for help. + +"You stay here, Charley," said John, "and I'll go for Dr. Mason." + +"That won't do, Jack. It will be five o'clock before you can cross the +caņon, and dark by the time you reach North Bloomfield. Alleghany City +is the place to strike for. Get Dr. Lefevre over there. They say he can +cure paralysis if any man can." + +"It's no easy trip to Alleghany, either," said John thoughtfully. "The +caņon of Wolf Creek is as bad as the caņon of the Middle Yuba. And +there's Kanaka Creek beyond." + +"Then again, whichever way you go," responded his brother, "you ain't +sure of finding the doctor. Better take the old man with us and make for +Alleghany, I guess." + +This seemed the most feasible plan. So they saddled Palmer's sure-footed +horse, put his sick master into the saddle, and started down the trail +across the caņon of Wolf Creek. It was a long, hard trip. To the Woolsey +boys, holding and steadying the old man, the caņon had never seemed so +deep. At last they reached the Plumbago Mine, on the opposite height, +where they borrowed two mules to carry them the rest of the way. It was +easy going now as far as Chipp's Flat. Late in the evening they climbed +the steep trail from Kanaka Creek to Alleghany City, took their charge +to the hotel, and hunted up Dr. Lefevre. + +So began a long, hard sickness, the first serious sickness Robert Palmer +had suffered since his arrival in the gold fields. For days he lay +helpless. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered to take notice of his +surroundings, he begged to be moved from the noisy hotel, with its +sickening smells, to the cabin of an old friend named Lee, who lived +some distance from the main street. + +There are not more than half a dozen streets in Alleghany City, the +principal one being the road along the mountain-side, which, leaving the +village, climbs up over an ancient stream of lava, and crossing the +summit of the mountain plunges down to Forest City. Dr. Lefevre was the +only doctor in the two "cities," and spent much of his time crossing the +high ridge that separates the two. He often wished that the miners, in +pursuit of gold-bearing gravel, had dug a passage-way through the ridge, +as they had done on the opposite side of Kanaka Creek, where there was a +tunnel from Chipp's Flat to Minnesota. But on this side of the creek +they mined for quartz. However, the miners were good patients, and some +day the doctor hoped to return to France with the gold his skill had +earned him. + +With a Frenchman's zeal for science and thoroughness, he was a most +excellent physician. By the first of October, Robert Palmer was cured. +To the doctor it seemed almost a miracle; and he cautioned the old miner +kindly: + +"Mr. Palmer, one can never tell about this malady. To-day you are well, +thanks to your remarkable constitution and a Frenchman's art. Next +month, perhaps"--and he shrugged his shoulders. + +"If you have any business matters to settle, monsieur, any affair of the +heart, any will to make, you had better attend to such things while the +good Lord gives you strength." + +Robert Palmer heeded this advice; and so, a few days after, when he had +returned to his house on Fillmore Hill, he wrote the following +remarkable document: + + "Fillmore Hill, Oct. 12, 1880. + + "I, Robert Palmer, the undersigned, of sound mind, declare this to + be my last will and testament. After my death it is my will that + after all just, honest debts and expenses are paid, if there is any + property left that it shall be divided equally between my nieces + and nephews: that is, each one shall receive an equal share; and it + is also my will that should a majority of my nieces believe money + or other property placed in the hands of any of their number would + not be used properly the others shall hold such money or property + and pay it to the owner at such times and in such amounts as they + may think best: and it is also my will that the same plan shall be + adopted and carried out with regard to my nephews as I have named + above for my nieces, except my nephews shall hold the property. + + "Now then be it known that I hereby appoint as my administrators or + executors, to execute and carry out the above my will, the + following named persons, (to wit), John Hintzen of Forest City, + Sierra County; John Haggerty of Moore's Flat, Nevada County, and + Henry Francis of Moore's Flat, Nevada County: also James B. Francis + of Reedsville, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania; to act without bonds, + and also to act without the interference of any court of law or any + Public Administrator whatever; to act at all times and under all + circumstances to the best of their judgment in settling my affairs: + if they have patience they may hear any pleas my relations have to + offer, but I wish them in the end to stand firm and resolute on + their own judgment, and take time to settle the concern whether it + need one year or twenty years. + + "And furthermore it is my will that if the above named persons + cannot act conveniently then if two or more act they shall have the + same power as if all acted; but if only two act they shall both + agree on all the matters, but if more act then the majority may + rule. + + "Robert Palmer." Oct. 12, 1880. + +Only one who knows the spirit of early California can understand this +document. Its beginning is modest: "if there is any property left." What +amount was the old man about to distribute? He was too cautious to +mention it; and when his friend John Hintzen of Forest City, in whose +safe the will was deposited, wrote asking for a list of the property, +the old man parried the question. + +Another curious feature of this document is that the old man chose two +executors. He did not care to trust any one friend too far, apparently. + +Robert Palmer, Democrat, paid his respects to courts and lawyers. His +executors were "to act without bonds, and also to act without +interference of any court of law or any Public Administrator whatever." +He might better have trusted the courts, as we shall see, for his +friends failed him. After thirty years the executors all died; and to +this day the will of Robert Palmer is an unsolved mystery. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +The End of the Trail + + The gold that with the sunlight lies + In bursting heaps at dawn, + The silver spilling from the skies + At night to walk upon, + The diamonds gleaming in the dew + He never saw, he never knew. + + He got some gold, dug from the mud, + Some silver, crushed from stones, + The gold was red with dead men's blood, + The silver black with groans; + And when he died he moaned aloud, + "There'll be no pocket in my shroud." + + Joaquin Miller. + + +John Keeler, returned from his travels, became Palmer's trusted +messenger to Hintzen, to whom the old man sent a copy of his will. +Keeler was provided with another copy to deposit at the court-house in +Downieville, county seat of Sierra County. For although Robert Palmer +disliked courts and lawyers, he deemed it wise to file a copy of his +will at the court-house. This he could do without telling Hintzen, so he +instructed Keeler, after having seen that gentleman at Forest City, to +continue over the mountains to Downieville, as if on private business. + +Honest John Keeler, after a year spent in tracking criminals, had little +liking for this new mission. It seemed as if his old friend thought all +men rogues. Such a sweeping condemnation would include himself, and he +resented the insinuation. However, the old man was still feeble. So +Keeler set out on foot across the mountains. + +It had been some time since he had been as far as Chipp's Flat. There he +sought out the old cannon, long since dismounted, and sitting down upon +it he thought of the changes wrought in that neighborhood within his +recollection. In Civil War times, eighteen years before, miners of +Chipp's Flat and vicinity had enlisted in the Union Army. There had been +a full company of a hundred men, and the cannon had been a part of their +equipment. But the cannon had not left that California mountain-side; +and the soldiers themselves had got no further East than Arizona, for in +those days there was no transcontinental railroad. Now that there was +one, Chipp's Flat had no need of it. Save for two or three scattered +houses the mining town had disappeared. The mountain ridge had been +mined through from Minnesota, and now that the gold-bearing gravel had +been exhausted, Chipp's Flat, except in name, had gone out of existence. + +The next thing of interest was the dirty blue water of Kanaka Creek, and +the clatter of the stamping mills on the other side of it; for Keeler +was not much used to quartz mining. The name "quartz mining" seemed +misleading, for the wash from the crushed rock was distinctly blue. It +was evident that these quartz mines were paying well, as Alleghany had +every appearance of a live mining town. Keeler stopped at the hotel +there for dinner. It seemed strange that intelligent men should so lose +their heads. Great quantities of liquor were being consumed at the hotel +bar, poker games were in full blast, and there was a cemetery handy. + +Keeler was glad to leave Alleghany to climb over the mountain ridge to +Forest City. Now to the eastward the lofty peaks of the Sierras hove +into view, dwarfing the mountain ridges of the gold fields. He paused to +inspect the ancient stream of lava which crossed his path, and +considered once more those convulsions of the earth which had thrown the +ancient river beds to the hill-tops, and of which California earthquakes +are a constant reminder. + +Arrived at the summit of the ridge, he looked down upon Forest City, a +straggling village in a barren valley denuded of forests. Church, +school, and cemetery gave the place an air of permanence; but some day +it might disappear, like Chipp's Flat. It lay almost beneath him, so +steep was the road down the mountain. Beyond, up the bare valley of a +mountain stream, lay the trail to Downieville, nine miles away. His +mission to Hintzen performed, he would spend the night at Forest City, +and push on to Downieville the next morning. + +Hintzen kept the general store at Forest City, a business more certain +and profitable than gold-mining; and having a reputation for strict +honesty, he had become a sort of agent and business manager for the +miners. He was one of the few men Robert Palmer trusted; therefore he +received the document from Keeler's hand without surprise. But he could +not repress a smile at the testator's extreme caution and resolved +forthwith to ask for a list of his friend's securities. + +"How is the old man now?" he asked. + +"Mr. Palmer has had a close call," replied Keeler. "But he is good for a +couple of years yet, I reckon." + +"Sit down, Keeler, while I write him a note. You'll find a whiskey toddy +up there at the end of the counter.--Beg your pardon. Forgot your +temperance principles. There's fresh spring water in that bucket." + +Next morning Keeler pushed on up the ascending valley of the mountain +torrent. The horns of a wild sheep by the wayside reminded him of +earlier days when game was plentiful. The only wild creatures along the +trail to-day were rattlesnakes. With these he was well acquainted. But +it did give him a start to find one twined about a branch of a bush. + +An hour's steady climbing brought him to the top of the watershed +between the North and the Middle Yuba. Here a scene of wild grandeur lay +before him. Bare crags on either hand guarded the pass over the divide. +Immediately in front lay a whole system of deep caņons, clothed with +primeval forests, wild and forbidding. Beyond towered a chain of rough, +bare mountain peaks. Keeler paused to wonder anew at the vastness of the +Sierras. + +Then he plunged down from the ridge and was soon traversing one of the +most lonesome and gloomy trails in all the mountains. The tree trunks +were covered with yellowish green moss. In one place stood a pine stump +fifty feet high with the upper hundred feet of the tree thrust into the +earth beside it. At another place a huge log blocked the trail. Then he +crossed a brook and was among chaparral and manzanita bushes. Then he +was among the pines again, listening to their voices, for a breeze was +blowing up the caņon. Now he came to a spooky region which had been +swept by fire, with bare tree trunks, broken and going to decay, +standing like ghosts of the forest. Beyond was a clump of young firs +with gray stems, so straight and perfect as to be almost uncanny. Or was +it the traveler's overwrought imagination? + +Now the trail turned at right angles along the steep side of a caņon, +and he heard the music of the mountain torrent far below. Half a mile +further on, where the trail crossed the brook at the head of the caņon, +it doubled back on itself along the other side. The traveler refreshed +himself at a mossy spring by the side of the trail, then, as he emerged +from the caņon at a sudden turn, Downieville appeared. It lay far below +him, at the forks of the North Yuba. How musically the roar of the river +came up through the autumn stillness! Sign boards pointing to the Ruby +Mine, and to the City of Six, prepare the traveler for the discovery of +some settlement in the wilderness. But he is hardly prepared for such a +beautiful and welcome sight. Here, tucked away among the mountains as +tidily as some Eastern village, lies the county seat of Sierra County. +But this is California and not Maryland, for yonder comes a mountaineer +up the trail with his pack horses. + +Keeler lost no time in descending and transacting his business at the +court-house. But after his lonesome walk over the mountains something he +saw here appealed to his imagination. It was a human skull, which had +belonged to a murderer. The murdered man was a Frenchman, killed for his +money. This was Keeler's first visit to Downieville since the crime, and +as he had known the Frenchman he determined to visit his grave. + +The cemetery is up the river beyond the edge of the town; and here, in +more senses than one, a traveler finds the end of the trail. Men and +women whose life journey had begun in New England, Old England, Wales, +Ireland, France, Denmark, or Russia, had here come to their journey's +end. + +At the cemetery gate, fastened by a wire, was the quaint sign: + + "NOTICE + PLEASE PUT THIS WIRE ON AGIN + TO KEEP IT SHUT." + +A beautiful clear mountain stream flows along one side of the ground and +pours into the river below. A lone pine chants requiems over the dead; +and yellow poppies with red hearts spring out of the graves. Many of the +headstones are boards, naturally; and one poor fellow, whose estate at +death was probably a minus quantity, is commemorated by a strip of tin +with his name pricked into it. There is a fair proportion of pretentious +monuments, which were drawn by ten-horse teams from some distant +railroad station. + +Marked by such a monument was the grave which Keeler sought. The +symbolism was striking,--a broken column, an angel holding out an olive +branch, and Father Time. And this was the verse of Scripture carved in +stone: + + "Man walketh in a vain shadow: + he heapeth up riches and cannot + tell who shall gather them." + +Forgetting the murdered Frenchman in the forcefulness of the text, +Keeler wondered if Robert Palmer's journey, too, would end like this. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +Golden Opportunities + + +In California Opportunity knocked at every gate--not once but many +times. It returned again and again, most persistently, and intruded +alike on men awake and feasting, or asleep and dreaming. John Keeler had +hardly spent an hour in Downieville before he had met a Golden +Opportunity. On approaching the town he had passed several short tunnels +dug into the hillside, and at the court-house he met the owners of one +of these tunnels. Smith came from Ohio,--he had for many years been a +teacher, and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His +partner, whom he introduced as a Confederate veteran, was a Virginian. +As partners, the blue and the gray were almost irresistible. Three +hundred dollars invested in their shaft would mean a rich strike. + +But other Opportunities had left Keeler rich in experience and short of +cash. He could not use Robert Palmer's money as his own; so he could +only smile, rather sadly, and wish his new friends success. How many of +his acquaintances had invested good money in a hole in the ground! Even +the most prudent, in some unguarded moment, had parted with thousands of +dollars, like the dog in the fable which dropped the real bone to seize +the shadow. There was Mack, proprietor of the hotel at Graniteville, +making lots of money at his business and losing it all in mining +ventures. Only the other day Mack had remarked that if his savings had +been allowed to accumulate in some good bank he would now be worth some +fifty thousand dollars. As it was, he was as poor as his humblest guest. +Even Dr. Mason, canny Scot though he was, could not forget the sight of +ninety thousand dollars' worth of gold bullion he had once seen piled up +at North Bloomfield, and so was persuaded to gamble with his earnings. +He had lost as much as Mack. How rosy is the rainbow, and how evanescent +the pot of gold at the end of it! California had swallowed up more +wealth than its gold could ever repay, as Keeler well knew. It was only +occasionally that some lucky devil, or some prudent, saving man like +Robert Palmer, after thirty years in the gold fields, had anything to +show for it. + +So Keeler, pondering the deceitfulness of riches, sadly made his way +back across the mountains. Even then Fate was weaving her web about his +old friend Palmer, who was soon to lie in a pauper's grave. Francis +seized a Golden Opportunity. + +Francis had so far prospered that he had moved to San Francisco. In the +city he could watch the stock market, as he told himself privately. To +his friends he announced that failing health demanded the change, albeit +the exhilarating air of the Sierras was far more beneficial than the +dampness of the sea coast. But Francis, inheriting ten thousand dollars +from one of his deceased brothers, had moved to San Francisco, taking +with him sundry hundreds and thousands of dollars, entrusted to him by +his Pennsylvania friends for investment. Everybody had faith in the +integrity of Henry Francis. + +The next summer, when the blue-bells were in blossom at Grass Valley, he +passed through that prosperous mining town on the narrow gauge bound for +Nevada City and Moore's Flat. This was the summer of 1881, nearly two +years after the murder of Cummins. A still, small voice accused him of +something akin to highway robbery; and it gave his conscience a twinge +to pass the well-known stump which had concealed the robbers. It was bad +enough that the robbers were still at large, a fact that reflected upon +him. "Bed-bug Brown's" mission had proved a fiasco. But the thing that +really worried Francis was his own mission and not the fruitless one of +Brown's. If his own proved fruitless his conscience might be better +satisfied. + +But business is business, and the day was fine. Francis was a gentleman +and something of a scholar. His face showed refinement, and his hands +were as soft as a gambler's. He was fairly well read, and he could have +told you, when the stage crossed the South Yuba, that "_Uvas_" is +Spanish for "grapes," and that the name "Yuba" is a curious English +abbreviation of "Rio Las Uvas." + +When next day he crossed the foot-bridge over the Middle Yuba, where it +tears along in its deep, wild caņon below Moore's Flat, he was less +interested in Spanish or in the grandeur of the scenery than he was in +reaching Robert Palmer's. He had not hired a horse at Moore's Flat, as +the livery man might be curious; so he had sauntered along through the +village, greeting old friends and chatting with them now and then until +considerable time had been consumed, but he knew that the old man would +put him up for the night. + +It was late in the afternoon before he reached the top of Fillmore Hill. +Old man Palmer, much broken in health, as Francis remarked with a degree +of inward exultation immediately reproved by his conscience, greeted him +affectionately. + +"Well, Henry, I almost thought you had forgotten me. But, of course, I +knew better." + +"You must remember, Mr. Palmer, that it is quite a ways up here from the +city. The narrow gauge from Colfax is little better than a stage coach. +It means a trip of fifty miles into the mountains to get here." + +"Well, I'm mighty glad you've come. As soon as you've rested a bit, I +want to talk business." + +Francis argued with his conscience that the old man had invited him. How +could he have refused to answer the summons? Palmer ushered him into the +house, where, seated comfortably in the kitchen and welcomed by dog and +cat, he partook of the old man's hospitality. Palmer was evidently much +wrought up; and, as soon as his guest had rested a little, proceeded to +business. + +"You got my letter?" + +"Yes, Mr. Palmer." + +"Hintzen has informed you that I've named you as one of my executors?" + +"Yes." + +"And you will be willing to act, I hope?" + +"Well, Mr. Palmer, I hope that won't be necessary for many years to +come." + +"The Lord only knows how long I have to live. It was rather hard for me +here last winter. But I guess the mountain air was good for me. However, +I'm going to spend next winter at Sherwood's. The Woolsey boys say +they'll take good care of me; and I'm going to deed them my claim." + +"Better come to San Francisco. I saw a friend of yours down there the +other day, a Mrs. Somers, who always inquires about you." + +"And how is she getting along these days, Francis?" + +"She appears to be well. Says hard work agrees with her." + +"Glad to hear good news of her. She writes me occasionally. Remember me +to her when you see her." + +"Then you don't think you'll go below with me?" ("Going below" was local +parlance for going to San Francisco.) + +"No. I'd feel like a fish out of water in that big city. I'll be +comfortable at the Sherwood's. I'll have to depend upon you to send me +some money occasionally." + +"Hintzen writes me that he has your will locked up in his safe. I +suppose you have given him a list of your property?" + +"He has written me asking for a list; but I'm not going to give him +any." If the old man had not trusted Francis so implicitly he might have +noticed an expression of relief light up that gentleman's dark eyes. + +"So I handle your funds, and Hintzen holds your will," smiled Francis. +"Do you think that is fair to either of us?" + +"Oh, as for the will, I've kept a copy, which you may as well look at." +And he fetched the document. + +Francis read it over very carefully; and then looked up with an +expression of undisguised satisfaction. + +"I'm glad you put it that way," he said. "You leave it to us to act in +accordance with our best judgment, whether it takes one year or twenty +years. That leaves us free to dispose of securities to the best +advantage, and not sacrifice them in a falling market." + +"Yes, I was thinking of that investment you advised me to make a year +ago." + +Francis winced a little; for the old man probably knew how low a certain +stock had fallen. + +"I see you've named my brother back in Pennsylvania as one of the +executors." + +"Yes; as most of my heirs live in the East, I thought your brother could +hunt them up, and let you do business through him." + +"That is a good idea. But don't you think Hintzen and Haggerty ought to +have a list of your property? If you should die, and they found on +examining your books and papers that you had trusted me but not them, +why, naturally, they would feel hurt." + +"Well, Haggerty's an Irishman, and Hintzen's a Dutchman. You are an +American like myself, and, what's more, a Democrat after my own heart. I +want you to hold the funds." + +"If you feel that way, I wish you wouldn't tell anybody. For if they +knew I had money belonging to you people would suspect me of helping +myself to it." + +Francis had been rehearsing this speech for several days; but was now +rather surprised that he had the nerve to utter it. But the old man +trusted him. Was not Francis almost a son to him? + +If he had been, he could not have inherited the old man's property more +surely. He stayed over night on Fillmore Hill; and when he departed next +morning, he took with him bank books and securities and a letter to +Palmer's banker which made Francis the custodian of all his money. He +even took a small chamois skin bag filled with gold nuggets which the +old man had saved. And he left behind at the house on Fillmore Hill not +a receipt or a paper of any kind that would indicate that Palmer ever +had had any money. They had burned all such tell-tale records; and Henry +Francis felt that he was guilty of something baser than highway robbery. +Yet, if the stock market should take an upward turn, all might be well. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +Three Graves by the Middle Yuba + + + Gaily bedight + A gallant knight, + In sunshine and in shadow, + Had journeyed long, + Singing a song, + In search of Eldorado. + + But he grew old-- + This knight so bold-- + And o'er his heart a shadow + Fell as he found + No spot of ground + That looked like Eldorado. + + And, as his strength + Failed him at length, + He met a pilgrim shadow-- + "Shadow," said he, + "Where can it be-- + This land of Eldorado?" + + "Over the Mountains + Of the Moon, + Down the Valley of the Shadow, + Ride, boldly ride," + The shade replied, + "If you seek for Eldorado!" + + Edgar Allan Poe. + + +Robert Palmer's diggings on Fillmore Hill are still plainly seen from +the stage road on the other side of the caņon of the Middle Yuba; but he +who has the hardihood to cross the caņon will find the mine worked out, +the water-ditch dry, and the old man's house pulled down. The basement +of the house still affords shelter to adventurers who come to dig for +Palmer's hidden treasure. There is no other treasure on that barren +hill-top, for the Woolsey boys, to whom the old man deeded his mine, +worked out the paying gravel long ago. + +At the bottom of the caņon, and just across the cold, rushing river, is +a clump of rose bushes, which mark the spot where the Woolsey brothers +lived with their mother and old Sherwood, their step-father. Beyond the +rose bushes, in the edge of a meadow, are three lonely graves, covered +by the branches of alders, unmarked save for flat field stones, and +unknown except to a few ranchmen who drive their cattle up the river for +summer pasturage. The first burial was that of one "Scotty," a ranchman. +In 1915 there was living at the Soldiers' Home in the Napa Valley an +octogenarian, last surviving member of the Keystone Club, who had helped +to dig Scotty's grave. In the middle grave by the Middle Yuba lies the +body of Robert Palmer. The third grave is that of Sherwood. No doubt +these Californians rest as peacefully as those whose mortal remains have +been gathered into the cemetery at Downieville. Mother Earth has +received her children back into her bosom, and day and night the river +chants their requiem. + +In September, ten weeks after Henry Francis's visit, Palmer put his +house in order, and with Sammy, the cat and his dog Bruce, sought +protection at Sherwood's. For Sherwood he had little respect; and he +thought Mrs. Sherwood a silly woman to have brought her boys to such a +home. But the boys were now grown men, friendly, generous, and strong. +The old man had no better neighbors. + +He insisted, proud and independent to the last, that he should provision +the family for the winter. So he drew on Hintzen, who packed in an +abundance of good things from Forest City. Every night the old man sat +by the stove. He liked to stroke Sammy's sleek coat and listen to the +cat's affectionate purring. He liked to tell how his dog Bruce had saved +his life. For it seems Palmer had once started off for Forest City by +night, was stricken with a paralytic shock, and, falling unconscious in +the woods, was finally rescued by neighbors who had heard the dog's +insistent barking. + +When the snow was deep in the caņon, and the supply of provisions was +getting low, the old man ordered more from Hintzen. He recalled the +severity of New England winters, and talked of the friends of his youth. +He began to plan a trip East in the coming summer, directed John Woolsey +to inquire as to the expense of such a trip, and proposed to employ him +as a traveling companion. And feeling the need of some money, he bade +Mrs. Sherwood write a letter for him to Francis, signing it with his +mark. + +For some unaccountable reason Francis made no answer, and the old man +seemed much disturbed. Other letters were dispatched. Still no answer. +After long waiting a letter in a feminine hand, postmarked "San +Francisco," and addressed to "Rob't Palmer, Moore's Flat," found its way +through the snow-drifts to Sherwood's ranch. It was from Harriet Somers. +But no letter came from Francis. + +Finally Sherwood suggested a registered letter. In a few days a receipt +came back, followed by a letter in which Francis explained that he had +just returned from a trip to Honolulu for his health, and that he hoped +when he was better to go up into the mountains to see Mr. Palmer. + +But the old man's strength was failing, and worry over Francis had +resulted in another paralytic shock. Dr. Mason was summoned, and made +his way into the caņon on skis. He found the patient in bad condition, +suffering from miner's paralysis in its worst form. Still, the old man +rallied, affixed his mark in lieu of signature to a letter ordering +medicines and other necessaries from Hintzen, and forbade the writing of +alarming letters to his relatives. He hoped to weather the storm again +as he had done under Dr. Lefevre's treatment. + +But patient and nurses had their premonitions. He would call out in +distress, "Mrs. Sherwood, please help my hand," and she, taking the +stiffened fingers in hers, would soothe him so. He came more and more to +depend upon her. Told her he trusted she would do whatever was needful; +and, sure sign of the coming end, spoke of his relatives in the East. +Save for the astronomer nephew, he had seen none of them for more than +thirty years; but his heart went out in tenderness towards them. He +spoke of his brothers and sisters and their promising children. Weeping, +he told of his beloved mother, who died when he was a boy of seven years +and left him heart-broken. + +He talked about making legal provision for pet cat and dog, which did +not forsake him in his weakness. Mrs. Sherwood, remarking upon such +extravagance, asked: + +"You have considerable means, Mr. Palmer?" And he, grown less secretive +under her patient nursing, replied: + +"Why, yes, I have considerable money." + +The days went by, and he got no better. But his mind was clear; and he +resolved before it was too late to reward his benefactors. So a justice +of the peace was summoned, and a deed of the old man's claim on Fillmore +Hill was drawn up, making the property over to the Woolsey brothers. +Without hesitation he described his boundaries in legal fashion; and he +signed the deed with his mark, before witnesses. Furthermore, he told +the boys where they would be likely to find rich gravel; and they +afterward had cause to praise the old man's judgment. + +He became as gentle as a woman. Indeed, Mrs. Sherwood, who had hung up +some of his family portraits about his bed, remarked that in his +sickness he very much resembled the astronomer's mother, his sister. He +comforted his friends, and told them his wishes in case he was "caught +in a worse snap," as he put it. + +About this time he was stricken with blindness. Mrs. Sherwood was much +affected. She took down her Bible and read to him. And she read the +beautiful litanies of the Episcopal prayer-book. With her boys she knelt +in prayer by his bedside. The blind eyes moistened; for the strong man's +heart and brain still served him well. + +Only a few days before the end, when the whole body was apparently +paralyzed, Dr. Mason inquired if there was any business which he wished +attended to, and Robert Palmer replied: + +"My affairs are settled; and, Doctor, you will be paid for your +services." + +The last day of April had arrived; but the snow banks were still deep in +the caņon. Nothing further had been heard from Henry Francis, but the +old man at last seemed reconciled. Perhaps Francis was not well enough +to come through the snow. It was Sunday, and at midnight came the fatal +stroke. He did not regain consciousness, and died peacefully on Tuesday +afternoon, May 2, 1882. + +Then strange things happened. Hintzen, a large, heavy man, unused to +exercise, appeared on snow-shoes at Sherwood's house and asked if Mr. +Palmer had said anything about his property. No! And though the dead man +lay within, he turned away and immediately put back to Forest City. +Henry Francis was notified. But Henry Francis did not make his +appearance. And the snow drifts being deep, Robert Palmer was buried by +the side of Scotty, like a pauper. + +No, not like a pauper; for there was still twenty-nine dollars standing +to his credit at Hintzen's. And this sum defrayed his funeral expenses. +Out of rough planks, lying about to mend sluices, the Woolsey boys +framed a coffin, for which they procured handles at a neighboring +village. And Mrs. Sherwood, faithful nurse and spiritual adviser, laid +the old man out in his best clothes. The rugged face showed no look of +annoyance. After thirty-three years of honest striving the old +Forty-niner slept the sleep of the just. + +The doctor's bill remained unpaid, a circumstance which would have +annoyed Robert Palmer exceedingly, were he further concerned with the +affairs of this world. It would appear that Henry Francis deemed it good +policy to assume no obligations. So for thirty-three years that honest +debt remained unpaid; while in the meantime Francis, Hintzen and +Haggerty became wealthy, lost their money, and passed on to their +reward. The doctor, long since removed from North Bloomfield, thieves, +and murderers, was finally paid by Palmers of a later generation. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +When Thieves Fall Out + + +When news of Robert Palmer's death reached his relatives, pity for his +lonesome life of self-denial was swallowed up by pleasant anticipations. +But weeks and months passed by with no word of encouragement from his +executors. Finally, Mrs. Sherwood, thinking the heirs were being +defrauded, wrote East urging that some member of the Palmer family visit +California. So the astronomer nephew, at considerable expense to +himself, was delegated to cross the continent. At the end of August he +found himself in the Sierras once more. On horseback he visited +Sherwood's ranch, and his uncle's house on Fillmore Hill, ran the +gauntlet of rogues at Alleghany, and passed on over the mountains to +Forest City and Downieville. It was a glorious outing, in spite of the +dust. How brightly the stars shone down on the Sierras! But the further +he investigated the deeper grew the mystery. Dr. Mason told the story of +the sixty thousand dollars loaned by Robert Palmer to the water company. +But the three California executors, reputed honest men, assured the +nephew there was no money to be found. Bankers in Sacramento and San +Francisco were polite but disappointing. All the astronomer brought home +was Mat Bailey's story of the murder of Cummins, a copy of Robert +Palmer's will procured at Downieville, and a problem which defied his +higher mathematics. "Set a thief to catch a thief;" the astronomer was +an honest man. + +A few months after his return from California, the tangled web of my +yarn began to unravel. Mat Bailey had reported that nothing had been +heard of the highwaymen "from that day to this." But John Keeler's work +had not been done in vain. O'Leary of You Bet, the Nevada City +jail-bird, had been duly impressed with the handsome reward offered for +the apprehension of the murderers. So every time he met an old +acquaintance he talked about the murder of Will Cummins. It was a simple +method of procedure, and it did not prove immediately successful. As it +was about as easy to be a vagabond in one locality as in another, he +drifted from place to place--first to Sacramento, then to San Francisco, +then over the Sierras to the mining camps of Nevada, then through Utah +and Wyoming, till at last he found himself in jail in St. Louis. + +There, three years after the murder, he found his old pal J. C. P. +Collins--but how changed! Could that coarse and bloated countenance +belong to the fastidious and pleasure-loving Collins? + +"Well, Collins, I hardly knew you. How does the grub here compare with +what we used to get at Carter's boarding-house?" O'Leary referred to the +jail at Nevada City. + +"This must be your first week in St. Louis," replied Collins, "if you +haven't put up at this hotel before. Been caught stealing again, I +suppose?" + +"That's me. Only the matter of a lady's purse that was of no use to +her." + +"Well, women are the cause of all my trouble. They drag a man down worse +than drink. They are a bad lot, are women." + +"Why, you're a regular preacher, ain't you? You used to be a ladies' +man." + +"That was in California." + +"How's the wild and woolly?" asked Collins, presently, looking his old +pal over contemptuously. + +"Oh, I know I ain't stylish like you Eastern dudes. I'm a honest miner, +I am. And I don't wear boiled shirts like you." + +"You're honest, all right. We'll leave that to Sheriff Carter. Remember +how he caught you stealing that Chinaman's dust? I can see that +Chinaman's sign now: 'Heekee & Co., Gold Dust Bought.' By the way, +what's become of my old flame back there?" + +"Oh, a lady? I don't remember no ladies that was acquainted with gents +like us." + +"I don't reckon you know the girl I mean. She wasn't in your class, +that's a fact." + +"Maybe I can tell you if you'll just say her name." + +"Well, I'm inquiring after Miss Mamie Slocum, the sweetest little girl +in Nevada City." + +"You're joking, sure. That girl never had any use for the likes of you. +Mat Bailey would knock your head off if he heard you breathe her name." + +"Insult me as much as you like. 'No fighting' is the rules of this +hotel. I asked you, how is that little girl? Sweet on Mat Bailey, is +she? Well, I'm glad of it." + +"Yes; she and Mat have been good friends ever since Will Cummins was +killed." + +"So? How's that?" + +"Why, you know she came down on the stage that day, and saw it all. Some +say she knew the robbers and helped them find Cummins' bullion. I guess +Mat was in the deal, too. Anyhow, she and Mat have been good friends +ever since, as I tell you." + +"Now look here, O'Leary, you're dead wrong. That girl is as innocent as +you are." + +"Sure! The judge just sent me up for snatching a purse, you know." + +"I tell you that girl knew nothing about the hold-up." + +"It must have happened after you left California, or you wouldn't be so +sure. I'll tell you about it. Stage comes down from Moore's Flat. Mamie +Slocum talks and laughs with Will Cummins. Sees where he stows his old +leather grip. Sings out to the robbers, 'That's Mr. Cummins' valise +under the seat there.'" + +"That's a lie, and you are a fool to believe it!" + +"I'm telling you the facts." + +"The facts! Why, man, wasn't I there? And don't I know just what +happened?" + +Astonished at this outburst, O'Leary looked hard at Collins. There was +no mistaking his earnestness; and he only leered at the other's +astonishment. O'Leary was discreet enough to say no more; and Collins +seemed to think his secret safe enough in the keeping of an old pal two +thousand miles from the scene of the murder. But that very night O'Leary +telegraphed to Sheriff Carter of Nevada City: + + "Man who killed Cummins in jail here. Come at once. + + Pat O'Leary." + +John Keeler and Henry Francis happened to be at the railroad station the +next morning, when Carter started for St. Louis; and he showed them the +telegram. + +"When thieves fall out," remarked Keeler; and Francis winced. Was it +because he foresaw that the ten thousand dollar reward would be claimed? +or was it for some other reason? Keeler wondered. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +Brought To Justice + + +There was no serious doubt in Sheriff Carter's mind as to the importance +of O'Leary's telegram. He hoped that the murder of Will Cummins was, at +last, to be avenged; and, as he had admired and loved that chivalrous +man, he resolved to use every means in his power to bring the murderers +to justice. But he realized what a difficult task it would be to get +them hanged. + +There was a strong sentiment in California against capital punishment. +There seemed to be little objection to murder committed by private +citizens, but people raised their hands in horror at what they were +pleased to call judicial murder. What right has the State to take so +precious a thing as human life, even though the life be that of a +hardened criminal? Carter was sick at heart. He had watched the most +depraved characters, fed and clothed and guarded at the public expense, +spend their days in shame and utter uselessness. It would have been a +mercy to have terminated their existence; and it would have instilled +respect for law in the minds of other criminals. + +But the immediate problem of Sheriff Carter, as it is the immediate +concern of this story, was to capture the murderers. Carter went armed +with proper legal documents, handcuffs, and a pair of derringers--for +the sheriff of Nevada County could shoot straight simultaneously with +both hands. Two faithful deputies accompanied their chief, and all three +were well supplied with the sinews of war in gold and bank-notes. + +Arrived at St. Louis Carter immediately got in touch with O'Leary, and +cautioned him not to alarm Collins, for proper circumspection might lead +to the capture of both murderers. Showing his credentials to the proper +authorities, he took them into his confidence, and thus made sure that +Collins would not be discharged from jail without his knowledge. Then he +and his deputies retired to their hotel for rest, refreshment, and +poker. + +In less than three days the chief of police showed him a letter written +by Collins to Thorn. The missive ran: + + "dear Thorn, alias Darcy, + + don't let your old pal bother you eny I suppose you are having a + revival in your church about this time and converting a great many + sinners. give my kind regards to the widow Brown, and I hope she + will marry you soon. I expect to leave this hotel in ten days, so + will need $50. send post office order, St. Louis, general delivery. + + Your old partner, + J. C. P. Collins." + +It was evidently a blackmailing letter. The sheriff remembered Darcy of +old, and the chances seemed good that Thorn _alias_ Darcy was the other +highwayman. So, taking O'Leary along to assist in the identification, he +set out for Union City to deliver Collins' letter in person. No doubt +this Thorn was a harder man to catch than Collins. He had had sense +enough to change his name and to join a church. So Carter approached +Union City rather cautiously, leaving O'Leary with one of his deputies +in Chicago with orders to wait for a telegram. Accompanied by the other +deputy he arrived at Union City rather late at night, to avoid +publicity. + +There he learned that Thorn had been in town nearly three years. That he +was engaged in the lumber business, was prosperous, highly respected and +was prominent in the leading church of the town. He was away on business +in Chicago at the time, but was expected to return in a week or two, as +it was rumored that he was soon to marry. + +The sheriff's disappointment was much relieved by the receipt of a +telegram the next morning: + + "We have got Darcy corralled here. Come at once. + + Pat O'Leary." + +"Just as well that we brought O'Leary along," remarked Carter to his +deputy. "You stay on guard here till you hear from me." + +In Chicago the sheriff found that his deputy had promptly arrested Darcy +on O'Leary's identification, and had had the man locked up. But on +visiting the jail, Carter was considerably in doubt if he had ever seen +the prisoner before. The Darcy he remembered was smooth shaven, bronzed +through exposure to the California sun, rough and rather desperate in +appearance. This man wore a beard, was well dressed, rather pale from +confinement in his office, and of sanctimonious countenance. + +"But that's Darcy, all right," O'Leary assured him. "Same eyes, and same +mole on his neck. Just read him that letter from Collins, Mr. Carter." + +At the name of Collins the prisoner winced visibly. For some time he had +realized that Collins might betray him; and he had thought seriously of +ending that scoundrel's career. + +Carter followed up the advantage quickly. + +"I think this is Mr. Thorn of Union City?" he inquired politely. + +"That's my name," said the man, "and I live in Union City, as I told the +officer." + +"I've just come from Union City," replied Carter quietly, "and happen to +know that you are a respected citizen of that place. Don't suppose you +ever heard of J. C. P. Collins of Nevada County, California?" + +"I was a miner in California several years, but I don't remember anybody +by the name of Collins." + +"It's singular then that Collins should call you his old pal and address +you as 'Dear Thorn alias Darcy.'" And Carter presented Collins' letter. + +"You're wanted, Thorn, alias Darcy, for the murder of William F. +Cummins." The sheriff looked at the prisoner so sternly that the man +wilted. "Collins has owned up, and you might as well do the same." + +"O God!" groaned the man, "my sin has found me out. I killed Cummins +with my own hand; and I am ready to pay the penalty." + +His religion had not been all humbug, by any means; and now he asked +permission to visit Union City to make public confession of the murder. +But Carter had left Collins in jail at St. Louis, and saw no reason to +delay the arrest of that scoundrel in order to gratify the wishes of a +confessed murderer. So he proceeded to St. Louis at once, arrested +Collins, who seemed rather shocked and grieved to meet his old friend +the sheriff once more; and hurried the prisoners back to California. + +There was great excitement in the gold fields, you may be sure, when it +was announced that Will Cummins' murderers were safely lodged in jail, +more than three years after the crime. Surely, California was becoming +civilized, and at last Nevada County was actually to try a couple of men +for murder. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +The End of J. C. P. Collins + + +At Nevada City, with its pleasant homes scattered on the hills either +side of the deep gorge of Deer Creek, the traveler lingers awhile to +drink in the romance of the gold fields. Roses and poppies that bloom +profusely in the front yards are "emblems of deeds that are done in +their clime." The very soil, like the flowers that spring therefrom, +suggests gold and the red blood so freely shed for it. Here and there +are eloquent, though silent, reminders of the exciting days of placer +mining and highway robbery, when Wells Fargo and Company brought +treasure out of the mountains guarded by armed men. + +At the court-house Nevada County is advertised as the banner gold county +of California, with a total output of $300,000,000; a yellow block on +exhibition represents the bullion taken from the Malakoff Mine in one +month, and valued at $114,289. In a showcase at the Citizens' Bank are +exhibited four of the buckshot which killed T. H. Girard on October 31, +1887. Also, a bit of hemp rope with a tag, on which is written: + + "The end of J. C. P. Collins + Feb. 1, 1884 + Compliments of Sheriff Carter." + +In vain one may search for a similar reminder of the highwayman Darcy, +the actual murderer of Will Cummins. But at the scene of the murder, the +stage-driver of the present generation tells his passengers that Darcy +was paroled several years ago, after spending thirty years in prison. He +may add that Darcy, the ex-convict, is an inert and lifeless creature, +married to a paroled woman as lifeless as himself. + +Darcy's friends in Union City would not have it appear that their model +citizen was a murderer. They protested stoutly, and in the end the +tax-payers for thirty years were burdened with the care and keep of the +criminal. + +As it has already been remarked, murders in Nevada County were common +enough; but a murder trial was almost unheard of. + +The State tried Collins first. He had no friends, except of the baser +sort; and his conviction might make it easier to convict Darcy. Mat +Bailey and Mamie Slocum were important witnesses for the State; and +Collins himself, poor debauchee though he was, was man enough to clear +Mamie of all suspicion. She freely told of her conversation with him +when he had recommended the gallantry of gentlemen of the road. And she +admitted that she had always been haunted by the suspicion that the +highwayman with whom Cummins had grappled might have been Collins, who +had so strangely disappeared after the robbery. No; she could not +identify him as the man who asked about Cummins' valise. She was not +sure about his voice. She was too much frightened to be sure of +anything. + +As Collins seemed less interested in saving his own worthless life than +in establishing the innocence of Mamie Slocum, he was promptly +convicted. The judge sentenced him to be hanged on Friday, Feb. 1, 1884. + +Sheriff Carter could not see why, if Collins was guilty, Darcy was not. +But good souls from Union City showed how exemplary had been the life of +their brother since he came among them, and the lawyer whom these good +people employed pointed out the shame and disgrace that would be +suffered by a worthy family if one bearing the name of Darcy should die +upon the scaffold. It is strange that in such cases the lawyers on the +other side do not show that the shame and disgrace come with the +commission of the crime, and that honest punishment endured for the same +is the one means left the criminal to atone for the injury he has done +the good name of his family. + +There was no doubt as to Darcy's guilt; and he was man enough to have +paid the extreme penalty willingly. For thirty years he lived the +monotonous round of prison life, becoming more and more like a dumb +animal, and paroled at last in his old age little better than an +automaton--the qualities of daring, thrift, and religious enthusiasm +long since dead and gone. + +Throughout the trial of both men, Henry Francis was an interested +spectator. The court-room seemed to have a fascination for him, although +he was now a rich man with important demands upon his time. It was +whispered about that the Pennsylvanians had spent a hundred thousand +dollars hunting the criminals down; and some people were fanciful enough +to see in Henry Francis the highwaymen's Nemesis. He made a very +dignified Nemesis indeed. He looked grave and thoughtful, and his newly +acquired wealth lent dignity to his refined countenance. + +But it occurred to John Keeler that somehow it appeared as if Francis +imagined himself sitting at his own trial. He seemed to show an almost +eager interest in the subterfuges and the raising of legal dust by means +of which counsel for the defense endeavored to blind the eyes of the +jurors. Keeler hardly dared to let his fancy run on to logical +conclusions. It seemed too much like condemning a man without giving him +a trial. Yet he could not help being haunted by the thought that some +thieves are too shrewd to assume the risks of highway robbery. In his +own mind this thought constituted the one valid argument against capital +punishment. For if common scoundrels are to be executed what severer +punishment is left for the more crafty villain? But he could see that a +sensitive nature like that of Francis was capable of infinite suffering; +and he thought of the words of Scripture, "Verily they have their +reward." