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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/30588-8.txt b/30588-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f1288a --- /dev/null +++ b/30588-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6021 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska, by Frank Gee Patchin + +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: The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska + The Gold Diggers of Taku Pass + +Author: Frank Gee Patchin + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [EBook #30588] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "I File the Claim!" Shouted Tad. _Frontispiece._] + + + + +THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA + +OR + +THE GOLD DIGGERS OF TAKU PASS + +By + +FRANK GEE PATCHIN + +Author of The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies, The Pony Rider Boys in +Texas, The Pony Rider Boys in Montana, The Pony Rider Boys in the +Ozarks, The Pony Rider Boys in the Alkali, The Pony Rider Boys in New +Mexico, The Pony Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon, The Pony Rider Boys +with the Texas Rangers, The Pony Rider Boys on the Blue Ridge, The +Pony Rider Boys in New England, The Pony Rider Boys in Louisiana, +etc., etc. + +Illustrated + +THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY + +Akron, Ohio--New York + +Made in U. S. A. + + + + +Copyright MCMXXIV + +By THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY + +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + + +CONTENTS + +PAGE + +Chapter I--Through Enchanting Waters 11 + + The mystery of the Gold Diggers. The story of an + Indian capture. The skipper gives himself a hunch. + The lure of the yellow metal. The abode of an + angry spirit. + +Chapter II--The Boys Scent a Plot 29 + + Ned Rector puts his foot in. The man with the + combustible whiskers. Tad overhears an exciting + conversation. His duty not clear to him. Attacked + by a desperado. + +Chapter III--In Desperate Straits 40 + + Almost hurled overboard. Help comes in the nick + of time. Tad accuses his assailant. Whiskers as + evidence. Plotters are driven from the ship by + young Butler. + +Chapter IV--On the Overland Trail 48 + + "You have neglected your horse education." Tad + amazes a horse trader. Chunky wants no "quick" + mules. Driving a keen bargain. The boys decide + to guide themselves. + +Chapter V--Traveling a Dangerous Mountain Pass 59 + + The Professor tells the boys about the "great + country." When a fellow needs a bird's eye. A + toboggan slide that might reach to Asia. Pony + Rider Boys hear a terrifying sound. + +Chapter VI--Caught in a Giant Slide 69 + + A pack mule swept from the ledge. Tad fires a + humane shot. Taking desperate chances to rescue + the pack. "I don't propose to lose my lasso." + +Chapter VII--Going to Bed by Daylight 82 + + How the pack mule was buried. Heavy obstacles are + overcome. A cure for cold feet. The fat boy knows + his own capacity. Tents are swallowed up in the + gloom of an Alaskan night. + +Chapter VIII--An Intruder in the Camp 91 + + The fat boy's singing brings disaster. Professor + Zepplin wields his stick. A wild scrimmage in + pajamas. The mystery of the lost ham. "There + has been a prowler in this camp while we slept!" + +Chapter IX--A Mystery Unsolved 103 + + "It was an Indian who did this job." Stacy is + roped out of bed. Two fish on one hook. Suspicion + is directed toward Tad. Ned's head suffers the loss + of some hair. + +Chapter X--In the Home of the Thlinkits 113 + + Ned Rector is full of fight. Stacy makes Tad Butler + dance. Chunky plans revenge. The fat boy finds a + food emporium. A mother squaw in a rage. + +Chapter XI--The Guide Who Made a Hit 125 + + "Me heap big smart man." Anvik refuses to + "mush" because the spirits are abroad. "Him + kick like buck caribou." Tad Butler gets a new + title. Off for the wilds. + +Chapter XII--In the Heart of Nature 136 + + From trail to trackless wilderness. A grilling hike. + Tad, in a fine shot, bags an antelope. "Hooray! + Maybe that was a chance shot!" A ducking in an + icy mountain stream. + +Chapter XIII--A Pony Rider Boy's Pluck 146 + + Tad carries the dead doe to camp. "Him heap + big little man." Stacy knows how to "skin the + cat." The antelope dressed by the Indian guide. + Fresh meat in plenty now. + +Chapter XIV--Stacy Bumps the Bumps 152 + + The difficulty of leading a mule. Chunky and the + animal go over the brink. Tin cans rattle down the + mountain side. The fat boy hung up by one foot. + +Chapter XV--The Story in the Dead Fire 162 + + "White boy see almost like Indian." Campers had + left in a hurry. Stacy discovers something. Eating + ice cream with a pickle fork. Surrounded by + mysteries in the great mountains. + +Chapter XVI--A Sign from the Mountain Top 167 + + "Him white man smoke." The wonders of mountain + signaling. Friends or enemies? Overwhelmed + by an avalanche of ice. A roar and an even more + terrifying silence. + +Chapter XVII--An Unexpected Meeting 174 + + "Innua him mad." Heap big ice nearly wipes out + the Pony Rider Boys' camp. Tad makes a morning + excursion and meets an unpleasant surprise. + +Chapter XVIII--An Unfriendly Reception 178 + + Tad boldly faces his accusers. Threats from the + prospectors. A man on Butler's trail. Tad takes a + pot shot and gets immediate results. "Stop that + shooting, you fool!" The fat boy draws a bead. + +Chapter XIX--The Professor in a Rage 189 + + "It's a lie!" thunders Professor Zepplin. Ordered + out of the hills on penalty of being shot. "If you are + looking for trouble you may have all you want!" + A threat to punch the prospector's nose. + +Chapter XX--Tad Discovers Something 198 + + Pony Rider Boys off for bear. The fat boy frightened + by a totem pole. In a place of many mysteries. + Tad makes a great find. A discovery that led + to sensational results. + +Chapter XXI--Conclusion 203 + + Rifle