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +The Home-Coming of Another Dead Man + + +"The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small." + +For example, there was Robert Palmer, who after thirty years spent in +the gold fields had accumulated considerable treasure. But choosing to +dig for gold and to live among adventurers, thieves, and speculators, he +had come to distrust human nature. He became so secretive that even at +the approach of death, when the kindly French doctor had given him fair +warning, he would confide in only one man. Verily, he had his reward. + +Incidentally, the three Californians whom he had named as his executors +prospered. They may not all be included among the forty-one thieves of +this story, but it may not seem unreasonable to suppose that Henry +Francis made it worth while for Hintzen and Haggerty to keep quiet. The +point is that all three executors prospered--and then died penniless. + +Hintzen made so much money over at Forest City that he left for Arizona, +where he invested in copper, and lost everything he had. Haggerty, who +remained in his store at Moore's Flat, where he had made money rapidly, +speculated and lost all, including the savings of a few poor people who +had trusted him. Henry Francis speculated in the stock of the famous +Comstock mine, in the adjoining State of Nevada, lost the fortune he had +wrongfully acquired, and died broken-hearted. It was only six years +after Palmer's death that he collapsed, and was taken home to +Reedsville, Pennsylvania. + +Here, ostensibly the victim of tuberculosis, he lingered a year to taste +the bitterness of poverty and wretchedness. Then he died, and suffered +the usual eulogy poured out by country ministers. + +A charitable author must admit the virtues of his "heavy-villain." The +sun rises upon the evil and the good, and rain descends upon the just +and the unjust, for the simple reason, no doubt, that no other +arrangement would be possible, inasmuch as there are no people who are +entirely good and none who are wholly bad. In every man the forces of +good and evil are at war. + +If Henry Francis yielded to temptation there were extenuating +circumstances. In the first place, Robert Palmer's will distinctly +stated that everything was left to the judgment of the executors. They +were to stand firm and resolute on their own judgment "and take time to +settle the concern whether it need one year or twenty years." + +Possibly Francis reasoned that investing the old man's money in a +certain way would, within a very few years, double the estate, and thus +render a service to the heirs. And if at the end of three or four years +the event had proved the soundness of his judgment, was it wrong to +exercise that judgment in further ventures? The will gave him twenty +years. Weren't the executors acting "at all times and under all +circumstances to the best of their judgment?" If conscience demurred +that Hintzen and Haggerty were left in the dark, so that "their +judgment" had come to mean simply the judgment of Henry Francis, had he +not proved that judgment good? + +He knew that when he had given the heirs to understand that there was no +property, he had prevaricated. But had he not heard their pleas with +patience, just as the old man had directed? And if Robert Palmer's +estate were settled right then, at the end of four years, would the +heirs complain of circumstances which had doubled their inheritance? No +doubt conscience inquired if Francis was thinking of postponing +settlement indefinitely. And no doubt prudence suggested a settlement +now when all was going well. But once let the estate slip from his +control, and he would become a comparatively poor man; while the +twenty-nine heirs might squander their money foolishly. + +While he was debating the question, it was only proper to keep the money +well invested. And if at the end of the fifth year his securities had +shrunken seriously in value, it was natural to wait another year for +values to become normal. When the crash came, the injury to his vanity +hurt him more than his wounded conscience; that he had learned to +soothe, but his pride had never before been humbled. And so it was said +that Henry Francis died of a broken heart. + +His sister Mary, who nine years before had brought back to Pennsylvania +the corpse of the murdered Cummins, was now summoned to carry another +dead man home. True, he lived a year to contemplate the ruin of fortune +and honor, but he was mortally wounded. Most pathetic of all, he was +resolved to suffer in silence. Brothers and sisters should not share in +his disgrace. He had gambled and lost. But he would not tell them that +he had gambled with his honor. + +There is still balm in Gilead, even for a sinner! It was good to feel +the touch of his sister's hand, to taste the delicacies that only she +could prepare. The last long journey over the plains, at the end of +which he would find rest on the hillside where Will Cummins slept, was +almost as peaceful as his. He had renounced the world of thieves and +gamblers, and was going home. + +Arrived in his native valley, he marvelled at its beauty. Why had he +ever left it, to risk life and honor in the pursuit of riches? Man's +needs are so simple! How easily he might have thriven among such kindly +neighbors! None of them could be called rich, but they had an abundance +of this world's goods, with something to spare for him, the returned +prodigal. What does it profit a man to gain the wealth of California and +lose his own soul? Had he lost his soul, then? He had proved unfaithful +to his friend. Or had he been simply unfortunate? Ah, well! he hardly +knew. He was eager to see Robert Palmer again in the world to which he +was hastening. Then he would confess all, and be forgiven. For Robert +Palmer had loved him like a son. Yes, that was what made the cup so +bitter! + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +The Bridal Veil + + "Where ancient forests widely spread, + Where bends the cataract's ocean fall, + On the lone mountain's silent head, + There are Thy temples, Lord of All!" + + Andrews Norton. + + +As the trial and execution of J. C. P. Collins were the last acts in his +worthless career, so they were the last but one in the courtship of Mat +Bailey and Mamie Slocum. These comparatively young people were married +soon afterward. They were married and did not live happily ever after; +but they certainly enjoyed greater happiness than that which fell to the +lot of their friends, John Keeler and Dr. Mason only excepted. + +During a long life John Keeler reaped the reward of sterling integrity. +To the end of his days he remained a poor man. But no one in all Nevada +County was more highly respected. Not that he was much interested in +what other people thought of him, as he strove simply to win the respect +of his own exacting conscience. + +Dr. Mason, having at last had the satisfaction of seeing one murderer +brought to justice, felt that he might with dignity retire from the gold +fields, where good Anglo-Saxon ideas of law and order were beginning to +find acceptance. So he moved his family into the plains at the foot of +the Sierras, where in the town of Lincoln, Placer County, they enjoyed a +more genial and happy existence. + +Mr. and Mrs. Mat Bailey also moved away from Nevada County. But Mat had +become so strongly addicted to stage-driving that he could not give it +up even to enjoy the continuous society of his bride. He might, for +instance, have become a florist, and employed Mamie as his chief +assistant. Instead of this he took her to what he considered the most +beautiful place on earth. + +He established his home in the meadows of the Yosemite Valley, where the +clear waters of the Merced preserve the verdure of the fields the whole +summer through. In midsummer, the floor of the Yosemite Valley is like +an oasis in the desert. On all sides are rough, dry mountains; and if +you follow the river down to the San Joaquin Valley it becomes lost in a +vast parched plain. But between its mountain walls, where Mamie lived +and where Mat pursued his vocation, all is beautiful. + +From the mountain height across the river thundered the Yosemite Fall in +all its glory, a sight that allures travelers from the uttermost parts +of the earth. And down the valley a ways was the Bridal Veil, where Mat +and Mamie paused to worship when first they entered that enchanted +valley together. + +Their first drive after they went to house-keeping was to Artist Point. +Mamie felt that she never had loved Mat before as she did that day; for +as he exulted in the glories of the valley, with Half Dome at the end +and El Capitan standing in sublime magnificence before them, the scales +fell from her eyes, and she saw in her stage-driver husband the poet and +artist that he really was. + +He was artist enough not to attempt to show his sweetheart all the +glories of the Yosemite at once. He took the keenest delight in having +them grow upon her. It was fully two months before they climbed up out +of the valley to Inspiration Point, renewing their acquaintance with +familiar scenes and experiencing more stupendous grandeur. It was two +years after they came into the valley that Mat disclosed the most +tremendous magnificence of all. + +For years after it fairly took her breath away to think of it. First +they took the familiar road to Inspiration Point, then made their way +over the mountains where the Glacier Point Road now runs, and camped for +the night in the highlands of never-failing frost. Next morning they +pursued their way through the woods an interminable distance, as it +seemed to Mamie, until finally they stood upon the brink of a huge +caņon, with a snowy mountain range in the distance beyond, and in the +intervening space, a vast panorama of granite mountain sides, almost +white,--here and there covered with a sparse growth of timber. The +waters from these mountain reaches had cut a channel for themselves +known as Little Yosemite Valley, where pour the two wonderful cataracts +known as Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. Their deep roar came up from the +valley. Mamie felt that she would be content to watch that scene the +whole day through. + +But Mat took her on to Glacier Point, where you look straight down more +than three thousand feet to the level floor of the Yosemite Valley. +There below, more than half a mile below, she saw her neighbors' +cottages; and the thought occurred to her, as she clung to Mat, that if +she should fall over the precipice she might crash through the roof of +one of these. She actually saw the good neighbor who was caring for her +own child during his mother's absence. Before the day of aviators it +seemed strange enough to look straight down from half a mile up in the +sky. + +Then came those scenes of terrifying magnificence when she followed Mat +over the trail cut along the perpendicular walls of the caņon five miles +down to the floor of the Valley. One who has not passed over that trail +can scarcely conceive of it; and one who has, brings away a sense of the +sublime and the beautiful mingled with terror. There against the blue +sky stands the perpendicular wall of Half Dome, almost within arm's +reach, seemingly, in that clear atmosphere. There stand El Capitan and +the Three Graces. And there at every turn of the trail pours the +glorious Yosemite Fall, at first too far away for the ear to notice its +distant thunder. Then on closer approach the faint roar is heard across +the caņon. The attention becomes fixed more and more upon this majestic +cataract, to set off which the wonderful mountain walls seem to have +been specially created. The trail from Glacier Point, beginning at an +altitude above the top of the fall opposite, reveals it in its whole +nakedness--shows its rise in the vast watershed of upland mountain +valleys, and then by degrees leads you closer and closer to it until, at +Union Point, its glory is perfect. + +But why attempt to outline the wonders of that famous valley? + +If Mr. and Mrs. Mat Bailey were not actually happy ever after, they +found life worth living. As only people of humble fortune are likely to +do, they lived the simple life. And they found it pleasant. They +realized, as many people of humble fortune do not, that the sweetest +pleasure can be derived from the cheerful performance of obvious and +commonplace duties. Mat had always taken pride in his unpretentious +calling, and his wife learned to love the blessed busy life of wife and +mother. + +Her sons and daughters, knowing no better because of their peculiar +environment, grew up believing this old earth most beautiful, and the +nobility of their world seemed to create in them nobility of character. +The sheltered peace of that green valley entered into their souls. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Forty-one Thieves, by Angelo Hall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY-ONE THIEVES *** + +***** This file should be named 19695-8.txt or 19695-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/6/9/19695/ + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Forty-one Thieves + A Tale of California + +Author: Angelo Hall + +Release Date: November 2, 2006 [EBook #19695] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY-ONE THIEVES *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + +<h1><span class="smcap">Forty-one Thieves</span></h1> + +<h3><i>A Tale of California</i></h3> + +<h2>ANGELO HALL</h2> + +<h3>Copyright, 1919<br /> +THE CORNHILL COMPANY<br /> +BOSTON<br /></h3> + + + + + +<h3>DEDICATED<br /> +TO<br /> +J. H. K.<br /> +A PARTNER OF WILL CUMMINS AND A NEIGHBOR OF ROBERT PALMER<br /></h3> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. <span class="smcap">Dead Men Tell No Tales</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. <span class="smcap">The Graniteville Stage</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. <span class="smcap">The Girl or the Gold</span>?</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. <span class="smcap">A Council of War</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. <span class="smcap">Old Man Palmer</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. <span class="smcap">Two of a Kind</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. <span class="smcap">An Old Sweetheart</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. <span class="smcap">"Bed-bug" Brown, Detective</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. <span class="smcap">The Home-Coming of a Dead Man</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. <span class="smcap">The Travels of John Keeler</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. <span class="smcap">The Snows of the Sierras</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. <span class="smcap">The Golden Summer Comes Again</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. <span class="smcap">The End of the Trail</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. <span class="smcap">Golden Opportunities</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. <span class="smcap">Three Graves by the Middle Yuba</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. <span class="smcap">When Thieves Fall Out</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII. <span class="smcap">Brought to Justice</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII. <span class="smcap">The End of J. C. P. Collins</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX. <span class="smcap">The Home-Coming of Another Dead Man</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX. <span class="smcap">The Bridal Veil</span></a><br /> +</p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>FORTY-ONE THIEVES</h2> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">Dead Men Tell No Tales</span></h3> + + +<p>In the cemetery on the hill near the quiet village of Reedsville, +Pennsylvania, you may find this inscription:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">WILLIAM F. CUMMINS<br /></span> +<span class="i0">son of Col. William & Martha Cummins<br /></span> +<span class="i0">who was killed by highwaymen near<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Nevada City, California</span><br /></span> +<span class="i0">September 1, 1879<br /></span> +<span class="i0">aged 45 yrs. and 8 months<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Be ye therefore also ready<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For the Son of Man cometh<br /></span> +<span class="i0">At an hour when ye think not.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>It is a beautiful spot, on the road to Milroy. In former times a church +stood in the middle of the grounds, and the stern old Presbyterian +forefathers marched to meeting with muskets on their shoulders, for the +country was infested with Indians. The swift stream at the foot of the +hill, now supplying power for a grist-mill, was full of salmon that ran +up through the Kishacoquillas from the blue Juniata. The savages +begrudged the settlers these fish and the game that abounded in the +rough mountains; but the settlers had come to cultivate the rich land +extending for twelve miles between the mountain walls.</p> + +<p>The form of many a Californian now rests in that cemetery on the hill. A +few years after the burial of the murdered Cummins, the body of Henry +Francis was gathered to his fathers, and, near by, lie the bodies of +four of his brothers,—all Californians. The staid Amish farmers and +their subdued women, in outlandish, Puritanical garb, pass along the +road unstirred by the romance and glamour buried in those graves. Dead +men tell no tales! Else there were no need that pen of mine should +snatch from oblivion this tale of California.</p> + +<p>More than thirty-five years have passed since my father, returning from +the scene of Cummins' murder, related the circumstances. With Mat +Bailey, the stage-driver, with whom Cummins had traveled that fatal day, +he had ridden over the same road, had passed the large stump which had +concealed the robbers, and had become almost an eye-witness of the whole +affair. My father's rehearsal of it fired my youthful imagination. So it +was like a return to the scenes of boyhood when, thirty-six years after +the event, I, too, traveled the same road that Cummins had traveled and +heard from the lips of Pete Sherwood, stage-driver of a later +generation, the same thrilling story. The stump by the roadside had so +far decayed as to have fallen over; but it needed little imagination to +picture the whole tragedy. In Sacramento I looked up the files of the +<i>Daily Record Union</i>, which on Sept. 3, 1879, two days after the event, +gave a brief account of it. There was newspaper enterprise for you! An +atrocious crime reported in a neighboring city two days afterward! Were +such things too common to excite interest? Or was it felt that the +recital of them did not tend to boom the great State of California?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Graniteville Stage</span></h3> + + +<p>On that fateful first of September, 1879, the stage left Graniteville, +as usual, at six o'clock in the morning. Graniteville, in Eureka +Township, Nevada County, is the Eureka South of early days. The stage +still makes the daily trip over the mountains; but the glamour and +romance of the gold fields have long since departed. On the morning +mentioned traffic was light, for people did not travel the twenty-eight +miles through heat and dust to Nevada City for pleasure. Too often it +was a case of running the gauntlet from the gold fields to the railroad +terminus and safety.</p> + +<p>This very morning, Charley Chu, who had thrown up his job as mender of +ditches, was making a dash for San Francisco, with five hundred dollars +in dust and a pistol at his belt. The other passengers were Dr. John +Mason and Mamie Slocum, teacher. Mamie, rosy-cheeked, dark-eyed, and +pretty, was only seventeen, and ought to have been at home with her +mother. She was a romantic girl, however, with several beaux in Eureka +Township; and now that the summer session of school was over, she was +going home to Nevada City, where there were other conquests to be made.</p> + +<p>Dr. Mason, a tall, lean Scotchman, lived at North Bloomfield, only nine +miles distant, whence he had been summoned to attend a case of <i>delirium +tremens</i>. The sparkling water of the Sierras is pure and cold, but the +gold of the Sierras buys stronger drink. With a fee of two double eagles +in his pocket, the doctor could look with charity upon the foibles of +human nature. He thoroughly enjoyed the early morning ride among the +giant pines. In the open places manzanita ran riot, its waxy green +leaves contrasting with the dust-laden asters and coarse grasses by the +roadside. Across the cañon of the Middle Yuba the yellow earth of old +man Palmer's diggings shone like a trademark in the landscape, +proclaiming to the least initiated the leading industry of Sierra and +Nevada Counties, and marking for the geologist the height of the ancient +river beds, twenty-five hundred feet above the Middle Yuba and nearly at +right angles to it. Those ancient river beds were strewn with gold. +Looking in the other direction, one caught glimpses here and there of +the back-bone of the Sierras, jagged dolomites rising ten thousand feet +skyward. The morning air was stimulating, for at night the thermometer +drops to the forties even in midsummer. In a ditch by the roadside, and +swift as a mill-race, flowed a stream of clear cold water, brought for +miles from reservoirs up in the mountains.</p> + +<p>Even Charley Chu, now that he was leaving the gold fields forever, +regarded the water-ditch with affection. It brought life—sparkling, +abundant life—to these arid hill-tops. Years ago, Charley Chu and +numerous other Chinamen had dug this very ditch. What would California +have been without Chinese labor? Industrious Chinamen built the railroad +over the Sierras to the East and civilization. Doctor, girl and Chinaman +were too much occupied with their own thoughts to take much notice of +the stage-driver, who, though he assumed an air of carelessness, was, in +reality, on the watch for spies and robbers. For the bankers at Moore's +Flat, a few miles further on, were planning to smuggle several thousand +dollars' worth of gold dust to Nevada City that morning. Mat Bailey was +a brave fellow, but he preferred the old days of armed guards and hard +fighting to these dubious days when stage-drivers went unarmed to avoid +the suspicion of carrying treasure. Charley Chu with his pistol had the +right idea; and yet that very pistol might queer things to-day.</p> + +<p>Over this road for twenty-five years treasure to the amount of many +millions of dollars had been carried out of the mountains; and Mat could +have told you many thrilling tales of highwaymen. A short distance +beyond Moore's Flat was Bloody Run, a rendezvous of Mexican bandits, +back in the fifties. Not many years since, in the cañon of the South +Yuba, Steve Venard, with his repeating rifle, had surprised and killed +three men who had robbed the Wells Fargo Express. Some people hinted +that when Steve hunted up the thieves and shot them in one, two, three +order, he simply betrayed his own confederates. But the express company +gave him a handsome rifle and a generous share of the gold recovered; I +prefer to believe that Steve was an honest man.</p> + +<p>The stage arrived at Moore's Flat, and Mat Bailey hurriedly transferred +baggage and passengers to the gaily painted and picturesque stage-coach +which, drawn by four strong horses, was to continue the journey. A pair +of horses and a mountain wagon had handled the traffic to that point; +but at the present time, when Moore's Flat can boast but eleven +inhabitants, the transfer to the stage-coach is made at North +Bloomfield, several miles further on. But in 1879, Moore's Flat, Eureka +Township, was a thriving place, employing hundreds of miners. The great +sluices, blasted deep into solid rock, then ran with the wash from high +walls of dirt and gravel played upon by streams of water in the process +known as hydraulic mining. Jack Vizzard, the watchman, threaded those +sluiceways armed with a shot-gun.</p> + +<p>At Moore's Flat, six men and two women boarded the stage; and Mat Bailey +took in charge a small leather valise, smuggled out of the back door of +the bank and handed to him carelessly. Mat received it without the +flicker of an eyelash. Nevertheless, he scrutinized the eight new +passengers, with apparent indifference but with unerring judgment. All +except two, a man and a woman, were personally known to him. And these +excited less suspicion than two well-known gamblers, who greeted Mat +cordially.</p> + +<p>"It hurts business, Mat, to ship so much dust out of the country," said +one.</p> + +<p>"Damn shame," said the other.</p> + +<p>Mat paid no attention to these remarks, pretending to be busy with the +baggage. Quite accidentally he lifted an old valise belonging to Will +Cummins, who, dressed in a long linen duster, had just boarded the +stage. Cummins exchanged glances with the driver, and luckily, as Mat +thought, the gamblers seemed to take no notice.</p> + +<p>Will Cummins had been in the gold regions twenty-five years. He had +already made and lost one small fortune, and now at the age of +forty-five, with all his available worldly goods, some seven thousand +dollars in bullion, he was homeward bound to Reedsville, Pennsylvania. +In the full vigor of manhood, he was a Californian of the highest type. +He had always stood for law and order, and was much beloved by decent +people. By the other sort it was well understood that Will Cummins was a +good shot, and would fight to a finish. He was a man of medium height, +possessed of clear gray eyes and an open countenance. The outlines of a +six-shooter were clearly discernible under his duster.</p> + +<p>In a cloud of dust, to the clink of horse-shoes, the stage rolled out of +Moore's Flat, and was soon in the dark woods of Bloody Run.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Mr. Cummins."</p> + +<p>It was the school-teacher who spoke; and Cummins, susceptible to +feminine charms, bowed graciously.</p> + +<p>"Do you know, Mr. Cummins, it always gives me the shivers to pass +through these woods. So many dreadful things have happened here."</p> + +<p>"Why, yes," answered Cummins, good-naturedly. "It was along here +somewhere, I think, that the darkey, George Washington, was captured."</p> + +<p>"Tell me about it," said Mamie.</p> + +<p>"Oh, George was violently opposed to Chinese cheap labor; so he made it +his business to rob Chinamen. But the Chinamen caught him, tied his +hands and feet, slung him on a pole like so much pork and started him +for Moore's Flat, taking pains to bump him against every stump and +boulder <i>en route</i>."</p> + +<p>Charley Chu was grinning in pleasant reverie. Mamie laughed.</p> + +<p>"But the funny thing in this little episode," continued Cummins, "was +the defense set up by George Washington's lawyer. There was no doubt +that George was guilty of highway robbery. He had been caught +red-handed, and ten Chinamen were prepared to testify to the fact. But +counsel argued that by the laws of the State a white man could not be +convicted on the testimony of Chinamen; and that, within the meaning of +the statute, in view of recent amendments to the Constitution of the +United States, George was a white man. The judge ruled that the point +was well taken; and, inasmuch as the prisoner had been thoroughly +bumped, he dismissed the case."</p> + +<p>The story is well known in Nevada County; but Mamie laughed gleefully, +and turned her saucy eyes upon Charley:</p> + +<p>"Did you help to bump George Washington?"</p> + +<p>The Celestial was an honest man, and shook his head:</p> + +<p>"Me only look on. That cullud niggah he lob me."</p> + +<p>Will Cummins glanced at the Chinaman's pistol and smiled. By this time +the stage had crossed Bloody Run and was ascending the high narrow ridge +known as the Back-Bone, beyond which lay the village of North +Bloomfield. By the roadside loomed a tall lone rock, placed as if by a +perverse Providence especially to shelter highwaymen. For a moment +Cummins looked grave, and he reached for his six-shooter. Mat Bailey +cracked his whip and dashed by as if under fire.</p> + +<p>From the Back-Bone the descent to North Bloomfield was very steep, and +was made with grinding of brakes and precipitate speed. Arrived at the +post-office, Dr. Mason and the two gamblers left the coach; and a +store-keeper and two surveyors employed by the great Malakoff Mining +Company took passage to Nevada City. In those halcyon days of hydraulic +mining, the Malakoff, employing fifty men, was known to clean up +$100,000 in thirty days. It was five hundred feet through dirt and +gravel to bed-rock, and a veritable cañon had been washed out of the +earth.</p> + +<p>The next stop was Lake City,—a name illustrative of Californian +megalomania; for the lake, long since gone dry, was merely an artificial +reservoir to supply a neighboring mine, and the city was a collection of +half a dozen buildings including a store and a hotel. Through the open +door of the store a huge safe was visible, for here was one of those +depositories for gold dust locally known as a bank. As the stage pulled +up, the banker and a lady stepped out to greet Will Cummins, who +alighted and cordially shook hands. Miss Slocum, apparently, was +somewhat piqued because she was not introduced.</p> + +<p>"I was hoping you would accompany us to Nevada City," Cummins said, +addressing the lady, who regarded him with affection, as Mamie thought.</p> + +<p>"You must remember, Will," said the banker, "that Mary hasn't been up to +Moore's Flat yet to see her old flames."</p> + +<p>"Too late!" said Cummins. "The Keystone Club gave a dinner last night, +to wish me a pleasant journey. Eighteen of the twenty-one were present. +But by this time they have scattered to the four winds."</p> + +<p>"Never fear," cried the lady; "I shall find some of our boys at Moore's +Flat. You are the only one travelling in this direction; and the four +winds combined could not blow them over the cañon of the Middle Yuba."</p> + +<p>"I remember you think that cañon deep and terrible, Mary," Will replied; +"but it is not wide, you know. Remember our walk to Chipp's Flat, the +last time you were here? Nothing left there but the old cannon. As the +boys say, everything else has been fired."</p> + +<p>"All aboard!" shouted Mat, who felt that he was wasting time in Lake +City. And so Mary Francis, sister of Henry Francis, bade adieu to Will +Cummins, little knowing that they would never meet again, either in +California or "back home" in Pennsylvania. The stage rolled on, past a +grove of live oaks hung with mistletoe. Cummins had passed this way many +times before. He had even gathered mistletoe here to send to friends in +the East. But to-day for the first time it made his heart yearn for the +love he had missed. Mary Francis was thirty-five now. Twenty-five years +ago he was twenty and she was a little bashful girl. Her father's house +had been the rendezvous of Californians on their occasional visits in +the East. His mind traveled back over old scenes; but soon the cañon of +the South Yuba burst upon his vision, thrilling him with its grandeur +and challenging his fighting instincts. For after winding down three +miles to the river, the road climbed three miles up the opposite +side—three toiling miles through the ambushes of highwaymen. There was +the scene of many a hold-up. And to-day, at his age, he simply must not +be robbed. It would break his heart. In sheer desperation he drew his +six-shooter, examined it carefully, glanced at his fellow-passengers and +sat silent, alert and grim.</p> + +<p>Except for the Chinaman, the passengers were feeble folk. At sight of +the revolver the men began to fidget; and, except for Mamie Slocum, the +romantic, the women turned pale.</p> + +<p>Down the coach plunged into the deep cañon! Little likelihood of a +hold-up when travelling at such a pace. Down, down, safely down to the +river, running clear and cold among the rocks. And then the slow ascent. +Mat Bailey, perched on his high seat as lordly as Ph[oe]bus Apollo, felt +cold shivers run down his spine. From every bush, stump and rock he +expected a masked man to step forth. Could he depend upon Cummins and +the Chinaman? How slowly the horses labored up that fatal hill, haunted +by the ghosts of murdered travelers! Why should he, Mat Bailey, get +mixed up in other men's affairs? What was there in it for him? Of +course, he would try to play a man's part; but he sincerely wished he +were at the top of the hill.</p> + +<p>At last they were safely out of the cañon, and the horses were allowed +to rest a few minutes. Cummins replaced his pistol and buttoned up his +duster; and the passengers fell to talking. The store-keeper from North +Bloomfield began to tell a humorous story of a lone highwayman who, with +a double-barrelled shot gun waylaid the Wells Fargo Express near +Downieville. As he waited, with gun pointed down the road, he heard a +wagon approach behind him. Coolly facing about, he levelled his gun at +the approaching travellers, three workmen, and remarked,</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen, you have surprised me. Please deliver your guns, and stand +upon that log," indicating a prostrate pine four feet in diameter. +Needless to say, the men mounted the log and held up their hands. Then a +load of hay approached, and the driver mounted the log with the others. +Then came another wagon, with two men and a ten-year old boy, George +Williams. The robber ordered these to stand upon the log, whereupon +little George, in great trepidation, exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"Good Mr. Robber, don't shoot, and I will do anything you tell me!"</p> + +<p>About this time one barrel of the robber's gun was accidentally +discharged into the log, and he remarked:</p> + +<p>"That was damned careless," and immediately reloaded with buckshot.</p> + +<p>At length the stage came along; and promptly holding it up, he tossed +the driver a sack, directing him to put his gold dust therein. This +done, he sent each separate vehicle upon its way as cool as a marshal on +dress parade.</p> + +<p>With Nevada City only four miles away, the cañon of the South Yuba +safely passed, and the stage bowling along over an easy road, it seemed +a good story.</p> + +<p>"Halt!"</p> + +<p>Two masked men emerged from behind a stump by the roadside, and Charley +Chu drew his revolver. The passengers in a panic took it away from him. +Mat Bailey pulled up his horses.</p> + +<p>While one robber covered Mat, the other covered the passengers, who at +his command lined themselves up by the roadside with hands raised. +Cummins got out on the side of the stage opposite the robber; and but +for the duster, buttoned from chin to ankles, he would have had the dead +wood on that robber. It was not to be; and Cummins, hands in air, joined +his helpless companions. The robber then proceeded to rifle the baggage. +Charley Chu lost his five hundred dollars. Mat Bailey gave up the +leather bag from Moore's Flat.</p> + +<p>"Whose is this?" demanded the robber, laying his hand on Cummins' old +valise. As if hypnotized, Mamie Slocum answered,</p> + +<p>"That is Mr. Cummins'."</p> + +<p>The robber seized it. Cummins exclaimed: "It is all I have in the world, +and I will defend it with my life." With that he seized the robber, +overpowered him, and went down with him into the dust. If only there had +been one brave man among those cowards!</p> + +<p>"Is there no one to help me?" shouted Cummins; but no one stirred.</p> + +<p>In the gold regions of California each man is for himself. To prevent +trouble his fellow-passengers had disarmed the Chinaman. The other +robber, seeing his partner overpowered, passed quickly along in front of +the line of passengers, placed his gun at Cummins' head, and fired. The +struggle had not lasted fifteen seconds when Will Cummins lay murdered +by the roadside.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Girl or the Gold</span></h3> + + +<p>Cummins was killed about one o'clock. Two hours later two prospectors, +in conventional blue shirts and trousers, each with a pack over his +back, were seen in the neighborhood of Scott's Flat. They excited no +suspicion, as no one at Scott's Flat had heard anything about the +hold-up; and even if news had come, there was nothing suspicious in the +appearance of these men. They had looked out for that. As a matter of +precaution they had provided themselves a change of clothing and their +prospectors' outfit. By common consent they had very little to say to +each other; for they knew that a careless word might betray them. They +were in a desperate hurry to reach Gold Run or Dutch Flat to catch the +evening train East; but from their motions you would not have suspected +this. They followed the trails across country at the usual swinging gait +of honest men, and they knew they had six hours to make fifteen miles +over the hills. They passed near Quaker Hill, Red Dog, and You Bet, +keeping away from people as much as they dared to, but not obviously +avoiding anyone.</p> + +<p>At You Bet, Gold Run and Dutch Flat they had taken the precaution to +show themselves for several days past; so that no one should notice +their reappearance. They were not unknown in this region, and there were +men at You Bet who could have identified them as Nevada City jail-birds. +There was O'Leary, for example, who had been in jail with them. But in a +country filled with gamblers and sporting men, where the chief end of +man is to get gold and to enjoy it forever, it is not deemed polite to +enquire too closely into people's antecedents. These men, evidently +native-born Americans, bore the good Anglo-Saxon names of Collins and +Darcy. What more could you ask? They perspired freely, and their packs +were evidently heavy; but men who collect specimens of quartz are likely +to carry heavy packs, and the day was hot.</p> + +<p>At You Bet the men separated, Darcy striking out for Gold Run with all +the gold, and Collins making for Dutch Flat, which is farther up the +railroad. This was to throw the railroad men off the scent, for news of +the murder had probably been telegraphed to all railroad stations in the +vicinity.</p> + +<p>Incidentally, and unknown to his partner, this arrangement necessitated +a momentous decision in the mind of Collins. As he formulated the +question, it was, "The girl or the gold?" Like many young criminals, +Collins was very much of a ladies' man. He associated with girls of the +dance-hall class, but he aspired to shine in the eyes of those foolish +women who admire a gay, bad man. He would have preferred to have his +share of the plunder then and there in order to stay in California to +win the hand of Mamie Slocum. But Darcy was determined to get out of the +country as quickly as possible, and when they separated insisted upon +taking all the gold. It would not do to quarrel with him, for both would +be lost if either was suspected. To share in the plunder he would have +to go East with Darcy, who was to board the same train at Gold Run that +Collins would take at Dutch Flat.</p> + +<p>The girl or the gold? Because of his infatuation for the girl he had +become a highwayman. He had not expected her to come down from +Graniteville that day. He had not counted on being nearly killed by +Cummins, for it was he whom Cummins had overpowered. He had not supposed +that anyone would be killed. Things had turned out in a strange and +terrible way. To gain a few thousand dollars by highway robbery was no +worse than to win it by a dozen other methods counted respectable. Among +the youth of Nevada City with whom he had associated, it was commonly +believed that every successful man in town had done something crooked at +some time in his career—that life was nothing but a gamble anyhow, and +that a little cheating might sometimes help a fellow.</p> + +<p>When he had learned, some months before, how greatly Mamie admired Will +Cummins, he had thought it good policy to pretend a like admiration. +While the girl was in Graniteville, away from her parents, he had seen +her as often as he could, and had, he was sure, acted the part of a +chivalrous gentleman. He had referred to his jail record in such a +magnanimous way as to win her admiration and sympathy. And he had been +magnanimous toward Cummins. He had stoutly maintained that even +gentlemen of the road are men of honor, incapable of petty meanness, +merely taking by force from some money-shark what was rightfully theirs +by virtue of their being gentlemen. Therefore, he argued, no +self-respecting highwayman would rob a man like Will Cummins—the merest +hint that property belonged to him would be sufficient to protect it. He +had waxed eloquent over the matter.</p> + +<p>He was now appalled to think how his argument, though insincere, had +been refuted. That Mamie had spoken those fatal words was not a ruse of +his but an inexplicable accident. How could he ever see the girl again? +And yet, in this one respect he was innocent, and he wished she might +know it. Besides, he was man enough to sympathize with her in her awful +predicament. With what horror she must be thinking of her part in the +tragedy! There was considerable generosity in his nature, and he +actually debated, criminal though he was, whether he might not better +let Darcy keep the loot and stand by Mamie.</p> + +<p>The girl or the gold? Is it surprising that the decision of J. C. P. +Collins was similar to that of other Californians? Similar to Cummins', +for example? He decided to make sure of the gold first and to think +about the girl later. With six or eight thousand dollars in the bank he +would be a more valuable friend than a poor man could be. After this +affair had blown over, and he recalled the fact that Doc Mason had +performed eleven autopsies on murdered men in the last ten years, and +not one murderer had been hanged so far,—he would rescue Mamie from the +demoralization of the gold fields and take her to live in St. Louis or +New Orleans. And now he saw with some satisfaction that her apparent +complicity in the crime would make life hard for her in Nevada City and +impel her to accept such a proposal.</p> + +<p>It might have been just as well if the rattlesnake coiled in his path at +that moment had ended his existence, but the snake was indeed an +honorable highwayman, and sounded a gentlemanly warning in the nick of +time. Collins would have killed it for its pains, but killing had upset +his nerves that day. So he left the reptile to try its fangs on a better +man. Besides, he reflected that he could not consistently advocate +capital punishment, and he sincerely hoped that his humane sentiments +would spread in California. He recalled the fact that there was a strong +party among the good people of the State, represented by several ladies +who had brought him bouquets and jellies when he was in jail, who were +trying to abolish capital punishment. Judging from Doc Mason's +experience in murder cases, the efforts of these good people were not +called for. And yet the law as it stood had unpleasant possibilities for +Collins.</p> + +<p>He was really sorry about Cummins. Of course, Cummins was a fool. A man +of such character would not miss a few thousand dollars in the long run. +What a fool he had been to risk his life! Of course, he, Collins, had +risked his life, too. But how different were the two cases! Cummins had +rich friends who would help him; Collins had no friends, barring a few +silly women. His long suit was women. He really regretted Cummins' death +more on Mamie's account than for any other reason.</p> + +<p>Poor Mamie! But it must be the gold and not the girl this trip. When he +had invested his capital and made his pile, he would play the prince to +his Cinderella. They would both be glad to flee this country. Bah! the +very soil was red! Golden blossoms sprung from it, but the roots were +fed with blood. Collins was a young fellow, by no means a hardened +criminal, and the excitement of the day stimulated intellect and emotion +like the drug of a Chinaman.</p> + +<p>He reached Dutch Flat in due season, and found several old cronies at +the railroad station, where people were discussing the death of Cummins. +He succeeded in showing the due amount of interest and no more, and was +diplomatic enough not to suggest that the murderers were now on their +way to San Francisco. He took the train going East according to +schedule, and found Darcy playing poker in the smoking car. Collins +betook himself to his pipe at the other end of the car, glad that night +had come, and that he would soon bid farewell to the Sierras. He felt +the train swing round the horse-shoe curve through Blue Cañon, and +shortly afterward he noticed that they had entered the snow sheds, which +for forty-five miles tunnel the snow drifts of winter, and which in +summer lie like a huge serpent across the summit of the mountains. Once +out of the sheds they would speed down the valley from Truckee into +Nevada.</p> + +<p>The fugitives were well over the line before they took any notice of +each other. Except for themselves the smoker was now empty, and they had +prepared to spend the night there like honest miners who were down on +their luck.</p> + +<p>Collins remarked in an undertone:</p> + +<p>"Darcy, we have given them the royal sneak."</p> + +<p>"Know what I've been thinking?" replied Darcy. "I've been thinking of +that wise remark of Ben Franklin's when he signed the Declaration of +Independence."</p> + +<p>"What was that?"</p> + +<p>"We've got to hang together or we'll hang separately."</p> + +<p>"That's no joke."</p> + +<p>"You bet your soul it's no joke. And you'd better shut up and go to +sleep."</p> + +<p>Silence for ten minutes. Then Collins said,</p> + +<p>"You're a tough nut to talk about sleep when you've killed the best man +in Nevada County."</p> + +<p>"Where would you be, J. C. P. Collins, if I hadn't killed him? You'd be +in hell this minute."</p> + +<p>"Thanks, awfully. But I wish the man wasn't dead."</p> + +<p>"What did the fool put up a fight for? He could see we had him."</p> + +<p>"That's what I say. He was a fool to risk his life. He could see there +was no help coming from those sports."</p> + +<p>"Well, Collins, there was one of them that made me feel nervous—that +Chinaman. But the rest of them had him corralled. Mat Bailey couldn't do +nothing up there in the air. Cummins was a fool, that's all."</p> + +<p>"Must have wanted his gold pretty bad. And I wish to God he had it right +now."</p> + +<p>"Here, take a nip of brandy. Your health's getting delicate."</p> + +<p>"Well, partner, no harm meant. But I must say I sympathize with Cummins. +He and I have made the same choice to-day."</p> + +<p>"How's that?"</p> + +<p>"The girl or the gold—and we both chose the gold. And I'll be hanged if +I don't think we were both right."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Council of War</span></h3> + + +<p>Six days had elapsed. It was evening, and in the large room over +Haggerty's store at Moore's Flat the lamps had been lighted. Here ten +members of the Keystone Club had gathered to see if something might not +be done to avenge the death of Cummins. Henry Francis presided; but the +meeting was informal. These men had not met to pass resolutions, but to +decide upon some line of action. So far not a trace of the murderers had +been found, except for their discarded clothing. Sheriff Carter's +blood-hounds had followed a hot scent to Deer Creek, several miles above +Nevada City, and the posse who followed the dogs were led to a pool, in +the bottom of which, weighted with stones, was the clothing. Further +than this the dogs could not go. They were soon sneezing as the result +of inhaling red pepper, scattered on the rocks. And the robbers had +probably waded up or down stream to insure complete safety.</p> + +<p>Several suspicious characters had passed over the railroad to Sacramento +and San Francisco; but this was an every-day occurrence, and the police +had learned the futility of arresting men who were probably innocent +miners pursuing the gay life.</p> + +<p>Nothing thus far had been accomplished. Hence the meeting over +Haggerty's store. Dr. Mason and Mat Bailey were present. The doctor came +because of a sense of civic duty. His British sense of justice had been +outraged beyond endurance.</p> + +<p>"You know, Mr. Francis," he said, "I have performed autopsies upon +eleven murdered men within the last ten years; and in no case has one of +the murderers been brought to justice. It is outrageous, scandalous. +Decent men cannot afford to live in a community where people are more +interested in making money than in enforcing the law. Decent men become +marked men—marked for slaughter as Cummins was. We must do something, +if only to protect ourselves."</p> + +<p>"You are quite right, Doctor," replied Francis, "and we propose to +investigate for ourselves. Did you notice any suspicious circumstance +when you rode down from Eureka South the other day?"</p> + +<p>The doctor could not think of anything important unless it was the +remarks of the gamblers at Moore's Flat about shipping gold dust out of +the country. But if they were accomplices they would hardly have spoken +so carelessly. And why did they leave the stage at North Bloomfield? +They were still there; but no one had observed anything remarkable in +their behavior.</p> + +<p>That Cummins was leaving California, probably with gold, was a +well-known fact. That he would go armed, considering the character of +the man, was almost certain. And this was a good reason why bankers at +Moore's Flat or Lake City might ship bullion that fatal day. Mat Bailey +nodded solemn assent, for he knew that this was sound logic.</p> + +<p>It was now his turn to offer suggestions. A stage-driver is always a +person of importance, especially in California. For the past six days +Mat had found his public importance rather embarrassing. Every trip past +the robbers' hiding-place had brought an avalanche of questions from +curious passengers. Probably Mat Bailey had been forced to think of the +tragedy more constantly than had any other person. His opinion ought to +be valuable.</p> + +<p>He hesitated, and seemed loath to speak his mind.</p> + +<p>"Out with it, Mat," said Francis. "This hearing is among friends, not +official. Tell us just what you think."</p> + +<p>"Well," replied Mat, "there is one circumstance you gentlemen ought to +know. Up to this time nobody has mentioned it; and I hate to be the +first to speak of it."</p> + +<p>Everybody's interest was aroused. After a pause Mat continued:</p> + +<p>"When the robber was going over the baggage he came to Mr. Cummins' +valise, and asked, 'Whose is this?' One of the passengers spoke up and +said, 'That belongs to Mr. Cummins.' Then the row began."</p> + +<p>"Who is the guilty man?" cried Francis.</p> + +<p>Mat looked embarrassed: "It wasn't a man. It was Miss Slocum."</p> + +<p>There was a moment of silence. Everybody was shocked, and trying to work +out in his own mind some logical connection between the school-teacher +and the crime.</p> + +<p>"That's where you've got us guessing, Mat," said one. "What can a crowd +of bachelors do if you drag a woman into the case?"</p> + +<p>"And yet," said another, "what else ought we to expect? A woman's at the +bottom of everything, you know."</p> + +<p>"Yes, we would none of us be here in this wicked world except for our +mothers," remarked the doctor sarcastically. "How has Miss Slocum been +acting since the tragedy, Mat? I must confess I can't think ill of that +girl."</p> + +<p>"Well, Doctor," replied Mat, "she has acted just as you would expect an +innocent girl to act. She's been all broken up—down sick a good part of +the time. And I don't believe there's a man, woman, or child in Nevada +City who mourns Will Cummins more than she does. That's why I hate to +mention her name. And that's why I haven't said anything up to this +time. But some of those cowards who looked on while Cummins was murdered +have begun to talk; so you would have heard the story sooner or later +anyhow. Still, I hate to mention the girl's name."</p> + +<p>"You have done right," said Francis. "The girl might have helped the +robbers without intending to. Frightened out of her wits, perhaps. +Somebody might question her kindly, and see what's back of this. And, +gentlemen, as Bailey spends a good deal of his time at Nevada City, it +seems to me he is the man to follow up this clue. Call on the girl, Mat, +and see what you can find out."</p> + +<p>So out of a sordid tragedy there was spun a thread of romance. The +school-teacher and the stage-driver are about the only characters who do +not require the "gold cure." Mat had ridden over the mountains at all +seasons until he loved them. His chief delights were the companionship +of his stout horses and his even more intimate companionship with +nature. To scare up a partridge, to scent the pines, to listen to the +hermit thrush were meat and drink to him. That there was gold in these +noble mountains moved him very little, though this fact provided him +with a livelihood for which he was duly grateful. The school-teacher was +fortunate to be brought up with a sharp turn so early in life, and to +find so true a friend as Mat Bailey.</p> + +<p>But this was only the beginning of the council at Moore's Flat. It was +suggested that John Keeler, Cummins' old partner, be employed to scour +the country in search of the assassins. There was no more trustworthy +man in Eureka Township than Keeler. His affection for Cummins was well +known. But his peculiarities might unfit him for the proposed mission. +His Southern sense of chivalry unfitted him for detective work that +might involve deceit and downright lying. He cared more for his honor +than he did for money, and had been known to refuse very tempting +offers. Finally, he was opposed to violence. He had refused to act as a +watchman for a ditch company on the ground that he might be expected to +shoot some one. It was a question whether Keeler could be induced to +bring a man to the gallows.</p> + +<p>Presently, Dr. Mason spoke up:</p> + +<p>"You couldn't employ a better man than Keeler. He is the soul of honor, +as you all admit. For several years he was Cummins' partner. As sheriff +of Nevada County he would free it of thugs and murderers as he frees +every claim that he works of rattlesnakes. He is death on rattlers. +Killed more than a hundred of them last summer. But the lawless element +of this county take mighty good care that Keeler is not elected sheriff. +So much the better for us, for he is free to manage this business."</p> + +<p>The doctor's speech made an impression. But these Californians had not +yet learned the value of honor. They seemed to think that they could +catch the murderers if they put up enough money. They themselves were +too busy making money to hunt down the outlaws; but they assumed that +money would do it; and they were willing to put up thousands of dollars. +But numerous rewards for the apprehension of desperadoes were +outstanding at that very hour; and the desperadoes were still at large. +As a money-making proposition, mining with all its uncertainties was +more attractive than professional detective work. Then again, these +Californians could not trust a man actuated by motives higher than their +own. Indeed, their chairman, Henry Francis himself, for some subtle +reason which it would have been well for him to analyze, was opposed to +employing honest John Keeler. It would have been well for Francis, +before it was too late, to realize to what an extent money standards +were replacing honor in his own life. It takes determination, loyalty, +devotion, to accomplish a difficult task; and such qualities cannot be +bought.</p> + +<p>When Captain Jack and his Modocks held a council of war in their lava +beds, they accomplished things which it was beyond the power of these +fortune-hunters to accomplish. Captain Jack had no gold, but the skill, +loyalty, and devotion of every Indian of his band were at his command. +And yet Francis would have imagined himself the superior of Captain +Jack.</p> + +<p>As time was passing, with little accomplished, Francis suggested that +they might first decide upon the amount to be offered as a reward for +the apprehension of the murderers. It was voted to offer a reward of +$10,000, or $5,000 for either of the two men.</p> + +<p>"Now, gentlemen," said Francis, "I shall have to go over to Fillmore +Hill to-morrow to see Mr. Palmer, who holds a note against Will Cummins. +You know I am settling the estate. Keeler will be over there, they say, +and I will talk with him. But on the way over, I shall look up a man +worth two of John Keeler in a business like this."</p> + +<p>"Who is that?" asked the doctor.</p> + +<p>"Mr. William Brown."</p> + +<p>No one seemed to know William Brown.</p> + +<p>"He lives a mile up the cañon," continued Francis.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you mean Bed-bug Brown," said Mat Bailey.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Francis, "that's the name he commonly goes by."</p> + +<p>"I know the man," said the doctor. "Says he came here in '54 and that he +has had a picnic ever since. Though he couldn't have had much of a +picnic that first winter, when he camped out by the big log; and only a +few winters ago Palmer had to send him a quarter of beef."</p> + +<p>"Well, Brown is a born detective," said Francis. "He worked up the +Caffey case like a professional."</p> + +<p>Ben Caffey's brother had been hanged in Wisconsin, in the region of the +lead mines, ten years before. He was innocent of the crime charged, and +Ben had vowed vengeance on the jury. All twelve of the jurors, though +scattered over the country from New Orleans to the cañon of the Middle +Yuba, had met violent deaths. The last man had been a neighbor of +Brown's. Just before his death a stranger with a limp left arm had +appeared at Moore's Flat; and Brown had proved to his own satisfaction +that the same man with a limp arm had appeared at New Orleans just +before the death of the eleventh juror in that city. The man with the +limp arm was Ben Caffey. Such was Brown's story. People had not paid +much attention to it, nor to the murdered man's lonely grave by the +river. Henry Francis, evidently, gave Brown full credence, but others +present regarded "Bed-bug Brown" as a joke. True, he was an intelligent +little man. He had taught school at Graniteville several winters, and +had succeeded better at this business than at placer mining on the bars +of the Middle Yuba. But "Bed-bug Brown," perennial picnicker, was not a +scientific sleuth.</p> + +<p>So when the council of war broke up, a feeling of skepticism prevailed. +Mat Bailey saw more possibilities in his own suggestion than in the +$10,000 reward. Dr. Mason saw more possibilities, however slight, in the +reward than in the proposed detective. And Henry Francis, though he had +known Cummins from boyhood, and was even now settling up his estate, +pretended to see more possibilities in a stranger than in honest John +Keeler—or himself.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Old Man Palmer</span></h3> + + +<p>Robert Palmer, tall, thin, bent with toil, had lived in California +thirty years. In May, 1849, when the snow drifts were still deep in the +cañons of the Sierras, he had crossed the mountains, past Donner Lake +and the graves of the Donner party, through Emigrant's Gap, to the +valley of the Sacramento. He was thirty-two years old at that time,—no +mere youth, seeking treasure at the end of a rainbow. He was already a +man of experience and settled habits, inured to hardship and adverse +fortune. As a youth he had left his native hills of Connecticut, to sell +clocks, first in the South and then in the lumber camps of Michigan. +There, the business of Yankee pedlar having failed, he found himself +stranded. His father was a prosperous farmer; but a stepmother ruled the +household. So young Palmer hired out to a Michigan farmer, for he was +one of those hardy New Englanders who ask no favors of fortune. +Imagining a pretty frontier girl to be a sylvan goddess, with a +Puritan's devotion he made love to her, only to be scorned for his +modesty. But failure and disappointment served but to strengthen him, +and he struck out for California.</p> + +<p>He nearly perished on the way there, while crossing the deserts of +Nevada. In Wyoming he had fallen into the hands of that brave true man, +John Enos, then in his prime, who had guided Bonneville, Fremont and the +Mormon pilgrims, and who,—living to the age of a hundred and four +years,—saw the wilderness he had loved and explored for eighty years +transformed to a proud empire. Enos had guided Fremont through Wyoming. +It is rather too bad that Palmer could not have accompanied Fremont and +Kit Carson when, in February, 1844, they crossed the snowy summit of the +Sierras and descended through the deep drifts to Sutter's Fort and +safety. That was four years before the discovery of gold in El Dorado +County.</p> + +<p>Palmer was not crazy for gold. Arrived in the Sacramento Valley, he +spent three or four years at farming. Perhaps his Yankee shrewdness saw +larger profits in hay and cattle than in washing gravel. But certainly +his New England integrity and soberness of character were more in +keeping with the spirit of the pioneer than with the spirit of the +adventurer.</p> + +<p>While reckless young men were swarming up the valleys of South, Middle +and North Yuba, finding fabulous quantities of gold and squandering the +same upon the Chinese harlots of Downieville, Robert Palmer was making +hay while the sun shone, which was every day in the Sacramento Valley. +But land titles were so uncertain that in 1853 he turned to mining,—at +Jefferson, on the South Yuba. He prospered to such an extent that by +1859 he had sent $8,000 back to Connecticut to pay his debts; and he had +laid by as much more. Frozen out of his claim by a water company—for +without water a miner can do nothing—he sold out to the company in +1860, and went over to the Middle Yuba, where he bought a claim on +Fillmore Hill, with a water ditch of its own.</p> + +<p>Here Palmer lived and toiled for twenty years, washing the dirt and +gravel of an ancient river-bed high up on the hill-top between Wolf +Creek and the Middle Yuba. He rented water from his ditch, sometimes at +the rate of two hundred and fifty dollars a month, to other miners. From +the grass roots on the hillside some lucky fellows cleaned up $10,000 in +a few days. For several years John Keeler and Will Cummins rented water +from Palmer and helped the "old man" keep his ditch in repair.</p> + +<p>The old man lived alone, industrious, and so economical as to excite the +mirth or the pity of his rough neighbors. Some who heard that he had +loaned $60,000 to a water company at 12 per cent. interest, regarded him +contemptuously as a miser. How else explain his shabby clothes, his old +rubber boots, that were out at the toes, his life of toil and +self-denial? Palmer never gambled, nor caroused, nor spent money on +women. He attended strictly to business, bringing to the bank at Moore's +Flat from time to time gold dust of high grade, worth from $19 to $20 an +ounce. And those who bought his gold marked how rough and torn were the +old man's fingers, the nails broken and blackened and forced away from +the flesh.</p> + +<p>But Keeler and Cummins had seen through the rough exterior. They knew +something of his charities. They had tasted his good cheer; for he kept +a well-stocked larder. They had seen with amusement his family of pet +cats seated at table with him, and each receiving its rations in due +order, like so many children. Keeler told with glee about the old man's +horse and mule, idly eating their heads off on the hillside. They had +come to Palmer in payment of a debt, and although he had had a fair +offer for the mule he had refused to sell, on the ground that without +the mule the horse would be lonesome.</p> + +<p>Robert Palmer knew what it was to be lonesome. True, he employed a hired +man or two occasionally, and when he cleaned up his sluices he employed +several—and, let it be said, he paid good wages. There were neighbors, +but with most of them he had little in common. The Woolsey boys, at the +ranch in the bottom of the cañon, whose widowed mother had come from St. +Louis to marry old Sherwood, had grown up under his kindly eye. In early +boyhood their active limbs had scaled the forbidding ledges of Fillmore +Hill, and Robert Palmer had granted them permission to hunt on his +claim.</p> + +<p>One night in his cabin on the mountain top, when the gold dust from the +last clean-up had not yet been disposed of, he was startled by a noise +outside. He blew out the light and hid his little bag of treasure in the +ashes of his forge. None too soon, for there was a summons at the door, +and when he opened it he was confronted by three masked men. With drawn +pistols they demanded his money. He said he had none. It was useless to +resist, so he let them bind him hand and foot. Again they demanded his +money. Again he said he had none. They knew better, and they threatened +to burn him alive in his cabin. But Palmer was firm. Then they burnt his +legs with a hot poker, and threatened to shoot him, as they might have +done with impunity in that lonesome place. Still he was firm, so they +set him on the hot stove and tortured him in that way. One of the party, +more humane than the rest, protested against more extreme measures; so +that, after searching the cabin, they gave up their enterprise, baffled +by that indomitable man. Before leaving him one of the men asked:</p> + +<p>"Mr. Palmer, do you know us?"</p> + +<p>Realizing that such knowledge meant death, he replied:</p> + +<p>"No, I don't know any of you."</p> + +<p>And so they left him. The lone miner no doubt had suspicions concerning +several of his worthless neighbors; but to the day of his death he kept +such suspicions to himself.</p> + +<p>Is it any wonder, living in that lawless country, that Robert Palmer +became almost a recluse? But why should he work so? He was working +unselfishly for others, as you will see when you read his will, for his +twenty-nine nephews and nieces. As if a heap of double eagles would be +of any particular use to relatives who had well-nigh forgotten him! No, +they had not forgotten. For one nephew borrowed money, which was, +however, repaid, and one niece secured five hundred dollars by sharp +practice worse than robbery. Robert Palmer made the mistake that many an +unselfish man has made, the mistake that insurance companies insist is +wisdom: he labored to provide others with gold, as though gold were a +substitute for thrift, prudence, and self-reliance. Never mind, the old +fellow did nephews and nieces no harm, though he disappointed several +who had depended upon him to lift them from poverty; for in the end his +hard-earned money was lost. His only legacy was his example of thrift, +unselfishness, and integrity. When men go about gathering riches for +others, let them gather things of the spirit. The answer to this, +perhaps, is that even such riches cannot be transmitted, that every soul +must enrich itself. That is true; but a noble character is at least +inspiring, and leaves the whole world richer.</p> + +<p>In the case of one nephew, Robert Palmer found a man who loved him but +needed none of his gold. This man was an astronomer, who, returning from +a scientific expedition to Behring Strait in 1869, paid his uncle a +visit. At that time this meant a trip of forty miles into the mountains +by stage and on horseback from the line of the newly constructed +railroad; for the narrow gauge from Colfax to Nevada City was not built +until 1876. It was a happy day for Robert Palmer when his sister's +son,—covered with dust,—scaled Fillmore Hill. Here was a meeting of +two strong men, blue-eyed Anglo-Saxons, large of frame, spare, rugged, +their fair skin tanned by the blazing sun of California.</p> + +<p>What a glorious visit they had! And how they revelled in a thousand +recollections of their New England home! For nine days the astronomer +shared his uncle's cabin, a new one, built of sawn timbers and boards, +and quite comfortable. Several days they worked together in the mine; +and when at last the hour of parting came, Robert Palmer sent by his +nephew a present to his grandnephews in Washington, the astronomer's +three small sons. It was the gold mined in those nine days, some one +hundred and thirty dollars in value. Thereafter the boys played miners +and stage-robbers and wild West generally, with sheet gold in the guise +of yellow envelopes hidden away between the leaves of books to represent +gold mines.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Two of a Kind</span></h3> + + +<p>The day after the council of war at Moore's Flat, John Keeler crossed +the cañon of the Middle Yuba to talk over the death of his old partner +with Robert Palmer. As he clambered up the steep side of Fillmore Hill +to the claim he had worked with Cummins fifteen years before, all the +poetry and all the sadness of life in California came over him. How +vividly he remembered his arrival, at the age of eighteen, in this land +of romance and adventure! He had reached Moore's Flat on the Fourth of +July, 1860, when bronzed miners were celebrating in reckless fashion. +The saloons were crowded, and card games were in progress, with gold +coins stacked at the corners of the tables. Out of doors some red-faced +fellows were running races in the streets and shouting like wild +Indians. Over the door of a restaurant was the sign "Eat, Drink, and Be +Merry," and the youth pondered the words of Scripture following these +festive words, but not quoted by the enterprising proprietor.</p> + +<p>He remembered now, after nineteen years, the strange aspect of nature in +this strange land. What great mountains! What deep cañons! What huge +pines, with cones as large as a rolling-pin! The strange manzanita +bushes, the chaparral, the buck-eye with its plumes, the fragrant +mountain lily, like an Easter lily, growing wild. It had seemed good to +him, a stranger in this strange land, to see old friends in the +squirrels that scampered through the woods and crossed his path, to find +alders, and blossoming dog-wood, the mountain brake, and his childhood's +friend the mullen stalk. Even to this day when he came upon an orchid, +or a wild rose, with its small pink petals (smaller in this red sterile +soil than in his native country), or when a humming bird in its shining +plumage came to sip honey from the flowers, or when in the still woods +he heard the liquid notes of a hermit thrush, the romance and the +reverence of youth thrilled him.</p> + +<p>John Keeler was something of a poet, though the needs of his family at +Eureka South kept the bread and butter question in the foreground. He +must see "old man Palmer" to talk over the death of Cummins. He was +comforted a little when the old man's small black dog, Bruce, came +frisking down the trail to meet him; and when Sammy, the cat, tail in +air and purring a thousand welcomes, rubbed his sleek fur against the +visitor's boots, Keeler fore-tasted sweet solace for sorrow.</p> + +<p>"Why, hello, Keeler! Mighty glad to see you!" And then in a changed +voice, "You're fagged out. It's an all-fired steep trail. Come in."</p> + +<p>"No, thank you," replied Keeler, and he seated himself upon a chair in +the door-yard. "It's pleasant out here under the pines. I want to talk."</p> + +<p>"I've been expecting you," said Palmer, "ever since the news came about +Cummins."</p> + +<p>"Well, if it wasn't for my wife and boy, I'd pull up stakes, and get out +of California."</p> + +<p>"Don't blame you. This thieving and promiscuous killing are enough to +discourage anybody. Too bad they can't get the robbers, just this once, +and string 'em up."</p> + +<p>"I'm a peaceable man, as you know, Mr. Palmer. But I'd be willing to +hang those fellows with my own hands. It wouldn't help Will Cummins any, +but it would give me solid satisfaction."</p> + +<p>"Well, Keeler, I'm glad of one thing, Cummins was a bachelor, like me, +and not a married man."</p> + +<p>"I've thought about that, but it don't give me any comfort. Will ought +to have married years ago. His life might have counted for something +then; but now it seems as if it had been wasted."</p> + +<p>"Maybe you think my life's been wasted, too?"</p> + +<p>"No, Mr. Palmer, you know I could never think that, after your kindness +to Will and me."</p> + +<p>"Well, Will Cummins was more generous than I ever was," answered Palmer. +"Main trouble with Will was his temper, which was no better than mine. +Every bad man in these mountains knew that Will Cummins was ready to +treat him to his own medicine."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I wish he hadn't said so much about defending yourself. I wish he +hadn't carried a pistol that day. He wouldn't have been so ready to +fight, perhaps."</p> + +<p>"One thing certain," observed Palmer, "if he was going to carry a pistol +at all, he ought to have had it handy, not under his duster."</p> + +<p>"Well, it was natural to think the danger past when they had got safely +away from the South Yuba. The robbers knew their man, and they played a +shrewd game."</p> + +<p>"It's easy enough to win when you play with loaded dice. I get boiling +mad when I think of these low-down, worthless rascals who don't stop at +any meanness, ready to commit murder for fifteen cents. They ought to be +treated worse than rattlesnakes. But, as you said just now, all this +don't help Will Cummins. But Will is all right, John. You know that as +well as I do."</p> + +<p>"I came up here to hear you say so. I've pretty near lost faith in God +and man, I reckon."</p> + +<p>"I lost faith in man long ago," answered Palmer, smiling sardonically. +"If the fall of Adam and the curse of Cain are fables,—as they are, of +course,—they are just as true as Æsop's fables, for all that. They hit +off human nature. But man isn't all. I've never belonged to any church, +as I've often told you. But the longer I live the more I trust in +Providence. Will Cummins was a good man, and he's all right, I tell +you."</p> + +<p>"I feel that way myself. But I know my feeling in the matter don't alter +the facts any. How do you figure it out?"</p> + +<p>"Well, my creed's about this: in spite of all the wickedness, this is a +beautiful old world. How gloriously the stars shine down every night +upon these mountains! Or, take Bruce and Sammy here"—and the old man +caressed his pets—"why, they love me to distraction. And I love both +the scamps, I certainly do. But what is that to your affection for your +partner, John Keeler? It is a good old world, I say. Then the Power +that's in it and back of it, 'in whom we live and move and have our +being,' is a good Power. Well, then, God is good. And that's all we need +to know. If God is good, we can depend upon Him in life and death. We +don't know what death means. But it's only a natural thing. It can't +matter much. I will know more about it, I guess, when I am dead."</p> + +<p>"I don't doubt you're right, Mr. Palmer. Once, back in Maryland, I heard +a minister say that grief comes to open our hearts to God. It was at my +mother's funeral. I reckon he was right, too. But my heart bleeds for +Will Cummins."</p> + +<p>Palmer looked at him critically a moment, as if weighing him in the +balance. Then, as if completely satisfied with his friend, he spoke:</p> + +<p>"John Keeler, I want to talk business. I want you to hunt those rascals +down. I'll back you for any amount. I'm past sixty, or I might attend to +the business myself. You're still a young man. I'll see that Mrs. Keeler +and the boy lack for nothing while you are gone. And I don't expect you +to take any risks. I simply want you to get the facts, then turn them +over to the authorities. Will you do it?"</p> + +<p>Keeler hesitated. "There's very little to go on. The robbers have +cleared out, and nobody knows who they were or where they went."</p> + +<p>"Don't you believe it," said Palmer. "If decent people don't know, there +are the other kind."</p> + +<p>"I reckon you and I would be about as helpless as babes with 'the other +kind.' We've always despised them and kept away from them."</p> + +<p>"But they're human, like the rest of us. You and I understand human +nature pretty well. We won't breathe a word to any one. You tell Mrs. +Keeler you're attending to important business for me, that I'm +grub-staking you, and that there's something in it for you and the +family. If the neighbors get wind of it, they'll think, perhaps, you are +attending to money matters for me. They seem to be mighty curious about +my money."</p> + +<p>"Well, I might do it, if I only knew how to go about it."</p> + +<p>"Well, Keeler, I think I can give you a start. And while we eat some +dinner I'll tell you a story that will surprise you."</p> + +<p>These Californians were certainly two of a kind; but then, two of a +kind, though both be kings, is not a strong hand.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">An Old Sweetheart</span></h3> + + +<p>When his guest had been abundantly supplied with the best the larder +afforded, not forgetting condensed milk for the coffee, Palmer began his +story.</p> + +<p>"Since you were here last, Keeler," he began, "I've been to San +Francisco. Nothing remarkable about that, of course. Any man might have +business at the Hibernia Bank. Then again, it's worth the trip from +Moore's Flat just to stand on the seashore an hour."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Keeler with enthusiasm, "there's a noble sight."</p> + +<p>"But," continued Palmer, "I'm too old a man for pleasure trips. And for +that matter, I'm about through with business, too. I went to San +Francisco for a special reason."</p> + +<p>Keeler looked up from his coffee inquiringly.</p> + +<p>"I went to see an old sweetheart."</p> + +<p>Here Keeler smiled. It seemed odd to think of old man Palmer going upon +such a mission.</p> + +<p>"I suppose I ought to say that the woman snubbed me when I was young, +and later cared more for my money than she did for me. But I loved that +woman thirty years ago, and was fool enough to think I might win her if +I could strike it rich here in California. I'm older now, and wiser, I +hope. If a woman won't marry a man 'for richer or poorer'—especially +poorer—she oughtn't to marry him at all. There's my nephew who was out +here ten years ago. Married without a dollar and got the best wife in +the world. No, Keeler; I may be a fool; but I'm not the kind of fool to +marry an old woman because she hankers after my money.</p> + +<p>"I went to San Francisco because I pity the woman, and because I thought +I might help her to become more decent and self-respecting."</p> + +<p>Here the old man paused. Keeler noticed that he was much embarrassed.</p> + +<p>"I would have kept this affair to myself, Keeler; but we must get the +rascals who shot Cummins, so you ought to know the whole story.</p> + +<p>"Harriet Chesney was a pretty girl thirty years ago. Rather too proud of +her good looks, and a selfish minx. But a young man who has had a good +mother thinks all women are good, I guess. I was terribly cut up when +she refused me; but I hate to think now what might have happened if she +had accepted me!"</p> + +<p>"Why, here ten years back, a brother of mine in Michigan wrote to warn +me that Harriet Chesney was coming to California to murder me. He said +she had burned two houses for the insurance; had got mixed up with +several men and had robbed them."</p> + +<p>"A regular she-devil," remarked Keeler.</p> + +<p>"Well, sure enough, she turned up here in California, nearly ten years +ago. And very likely she would have killed me if she could have got hold +of my property. And if all the gold I ever mined could have saved her +from the sin and misery of these past ten years, she would have been +welcome to it. But I couldn't buy her a clear conscience, could I?</p> + +<p>"She got as far as Moore's Flat. Hung around there several days till she +saw me at Haggerty's store. My old clothes must have disappointed her. +It would certainly humiliate any woman, good or bad, to associate with +such a scarecrow. So she cleared out, and went to San Francisco. I guess +she found out she was only a novice compared with the women down there. +And I guess in a year or two she was like all the rest. I tell you, it +was an awful thing to think of. It's bad enough to see a man go +wrong—but a woman!—and a woman you once loved—and still love, as God +still loves her!"</p> + +<p>The old man had to pause here; and he arose abruptly, as if to put aside +his dishes; and Keeler, respecting his emotion, looked out of the +window.</p> + +<p>"Well, last March, Harriet wrote me a letter. Gave me her address. Said +she was dying, and would like to see me. It was a week or more before +the letter reached me, for the trails were badly drifted and I had been +shut up here some time. John Woolsey brought the letter, and stayed +until I read it, to see if anything was wanted. Said he would look out +for Bruce and Sammy, so I got on my snow-shoes and started.</p> + +<p>"I reached San Francisco next day. I almost wished the woman was dead, +as she had a right to be by that time. If she was dead, I wouldn't have +to say anything to hurt her. Well, I called at the address she gave, +which was in the edge of Chinatown. I tell you it was disgusting to run +the gauntlet there, among those creatures.—I found the woman had been +taken to the city hospital several days before and whether she was dead +or alive the head she-devil of the place didn't seem to know or care.</p> + +<p>"I found her at the hospital, sure enough. The doctor said she was +getting better, and would probably live. I didn't know whether to be +glad or sorry; and I was tempted to go home and write her a letter. She +might not care to see me now, anyway.</p> + +<p>"But I stayed and had a talk with her; and I am glad I did, though I +couldn't help remembering the old rhyme,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"When the Devil was sick, the Devil a saint would be:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When the Devil got well, the devil a saint was he."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Harriet Chesney needed a friend, and she was glad to see me. She was +more than glad to know that I had come as soon as I could. Said she had +told herself I would not fail her—that it was the snow and the cañon +and not some other reason that kept me away. Said she thought she was +going to die; and that she wanted me to know she was sorry she had done +wrong. The doctor had told her she would get well, so she was going to +be an honest woman if I would help her. And what do you suppose she +wanted me to do?"</p> + +<p>"Lend her some money, most likely," said Keeler.</p> + +<p>"No, sir. She didn't want any money. Said she wanted to write to me +every Sunday, and to see me whenever I came to San Francisco. Of course, +I agreed, though I told her I don't go down to the city once a year, as +a usual thing. I told her if she thought she needed me to write and I +would try to get down. That seemed to satisfy her.</p> + +<p>"Well, she has written to me every week since then. By the first of June +she was able to work. And since then she has earned an honest living, +scrubbing floors. Here is her last letter."</p> + +<p>Keeler took the proffered sheet and read:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>"San Francisco, Sept. 5, 1879.<br /> + Mr. Robert Palmer.</p> + +<p>Dear Sir: </p> + +<p>I have just read about the murder of Mr. Cummins. The papers say he +lived at Moore's Flat, and worked a claim once on Fillmore Hill. So +he must have been a friend of yours. It is too bad. I might help +you find the murderers, as all the bad men of Nevada County are +known down here. If you will come down here or send somebody, I +will help you all I can.</p> + +<p>I am getting along all right.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Very respectfully,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Harriet Somers."<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<p>"I thought you said her name was Chesney," remarked Keeler, as he +returned the letter.</p> + +<p>"Oh well, she claims to have been married to two or three different men. +Calling herself Mrs. Somers seems to help her keep her self-respect. She +says Somers is dead. For my part, I never enquired whether there ever +was a sure-enough Mr. Somers or not. But I am sure she can help us in +this business. I wish you would have a talk with the woman."</p> + +<p>"There is no harm in that. I'll do it. And if I can find anything to go +on, I'll undertake to follow up those fellows. Perhaps I can find out +something at Nevada City. I reckon I'll have to let you look out for +Mrs. Keeler and the boy, as you say."</p> + +<p>"I'm mighty glad to hear you say that. And I'll make out a check right +now. Smith, the livery man at Eureka South, will cash it; and you can +take the stage out to-morrow morning."</p> + +<p>"All right. I reckon we'd better not lose any time."</p> + +<p>Palmer had already got out pen and ink. It was something of a "chore" +for the old man to draw a check. Miners' paralysis was creeping on, and +two years later the best he could do was to make his mark. But to-day he +prolonged his labors, making out a second check, to be cashed when +Keeler reached San Francisco.</p> + +<p>The business was hardly transacted when Henry Francis walked in.</p> + +<p>"Glad to see you, Francis!" exclaimed the old man. "What news from +Moore's Flat?" He exchanged glances with Keeler which seemed to mean +that their business should be regarded as strictly private, although +Henry Francis was the friend of both, and had won the confidence and +affection of old man Palmer. Francis and Palmer held the same political +faith. The former came of a distinguished Democratic family, so that the +old man's protection and loyalty had been bestowed upon him upon his +arrival in the gold fields twenty years before. Furthermore, the old man +had proved the unfailing honesty of the younger man. Jew bankers, in +blowing dirt and impurities from gold dust offered for sale, were not +over-careful about blowing away gold dust, too, which would be caught on +buckskin placed out of sight behind the counter. Palmer's dust was very +fine, and more than once he had suffered through such sharp practice, +only to vow he never would suffer so again. In Francis he had found a +strictly honest banker, whose virtue he was inclined to attribute to +correct political principles, overlooking the moral delinquencies of +other Democratic neighbors. But the old man, through long years of +experience with human nature in California, had grown extremely cautious +and secretive. Probably no one would ever have been the wiser in regard +to his old sweetheart and her sad history except for the escape of +Cummins' murderers. And now it was not necessary that any man other than +Keeler should know.</p> + +<p>"Glad to see you, Francis. What news from Moore's Flat?"</p> + +<p>Francis looked grave. "I suppose Keeler has told you all I know. Seven +days gone and nothing heard of the robbers. I shall expect a telegram +to-morrow or next day, telling of Will Cummins' burial in the village +cemetery at home. And his old father and mother are going to be denied +the small comfort of knowing that the murderers have been caught.</p> + +<p>"Keeler, you were Cummins' partner once. Do you have any idea who the +robbers were?"</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to say, I don't. This country is full of bad men. I have +thought of the blacklegs along Kanaka Creek. A robbery in Jackass Ravine +was traced to that gang. But the rascals stand together, and are ready +to defend a partner with alibis or pistols."</p> + +<p>If Keeler felt constrained to withhold information about his intended +visit to San Francisco in the capacity of detective, Francis on his part +saw no reason to state that he had just employed Bed-bug Brown in a +similar capacity. For in descending the cañon of the Middle Yuba, he had +gone a mile out of his way up the river to the cabin of this worthy +gentleman, and finding him at home had promptly engaged his services. +Brown, like Keeler, was to take the stage to Nevada City on the morrow, +provided with a fee for current expenses.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Palmer, "I am glad for my part that the California gold +craze is coming to an end. When the farmers down in the Sacramento +Valley get the upper hand, they will stop hydraulic mining, for it keeps +covering their good soil with sand and clay. The Government authorities +say we are filling up San Francisco Bay, too; so Uncle Sam is going to +step in and do something. Then those rowdies along Kanaka Creek and all +the other bad men in this country will have to move on."</p> + +<p>"And so will the rest of us," smiled Francis. "A man who has made his +pile can afford to retire. But what about Keeler here, and me?"</p> + +<p>"Well," persisted Palmer, "I think Will Cummins was right in wanting to +leave the gold fields. Gold makes people crazy. Half our gamblers and +thieves would be decent men in a decent community."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Palmer means," said Keeler, "that Pat Flynn, who is a good +Democrat, but who doesn't pay back the fifty dollars he borrowed from +Mr. Palmer last winter, would be a better Democrat back in Connecticut, +making wooden hams and nutmegs." With this he shook hands with his +friends and departed, for it was evident Francis had some private +business with the old man.</p> + +<p>When they were alone, Francis said:</p> + +<p>"You know, Mr. Palmer, that we Pennsylvanians stand together. I have +undertaken to settle up Cummins' affairs. I find you hold his note for a +thousand dollars."</p> + +<p>"I do. Lent him the money when he made a fresh start a few years back. +But I supposed I stood to lose it when the robbers took Cummins' gold +the other day. I certainly could afford to lose it."</p> + +<p>"Well, you don't have to lose it, Mr. Palmer. Cummins left mining stock +at the bank in my care that will more than cover the debt. The fact is, +I borrowed the value of the stock from him. Strictly speaking, I got him +to put a couple of thousand into a paying proposition; and he left +everything in my hands. So I am going to get you to cancel Cummins' note +and to take mine instead."</p> + +<p>"Francis, you are an honest man. The money is no great object with me. +But because I have found out that honesty is a thing that ought to be +encouraged, especially among friends, I will take your note and cancel +the other."</p> + +<p>So this business was settled. Robert Palmer, governed by kindly feeling +rather than hard sense, overlooked his friend's weakness for +speculation, rather counting it as honesty.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">"Bed-Bug Brown," Detective</span></h3> + + +<p>When Mat Bailey drove the stage out of Graniteville the next morning, +John Keeler and "Bed-bug Brown" were the only passengers. Brown had +spent the previous evening learning all that he could about Mamie Slocum +and her young admirers. He had actually learned that a young man from +Nevada City who signed himself J. C. P. Collins had paid her attentions. +He had also discovered that the young school-teacher had more than once +expressed much admiration for Mat Bailey. In view of what Henry Francis +had told him of Mat's reflections on the school-teacher, Brown resolved, +quietly and of his own accord, to keep an eye upon Mat as well as upon +Mamie.</p> + +<p>The little man was unusually quiet, revolving various theories in his +head, and contemplating the magnificence of the ten thousand dollar +reward. But the presence of John Keeler, Cummins' old partner, suggested +the wisdom of gleaning information from this source. So, in order to +impress Keeler with his seniority and larger experience, he began:</p> + +<p>"You don't remember, I suppose, Mr. Keeler, when camels were introduced +here in the gold fields?"</p> + +<p>"No, that was before my time."</p> + +<p>"It was back in fifty-six, before the water-ditch companies had fairly +got started. It was as dry as Sahara on these mountains then, and it is +no wonder somebody thought of camels."</p> + +<p>"Well, when you think of our ostrich farms, camels don't seem out of +place in California. Did you ever think, Mr. Brown, what extremes of +climate we have right here in Nevada County? Along about the tenth of +December they are cutting ice up in the Sierras while they are picking +oranges in the western end of the county."</p> + +<p>"That is pretty good for the banner gold county of the State. Most of us +forget everything but the gold," replied Brown, smiling inwardly, to +think how easily this remark would lead up to the desired topic.</p> + +<p>"I'm getting sick of the gold," replied honest John Keeler. "All that +was handy to get at has been carried away. No chance left for a poor +man. It takes a big company with capital to run the business of +hydraulic mining as they do at Moore's Flat and North Bloomfield. Quartz +mining is still worse. By the time you've sunk a shaft and put up a +stamping-mill, you've mortgaged your quartz for more than it is worth, +perhaps. It takes capital to run a quartz mine."</p> + +<p>"Yes," assented Brown, "this country has seen its best days."</p> + +<p>"That's what old man Palmer says," remarked Keeler, looking across the +cañon at Palmer's Diggings.</p> + +<p>"You and Cummins did pretty well over there fifteen years ago," and the +little detective's eyes twinkled at his own cleverness.</p> + +<p>"We made a living; that's about all."</p> + +<p>"But Cummins was a wealthy man some years back."</p> + +<p>"Well, his partner never was," laughed Keeler. "If I could scrape +together the dust, I'd leave these mountains as he tried to."</p> + +<p>"Who do you suppose the robbers were?"</p> + +<p>"If I could make a good guess, I'd go after that ten thousand dollar +reward," replied Keeler.</p> + +<p>"There's an awful tough gang over in Jim Crow Cañon," said Brown, +throwing out another feeler.</p> + +<p>"Can you tell me of a place in these gold fields where you won't find a +tough gang? I was in Forest City the other day. I took the trail over +the mountains through Alleghany. Both of those places are live towns +with cemeteries,—well settled places, you know. But a tougher lot of +citizens you never saw. Gambling, drinking, and fighting, and Sunday the +worst day of the seven."</p> + +<p>"What impresses me most about Alleghany," said Brown, "is the vast +number of tin cans on the city dump. It makes a man hungry for the grub +his mother used to cook."</p> + +<p>"You're right there," said Keeler, and lapsed into silence.</p> + +<p>They were at Moore's Flat presently, where they changed to the +four-horse stage-coach; and the little detective's attention was +absorbed by the actions of Mat Bailey, who seemed strangely quiet. A +guilty conscience, perhaps?</p> + +<p>Several people were going down to Nevada City. So Keeler and Brown did +not resume their conversation, but journeyed on, each absorbed in his +own thoughts. To Keeler the trip was a sad one. In the dark woods along +Bloody Run, and as they passed the tall rock by the roadside beyond, he +thought of robbers and his murdered partner. At the store in North +Bloomfield he could hardly resist the impulse to insult the cowardly +store-keeper who had stood by and allowed Cummins to be shot. As they +dove down into the cañon of the South Yuba, he groaned to think of the +murders for gold committed therein. Could not a protecting Providence +have saved his friend? Was it the decree of fate that one who had +manfully defended the right for twenty-five years in that lawless +country should be cut off just when he was quitting it forever? Perhaps, +he thought, this very hour his partner was being laid at rest in his +"ain countree."—And his soul? Well, he believed as Palmer did, that all +is well with the soul of a brave man. Was he, Keeler, on a fool's errand +to San Francisco? Well, he had determined on his own account to do a +little investigating in Nevada City that very day. So had Mat Bailey. +Hence his unusual taciturnity. So had "Bed-bug Brown," and he kept the +secret to himself.</p> + +<p>Arrived at Nevada City, with its steep streets, compactly built up at +the centre of the town, church and county court-house on the hillside, +the traveler finds himself fairly out of the mountains, the luring fatal +mountains, whose very soil has now the color of gold and now the color +of blood. Mat Bailey's first concern was the care of his horses. Keeler +went to look up his friend Sheriff Carter. And "Bed-bug Brown" partook +of a frugal dinner at the moderate cost of two bits. He sat where he +could observe the movements of Mat, and lingered in the neighborhood +until the stage-driver had disposed of his own dinner and set out to +call upon Mamie Slocum.</p> + +<p>This young lady now spent most of her time at home. She had hardly +recovered from the shock of the tragedy; and her imagination had +conjured up a visit from the sheriff for her part therein. Instead it +was only that splendid Mat Bailey, flicking the dust from his boots with +his handkerchief, and mustering up courage to knock at the door! How +glad she was to see him! And Mat thought that she looked very sad and +pretty! She conducted him to the parlor, and proffered the seat of +honor, a hair-cloth rocking-chair.</p> + +<p>"Let me call Mother. She will be so glad to hear about her friends in +Graniteville."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather see you alone, if you don't mind." And Mat blushed through +his tan, but assured himself that duty prompted, if pleasure did +consent. It was the best arrangement all round, as "Bed-bug Brown" +himself thought,—for this worthy gentleman was eaves-dropping in the +cellar, with only a floor of thin boards between himself and these +interesting young people.</p> + +<p>Under other circumstances Miss Slocum would have been fascinated at the +idea of a <i>tête-à-tête</i> with this interesting, stalwart man of the +mountains. But something in his manner, and her own overwrought nerves, +told her there was trouble ahead. Should she run away, should she use a +woman's wiles in self-defense, or should she confide in this handsome +man? Distracted by these conflicting thoughts, she presented a charming +picture of alarmed innocence, as Bailey thought; and his heart yearned +to offer protection.</p> + +<p>"Miss Slocum, I don't know how to put it, and I don't know what mean +things you are going to think of me"—</p> + +<p>And now Mamie began to sympathize with the big stage-driver, who seemed +as much embarrassed as she.</p> + +<p>"The fact is, Mr. Francis asked me to see you."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Francis is a good friend of mine. He secured the school at +Graniteville for me."</p> + +<p>Bailey, grateful for this help, continued:</p> + +<p>"He thought I might inquire about a matter"—</p> + +<p>"Heavens!" thought Mamie, "does Mr. Francis know about my trouble? Mat +Bailey must have told him!" If her intuition guided her truly in this +matter, it no less truly recognized a friend in Mat.</p> + +<p>"The fact is"—he began, and then he hesitated. "Damn it!" he thought, +"how could he say things that would hurt this lovely creature?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Bailey, I think I know what you mean. You want to know why I told +that robber about Mr. Cummins's valise. It has nearly worried me to +death; and I don't wonder you all demand an explanation."</p> + +<p>"Don't put it that way, I beg of you, Miss Slocum!" exclaimed Mat, +greatly relieved that she had come to his rescue, but no less greatly +concerned that he should appear in the hateful character of accuser and +informer. "We don't demand anything. We know you didn't have anything to +do with those robbers. Mr. Cummins was a friend of yours; and you +wouldn't do nothing to injure an enemy!"</p> + +<p>Mat could use negatives properly when not excited.</p> + +<p>The conversation was becoming less and less interesting to the little +man in the cellar. But it was not easy to beat a retreat.</p> + +<p>Mamie began to weep softly, but more from joy than otherwise. After the +strain of the past week these honest words of Mat were balm to her.</p> + +<p>"I—I will tell you everything, Mr. Bailey. Oh, how I have wanted to +talk to some friend about it! But it was so dreadful! I couldn't breathe +a word of it even to Mother."</p> + +<p>Mat was all tenderness now; and the man under the floor began to prick +up his ears.</p> + +<p>"I was talking with a young man only a week before that dreadful day, +and he said highwaymen are too generous to steal money from people like +Mr. Cummins. And that the best thing anyone could do when a stage is +robbed would be to tell the robbers about the property of passengers +like him. I didn't believe it at first, and now I know how frightfully +foolish I was. But the young man, who had been in jail once himself, was +so positive, that I really believed a criminal has a sense of honor. And +when the robber asked whose valise that was, I was so frightened the +words came right out before I realized what I had done."</p> + +<p>"Every word you say is God's truth, Miss Slocum, and I hope you will +forgive me for bothering you this way." It did occur to Mat that he +might inquire who that young jail-bird might be. And "Bed-bug Brown" was +hoping that his name would be mentioned. But Mat reflected that this was +none of his business; and that it did not matter anyhow. If Miss Slocum +did not care to mention the man's name he would not ask for it. She had +behaved nobly, and he admired her from the bottom of his heart.</p> + +<p>"Really, Mr. Bailey, I am glad you gave me this chance to explain. You +don't know what I have suffered. And then to think that I deserved to +suffer it, and more, too, for causing the death of my own friend!" And +here the tears came again, honest tears, as Mat knew full well. He +rather envied Cummins that so beautiful a creature should grieve for +him.</p> + +<p>"Now look here, Mamie, it is all right to be sorry that Mr. Cummins got +killed. Every honest man and woman in Nevada County is sorry. But you +didn't cause his death, any more than I did. I never felt meaner in my +life than I did that day, holding those horses and looking down into the +barrel of that robber's gun. He had me, until he started for Cummins. +And it was all over so quick, I hardly knew what happened. But I can't +quite forgive myself for not jumping down after that robber as soon as +ever he uncovered me. It would probably have been too late; and the +horses would have run away, most likely; but still I wish I had jumped. +But because I didn't jump I'm not going to hold myself responsible for +Cummins' death. The robbers must hang for it, and not you and me. As for +what you said, I don't believe it made any difference at all. They were +bound to get all the gold on the stage that day; and they knew Cummins +had some."—</p> + +<p>"That's just it, Mr. Bailey, and that's what makes it so hard for me."</p> + +<p>Mat saw he had been swept off his feet by his own eloquence, and so he +tried again.</p> + +<p>"Well, they would have got it anyhow. They might have wasted a minute or +two more hunting for it, but they would have found it, and Cummins would +have fought for it just the same."</p> + +<p>"Yes, that is what I've thought," said Mamie. "Oh, why did he risk his +life so?"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you, Mamie," said Mat, "everybody in this country is crazy +about gold—miners, gamblers, bankers, robbers,—everybody. They're like +hungry wolves, ready to tear one another to pieces. Only the wolves have +more sense. Gold is of no earthly use to anyone. I'm sick and tired of +the whole business." And Mat rose, hat in hand, to go.</p> + +<p>"I hope you'll call again, Mr. Bailey," said the the girl shyly. Here +was a friend in need! A great bashful, manly fellow, so kind and +sympathetic!</p> + +<p>"I'll be more than pleased to," replied Mat, determined to prove his +philosophy that there are things far more precious than gold.</p> + +<p>Fascinated with the idea, he loitered in the neighborhood longer than he +would otherwise have done; and, glancing back at the dear girl's house, +he was astonished to see "Bed-bug Brown" emerge from the cellar. Brown +saw him at about the same time. There was no escape for either, so they +drifted together good-naturedly. The little man extended his hand:</p> + +<p>"Congratulations! When is the wedding to be?"</p> + +<p>Bailey simply smiled, and said:</p> + +<p>"Bed-bug Brown, detective!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Home-Coming of a Dead Man</span></h3> + + +<p>Meanwhile the body of the murdered man—noble countenance peaceful now +after twenty-five years of adventure—had been traveling eastward to its +final resting place. The body of William F. Cummins came home in +state—home at last, where the familiar caw of crow and tinkle of +cow-bell might almost conjure the dead back to life again. Three years +before, at the time of the great Centennial, when, in the full vigor of +manhood, Will Cummins had visited his native town, no sounds had so +stirred old memories of fields and mountains as those homely sounds of +crow and cow-bell.</p> + +<p>Then neighbors had flocked about the bold Californian, eager to press +his hand and to look into his fearless eyes. Now, robbed and murdered, +he came home again, life's journey ended. The quiet village was +appalled, and shaken with anger. Friends and neighbors flocked to the +funeral—indignant youths, solemn old men and women. True, the younger +generation had hardly known of the Californian's existence. To them he +seemed to have come out of the Sierras like a Rip Van Winkle, who slept +soundly on, asking no questions. But to the old men he had died a youth, +full of promise. They remembered well the eager buoyancy with which he +and his comrades had set out for the gold fields. Middle-aged men and +women remembered his school days in Reedsville, when he was one of them, +when they were all healthy, merry boys and girls together.</p> + +<p>The funeral over, and the Californian safely laid in his native soil on +the hillside, men gathered in groups on the corners of the village +street, or stepped into the bank to look at the six-shooter which had +failed their friend in his hour of need. The local minister, gazing upon +the dead man's revolver, was heard to remark:</p> + +<p>"They that take the sword shall perish with the sword."</p> + +<p>But the bystanders would not endure the doctrine. Their Anglo-Saxon +blood recoiled. And a former Californian, who was an old friend of +Cummins, stepped forward and said:</p> + +<p>"Mr. Lamb, Will Cummins was not afraid to perish with the sword. And, if +he could have drawn that revolver, there would have been two dead +robbers. This doctrine of non-resistance is wrong, dead wrong. We proved +that in California, just as you people proved it here in the Civil War. +Will Cummins was not afraid to defend his rights."</p> + +<p>"But," replied the minister, who in spite of his name seemed eager for +the combat, "the Civil War was a national crime. Think of the hundreds +of thousands of young men, North and South, who perished."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Mr. Lamb, the war <i>was</i> a crime. And Jeff Davis and the other +criminals ought to have been hanged, just as those stage-robbers ought +to be."</p> + +<p>"Don't you see, my friend," replied the minister, "that violence breeds +violence?"</p> + +<p>"Then," rather scornfully, "you think Will Cummins did wrong to defend +his property?"</p> + +<p>"He would have been alive to-day if he hadn't."</p> + +<p>"But that's not the point. Will Cummins died for a principle. He +believed in self-defense, and was not afraid to risk his life."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said the minister, "I admit that he was a brave man. But +Christ said, 'if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak +also'—'turn the other cheek'—'resist not evil'—'they that take the +sword shall perish with the sword.'"</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Californian, "I don't dispute the fact that people who +carry weapons are likely to get killed. What I say is, I admire a man +who is not afraid of getting killed when he knows he's right. It may be +just as honorable to perish with the sword as to be crucified."</p> + +<p>This statement, savoring of the heresy that was introduced into American +thought both by soldiers returning from the Civil War and by men +returning from the lawless life of the West, rather shocked the +minister, who was a good and sincere man. But he only said:</p> + +<p>"Surely, you are a Christian?"</p> + +<p>"Well," replied the Californian, "I don't know. If Jesus Christ said +self-defense is wrong, then He was mistaken."</p> + +<p>Here the argument ended. But the theme is a fruitful one; and every +thoughtful man and woman in Reedsville was bound to consider it. Dead +men tell no tales and make no arguments. Will Cummins slept peacefully +on. But the facts of the case were too plain to be ignored; and the +Californian's doubt of Christ's infallibility was widely discussed.</p> + +<p>It was indeed a great issue, involving the fundamental principles of +Christianity. A brave man, who is not a scoffer, attacks the doctrine of +non-resistance, and lays down his life for the faith that is in him. A +martyr, then. Martyrdom in itself cannot establish a principle; but we +respect martyrdom. Turn the argument around: the martyrdom of Christ did +not establish the correctness of His teaching.</p> + +<p>But this leads to a further question, namely, the nature of Christ—was +Christ human or divine? We may honestly say He was both; for if ever man +was inspired He was. But He might have made mistakes, as other inspired +teachers have done. And what did He really teach? Not one word of +Scripture was written by His hand. The spirit of Christ—this is the +important thing. The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life. Did He not +caution us to look not to Himself but to God? "Why callest thou me good? +One there is who is good, even God" ... "Not those who say, 'Lord, +Lord,' but those who do the will of My Father which is in heaven."</p> + +<p>Self-defense is a duty which civilized man owes to civilization. Will +you tell me that the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who, making no +resistance, have perished like sheep at the hands of the Turks, were +better men than the four thousand who fled to the mountains and fought +off their persecutors till help arrived? Read of the heroic defense, +when for fifty-three days the men of that gallant band, with a few +rifles, saved their women and children from worse than death. I say +these men performed a duty to God and man—to the Turk himself, into +whose black heart they shot more virtue and honesty than ever were +implanted by the hundreds of thousands who died like sheep.</p> + +<p>Civilized man must maintain himself, else the world will relapse into +barbarism. To perish with the sword in defense of home and friends may +be a sacred duty. If I have any quarrel with the Californians it is not +with their courage and daring. These were exemplary. And if it is right +to defend one's life, it is right to defend one's property, by means of +which life is supported.</p> + +<p>But the dead men sleep soundly there on the hill, unmindful of praise or +blame, and old man Palmer, himself in a pauper's grave by the Middle +Yuba, robbed in his turn, and by a trusted friend, tells no tales, for +he sleeps serenely.