shots fired into the Pony Rider Boys' camp. + Miners in a frenzy of joy. Butler makes a new find. + Their boundary markings found destroyed. Tad + starts on a desperate ride. His claim must be filed + ahead of that of the enemy at whatever cost. A + race through ice-clogged waters. A fight to the finish + before the clerk's desk. A triumph for the Gold + Diggers of Taku Pass. The end of the long, long trail. + + + + +THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THROUGH ENCHANTING WATERS + + +"Captain, who are the four silent men leaning over the rail on the other +side of the boat?" asked Tad Butler. "I have been wondering about them +almost ever since we left Vancouver. They don't seem to speak to a +person, and seldom to each other, though somehow they appear to be +traveling in company. They act as if they were afraid someone would +recognize them. I am sure they aren't bad characters." + +Captain Petersen, commander of the steamer "Corsair," which for some +days had been plowing its way through the ever-changing northern waters, +stroked his grizzled beard reflectively. + +"Bad characters, eh?" he twinkled. "Well, no, I shouldn't say as they +were. They're fair-weather lads. I'll vouch for them if necessary, and I +guess I'm about the only person on board that knows who they are." + +Tad waited expectantly until the skipper came to the point of the story +he was telling. + +"They are the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass, lad." + +"The Gold Diggers of Taku Pass?" repeated Tad Butler. "I don't think I +ever heard that name before. Where is this pass, sir?" + +The skipper shook his head. + +"No one knows," he said. + +"That is strange," wondered Butler. "Does no one know where they dig for +gold?" + +"No. They don't even know themselves," was the puzzling reply. + +Tad fixed the weather-beaten face of the skipper with a questioning +gaze. + +"I don't think I understand, sir." + +"I'll tell you what I know about it some other time, lad. I haven't the +time to spin the yarn now. It's a long one. I've been sailing up and +down these waters, fair weather and foul, for a good many years, and +I've seen a fair cargo of strange things in my time, but this Digger +outfit is the most peculiar one I ever came across. They are a living +example of what the lure of gold means when it gets into a man's system. +Gold is all right. I wish I had more of it; but, my boy, don't ever let +the love of it get to the windward of you if you hope to enjoy peace of +mind afterwards," concluded the skipper with emphasis. + +"What's that he says about gold?" interjected Stacy Brown, more commonly +known to his companions as Chunky, the fat boy. + +Stacy, with Ned Rector and Walter Perkins, had been lounging against the +starboard rail of the "Corsair," observing Tad and the Captain as they +talked. A few paces forward sat Professor Zepplin, their traveling +companion, wholly absorbed in a scientific discussion with an engineer +who was on his way to an Alaskan mine, of which the latter was to assume +control. Many other passengers were strolling about the decks of the +"Corsair." There were seasoned miners with bearded faces; sharp-eyed, +sharp-featured men with shifty eyes; pale-faced prospectors on their way +to the land of promise, in quest of the yellow metal; capitalists going +to Alaska to look into this or that claim with a view to investment; +and, more in evidence than all the rest, a large list of tourists bound +up the coast on a merry holiday. The former, in most instances, were +quiet, reserved men, the latter talkative and boisterous. + +"The Captain was speaking of the lure that gold holds for the human +race," replied Tad Butler in answer to Stacy Brown's question. "I guess +the Captain is right, too." + +"Be warned in time, Chunky," added Rector. + +"I've never seen enough gold to become lured by it," retorted the fat +boy. "I should like to see enough to excite me just once. I shouldn't +mind being lured that way. Would you, Walt?" + +Walter Perkins shook his head and smiled. + +"I fear you will have to shake yourself--get over your natural +laziness--before you can hope to," chuckled Ned. "I doubt if you would +know a lure if you met one on Main Street in Chillicothe." + +"Try me and see," grinned Stacy. + +"There must be a lot of gold up here, judging from what I have read, and +from the number of persons going after it," added Tad, with a sweeping +gesture that included the deckload of miners and prospectors. "But the +hardships and the heart-breakings must be terrible. I have read a lot +about the terrors that men have gone through in this country, especially +in the awful winters they have in Alaska." + +"I shouldn't mind them if I had a sledge and a pack of dogs to tote me +around, the way they do up here," declared Chunky. + +"That would be great fun," agreed young Perkins. "You wouldn't have far +to fall if you got bucked off from that kind of broncho, would you, +Stacy?" + +"Not unless you fell off a mountain," answered Ned, glancing at the +distant towering cliffs of the coast range. + +"I was asking the Captain about those four men yonder," said Tad. + +"Oh, the fellows who don't speak to anyone?" nodded Rector. + +"Yes." + +"Who are they? I have wondered about them." + +"I don't know their names, but the skipper tells me they are known as +the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass," replied Butler. "The queer part of it +is, he says, that no one, so far as he is aware, knows even that there +is such a place as Taku Pass. They don't know themselves," added Tad +with a smile. + +"That's strange," wondered Rector. "Crazy?" + +"No, I think not. They are prospecting for an unknown claim," replied +Tad. + +"I--I don't know anything about that," spoke up Stacy Brown. "But I know +who those fellows are." + +"You do?" exclaimed the boys in chorus. + +"Yes. I asked them. That's the way to find out what you want to know, +isn't