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Travels of John Keeler</span></h3> + + +<p>John Keeler had found his friend the sheriff at the Citizens' Bank, +putting up money on a bet that Cummins' murderers would not be caught +within a year. Sheriff Carter was dealing in futures, as it were. +Nothing would have pleased him better than to lay hands on those +highwaymen; but,—thoroughly discouraged at the outlook,—like a true +sportsman he enjoyed the humor of betting against himself in the vague +hope that such action might lead to something. He was more than pleased +to see Keeler, whose mysterious air clearly indicated that something was +up. They walked immediately to the court-house, and were soon closeted +together.</p> + +<p>"Now look here, Keeler, if you're going to play detective, you don't +want to hang out a sign, 'John Keeler, Detective.' There's blood in your +eye. Any crook could spot you a block away."</p> + +<p>Keeler laughed, and looked rather sheepish.</p> + +<p>"Well," he said, "there's no harm done, I reckon. Those fellows are +probably a thousand miles from here by this time."</p> + +<p>"What makes you think so?" asked Carter. "They may be right here in +Nevada City. Some of those fellows can throw a perfect bluff on a pair +of two-spots."</p> + +<p>"Well, Carter, I thank you for your suggestion. After this, I'll be +careful. That is, I'll appear to be careless. I haven't any inkling as +to where those thugs are, and I've come to you to get some points."</p> + +<p>"I don't blame you a bit, Keeler, for wanting to look into this affair. +Cummins was your partner once; and a better man never lived in Nevada +County. I hope to God I can string up the men who killed him. Just step +in here."</p> + +<p>In an ante-room Carter had set up two straw men dressed in the discarded +clothes of the highwaymen.</p> + +<p>"Of course, this ain't going to help much," explained Carter, +deprecatingly. "But it does give you a fair idea of the height of those +fellows. Mat Bailey was in here the other day to help me with these +dummies. He seems to have a pretty good idea of what the men looked +like."</p> + +<p>As his mission to San Francisco was confidential, and inasmuch as +Palmer's Mrs. Somers was an unknown quantity, Keeler refrained from +mentioning her. He proceeded to San Francisco that day; looked up Mrs. +Somers, who gave him the names and descriptions of a dozen bad men of +Nevada County; and the next day he returned to hunt up some of these +same bad men. One of them was O'Leary of You Bet, whom he found without +trouble. But he got very little encouragement from O'Leary; and he very +soon discovered how hard it is for an honest man to get any sort of +satisfaction from thieves and liars.</p> + +<p>In the absence of any definite information he resolved to turn eastward, +across the Sierras. He was on the right track, as we know. As far as +Omaha it was not so very difficult to make a fairly thorough search for +the criminals. However, this took time, and although he happened to pick +up information here and there about a couple of rather odd-looking +Californians traveling eastward with gold, he often felt that he was on +a fool's errand. He fell in with Californians everywhere. If the +building of the transcontinental railroad had served no other purpose, +it had sent a steady stream of people away from the gold fields—a +circumstance that made his mission seem all the more hopeless. Among so +many how could he distinguish the criminals? True, he could distinguish +an ex-miner among a thousand. And whenever such a man extended his right +hand and said, "Put it there, partner!" Keeler could not refuse the +proffered hand-clasp.</p> + +<p>At Louisville he encountered a man whom he was sure he had seen in +Nevada City. The man evidently recognized him also, and for an instant +Keeler thought he saw a wild gleam in the man's eye. Then it was, "Put +it there, partner!" and Keeler placed his clean right hand into the +grimy palm indicated.</p> + +<p>"The drinks are on me, this morning," said the man, marching him off to +the nearest bar. And Keeler was so much in the humor of the thing that +he was soon telling the story of the Frenchman who took lessons in +English from a Kentuckian:</p> + +<p>"What do you say in Anglais when one offer you a drink, and you accep' +le invite?"</p> + +<p>"Don't care if I do," replied the instructor.</p> + +<p>"Don car fido," repeated Frenchy. "And what eef you do not accep' le +invite?"</p> + +<p>The Kentuckian looked grave, slowly shook his head, and finally answered +in despair:</p> + +<p>"You've got me there, Frenchy!"</p> + +<p>The Californian laughed heartily—rather too heartily, Keeler thought; +and then inquired:</p> + +<p>"Going East or West?"</p> + +<p>"Westward for me," replied Keeler; "and you?"</p> + +<p>"Well, I reckon I've played my last game of poker in Nevada City. The +East for me. With a little dust for capital, this country seems right +good. Why, out there in the Sierras, you know as well as I do, the +soil's too poor to feed lizards. Not much like the blue grass country of +Kaintuck."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Keeler, "if I had made my pile, Maryland would be good +enough for me. As it is, California is all right, barring those same +pesky lizards."</p> + +<p>"The boys set too stiff a pace out there, though," replied the ex-miner. +"Why, many a Saturday night I've seen fellows drop into town with a +hundred and fifty dollars in dust, and then borrow the money to take the +stage out Monday morning."</p> + +<p>"I don't go in for sporting myself," said Keeler, "so I guess my +character won't be ruined. The churches have got started, and they are +giving the saloons a good deal of trouble."</p> + +<p>"By thunder! that reminds me," quoth the Californian, "this here is a +Christian country, and I'm going to join the church, first thing I do."</p> + +<p>"And spin California yarns to a Sunday-School class," suggested Keeler. +"Bet your class will be a large one."</p> + +<p>"I'll do it, by thunder! The very thing! And I'll shoot any lad as gets +impertinent."</p> + +<p>Keeler was clearly out of his element, and thought it time to terminate +the brief acquaintance.</p> + +<p>"John Keeler is my name; and I can swear I've seen you in Nevada City. +But you have the best of me."</p> + +<p>"Why," replied the Californian, as cool as you please, "my name's +Darcy."</p> + +<p>It was the man who had killed Will Cummins! But John Keeler was none the +wiser, as Darcy quickly saw. He and Collins had reached Louisville +undetected. Had there assumed the character of honest miners, shipped +their bullion by express, a part to New Orleans and a part to +Philadelphia, and were on the point of dissolving partnership.</p> + +<p>Darcy soon afterward assumed the name of Thorn, set up in the lumber +business at Union City, Indiana, where it is but a few steps across the +border into Ohio,—and became a prosperous and respected citizen. He +actually associated himself with the leading church of the town and was +looked upon by the young men as a Californian who had succeeded.</p> + +<p>Honest John Keeler, who was well acquainted with the type, as he +thought, could only remark, as his train sped westward, "There is a +sensible miner! One who has safely transferred his money from saloons +and gambling dens and robbers to the famous blue grass country. Good +luck to him!"</p> + +<p>He had well-nigh forgotten the incident when Darcy was arrested three +years later.</p> + +<p>A whole year had passed before Keeler returned home, discouraged. In the +meantime, as we shall see, the snows of the Sierras had not chilled the +budding affections of Mat Bailey; but the hot sun of another California +summer had stricken down old man Palmer. Keeler mistrusted that +something was wrong, as he had not heard from his old friend for several +months. Fortunately, his wife and child were well and happy, but they +had impatiently waited for his return. From them he had heard every week +or two.</p> + +<p>At length he was safely back across the Sierras. The cañon of the +American River had never seemed more terrible as the train hovered over +the brink of it. And now they were at Colfax, the junction of the narrow +gauge railroad, whence, at nine cents a mile, you travel northward to +Nevada City. The iron bars on the high, narrow windows of the station, +the low whistle of the little engine, like the lonesome cry of a wolf, +as it took the high trestle over Bear River, the very bars of dirt in +the river bed far below, proclaimed to John Keeler that he had returned +to the land of robbers and gold mining.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Snows of the Sierras</span></h3> + + +<p>After the heat and turmoil of a day when the children have been +especially vexing, what mother does not smile in forgiveness upon the +peaceful faces of her offspring, whose characters in sleep appear as +spotless as the sheets which cover them? So smiled the sun upon the +grown-up children of the Sierras asleep under the winter snow. After the +heat and turmoil of the summer, the mad search for gold was over. Save +when there was a heavy snowstorm, the Graniteville stage traveled over +the mountains, as usual; but no highwayman molested it. It would have +been a practical impossibility for a robber to have made off with booty. +The snow was light and feathery, and the drifts were often twenty-five +feet deep. The web-footed snow-shoes of New England could not be used +with advantage in such snow, so recourse was had to skis. But it was +difficult to manage these upon the steep trails of the cañons, so that +people generally were content to hibernate like grizzlies. Many a miner, +glad to indulge his liking of conviviality, would take up his residence +in some mountain village for the winter, spending with a liberal hand +the precious yellow dust that he had worked so hard to get. Many, forced +to keep the wolf from the door, found work with lumbermen and ditch +companies.</p> + +<p>In my opinion, Mat Bailey and Dr. Mason had a decided advantage over +both miners and villagers. Like the man-o-war's man of song they enjoyed +steady occupations summer and winter, and spent much of their time in +the open. The cold was never extreme, the thermometer very rarely +dropping below zero Fahrenheit. The dust of summer was buried deep under +the gleaming snow, and the air was crisp and exhilarating. Often the +doctor was one of Mat's passengers. Often he would leave the stage where +some trail wound down into a cañon, and putting on his skis glide away +among the great pines, which, covered with snow and ornamented with +shining icicles, were scattered over the mountain slopes like great +wigwams of white canvas. A doctor anywhere is a welcome visitor and a +friend in need; in the wilderness, in the depth of winter he ranks but +little lower than the angels. Often, coming to a lonely cabin, fairly +buried in snow-drifts, he would climb in through the gable window of the +loft; and no doubt his descent to the patient lying below suggested the +arrival of a heavenly visitor.</p> + +<p>One glorious winter day Mamie Slocum through Mat's persuasions +accompanied him from Nevada City to Graniteville. He wanted her to see +the magnificence of the Sierras in winter. Mamie needed little coaxing. +Indeed, her admiration for Mat was making her unmindful of very eligible +suitors. Besides, she enjoyed life in the open almost as much as he did. +But I suspect on that beautiful winter morning both enjoyed each other's +society even more than the scenery. As far as North Bloomfield, she was +the only passenger, so well had Mat and the weather bureau contrived +matters. He explained that he was really in need of her assistance, for +in the open places where the snow had drifted across the road, it was +often necessary to attack the drifts with a snow-shovel. He would then +pass the reins to Mamie, who, demurely perched aloft, rosy-cheeked and +most bewitching, was a picture for an artist.</p> + +<p>No wonder Mat should have grown confidential and talked about his +personal history—which was usually bad form in California, where +present fortune counted for everything and family history was regarded +as ancient history. He told her how in boyhood he came to California +from Virginia with his parents. That was back in the fifties, when +respectable women were so rare in the gold fields that their arrival was +hailed by the rough miners with a sort of religious fervor. One of Mat's +earliest recollections was a scene with emigrant wagon and camp-fire in +the background, and in the foreground his mother, clasping him by the +hand and greeting a score of bearded men, who, with hats off, were +paying her homage.</p> + +<p>He could remember, too, how they had come over the mountains through +Emigrant Gap, passing the graves of the Donner party. The tragedy of the +snow-bound emigrants had made a deep impression upon his imagination. He +spoke of it to Mamie, and she rather saucily inquired what he would do +with her if they, too, were caught in a severe snowstorm.</p> + +<p>"In the first place," said Mat, "I wouldn't let you start out in a +snowstorm. And in the second place, if we should get caught, on the +return trip, we would make for the nearest shelter and stay there till +traveling was safe again."</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear, what a stupid adventure that would be! There's very little +excitement in this civilized country."</p> + +<p>Mat laughed. "So this is what you call a civilized country? I don't see +any signs of civilization except this road and the water ditch yonder."</p> + +<p>Mat was quite right. In every direction the frost-king held sway over an +unbroken wilderness. The massive ranges of the Sierras, clothed all in +white, were as majestic and as untamed as when Fremont and Kit Carson +gazed down upon them from their snowy summit. To cross that mountain +barrier, ninety-three hundred feet above the level of the sea, would +require as much heroism as ever. The wise old Indians knew better than +to attempt it; and so did the miners. Only a Fremont or a Kit Carson +might pass over that awful divide in safety, pushing on through the deep +drifts, half their mules and horses dead, and their comrades staggering +with exhaustion. How absolutely essential was that stage-road, winding +over the snow fields!</p> + +<p>Soon Mat perceived signs that made him anxious. They would reach +Graniteville without mishap. But the return trip to-morrow? A falling +barometer could not have made him feel more certain of an approaching +storm. He began to question the disinterestedness which had led him to +show Miss Slocum the splendor of the winter landscape. The girl's gay +chatter could not drown the voice of his accusing conscience. +Fortunately for Mat, at this juncture Dr. Mason came to the rescue like +a fairy godfather.</p> + +<p>They picked the doctor up at North Bloomfield. His baggage included not +only his skis and medicine-case but a violin as well. For the doctor was +a musical genius; and it had been his proud achievement to construct his +own instrument, which friends vowed was as excellent as a Stradivarius. +Often of a winter evening his music was more sought after than his +medicine. Mamie was delighted.</p> + +<p>"So there's going to be a party to-night," she exclaimed. Mat promptly +seized the opportunity to secure the lion's share of the dances, and +immediately congratulated himself upon the approach of the storm, hoping +it might bring a whole series of parties.</p> + +<p>"Bless you, my children," said the doctor, "it will be a pleasure to +call off the figures for the likes of you." The word "eugenics" had not +been coined as yet, but like all wise physicians the doctor believed in +the idea. It made his heart rejoice to watch the budding affection of +these normal, healthy young people. And he knew the magic of the violin. +And so they waltzed on to their heart's content in the large dining-room +of the hotel at Graniteville. At midnight, the feathery snow began to +fall, insuring several other blissful nights. Between dances they looked +out of doors and windows; when the drifts buried the whole first story +of the hotel, the warmth of that great bare room seemed even more +genial.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all went merry as a marriage bell."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>When refreshments were served, so pleased was the doctor with his young +friends' pleasure, that he drew them aside to tell them a bit of his +family history.</p> + +<p>"My family," said the doctor, "lived for many generations in Ayrshire, +Scotland, neighbors to the family of Robert Burns. And, like the poet's +people, they were very poor. No wonder! The poor man has no chance in +the old country. Years ago an ancestor of mine leased a tract of +worthless swamp land for forty-nine years at a penny an acre per year. +By hard labor and perseverance he drained the land and made it +productive. So when the forty-nine years were up and the family sought +an extension of the lease, the rent went up to one pound an acre. This +was pretty hard; but by frugality and perseverance the family still +prospered. At the end of the second forty-nine years the rent demanded +was five pounds an acre. Think of it—twenty-five dollars a year! That +was too much to endure, so my father, then a young blacksmith, was sent +over to Canada to buy land. He bought three farms of a hundred acres +each, one for himself, one for his brother, and one for their father, +paying four dollars an acre. Here again the rich man had the upper hand. +For this same land had been sold by the British Government to +capitalists for twenty-five cents an acre. Of course, my people had no +money to pay cash down, but they quit Scotland nevertheless. They came +over in 1832, in a small sailing vessel, which took four weeks to make +the passage. Then came another struggle. The land was very productive, +but money was scarce and crops brought hardly anything. But at least the +Mason family had enough to eat. Finally, after many years, the mortgages +were paid off, and the family established."</p> + +<p>The doctor paused, and Mat thought he saw a reason for Scotch grit. He +contrasted such a history with the get-rich-quick methods of California!</p> + +<p>"America," continued the doctor, "is the land of opportunity. With good +health and industry the poor man can succeed." And he looked at Mat +significantly.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Golden Summer Comes Again</span></h3> + + +<p>The golden summer had come again. To old man Palmer, living alone on the +top of Fillmore Hill, the great snow banks stored high upon the +mountains meant abundance of water for mining. The strange flowers of +California, yellow and red, grown familiar now after many years, made +their appeal to him. With the returning summer he welcomed the yellow +bird with red crown and black wings. He loved the exhilarating air and +the glorious sunshine. But I am afraid the golden glow of morning +suggested gold.</p> + +<p>He was cleaning up several square rods of bed-rock in the ancient river +bed on the hill-top, and the dirt was rich in gold. Every morning early, +leaving his breakfast dishes unwashed, he carefully shoveled this dirt +into his sluices, and watched the water carry mud and sand away. Once in +a while he would shut off the water to examine the rich amalgam at each +cleat across the trough, removing that which was saturated with gold and +replacing it with fresh mercury. This clean-up was going to be +especially good, and he was glad to be alone.</p> + +<p>Treasure like this would tempt his lawless neighbors. He wanted no such +rogues round as they had at Angels Camp, Calaveras County, where, +according to his last copy of "The California Democrat," the post-office +had been robbed of a thousand dollars, including one hundred dollars' +worth of postage stamps. Postage stamps! He laughed to think to what +straits thieves had come in Calaveras County.</p> + +<p>Then he thought of his own hard-earned treasures, safely locked up in +the Hibernia Bank of San Francisco and with D. O. Mills of Sacramento. +Some day kindred back in Connecticut would have cause to praise his +frugality and self-denial. Sometimes he thought of his blasted romance +and of the poor woman in San Francisco who scrubbed floors for an honest +living. Ah, well, life is hard. His own years of toil were nearly over, +as he knew by unmistakable signs. Perhaps this rich clean-up would be +his last. And so it was; though nearly two years elapsed before a +merciful Providence released the old man from this world where thieves +break through and steal the fruits of our labors.</p> + +<p>The Woolsey boys, young men now, with the strength of the hills in bone +and muscle, were the old man's chief reliance. They could see that he +was failing, and felt sincerely sorry. They noted with what grim +determination he stuck to his work. The tenacity inherited from a +hundred generations of strong men, farmers, sea-kings, warriors, nerved +his old arms and kept strong the will within him.</p> + +<p>One day about the first of August, in the early afternoon when the sun +is hottest, they found the old man within doors, washing dishes.</p> + +<p>"Sit down, Mr. Palmer," said John, the older of the boys, "and we will +do the dishes for you."</p> + +<p>"Well, boys, go ahead. I know what famous pot-wrastlers ye be. I can't +compete with you." And he gladly sat down, to examine a legal document +the boys had brought him. For one Dupre, who had a rough farm at the +bottom of the cañon and sold the old man vegetables, had sued him for +damages, because the dirt washed down from Palmer's diggings had covered +up a few square rods of grass land. The damage was slight, but the +Frenchman was thrifty, and had sued for a round sum. Palmer was quite +willing to pay actual damages, but he had refused to be robbed. A +compromise had finally been made, and Dupre agreed to withdraw his suit +upon the payment of fifty dollars. To this contract the old man now +affixed his signature, in a very shaky hand.</p> + +<p>"There, I'm glad that's settled," said he. And a moment later he had +fallen out of his chair upon the floor.</p> + +<p>Miner's paralysis! Even the Woolsey boys knew the symptoms. They lifted +the old man up and put him on his bed, gave him whiskey, and then +consulted as to their next duty. They could not leave him there alone +upon the mountain-top; nor was it an easy matter to descend to the +bottom of the cañon for help.</p> + +<p>"You stay here, Charley," said John, "and I'll go for Dr. Mason."</p> + +<p>"That won't do, Jack. It will be five o'clock before you can cross the +cañon, and dark by the time you reach North Bloomfield. Alleghany City +is the place to strike for. Get Dr. Lefevre over there. They say he can +cure paralysis if any man can."</p> + +<p>"It's no easy trip to Alleghany, either," said John thoughtfully. "The +cañon of Wolf Creek is as bad as the cañon of the Middle Yuba. And +there's Kanaka Creek beyond."</p> + +<p>"Then again, whichever way you go," responded his brother, "you ain't +sure of finding the doctor. Better take the old man with us and make for +Alleghany, I guess."</p> + +<p>This seemed the most feasible plan. So they saddled Palmer's sure-footed +horse, put his sick master into the saddle, and started down the trail +across the cañon of Wolf Creek. It was a long, hard trip. To the Woolsey +boys, holding and steadying the old man, the cañon had never seemed so +deep. At last they reached the Plumbago Mine, on the opposite height, +where they borrowed two mules to carry them the rest of the way. It was +easy going now as far as Chipp's Flat. Late in the evening they climbed +the steep trail from Kanaka Creek to Alleghany City, took their charge +to the hotel, and hunted up Dr. Lefevre.</p> + +<p>So began a long, hard sickness, the first serious sickness Robert Palmer +had suffered since his arrival in the gold fields. For days he lay +helpless. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered to take notice of his +surroundings, he begged to be moved from the noisy hotel, with its +sickening smells, to the cabin of an old friend named Lee, who lived +some distance from the main street.</p> + +<p>There are not more than half a dozen streets in Alleghany City, the +principal one being the road along the mountain-side, which, leaving the +village, climbs up over an ancient stream of lava, and crossing the +summit of the mountain plunges down to Forest City. Dr. Lefevre was the +only doctor in the two "cities," and spent much of his time crossing the +high ridge that separates the two. He often wished that the miners, in +pursuit of gold-bearing gravel, had dug a passage-way through the ridge, +as they had done on the opposite side of Kanaka Creek, where there was a +tunnel from Chipp's Flat to Minnesota. But on this side of the creek +they mined for quartz. However, the miners were good patients, and some +day the doctor hoped to return to France with the gold his skill had +earned him.</p> + +<p>With a Frenchman's zeal for science and thoroughness, he was a most +excellent physician. By the first of October, Robert Palmer was cured. +To the doctor it seemed almost a miracle; and he cautioned the old miner +kindly:</p> + +<p>"Mr. Palmer, one can never tell about this malady. To-day you are well, +thanks to your remarkable constitution and a Frenchman's art. Next +month, perhaps"—and he shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"If you have any business matters to settle, monsieur, any affair of the +heart, any will to make, you had better attend to such things while the +good Lord gives you strength."</p> + +<p>Robert Palmer heeded this advice; and so, a few days after, when he had +returned to his house on Fillmore Hill, he wrote the following +remarkable document:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Fillmore Hill, Oct. 12, 1880.</p> + +<p>"I, Robert Palmer, the undersigned, of sound mind, declare this to +be my last will and testament. After my death it is my will that +after all just, honest debts and expenses are paid, if there is any +property left that it shall be divided equally between my nieces +and nephews: that is, each one shall receive an equal share; and it +is also my will that should a majority of my nieces believe money +or other property placed in the hands of any of their number would +not be used properly the others shall hold such money or property +and pay it to the owner at such times and in such amounts as they +may think best: and it is also my will that the same plan shall be +adopted and carried out with regard to my nephews as I have named +above for my nieces, except my nephews shall hold the property.</p> + +<p>"Now then be it known that I hereby appoint as my administrators or +executors, to execute and carry out the above my will, the +following named persons, (to wit), John Hintzen of Forest City, +Sierra County; John Haggerty of Moore's Flat, Nevada County, and +Henry Francis of Moore's Flat, Nevada County: also James B. Francis +of Reedsville, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania; to act without bonds, +and also to act without the interference of any court of law or any +Public Administrator whatever; to act at all times and under all +circumstances to the best of their judgment in settling my affairs: +if they have patience they may hear any pleas my relations have to +offer, but I wish them in the end to stand firm and resolute on +their own judgment, and take time to settle the concern whether it +need one year or twenty years.</p> + +<p>"And furthermore it is my will that if the above named persons +cannot act conveniently then if two or more act they shall have the +same power as if all acted; but if only two act they shall both +agree on all the matters, but if more act then the majority may +rule.</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Robert Palmer</span>." Oct. 12, 1880.</p></div> + +<p>Only one who knows the spirit of early California can understand this +document. Its beginning is modest: "if there is any property left." What +amount was the old man about to distribute? He was too cautious to +mention it; and when his friend John Hintzen of Forest City, in whose +safe the will was deposited, wrote asking for a list of the property, +the old man parried the question.</p> + +<p>Another curious feature of this document is that the old man chose two +executors. He did not care to trust any one friend too far, apparently.</p> + +<p>Robert Palmer, Democrat, paid his respects to courts and lawyers. His +executors were "to act without bonds, and also to act without +interference of any court of law or any Public Administrator whatever." +He might better have trusted the courts, as we shall see, for his +friends failed him. After thirty years the executors all died; and to +this day the will of Robert Palmer is an unsolved mystery.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The End of the Trail</span></h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The gold that with the sunlight lies<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In bursting heaps at dawn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The silver spilling from the skies<br /></span> +<span class="i2">At night to walk upon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The diamonds gleaming in the dew<br /></span> +<span class="i2">He never saw, he never knew.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">He got some gold, dug from the mud,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Some silver, crushed from stones,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The gold was red with dead men's blood,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The silver black with groans;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And when he died he moaned aloud,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"There'll be no pocket in my shroud."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Joaquin Miller</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>John Keeler, returned from his travels, became Palmer's trusted +messenger to Hintzen, to whom the old man sent a copy of his will. +Keeler was provided with another copy to deposit at the court-house in +Downieville, county seat of Sierra County. For although Robert Palmer +disliked courts and lawyers, he deemed it wise to file a copy of his +will at the court-house. This he could do without telling Hintzen, so he +instructed Keeler, after having seen that gentleman at Forest City, to +continue over the mountains to Downieville, as if on private business.</p> + +<p>Honest John Keeler, after a year spent in tracking criminals, had little +liking for this new mission. It seemed as if his old friend thought all +men rogues. Such a sweeping condemnation would include himself, and he +resented the insinuation. However, the old man was still feeble. So +Keeler set out on foot across the mountains.</p> + +<p>It had been some time since he had been as far as Chipp's Flat. There he +sought out the old cannon, long since dismounted, and sitting down upon +it he thought of the changes wrought in that neighborhood within his +recollection. In Civil War times, eighteen years before, miners of +Chipp's Flat and vicinity had enlisted in the Union Army. There had been +a full company of a hundred men, and the cannon had been a part of their +equipment. But the cannon had not left that California mountain-side; +and the soldiers themselves had got no further East than Arizona, for in +those days there was no transcontinental railroad. Now that there was +one, Chipp's Flat had no need of it. Save for two or three scattered +houses the mining town had disappeared. The mountain ridge had been +mined through from Minnesota, and now that the gold-bearing gravel had +been exhausted, Chipp's Flat, except in name, had gone out of existence.</p> + +<p>The next thing of interest was the dirty blue water of Kanaka Creek, and +the clatter of the stamping mills on the other side of it; for Keeler +was not much used to quartz mining. The name "quartz mining" seemed +misleading, for the wash from the crushed rock was distinctly blue. It +was evident that these quartz mines were paying well, as Alleghany had +every appearance of a live mining town. Keeler stopped at the hotel +there for dinner. It seemed strange that intelligent men should so lose +their heads. Great quantities of liquor were being consumed at the hotel +bar, poker games were in full blast, and there was a cemetery handy.</p> + +<p>Keeler was glad to leave Alleghany to climb over the mountain ridge to +Forest City. Now to the eastward the lofty peaks of the Sierras hove +into view, dwarfing the mountain ridges of the gold fields. He paused to +inspect the ancient stream of lava which crossed his path, and +considered once more those convulsions of the earth which had thrown the +ancient river beds to the hill-tops, and of which California earthquakes +are a constant reminder.</p> + +<p>Arrived at the summit of the ridge, he looked down upon Forest City, a +straggling village in a barren valley denuded of forests. Church, +school, and cemetery gave the place an air of permanence; but some day +it might disappear, like Chipp's Flat. It lay almost beneath him, so +steep was the road down the mountain. Beyond, up the bare valley of a +mountain stream, lay the trail to Downieville, nine miles away. His +mission to Hintzen performed, he would spend the night at Forest City, +and push on to Downieville the next morning.</p> + +<p>Hintzen kept the general store at Forest City, a business more certain +and profitable than gold-mining; and having a reputation for strict +honesty, he had become a sort of agent and business manager for the +miners. He was one of the few men Robert Palmer trusted; therefore he +received the document from Keeler's hand without surprise. But he could +not repress a smile at the testator's extreme caution and resolved +forthwith to ask for a list of his friend's securities.</p> + +<p>"How is the old man now?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Palmer has had a close call," replied Keeler. "But he is good for a +couple of years yet, I reckon."</p> + +<p>"Sit down, Keeler, while I write him a note. You'll find a whiskey toddy +up there at the end of the counter.—Beg your pardon. Forgot your +temperance principles. There's fresh spring water in that bucket."</p> + +<p>Next morning Keeler pushed on up the ascending valley of the mountain +torrent. The horns of a wild sheep by the wayside reminded him of +earlier days when game was plentiful. The only wild creatures along the +trail to-day were rattlesnakes. With these he was well acquainted. But +it did give him a start to find one twined about a branch of a bush.</p> + +<p>An hour's steady climbing brought him to the top of the watershed +between the North and the Middle Yuba. Here a scene of wild grandeur lay +before him. Bare crags on either hand guarded the pass over the divide. +Immediately in front lay a whole system of deep cañons, clothed with +primeval forests, wild and forbidding. Beyond towered a chain of rough, +bare mountain peaks. Keeler paused to wonder anew at the vastness of the +Sierras.</p> + +<p>Then he plunged down from the ridge and was soon traversing one of the +most lonesome and gloomy trails in all the mountains. The tree trunks +were covered with yellowish green moss. In one place stood a pine stump +fifty feet high with the upper hundred feet of the tree thrust into the +earth beside it. At another place a huge log blocked the trail. Then he +crossed a brook and was among chaparral and manzanita bushes. Then he +was among the pines again, listening to their voices, for a breeze was +blowing up the cañon. Now he came to a spooky region which had been +swept by fire, with bare tree trunks, broken and going to decay, +standing like ghosts of the forest. Beyond was a clump of young firs +with gray stems, so straight and perfect as to be almost uncanny. Or was +it the traveler's overwrought imagination?</p> + +<p>Now the trail turned at right angles along the steep side of a cañon, +and he heard the music of the mountain torrent far below. Half a mile +further on, where the trail crossed the brook at the head of the cañon, +it doubled back on itself along the other side. The traveler refreshed +himself at a mossy spring by the side of the trail, then, as he emerged +from the cañon at a sudden turn, Downieville appeared. It lay far below +him, at the forks of the North Yuba. How musically the roar of the river +came up through the autumn stillness! Sign boards pointing to the Ruby +Mine, and to the City of Six, prepare the traveler for the discovery of +some settlement in the wilderness. But he is hardly prepared for such a +beautiful and welcome sight. Here, tucked away among the mountains as +tidily as some Eastern village, lies the county seat of Sierra County. +But this is California and not Maryland, for yonder comes a mountaineer +up the trail with his pack horses.</p> + +<p>Keeler lost no time in descending and transacting his business at the +court-house. But after his lonesome walk over the mountains something he +saw here appealed to his imagination. It was a human skull, which had +belonged to a murderer. The murdered man was a Frenchman, killed for his +money. This was Keeler's first visit to Downieville since the crime, and +as he had known the Frenchman he determined to visit his grave.</p> + +<p>The cemetery is up the river beyond the edge of the town; and here, in +more senses than one, a traveler finds the end of the trail. Men and +women whose life journey had begun in New England, Old England, Wales, +Ireland, France, Denmark, or Russia, had here come to their journey's +end.</p> + +<p>At the cemetery gate, fastened by a wire, was the quaint sign:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"NOTICE<br /></span> +<span class="i0">PLEASE PUT THIS WIRE ON AGIN<br /></span> +<span class="i0">TO KEEP IT SHUT."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>A beautiful clear mountain stream flows along one side of the ground and +pours into the river below. A lone pine chants requiems over the dead; +and yellow poppies with red hearts spring out of the graves. Many of the +headstones are boards, naturally; and one poor fellow, whose estate at +death was probably a minus quantity, is commemorated by a strip of tin +with his name pricked into it. There is a fair proportion of pretentious +monuments, which were drawn by ten-horse teams from some distant +railroad station.</p> + +<p>Marked by such a monument was the grave which Keeler sought. The +symbolism was striking,—a broken column, an angel holding out an olive +branch, and Father Time. And this was the verse of Scripture carved in +stone:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Man walketh in a vain shadow:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">he heapeth up riches and cannot<br /></span> +<span class="i0">tell who shall gather them."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Forgetting the murdered Frenchman in the forcefulness of the text, +Keeler wondered if Robert Palmer's journey, too, would end like this.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Golden Opportunities</span></h3> + + +<p>In California Opportunity knocked at every gate—not once but many +times. It returned again and again, most persistently, and intruded +alike on men awake and feasting, or asleep and dreaming. John Keeler had +hardly spent an hour in Downieville before he had met a Golden +Opportunity. On approaching the town he had passed several short tunnels +dug into the hillside, and at the court-house he met the owners of one +of these tunnels. Smith came from Ohio,—he had for many years been a +teacher, and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His +partner, whom he introduced as a Confederate veteran, was a Virginian. +As partners, the blue and the gray were almost irresistible. Three +hundred dollars invested in their shaft would mean a rich strike.</p> + +<p>But other Opportunities had left Keeler rich in experience and short of +cash. He could not use Robert Palmer's money as his own; so he could +only smile, rather sadly, and wish his new friends success. How many of +his acquaintances had invested good money in a hole in the ground! Even +the most prudent, in some unguarded moment, had parted with thousands of +dollars, like the dog in the fable which dropped the real bone to seize +the shadow. There was Mack, proprietor of the hotel at Graniteville, +making lots of money at his business and losing it all in mining +ventures. Only the other day Mack had remarked that if his savings had +been allowed to accumulate in some good bank he would now be worth some +fifty thousand dollars. As it was, he was as poor as his humblest guest. +Even Dr. Mason, canny Scot though he was, could not forget the sight of +ninety thousand dollars' worth of gold bullion he had once seen piled up +at North Bloomfield, and so was persuaded to gamble with his earnings. +He had lost as much as Mack. How rosy is the rainbow, and how evanescent +the pot of gold at the end of it! California had swallowed up more +wealth than its gold could ever repay, as Keeler well knew. It was only +occasionally that some lucky devil, or some prudent, saving man like +Robert Palmer, after thirty years in the gold fields, had anything to +show for it.</p> + +<p>So Keeler, pondering the deceitfulness of riches, sadly made his way +back across the mountains. Even then Fate was weaving her web about his +old friend Palmer, who was soon to lie in a pauper's grave. Francis +seized a Golden Opportunity.</p> + +<p>Francis had so far prospered that he had moved to San Francisco. In the +city he could watch the stock market, as he told himself privately. To +his friends he announced that failing health demanded the change, albeit +the exhilarating air of the Sierras was far more beneficial than the +dampness of the sea coast. But Francis, inheriting ten thousand dollars +from one of his deceased brothers, had moved to San Francisco, taking +with him sundry hundreds and thousands of dollars, entrusted to him by +his Pennsylvania friends for investment. Everybody had faith in the +integrity of Henry Francis.</p> + +<p>The next summer, when the blue-bells were in blossom at Grass Valley, he +passed through that prosperous mining town on the narrow gauge bound for +Nevada City and Moore's Flat. This was the summer of 1881, nearly two +years after the murder of Cummins. A still, small voice accused him of +something akin to highway robbery; and it gave his conscience a twinge +to pass the well-known stump which had concealed the robbers. It was bad +enough that the robbers were still at large, a fact that reflected upon +him. "Bed-bug Brown's" mission had proved a fiasco. But the thing that +really worried Francis was his own mission and not the fruitless one of +Brown's. If his own proved fruitless his conscience might be better +satisfied.</p> + +<p>But business is business, and the day was fine. Francis was a gentleman +and something of a scholar. His face showed refinement, and his hands +were as soft as a gambler's. He was fairly well read, and he could have +told you, when the stage crossed the South Yuba, that "<i>Uvas</i>" is +Spanish for "grapes," and that the name "Yuba" is a curious English +abbreviation of "Rio Las Uvas."</p> + +<p>When next day he crossed the foot-bridge over the Middle Yuba, where it +tears along in its deep, wild cañon below Moore's Flat, he was less +interested in Spanish or in the grandeur of the scenery than he was in +reaching Robert Palmer's. He had not hired a horse at Moore's Flat, as +the livery man might be curious; so he had sauntered along through the +village, greeting old friends and chatting with them now and then until +considerable time had been consumed, but he knew that the old man would +put him up for the night.</p> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon before he reached the top of Fillmore Hill. +Old man Palmer, much broken in health, as Francis remarked with a degree +of inward exultation immediately reproved by his conscience, greeted him +affectionately.</p> + +<p>"Well, Henry, I almost thought you had forgotten me. But, of course, I +knew better."</p> + +<p>"You must remember, Mr. Palmer, that it is quite a ways up here from the +city. The narrow gauge from Colfax is little better than a stage coach. +It means a trip of fifty miles into the mountains to get here."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm mighty glad you've come. As soon as you've rested a bit, I +want to talk business."</p> + +<p>Francis argued with his conscience that the old man had invited him. How +could he have refused to answer the summons? Palmer ushered him into the +house, where, seated comfortably in the kitchen and welcomed by dog and +cat, he partook of the old man's hospitality. Palmer was evidently much +wrought up; and, as soon as his guest had rested a little, proceeded to +business.</p> + +<p>"You got my letter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Mr. Palmer."</p> + +<p>"Hintzen has informed you that I've named you as one of my executors?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And you will be willing to act, I hope?"</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Palmer, I hope that won't be necessary for many years to +come."</p> + +<p>"The Lord only knows how long I have to live. It was rather hard for me +here last winter. But I guess the mountain air was good for me. However, +I'm going to spend next winter at Sherwood's. The Woolsey boys say +they'll take good care of me; and I'm going to deed them my claim."</p> + +<p>"Better come to San Francisco. I saw a friend of yours down there the +other day, a Mrs. Somers, who always inquires about you."</p> + +<p>"And how is she getting along these days, Francis?"</p> + +<p>"She appears to be well. Says hard work agrees with her."</p> + +<p>"Glad to hear good news of her. She writes me occasionally. Remember me +to her when you see her."</p> + +<p>"Then you don't think you'll go below with me?" ("Going below" was local +parlance for going to San Francisco.)</p> + +<p>"No. I'd feel like a fish out of water in that big city. I'll be +comfortable at the Sherwood's. I'll have to depend upon you to send me +some money occasionally."</p> + +<p>"Hintzen writes me that he has your will locked up in his safe. I +suppose you have given him a list of your property?"</p> + +<p>"He has written me asking for a list; but I'm not going to give him +any." If the old man had not trusted Francis so implicitly he might have +noticed an expression of relief light up that gentleman's dark eyes.</p> + +<p>"So I handle your funds, and Hintzen holds your will," smiled Francis. +"Do you think that is fair to either of us?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, as for the will, I've kept a copy, which you may as well look at." +And he fetched the document.</p> + +<p>Francis read it over very carefully; and then looked up with an +expression of undisguised satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you put it that way," he said. "You leave it to us to act in +accordance with our best judgment, whether it takes one year or twenty +years. That leaves us free to dispose of securities to the best +advantage, and not sacrifice them in a falling market."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I was thinking of that investment you advised me to make a year +ago."</p> + +<p>Francis winced a little; for the old man probably knew how low a certain +stock had fallen.</p> + +<p>"I see you've named my brother back in Pennsylvania as one of the +executors."</p> + +<p>"Yes; as most of my heirs live in the East, I thought your brother could +hunt them up, and let you do business through him."</p> + +<p>"That is a good idea. But don't you think Hintzen and Haggerty ought to +have a list of your property? If you should die, and they found on +examining your books and papers that you had trusted me but not them, +why, naturally, they would feel hurt."</p> + +<p>"Well, Haggerty's an Irishman, and Hintzen's a Dutchman. You are an +American like myself, and, what's more, a Democrat after my own heart. I +want you to hold the funds."</p> + +<p>"If you feel that way, I wish you wouldn't tell anybody. For if they +knew I had money belonging to you people would suspect me of helping +myself to it."</p> + +<p>Francis had been rehearsing this speech for several days; but was now +rather surprised that he had the nerve to utter it. But the old man +trusted him. Was not Francis almost a son to him?</p> + +<p>If he had been, he could not have inherited the old man's property more +surely. He stayed over night on Fillmore Hill; and when he departed next +morning, he took with him bank books and securities and a letter to +Palmer's banker which made Francis the custodian of all his money. He +even took a small chamois skin bag filled with gold nuggets which the +old man had saved. And he left behind at the house on Fillmore Hill not +a receipt or a paper of any kind that would indicate that Palmer ever +had had any money. They had burned all such tell-tale records; and Henry +Francis felt that he was guilty of something baser than highway robbery. +Yet, if the stock market should take an upward turn, all might be well.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Three Graves by the Middle Yuba</span></h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">Gaily bedight<br /></span> +<span class="i2">A gallant knight,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In sunshine and in shadow,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Had journeyed long,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Singing a song,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In search of Eldorado.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">But he grew old—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">This knight so bold—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And o'er his heart a shadow<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Fell as he found<br /></span> +<span class="i2">No spot of ground<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That looked like Eldorado.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">And, as his strength<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Failed him at length,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He met a pilgrim shadow—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"Shadow," said he,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"Where can it be—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This land of Eldorado?"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">"Over the Mountains<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Of the Moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Down the Valley of the Shadow,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Ride, boldly ride,"<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The shade replied,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"If you seek for Eldorado!"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Edgar Allan Poe</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Robert Palmer's diggings on Fillmore Hill are still plainly seen from +the stage road on the other side of the cañon of the Middle Yuba; but he +who has the hardihood to cross the cañon will find the mine worked out, +the water-ditch dry, and the old man's house pulled down. The basement +of the house still affords shelter to adventurers who come to dig for +Palmer's hidden treasure. There is no other treasure on that barren +hill-top, for the Woolsey boys, to whom the old man deeded his mine, +worked out the paying gravel long ago.</p> + +<p>At the bottom of the cañon, and just across the cold, rushing river, is +a clump of rose bushes, which mark the spot where the Woolsey brothers +lived with their mother and old Sherwood, their step-father. Beyond the +rose bushes, in the edge of a meadow, are three lonely graves, covered +by the branches of alders, unmarked save for flat field stones, and +unknown except to a few ranchmen who drive their cattle up the river for +summer pasturage. The first burial was that of one "Scotty," a ranchman. +In 1915 there was living at the Soldiers' Home in the Napa Valley an +octogenarian, last surviving member of the Keystone Club, who had helped +to dig Scotty's grave. In the middle grave by the Middle Yuba lies the +body of Robert Palmer. The third grave is that of Sherwood. No doubt +these Californians rest as peacefully as those whose mortal remains have +been gathered into the cemetery at Downieville. Mother Earth has +received her children back into her bosom, and day and night the river +chants their requiem.</p> + +<p>In September, ten weeks after Henry Francis's visit, Palmer put his +house in order, and with Sammy, the cat and his dog Bruce, sought +protection at Sherwood's. For Sherwood he had little respect; and he +thought Mrs. Sherwood a silly woman to have brought her boys to such a +home. But the boys were now grown men, friendly, generous, and strong. +The old man had no better neighbors.</p> + +<p>He insisted, proud and independent to the last, that he should provision +the family for the winter. So he drew on Hintzen, who packed in an +abundance of good things from Forest City. Every night the old man sat +by the stove. He liked to stroke Sammy's sleek coat and listen to the +cat's affectionate purring. He liked to tell how his dog Bruce had saved +his life. For it seems Palmer had once started off for Forest City by +night, was stricken with a paralytic shock, and, falling unconscious in +the woods, was finally rescued by neighbors who had heard the dog's +insistent barking.</p> + +<p>When the snow was deep in the cañon, and the supply of provisions was +getting low, the old man ordered more from Hintzen. He recalled the +severity of New England winters, and talked of the friends of his youth. +He began to plan a trip East in the coming summer, directed John Woolsey +to inquire as to the expense of such a trip, and proposed to employ him +as a traveling companion. And feeling the need of some money, he bade +Mrs. Sherwood write a letter for him to Francis, signing it with his +mark.</p> + +<p>For some unaccountable reason Francis made no answer, and the old man +seemed much disturbed. Other letters were dispatched. Still no answer. +After long waiting a letter in a feminine hand, postmarked "San +Francisco," and addressed to "Rob't Palmer, Moore's Flat," found its way +through the snow-drifts to Sherwood's ranch. It was from Harriet Somers. +But no letter came from Francis.</p> + +<p>Finally Sherwood suggested a registered letter. In a few days a receipt +came back, followed by a letter in which Francis explained that he had +just returned from a trip to Honolulu for his health, and that he hoped +when he was better to go up into the mountains to see Mr. Palmer.</p> + +<p>But the old man's strength was failing, and worry over Francis had +resulted in another paralytic shock. Dr. Mason was summoned, and made +his way into the cañon on skis. He found the patient in bad condition, +suffering from miner's paralysis in its worst form. Still, the old man +rallied, affixed his mark in lieu of signature to a letter ordering +medicines and other necessaries from Hintzen, and forbade the writing of +alarming letters to his relatives. He hoped to weather the storm again +as he had done under Dr. Lefevre's treatment.</p> + +<p>But patient and nurses had their premonitions. He would call out in +distress, "Mrs. Sherwood, please help my hand," and she, taking the +stiffened fingers in hers, would soothe him so. He came more and more to +depend upon her. Told her he trusted she would do whatever was needful; +and, sure sign of the coming end, spoke of his relatives in the East. +Save for the astronomer nephew, he had seen none of them for more than +thirty years; but his heart went out in tenderness towards them. He +spoke of his brothers and sisters and their promising children. Weeping, +he told of his beloved mother, who died when he was a boy of seven years +and left him heart-broken.</p> + +<p>He talked about making legal provision for pet cat and dog, which did +not forsake him in his weakness. Mrs. Sherwood, remarking upon such +extravagance, asked:</p> + +<p>"You have considerable means, Mr. Palmer?" And he, grown less secretive +under her patient nursing, replied:</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, I have considerable money."</p> + +<p>The days went by, and he got no better. But his mind was clear; and he +resolved before it was too late to reward his benefactors. So a justice +of the peace was summoned, and a deed of the old man's claim on Fillmore +Hill was drawn up, making the property over to the Woolsey brothers. +Without hesitation he described his boundaries in legal fashion; and he +signed the deed with his mark, before witnesses. Furthermore, he told +the boys where they would be likely to find rich gravel; and they +afterward had cause to praise the old man's judgment.</p> + +<p>He became as gentle as a woman. Indeed, Mrs. Sherwood, who had hung up +some of his family portraits about his bed, remarked that in his +sickness he very much resembled the astronomer's mother, his sister. He +comforted his friends, and told them his wishes in case he was "caught +in a worse snap," as he put it.</p> + +<p>About this time he was stricken with blindness. Mrs. Sherwood was much +affected. She took down her Bible and read to him. And she read the +beautiful litanies of the Episcopal prayer-book. With her boys she knelt +in prayer by his bedside. The blind eyes moistened; for the strong man's +heart and brain still served him well.</p> + +<p>Only a few days before the end, when the whole body was apparently +paralyzed, Dr. Mason inquired if there was any business which he wished +attended to, and Robert Palmer replied:</p> + +<p>"My affairs are settled; and, Doctor, you will be paid for your +services."</p> + +<p>The last day of April had arrived; but the snow banks were still deep in +the cañon. Nothing further had been heard from Henry Francis, but the +old man at last seemed reconciled. Perhaps Francis was not well enough +to come through the snow. It was Sunday, and at midnight came the fatal +stroke. He did not regain consciousness, and died peacefully on Tuesday +afternoon, May 2, 1882.</p> + +<p>Then strange things happened. Hintzen, a large, heavy man, unused to +exercise, appeared on snow-shoes at Sherwood's house and asked if Mr. +Palmer had said anything about his property. No! And though the dead man +lay within, he turned away and immediately put back to Forest City. +Henry Francis was notified. But Henry Francis did not make his +appearance. And the snow drifts being deep, Robert Palmer was buried by +the side of Scotty, like a pauper.</p> + +<p>No, not like a pauper; for there was still twenty-nine dollars standing +to his credit at Hintzen's. And this sum defrayed his funeral expenses. +Out of rough planks, lying about to mend sluices, the Woolsey boys +framed a coffin, for which they procured handles at a neighboring +village. And Mrs. Sherwood, faithful nurse and spiritual adviser, laid +the old man out in his best clothes. The rugged face showed no look of +annoyance. After thirty-three years of honest striving the old +Forty-niner slept the sleep of the just.</p> + +<p>The doctor's bill remained unpaid, a circumstance which would have +annoyed Robert Palmer exceedingly, were he further concerned with the +affairs of this world. It would appear that Henry Francis deemed it good +policy to assume no obligations. So for thirty-three years that honest +debt remained unpaid; while in the meantime Francis, Hintzen and +Haggerty became wealthy, lost their money, and passed on to their +reward. The doctor, long since removed from North Bloomfield, thieves, +and murderers, was finally paid by Palmers of a later generation.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">When Thieves Fall Out</span></h3> + + +<p>When news of Robert Palmer's death reached his relatives, pity for his +lonesome life of self-denial was swallowed up by pleasant anticipations. +But weeks and months passed by with no word of encouragement from his +executors. Finally, Mrs. Sherwood, thinking the heirs were being +defrauded, wrote East urging that some member of the Palmer family visit +California. So the astronomer nephew, at considerable expense to +himself, was delegated to cross the continent. At the end of August he +found himself in the Sierras once more. On horseback he visited +Sherwood's ranch, and his uncle's house on Fillmore Hill, ran the +gauntlet of rogues at Alleghany, and passed on over the mountains to +Forest City and Downieville. It was a glorious outing, in spite of the +dust. How brightly the stars shone down on the Sierras! But the further +he investigated the deeper grew the mystery. Dr. Mason told the story of +the sixty thousand dollars loaned by Robert Palmer to the water company. +But the three California executors, reputed honest men, assured the +nephew there was no money to be found. Bankers in Sacramento and San +Francisco were polite but disappointing. All the astronomer brought home +was Mat Bailey's story of the murder of Cummins, a copy of Robert +Palmer's will procured at Downieville, and a problem which defied his +higher mathematics. "Set a thief to catch a thief;" the astronomer was +an honest man.</p> + +<p>A few months after his return from California, the tangled web of my +yarn began to unravel. Mat Bailey had reported that nothing had been +heard of the highwaymen "from that day to this." But John Keeler's work +had not been done in vain. O'Leary of You Bet, the Nevada City +jail-bird, had been duly impressed with the handsome reward offered for +the apprehension of the murderers. So every time he met an old +acquaintance he talked about the murder of Will Cummins. It was a simple +method of procedure, and it did not prove immediately successful. As it +was about as easy to be a vagabond in one locality as in another, he +drifted from place to place—first to Sacramento, then to San Francisco, +then over the Sierras to the mining camps of Nevada, then through Utah +and Wyoming, till at last he found himself in jail in St. Louis.</p> + +<p>There, three years after the murder, he found his old pal J. C. P. +Collins—but how changed! Could that coarse and bloated countenance +belong to the fastidious and pleasure-loving Collins?</p> + +<p>"Well, Collins, I hardly knew you. How does the grub here compare with +what we used to get at Carter's boarding-house?" O'Leary referred to the +jail at Nevada City.</p> + +<p>"This must be your first week in St. Louis," replied Collins, "if you +haven't put up at this hotel before. Been caught stealing again, I +suppose?"</p> + +<p>"That's me. Only the matter of a lady's purse that was of no use to +her."</p> + +<p>"Well, women are the cause of all my trouble. They drag a man down worse +than drink. They are a bad lot, are women."</p> + +<p>"Why, you're a regular preacher, ain't you? You used to be a ladies' +man."</p> + +<p>"That was in California."</p> + +<p>"How's the wild and woolly?" asked Collins, presently, looking his old +pal over contemptuously.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I know I ain't stylish like you Eastern dudes. I'm a honest miner, +I am. And I don't wear boiled shirts like you."</p> + +<p>"You're honest, all right. We'll leave that to Sheriff Carter. Remember +how he caught you stealing that Chinaman's dust? I can see that +Chinaman's sign now: 'Heekee & Co., Gold Dust Bought.' By the way, +what's become of my old flame back there?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, a lady? I don't remember no ladies that was acquainted with gents +like us."</p> + +<p>"I don't reckon you know the girl I mean. She wasn't in your class, +that's a fact."</p> + +<p>"Maybe I can tell you if you'll just say her name."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm inquiring after Miss Mamie Slocum, the sweetest little girl +in Nevada City."</p> + +<p>"You're joking, sure. That girl never had any use for the likes of you. +Mat Bailey would knock your head off if he heard you breathe her name."</p> + +<p>"Insult me as much as you like. 'No fighting' is the rules of this +hotel. I asked you, how is that little girl? Sweet on Mat Bailey, is +she? Well, I'm glad of it."</p> + +<p>"Yes; she and Mat have been good friends ever since Will Cummins was +killed."</p> + +<p>"So? How's that?"</p> + +<p>"Why, you know she came down on the stage that day, and saw it all. Some +say she knew the robbers and helped them find Cummins' bullion. I guess +Mat was in the deal, too. Anyhow, she and Mat have been good friends +ever since, as I tell you."</p> + +<p>"Now look here, O'Leary, you're dead wrong. That girl is as innocent as +you are."</p> + +<p>"Sure! The judge just sent me up for snatching a purse, you know."</p> + +<p>"I tell you that girl knew nothing about the hold-up."</p> + +<p>"It must have happened after you left California, or you wouldn't be so +sure. I'll tell you about it. Stage comes down from Moore's Flat. Mamie +Slocum talks and laughs with Will Cummins. Sees where he stows his old +leather grip. Sings out to the robbers, 'That's Mr. Cummins' valise +under the seat there.'"</p> + +<p>"That's a lie, and you are a fool to believe it!"</p> + +<p>"I'm telling you the facts."</p> + +<p>"The facts! Why, man, wasn't I there? And don't I know just what +happened?"</p> + +<p>Astonished at this outburst, O'Leary looked hard at Collins. There was +no mistaking his earnestness; and he only leered at the other's +astonishment. O'Leary was discreet enough to say no more; and Collins +seemed to think his secret safe enough in the keeping of an old pal two +thousand miles from the scene of the murder. But that very night O'Leary +telegraphed to Sheriff Carter of Nevada City:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Man who killed Cummins in jail here. Come at once.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Pat O'Leary</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<p>John Keeler and Henry Francis happened to be at the railroad station the +next morning, when Carter started for St. Louis; and he showed them the +telegram.</p> + +<p>"When thieves fall out," remarked Keeler; and Francis winced. Was it +because he foresaw that the ten thousand dollar reward would be claimed? +or was it for some other reason? Keeler wondered.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Brought To Justice</span></h3> + + +<p>There was no serious doubt in Sheriff Carter's mind as to the importance +of O'Leary's telegram. He hoped that the murder of Will Cummins was, at +last, to be avenged; and, as he had admired and loved that chivalrous +man, he resolved to use every means in his power to bring the murderers +to justice. But he realized what a difficult task it would be to get +them hanged.</p> + +<p>There was a strong sentiment in California against capital punishment. +There seemed to be little objection to murder committed by private +citizens, but people raised their hands in horror at what they were +pleased to call judicial murder. What right has the State to take so +precious a thing as human life, even though the life be that of a +hardened criminal? Carter was sick at heart. He had watched the most +depraved characters, fed and clothed and guarded at the public expense, +spend their days in shame and utter uselessness. It would have been a +mercy to have terminated their existence; and it would have instilled +respect for law in the minds of other criminals.</p> + +<p>But the immediate problem of Sheriff Carter, as it is the immediate +concern of this story, was to capture the murderers. Carter went armed +with proper legal documents, handcuffs, and a pair of derringers—for +the sheriff of Nevada County could shoot straight simultaneously with +both hands. Two faithful deputies accompanied their chief, and all three +were well supplied with the sinews of war in gold and bank-notes.</p> + +<p>Arrived at St. Louis Carter immediately got in touch with O'Leary, and +cautioned him not to alarm Collins, for proper circumspection might lead +to the capture of both murderers. Showing his credentials to the proper +authorities, he took them into his confidence, and thus made sure that +Collins would not be discharged from jail without his knowledge. Then he +and his deputies retired to their hotel for rest, refreshment, and +poker.</p> + +<p>In less than three days the chief of police showed him a letter written +by Collins to Thorn. The missive ran:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"dear Thorn, alias Darcy,</p> + +<p>don't let your old pal bother you eny I suppose you are having a +revival in your church about this time and converting a great many +sinners. give my kind regards to the widow Brown, and I hope she +will marry you soon. I expect to leave this hotel in ten days, so +will need $50. send post office order, St. Louis, general delivery.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Your old partner,<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">J. C. P. Collins</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<p>It was evidently a blackmailing letter. The sheriff remembered Darcy of +old, and the chances seemed good that Thorn <i>alias</i> Darcy was the other +highwayman. So, taking O'Leary along to assist in the identification, he +set out for Union City to deliver Collins' letter in person. No doubt +this Thorn was a harder man to catch than Collins. He had had sense +enough to change his name and to join a church. So Carter approached +Union City rather cautiously, leaving O'Leary with one of his deputies +in Chicago with orders to wait for a telegram. Accompanied by the other +deputy he arrived at Union City rather late at night, to avoid +publicity.</p> + +<p>There he learned that Thorn had been in town nearly three years. That he +was engaged in the lumber business, was prosperous, highly respected and +was prominent in the leading church of the town. He was away on business +in Chicago at the time, but was expected to return in a week or two, as +it was rumored that he was soon to marry.</p> + +<p>The sheriff's disappointment was much relieved by the receipt of a +telegram the next morning:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"We have got Darcy corralled here. Come at once.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Pat O'Leary</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<p>"Just as well that we brought O'Leary along," remarked Carter to his +deputy. "You stay on guard here till you hear from me."</p> + +<p>In Chicago the sheriff found that his deputy had promptly arrested Darcy +on O'Leary's identification, and had had the man locked up. But on +visiting the jail, Carter was considerably in doubt if he had ever seen +the prisoner before. The Darcy he remembered was smooth shaven, bronzed +through exposure to the California sun, rough and rather desperate in +appearance. This man wore a beard, was well dressed, rather pale from +confinement in his office, and of sanctimonious countenance.</p> + +<p>"But that's Darcy, all right," O'Leary assured him. "Same eyes, and same +mole on his neck. Just read him that letter from Collins, Mr. Carter."</p> + +<p>At the name of Collins the prisoner winced visibly. For some time he had +realized that Collins might betray him; and he had thought seriously of +ending that scoundrel's career.</p> + +<p>Carter followed up the advantage quickly.</p> + +<p>"I think this is Mr. Thorn of Union City?" he inquired politely.</p> + +<p>"That's my name," said the man, "and I live in Union City, as I told the +officer."</p> + +<p>"I've just come from Union City," replied Carter quietly, "and happen to +know that you are a respected citizen of that place. Don't suppose you +ever heard of J. C. P. Collins of Nevada County, California?"</p> + +<p>"I was a miner in California several years, but I don't remember anybody +by the name of Collins."</p> + +<p>"It's singular then that Collins should call you his old pal and address +you as 'Dear Thorn alias Darcy.'" And Carter presented Collins' letter.</p> + +<p>"You're wanted, Thorn, alias Darcy, for the murder of William F. +Cummins." The sheriff looked at the prisoner so sternly that the man +wilted. "Collins has owned up, and you might as well do the same."</p> + +<p>"O God!" groaned the man, "my sin has found me out. I killed Cummins +with my own hand; and I am ready to pay the penalty."</p> + +<p>His religion had not been all humbug, by any means; and now he asked +permission to visit Union City to make public confession of the murder. +But Carter had left Collins in jail at St. Louis, and saw no reason to +delay the arrest of that scoundrel in order to gratify the wishes of a +confessed murderer. So he proceeded to St. Louis at once, arrested +Collins, who seemed rather shocked and grieved to meet his old friend +the sheriff once more; and hurried the prisoners back to California.</p> + +<p>There was great excitement in the gold fields, you may be sure, when it +was announced that Will Cummins' murderers were safely lodged in jail, +more than three years after the crime. Surely, California was becoming +civilized, and at last Nevada County was actually to try a couple of men +for murder.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The End of J. C. P. Collins</span></h3> + + +<p>At Nevada City, with its pleasant homes scattered on the hills either +side of the deep gorge of Deer Creek, the traveler lingers awhile to +drink in the romance of the gold fields. Roses and poppies that bloom +profusely in the front yards are "emblems of deeds that are done in +their clime." The very soil, like the flowers that spring therefrom, +suggests gold and the red blood so freely shed for it. Here and there +are eloquent, though silent, reminders of the exciting days of placer +mining and highway robbery, when Wells Fargo and Company brought +treasure out of the mountains guarded by armed men.</p> + +<p>At the court-house Nevada County is advertised as the banner gold county +of California, with a total output of $300,000,000; a yellow block on +exhibition represents the bullion taken from the Malakoff Mine in one +month, and valued at $114,289. In a showcase at the Citizens' Bank are +exhibited four of the buckshot which killed T. H. Girard on October 31, +1887. Also, a bit of hemp rope with a tag, on which is written:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"The end of J. C. P. Collins<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Feb. 1, 1884<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Compliments of Sheriff Carter."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In vain one may search for a similar reminder of the highwayman Darcy, +the actual murderer of Will Cummins. But at the scene of the murder, the +stage-driver of the present generation tells his passengers that Darcy +was paroled several years ago, after spending thirty years in prison. He +may add that Darcy, the ex-convict, is an inert and lifeless creature, +married to a paroled woman as lifeless as himself.</p> + +<p>Darcy's friends in Union City would not have it appear that their model +citizen was a murderer. They protested stoutly, and in the end the +tax-payers for thirty years were burdened with the care and keep of the +criminal.</p> + +<p>As it has already been remarked, murders in Nevada County were common +enough; but a murder trial was almost unheard of.</p> + +<p>The State tried Collins first. He had no friends, except of the baser +sort; and his conviction might make it easier to convict Darcy. Mat +Bailey and Mamie Slocum were important witnesses for the State; and +Collins himself, poor debauchee though he was, was man enough to clear +Mamie of all suspicion. She freely told of her conversation with him +when he had recommended the gallantry of gentlemen of the road. And she +admitted that she had always been haunted by the suspicion that the +highwayman with whom Cummins had grappled might have been Collins, who +had so strangely disappeared after the robbery. No; she could not +identify him as the man who asked about Cummins' valise. She was not +sure about his voice. She was too much frightened to be sure of +anything.</p> + +<p>As Collins seemed less interested in saving his own worthless life than +in establishing the innocence of Mamie Slocum, he was promptly +convicted. The judge sentenced him to be hanged on Friday, Feb. 1, 1884.</p> + +<p>Sheriff Carter could not see why, if Collins was guilty, Darcy was not. +But good souls from Union City showed how exemplary had been the life of +their brother since he came among them, and the lawyer whom these good +people employed pointed out the shame and disgrace that would be +suffered by a worthy family if one bearing the name of Darcy should die +upon the scaffold. It is strange that in such cases the lawyers on the +other side do not show that the shame and disgrace come with the +commission of the crime, and that honest punishment endured for the same +is the one means left the criminal to atone for the injury he has done +the good name of his family.</p> + +<p>There was no doubt as to Darcy's guilt; and he was man enough to have +paid the extreme penalty willingly. For thirty years he lived the +monotonous round of prison life, becoming more and more like a dumb +animal, and paroled at last in his old age little better than an +automaton—the qualities of daring, thrift, and religious enthusiasm +long since dead and gone.</p> + +<p>Throughout the trial of both men, Henry Francis was an interested +spectator. The court-room seemed to have a fascination for him, although +he was now a rich man with important demands upon his time. It was +whispered about that the Pennsylvanians had spent a hundred thousand +dollars hunting the criminals down; and some people were fanciful enough +to see in Henry Francis the highwaymen's Nemesis. He made a very +dignified Nemesis indeed. He looked grave and thoughtful, and his newly +acquired wealth lent dignity to his refined countenance.</p> + +<p>But it occurred to John Keeler that somehow it appeared as if Francis +imagined himself sitting at his own trial. He seemed to show an almost +eager interest in the subterfuges and the raising of legal dust by means +of which counsel for the defense endeavored to blind the eyes of the +jurors. Keeler hardly dared to let his fancy run on to logical +conclusions. It seemed too much like condemning a man without giving him +a trial. Yet he could not help being haunted by the thought that some +thieves are too shrewd to assume the risks of highway robbery. In his +own mind this thought constituted the one valid argument against capital +punishment. For if common scoundrels are to be executed what severer +punishment is left for the more crafty villain? But he could see that a +sensitive nature like that of Francis was capable of infinite suffering; +and he thought of the words of Scripture, "Verily they have their +reward."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Home-Coming of Another Dead Man</span></h3> + + +<p>"The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small."</p> + +<p>For example, there was Robert Palmer, who after thirty years spent in +the gold fields had accumulated considerable treasure. But choosing to +dig for gold and to live among adventurers, thieves, and speculators, he +had come to distrust human nature. He became so secretive that even at +the approach of death, when the kindly French doctor had given him fair +warning, he would confide in only one man. Verily, he had his reward.</p> + +<p>Incidentally, the three Californians whom he had named as his executors +prospered. They may not all be included among the forty-one thieves of +this story, but it may not seem unreasonable to suppose that Henry +Francis made it worth while for Hintzen and Haggerty to keep quiet. The +point is that all three executors prospered—and then died penniless.</p> + +<p>Hintzen made so much money over at Forest City that he left for Arizona, +where he invested in copper, and lost everything he had. Haggerty, who +remained in his store at Moore's Flat, where he had made money rapidly, +speculated and lost all, including the savings of a few poor people who +had trusted him. Henry Francis speculated in the stock of the famous +Comstock mine, in the adjoining State of Nevada, lost the fortune he had +wrongfully acquired, and died broken-hearted. It was only six years +after Palmer's death that he collapsed, and was taken home to +Reedsville, Pennsylvania.</p> + +<p>Here, ostensibly the victim of tuberculosis, he lingered a year to taste +the bitterness of poverty and wretchedness. Then he died, and suffered +the usual eulogy poured out by country ministers.</p> + +<p>A charitable author must admit the virtues of his "heavy-villain." The +sun rises upon the evil and the good, and rain descends upon the just +and the unjust, for the simple reason, no doubt, that no other +arrangement would be possible, inasmuch as there are no people who are +entirely good and none who are wholly bad. In every man the forces of +good and evil are at war.</p> + +<p>If Henry Francis yielded to temptation there were extenuating +circumstances. In the first place, Robert Palmer's will distinctly +stated that everything was left to the judgment of the executors. They +were to stand firm and resolute on their own judgment "and take time to +settle the concern whether it need one year or twenty years."</p> + +<p>Possibly Francis reasoned that investing the old man's money in a +certain way would, within a very few years, double the estate, and thus +render a service to the heirs. And if at the end of three or four years +the event had proved the soundness of his judgment, was it wrong to +exercise that judgment in further ventures? The will gave him twenty +years. Weren't the executors acting "at all times and under all +circumstances to the best of their judgment?" If conscience demurred +that Hintzen and Haggerty were left in the dark, so that "their +judgment" had come to mean simply the judgment of Henry Francis, had he +not proved that judgment good?</p> + +<p>He knew that when he had given the heirs to understand that there was no +property, he had prevaricated. But had he not heard their pleas with +patience, just as the old man had directed? And if Robert Palmer's +estate were settled right then, at the end of four years, would the +heirs complain of circumstances which had doubled their inheritance? No +doubt conscience inquired if Francis was thinking of postponing +settlement indefinitely. And no doubt prudence suggested a settlement +now when all was going well. But once let the estate slip from his +control, and he would become a comparatively poor man; while the +twenty-nine heirs might squander their money foolishly.</p> + +<p>While he was debating the question, it was only proper to keep the money +well invested. And if at the end of the fifth year his securities had +shrunken seriously in value, it was natural to wait another year for +values to become normal. When the crash came, the injury to his vanity +hurt him more than his wounded conscience; that he had learned to +soothe, but his pride had never before been humbled. And so it was said +that Henry Francis died of a broken heart.</p> + +<p>His sister Mary, who nine years before had brought back to Pennsylvania +the corpse of the murdered Cummins, was now summoned to carry another +dead man home. True, he lived a year to contemplate the ruin of fortune +and honor, but he was mortally wounded. Most pathetic of all, he was +resolved to suffer in silence. Brothers and sisters should not share in +his disgrace. He had gambled and lost. But he would not tell them that +he had gambled with his honor.</p> + +<p>There is still balm in Gilead, even for a sinner! It was good to feel +the touch of his sister's hand, to taste the delicacies that only she +could prepare. The last long journey over the plains, at the end of +which he would find rest on the hillside where Will Cummins slept, was +almost as peaceful as his. He had renounced the world of thieves and +gamblers, and was going home.</p> + +<p>Arrived in his native valley, he marvelled at its beauty. Why had he +ever left it, to risk life and honor in the pursuit of riches? Man's +needs are so simple! How easily he might have thriven among such kindly +neighbors! None of them could be called rich, but they had an abundance +of this world's goods, with something to spare for him, the returned +prodigal. What does it profit a man to gain the wealth of California and +lose his own soul? Had he lost his soul, then? He had proved unfaithful +to his friend. Or had he been simply unfortunate? Ah, well! he hardly +knew. He was eager to see Robert Palmer again in the world to which he +was hastening. Then he would confess all, and be forgiven. For Robert +Palmer had loved him like a son. Yes, that was what made the cup so +bitter!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Bridal Veil</span></h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Where ancient forests widely spread,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where bends the cataract's ocean fall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On the lone mountain's silent head,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There are Thy temples, Lord of All!"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Andrews Norton</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<p>As the trial and execution of J. C. P. Collins were the last acts in his +worthless career, so they were the last but one in the courtship of Mat +Bailey and Mamie Slocum. These comparatively young people were married +soon afterward. They were married and did not live happily ever after; +but they certainly enjoyed greater happiness than that which fell to the +lot of their friends, John Keeler and Dr. Mason only excepted.</p> + +<p>During a long life John Keeler reaped the reward of sterling integrity. +To the end of his days he remained a poor man. But no one in all Nevada +County was more highly respected. Not that he was much interested in +what other people thought of him, as he strove simply to win the respect +of his own exacting conscience.</p> + +<p>Dr. Mason, having at last had the satisfaction of seeing one murderer +brought to justice, felt that he might with dignity retire from the gold +fields, where good Anglo-Saxon ideas of law and order were beginning to +find acceptance. So he moved his family into the plains at the foot of +the Sierras, where in the town of Lincoln, Placer County, they enjoyed a +more genial and happy existence.</p> + +<p>Mr. and Mrs. Mat Bailey also moved away from Nevada County. But Mat had +become so strongly addicted to stage-driving that he could not give it +up even to enjoy the continuous society of his bride. He might, for +instance, have become a florist, and employed Mamie as his chief +assistant. Instead of this he took her to what he considered the most +beautiful place on earth.</p> + +<p>He established his home in the meadows of the Yosemite Valley, where the +clear waters of the Merced preserve the verdure of the fields the whole +summer through. In midsummer, the floor of the Yosemite Valley is like +an oasis in the desert. On all sides are rough, dry mountains; and if +you follow the river down to the San Joaquin Valley it becomes lost in a +vast parched plain. But between its mountain walls, where Mamie lived +and where Mat pursued his vocation, all is beautiful.</p> + +<p>From the mountain height across the river thundered the Yosemite Fall in +all its glory, a sight that allures travelers from the uttermost parts +of the earth. And down the valley a ways was the Bridal Veil, where Mat +and Mamie paused to worship when first they entered that enchanted +valley together.</p> + +<p>Their first drive after they went to house-keeping was to Artist Point. +Mamie felt that she never had loved Mat before as she did that day; for +as he exulted in the glories of the valley, with Half Dome at the end +and El Capitan standing in sublime magnificence before them, the scales +fell from her eyes, and she saw in her stage-driver husband the poet and +artist that he really was.</p> + +<p>He was artist enough not to attempt to show his sweetheart all the +glories of the Yosemite at once. He took the keenest delight in having +them grow upon her. It was fully two months before they climbed up out +of the valley to Inspiration Point, renewing their acquaintance with +familiar scenes and experiencing more stupendous grandeur. It was two +years after they came into the valley that Mat disclosed the most +tremendous magnificence of all.</p> + +<p>For years after it fairly took her breath away to think of it. First +they took the familiar road to Inspiration Point, then made their way +over the mountains where the Glacier Point Road now runs, and camped for +the night in the highlands of never-failing frost. Next morning they +pursued their way through the woods an interminable distance, as it +seemed to Mamie, until finally they stood upon the brink of a huge +cañon, with a snowy mountain range in the distance beyond, and in the +intervening space, a vast panorama of granite mountain sides, almost +white,—here and there covered with a sparse growth of timber. The +waters from these mountain reaches had cut a channel for themselves +known as Little Yosemite Valley, where pour the two wonderful cataracts +known as Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. Their deep roar came up from the +valley. Mamie felt that she would be content to watch that scene the +whole day through.</p> + +<p>But Mat took her on to Glacier Point, where you look straight down more +than three thousand feet to the level floor of the Yosemite Valley. +There below, more than half a mile below, she saw her neighbors' +cottages; and the thought occurred to her, as she clung to Mat, that if +she should fall over the precipice she might crash through the roof of +one of these. She actually saw the good neighbor who was caring for her +own child during his mother's absence. Before the day of aviators it +seemed strange enough to look straight down from half a mile up in the +sky.</p> + +<p>Then came those scenes of terrifying magnificence when she followed Mat +over the trail cut along the perpendicular walls of the cañon five miles +down to the floor of the Valley. One who has not passed over that trail +can scarcely conceive of it; and one who has, brings away a sense of the +sublime and the beautiful mingled with terror. There against the blue +sky stands the perpendicular wall of Half Dome, almost within arm's +reach, seemingly, in that clear atmosphere. There stand El Capitan and +the Three Graces. And there at every turn of the trail pours the +glorious Yosemite Fall, at first too far away for the ear to notice its +distant thunder. Then on closer approach the faint roar is heard across +the cañon. The attention becomes fixed more and more upon this majestic +cataract, to set off which the wonderful mountain walls seem to have +been specially created. The trail from Glacier Point, beginning at an +altitude above the top of the fall opposite, reveals it in its whole +nakedness—shows its rise in the vast watershed of upland mountain +valleys, and then by degrees leads you closer and closer to it until, at +Union Point, its glory is perfect.</p> + +<p>But why attempt to outline the wonders of that famous valley?</p> + +<p>If Mr. and Mrs. Mat Bailey were not actually happy ever after, they +found life worth living. As only people of humble fortune are likely to +do, they lived the simple life. And they found it pleasant. They +realized, as many people of humble fortune do not, that the sweetest +pleasure can be derived from the cheerful performance of obvious and +commonplace duties. Mat had always taken pride in his unpretentious +calling, and his wife learned to love the blessed busy life of wife and +mother.</p> + +<p>Her sons and daughters, knowing no better because of their peculiar +environment, grew up believing this old earth most beautiful, and the +nobility of their world seemed to create in them nobility of character. +The sheltered peace of that green valley entered into their souls.</p> + + +<p>THE END</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Forty-one Thieves, by Angelo Hall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY-ONE THIEVES *** + +***** This file should be named 19695-h.htm or 19695-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/6/9/19695/ + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Forty-one Thieves + A Tale of California + +Author: Angelo Hall + +Release Date: November 2, 2006 [EBook #19695] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY-ONE THIEVES *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + + Forty-one Thieves + + _A Tale of California_ + + ANGELO HALL + + + + +Copyright, 1919 +THE CORNHILL COMPANY +BOSTON + + + + +DEDICATED TO J. H. K. + +A PARTNER OF WILL CUMMINS AND A NEIGHBOR OF ROBERT PALMER + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I. Dead Men Tell No Tales + + II. The Graniteville Stage + + III. The Girl or the Gold? + + IV. A Council of War + + V. Old Man Palmer + + VI. Two of a Kind + + VII. An Old Sweetheart + + VIII. "Bed-bug" Brown, Detective + + IX. The Home-Coming of a Dead Man + + X. The Travels of John Keeler + + XI. The Snows of the Sierras + + XII. The Golden Summer Comes Again + + XIII. The End of the Trail + + XIV. Golden Opportunities + + XV. Three Graves by the Middle Yuba + + XVI. When Thieves Fall Out + + XVII. Brought to Justice + + XVIII. The End of J. C. P. Collins + + XIX. The Home-Coming of Another Dead Man + + XX. The Bridal Veil + + + + +FORTY-ONE THIEVES + + + +CHAPTER I + +Dead Men Tell No Tales + + +In the cemetery on the hill near the quiet village of Reedsville, +Pennsylvania, you may find this inscription: + + WILLIAM F. CUMMINS + son of Col. William & Martha Cummins + who was killed by highwaymen near + Nevada City, California + September 1, 1879 + aged 45 yrs. and 8 months + + Be ye therefore also ready + For the Son of Man cometh + At an hour when ye think not. + +It is a beautiful spot, on the road to Milroy. In former times a church +stood in the middle of the grounds, and the stern old Presbyterian +forefathers marched to meeting with muskets on their shoulders, for the +country was infested with Indians. The swift stream at the foot of the +hill, now supplying power for a grist-mill, was full of salmon that ran +up through the Kishacoquillas from the blue Juniata. The savages +begrudged the settlers these fish and the game that abounded in the +rough mountains; but the settlers had come to cultivate the rich land +extending for twelve miles between the mountain walls. + +The form of many a Californian now rests in that cemetery on the hill. A +few years after the burial of the murdered Cummins, the body of Henry +Francis was gathered to his fathers, and, near by, lie the bodies of +four of his brothers,--all Californians. The staid Amish farmers and +their subdued women, in outlandish, Puritanical garb, pass along the +road unstirred by the romance and glamour buried in those graves. Dead +men tell no tales! Else there were no need that pen of mine should +snatch from oblivion this tale of California. + +More than thirty-five years have passed since my father, returning from +the scene of Cummins' murder, related the circumstances. With Mat +Bailey, the stage-driver, with whom Cummins had traveled that fatal day, +he had ridden over the same road, had passed the large stump which had +concealed the robbers, and had become almost an eye-witness of the whole +affair. My father's rehearsal of it fired my youthful imagination. So it +was like a return to the scenes of boyhood when, thirty-six years after +the event, I, too, traveled the same road that Cummins had traveled and +heard from the lips of Pete Sherwood, stage-driver of a later +generation, the same thrilling story. The stump by the roadside had so +far decayed as to have fallen over; but it needed little imagination to +picture the whole tragedy. In Sacramento I looked up the files of the +_Daily Record Union_, which on Sept. 3, 1879, two days after the event, +gave a brief account of it. There was newspaper enterprise for you! An +atrocious crime reported in a neighboring city two days afterward! Were +such things too common to excite interest? Or was it felt that the +recital of them did not tend to boom the great State of California? + + + + +CHAPTER II + +The Graniteville Stage + + +On that fateful first of September, 1879, the stage left Graniteville, +as usual, at six o'clock in the morning. Graniteville, in Eureka +Township, Nevada County, is the Eureka South of early days. The stage +still makes the daily trip over the mountains; but the glamour and +romance of the gold fields have long since departed. On the morning +mentioned traffic was light, for people did not travel the twenty-eight +miles through heat and dust to Nevada City for pleasure. Too often it +was a case of running the gauntlet from the gold fields to the railroad +terminus and safety. + +This very morning, Charley Chu, who had thrown up his job as mender of +ditches, was making a dash for San Francisco, with five hundred dollars +in dust and a pistol at his belt. The other passengers were Dr. John +Mason and Mamie Slocum, teacher. Mamie, rosy-cheeked, dark-eyed, and +pretty, was only seventeen, and ought to have been at home with her +mother. She was a romantic girl, however, with several beaux in Eureka +Township; and now that the summer session of school was over, she was +going home to Nevada City, where there were other conquests to be made. + +Dr. Mason, a tall, lean Scotchman, lived at North Bloomfield, only nine +miles distant, whence he had been summoned to attend a case of _delirium +tremens_. The sparkling water of the Sierras is pure and cold, but the +gold of the Sierras buys stronger drink. With a fee of two double eagles +in his pocket, the doctor could look with charity upon the foibles of +human nature. He thoroughly enjoyed the early morning ride among the +giant pines. In the open places manzanita ran riot, its waxy green +leaves contrasting with the dust-laden asters and coarse grasses by the +roadside. Across the canon of the Middle Yuba the yellow earth of old +man Palmer's diggings shone like a trademark in the landscape, +proclaiming to the least initiated the leading industry of Sierra and +Nevada Counties, and marking for the geologist the height of the ancient +river beds, twenty-five hundred feet above the Middle Yuba and nearly at +right angles to it. Those ancient river beds were strewn with gold. +Looking in the other direction, one caught glimpses here and there of +the back-bone of the Sierras, jagged dolomites rising ten thousand feet +skyward. The morning air was stimulating, for at night the thermometer +drops to the forties even in midsummer. In a ditch by the roadside, and +swift as a mill-race, flowed a stream of clear cold water, brought for +miles from reservoirs up in the mountains. + +Even Charley Chu, now that he was leaving the gold fields forever, +regarded the water-ditch with affection. It brought life--sparkling, +abundant life--to these arid hill-tops. Years ago, Charley Chu and +numerous other Chinamen had dug this very ditch. What would California +have been without Chinese labor? Industrious Chinamen built the railroad +over the Sierras to the East and civilization. Doctor, girl and Chinaman +were too much occupied with their own thoughts to take much notice of +the stage-driver, who, though he assumed an air of carelessness, was, in +reality, on the watch for spies and robbers. For the bankers at Moore's +Flat, a few miles further on, were planning to smuggle several thousand +dollars' worth of gold dust to Nevada City that morning. Mat Bailey was +a brave fellow, but he preferred the old days of armed guards and hard +fighting to these dubious days when stage-drivers went unarmed to avoid +the suspicion of carrying treasure. Charley Chu with his pistol had the +right idea; and yet that very pistol might queer things to-day. + +Over this road for twenty-five years treasure to the amount of many +millions of dollars had been carried out of the mountains; and Mat could +have told you many thrilling tales of highwaymen. A short distance +beyond Moore's Flat was Bloody Run, a rendezvous of Mexican bandits, +back in the fifties. Not many years since, in the canon of the South +Yuba, Steve Venard, with his repeating rifle, had surprised and killed +three men who had robbed the Wells Fargo Express. Some people hinted +that when Steve hunted up the thieves and shot them in one, two, three +order, he simply betrayed his own confederates. But the express company +gave him a handsome rifle and a generous share of the gold recovered; I +prefer to believe that Steve was an honest man. + +The stage arrived at Moore's Flat, and Mat Bailey hurriedly transferred +baggage and passengers to the gaily painted and picturesque stage-coach +which, drawn by four strong horses, was to continue the journey. A pair +of horses and a mountain wagon had handled the traffic to that point; +but at the present time, when Moore's Flat can boast but eleven +inhabitants, the transfer to the stage-coach is made at North +Bloomfield, several miles further on. But in 1879, Moore's Flat, Eureka +Township, was a thriving place, employing hundreds of miners. The great +sluices, blasted deep into solid rock, then ran with the wash from high +walls of dirt and gravel played upon by streams of water in the process +known as hydraulic mining. Jack Vizzard, the watchman, threaded those +sluiceways armed with a shot-gun. + +At Moore's Flat, six men and two women boarded the stage; and Mat Bailey +took in charge a small leather valise, smuggled out of the back door of +the bank and handed to him carelessly. Mat received it without the +flicker of an eyelash. Nevertheless, he scrutinized the eight new +passengers, with apparent indifference but with unerring judgment. All +except two, a man and a woman, were personally known to him. And these +excited less suspicion than two well-known gamblers, who greeted Mat +cordially. + +"It hurts business, Mat, to ship so much dust out of the country," said +one. + +"Damn shame," said the other. + +Mat paid no attention to these remarks, pretending to be busy with the +baggage. Quite accidentally he lifted an old valise belonging to Will +Cummins, who, dressed in a long linen duster, had just boarded the +stage. Cummins exchanged glances with the driver, and luckily, as Mat +thought, the gamblers seemed to take no notice. + +Will Cummins had been in the gold regions twenty-five years. He had +already made and lost one small fortune, and now at the age of +forty-five, with all his available worldly goods, some seven thousand +dollars in bullion, he was homeward bound to Reedsville, Pennsylvania. +In the full vigor of manhood, he was a Californian of the highest type. +He had always stood for law and order, and was much beloved by decent +people. By the other sort it was well understood that Will Cummins was a +good shot, and would fight to a finish. He was a man of medium height, +possessed of clear gray eyes and an open countenance. The outlines of a +six-shooter were clearly discernible under his duster. + +In a cloud of dust, to the clink of horse-shoes, the stage rolled out of +Moore's Flat, and was soon in the dark woods of Bloody Run. + +"Good morning, Mr. Cummins." + +It was the school-teacher who spoke; and Cummins, susceptible to +feminine charms, bowed graciously. + +"Do you know, Mr. Cummins, it always gives me the shivers to pass +through these woods. So many dreadful things have happened here." + +"Why, yes," answered Cummins, good-naturedly. "It was along here +somewhere, I think, that the darkey, George Washington, was captured." + +"Tell me about it," said Mamie. + +"Oh, George was violently opposed to Chinese cheap labor; so he made it +his business to rob Chinamen. But the Chinamen caught him, tied his +hands and feet, slung him on a pole like so much pork and started him +for Moore's Flat, taking pains to bump him against every stump and +boulder _en route_." + +Charley Chu was grinning in pleasant reverie. Mamie laughed. + +"But the funny thing in this little episode," continued Cummins, "was +the defense set up by George Washington's lawyer. There was no doubt +that George was guilty of highway robbery. He had been caught +red-handed, and ten Chinamen were prepared to testify to the fact. But +counsel argued that by the laws of the State a white man could not be +convicted on the testimony of Chinamen; and that, within the meaning of +the statute, in view of recent amendments to the Constitution of the +United States, George was a white man. The judge ruled that the point +was well taken; and, inasmuch as the prisoner had been thoroughly +bumped, he dismissed the case." + +The story is well known in Nevada County; but Mamie laughed gleefully, +and turned her saucy eyes upon Charley: + +"Did you help to bump George Washington?" + +The Celestial was an honest man, and shook his head: + +"Me only look on. That cullud niggah he lob me." + +Will Cummins glanced at the Chinaman's pistol and smiled. By this time +the stage had crossed Bloody Run and was ascending the high narrow ridge +known as the Back-Bone, beyond which lay the village of North +Bloomfield. By the roadside loomed a tall lone rock, placed as if by a +perverse Providence especially to shelter highwaymen. For a moment +Cummins looked grave, and he reached for his six-shooter. Mat Bailey +cracked his whip and dashed by as if under fire. + +From the Back-Bone the descent to North Bloomfield was very steep, and +was made with grinding of brakes and precipitate speed. Arrived at the +post-office, Dr. Mason and the two gamblers left the coach; and a +store-keeper and two surveyors employed by the great Malakoff Mining +Company took passage to Nevada City. In those halcyon days of hydraulic +mining, the Malakoff, employing fifty men, was known to clean up +$100,000 in thirty days. It was five hundred feet through dirt and +gravel to bed-rock, and a veritable canon had been washed out of the +earth. + +The next stop was Lake City,--a name illustrative of Californian +megalomania; for the lake, long since gone dry, was merely an artificial +reservoir to supply a neighboring mine, and the city was a collection of +half a dozen buildings including a store and a hotel. Through the open +door of the store a huge safe was visible, for here was one of those +depositories for gold dust locally known as a bank. As the stage pulled +up, the banker and a lady stepped out to greet Will Cummins, who +alighted and cordially shook hands. Miss Slocum, apparently, was +somewhat piqued because she was not introduced. + +"I was hoping you would accompany us to Nevada City," Cummins said, +addressing the lady, who regarded him with affection, as Mamie thought. + +"You must remember, Will," said the banker, "that Mary hasn't been up to +Moore's Flat yet to see her old flames." + +"Too late!" said Cummins. "The Keystone Club gave a dinner last night, +to wish me a pleasant journey. Eighteen of the twenty-one were present. +But by this time they have scattered to the four winds." + +"Never fear," cried the lady; "I shall find some of our boys at Moore's +Flat. You are the only one travelling in this direction; and the four +winds combined could not blow them over the canon of the Middle Yuba." + +"I remember you think that canon deep and terrible, Mary," Will replied; +"but it is not wide, you know. Remember our walk to Chipp's Flat, the +last time you were here? Nothing left there but the old cannon. As the +boys say, everything else has been fired." + +"All aboard!" shouted Mat, who felt that he was wasting time in Lake +City. And so Mary Francis, sister of Henry Francis, bade adieu to Will +Cummins, little knowing that they would never meet again, either in +California or "back home" in Pennsylvania. The stage rolled on, past a +grove of live oaks hung with mistletoe. Cummins had passed this way many +times before. He had even gathered mistletoe here to send to friends in +the East. But to-day for the first time it made his heart yearn for the +love he had missed. Mary Francis was thirty-five now. Twenty-five years +ago he was twenty and she was a little bashful girl. Her father's house +had been the rendezvous of Californians on their occasional visits in +the East. His mind traveled back over old scenes; but soon the canon of +the South Yuba burst upon his vision, thrilling him with its grandeur +and challenging his fighting instincts. For after winding down three +miles to the river, the road climbed three miles up the opposite +side--three toiling miles through the ambushes of highwaymen. There was +the scene of many a hold-up. And to-day, at his age, he simply must not +be robbed. It would break his heart. In sheer desperation he drew his +six-shooter, examined it carefully, glanced at his fellow-passengers and +sat silent, alert and grim. + +Except for the Chinaman, the passengers were feeble folk. At sight of +the revolver the men began to fidget; and, except for Mamie Slocum, the +romantic, the women turned pale. + +Down the coach plunged into the deep canon! Little likelihood of a +hold-up when travelling at such a pace. Down, down, safely down to the +river, running clear and cold among the rocks. And then the slow ascent. +Mat Bailey, perched on his high seat as lordly as Ph[oe]bus Apollo, felt +cold shivers run down his spine. From every bush, stump and rock he +expected a masked man to step forth. Could he depend upon Cummins and +the Chinaman? How slowly the horses labored up that fatal hill, haunted +by the ghosts of murdered travelers! Why should he, Mat Bailey, get +mixed up in other men's affairs? What was there in it for him? Of +course, he would try to play a man's part; but he sincerely wished he +were at the top of the hill. + +At last they were safely out of the canon, and the horses were allowed +to rest a few minutes. Cummins replaced his pistol and buttoned up his +duster; and the passengers fell to talking. The store-keeper from North +Bloomfield began to tell a humorous story of a lone highwayman who, with +a double-barrelled shot gun waylaid the Wells Fargo Express near +Downieville. As he waited, with gun pointed down the road, he heard a +wagon approach behind him. Coolly facing about, he levelled his gun at +the approaching travellers, three workmen, and remarked, + +"Gentlemen, you have surprised me. Please deliver your guns, and stand +upon that log," indicating a prostrate pine four feet in diameter. +Needless to say, the men mounted the log and held up their hands. Then a +load of hay approached, and the driver mounted the log with the others. +Then came another wagon, with two men and a ten-year old boy, George +Williams. The robber ordered these to stand upon the log, whereupon +little George, in great trepidation, exclaimed, + +"Good Mr. Robber, don't shoot, and I will do anything you tell me!" + +About this time one barrel of the robber's gun was accidentally +discharged into the log, and he remarked: + +"That was damned careless," and immediately reloaded with buckshot. + +At length the stage came along; and promptly holding it up, he tossed +the driver a sack, directing him to put his gold dust therein. This +done, he sent each separate vehicle upon its way as cool as a marshal on +dress parade. + +With Nevada City only four miles away, the canon of the South Yuba +safely passed, and the stage bowling along over an easy road, it seemed +a good story. + +"Halt!" + +Two masked men emerged from behind a stump by the roadside, and Charley +Chu drew his revolver. The passengers in a panic took it away from him. +Mat Bailey pulled up his horses. + +While one robber covered Mat, the other covered the passengers, who at +his command lined themselves up by the roadside with hands raised. +Cummins got out on the side of the stage opposite the robber; and but +for the duster, buttoned from chin to ankles, he would have had the dead +wood on that robber. It was not to be; and Cummins, hands in air, joined +his helpless companions. The robber then proceeded to rifle the baggage. +Charley Chu lost his five hundred dollars. Mat Bailey gave up the +leather bag from Moore's Flat. + +"Whose is this?" demanded the robber, laying his hand on Cummins' old +valise. As if hypnotized, Mamie Slocum answered, + +"That is Mr. Cummins'." + +The robber seized it. Cummins exclaimed: "It is all I have in the world, +and I will defend it with my life." With that he seized the robber, +overpowered him, and went down with him into the dust. If only there had +been one brave man among those cowards! + +"Is there no one to help me?" shouted Cummins; but no one stirred. + +In the gold regions of California each man is for himself. To prevent +trouble his fellow-passengers had disarmed the Chinaman. The other +robber, seeing his partner overpowered, passed quickly along in front of +the line of passengers, placed his gun at Cummins' head, and fired. The +struggle had not lasted fifteen seconds when Will Cummins lay murdered +by the roadside. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +The Girl or the Gold + + +Cummins was killed about one o'clock. Two hours later two prospectors, +in conventional blue shirts and trousers, each with a pack over his +back, were seen in the neighborhood of Scott's Flat. They excited no +suspicion, as no one at Scott's Flat had heard anything about the +hold-up; and even if news had come, there was nothing suspicious in the +appearance of these men. They had looked out for that. As a matter of +precaution they had provided themselves a change of clothing and their +prospectors' outfit. By common consent they had very little to say to +each other; for they knew that a careless word might betray them. They +were in a desperate hurry to reach Gold Run or Dutch Flat to catch the +evening train East; but from their motions you would not have suspected +this. They followed the trails across country at the usual swinging gait +of honest men, and they knew they had six hours to make fifteen miles +over the hills. They passed near Quaker Hill, Red Dog, and You Bet, +keeping away from people as much as they dared to, but not obviously +avoiding anyone. + +At You Bet, Gold Run and Dutch Flat they had taken the precaution to +show themselves for several days past; so that no one should notice +their reappearance. They were not unknown in this region, and there were +men at You Bet who could have identified them as Nevada City jail-birds. +There was O'Leary, for example, who had been in jail with them. But in a +country filled with gamblers and sporting men, where the chief end of +man is to get gold and to enjoy it forever, it is not deemed polite to +enquire too closely into people's antecedents. These men, evidently +native-born Americans, bore the good Anglo-Saxon names of Collins and +Darcy. What more could you ask? They perspired freely, and their packs +were evidently heavy; but men who collect specimens of quartz are likely +to carry heavy packs, and the day was hot. + +At You Bet the men separated, Darcy striking out for Gold Run with all +the gold, and Collins making for Dutch Flat, which is farther up the +railroad. This was to throw the railroad men off the scent, for news of +the murder had probably been telegraphed to all railroad stations in the +vicinity. + +Incidentally, and unknown to his partner, this arrangement necessitated +a momentous decision in the mind of Collins. As he formulated the +question, it was, "The girl or the gold?" Like many young criminals, +Collins was very much of a ladies' man. He associated with girls of the +dance-hall class, but he aspired to shine in the eyes of those foolish +women who admire a gay, bad man. He would have preferred to have his +share of the plunder then and there in order to stay in California to +win the hand of Mamie Slocum. But Darcy was determined to get out of the +country as quickly as possible, and when they separated insisted upon +taking all the gold. It would not do to quarrel with him, for both would +be lost if either was suspected. To share in the plunder he would have +to go East with Darcy, who was to board the same train at Gold Run that +Collins would take at Dutch Flat. + +The girl or the gold? Because of his infatuation for the girl he had +become a highwayman. He had not expected her to come down from +Graniteville that day. He had not counted on being nearly killed by +Cummins, for it was he whom Cummins had overpowered. He had not supposed +that anyone would be killed. Things had turned out in a strange and +terrible way. To gain a few thousand dollars by highway robbery was no +worse than to win it by a dozen other methods counted respectable. Among +the youth of Nevada City with whom he had associated, it was commonly +believed that every successful man in town had done something crooked at +some time in his career--that life was nothing but a gamble anyhow, and +that a little cheating might sometimes help a fellow. + +When he had learned, some months before, how greatly Mamie admired Will +Cummins, he had thought it good policy to pretend a like admiration. +While the girl was in Graniteville, away from her parents, he had seen +her as often as he could, and had, he was sure, acted the part of a +chivalrous gentleman. He had referred to his jail record in such a +magnanimous way as to win her admiration and sympathy. And he had been +magnanimous toward Cummins. He had stoutly maintained that even +gentlemen of the road are men of honor, incapable of petty meanness, +merely taking by force from some money-shark what was rightfully theirs +by virtue of their being gentlemen. Therefore, he argued, no +self-respecting highwayman would rob a man like Will Cummins--the merest +hint that property belonged to him would be sufficient to protect it. He +had waxed eloquent over the matter. + +He was now appalled to think how his argument, though insincere, had +been refuted. That Mamie had spoken those fatal words was not a ruse of +his but an inexplicable accident. How could he ever see the girl again? +And yet, in this one respect he was innocent, and he wished she might +know it. Besides, he was man enough to sympathize with her in her awful +predicament. With what horror she must be thinking of her part in the +tragedy! There was considerable generosity in his nature, and he +actually debated, criminal though he was, whether he might not better +let Darcy keep the loot and stand by Mamie. + +The girl or the gold? Is it surprising that the decision of J. C. P. +Collins was similar to that of other Californians? Similar to Cummins', +for example? He decided to make sure of the gold first and to think +about the girl later. With six or eight thousand dollars in the bank he +would be a more valuable friend than a poor man could be. After this +affair had blown over, and he recalled the fact that Doc Mason had +performed eleven autopsies on murdered men in the last ten years, and +not one murderer had been hanged so far,--he would rescue Mamie from the +demoralization of the gold fields and take her to live in St. Louis or +New Orleans. And now he saw with some satisfaction that her apparent +complicity in the crime would make life hard for her in Nevada City and +impel her to accept such a proposal. + +It might have been just as well if the rattlesnake coiled in his path at +that moment had ended his existence, but the snake was indeed an +honorable highwayman, and sounded a gentlemanly warning in the nick of +time. Collins would have killed it for its pains, but killing had upset +his nerves that day. So he left the reptile to try its fangs on a better +man. Besides, he reflected that he could not consistently advocate +capital punishment, and he sincerely hoped that his humane sentiments +would spread in California. He recalled the fact that there was a strong +party among the good people of the State, represented by several ladies +who had brought him bouquets and jellies when he was in jail, who were +trying to abolish capital punishment. Judging from Doc Mason's +experience in murder cases, the efforts of these good people were not +called for. And yet the law as it stood had unpleasant possibilities for +Collins. + +He was really sorry about Cummins. Of course, Cummins was a fool. A man +of such character would not miss a few thousand dollars in the long run. +What a fool he had been to risk his life! Of course, he, Collins, had +risked his life, too. But how different were the two cases! Cummins had +rich friends who would help him; Collins had no friends, barring a few +silly women. His long suit was women. He really regretted Cummins' death +more on Mamie's account than for any other reason. + +Poor Mamie! But it must be the gold and not the girl this trip. When he +had invested his capital and made his pile, he would play the prince to +his Cinderella. They would both be glad to flee this country. Bah! the +very soil was red! Golden blossoms sprung from it, but the roots were +fed with blood. Collins was a young fellow, by no means a hardened +criminal, and the excitement of the day stimulated intellect and emotion +like the drug of a Chinaman. + +He reached Dutch Flat in due season, and found several old cronies at +the railroad station, where people were discussing the death of Cummins. +He succeeded in showing the due amount of interest and no more, and was +diplomatic enough not to suggest that the murderers were now on their +way to San Francisco. He took the train going East according to +schedule, and found Darcy playing poker in the smoking car. Collins +betook himself to his pipe at the other end of the car, glad that night +had come, and that he would soon bid farewell to the Sierras. He felt +the train swing round the horse-shoe curve through Blue Canon, and +shortly afterward he noticed that they had entered the snow sheds, which +for forty-five miles tunnel the snow drifts of winter, and which in +summer lie like a huge serpent across the summit of the mountains. Once +out of the sheds they would speed down the valley from Truckee into +Nevada. + +The fugitives were well over the line before they took any notice of +each other. Except for themselves the smoker was now empty, and they had +prepared to spend the night there like honest miners who were down on +their luck. + +Collins remarked in an undertone: + +"Darcy, we have given them the royal sneak." + +"Know what I've been thinking?" replied Darcy. "I've been thinking of +that wise remark of Ben Franklin's when he signed the Declaration of +Independence." + +"What was that?" + +"We've got to hang together or we'll hang separately." + +"That's no joke." + +"You bet your soul it's no joke. And you'd better shut up and go to +sleep." + +Silence for ten minutes. Then Collins said, + +"You're a tough nut to talk about sleep when you've killed the best man +in Nevada County." + +"Where would you be, J. C. P. Collins, if I hadn't killed him? You'd be +in hell this minute." + +"Thanks, awfully. But I wish the man wasn't dead." + +"What did the fool put up a fight for? He could see we had him." + +"That's what I say. He was a fool to risk his life. He could see there +was no help coming from those sports." + +"Well, Collins, there was one of them that made me feel nervous--that +Chinaman. But the rest of them had him corralled. Mat Bailey couldn't do +nothing up there in the air. Cummins was a fool, that's all." + +"Must have wanted his gold pretty bad. And I wish to God he had it right +now." + +"Here, take a nip of brandy. Your health's getting delicate." + +"Well, partner, no harm meant. But I must say I sympathize with Cummins. +He and I have made the same choice to-day." + +"How's that?" + +"The girl or the gold--and we both chose the gold. And I'll be hanged if +I don't think we were both right." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A Council of War + + +Six days had elapsed. It was evening, and in the large room over +Haggerty's store at Moore's Flat the lamps had been lighted. Here ten +members of the Keystone Club had gathered to see if something might not +be done to avenge the death of Cummins. Henry Francis presided; but the +meeting was informal. These men had not met to pass resolutions, but to +decide upon some line of action. So far not a trace of the murderers had +been found, except for their discarded clothing. Sheriff Carter's +blood-hounds had followed a hot scent to Deer Creek, several miles above +Nevada City, and the posse who followed the dogs were led to a pool, in +the bottom of which, weighted with stones, was the clothing. Further +than this the dogs could not go. They were soon sneezing as the result +of inhaling red pepper, scattered on the rocks. And the robbers had +probably waded up or down stream to insure complete safety. + +Several suspicious characters had passed over the railroad to Sacramento +and San Francisco; but this was an every-day occurrence, and the police +had learned the futility of arresting men who were probably innocent +miners pursuing the gay life. + +Nothing thus far had been accomplished. Hence the meeting over +Haggerty's store. Dr. Mason and Mat Bailey were present. The doctor came +because of a sense of civic duty. His British sense of justice had been +outraged beyond endurance. + +"You know, Mr. Francis," he said, "I have performed autopsies upon +eleven murdered men within the last ten years; and in no case has one of +the murderers been brought to justice. It is outrageous, scandalous. +Decent men cannot afford to live in a community where people are more +interested in making money than in enforcing the law. Decent men become +marked men--marked for slaughter as Cummins was. We must do something, +if only to protect ourselves." + +"You are quite right, Doctor," replied Francis, "and we propose to +investigate for ourselves. Did you notice any suspicious circumstance +when you rode down from Eureka South the other day?" + +The doctor could not think of anything important unless it was the +remarks of the gamblers at Moore's Flat about shipping gold dust out of +the country. But if they were accomplices they would hardly have spoken +so carelessly. And why did they leave the stage at North Bloomfield? +They were still there; but no one had observed anything remarkable in +their behavior. + +That Cummins was leaving California, probably with gold, was a +well-known fact. That he would go armed, considering the character of +the man, was almost certain. And this was a good reason why bankers at +Moore's Flat or Lake City might ship bullion that fatal day. Mat Bailey +nodded solemn assent, for he knew that this was sound logic. + +It was now his turn to offer suggestions. A stage-driver is always a +person of importance, especially in California. For the past six days +Mat had found his public importance rather embarrassing. Every trip past +the robbers' hiding-place had brought an avalanche of questions from +curious passengers. Probably Mat Bailey had been forced to think of the +tragedy more constantly than had any other person. His opinion ought to +be valuable. + +He hesitated, and seemed loath to speak his mind. + +"Out with it, Mat," said Francis. "This hearing is among friends, not +official. Tell us just what you think." + +"Well," replied Mat, "there is one circumstance you gentlemen ought to +know. Up to this time nobody has mentioned it; and I hate to be the +first to speak of it." + +Everybody's interest was aroused. After a pause Mat continued: + +"When the robber was going over the baggage he came to Mr. Cummins' +valise, and asked, 'Whose is this?' One of the passengers spoke up and +said, 'That belongs to Mr. Cummins.' Then the row began." + +"Who is the guilty man?" cried Francis. + +Mat looked embarrassed: "It wasn't a man. It was Miss Slocum." + +There was a moment of silence. Everybody was shocked, and trying to work +out in his own mind some logical connection between the school-teacher +and the crime. + +"That's where you've got us guessing, Mat," said one. "What can a crowd +of bachelors do if you drag a woman into the case?" + +"And yet," said another, "what else ought we to expect? A woman's at the +bottom of everything, you know." + +"Yes, we would none of us be here in this wicked world except for our +mothers," remarked the doctor sarcastically. "How has Miss Slocum been +acting since the tragedy, Mat? I must confess I can't think ill of that +girl." + +"Well, Doctor," replied Mat, "she has acted just as you would expect an +innocent girl to act. She's been all broken up--down sick a good part of +the time. And I don't believe there's a man, woman, or child in Nevada +City who mourns Will Cummins more than she does. That's why I hate to +mention her name. And that's why I haven't said anything up to this +time. But some of those cowards who looked on while Cummins was murdered +have begun to talk; so you would have heard the story sooner or later +anyhow. Still, I hate to mention the girl's name." + +"You have done right," said Francis. "The girl might have helped the +robbers without intending to. Frightened out of her wits, perhaps. +Somebody might question her kindly, and see what's back of this. And, +gentlemen, as Bailey spends a good deal of his time at Nevada City, it +seems to me he is the man to follow up this clue. Call on the girl, Mat, +and see what you can find out." + +So out of a sordid tragedy there was spun a thread of romance. The +school-teacher and the stage-driver are about the only characters who do +not require the "gold cure." Mat had ridden over the mountains at all +seasons until he loved them. His chief delights were the companionship +of his stout horses and his even more intimate companionship with +nature. To scare up a partridge, to scent the pines, to listen to the +hermit thrush were meat and drink to him. That there was gold in these +noble mountains moved him very little, though this fact provided him +with a livelihood for which he was duly grateful. The school-teacher was +fortunate to be brought up with a sharp turn so early in life, and to +find so true a friend as Mat Bailey. + +But this was only the beginning of the council at Moore's Flat. It was +suggested that John Keeler, Cummins' old partner, be employed to scour +the country in search of the assassins. There was no more trustworthy +man in Eureka Township than Keeler. His affection for Cummins was well +known. But his peculiarities might unfit him for the proposed mission. +His Southern sense of chivalry unfitted him for detective work that +might involve deceit and downright lying. He cared more for his honor +than he did for money, and had been known to refuse very tempting +offers. Finally, he was opposed to violence. He had refused to act as a +watchman for a ditch company on the ground that he might be expected to +shoot some one. It was a question whether Keeler could be induced to +bring a man to the gallows. + +Presently, Dr. Mason spoke up: + +"You couldn't employ a better man than Keeler. He is the soul of honor, +as you all admit. For several years he was Cummins' partner. As sheriff +of Nevada County he would free it of thugs and murderers as he frees +every claim that he works of rattlesnakes. He is death on rattlers. +Killed more than a hundred of them last summer. But the lawless element +of this county take mighty good care that Keeler is not elected sheriff. +So much the better for us, for he is free to manage this business." + +The doctor's speech made an impression. But these Californians had not +yet learned the value of honor. They seemed to think that they could +catch the murderers if they put up enough money. They themselves were +too busy making money to hunt down the outlaws; but they assumed that +money would do it; and they were willing to put up thousands of dollars. +But numerous rewards for the apprehension of desperadoes were +outstanding at that very hour; and the desperadoes were still at large. +As a money-making proposition, mining with all its uncertainties was +more attractive than professional detective work. Then again, these +Californians could not trust a man actuated by motives higher than their +own. Indeed, their chairman, Henry Francis himself, for some subtle +reason which it would have been well for him to analyze, was opposed to +employing honest John Keeler. It would have been well for Francis, +before it was too late, to realize to what an extent money standards +were replacing honor in his own life. It takes determination, loyalty, +devotion, to accomplish a difficult task; and such qualities cannot be +bought. + +When Captain Jack and his Modocks held a council of war in their lava +beds, they accomplished things which it was beyond the power of these +fortune-hunters to accomplish. Captain Jack had no gold, but the skill, +loyalty, and devotion of every Indian of his band were at his command. +And yet Francis would have imagined himself the superior of Captain +Jack. + +As time was passing, with little accomplished, Francis suggested that +they might first decide upon the amount to be offered as a reward for +the apprehension of the murderers. It was voted to offer a reward of +$10,000, or $5,000 for either of the two men. + +"Now, gentlemen," said Francis, "I shall have to go over to Fillmore +Hill to-morrow to see Mr. Palmer, who holds a note against Will Cummins. +You know I am settling the estate. Keeler will be over there, they say, +and I will talk with him. But on the way over, I shall look up a man +worth two of John Keeler in a business like this." + +"Who is that?" asked the doctor. + +"Mr. William Brown." + +No one seemed to know William Brown. + +"He lives a mile up the canon," continued Francis. + +"Oh, you mean Bed-bug Brown," said Mat Bailey. + +"Yes," replied Francis, "that's the name he commonly goes by." + +"I know the man," said the doctor. "Says he came here in '54 and that he +has had a picnic ever since. Though he couldn't have had much of a +picnic that first winter, when he camped out by the big log; and only a +few winters ago Palmer had to send him a quarter of beef." + +"Well, Brown is a born detective," said Francis. "He worked up the +Caffey case like a professional." + +Ben Caffey's brother had been hanged in Wisconsin, in the region of the +lead mines, ten years before. He was innocent of the crime charged, and +Ben had vowed vengeance on the jury. All twelve of the jurors, though +scattered over the country from New Orleans to the canon of the Middle +Yuba, had met violent deaths. The last man had been a neighbor of +Brown's. Just before his death a stranger with a limp left arm had +appeared at Moore's Flat; and Brown had proved to his own satisfaction +that the same man with a limp arm had appeared at New Orleans just +before the death of the eleventh juror in that city. The man with the +limp arm was Ben Caffey. Such was Brown's story. People had not paid +much attention to it, nor to the murdered man's lonely grave by the +river. Henry Francis, evidently, gave Brown full credence, but others +present regarded "Bed-bug Brown" as a joke. True, he was an intelligent +little man. He had taught school at Graniteville several winters, and +had succeeded better at this business than at placer mining on the bars +of the Middle Yuba. But "Bed-bug Brown," perennial picnicker, was not a +scientific sleuth. + +So when the council of war broke up, a feeling of skepticism prevailed. +Mat Bailey saw more possibilities in his own suggestion than in the +$10,000 reward. Dr. Mason saw more possibilities, however slight, in the +reward than in the proposed detective. And Henry Francis, though he had +known Cummins from boyhood, and was even now settling up his estate, +pretended to see more possibilities in a stranger than in honest John +Keeler--or himself. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +Old Man Palmer + + +Robert Palmer, tall, thin, bent with toil, had lived in California +thirty years. In May, 1849, when the snow drifts were still deep in the +canons of the Sierras, he had crossed the mountains, past Donner Lake +and the graves of the Donner party, through Emigrant's Gap, to the +valley of the Sacramento. He was thirty-two years old at that time,--no +mere youth, seeking treasure at the end of a rainbow. He was already a +man of experience and settled habits, inured to hardship and adverse +fortune. As a youth he had left his native hills of Connecticut, to sell +clocks, first in the South and then in the lumber camps of Michigan. +There, the business of Yankee pedlar having failed, he found himself +stranded. His father was a prosperous farmer; but a stepmother ruled the +household. So young Palmer hired out to a Michigan farmer, for he was +one of those hardy New Englanders who ask no favors of fortune. +Imagining a pretty frontier girl to be a sylvan goddess, with a +Puritan's devotion he made love to her, only to be scorned for his +modesty. But failure and disappointment served but to strengthen him, +and he struck out for California. + +He nearly perished on the way there, while crossing the deserts of +Nevada. In Wyoming he had fallen into the hands of that brave true man, +John Enos, then in his prime, who had guided Bonneville, Fremont and the +Mormon pilgrims, and who,--living to the age of a hundred and four +years,--saw the wilderness he had loved and explored for eighty years +transformed to a proud empire. Enos had guided Fremont through Wyoming. +It is rather too bad that Palmer could not have accompanied Fremont and +Kit Carson when, in February, 1844, they crossed the snowy summit of the +Sierras and descended through the deep drifts to Sutter's Fort and +safety. That was four years before the discovery of gold in El Dorado +County. + +Palmer was not crazy for gold. Arrived in the Sacramento Valley, he +spent three or four years at farming. Perhaps his Yankee shrewdness saw +larger profits in hay and cattle than in washing gravel. But certainly +his New England integrity and soberness of character were more in +keeping with the spirit of the pioneer than with the spirit of the +adventurer. + +While reckless young men were swarming up the valleys of South, Middle +and North Yuba, finding fabulous quantities of gold and squandering the +same upon the Chinese harlots of Downieville, Robert Palmer was making +hay while the sun shone, which was every day in the Sacramento Valley. +But land titles were so uncertain that in 1853 he turned to mining,--at +Jefferson, on the South Yuba. He prospered to such an extent that by +1859 he had sent $8,000 back to Connecticut to pay his debts; and he had +laid by as much more. Frozen out of his claim by a water company--for +without water a miner can do nothing--he sold out to the company in +1860, and went over to the Middle Yuba, where he bought a claim on +Fillmore Hill, with a water ditch of its own. + +Here Palmer lived and toiled for twenty years, washing the dirt and +gravel of an ancient river-bed high up on the hill-top between Wolf +Creek and the Middle Yuba. He rented water from his ditch, sometimes at +the rate of two hundred and fifty dollars a month, to other miners. From +the grass roots on the hillside some lucky fellows cleaned up $10,000 in +a few days. For several years John Keeler and Will Cummins rented water +from Palmer and helped the "old man" keep his ditch in repair. + +The old man lived alone, industrious, and so economical as to excite the +mirth or the pity of his rough neighbors. Some who heard that he had +loaned $60,000 to a water company at 12 per cent. interest, regarded him +contemptuously as a miser. How else explain his shabby clothes, his old +rubber boots, that were out at the toes, his life of toil and +self-denial? Palmer never gambled, nor caroused, nor spent money on +women. He attended strictly to business, bringing to the bank at Moore's +Flat from time to time gold dust of high grade, worth from $19 to $20 an +ounce. And those who bought his gold marked how rough and torn were the +old man's fingers, the nails broken and blackened and forced away from +the flesh. + +But Keeler and Cummins had seen through the rough exterior. They knew +something of his charities. They had tasted his good cheer; for he kept +a well-stocked larder. They had seen with amusement his family of pet +cats seated at table with him, and each receiving its rations in due +order, like so many children. Keeler told with glee about the old man's +horse and mule, idly eating their heads off on the hillside. They had +come to Palmer in payment of a debt, and although he had had a fair +offer for the mule he had refused to sell, on the ground that without +the mule the horse would be lonesome. + +Robert Palmer knew what it was to be lonesome. True, he employed a hired +man or two occasionally, and when he cleaned up his sluices he employed +several--and, let it be said, he paid good wages. There were neighbors, +but with most of them he had little in common. The Woolsey boys, at the +ranch in the bottom of the canon, whose widowed mother had come from St. +Louis to marry old Sherwood, had grown up under his kindly eye. In early +boyhood their active limbs had scaled the forbidding ledges of Fillmore +Hill, and Robert Palmer had granted them permission to hunt on his +claim. + +One night in his cabin on the mountain top, when the gold dust from the +last clean-up had not yet been disposed of, he was startled by a noise +outside. He blew out the light and hid his little bag of treasure in the +ashes of his forge. None too soon, for there was a summons at the door, +and when he opened it he was confronted by three masked men. With drawn +pistols they demanded his money. He said he had none. It was useless to +resist, so he let them bind him hand and foot. Again they demanded his +money. Again he said he had none. They knew better, and they threatened +to burn him alive in his cabin. But Palmer was firm. Then they burnt his +legs with a hot poker, and threatened to shoot him, as they might have +done with impunity in that lonesome place. Still he was firm, so they +set him on the hot stove and tortured him in that way. One of the party, +more humane than the rest, protested against more extreme measures; so +that, after searching the cabin, they gave up their enterprise, baffled +by that indomitable man. Before leaving him one of the men asked: + +"Mr. Palmer, do you know us?" + +Realizing that such knowledge meant death, he replied: + +"No, I don't know any of you." + +And so they left him. The lone miner no doubt had suspicions concerning +several of his worthless neighbors; but to the day of his death he kept +such suspicions to himself. + +Is it any wonder, living in that lawless country, that Robert Palmer +became almost a recluse? But why should he work so? He was working +unselfishly for others, as you will see when you read his will, for his +twenty-nine nephews and nieces. As if a heap of double eagles would be +of any particular use to relatives who had well-nigh forgotten him! No, +they had not forgotten. For one nephew borrowed money, which was, +however, repaid, and one niece secured five hundred dollars by sharp +practice worse than robbery. Robert Palmer made the mistake that many an +unselfish man has made, the mistake that insurance companies insist is +wisdom: he labored to provide others with gold, as though gold were a +substitute for thrift, prudence, and self-reliance. Never mind, the old +fellow did nephews and nieces no harm, though he disappointed several +who had depended upon him to lift them from poverty; for in the end his +hard-earned money was lost. His only legacy was his example of thrift, +unselfishness, and integrity. When men go about gathering riches for +others, let them gather things of the spirit. The answer to this, +perhaps, is that even such riches cannot be transmitted, that every soul +must enrich itself. That is true; but a noble character is at least +inspiring, and leaves the whole world richer. + +In the case of one nephew, Robert Palmer found a man who loved him but +needed none of his gold. This man was an astronomer, who, returning from +a scientific expedition to Behring Strait in 1869, paid his uncle a +visit. At that time this meant a trip of forty miles into the mountains +by stage and on horseback from the line of the newly constructed +railroad; for the narrow gauge from Colfax to Nevada City was not built +until 1876. It was a happy day for Robert Palmer when his sister's +son,--covered with dust,--scaled Fillmore Hill. Here was a meeting of +two strong men, blue-eyed Anglo-Saxons, large of frame, spare, rugged, +their fair skin tanned by the blazing sun of California. + +What a glorious visit they had! And how they revelled in a thousand +recollections of their New England home! For nine days the astronomer +shared his uncle's cabin, a new one, built of sawn timbers and boards, +and quite comfortable. Several days they worked together in the mine; +and when at last the hour of parting came, Robert Palmer sent by his +nephew a present to his grandnephews in Washington, the astronomer's +three small sons. It was the gold mined in those nine days, some one +hundred and thirty dollars in value. Thereafter the boys played miners +and stage-robbers and wild West generally, with sheet gold in the guise +of yellow envelopes hidden away between the leaves of books to represent +gold mines. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Two of a Kind + + +The day after the council of war at Moore's Flat, John Keeler crossed +the canon of the Middle Yuba to talk over the death of his old partner +with Robert Palmer. As he clambered up the steep side of Fillmore Hill +to the claim he had worked with Cummins fifteen years before, all the +poetry and all the sadness of life in California came over him. How +vividly he remembered his arrival, at the age of eighteen, in this land +of romance and adventure! He had reached Moore's Flat on the Fourth of +July, 1860, when bronzed miners were celebrating in reckless fashion. +The saloons were crowded, and card games were in progress, with gold +coins stacked at the corners of the tables. Out of doors some red-faced +fellows were running races in the streets and shouting like wild +Indians. Over the door of a restaurant was the sign "Eat, Drink, and Be +Merry," and the youth pondered the words of Scripture following these +festive words, but not quoted by the enterprising proprietor. + +He remembered now, after nineteen years, the strange aspect of nature in +this strange land. What great mountains! What deep canons! What huge +pines, with cones as large as a rolling-pin! The strange manzanita +bushes, the chaparral, the buck-eye with its plumes, the fragrant +mountain lily, like an Easter lily, growing wild. It had seemed good to +him, a stranger in this strange land, to see old friends in the +squirrels that scampered through the woods and crossed his path, to find +alders, and blossoming dog-wood, the mountain brake, and his childhood's +friend the mullen stalk. Even to this day when he came upon an orchid, +or a wild rose, with its small pink petals (smaller in this red sterile +soil than in his native country), or when a humming bird in its shining +plumage came to sip honey from the flowers, or when in the still woods +he heard the liquid notes of a hermit thrush, the romance and the +reverence of youth thrilled him. + +John Keeler was something of a poet, though the needs of his family at +Eureka South kept the bread and butter question in the foreground. He +must see "old man Palmer" to talk over the death of Cummins. He was +comforted a little when the old man's small black dog, Bruce, came +frisking down the trail to meet him; and when Sammy, the cat, tail in +air and purring a thousand welcomes, rubbed his sleek fur against the +visitor's boots, Keeler fore-tasted sweet solace for sorrow. + +"Why, hello, Keeler! Mighty glad to see you!" And then in a changed +voice, "You're fagged out. It's an all-fired steep trail. Come in." + +"No, thank you," replied Keeler, and he seated himself upon a chair in +the door-yard. "It's pleasant out here under the pines. I want to talk." + +"I've been expecting you," said Palmer, "ever since the news came about +Cummins." + +"Well, if it wasn't for my wife and boy, I'd pull up stakes, and get out +of California." + +"Don't blame you. This thieving and promiscuous killing are enough to +discourage anybody. Too bad they can't get the robbers, just this once, +and string 'em up." + +"I'm a peaceable man, as you know, Mr. Palmer. But I'd be willing to +hang those fellows with my own hands. It wouldn't help Will Cummins any, +but it would give me solid satisfaction." + +"Well, Keeler, I'm glad of one thing, Cummins was a bachelor, like me, +and not a married man." + +"I've thought about that, but it don't give me any comfort. Will ought +to have married years ago. His life might have counted for something +then; but now it seems as if it had been wasted." + +"Maybe you think my life's been wasted, too?" + +"No, Mr. Palmer, you know I could never think that, after your kindness +to Will and me." + +"Well, Will Cummins was more generous than I ever was," answered Palmer. +"Main trouble with Will was his temper, which was no better than mine. +Every bad man in these mountains knew that Will Cummins was ready to +treat him to his own medicine." + +"Yes, I wish he hadn't said so much about defending yourself. I wish he +hadn't carried a pistol that day. He wouldn't have been so ready to +fight, perhaps." + +"One thing certain," observed Palmer, "if he was going to carry a pistol +at all, he ought to have had it handy, not under his duster." + +"Well, it was natural to think the danger past when they had got safely +away from the South Yuba. The robbers knew their man, and they played a +shrewd game." + +"It's easy enough to win when you play with loaded dice. I get boiling +mad when I think of these low-down, worthless rascals who don't stop at +any meanness, ready to commit murder for fifteen cents. They ought to be +treated worse than rattlesnakes. But, as you said just now, all this +don't help Will Cummins. But Will is all right, John. You know that as +well as I do." + +"I came up here to hear you say so. I've pretty near lost faith in God +and man, I reckon." + +"I lost faith in man long ago," answered Palmer, smiling sardonically. +"If the fall of Adam and the curse of Cain are fables,--as they are, of +course,--they are just as true as AEsop's fables, for all that. They hit +off human nature. But man isn't all. I've never belonged to any church, +as I've often told you. But the longer I live the more I trust in +Providence. Will Cummins was a good man, and he's all right, I tell +you." + +"I feel that way myself. But I know my feeling in the matter don't alter +the facts any. How do you figure it out?" + +"Well, my creed's about this: in spite of all the wickedness, this is a +beautiful old world. How gloriously the stars shine down every night +upon these mountains! Or, take Bruce and Sammy here"--and the old man +caressed his pets--"why, they love me to distraction. And I love both +the scamps, I certainly do. But what is that to your affection for your +partner, John Keeler? It is a good old world, I say. Then the Power +that's in it and back of it, 'in whom we live and move and have our +being,' is a good Power. Well, then, God is good. And that's all we need +to know. If God is good, we can depend upon Him in life and death. We +don't know what death means. But it's only a natural thing. It can't +matter much. I will know more about it, I guess, when I am dead." + +"I don't doubt you're right, Mr. Palmer. Once, back in Maryland, I heard +a minister say that grief comes to open our hearts to God. It was at my +mother's funeral. I reckon he was right, too. But my heart bleeds for +Will Cummins." + +Palmer looked at him critically a moment, as if weighing him in the +balance. Then, as if completely satisfied with his friend, he spoke: + +"John Keeler, I want to talk business. I want you to hunt those rascals +down. I'll back you for any amount. I'm past sixty, or I might attend to +the business myself. You're still a young man. I'll see that Mrs. Keeler +and the boy lack for nothing while you are gone. And I don't expect you +to take any risks. I simply want you to get the facts, then turn them +over to the authorities. Will you do it?" + +Keeler hesitated. "There's very little to go on. The robbers have +cleared out, and nobody knows who they were or where they went." + +"Don't you believe it," said Palmer. "If decent people don't know, there +are the other kind." + +"I reckon you and I would be about as helpless as babes with 'the other +kind.' We've always despised them and kept away from them." + +"But they're human, like the rest of us. You and I understand human +nature pretty well. We won't breathe a word to any one. You tell Mrs. +Keeler you're attending to important business for me, that I'm +grub-staking you, and that there's something in it for you and the +family. If the neighbors get wind of it, they'll think, perhaps, you are +attending to money matters for me. They seem to be mighty curious about +my money." + +"Well, I might do it, if I only knew how to go about it." + +"Well, Keeler, I think I can give you a start. And while we eat some +dinner I'll tell you a story that will surprise you." + +These Californians were certainly two of a kind; but then, two of a +kind, though both be kings, is not a strong hand. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +An Old Sweetheart + + +When his guest had been abundantly supplied with the best the larder +afforded, not forgetting condensed milk for the coffee, Palmer began his +story. + +"Since you were here last, Keeler," he began, "I've been to San +Francisco. Nothing remarkable about that, of course. Any man might have +business at the Hibernia Bank. Then again, it's worth the trip from +Moore's Flat just to stand on the seashore an hour." + +"Yes," said Keeler with enthusiasm, "there's a noble sight." + +"But," continued Palmer, "I'm too old a man for pleasure trips. And for +that matter, I'm about through with business, too. I went to San +Francisco for a special reason." + +Keeler looked up from his coffee inquiringly. + +"I went to see an old sweetheart." + +Here Keeler smiled. It seemed odd to think of old man Palmer going upon +such a mission. + +"I suppose I ought to say that the woman snubbed me when I was young, +and later cared more for my money than she did for me. But I loved that +woman thirty years ago, and was fool enough to think I might win her if +I could strike it rich here in California. I'm older now, and wiser, I +hope. If a woman won't marry a man 'for richer or poorer'--especially +poorer--she oughtn't to marry him at all. There's my nephew who was out +here ten years ago. Married without a dollar and got the best wife in +the world. No, Keeler; I may be a fool; but I'm not the kind of fool to +marry an old woman because she hankers after my money. + +"I went to San Francisco because I pity the woman, and because I thought +I might help her to become more decent and self-respecting." + +Here the old man paused. Keeler noticed that he was much embarrassed. + +"I would have kept this affair to myself, Keeler; but we must get the +rascals who shot Cummins, so you ought to know the whole story. + +"Harriet Chesney was a pretty girl thirty years ago. Rather too proud of +her good looks, and a selfish minx. But a young man who has had a good +mother thinks all women are good, I guess. I was terribly cut up when +she refused me; but I hate to think now what might have happened if she +had accepted me!" + +"Why, here ten years back, a brother of mine in Michigan wrote to warn +me that Harriet Chesney was coming to California to murder me. He said +she had burned two houses for the insurance; had got mixed up with +several men and had robbed them." + +"A regular she-devil," remarked Keeler. + +"Well, sure enough, she turned up here in California, nearly ten years +ago. And very likely she would have killed me if she could have got hold +of my property. And if all the gold I ever mined could have saved her +from the sin and misery of these past ten years, she would have been +welcome to it. But I couldn't buy her a clear conscience, could I? + +"She got as far as Moore's Flat. Hung around there several days till she +saw me at Haggerty's store. My old clothes must have disappointed her. +It would certainly humiliate any woman, good or bad, to associate with +such a scarecrow. So she cleared out, and went to San Francisco. I guess +she found out she was only a novice compared with the women down there. +And I guess in a year or two she was like all the rest. I tell you, it +was an awful thing to think of. It's bad enough to see a man go +wrong--but a woman!--and a woman you once loved--and still love, as God +still loves her!" + +The old man had to pause here; and he arose abruptly, as if to put aside +his dishes; and Keeler, respecting his emotion, looked out of the +window. + +"Well, last March, Harriet wrote me a letter. Gave me her address. Said +she was dying, and would like to see me. It was a week or more before +the letter reached me, for the trails were badly drifted and I had been +shut up here some time. John Woolsey brought the letter, and stayed +until I read it, to see if anything was wanted. Said he would look out +for Bruce and Sammy, so I got on my snow-shoes and started. + +"I reached San Francisco next day. I almost wished the woman was dead, +as she had a right to be by that time. If she was dead, I wouldn't have +to say anything to hurt her. Well, I called at the address she gave, +which was in the edge of Chinatown. I tell you it was disgusting to run +the gauntlet there, among those creatures.--I found the woman had been +taken to the city hospital several days before and whether she was dead +or alive the head she-devil of the place didn't seem to know or care. + +"I found her at the hospital, sure enough. The doctor said she was +getting better, and would probably live. I didn't know whether to be +glad or sorry; and I was tempted to go home and write her a letter. She +might not care to see me now, anyway. + +"But I stayed and had a talk with her; and I am glad I did, though I +couldn't help remembering the old rhyme, + + "When the Devil was sick, the Devil a saint would be: + When the Devil got well, the devil a saint was he." + +"Harriet Chesney needed a friend, and she was glad to see me. She was +more than glad to know that I had come as soon as I could. Said she had +told herself I would not fail her--that it was the snow and the canon +and not some other reason that kept me away. Said she thought she was +going to die; and that she wanted me to know she was sorry she had done +wrong. The doctor had told her she would get well, so she was going to +be an honest woman if I would help her. And what do you suppose she +wanted me to do?" + +"Lend her some money, most likely," said Keeler. + +"No, sir. She didn't want any money. Said she wanted to write to me +every Sunday, and to see me whenever I came to San Francisco. Of course, +I agreed, though I told her I don't go down to the city once a year, as +a usual thing. I told her if she thought she needed me to write and I +would try to get down. That seemed to satisfy her. + +"Well, she has written to me every week since then. By the first of June +she was able to work. And since then she has earned an honest living, +scrubbing floors. Here is her last letter." + +Keeler took the proffered sheet and read: + + "San Francisco, Sept. 5, 1879. + Mr. Robert Palmer. + + Dear Sir: + + I have just read about the murder of Mr. Cummins. The papers say he + lived at Moore's Flat, and worked a claim once on Fillmore Hill. So + he must have been a friend of yours. It is too bad. I might help + you find the murderers, as all the bad men of Nevada County are + known down here. If you will come down here or send somebody, I + will help you all I can. + + I am getting along all right. + + Very respectfully, + Harriet Somers." + +"I thought you said her name was Chesney," remarked Keeler, as he +returned the letter. + +"Oh well, she claims to have been married to two or three different men. +Calling herself Mrs. Somers seems to help her keep her self-respect. She +says Somers is dead. For my part, I never enquired whether there ever +was a sure-enough Mr. Somers or not. But I am sure she can help us in +this business. I wish you would have a talk with the woman." + +"There is no harm in that. I'll do it. And if I can find anything to go +on, I'll undertake to follow up those fellows. Perhaps I can find out +something at Nevada City. I reckon I'll have to let you look out for +Mrs. Keeler and the boy, as you say." + +"I'm mighty glad to hear you say that. And I'll make out a check right +now. Smith, the livery man at Eureka South, will cash it; and you can +take the stage out to-morrow morning." + +"All right. I reckon we'd better not lose any time." + +Palmer had already got out pen and ink. It was something of a "chore" +for the old man to draw a check. Miners' paralysis was creeping on, and +two years later the best he could do was to make his mark. But to-day he +prolonged his labors, making out a second check, to be cashed when +Keeler reached San Francisco. + +The business was hardly transacted when Henry Francis walked in. + +"Glad to see you, Francis!" exclaimed the old man. "What news from +Moore's Flat?" He exchanged glances with Keeler which seemed to mean +that their business should be regarded as strictly private, although +Henry Francis was the friend of both, and had won the confidence and +affection of old man Palmer. Francis and Palmer held the same political +faith. The former came of a distinguished Democratic family, so that the +old man's protection and loyalty had been bestowed upon him upon his +arrival in the gold fields twenty years before. Furthermore, the old man +had proved the unfailing honesty of the younger man. Jew bankers, in +blowing dirt and impurities from gold dust offered for sale, were not +over-careful about blowing away gold dust, too, which would be caught on +buckskin placed out of sight behind the counter. Palmer's dust was very +fine, and more than once he had suffered through such sharp practice, +only to vow he never would suffer so again. In Francis he had found a +strictly honest banker, whose virtue he was inclined to attribute to +correct political principles, overlooking the moral delinquencies of +other Democratic neighbors. But the old man, through long years of +experience with human nature in California, had grown extremely cautious +and secretive. Probably no one would ever have been the wiser in regard +to his old sweetheart and her sad history except for the escape of +Cummins' murderers. And now it was not necessary that any man other than +Keeler should know. + +"Glad to see you, Francis. What news from Moore's Flat?" + +Francis looked grave. "I suppose Keeler has told you all I know. Seven +days gone and nothing heard of the robbers. I shall expect a telegram +to-morrow or next day, telling of Will Cummins' burial in the village +cemetery at home. And his old father and mother are going to be denied +the small comfort of knowing that the murderers have been caught. + +"Keeler, you were Cummins' partner once. Do you have any idea who the +robbers were?" + +"I am sorry to say, I don't. This country is full of bad men. I have +thought of the blacklegs along Kanaka Creek. A robbery in Jackass Ravine +was traced to that gang. But the rascals stand together, and are ready +to defend a partner with alibis or pistols." + +If Keeler felt constrained to withhold information about his intended +visit to San Francisco in the capacity of detective, Francis on his part +saw no reason to state that he had just employed Bed-bug Brown in a +similar capacity. For in descending the canon of the Middle Yuba, he had +gone a mile out of his way up the river to the cabin of this worthy +gentleman, and finding him at home had promptly engaged his services. +Brown, like Keeler, was to take the stage to Nevada City on the morrow, +provided with a fee for current expenses. + +"Well," said Palmer, "I am glad for my part that the California gold +craze is coming to an end. When the farmers down in the Sacramento +Valley get the upper hand, they will stop hydraulic mining, for it keeps +covering their good soil with sand and clay. The Government authorities +say we are filling up San Francisco Bay, too; so Uncle Sam is going to +step in and do something. Then those rowdies along Kanaka Creek and all +the other bad men in this country will have to move on." + +"And so will the rest of us," smiled Francis. "A man who has made his +pile can afford to retire. But what about Keeler here, and me?" + +"Well," persisted Palmer, "I think Will Cummins was right in wanting to +leave the gold fields. Gold makes people crazy. Half our gamblers and +thieves would be decent men in a decent community." + +"Mr. Palmer means," said Keeler, "that Pat Flynn, who is a good +Democrat, but who doesn't pay back the fifty dollars he borrowed from +Mr. Palmer last winter, would be a better Democrat back in Connecticut, +making wooden hams and nutmegs." With this he shook hands with his +friends and departed, for it was evident Francis had some private +business with the old man. + +When they were alone, Francis said: + +"You know, Mr. Palmer, that we Pennsylvanians stand together. I have +undertaken to settle up Cummins' affairs. I find you hold his note for a +thousand dollars." + +"I do. Lent him the money when he made a fresh start a few years back. +But I supposed I stood to lose it when the robbers took Cummins' gold +the other day. I certainly could afford to lose it." + +"Well, you don't have to lose it, Mr. Palmer. Cummins left mining stock +at the bank in my care that will more than cover the debt. The fact is, +I borrowed the value of the stock from him. Strictly speaking, I got him +to put a couple of thousand into a paying proposition; and he left +everything in my hands. So I am going to get you to cancel Cummins' note +and to take mine instead." + +"Francis, you are an honest man. The money is no great object with me. +But because I have found out that honesty is a thing that ought to be +encouraged, especially among friends, I will take your note and cancel +the other." + +So this business was settled. Robert Palmer, governed by kindly feeling +rather than hard sense, overlooked his friend's weakness for +speculation, rather counting it as honesty. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +"Bed-Bug Brown," Detective + + +When Mat Bailey drove the stage out of Graniteville the next morning, +John Keeler and "Bed-bug Brown" were the only passengers. Brown had +spent the previous evening learning all that he could about Mamie Slocum +and her young admirers. He had actually learned that a young man from +Nevada City who signed himself J. C. P. Collins had paid her attentions. +He had also discovered that the young school-teacher had more than once +expressed much admiration for Mat Bailey. In view of what Henry Francis +had told him of Mat's reflections on the school-teacher, Brown resolved, +quietly and of his own accord, to keep an eye upon Mat as well as upon +Mamie. + +The little man was unusually quiet, revolving various theories in his +head, and contemplating the magnificence of the ten thousand dollar +reward. But the presence of John Keeler, Cummins' old partner, suggested +the wisdom of gleaning information from this source. So, in order to +impress Keeler with his seniority and larger experience, he began: + +"You don't remember, I suppose, Mr. Keeler, when camels were introduced +here in the gold fields?" + +"No, that was before my time." + +"It was back in fifty-six, before the water-ditch companies had fairly +got started. It was as dry as Sahara on these mountains then, and it is +no wonder somebody thought of camels." + +"Well, when you think of our ostrich farms, camels don't seem out of +place in California. Did you ever think, Mr. Brown, what extremes of +climate we have right here in Nevada County? Along about the tenth of +December they are cutting ice up in the Sierras while they are picking +oranges in the western end of the county." + +"That is pretty good for the banner gold county of the State. Most of us +forget everything but the gold," replied Brown, smiling inwardly, to +think how easily this remark would lead up to the desired topic. + +"I'm getting sick of the gold," replied honest John Keeler. "All that +was handy to get at has been carried away. No chance left for a poor +man. It takes a big company with capital to run the business of +hydraulic mining as they do at Moore's Flat and North Bloomfield. Quartz +mining is still worse. By the time you've sunk a shaft and put up a +stamping-mill, you've mortgaged your quartz for more than it is worth, +perhaps. It takes capital to run a quartz mine." + +"Yes," assented Brown, "this country has seen its best days." + +"That's what old man Palmer says," remarked Keeler, looking across the +canon at Palmer's Diggings. + +"You and Cummins did pretty well over there fifteen years ago," and the +little detective's eyes twinkled at his own cleverness. + +"We made a living; that's about all." + +"But Cummins was a wealthy man some years back." + +"Well, his partner never was," laughed Keeler. "If I could scrape +together the dust, I'd leave these mountains as he tried to." + +"Who do you suppose the robbers were?" + +"If I could make a good guess, I'd go after that ten thousand dollar +reward," replied Keeler. + +"There's an awful tough gang over in Jim Crow Canon," said Brown, +throwing out another feeler. + +"Can you tell me of a place in these gold fields where you won't find a +tough gang? I was in Forest City the other day. I took the trail over +the mountains through Alleghany. Both of those places are live towns +with cemeteries,--well settled places, you know. But a tougher lot of +citizens you never saw. Gambling, drinking, and fighting, and Sunday the +worst day of the seven." + +"What impresses me most about Alleghany," said Brown, "is the vast +number of tin cans on the city dump. It makes a man hungry for the grub +his mother used to cook." + +"You're right there," said Keeler, and lapsed into silence. + +They were at Moore's Flat presently, where they changed to the +four-horse stage-coach; and the little detective's attention was +absorbed by the actions of Mat Bailey, who seemed strangely quiet. A +guilty conscience, perhaps? + +Several people were going down to Nevada City. So Keeler and Brown did +not resume their conversation, but journeyed on, each absorbed in his +own thoughts. To Keeler the trip was a sad one. In the dark woods along +Bloody Run, and as they passed the tall rock by the roadside beyond, he +thought of robbers and his murdered partner. At the store in North +Bloomfield he could hardly resist the impulse to insult the cowardly +store-keeper who had stood by and allowed Cummins to be shot. As they +dove down into the canon of the South Yuba, he groaned to think of the +murders for gold committed therein. Could not a protecting Providence +have saved his friend? Was it the decree of fate that one who had +manfully defended the right for twenty-five years in that lawless +country should be cut off just when he was quitting it forever? Perhaps, +he thought, this very hour his partner was being laid at rest in his +"ain countree."--And his soul? Well, he believed as Palmer did, that all +is well with the soul of a brave man. Was he, Keeler, on a fool's errand +to San Francisco? Well, he had determined on his own account to do a +little investigating in Nevada City that very day. So had Mat Bailey. +Hence his unusual taciturnity. So had "Bed-bug Brown," and he kept the +secret to himself. + +Arrived at Nevada City, with its steep streets, compactly built up at +the centre of the town, church and county court-house on the hillside, +the traveler finds himself fairly out of the mountains, the luring fatal +mountains, whose very soil has now the color of gold and now the color +of blood. Mat Bailey's first concern was the care of his horses. Keeler +went to look up his friend Sheriff Carter. And "Bed-bug Brown" partook +of a frugal dinner at the moderate cost of two bits. He sat where he +could observe the movements of Mat, and lingered in the neighborhood +until the stage-driver had disposed of his own dinner and set out to +call upon Mamie Slocum. + +This young lady now spent most of her time at home. She had hardly +recovered from the shock of the tragedy; and her imagination had +conjured up a visit from the sheriff for her part therein. Instead it +was only that splendid Mat Bailey, flicking the dust from his boots with +his handkerchief, and mustering up courage to knock at the door! How +glad she was to see him! And Mat thought that she looked very sad and +pretty! She conducted him to the parlor, and proffered the seat of +honor, a hair-cloth rocking-chair. + +"Let me call Mother. She will be so glad to hear about her friends in +Graniteville." + +"I'd rather see you alone, if you don't mind." And Mat blushed through +his tan, but assured himself that duty prompted, if pleasure did +consent. It was the best arrangement all round, as "Bed-bug Brown" +himself thought,--for this worthy gentleman was eaves-dropping in the +cellar, with only a floor of thin boards between himself and these +interesting young people. + +Under other circumstances Miss Slocum would have been fascinated at the +idea of a _tete-a-tete_ with this interesting, stalwart man of the +mountains. But something in his manner, and her own overwrought nerves, +told her there was trouble ahead. Should she run away, should she use a +woman's wiles in self-defense, or should she confide in this handsome +man? Distracted by these conflicting thoughts, she presented a charming +picture of alarmed innocence, as Bailey thought; and his heart yearned +to offer protection. + +"Miss Slocum, I don't know how to put it, and I don't know what mean +things you are going to think of me"-- + +And now Mamie began to sympathize with the big stage-driver, who seemed +as much embarrassed as she. + +"The fact is, Mr. Francis asked me to see you." + +"Mr. Francis is a good friend of mine. He secured the school at +Graniteville for me." + +Bailey, grateful for this help, continued: + +"He thought I might inquire about a matter"-- + +"Heavens!" thought Mamie, "does Mr. Francis know about my trouble? Mat +Bailey must have told him!" If her intuition guided her truly in this +matter, it no less truly recognized a friend in Mat. + +"The fact is"--he began, and then he hesitated. "Damn it!" he thought, +"how could he say things that would hurt this lovely creature?" + +"Mr. Bailey, I think I know what you mean. You want to know why I told +that robber about Mr. Cummins's valise. It has nearly worried me to +death; and I don't wonder you all demand an explanation." + +"Don't put it that way, I beg of you, Miss Slocum!" exclaimed Mat, +greatly relieved that she had come to his rescue, but no less greatly +concerned that he should appear in the hateful character of accuser and +informer. "We don't demand anything. We know you didn't have anything to +do with those robbers. Mr. Cummins was a friend of yours; and you +wouldn't do nothing to injure an enemy!" + +Mat could use negatives properly when not excited. + +The conversation was becoming less and less interesting to the little +man in the cellar. But it was not easy to beat a retreat. + +Mamie began to weep softly, but more from joy than otherwise. After the +strain of the past week these honest words of Mat were balm to her. + +"I--I will tell you everything, Mr. Bailey. Oh, how I have wanted to +talk to some friend about it! But it was so dreadful! I couldn't breathe +a word of it even to Mother." + +Mat was all tenderness now; and the man under the floor began to prick +up his ears. + +"I was talking with a young man only a week before that dreadful day, +and he said highwaymen are too generous to steal money from people like +Mr. Cummins. And that the best thing anyone could do when a stage is +robbed would be to tell the robbers about the property of passengers +like him. I didn't believe it at first, and now I know how frightfully +foolish I was. But the young man, who had been in jail once himself, was +so positive, that I really believed a criminal has a sense of honor. And +when the robber asked whose valise that was, I was so frightened the +words came right out before I realized what I had done." + +"Every word you say is God's truth, Miss Slocum, and I hope you will +forgive me for bothering you this way." It did occur to Mat that he +might inquire who that young jail-bird might be. And "Bed-bug Brown" was +hoping that his name would be mentioned. But Mat reflected that this was +none of his business; and that it did not matter anyhow. If Miss Slocum +did not care to mention the man's name he would not ask for it. She had +behaved nobly, and he admired her from the bottom of his heart. + +"Really, Mr. Bailey, I am glad you gave me this chance to explain. You +don't know what I have suffered. And then to think that I deserved to +suffer it, and more, too, for causing the death of my own friend!" And +here the tears came again, honest tears, as Mat knew full well. He +rather envied Cummins that so beautiful a creature should grieve for +him. + +"Now look here, Mamie, it is all right to be sorry that Mr. Cummins got +killed. Every honest man and woman in Nevada County is sorry. But you +didn't cause his death, any more than I did. I never felt meaner in my +life than I did that day, holding those horses and looking down into the +barrel of that robber's gun. He had me, until he started for Cummins. +And it was all over so quick, I hardly knew what happened. But I can't +quite forgive myself for not jumping down after that robber as soon as +ever he uncovered me. It would probably have been too late; and the +horses would have run away, most likely; but still I wish I had jumped. +But because I didn't jump I'm not going to hold myself responsible for +Cummins' death. The robbers must hang for it, and not you and me. As for +what you said, I don't believe it made any difference at all. They were +bound to get all the gold on the stage that day; and they knew Cummins +had some."-- + +"That's just it, Mr. Bailey, and that's what makes it so hard for me." + +Mat saw he had been swept off his feet by his own eloquence, and so he +tried again. + +"Well, they would have got it anyhow. They might have wasted a minute or +two more hunting for it, but they would have found it, and Cummins would +have fought for it just the same." + +"Yes, that is what I've thought," said Mamie. "Oh, why did he risk his +life so?" + +"I'll tell you, Mamie," said Mat, "everybody in this country is crazy +about gold--miners, gamblers, bankers, robbers,--everybody. They're like +hungry wolves, ready to tear one another to pieces. Only the wolves have +more sense. Gold is of no earthly use to anyone. I'm sick and tired of +the whole business." And Mat rose, hat in hand, to go. + +"I hope you'll call again, Mr. Bailey," said the the girl shyly. Here +was a friend in need! A great bashful, manly fellow, so kind and +sympathetic! + +"I'll be more than pleased to," replied Mat, determined to prove his +philosophy that there are things far more precious than gold. + +Fascinated with the idea, he loitered in the neighborhood longer than he +would otherwise have done; and, glancing back at the dear girl's house, +he was astonished to see "Bed-bug Brown" emerge from the cellar. Brown +saw him at about the same time. There was no escape for either, so they +drifted together good-naturedly. The little man extended his hand: + +"Congratulations! When is the wedding to be?" + +Bailey simply smiled, and said: + +"Bed-bug Brown, detective!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +The Home-Coming of a Dead Man + + +Meanwhile the body of the murdered man--noble countenance peaceful now +after twenty-five years of adventure--had been traveling eastward to its +final resting place. The body of William F. Cummins came home in +state--home at last, where the familiar caw of crow and tinkle of +cow-bell might almost conjure the dead back to life again. Three years +before, at the time of the great Centennial, when, in the full vigor of +manhood, Will Cummins had visited his native town, no sounds had so +stirred old memories of fields and mountains as those homely sounds of +crow and cow-bell. + +Then neighbors had flocked about the bold Californian, eager to press +his hand and to look into his fearless eyes. Now, robbed and murdered, +he came home again, life's journey ended. The quiet village was +appalled, and shaken with anger. Friends and neighbors flocked to the +funeral--indignant youths, solemn old men and women. True, the younger +generation had hardly known of the Californian's existence. To them he +seemed to have come out of the Sierras like a Rip Van Winkle, who slept +soundly on, asking no questions. But to the old men he had died a youth, +full of promise. They remembered well the eager buoyancy with which he +and his comrades had set out for the gold fields. Middle-aged men and +women remembered his school days in Reedsville, when he was one of them, +when they were all healthy, merry boys and girls together. + +The funeral over, and the Californian safely laid in his native soil on +the hillside, men gathered in groups on the corners of the village +street, or stepped into the bank to look at the six-shooter which had +failed their friend in his hour of need. The local minister, gazing upon +the dead man's revolver, was heard to remark: + +"They that take the sword shall perish with the sword." + +But the bystanders would not endure the doctrine. Their Anglo-Saxon +blood recoiled. And a former Californian, who was an old friend of +Cummins, stepped forward and said: + +"Mr. Lamb, Will Cummins was not afraid to perish with the sword. And, if +he could have drawn that revolver, there would have been two dead +robbers. This doctrine of non-resistance is wrong, dead wrong. We proved +that in California, just as you people proved it here in the Civil War. +Will Cummins was not afraid to defend his rights." + +"But," replied the minister, who in spite of his name seemed eager for +the combat, "the Civil War was a national crime. Think of the hundreds +of thousands of young men, North and South, who perished." + +"Yes, Mr. Lamb, the war _was_ a crime. And Jeff Davis and the other +criminals ought to have been hanged, just as those stage-robbers ought +to be." + +"Don't you see, my friend," replied the minister, "that violence breeds +violence?" + +"Then," rather scornfully, "you think Will Cummins did wrong to defend +his property?" + +"He would have been alive to-day if he hadn't." + +"But that's not the point. Will Cummins died for a principle. He +believed in self-defense, and was not afraid to risk his life." + +"Of course," said the minister, "I admit that he was a brave man. But +Christ said, 'if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak +also'--'turn the other cheek'--'resist not evil'--'they that take the +sword shall perish with the sword.'" + +"Well," said the Californian, "I don't dispute the fact that people who +carry weapons are likely to get killed. What I say is, I admire a man +who is not afraid of getting killed when he knows he's right. It may be +just as honorable to perish with the sword as to be crucified." + +This statement, savoring of the heresy that was introduced into American +thought both by soldiers returning from the Civil War and by men +returning from the lawless life of the West, rather shocked the +minister, who was a good and sincere man. But he only said: + +"Surely, you are a Christian?" + +"Well," replied the Californian, "I don't know. If Jesus Christ said +self-defense is wrong, then He was mistaken." + +Here the argument ended. But the theme is a fruitful one; and every +thoughtful man and woman in Reedsville was bound to consider it. Dead +men tell no tales and make no arguments. Will Cummins slept peacefully +on. But the facts of the case were too plain to be ignored; and the +Californian's doubt of Christ's infallibility was widely discussed. + +It was indeed a great issue, involving the fundamental principles of +Christianity. A brave man, who is not a scoffer, attacks the doctrine of +non-resistance, and lays down his life for the faith that is in him. A +martyr, then. Martyrdom in itself cannot establish a principle; but we +respect martyrdom. Turn the argument around: the martyrdom of Christ did +not establish the correctness of His teaching. + +But this leads to a further question, namely, the nature of Christ--was +Christ human or divine? We may honestly say He was both; for if ever man +was inspired He was. But He might have made mistakes, as other inspired +teachers have done. And what did He really teach? Not one word of +Scripture was written by His hand. The spirit of Christ--this is the +important thing. The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life. Did He not +caution us to look not to Himself but to God? "Why callest thou me good? +One there is who is good, even God" ... "Not those who say, 'Lord, +Lord,' but those who do the will of My Father which is in heaven." + +Self-defense is a duty which civilized man owes to civilization. Will +you tell me that the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who, making no +resistance, have perished like sheep at the hands of the Turks, were +better men than the four thousand who fled to the mountains and fought +off their persecutors till help arrived? Read of the heroic defense, +when for fifty-three days the men of that gallant band, with a few +rifles, saved their women and children from worse than death. I say +these men performed a duty to God and man--to the Turk himself, into +whose black heart they shot more virtue and honesty than ever were +implanted by the hundreds of thousands who died like sheep. + +Civilized man must maintain himself, else the world will relapse into +barbarism. To perish with the sword in defense of home and friends may +be a sacred duty. If I have any quarrel with the Californians it is not +with their courage and daring. These were exemplary. And if it is right +to defend one's life, it is right to defend one's property, by means of +which life is supported. + +But the dead men sleep soundly there on the hill, unmindful of praise or +blame, and old man Palmer, himself in a pauper's grave by the Middle +Yuba, robbed in his turn, and by a trusted friend, tells no tales, for +he sleeps serenely. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +The Travels of John Keeler + + +John Keeler had found his friend the sheriff at the Citizens' Bank, +putting up money on a bet that Cummins' murderers would not be caught +within a year. Sheriff Carter was dealing in futures, as it were. +Nothing would have pleased him better than to lay hands on those +highwaymen; but,--thoroughly discouraged at the outlook,--like a true +sportsman he enjoyed the humor of betting against himself in the vague +hope that such action might lead to something. He was more than pleased +to see Keeler, whose mysterious air clearly indicated that something was +up. They walked immediately to the court-house, and were soon closeted +together. + +"Now look here, Keeler, if you're going to play detective, you don't +want to hang out a sign, 'John Keeler, Detective.' There's blood in your +eye. Any crook could spot you a block away." + +Keeler laughed, and looked rather sheepish. + +"Well," he said, "there's no harm done, I reckon. Those fellows are +probably a thousand miles from here by this time." + +"What makes you think so?" asked Carter. "They may be right here in +Nevada City. Some of those fellows can throw a perfect bluff on a pair +of two-spots." + +"Well, Carter, I thank you for your suggestion. After this, I'll be +careful. That is, I'll appear to be careless. I haven't any inkling as +to where those thugs are, and I've come to you to get some points." + +"I don't blame you a bit, Keeler, for wanting to look into this affair. +Cummins was your partner once; and a better man never lived in Nevada +County. I hope to God I can string up the men who killed him. Just step +in here." + +In an ante-room Carter had set up two straw men dressed in the discarded +clothes of the highwaymen. + +"Of course, this ain't going to help much," explained Carter, +deprecatingly. "But it does give you a fair idea of the height of those +fellows. Mat Bailey was in here the other day to help me with these +dummies. He seems to have a pretty good idea of what the men looked +like." + +As his mission to San Francisco was confidential, and inasmuch as +Palmer's Mrs. Somers was an unknown quantity, Keeler refrained from +mentioning her. He proceeded to San Francisco that day; looked up Mrs. +Somers, who gave him the names and descriptions of a dozen bad men of +Nevada County; and the next day he returned to hunt up some of these +same bad men. One of them was O'Leary of You Bet, whom he found without +trouble. But he got very little encouragement from O'Leary; and he very +soon discovered how hard it is for an honest man to get any sort of +satisfaction from thieves and liars. + +In the absence of any definite information he resolved to turn eastward, +across the Sierras. He was on the right track, as we know. As far as +Omaha it was not so very difficult to make a fairly thorough search for +the criminals. However, this took time, and although he happened to pick +up information here and there about a couple of rather odd-looking +Californians traveling eastward with gold, he often felt that he was on +a fool's errand. He fell in with Californians everywhere. If the +building of the transcontinental railroad had served no other purpose, +it had sent a steady stream of people away from the gold fields--a +circumstance that made his mission seem all the more hopeless. Among so +many how could he distinguish the criminals? True, he could distinguish +an ex-miner among a thousand. And whenever such a man extended his right +hand and said, "Put it there, partner!" Keeler could not refuse the +proffered hand-clasp. + +At Louisville he encountered a man whom he was sure he had seen in +Nevada City. The man evidently recognized him also, and for an instant +Keeler thought he saw a wild gleam in the man's eye. Then it was, "Put +it there, partner!" and Keeler placed his clean right hand into the +grimy palm indicated. + +"The drinks are on me, this morning," said the man, marching him off to +the nearest bar. And Keeler was so much in the humor of the thing that +he was soon telling the story of the Frenchman who took lessons in +English from a Kentuckian: + +"What do you say in Anglais when one offer you a drink, and you accep' +le invite?" + +"Don't care if I do," replied the instructor. + +"Don car fido," repeated Frenchy. "And what eef you do not accep' le +invite?" + +The Kentuckian looked grave, slowly shook his head, and finally answered +in despair: + +"You've got me there, Frenchy!" + +The Californian laughed heartily--rather too heartily, Keeler thought; +and then inquired: + +"Going East or West?" + +"Westward for me," replied Keeler; "and you?" + +"Well, I reckon I've played my last game of poker in Nevada City. The +East for me. With a little dust for capital, this country seems right +good. Why, out there in the Sierras, you know as well as I do, the +soil's too poor to feed lizards. Not much like the blue grass country of +Kaintuck." + +"Well," said Keeler, "if I had made my pile, Maryland would be good +enough for me. As it is, California is all right, barring those same +pesky lizards." + +"The boys set too stiff a pace out there, though," replied the ex-miner. +"Why, many a Saturday night I've seen fellows drop into town with a +hundred and fifty dollars in dust, and then borrow the money to take the +stage out Monday morning." + +"I don't go in for sporting myself," said Keeler, "so I guess my +character won't be ruined. The churches have got started, and they are +giving the saloons a good deal of trouble." + +"By thunder! that reminds me," quoth the Californian, "this here is a +Christian country, and I'm going to join the church, first thing I do." + +"And spin California yarns to a Sunday-School class," suggested Keeler. +"Bet your class will be a large one." + +"I'll do it, by thunder! The very thing! And I'll shoot any lad as gets +impertinent." + +Keeler was clearly out of his element, and thought it time to terminate +the brief acquaintance. + +"John Keeler is my name; and I can swear I've seen you in Nevada City. +But you have the best of me." + +"Why," replied the Californian, as cool as you please, "my name's +Darcy." + +It was the man who had killed Will Cummins! But John Keeler was none the +wiser, as Darcy quickly saw. He and Collins had reached Louisville +undetected. Had there assumed the character of honest miners, shipped +their bullion by express, a part to New Orleans and a part to +Philadelphia, and were on the point of dissolving partnership. + +Darcy soon afterward assumed the name of Thorn, set up in the lumber +business at Union City, Indiana, where it is but a few steps across the +border into Ohio,--and became a prosperous and respected citizen. He +actually associated himself with the leading church of the town and was +looked upon by the young men as a Californian who had succeeded. + +Honest John Keeler, who was well acquainted with the type, as he +thought, could only remark, as his train sped westward, "There is a +sensible miner! One who has safely transferred his money from saloons +and gambling dens and robbers to the famous blue grass country. Good +luck to him!" + +He had well-nigh forgotten the incident when Darcy was arrested three +years later. + +A whole year had passed before Keeler returned home, discouraged. In the +meantime, as we shall see, the snows of the Sierras had not chilled the +budding affections of Mat Bailey; but the hot sun of another California +summer had stricken down old man Palmer. Keeler mistrusted that +something was wrong, as he had not heard from his old friend for several +months. Fortunately, his wife and child were well and happy, but they +had impatiently waited for his return. From them he had heard every week +or two. + +At length he was safely back across the Sierras. The canon of the +American River had never seemed more terrible as the train hovered over +the brink of it. And now they were at Colfax, the junction of the narrow +gauge railroad, whence, at nine cents a mile, you travel northward to +Nevada City. The iron bars on the high, narrow windows of the station, +the low whistle of the little engine, like the lonesome cry of a wolf, +as it took the high trestle over Bear River, the very bars of dirt in +the river bed far below, proclaimed to John Keeler that he had returned +to the land of robbers and gold mining. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +The Snows of the Sierras + + +After the heat and turmoil of a day when the children have been +especially vexing, what mother does not smile in forgiveness upon the +peaceful faces of her offspring, whose characters in sleep appear as +spotless as the sheets which cover them? So smiled the sun upon the +grown-up children of the Sierras asleep under the winter snow. After the +heat and turmoil of the summer, the mad search for gold was over. Save +when there was a heavy snowstorm, the Graniteville stage traveled over +the mountains, as usual; but no highwayman molested it. It would have +been a practical impossibility for a robber to have made off with booty. +The snow was light and feathery, and the drifts were often twenty-five +feet deep. The web-footed snow-shoes of New England could not be used +with advantage in such snow, so recourse was had to skis. But it was +difficult to manage these upon the steep trails of the canons, so that +people generally were content to hibernate like grizzlies. Many a miner, +glad to indulge his liking of conviviality, would take up his residence +in some mountain village for the winter, spending with a liberal hand +the precious yellow dust that he had worked so hard to get. Many, forced +to keep the wolf from the door, found work with lumbermen and ditch +companies. + +In my opinion, Mat Bailey and Dr. Mason had a decided advantage over +both miners and villagers. Like the man-o-war's man of song they enjoyed +steady occupations summer and winter, and spent much of their time in +the open. The cold was never extreme, the thermometer very rarely +dropping below zero Fahrenheit. The dust of summer was buried deep under +the gleaming snow, and the air was crisp and exhilarating. Often the +doctor was one of Mat's passengers. Often he would leave the stage where +some trail wound down into a canon, and putting on his skis glide away +among the great pines, which, covered with snow and ornamented with +shining icicles, were scattered over the mountain slopes like great +wigwams of white canvas. A doctor anywhere is a welcome visitor and a +friend in need; in the wilderness, in the depth of winter he ranks but +little lower than the angels. Often, coming to a lonely cabin, fairly +buried in snow-drifts, he would climb in through the gable window of the +loft; and no doubt his descent to the patient lying below suggested the +arrival of a heavenly visitor. + +One glorious winter day Mamie Slocum through Mat's persuasions +accompanied him from Nevada City to Graniteville. He wanted her to see +the magnificence of the Sierras in winter. Mamie needed little coaxing. +Indeed, her admiration for Mat was making her unmindful of very eligible +suitors. Besides, she enjoyed life in the open almost as much as he did. +But I suspect on that beautiful winter morning both enjoyed each other's +society even more than the scenery. As far as North Bloomfield, she was +the only passenger, so well had Mat and the weather bureau contrived +matters. He explained that he was really in need of her assistance, for +in the open places where the snow had drifted across the road, it was +often necessary to attack the drifts with a snow-shovel. He would then +pass the reins to Mamie, who, demurely perched aloft, rosy-cheeked and +most bewitching, was a picture for an artist. + +No wonder Mat should have grown confidential and talked about his +personal history--which was usually bad form in California, where +present fortune counted for everything and family history was regarded +as ancient history. He told her how in boyhood he came to California +from Virginia with his parents. That was back in the fifties, when +respectable women were so rare in the gold fields that their arrival was +hailed by the rough miners with a sort of religious fervor. One of Mat's +earliest recollections was a scene with emigrant wagon and camp-fire in +the background, and in the foreground his mother, clasping him by the +hand and greeting a score of bearded men, who, with hats off, were +paying her homage. + +He could remember, too, how they had come over the mountains through +Emigrant Gap, passing the graves of the Donner party. The tragedy of the +snow-bound emigrants had made a deep impression upon his imagination. He +spoke of it to Mamie, and she rather saucily inquired what he would do +with her if they, too, were caught in a severe snowstorm. + +"In the first place," said Mat, "I wouldn't let you start out in a +snowstorm. And in the second place, if we should get caught, on the +return trip, we would make for the nearest shelter and stay there till +traveling was safe again." + +"Oh, dear, what a stupid adventure that would be! There's very little +excitement in this civilized country." + +Mat laughed. "So this is what you call a civilized country? I don't see +any signs of civilization except this road and the water ditch yonder." + +Mat was quite right. In every direction the frost-king held sway over an +unbroken wilderness. The massive ranges of the Sierras, clothed all in +white, were as majestic and as untamed as when Fremont and Kit Carson +gazed down upon them from their snowy summit. To cross that mountain +barrier, ninety-three hundred feet above the level of the sea, would +require as much heroism as ever. The wise old Indians knew better than +to attempt it; and so did the miners. Only a Fremont or a Kit Carson +might pass over that awful divide in safety, pushing on through the deep +drifts, half their mules and horses dead, and their comrades staggering +with exhaustion. How absolutely essential was that stage-road, winding +over the snow fields! + +Soon Mat perceived signs that made him anxious. They would reach +Graniteville without mishap. But the return trip to-morrow? A falling +barometer could not have made him feel more certain of an approaching +storm. He began to question the disinterestedness which had led him to +show Miss Slocum the splendor of the winter landscape. The girl's gay +chatter could not drown the voice of his accusing conscience. +Fortunately for Mat, at this juncture Dr. Mason came to the rescue like +a fairy godfather. + +They picked the doctor up at North Bloomfield. His baggage included not +only his skis and medicine-case but a violin as well. For the doctor was +a musical genius; and it had been his proud achievement to construct his +own instrument, which friends vowed was as excellent as a Stradivarius. +Often of a winter evening his music was more sought after than his +medicine. Mamie was delighted. + +"So there's going to be a party to-night," she exclaimed. Mat promptly +seized the opportunity to secure the lion's share of the dances, and +immediately congratulated himself upon the approach of the storm, hoping +it might bring a whole series of parties. + +"Bless you, my children," said the doctor, "it will be a pleasure to +call off the figures for the likes of you." The word "eugenics" had not +been coined as yet, but like all wise physicians the doctor believed in +the idea. It made his heart rejoice to watch the budding affection of +these normal, healthy young people. And he knew the magic of the violin. +And so they waltzed on to their heart's content in the large dining-room +of the hotel at Graniteville. At midnight, the feathery snow began to +fall, insuring several other blissful nights. Between dances they looked +out of doors and windows; when the drifts buried the whole first story +of the hotel, the warmth of that great bare room seemed even more +genial. + + "The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men-- + Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again, + And all went merry as a marriage bell." + +When refreshments were served, so pleased was the doctor with his young +friends' pleasure, that he drew them aside to tell them a bit of his +family history. + +"My family," said the doctor, "lived for many generations in Ayrshire, +Scotland, neighbors to the family of Robert Burns. And, like the poet's +people, they were very poor. No wonder! The poor man has no chance in +the old country. Years ago an ancestor of mine leased a tract of +worthless swamp land for forty-nine years at a penny an acre per year. +By hard labor and perseverance he drained the land and made it +productive. So when the forty-nine years were up and the family sought +an extension of the lease, the rent went up to one pound an acre. This +was pretty hard; but by frugality and perseverance the family still +prospered. At the end of the second forty-nine years the rent demanded +was five pounds an acre. Think of it--twenty-five dollars a year! That +was too much to endure, so my father, then a young blacksmith, was sent +over to Canada to buy land. He bought three farms of a hundred acres +each, one for himself, one for his brother, and one for their father, +paying four dollars an acre. Here again the rich man had the upper hand. +For this same land had been sold by the British Government to +capitalists for twenty-five cents an acre. Of course, my people had no +money to pay cash down, but they quit Scotland nevertheless. They came +over in 1832, in a small sailing vessel, which took four weeks to make +the passage. Then came another struggle. The land was very productive, +but money was scarce and crops brought hardly anything. But at least the +Mason family had enough to eat. Finally, after many years, the mortgages +were paid off, and the family established." + +The doctor paused, and Mat thought he saw a reason for Scotch grit. He +contrasted such a history with the get-rich-quick methods of California! + +"America," continued the doctor, "is the land of opportunity. With good +health and industry the poor man can succeed." And he looked at Mat +significantly. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +The Golden Summer Comes Again + + +The golden summer had come again. To old man Palmer, living alone on the +top of Fillmore Hill, the great snow banks stored high upon the +mountains meant abundance of water for mining. The strange flowers of +California, yellow and red, grown familiar now after many years, made +their appeal to him. With the returning summer he welcomed the yellow +bird with red crown and black wings. He loved the exhilarating air and +the glorious sunshine. But I am afraid the golden glow of morning +suggested gold. + +He was cleaning up several square rods of bed-rock in the ancient river +bed on the hill-top, and the dirt was rich in gold. Every morning early, +leaving his breakfast dishes unwashed, he carefully shoveled this dirt +into his sluices, and watched the water carry mud and sand away. Once in +a while he would shut off the water to examine the rich amalgam at each +cleat across the trough, removing that which was saturated with gold and +replacing it with fresh mercury. This clean-up was going to be +especially good, and he was glad to be alone. + +Treasure like this would tempt his lawless neighbors. He wanted no such +rogues round as they had at Angels Camp, Calaveras County, where, +according to his last copy of "The California Democrat," the post-office +had been robbed of a thousand dollars, including one hundred dollars' +worth of postage stamps. Postage stamps! He laughed to think to what +straits thieves had come in Calaveras County. + +Then he thought of his own hard-earned treasures, safely locked up in +the Hibernia Bank of San Francisco and with D. O. Mills of Sacramento. +Some day kindred back in Connecticut would have cause to praise his +frugality and self-denial. Sometimes he thought of his blasted romance +and of the poor woman in San Francisco who scrubbed floors for an honest +living. Ah, well, life is hard. His own years of toil were nearly over, +as he knew by unmistakable signs. Perhaps this rich clean-up would be +his last. And so it was; though nearly two years elapsed before a +merciful Providence released the old man from this world where thieves +break through and steal the fruits of our labors. + +The Woolsey boys, young men now, with the strength of the hills in bone +and muscle, were the old man's chief reliance. They could see that he +was failing, and felt sincerely sorry. They noted with what grim +determination he stuck to his work. The tenacity inherited from a +hundred generations of strong men, farmers, sea-kings, warriors, nerved +his old arms and kept strong the will within him. + +One day about the first of August, in the early afternoon when the sun +is hottest, they found the old man within doors, washing dishes. + +"Sit down, Mr. Palmer," said John, the older of the boys, "and we will +do the dishes for you." + +"Well, boys, go ahead. I know what famous pot-wrastlers ye be. I can't +compete with you." And he gladly sat down, to examine a legal document +the boys had brought him. For one Dupre, who had a rough farm at the +bottom of the canon and sold the old man vegetables, had sued him for +damages, because the dirt washed down from Palmer's diggings had covered +up a few square rods of grass land. The damage was slight, but the +Frenchman was thrifty, and had sued for a round sum. Palmer was quite +willing to pay actual damages, but he had refused to be robbed. A +compromise had finally been made, and Dupre agreed to withdraw his suit +upon the payment of fifty dollars. To this contract the old man now +affixed his signature, in a very shaky hand. + +"There, I'm glad that's settled," said he. And a moment later he had +fallen out of his chair upon the floor. + +Miner's paralysis! Even the Woolsey boys knew the symptoms. They lifted +the old man up and put him on his bed, gave him whiskey, and then +consulted as to their next duty. They could not leave him there alone +upon the mountain-top; nor was it an easy matter to descend to the +bottom of the canon for help. + +"You stay here, Charley," said John, "and I'll go for Dr. Mason." + +"That won't do, Jack. It will be five o'clock before you can cross the +canon, and dark by the time you reach North Bloomfield. Alleghany City +is the place to strike for. Get Dr. Lefevre over there. They say he can +cure paralysis if any man can." + +"It's no easy trip to Alleghany, either," said John thoughtfully. "The +canon of Wolf Creek is as bad as the canon of the Middle Yuba. And +there's Kanaka Creek beyond." + +"Then again, whichever way you go," responded his brother, "you ain't +sure of finding the doctor. Better take the old man with us and make for +Alleghany, I guess." + +This seemed the most feasible plan. So they saddled Palmer's sure-footed +horse, put his sick master into the saddle, and started down the trail +across the canon of Wolf Creek. It was a long, hard trip. To the Woolsey +boys, holding and steadying the old man, the canon had never seemed so +deep. At last they reached the Plumbago Mine, on the opposite height, +where they borrowed two mules to carry them the rest of the way. It was +easy going now as far as Chipp's Flat. Late in the evening they climbed +the steep trail from Kanaka Creek to Alleghany City, took their charge +to the hotel, and hunted up Dr. Lefevre. + +So began a long, hard sickness, the first serious sickness Robert Palmer +had suffered since his arrival in the gold fields. For days he lay +helpless. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered to take notice of his +surroundings, he begged to be moved from the noisy hotel, with its +sickening smells, to the cabin of an old friend named Lee, who lived +some distance from the main street. + +There are not more than half a dozen streets in Alleghany City, the +principal one being the road along the mountain-side, which, leaving the +village, climbs up over an ancient stream of lava, and crossing the +summit of the mountain plunges down to Forest City. Dr. Lefevre was the +only doctor in the two "cities," and spent much of his time crossing the +high ridge that separates the two. He often wished that the miners, in +pursuit of gold-bearing gravel, had dug a passage-way through the ridge, +as they had done on the opposite side of Kanaka Creek, where there was a +tunnel from Chipp's Flat to Minnesota. But on this side of the creek +they mined for quartz. However, the miners were good patients, and some +day the doctor hoped to return to France with the gold his skill had +earned him. + +With a Frenchman's zeal for science and thoroughness, he was a most +excellent physician. By the first of October, Robert Palmer was cured. +To the doctor it seemed almost a miracle; and he cautioned the old miner +kindly: + +"Mr. Palmer, one can never tell about this malady. To-day you are well, +thanks to your remarkable constitution and a Frenchman's art. Next +month, perhaps"--and he shrugged his shoulders. + +"If you have any business matters to settle, monsieur, any affair of the +heart, any will to make, you had better attend to such things while the +good Lord gives you strength." + +Robert Palmer heeded this advice; and so, a few days after, when he had +returned to his house on Fillmore Hill, he wrote the following +remarkable document: + + "Fillmore Hill, Oct. 12, 1880. + + "I, Robert Palmer, the undersigned, of sound mind, declare this to + be my last will and testament. After my death it is my will that + after all just, honest debts and expenses are paid, if there is any + property left that it shall be divided equally between my nieces + and nephews: that is, each one shall receive an equal share; and it + is also my will that should a majority of my nieces believe money + or other property placed in the hands of any of their number would + not be used properly the others shall hold such money or property + and pay it to the owner at such times and in such amounts as they + may think best: and it is also my will that the same plan shall be + adopted and carried out with regard to my nephews as I have named + above for my nieces, except my nephews shall hold the property. + + "Now then be it known that I hereby appoint as my administrators or + executors, to execute and carry out the above my will, the + following named persons, (to wit), John Hintzen of Forest City, + Sierra County; John Haggerty of Moore's Flat, Nevada County, and + Henry Francis of Moore's Flat, Nevada County: also James B. Francis + of Reedsville, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania; to act without bonds, + and also to act without the interference of any court of law or any + Public Administrator whatever; to act at all times and under all + circumstances to the best of their judgment in settling my affairs: + if they have patience they may hear any pleas my relations have to + offer, but I wish them in the end to stand firm and resolute on + their own judgment, and take time to settle the concern whether it + need one year or twenty years. + + "And furthermore it is my will that if the above named persons + cannot act conveniently then if two or more act they shall have the + same power as if all acted; but if only two act they shall both + agree on all the matters, but if more act then the majority may + rule. + + "Robert Palmer." Oct. 12, 1880. + +Only one who knows the spirit of early California can understand this +document. Its beginning is modest: "if there is any property left." What +amount was the old man about to distribute? He was too cautious to +mention it; and when his friend John Hintzen of Forest City, in whose +safe the will was deposited, wrote asking for a list of the property, +the old man parried the question. + +Another curious feature of this document is that the old man chose two +executors. He did not care to trust any one friend too far, apparently. + +Robert Palmer, Democrat, paid his respects to courts and lawyers. His +executors were "to act without bonds, and also to act without +interference of any court of law or any Public Administrator whatever." +He might better have trusted the courts, as we shall see, for his +friends failed him. After thirty years the executors all died; and to +this day the will of Robert Palmer is an unsolved mystery. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +The End of the Trail + + The gold that with the sunlight lies + In bursting heaps at dawn, + The silver spilling from the skies + At night to walk upon, + The diamonds gleaming in the dew + He never saw, he never knew. + + He got some gold, dug from the mud, + Some silver, crushed from stones, + The gold was red with dead men's blood, + The silver black with groans; + And when he died he moaned aloud, + "There'll be no pocket in my shroud." + + Joaquin Miller. + + +John Keeler, returned from his travels, became Palmer's trusted +messenger to Hintzen, to whom the old man sent a copy of his will. +Keeler was provided with another copy to deposit at the court-house in +Downieville, county seat of Sierra County. For although Robert Palmer +disliked courts and lawyers, he deemed it wise to file a copy of his +will at the court-house. This he could do without telling Hintzen, so he +instructed Keeler, after having seen that gentleman at Forest City, to +continue over the mountains to Downieville, as if on private business. + +Honest John Keeler, after a year spent in tracking criminals, had little +liking for this new mission. It seemed as if his old friend thought all +men rogues. Such a sweeping condemnation would include himself, and he +resented the insinuation. However, the old man was still feeble. So +Keeler set out on foot across the mountains. + +It had been some time since he had been as far as Chipp's Flat. There he +sought out the old cannon, long since dismounted, and sitting down upon +it he thought of the changes wrought in that neighborhood within his +recollection. In Civil War times, eighteen years before, miners of +Chipp's Flat and vicinity had enlisted in the Union Army. There had been +a full company of a hundred men, and the cannon had been a part of their +equipment. But the cannon had not left that California mountain-side; +and the soldiers themselves had got no further East than Arizona, for in +those days there was no transcontinental railroad. Now that there was +one, Chipp's Flat had no need of it. Save for two or three scattered +houses the mining town had disappeared. The mountain ridge had been +mined through from Minnesota, and now that the gold-bearing gravel had +been exhausted, Chipp's Flat, except in name, had gone out of existence. + +The next thing of interest was the dirty blue water of Kanaka Creek, and +the clatter of the stamping mills on the other side of it; for Keeler +was not much used to quartz mining. The name "quartz mining" seemed +misleading, for the wash from the crushed rock was distinctly blue. It +was evident that these quartz mines were paying well, as Alleghany had +every appearance of a live mining town. Keeler stopped at the hotel +there for dinner. It seemed strange that intelligent men should so lose +their heads. Great quantities of liquor were being consumed at the hotel +bar, poker games were in full blast, and there was a cemetery handy. + +Keeler was glad to leave Alleghany to climb over the mountain ridge to +Forest City. Now to the eastward the lofty peaks of the Sierras hove +into view, dwarfing the mountain ridges of the gold fields. He paused to +inspect the ancient stream of lava which crossed his path, and +considered once more those convulsions of the earth which had thrown the +ancient river beds to the hill-tops, and of which California earthquakes +are a constant reminder. + +Arrived at the summit of the ridge, he looked down upon Forest City, a +straggling village in a barren valley denuded of forests. Church, +school, and cemetery gave the place an air of permanence; but some day +it might disappear, like Chipp's Flat. It lay almost beneath him, so +steep was the road down the mountain. Beyond, up the bare valley of a +mountain stream, lay the trail to Downieville, nine miles away. His +mission to Hintzen performed, he would spend the night at Forest City, +and push on to Downieville the next morning. + +Hintzen kept the general store at Forest City, a business more certain +and profitable than gold-mining; and having a reputation for strict +honesty, he had become a sort of agent and business manager for the +miners. He was one of the few men Robert Palmer trusted; therefore he +received the document from Keeler's hand without surprise. But he could +not repress a smile at the testator's extreme caution and resolved +forthwith to ask for a list of his friend's securities. + +"How is the old man now?" he asked. + +"Mr. Palmer has had a close call," replied Keeler. "But he is good for a +couple of years yet, I reckon." + +"Sit down, Keeler, while I write him a note. You'll find a whiskey toddy +up there at the end of the counter.