it?" chuckled Stacy. + +"Who are they?" asked Butler laughingly. + +"The minery-looking fellow is Sam Dawson. The one beside him is Curtis +Darwood. The tall, slim chap nearest to us is Dill Bruce. They call him +the Pickle for short." + +"He looks sour enough to be one," laughed Walter. + +"The other chap, the little one, is Curley Tinker. And there you have +the whole outfit. I'll introduce you to them if you like," volunteered +Chunky. + +"No, thank you. I already have tried to talk with the men, but they +don't seem inclined to open their mouths," replied Butler. + +"It strikes me that you have made more progress that anyone else on this +boat, so far as the four gold diggers are concerned," added Rector, +addressing Chunky. + +"Yes, I am convinced that Chunky is rather forward," agreed Tad. + +"Oh, no one can resist me," averred the fat boy. "Anything else you want +to know, Tad?" + +"Yes, a great deal. But here is the Captain. He will tell me." + +Captain Petersen had taken a fancy to the boys almost from the first. He +had learned who they were early on that voyage, and in the meantime they +had become very well acquainted with the commander of the "Corsair." He +had taken pains to explain to the lads many things about the country +past which they were sailing--things that otherwise they would not have +known, and the voyage was proving very interesting to them, as well as +to Professor Zepplin himself. + +"Come below now and I'll tell you the story," invited Captain Petersen, +starting to descend the after companionway. "All of you come along. That +will save your asking questions later on," he smiled. + +"You see, he invited you on my account," chuckled Stacy Brown, tapping +his breast with the tips of his fingers. + +The lads filed down the companionway behind the Captain, and when they +had finally settled themselves in the skipper's cabin and he had lighted +his pipe, he began to speak. + +"I always come below and put my feet on the table after we pass the +Shoal of Seals," he explained. "That is the time I take my 'watch +below,' as we call it, when we come down for a rest or a sleep. But you +are eager to hear the story. Very good. Here goes. A good many years ago +an expedition came up to this part of the world on an exploring mission. +In that party was a Dr. Darwood from some place in the East. I don't +believe I ever heard the name of the place, and if I knew the state I +have forgotten it. Well, to make a long story short, the party was +ambushed by the Kak-wan-tan Indians. Every man of the party was captured +and all were put to death, with the exception of Dr. Darwood. Somehow, +the Indians had learned that he was a big medicine man, so they made the +Doctor captive and took him over the mountains many miles from there. +They probably killed the others so as to make sure of the Doctor." + +"What did they want with a medicine man?" interjected the fat boy. + +"They wanted him professionally. Their chief was a very sick man. I +guess the old gentleman was about ready to die. At least he thought so. +The chief bore the name of Chief Anna-Hoots. Nice name, eh? No wonder he +got sick." + +"He must have belonged to the owl family," observed Chunky. + +Tad rebuked the fat boy with a look. The Captain regarded Stacy +quizzically, then proceeded with his story. + +"Their own medicine man had been killed by a bear. You see his medicine +wasn't calculated to head off bears. The chief, therefore, was in a bad +way. Dr. Darwood was commanded to make the chief well, and, so the story +goes, after examining Hoots, he at once saw what was the trouble with +the old man. He set to work over the savage, not so much from a +professional interest as that he knew very well his life would be +forfeited did he not do something for the patient. It is a safe guess +that the Doctor never had worked more heroically over a patient. Well, +he saved the chief--had him on his feet and hopping around as lively as +a jack-rabbit in less than twenty-four hours. There was great rejoicing +among Anna's people, and Darwood was feasted and made much of. He was +almost as big a man as Old Hoots himself. Nothing was too good for him +in that camp." + +"Why didn't he poison the whole tribe while he had the chance?" +questioned Rector. + +"Perhaps it wasn't professional," smiled the Captain in reply. "But +Chief Anna-Hoots--precious old rascal that he was--was so grateful that +he made the Doctor chief medicine man over all the tribes and a tribal +chief of one of the subordinate tribes. And now we are coming to the +point of our story. Old Hoots, later on, let the Doctor into a great +secret. Having driven the evil spirits out of Anna and set him on his +feet almost as good as new, the patient evidently was of the opinion +that the medicine man was entitled to something more than the ordinary +fee for such a service. He took the Doctor to a place where a roaring +glacial stream of icy water was tearing down through a narrow gash in +the mountains on its way to the sea, and there he showed the +doctor-chief gold in great quantities, so the story runs, the pass being +guarded by the Bear Totem. It is not certain whether the vein from which +this gold had been washed was then known. I think Darwood must have +found it later on and located a claim. He at least took from the mouth +of the pass enough gold to make him a fairly rich man. This he hid away, +awaiting a favorable opportunity to get away with it. Such opportunity +presented itself while his tribe was away on a hunt in the fall for meat +for the winter, and made his escape. After some months of terrible +hardships he succeeded in reaching civilization, fairly staggering under +the weight of the gold he had brought away. He had the gold-madness +badly, you see." + +"He was plucky," muttered Butler. + +"Yes. It was Darwood's intention to return, at the head of a well-armed +party, properly equipped, and work the pay dirt to its limit. But he +died