--Beg your pardon. Forgot your +temperance principles. There's fresh spring water in that bucket." + +Next morning Keeler pushed on up the ascending valley of the mountain +torrent. The horns of a wild sheep by the wayside reminded him of +earlier days when game was plentiful. The only wild creatures along the +trail to-day were rattlesnakes. With these he was well acquainted. But +it did give him a start to find one twined about a branch of a bush. + +An hour's steady climbing brought him to the top of the watershed +between the North and the Middle Yuba. Here a scene of wild grandeur lay +before him. Bare crags on either hand guarded the pass over the divide. +Immediately in front lay a whole system of deep canons, clothed with +primeval forests, wild and forbidding. Beyond towered a chain of rough, +bare mountain peaks. Keeler paused to wonder anew at the vastness of the +Sierras. + +Then he plunged down from the ridge and was soon traversing one of the +most lonesome and gloomy trails in all the mountains. The tree trunks +were covered with yellowish green moss. In one place stood a pine stump +fifty feet high with the upper hundred feet of the tree thrust into the +earth beside it. At another place a huge log blocked the trail. Then he +crossed a brook and was among chaparral and manzanita bushes. Then he +was among the pines again, listening to their voices, for a breeze was +blowing up the canon. Now he came to a spooky region which had been +swept by fire, with bare tree trunks, broken and going to decay, +standing like ghosts of the forest. Beyond was a clump of young firs +with gray stems, so straight and perfect as to be almost uncanny. Or was +it the traveler's overwrought imagination? + +Now the trail turned at right angles along the steep side of a canon, +and he heard the music of the mountain torrent far below. Half a mile +further on, where the trail crossed the brook at the head of the canon, +it doubled back on itself along the other side. The traveler refreshed +himself at a mossy spring by the side of the trail, then, as he emerged +from the canon at a sudden turn, Downieville appeared. It lay far below +him, at the forks of the North Yuba. How musically the roar of the river +came up through the autumn stillness! Sign boards pointing to the Ruby +Mine, and to the City of Six, prepare the traveler for the discovery of +some settlement in the wilderness. But he is hardly prepared for such a +beautiful and welcome sight. Here, tucked away among the mountains as +tidily as some Eastern village, lies the county seat of Sierra County. +But this is California and not Maryland, for yonder comes a mountaineer +up the trail with his pack horses. + +Keeler lost no time in descending and transacting his business at the +court-house. But after his lonesome walk over the mountains something he +saw here appealed to his imagination. It was a human skull, which had +belonged to a murderer. The murdered man was a Frenchman, killed for his +money. This was Keeler's first visit to Downieville since the crime, and +as he had known the Frenchman he determined to visit his grave. + +The cemetery is up the river beyond the edge of the town; and here, in +more senses than one, a traveler finds the end of the trail. Men and +women whose life journey had begun in New England, Old England, Wales, +Ireland, France, Denmark, or Russia, had here come to their journey's +end. + +At the cemetery gate, fastened by a wire, was the quaint sign: + + "NOTICE + PLEASE PUT THIS WIRE ON AGIN + TO KEEP IT SHUT." + +A beautiful clear mountain stream flows along one side of the ground and +pours into the river below. A lone pine chants requiems over the dead; +and yellow poppies with red hearts spring out of the graves. Many of the +headstones are boards, naturally; and one poor fellow, whose estate at +death was probably a minus quantity, is commemorated by a strip of tin +with his name pricked into it. There is a fair proportion of pretentious +monuments, which were drawn by ten-horse teams from some distant +railroad station. + +Marked by such a monument was the grave which Keeler sought. The +symbolism was striking,--a broken column, an angel holding out an olive +branch, and Father Time. And this was the verse of Scripture carved in +stone: + + "Man walketh in a vain shadow: + he heapeth up riches and cannot + tell who shall gather them." + +Forgetting the murdered Frenchman in the forcefulness of the text, +Keeler wondered if Robert Palmer's journey, too, would end like this. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +Golden Opportunities + + +In California Opportunity knocked at every gate--not once but many +times. It returned again and again, most persistently, and intruded +alike on men awake and feasting, or asleep and dreaming. John Keeler had +hardly spent an hour in Downieville before he had met a Golden +Opportunity. On approaching the town he had passed several short tunnels +dug into the hillside, and at the court-house he met the owners of one +of these tunnels. Smith came from Ohio,--he had for many years been a +teacher, and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His +partner, whom he introduced as a Confederate veteran, was a Virginian. +As partners, the blue and the gray were almost irresistible. Three +hundred dollars invested in their shaft would mean a rich strike. + +But other Opportunities had left Keeler rich in experience and short of +cash. He could not use Robert Palmer's money as his own; so he could +only smile, rather sadly, and wish his new friends success. How many of +his acquaintances had invested good money in a hole in the ground! Even +the most prudent, in some unguarded moment, had parted with thousands of +dollars, like the dog in the fable which dropped the real bone to seize +the shadow. There was Mack, proprietor of the hotel at Graniteville, +making lots of money at his business and losing it all in mining +ventures. Only the other day Mack had remarked that if his savings had +been allowed to accumulate in some good bank he would now be worth some +fifty thousand dollars. As it was, he was as poor as his humblest guest. +Even Dr. Mason, canny Scot though he was, could not forget the sight of +ninety thousand dollars' worth of gold bullion he had once seen piled up +at North Bloomfield, and so was persuaded to gamble with his earnings. +He had lost as much as Mack. How rosy is the rainbow, and how evanescent +the pot of gold at the end of it! California had swallowed up more +wealth than its gold could ever repay, as Keeler well knew. It was only +occasionally that some lucky devil, or some prudent, saving man like +Robert Palmer, after thirty years in the gold fields, had anything to +show for it. + +So Keeler, pondering the deceitfulness of riches, sadly made his way +back across the mountains. Even then Fate was weaving her web about his +old friend Palmer, who was soon to lie in a pauper's grave. Francis +seized a Golden Opportunity. + +Francis had so far prospered that he had moved to San Francisco. In the +city he could watch the stock market, as he told himself privately. To +his friends he announced that failing health demanded the change, albeit +the exhilarating air of the Sierras was far more beneficial than the +dampness of the sea coast. But Francis, inheriting ten thousand dollars +from one of his deceased brothers, had moved to San Francisco, taking +with him sundry hundreds and thousands of dollars, entrusted to him by +his Pennsylvania friends for investment. Everybody had faith in the +integrity of Henry Francis. + +The next summer, when the blue-bells were in blossom at Grass Valley, he +passed through that prosperous mining town on the narrow gauge bound for +Nevada City and Moore's Flat. This was the summer of 1881, nearly two +years after the murder of Cummins. A still, small voice accused him of +something akin to highway robbery; and it gave his conscience a twinge +to pass the well-known stump which had concealed the robbers. It was bad +enough that the robbers were still at large, a fact that reflected upon +him. "Bed-bug Brown's" mission had proved a fiasco. But the thing that +really worried Francis was his own mission and not the fruitless one of +Brown's. If his own proved fruitless his conscience might be better +satisfied. + +But business is business, and the day was fine. Francis was a gentleman +and something of a scholar. His face showed refinement, and his hands +were as soft as a gambler's. He was fairly well read, and he could have +told you, when the stage crossed the South Yuba, that "_Uvas_" is +Spanish for "grapes," and that the name "Yuba" is a curious English +abbreviation of "Rio Las Uvas." + +When next day he crossed the foot-bridge over the Middle Yuba, where it +tears along in its deep, wild canon below Moore's Flat, he was less +interested in Spanish or in the grandeur of the scenery than he was in +reaching Robert Palmer's. He had not hired a horse at Moore's Flat, as +the livery man might be curious; so he had sauntered along through the +village, greeting old friends and chatting with them now and then until +considerable time had been consumed, but he knew that the old man would +put him up for the night. + +It was late in the afternoon before he reached the top of Fillmore Hill. +Old man Palmer, much broken in health, as Francis remarked with a degree +of inward exultation immediately reproved by his conscience, greeted him +affectionately. + +"Well, Henry, I almost thought you had forgotten me. But, of course, I +knew better." + +"You must remember, Mr. Palmer, that it is quite a ways up here from the +city. The narrow gauge from Colfax is little better than a stage coach. +It means a trip of fifty miles into the mountains to get here." + +"Well, I'm mighty glad you've come. As soon as you've rested a bit, I +want to talk business." + +Francis argued with his conscience that the old man had invited him. How +could he have refused to answer the summons? Palmer ushered him into the +house, where, seated comfortably in the kitchen and welcomed by dog and +cat, he partook of the old man's hospitality. Palmer was evidently much +wrought up; and, as soon as his guest had rested a little, proceeded to +business. + +"You got my letter?" + +"Yes, Mr. Palmer." + +"Hintzen has informed you that I've named you as one of my executors?" + +"Yes." + +"And you will be willing to act, I hope?" + +"Well, Mr. Palmer, I hope that won't be necessary for many years to +come." + +"The Lord only knows how long I have to live. It was rather hard for me +here last winter. But I guess the mountain air was good for me. However, +I'm going to spend next winter at Sherwood's. The Woolsey boys say +they'll take good care of me; and I'm going to deed them my claim." + +"Better come to San Francisco. I saw a friend of yours down there the +other day, a Mrs. Somers, who always inquires about you." + +"And how is she getting along these days, Francis?" + +"She appears to be well. Says hard work agrees with her." + +"Glad to hear good news of her. She writes me occasionally. Remember me +to her when you see her." + +"Then you don't think you'll go below with me?" ("Going below" was local +parlance for going to San Francisco.) + +"No. I'd feel like a fish out of water in that big city. I'll be +comfortable at the Sherwood's. I'll have to depend upon you to send me +some money occasionally." + +"Hintzen writes me that he has your will locked up in his safe. I +suppose you have given him a list of your property?" + +"He has written me asking for a list; but I'm not going to give him +any." If the old man had not trusted Francis so implicitly he might have +noticed an expression of relief light up that gentleman's dark eyes. + +"So I handle your funds, and Hintzen holds your will," smiled Francis. +"Do you think that is fair to either of us?" + +"Oh, as for the will, I've kept a copy, which you may as well look at." +And he fetched the document. + +Francis read it over very carefully; and then looked up with an +expression of undisguised satisfaction. + +"I'm glad you put it that way," he said. "You leave it to us to act in +accordance with our best judgment, whether it takes one year or twenty +years. That leaves us free to dispose of securities to the best +advantage, and not sacrifice them in a falling market." + +"Yes, I was thinking of that investment you advised me to make a year +ago." + +Francis winced a little; for the old man probably knew how low a certain +stock had fallen. + +"I see you've named my brother back in Pennsylvania as one of the +executors." + +"Yes; as most of my heirs live in the East, I thought your brother could +hunt them up, and let you do business through him." + +"That is a good idea. But don't you think Hintzen and Haggerty ought to +have a list of your property? If you should die, and they found on +examining your books and papers that you had trusted me but not them, +why, naturally, they would feel hurt." + +"Well, Haggerty's an Irishman, and Hintzen's a Dutchman. You are an +American like myself, and, what's more, a Democrat after my own heart. I +want you to hold the funds." + +"If you feel that way, I wish you wouldn't tell anybody. For if they +knew I had money belonging to you people would suspect me of helping +myself to it." + +Francis had been rehearsing this speech for several days; but was now +rather surprised that he had the nerve to utter it. But the old man +trusted him. Was not Francis almost a son to him? + +If he had been, he could not have inherited the old man's property more +surely. He stayed over night on Fillmore Hill; and when he departed next +morning, he took with him bank books and securities and a letter to +Palmer's banker which made Francis the custodian of all his money. He +even took a small chamois skin bag filled with gold nuggets which the +old man had saved. And he left behind at the house on Fillmore Hill not +a receipt or a paper of any kind that would indicate that Palmer ever +had had any money. They had burned all such tell-tale records; and Henry +Francis felt that he was guilty of something baser than highway robbery. +Yet, if the stock market should take an upward turn, all might be well. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +Three Graves by the Middle Yuba + + + Gaily bedight + A gallant knight, + In sunshine and in shadow, + Had journeyed long, + Singing a song, + In search of Eldorado. + + But he grew old-- + This knight so bold-- + And o'er his heart a shadow + Fell as he found + No spot of ground + That looked like Eldorado. + + And, as his strength + Failed him at length, + He met a pilgrim shadow-- + "Shadow," said he, + "Where can it be-- + This land of Eldorado?" + + "Over the Mountains + Of the Moon, + Down the Valley of the Shadow, + Ride, boldly ride," + The shade replied, + "If you seek for Eldorado!" + + Edgar Allan Poe. + + +Robert Palmer's diggings on Fillmore Hill are still plainly seen from +the stage road on the other side of the canon of the Middle Yuba; but he +who has the hardihood to cross the canon will find the mine worked out, +the water-ditch dry, and the old man's house pulled down. The basement +of the house still affords shelter to adventurers who come to dig for +Palmer's hidden treasure. There is no other treasure on that barren +hill-top, for the Woolsey boys, to whom the old man deeded his mine, +worked out the paying gravel long ago. + +At the bottom of the canon, and just across the cold, rushing river, is +a clump of rose bushes, which mark the spot where the Woolsey brothers +lived with their mother and old Sherwood, their step-father. Beyond the +rose bushes, in the edge of a meadow, are three lonely graves, covered +by the branches of alders, unmarked save for flat field stones, and +unknown except to a few ranchmen who drive their cattle up the river for +summer pasturage. The first burial was that of one "Scotty," a ranchman. +In 1915 there was living at the Soldiers' Home in the Napa Valley an +octogenarian, last surviving member of the Keystone Club, who had helped +to dig Scotty's grave. In the middle grave by the Middle Yuba lies the +body of Robert Palmer. The third grave is that of Sherwood. No doubt +these Californians rest as peacefully as those whose mortal remains have +been gathered into the cemetery at Downieville. Mother Earth has +received her children back into her bosom, and day and night the river +chants their requiem. + +In September, ten weeks after Henry Francis's visit, Palmer put his +house in order, and with Sammy, the cat and his dog Bruce, sought +protection at Sherwood's. For Sherwood he had little respect; and he +thought Mrs. Sherwood a silly woman to have brought her boys to such a +home. But the boys were now grown men, friendly, generous, and strong. +The old man had no better neighbors. + +He insisted, proud and independent to the last, that he should provision +the family for the winter. So he drew on Hintzen, who packed in an +abundance of good things from Forest City. Every night the old man sat +by the stove. He liked to stroke Sammy's sleek coat and listen to the +cat's affectionate purring. He liked to tell how his dog Bruce had saved +his life. For it seems Palmer had once started off for Forest City by +night, was stricken with a paralytic shock, and, falling unconscious in +the woods, was finally rescued by neighbors who had heard the dog's +insistent barking. + +When the snow was deep in the canon, and the supply of provisions was +getting low, the old man ordered more from Hintzen. He recalled the +severity of New England winters, and talked of the friends of his youth. +He began to plan a trip East in the coming summer, directed John Woolsey +to inquire as to the expense of such a trip, and proposed to employ him +as a traveling companion. And feeling the need of some money, he bade +Mrs. Sherwood write a letter for him to Francis, signing it with his +mark. + +For some unaccountable reason Francis made no answer, and the old man +seemed much disturbed. Other letters were dispatched. Still no answer. +After long waiting a letter in a feminine hand, postmarked "San +Francisco," and addressed to "Rob't Palmer, Moore's Flat," found its way +through the snow-drifts to Sherwood's ranch. It was from Harriet Somers. +But no letter came from Francis. + +Finally Sherwood suggested a registered letter. In a few days a receipt +came back, followed by a letter in which Francis explained that he had +just returned from a trip to Honolulu for his health, and that he hoped +when he was better to go up into the mountains to see Mr. Palmer. + +But the old man's strength was failing, and worry over Francis had +resulted in another paralytic shock. Dr. Mason was summoned, and made +his way into the canon on skis. He found the patient in bad condition, +suffering from miner's paralysis in its worst form. Still, the old man +rallied, affixed his mark in lieu of signature to a letter ordering +medicines and other necessaries from Hintzen, and forbade the writing of +alarming letters to his relatives. He hoped to weather the storm again +as he had done under Dr. Lefevre's treatment. + +But patient and nurses had their premonitions. He would call out in +distress, "Mrs. Sherwood, please help my hand," and she, taking the +stiffened fingers in hers, would soothe him so. He came more and more to +depend upon her. Told her he trusted she would do whatever was needful; +and, sure sign of the coming end, spoke of his relatives in the East. +Save for the astronomer nephew, he had seen none of them for more than +thirty years; but his heart went out in tenderness towards them. He +spoke of his brothers and sisters and their promising children. Weeping, +he told of his beloved mother, who died when he was a boy of seven years +and left him heart-broken. + +He talked about making legal provision for pet cat and dog, which did +not forsake him in his weakness. Mrs. Sherwood, remarking upon such +extravagance, asked: + +"You have considerable means, Mr. Palmer?" And he, grown less secretive +under her patient nursing, replied: + +"Why, yes, I have considerable money." + +The days went by, and he got no better. But his mind was clear; and he +resolved before it was too late to reward his benefactors. So a justice +of the peace was summoned, and a deed of the old man's claim on Fillmore +Hill was drawn up, making the property over to the Woolsey brothers. +Without hesitation he described his boundaries in legal fashion; and he +signed the deed with his mark, before witnesses. Furthermore, he told +the boys where they would be likely to find rich gravel; and they +afterward had cause to praise the old man's judgment. + +He became as gentle as a woman. Indeed, Mrs. Sherwood, who had hung up +some of his family portraits about his bed, remarked that in his +sickness he very much resembled the astronomer's mother, his sister. He +comforted his friends, and told them his wishes in case he was "caught +in a worse snap," as he put it. + +About this time he was stricken with blindness. Mrs. Sherwood was much +affected. She took down her Bible and read to him. And she read the +beautiful litanies of the Episcopal prayer-book. With her boys she knelt +in prayer by his bedside. The blind eyes moistened; for the strong man's +heart and brain still served him well. + +Only a few days before the end, when the whole body was apparently +paralyzed, Dr. Mason inquired if there was any business which he wished +attended to, and Robert Palmer replied: + +"My affairs are settled; and, Doctor, you will be paid for your +services." + +The last day of April had arrived; but the snow banks were still deep in +the canon. Nothing further had been heard from Henry Francis, but the +old man at last seemed reconciled. Perhaps Francis was not well enough +to come through the snow. It was Sunday, and at midnight came the fatal +stroke. He did not regain consciousness, and died peacefully on Tuesday +afternoon, May 2, 1882. + +Then strange things happened. Hintzen, a large, heavy man, unused to +exercise, appeared on snow-shoes at Sherwood's house and asked if Mr. +Palmer had said anything about his property. No! And though the dead man +lay within, he turned away and immediately put back to Forest City. +Henry Francis was notified. But Henry Francis did not make his +appearance. And the snow drifts being deep, Robert Palmer was buried by +the side of Scotty, like a pauper. + +No, not like a pauper; for there was still twenty-nine dollars standing +to his credit at Hintzen's. And this sum defrayed his funeral expenses. +Out of rough planks, lying about to mend sluices, the Woolsey boys +framed a coffin, for which they procured handles at a neighboring +village. And Mrs. Sherwood, faithful nurse and spiritual adviser, laid +the old man out in his best clothes. The rugged face showed no look of +annoyance. After thirty-three years of honest striving the old +Forty-niner slept the sleep of the just. + +The doctor's bill remained unpaid, a circumstance which would have +annoyed Robert Palmer exceedingly, were he further concerned with the +affairs of this world. It would appear that Henry Francis deemed it good +policy to assume no obligations. So for thirty-three years that honest +debt remained unpaid; while in the meantime Francis, Hintzen and +Haggerty became wealthy, lost their money, and passed on to their +reward. The doctor, long since removed from North Bloomfield, thieves, +and murderers, was finally paid by Palmers of a later generation. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +When Thieves Fall Out + + +When news of Robert Palmer's death reached his relatives, pity for his +lonesome life of self-denial was swallowed up by pleasant anticipations. +But weeks and months passed by with no word of encouragement from his +executors. Finally, Mrs. Sherwood, thinking the heirs were being +defrauded, wrote East urging that some member of the Palmer family visit +California. So the astronomer nephew, at considerable expense to +himself, was delegated to cross the continent. At the end of August he +found himself in the Sierras once more. On horseback he visited +Sherwood's ranch, and his uncle's house on Fillmore Hill, ran the +gauntlet of rogues at Alleghany, and passed on over the mountains to +Forest City and Downieville. It was a glorious outing, in spite of the +dust. How brightly the stars shone down on the Sierras! But the further +he investigated the deeper grew the mystery. Dr. Mason told the story of +the sixty thousand dollars loaned by Robert Palmer to the water company. +But the three California executors, reputed honest men, assured the +nephew there was no money to be found. Bankers in Sacramento and San +Francisco were polite but disappointing. All the astronomer brought home +was Mat Bailey's story of the murder of Cummins, a copy of Robert +Palmer's will procured at Downieville, and a problem which defied his +higher mathematics. "Set a thief to catch a thief;" the astronomer was +an honest man. + +A few months after his return from California, the tangled web of my +yarn began to unravel. Mat Bailey had reported that nothing had been +heard of the highwaymen "from that day to this." But John Keeler's work +had not been done in vain. O'Leary of You Bet, the Nevada City +jail-bird, had been duly impressed with the handsome reward offered for +the apprehension of the murderers. So every time he met an old +acquaintance he talked about the murder of Will Cummins. It was a simple +method of procedure, and it did not prove immediately successful. As it +was about as easy to be a vagabond in one locality as in another, he +drifted from place to place--first to Sacramento, then to San Francisco, +then over the Sierras to the mining camps of Nevada, then through Utah +and Wyoming, till at last he found himself in jail in St. Louis. + +There, three years after the murder, he found his old pal J. C. P. +Collins--but how changed! Could that coarse and bloated countenance +belong to the fastidious and pleasure-loving Collins? + +"Well, Collins, I hardly knew you. How does the grub here compare with +what we used to get at Carter's boarding-house?" O'Leary referred to the +jail at Nevada City. + +"This must be your first week in St. Louis," replied Collins, "if you +haven't put up at this hotel before. Been caught stealing again, I +suppose?" + +"That's me. Only the matter of a lady's purse that was of no use to +her." + +"Well, women are the cause of all my trouble. They drag a man down worse +than drink. They are a bad lot, are women." + +"Why, you're a regular preacher, ain't you? You used to be a ladies' +man." + +"That was in California." + +"How's the wild and woolly?" asked Collins, presently, looking his old +pal over contemptuously. + +"Oh, I know I ain't stylish like you Eastern dudes. I'm a honest miner, +I am. And I don't wear boiled shirts like you." + +"You're honest, all right. We'll leave that to Sheriff Carter. Remember +how he caught you stealing that Chinaman's dust? I can see that +Chinaman's sign now: 'Heekee & Co., Gold Dust Bought.' By the way, +what's become of my old flame back there?" + +"Oh, a lady? I don't remember no ladies that was acquainted with gents +like us." + +"I don't reckon you know the girl I mean. She wasn't in your class, +that's a fact." + +"Maybe I can tell you if you'll just say her name." + +"Well, I'm inquiring after Miss Mamie Slocum, the sweetest little girl +in Nevada City." + +"You're joking, sure. That girl never had any use for the likes of you. +Mat Bailey would knock your head off if he heard you breathe her name." + +"Insult me as much as you like. 'No fighting' is the rules of this +hotel. I asked you, how is that little girl? Sweet on Mat Bailey, is +she? Well, I'm glad of it." + +"Yes; she and Mat have been good friends ever since Will Cummins was +killed." + +"So? How's that?" + +"Why, you know she came down on the stage that day, and saw it all. Some +say she knew the robbers and helped them find Cummins' bullion. I guess +Mat was in the deal, too. Anyhow, she and Mat have been good friends +ever since, as I tell you." + +"Now look here, O'Leary, you're dead wrong. That girl is as innocent as +you are." + +"Sure! The judge just sent me up for snatching a purse, you know." + +"I tell you that girl knew nothing about the hold-up." + +"It must have happened after you left California, or you wouldn't be so +sure. I'll tell you about it. Stage comes down from Moore's Flat. Mamie +Slocum talks and laughs with Will Cummins. Sees where he stows his old +leather grip. Sings out to the robbers, 'That's Mr. Cummins' valise +under the seat there.'" + +"That's a lie, and you are a fool to believe it!" + +"I'm telling you the facts." + +"The facts! Why, man, wasn't I there? And don't I know just what +happened?" + +Astonished at this outburst, O'Leary looked hard at Collins. There was +no mistaking his earnestness; and he only leered at the other's +astonishment. O'Leary was discreet enough to say no more; and Collins +seemed to think his secret safe enough in the keeping of an old pal two +thousand miles from the scene of the murder. But that very night O'Leary +telegraphed to Sheriff Carter of Nevada City: + + "Man who killed Cummins in jail here. Come at once. + + Pat O'Leary." + +John Keeler and Henry Francis happened to be at the railroad station the +next morning, when Carter started for St. Louis; and he showed them the +telegram. + +"When thieves fall out," remarked Keeler; and Francis winced. Was it +because he foresaw that the ten thousand dollar reward would be claimed? +or was it for some other reason? Keeler wondered. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +Brought To Justice + + +There was no serious doubt in Sheriff Carter's mind as to the importance +of O'Leary's telegram. He hoped that the murder of Will Cummins was, at +last, to be avenged; and, as he had admired and loved that chivalrous +man, he resolved to use every means in his power to bring the murderers +to justice. But he realized what a difficult task it would be to get +them hanged. + +There was a strong sentiment in California against capital punishment. +There seemed to be little objection to murder committed by private +citizens, but people raised their hands in horror at what they were +pleased to call judicial murder. What right has the State to take so +precious a thing as human life, even though the life be that of a +hardened criminal? Carter was sick at heart. He had watched the most +depraved characters, fed and clothed and guarded at the public expense, +spend their days in shame and utter uselessness. It would have been a +mercy to have terminated their existence; and it would have instilled +respect for law in the minds of other criminals. + +But the immediate problem of Sheriff Carter, as it is the immediate +concern of this story, was to capture the murderers. Carter went armed +with proper legal documents, handcuffs, and a pair of derringers--for +the sheriff of Nevada County could shoot straight simultaneously with +both hands. Two faithful deputies accompanied their chief, and all three +were well supplied with the sinews of war in gold and bank-notes. + +Arrived at St. Louis Carter immediately got in touch with O'Leary, and +cautioned him not to alarm Collins, for proper circumspection might lead +to the capture of both murderers. Showing his credentials to the proper +authorities, he took them into his confidence, and thus made sure that +Collins would not be discharged from jail without his knowledge. Then he +and his deputies retired to their hotel for rest, refreshment, and +poker. + +In less than three days the chief of police showed him a letter written +by Collins to Thorn. The missive ran: + + "dear Thorn, alias Darcy, + + don't let your old pal bother you eny I suppose you are having a + revival in your church about this time and converting a great many + sinners. give my kind regards to the widow Brown, and I hope she + will marry you soon. I expect to leave this hotel in ten days, so + will need $50. send post office order, St. Louis, general delivery. + + Your old partner, + J. C. P. Collins." + +It was evidently a blackmailing letter. The sheriff remembered Darcy of +old, and the chances seemed good that Thorn _alias_ Darcy was the other +highwayman. So, taking O'Leary along to assist in the identification, he +set out for Union City to deliver Collins' letter in person. No doubt +this Thorn was a harder man to catch than Collins. He had had sense +enough to change his name and to join a church. So Carter approached +Union City rather cautiously, leaving O'Leary with one of his deputies +in Chicago with orders to wait for a telegram. Accompanied by the other +deputy he arrived at Union City rather late at night, to avoid +publicity. + +There he learned that Thorn had been in town nearly three years. That he +was engaged in the lumber business, was prosperous, highly respected and +was prominent in the leading church of the town. He was away on business +in Chicago at the time, but was expected to return in a week or two, as +it was rumored that he was soon to marry. + +The sheriff's disappointment was much relieved by the receipt of a +telegram the next morning: + + "We have got Darcy corralled here. Come at once. + + Pat O'Leary." + +"Just as well that we brought O'Leary along," remarked Carter to his +deputy. "You stay on guard here till you hear from me." + +In Chicago the sheriff found that his deputy had promptly arrested Darcy +on O'Leary's identification, and had had the man locked up. But on +visiting the jail, Carter was considerably in doubt if he had ever seen +the prisoner before. The Darcy he remembered was smooth shaven, bronzed +through exposure to the California sun, rough and rather desperate in +appearance. This man wore a beard, was well dressed, rather pale from +confinement in his office, and of sanctimonious countenance. + +"But that's Darcy, all right," O'Leary assured him. "Same eyes, and same +mole on his neck. Just read him that letter from Collins, Mr. Carter." + +At the name of Collins the prisoner winced visibly. For some time he had +realized that Collins might betray him; and he had thought seriously of +ending that scoundrel's career. + +Carter followed up the advantage quickly. + +"I think this is Mr. Thorn of Union City?" he inquired politely. + +"That's my name," said the man, "and I live in Union City, as I told the +officer." + +"I've just come from Union City," replied Carter quietly, "and happen to +know that you are a respected citizen of that place. Don't suppose you +ever heard of J. C. P. Collins of Nevada County, California?" + +"I was a miner in California several years, but I don't remember anybody +by the name of Collins." + +"It's singular then that Collins should call you his old pal and address +you as 'Dear Thorn alias Darcy.'" And Carter presented Collins' letter. + +"You're wanted, Thorn, alias Darcy, for the murder of William F. +Cummins." The sheriff looked at the prisoner so sternly that the man +wilted. "Collins has owned up, and you might as well do the same." + +"O God!" groaned the man, "my sin has found me out. I killed Cummins +with my own hand; and I am ready to pay the penalty." + +His religion had not been all humbug, by any means; and now he asked +permission to visit Union City to make public confession of the murder. +But Carter had left Collins in jail at St. Louis, and saw no reason to +delay the arrest of that scoundrel in order to gratify the wishes of a +confessed murderer. So he proceeded to St. Louis at once, arrested +Collins, who seemed rather shocked and grieved to meet his old friend +the sheriff once more; and hurried the prisoners back to California. + +There was great excitement in the gold fields, you may be sure, when it +was announced that Will Cummins' murderers were safely lodged in jail, +more than three years after the crime. Surely, California was becoming +civilized, and at last Nevada County was actually to try a couple of men +for murder. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +The End of J. C. P. Collins + + +At Nevada City, with its pleasant homes scattered on the hills either +side of the deep gorge of Deer Creek, the traveler lingers awhile to +drink in the romance of the gold fields. Roses and poppies that bloom +profusely in the front yards are "emblems of deeds that are done in +their clime." The very soil, like the flowers that spring therefrom, +suggests gold and the red blood so freely shed for it. Here and there +are eloquent, though silent, reminders of the exciting days of placer +mining and highway robbery, when Wells Fargo and Company brought +treasure out of the mountains guarded by armed men. + +At the court-house Nevada County is advertised as the banner gold county +of California, with a total output of $300,000,000; a yellow block on +exhibition represents the bullion taken from the Malakoff Mine in one +month, and valued at $114,289. In a showcase at the Citizens' Bank are +exhibited four of the buckshot which killed T. H. Girard on October 31, +1887. Also, a bit of hemp rope with a tag, on which is written: + + "The end of J. C. P. Collins + Feb. 1, 1884 + Compliments of Sheriff Carter." + +In vain one may search for a similar reminder of the highwayman Darcy, +the actual murderer of Will Cummins. But at the scene of the murder, the +stage-driver of the present generation tells his passengers that Darcy +was paroled several years ago, after spending thirty years in prison. He +may add that Darcy, the ex-convict, is an inert and lifeless creature, +married to a paroled woman as lifeless as himself. + +Darcy's friends in Union City would not have it appear that their model +citizen was a murderer. They protested stoutly, and in the end the +tax-payers for thirty years were burdened with the care and keep of the +criminal. + +As it has already been remarked, murders in Nevada County were common +enough; but a murder trial was almost unheard of. + +The State tried Collins first. He had no friends, except of the baser +sort; and his conviction might make it easier to convict Darcy. Mat +Bailey and Mamie Slocum were important witnesses for the State; and +Collins himself, poor debauchee though he was, was man enough to clear +Mamie of all suspicion. She freely told of her conversation with him +when he had recommended the gallantry of gentlemen of the road. And she +admitted that she had always been haunted by the suspicion that the +highwayman with whom Cummins had grappled might have been Collins, who +had so strangely disappeared after the robbery. No; she could not +identify him as the man who asked about Cummins' valise. She was not +sure about his voice. She was too much frightened to be sure of +anything. + +As Collins seemed less interested in saving his own worthless life than +in establishing the innocence of Mamie Slocum, he was promptly +convicted. The judge sentenced him to be hanged on Friday, Feb. 1, 1884. + +Sheriff Carter could not see why, if Collins was guilty, Darcy was not. +But good souls from Union City showed how exemplary had been the life of +their brother since he came among them, and the lawyer whom these good +people employed pointed out the shame and disgrace that would be +suffered by a worthy family if one bearing the name of Darcy should die +upon the scaffold. It is strange that in such cases the lawyers on the +other side do not show that the shame and disgrace come with the +commission of the crime, and that honest punishment endured for the same +is the one means left the criminal to atone for the injury he has done +the good name of his family. + +There was no doubt as to Darcy's guilt; and he was man enough to have +paid the extreme penalty willingly. For thirty years he lived the +monotonous round of prison life, becoming more and more like a dumb +animal, and paroled at last in his old age little better than an +automaton--the qualities of daring, thrift, and religious enthusiasm +long since dead and gone. + +Throughout the trial of both men, Henry Francis was an interested +spectator. The court-room seemed to have a fascination for him, although +he was now a rich man with important demands upon his time. It was +whispered about that the Pennsylvanians had spent a hundred thousand +dollars hunting the criminals down; and some people were fanciful enough +to see in Henry Francis the highwaymen's Nemesis. He made a very +dignified Nemesis indeed. He looked grave and thoughtful, and his newly +acquired wealth lent dignity to his refined countenance. + +But it occurred to John Keeler that somehow it appeared as if Francis +imagined himself sitting at his own trial. He seemed to show an almost +eager interest in the subterfuges and the raising of legal dust by means +of which counsel for the defense endeavored to blind the eyes of the +jurors. Keeler hardly dared to let his fancy run on to logical +conclusions. It seemed too much like condemning a man without giving him +a trial. Yet he could not help being haunted by the thought that some +thieves are too shrewd to assume the risks of highway robbery. In his +own mind this thought constituted the one valid argument against capital +punishment. For if common scoundrels are to be executed what severer +punishment is left for the more crafty villain? But he could see that a +sensitive nature like that of Francis was capable of infinite suffering; +and he thought of the words of Scripture, "Verily they have their +reward." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +The Home-Coming of Another Dead Man + + +"The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small." + +For example, there was Robert Palmer, who after thirty years spent in +the gold fields had accumulated considerable treasure. But choosing to +dig for gold and to live among adventurers, thieves, and speculators, he +had come to distrust human nature. He became so secretive that even at +the approach of death, when the kindly French doctor had given him fair +warning, he would confide in only one man. Verily, he had his reward. + +Incidentally, the three Californians whom he had named as his executors +prospered. They may not all be included among the forty-one thieves of +this story, but it may not seem unreasonable to suppose that Henry +Francis made it worth while for Hintzen and Haggerty to keep quiet. The +point is that all three executors prospered--and then died penniless. + +Hintzen made so much money over at Forest City that he left for Arizona, +where he invested in copper, and lost everything he had. Haggerty, who +remained in his store at Moore's Flat, where he had made money rapidly, +speculated and lost all, including the savings of a few poor people who +had trusted him. Henry Francis speculated in the stock of the famous +Comstock mine, in the adjoining State of Nevada, lost the fortune he had +wrongfully acquired, and died broken-hearted. It was only six years +after Palmer's death that he collapsed, and was taken home to +Reedsville, Pennsylvania. + +Here, ostensibly the victim of tuberculosis, he lingered a year to taste +the bitterness of poverty and wretchedness. Then he died, and suffered +the usual eulogy poured out by country ministers. + +A charitable author must admit the virtues of his "heavy-villain." The +sun rises upon the evil and the good, and rain descends upon the just +and the unjust, for the simple reason, no doubt, that no other +arrangement would be possible, inasmuch as there are no people who are +entirely good and none who are wholly bad. In every man the forces of +good and evil are at war. + +If Henry Francis yielded to temptation there were extenuating +circumstances. In the first place, Robert Palmer's will distinctly +stated that everything was left to the judgment of the executors. They +were to stand firm and resolute on their own judgment "and take time to +settle the concern whether it need one year or twenty years." + +Possibly Francis reasoned that investing the old man's money in a +certain way would, within a very few years, double the estate, and thus +render a service to the heirs. And if at the end of three or four years +the event had proved the soundness of his judgment, was it wrong to +exercise that judgment in further ventures? The will gave him twenty +years. Weren't the executors acting "at all times and under all +circumstances to the best of their judgment?" If conscience demurred +that Hintzen and Haggerty were left in the dark, so that "their +judgment" had come to mean simply the judgment of Henry Francis, had he +not proved that judgment good? + +He knew that when he had given the heirs to understand that there was no +property, he had prevaricated. But had he not heard their pleas with +patience, just as the old man had directed? And if Robert Palmer's +estate were settled right then, at the end of four years, would the +heirs complain of circumstances which had doubled their inheritance? No +doubt conscience inquired if Francis was thinking of postponing +settlement indefinitely. And no doubt prudence suggested a settlement +now when all was going well. But once let the estate slip from his +control, and he would become a comparatively poor man; while the +twenty-nine heirs might squander their money foolishly. + +While he was debating the question, it was only proper to keep the money +well invested. And if at the end of the fifth year his securities had +shrunken seriously in value, it was natural to wait another year for +values to become normal. When the crash came, the injury to his vanity +hurt him more than his wounded conscience; that he had learned to +soothe, but his pride had never before been humbled. And so it was said +that Henry Francis died of a broken heart. + +His sister Mary, who nine years before had brought back to Pennsylvania +the corpse of the murdered Cummins, was now summoned to carry another +dead man home. True, he lived a year to contemplate the ruin of fortune +and honor, but he was mortally wounded. Most pathetic of all, he was +resolved to suffer in silence. Brothers and sisters should not share in +his disgrace. He had gambled and lost. But he would not tell them that +he had gambled with his honor. + +There is still balm in Gilead, even for a sinner! It was good to feel +the touch of his sister's hand, to taste the delicacies that only she +could prepare. The last long journey over the plains, at the end of +which he would find rest on the hillside where Will Cummins slept, was +almost as peaceful as his. He had renounced the world of thieves and +gamblers, and was going home. + +Arrived in his native valley, he marvelled at its beauty. Why had he +ever left it, to risk life and honor in the pursuit of riches? Man's +needs are so simple! How easily he might have thriven among such kindly +neighbors! None of them could be called rich, but they had an abundance +of this world's goods, with something to spare for him, the returned +prodigal. What does it profit a man to gain the wealth of California and +lose his own soul? Had he lost his soul, then? He had proved unfaithful +to his friend. Or had he been simply unfortunate? Ah, well! he hardly +knew. He was eager to see Robert Palmer again in the world to which he +was hastening. Then he would confess all, and be forgiven. For Robert +Palmer had loved him like a son. Yes, that was what made the cup so +bitter! + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +The Bridal Veil + + "Where ancient forests widely spread, + Where bends the cataract's ocean fall, + On the lone mountain's silent head, + There are Thy temples, Lord of All!" + + Andrews Norton. + + +As the trial and execution of J. C. P. Collins were the last acts in his +worthless career, so they were the last but one in the courtship of Mat +Bailey and Mamie Slocum. These comparatively young people were married +soon afterward. They were married and did not live happily ever after; +but they certainly enjoyed greater happiness than that which fell to the +lot of their friends, John Keeler and Dr. Mason only excepted. + +During a long life John Keeler reaped the reward of sterling integrity. +To the end of his days he remained a poor man. But no one in all Nevada +County was more highly respected. Not that he was much interested in +what other people thought of him, as he strove simply to win the respect +of his own exacting conscience. + +Dr. Mason, having at last had the satisfaction of seeing one murderer +brought to justice, felt that he might with dignity retire from the gold +fields, where good Anglo-Saxon ideas of law and order were beginning to +find acceptance. So he moved his family into the plains at the foot of +the Sierras, where in the town of Lincoln, Placer County, they enjoyed a +more genial and happy existence. + +Mr. and Mrs. Mat Bailey also moved away from Nevada County. But Mat had +become so strongly addicted to stage-driving that he could not give it +up even to enjoy the continuous society of his bride. He might, for +instance, have become a florist, and employed Mamie as his chief +assistant. Instead of this he took her to what he considered the most +beautiful place on earth. + +He established his home in the meadows of the Yosemite Valley, where the +clear waters of the Merced preserve the verdure of the fields the whole +summer through. In midsummer, the floor of the Yosemite Valley is like +an oasis in the desert. On all sides are rough, dry mountains; and if +you follow the river down to the San Joaquin Valley it becomes lost in a +vast parched plain. But between its mountain walls, where Mamie lived +and where Mat pursued his vocation, all is beautiful. + +From the mountain height across the river thundered the Yosemite Fall in +all its glory, a sight that allures travelers from the uttermost parts +of the earth. And down the valley a ways was the Bridal Veil, where Mat +and Mamie paused to worship when first they entered that enchanted +valley together. + +Their first drive after they went to house-keeping was to Artist Point. +Mamie felt that she never had loved Mat before as she did that day; for +as he exulted in the glories of the valley, with Half Dome at the end +and El Capitan standing in sublime magnificence before them, the scales +fell from her eyes, and she saw in her stage-driver husband the poet and +artist that he really was. + +He was artist enough not to attempt to show his sweetheart all the +glories of the Yosemite at once. He took the keenest delight in having +them grow upon her. It was fully two months before they climbed up out +of the valley to Inspiration Point, renewing their acquaintance with +familiar scenes and experiencing more stupendous grandeur. It was two +years after they came into the valley that Mat disclosed the most +tremendous magnificence of all. + +For years after it fairly took her breath away to think of it. First +they took the familiar road to Inspiration Point, then made their way +over the mountains where the Glacier Point Road now runs, and camped for +the night in the highlands of never-failing frost. Next morning they +pursued their way through the woods an interminable distance, as it +seemed to Mamie, until finally they stood upon the brink of a huge +canon, with a snowy mountain range in the distance beyond, and in the +intervening space, a vast panorama of granite mountain sides, almost +white,--here and there covered with a sparse growth of timber. The +waters from these mountain reaches had cut a channel for themselves +known as Little Yosemite Valley, where pour the two wonderful cataracts +known as Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. Their deep roar came up from the +valley. Mamie felt that she would be content to watch that scene the +whole day through. + +But Mat took her on to Glacier Point, where you look straight down more +than three thousand feet to the level floor of the Yosemite Valley. +There below, more than half a mile below, she saw her neighbors' +cottages; and the thought occurred to her, as she clung to Mat, that if +she should fall over the precipice she might crash through the roof of +one of these. She actually saw the good neighbor who was caring for her +own child during his mother's absence. Before the day of aviators it +seemed strange enough to look straight down from half a mile up in the +sky. + +Then came those scenes of terrifying magnificence when she followed Mat +over the trail cut along the perpendicular walls of the canon five miles +down to the floor of the Valley. One who has not passed over that trail +can scarcely conceive of it; and one who has, brings away a sense of the +sublime and the beautiful mingled with terror. There against the blue +sky stands the perpendicular wall of Half Dome, almost within arm's +reach, seemingly, in that clear atmosphere. There stand El Capitan and +the Three Graces. And there at every turn of the trail pours the +glorious Yosemite Fall, at first too far away for the ear to notice its +distant thunder. Then on closer approach the faint roar is heard across +the canon. The attention becomes fixed more and more upon this majestic +cataract, to set off which the wonderful mountain walls seem to have +been specially created. The trail from Glacier Point, beginning at an +altitude above the top of the fall opposite, reveals it in its whole +nakedness--shows its rise in the vast watershed of upland mountain +valleys, and then by degrees leads you closer and closer to it until, at +Union Point, its glory is perfect. + +But why attempt to outline the wonders of that famous valley? + +If Mr. and Mrs. Mat Bailey were not actually happy ever after, they +found life worth living. As only people of humble fortune are likely to +do, they lived the simple life. And they found it pleasant. They +realized, as many people of humble fortune do not, that the sweetest +pleasure can be derived from the cheerful performance of obvious and +commonplace duties. Mat had always taken pride in his unpretentious +calling, and his wife learned to love the blessed busy life of wife and +mother. + +Her sons and daughters, knowing no better because of their peculiar +environment, grew up believing this old earth most beautiful, and the +nobility of their world seemed to create in them nobility of character. +The sheltered peace of that green valley entered into their souls. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Forty-one Thieves, by Angelo Hall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FORTY-ONE THIEVES *** + +***** This file should be named 19695.txt or 19695.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/6/9/19695/ + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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