before he could do so. The hardships of that journey, loaded down +with dust and nuggets, led to his ultimate death. You see what avarice +will do to a fellow. It gets to windward of him every time." + +"I'd be willing to stagger under all I could carry and take my chances +on the future," observed Chunky reflectively. + +"So would we all," nodded the skipper. "That's the worst of us, our +greed. I am glad I am at sea, where I _can't_ dig. Nothing was done +in the matter of locating and working the claim for some years after the +Doctor's death. Then a grandson, Curtis Darwood, who is now aboard this +boat, found a paper or map or something of the sort, on which was a +description of the Doctor's find. It couldn't have been very definite or +they wouldn't have been so long in locating the place. Of course, the +younger man was fired with the desire to find this wonderful mine. The +lure had him fast and hard. He came up here alone the first time and +prospected all summer, but failed, and late that fall he went back home. +When he returned the three other men, who are his companions now, were +with him. They have been together ever since in their prospecting work. +Dawson is a pioneer prospector who knows the game thoroughly. The +others, who have been up here three years, might now be placed in the +same class, though Dawson is the real miner. One can't help but admire +their pluck and persistence, but I shouldn't want to be caught +interfering with them. When a fellow gets the gold madness he is a +dangerous customer to annoy." + +"Have they found the gold?" asked Walter Perkins. + +Captain Petersen shook his head. + +"I think not. If they have, only they know it. They take no one into +their confidence. They went home for the winter last fall, and what +amazes me further is that they are getting up here so late this spring. +Here it is June. They should have been on the job six weeks ago, and in +order to do so they ought to have wintered in the hills. To me that +means something. It will be a wonder if this unusual move on their part +doesn't attract attention. You may believe they are watched. There are, +no doubt, those who are watching the Diggers, and who do not miss any of +their movements." The skipper hesitated, then brought a big fist down on +his cabin table with a bang that set the glassware jingling. "By George, +I begin to see a light!" he roared. + +"What do you mean?" cried Chunky. + +"What is it, sir?" chorused Tad and Ned in one voice. + +"That accounts for Red Whiskers. That accounts for his presence on--" +The skipper checked himself suddenly. "But no matter. It isn't for me to +say." He lapsed into thoughtful silence. "Well, what do you think of the +story?" he asked a few moments later. + +"It is all very remarkable," answered Butler. "Where are they +going--their destination, I mean?" + +"You never can tell. They have explored pretty much all of the country +within a few hundred miles of here, and it wouldn't surprise me at all +if they had stumbled over the right place dozens of times and didn't +know it. But there is one significant fact. They have brought up a lot +of equipment this time. It looks as if they thought they had the place +pretty well located. It certainly does look that way. There's another +thing I forgot to tell you. This place, this pass where the gold is +supposed to lie, is the abode of a great and angry spirit." + +"A really, truly spirit?" questioned Walter wonderingly. + +"I can't say about the really-truly business," replied Captain Petersen, +with a grin. "I am telling you the story as I have heard it. Had Old +Hoots' tribe known that the Doctor went in there and dug out gold which +he salted away they would have put him to death. It's a sacred place. It +was then, and I'll wager it is now. You may believe that the +superstition has been handed down." + +"But the Indians up here now are not at all savage, are they?" asked +Butler. + +"Perhaps not where the white man has taken possession in force. But you +get into the far interior--there is a great deal of Alaska that the +white man knows very little about yet--and you will find them savage +enough, provided they think they have you in a pocket, and especially so +if you interfere with any of their religious customs or beliefs. In +these respects they are simply human." + +"I should call them inhuman," observed the fat boy. + +"I don't blame them," nodded Tad. + +"Now, that is the story of the Gold Diggers, so far as I know it," +continued the Captain. "As I have already said, not many persons up here +do know it. A veil of mystery surrounds the four silent men. They make +no other friends, confide in no one, and live in a little world all +their own. The story, as I have repeated it to you, was told to me by a +man from their part of the country who came up here to spend the summer +last season. That is how I came to know the details. It is possible, +though not probable, that you might get them to tell you something about +the country." + +"I'll make them talk," answered Stacy pompously. + +"What is their destination?" asked Butler quickly. + +"Skagway. However, that undoubtedly is a blind. They may be going on +farther from that point, or they may be intending to work back along the +coast after they leave the ship, then strike into the hills at some +remote point. I can't say as to that, of course. They will disappear. +You may depend upon that, and nothing may be heard of them again for a +year." + +"What do they do for provisions?" questioned Rector. + +"The same as you will have to do if you penetrate far into the interior. +They hunt and fish, saving their canned supplies for the winter, for the +winter months are long and drear up in this far northern country." + +"When does winter set in?" asked Ned. + +"Very early. It seems to be most always winter up here." + +"Thank you very much," said Tad. "This has been most interesting. I +should like to ask them something about the country where we are going. +Of course I shouldn't presume to question them about their own affairs. +That would be none of my business." + +"Where are you going?" + +"We had planned to strike north from Yakutat." + +"You will find rough country that way. I should say you would have tough +traveling all the way. If you can get the Gold Diggers to open up, they +will undoubtedly be able to give you some useful information that would +enable you to lay your course to the best advantage. But I think I know +the Diggers. You may not be able to get a civil word out of them." + +"They'll talk to me," answered the fat boy confidently. + +"Please don't permit yourself to be overcome," warned Rector. "Remember +your most excellent opinion of yourself has been the cause of some +mighty falls already." + +"Well, I fell in soft spots anyhow," retorted Stacy. + +"Ordinarily on your head, I believe," answered Ned quickly. + +Again thanking the Captain for his kindness, the lads returned to the +deck. Tad leaned against the rail thinking over the story related by the +skipper. The romance of the quest of the Diggers appealed to Butler's +adventure-loving nature. He declared to himself that he would draw them +into conversation and satisfy his further curiosity. Looking them over +in the light of what he had heard, Tad saw that the four were +determined-looking men, were men who would do and dare, no matter how +great the obstacles or the perils. He could not but feel a keen +admiration for them. They were real men, even if they were surly and +reticent. + +"Tad, how would you like to belong to that party of prospectors?" asked +Ned, nodding toward the four. + +"I can't imagine anything more exciting. I wish we might. I wonder if +they are going our way?" + +"Why don't you ask them?" + +"I intend to," answered Tad, rousing himself and starting towards the +prospectors who were lounging apart from the other passengers on the +deck of the steamer. + +"Watch him get turned down," grinned Stacy. "I shall have to break the +ice for him. He never will be able to do it for himself." + +"Better wait until you are asked," advised Ned Rector. + +As Stacy had said, Tad did not succeed in getting into conversation with +the Diggers that day. Early on the following morning the boys were on +deck, being unwilling to miss a single moment of the scenery. + +The "Corsair" was swinging majestically into Queen Charlotte Sound, a +splendid sweep of purple water, where great waves from the Pacific +rolled in, sending the steamer plunging desperately. There was a scurry +on the part of many of the early risers to get below decks, for the +change from the quiet waters through which the boat had been sailing to +this tumultuous sea was more than most of them were able to stand. Stacy +Brown was already on his back in the shadow of a life boat, groaning +miserably. Walter Perkins' face was pale, but he held himself together +by a strong effort of will, but Tad Butler and Ned Rector appeared not +in the least affected by the roll of the steamer. Both were lost in +admiration of the scene that was unfolding before them. + +"They roll along with the lightness of thistledown across a green +field," declared Tad enthusiastically, speaking to himself. "It is +simply glorious." + +He heard someone come to the rail at his side, but the lad was too fully +absorbed to look around. + +"That wasn't bad for a sentiment, young fellow," said a voice at his +elbow. "If you stay up in this country long enough, however, you will +get all the sentiment frozen out of you. I know, for I've been all +through it. I'm lucky that my bones aren't up yonder somewhere." + +"Yes, sir," answered Butler. + +Glancing around he found himself gazing into the face of Curtis Darwood. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE BOYS SCENT A PLOT + + +"Oh, how do you do, sir. Did I say anything?" + +"Well, there's a chance for a difference of opinion as to that," smiled +the miner. + +"I have been enjoying the scenery, sir. Isn't it beautiful?" + +"You should see it at sunrise," answered Darwood. "These mists are well +worth coming all the way up here to gaze upon. In the morning they take +on all the delicate tints of the primrose. Then at sunset of course the +colors grow warmer--amber, orange, gold--almost everything that could be +imagined in the way of wonderful colorings. All that sort of thing, you +know. I never saw anything like it in any part of the world, and I've +seen some," added the Gold Digger reflectively. + +"I should like to see it at sunset," answered Tad. "Is it ever like this +in the interior, sir?" + +"Interior of what?" + +"Of the country? Up there in the mountains?" + +Darwood gave the boy a quick glance of inquiry. There was suspicion in +his eyes. + +"In the far country?" added Butler. + +"I can't say as to that; I can't say that I know," replied the +prospector shortly. + +"What we wanted to ask you about was the Yakutat trail from the coast +up?" interjected Ned. "You see, we are going that way and we want to get +all the information we can about the trails and the country itself." + +Tad gave his companion a warning look, but Ned persisted in pressing his +questioning. The miner's hands dropped from the rail. + +"I reckon you would better ask someone else. I can't tell you anything +about the trail," replied Darwood, turning on his heel and striding +away. + +"There, you've done it now," complained Butler ruefully. "Of course you +had to break in and spoil it all. Now we shan't get another opportunity. +Mr. Darwood is suspicious of us, and he won't talk with us again. It's +too bad." + +"Well, you wanted to know. What's the use in beating about the bush when +you want to know a thing. I believe in asking for what you want," +protested Ned. + +"So do I, but it isn't always best to go at it bald-headed. However, +never mind, Ned. I am now convinced that there would be little use in +asking Mr. Darwood questions in any circumstances. The instant you begin +to talk Alaska with that man he is going to shy off. He fears he might +be trapped into an admission, or else he thinks we are trying to pump +him for some other reason. You may be sure that others have tried to +draw him out, believing they might obtain information that he is +supposed to possess." + +"They are a queer lot," muttered Ned. "Didn't the Captain say no one +knew anything about this gold pass, or whatever you call it?" + +"Taku Pass? Yes. That is, he said few persons knew of it, but you may be +sure that the purpose of these men up here is known. There are plenty of +gentlemen waiting to beat those four into the land of golden promise. I +don't blame the Diggers for having their suspicions of everyone about +them. I wish I could convince them that we aren't that sort of people. I +like that fellow. I'd like to help him, too," mused Tad. + +"I shouldn't. However, I'm sorry I put my foot in it," nodded Ned. + +"You needn't be. See! We are running out of the swell now." + +The steamer, soon coming under the lee of the islands, was steaming into +Fitzhugh Sound, where dangerous shoals menace the navigators of these +enchanting waters. Captain Petersen was now occupying the little bridge +just forward of the pilot house. His face was grim and set. The good +fellow was no longer present--it was now the master, bent upon attending +to his duties. + +The sound is a slender waterway, extending directly northward fully +thirty miles, more entrancing, it seemed to the boys, than any other +water over which they had sailed. The Pony Rider Boys were having a +glorious passage into the far north where they were going in search of +new adventure. They were bound for the wildest and most remote section +of Uncle Sam's domain, where they hoped to spend the summer months. + +Now that the waters had become more quiet, Stacy Brown slowly dragged +himself from the shadow of the life-boat and stood gripping the gunwale. +After getting his head leveled somewhat he walked unsteadily to his +companions who were leaning on the steamer's rail regarding him with +smiling faces. + +"Sick?" questioned Tad. + +"No; merely ailing," replied the fat boy. + +"I wouldn't be a landlubber," jeered Rector. + +"You would, if you were in my place," muttered Stacy. + +On through a panorama of changing scenes and colors sailed the +"Corsair." In Finlayson Channel, some distance farther on, the forest +that lined the shores was a solid mountain of green on each side, the +trees growing down to the water. Here the reflections were so brilliant +that the dividing line between shore and water was difficult for the +untrained eye to make out. The boys seemed to be gazing upon an optical +illusion. From the water's edge the mountains rose sheer to a great +height, their distant peaks capped with snow glistening in the morning +sunlight, while glacial streams flashed over the open spaces on the +mountain sides. + +"Is there no end to it?" wondered Tad Butler, gazing at the scenery +until his eyes ached. + +"It is all very wonderful," agreed Professor Zepplin. + +"I call it tiresome," declared the fat boy wearily. "I prefer something +exciting." + +Ned suggested that he jump overboard. Stacy replied that he would were +it not that he didn't want to put his companions to the trouble of +rescuing him. + +The entrancing scenery continued at intervals until the evening of the +second day after their unsuccessful attempt to draw out Curtis Darwood. +They were now passing through Frederick Sound, bordered by spire-shaped +glaciers that towered in the sky, pale and chaste, more than two +thousand feet above the sound. Darkness fell, the sky being overcast, +and the air chill, giving the passengers the shivers and sending them to +their cabins below. Tad Butler and Ned Rector had clambered to the top +of the deck-house and settled themselves between the two smokestacks. It +was a nice warm berth and they appreciated it. They seemed far away from +human habitation there. + +"You said you had something to tell me this evening," Ned reminded his +companion, after a few moments of contented silence. + +"Yes. It was about last night. You remember that remark of the skipper's +the other day, don't you?" + +"About what?" + +"What he said about 'Red Whiskers'?" + +"Yes." + +"I have the gentleman located, Ned. I am reasonably certain that I have. +Of course it's none of my business, but I have been curious ever since +the Captain said that. My man has red whiskers, regular combustible +whiskers," added the freckle-faced boy with a grin. + +"There are several men on board this boat who wear red upholstery on +their chins," averred Rector. + +"I know that, but this one is the fellow, all right," declared Tad in a +confident tone. + +"You know something!" exclaimed Ned. + +"I do. Don't speak so loudly. Someone might hear. I heard someone +passing along the deck just below us a moment ago." + +"No one down there could distinguish what we were saying," answered Ned, +as the two drew back farther between the steel bases of the two funnels. + +"Well?" urged Ned. + +"The man referred to by Captain Petersen is Sandy Ketcham, the tall, +lank fellow, with the squinty eyes and the stoop shoulders. He has a +trick of peering up from under his eyelids when he looks at you." + +"Oh! I know the one you mean, and I don't like his looks. How did you +know?" + +"Since the Captain made that remark about 'Red Whiskers' I have been +taking an interest in every man on the boat who wore red whiskers," said +Tad. "I tried to decide, in my own mind, which of them was the right +one." + +"So did I," admitted Ned. "But I got all mixed up. If you succeeded in +picking out the right one you are mighty sharp. I wish I were as keen as +you." + +"Keen? Not a bit of it! It was a pure accident that I found out. I just +blundered on the truth last night. The man I had picked out wasn't the +fellow at all. I had the wrong man, so you see I am not so smart as you +thought. You remember you left Stacy and myself sitting on a bale of +freight at the rear end of the boat when you went down late last +evening?" + +"Yes. Chunky was half asleep." + +"Exactly. Well, I shook him up a few moments later and he went below +grumbling because I wouldn't let him sleep when he was so comfortable. +He was liable to catch cold in the damp air. Then I went to sleep +myself," admitted Butler. "I'm not much of an adviser, am I?" + +"Go on," urged Rector. + +"Something awakened me. Two men were talking nearby. I couldn't see +them, but could hear every word they said. One of the two I recognized +by his voice. The other I was unable to place. I got him placed right +to-day though, when I heard him talking on deck. They are a precious +pair of rascals, Ned. Perhaps it is considered fair enough up here to do +those things, but I just can't hold myself when I see crookedness going +on." + +"You haven't said what it was about yet," reminded Ned. + +"They were plotting against Darwood." + +"You don't say?" + +"Yes, they were." + +"How?" + +"I am not going to tell you now. The question is, ought I to tell Mr. +Darwood? Would it be right to carry tales, even in a case like this?" + +"Not knowing what the case is I can't very well advise you," answered +Ned Rector. + +"What did they say?" + +"I'd rather not say a word about that until I have decided what to do." + +"You're a queer chap, Tad. You arouse my curiosity; then you won't +satisfy it." + +"You shall know all about it in good time. Hark! Was that you who kicked +the collar of the stack?" + +"No. I didn't hear anything. Who was the other man?" + +"His name is Ainsworth. He is a prospector, too. They are together, he +and the man Sandy. There are some others in the plot, as I learned from +the conversation, but I hardly think they are on board. I take it that +the others are to meet this party at Skagway, which proves to me that +the plans of our friends, the four Gold Diggers, were learned by the +plotters some time before the former set sail for the north country. Oh, +it is a fine game of grab they are planning! But I believe that, if Mr. +Darwood be warned in time, he will be perfectly able to take care of +himself. I am quite sure I shouldn't care to be the other fellow." + +"I don't know why we should get so excited over it," grumbled Ned. +"Darwood and his companions are no friends of ours. I should say that +quite the opposite is the case." + +"But they are real men, just the same," objected Tad. "I don't care +whether they are friendly to us or not. Come on; let's get down." + +Grasping awning spars the two lads swung down to the promenade of the +upper deck. After they had cleared the deck-house a man dropped to the +deck from the deck-house, on the opposite side. + +After a few moments' stroll, during which the boys continued their +conversation, they went below. On reaching his cabin, Butler discovered +that he had lost his pocket knife. Thinking that it had slipped from his +pocket while the two were lounging on the deck-house, Tad went back to +look for it. He was the only person in sight on deck. That part of the +deck was unlighted, save as a faint glow shone up through the engine +room grating. The freckle-faced boy looked carefully about on top of the +deck-house for several minutes, in search of his lost knife, lighting +match after match to aid him in his quest. He failed to find it. With a +grunt of disappointment he again swung himself to the deck. + +The instant his feet touched the deck, Tad Butler met with a violent +surprise. He was suddenly grabbed from behind. A powerful arm gripped +him like a vise, pinioning his own right arm to his side, while a big +hand was clapped over his mouth, forcing the lad's head violently +backwards with a jolt which for the moment he thought had dislocated his +neck. + +Tad struggled and fought with all his might, but to little purpose. The +boy realized that he was in the hands of a man who was a giant for +strength and who was slowly but surely forcing him toward the steamer's +rail. The Pony Rider Boy felt a bushy beard over his shoulder and +against his neck. Now he was against the rail, facing out over the +water. Butler knew that, despite his struggles, he was going to be +dropped over the side. Then a sudden idea came to him. Tad shot up his +free left hand, fastening his fingers in the long beard of the man +behind him. He heard a smothered exclamation over his shoulder, and for +the instant the hand over his mouth was withdrawn. + +"Help!" shouted Tad Butler. Then a blow on the head sent him limply to +the deck. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +IN DESPERATE STRAITS + + +Tad's assailant hastily gathered the boy up. The man staggered slightly, +as, after a hurried glance up and down the deck, he stepped toward the +rail with his burden. Just then footsteps were heard. + +"Hey! What are you doing there?" bellowed a voice. A man came running +from somewhere in the after part of the ship. Butler's assailant dropped +his burden, dodged into a passageway in the deck-house, closing the door +behind him and disappearing before the newcomer reached the door and +threw it open. Then the rescuer turned to the unconscious Tad Butler. + +"Well, here's trouble!" he muttered. Taking up Tad's limp form he +carried it to where the light from the grating shone up. "It's that +freckle-faced kid. Somebody gave him a tough wallop," growled the man. +Tad's rescuer was Sam Dawson, one of the Gold Diggers. "I reckon I'll +fetch him around if his neck isn't broken." + +Laying the lad down on the deck where he would have plenty of air, the +Digger worked over the Pony Rider Boy for fully five minutes before Tad +returned to consciousness. Butler was too dazed to realize what had +occurred. + +"I'll take you below now, my lad," said Dawson. + +"No, no. Not yet," protested Tad. "Wait. I want to think." + +"Who was the fellow who hit you?" demanded Dawson. + +"I--I don't know," stammered Tad. + +"What did he do it for?" + +"I--I don't know. I--" + +"You aren't very strong on information, are you?" grinned the +prospector. + +"I want--want to see Mr. Darwood." + +"You can see him to-morrow. You'd better get into your bunk right smart. +I'll help you down." + +"Thank you. I'll go alone--in a minute," said Butler, pulling himself up +by the rail to which he clung unsteadily. "I don't want anyone to know. +I'll tell Mr. Darwood what I have to say." + +"Have it your own way. I'm going to follow along behind, to see that you +get down all right," answered the man. + +"Thank you. I guess you saved me from getting a wetting," said the boy, +extending an impulsive hand. "Now I'll go to my cabin. Please don't say +anything about this. Good-night." + +Tad's progress below was slow and unsteady. Dawson watched him until the +door of the cabin had closed behind the Pony Rider Boy. + +"That's a raw deal," muttered the miner. "I'd like to punch the head of +the fellow who would do that to a kid!" + +Butler got into his bunk without awakening his companions. His head +ached terribly, and it was a long time before he fell asleep. The next +morning his head felt twice its ordinary size. The boys joked him on his +appearance, but Tad merely smiled, refusing to say what had been the +matter with him. Ned was suspicious. He knew that Butler had been +engaged in a scuffle, but what it was he was unable to imagine. Tad had +been strolling about the decks all the morning, as if in search of +someone. He found the man he was seeking late in the forenoon. The man +was sitting on a keg of nails on the after part of the upper deck, his +back to Tad. + +"Good morning, Mr. Ketcham," greeted the Pony Rider Boy. + +The red-whiskered man whirled, letting the hand that had been caressing +his beard fall limply to his side. + +"Beard hurt you?" questioned Tad sweetly. + +"None of yer business!" was the surly reply. + +"Mr. Ketcham, I know you and I know your game," began Butler in a low, +even tone. "I know, too, that you are the man who assaulted me and tried +to put me overboard." + +"I don't know what ye're talking about," growled Sandy. + +"Oh, yes you do--and so do I! I've a handful of whiskers which match +perfectly those you are wearing. Shall I pull some more for comparison +with those I already have?" questioned the boy aggravatingly. + +Ketcham half rose, then settled back again, as if fearing to trust +himself. + +"You may be thankful that you didn't do it. My companions would have +taken care of you, had anything happened to me," Tad went on composedly. +"I want to say, now, that it would be good judgment on your part not to +try any more strong-arm tactics on me or on my companions. If you do, +you will instantly find yourself in more kinds of trouble than you have +ever before experienced. Now that we know you, we shall be able to take +care of you as you deserve. I reckon you know what that means, Red +Whiskers." + +"Get out of here, before I do something to you!" roared Sandy. + +"Oh, no you won't! You don't dare raise your hand. I could turn you over +to the Captain and have you placed in irons till we get ashore. I have +proof enough to send you to a jail, if they have such places up here. +But I'm not going to do that. I am going to be fair with you and tell +you exactly what I propose. I am going to tell Curtis Darwood about you. +No, I shan't tell him who it is. I will tell him that someone is +following and watching him--you and Ainsworth. He will find you out, +never fear. I will give you one chance. Get off at the next stop, and I +will tell him after we leave there. Take your choice. Take your friend +with you. I don't want to be responsible for any shooting on this boat. +What do you say, Mr. Sandy?" + +The fellow's fingers opened and closed nervously. He attempted to speak +but failed three times. Finally he blurted out his answer: + +"Will you git out of here? I'll lose myself in a minit; then I won't +answer for what I do." + +"Never mind," answered Tad laughingly. "I can take care of myself. +_Your_ kind never did scare me worth a cent." + +Sandy sprang up. He hesitated for a few tense seconds, then strode +forward with Butler's soft chuckle in his ears. + +The two men did get off when the boat stopped late that afternoon. Tad +was at the rail watching them. Sam Dawson was also an observer of the +scene. He saw the threatening scowl that Ketcham gave the smiling Tad, +and drew his own conclusions, and at the same time decided that the +freckle-faced boy was pretty well able to hold his own. Dawson really +suspected part of the reason for this hasty disembarking, though he +thought it was because Tad had threatened to expose the man Ketcham. + +It was after supper when Tad called Ned Rector aside. + +"I promised to tell you, Ned. Come with me and listen to what I am going +to tell Mr. Darwood." + +Ned went willingly. Darwood was sitting on deck. Tad halted before him, +Darwood glancing up at the boys with languid interest. + +"May I speak with you?" asked the lad politely. + +"I reckon there's nothing to prevent," was the careless answer. + +Tad went direct to the point of his story. + +"A night or so ago I chanced to overhear two men who were passengers on +this boat talking of you and the gentlemen who were with you. They were +planning to follow and watch you. They thought you had discovered the +claim for which you have been looking for so long." + +Darwood shot an angry glance at the boy. + +"Go on," he growled. + +"From their conversation I inferred that perhaps you already had +discovered this claim and were on your way with equipment to work it. I +further understood that they were to be met by others on shore and that +the party was then to divide up and cover the movements of yourself and +your friends. One of these fellows, I think, overheard me telling part +of this story to my friend, Ned, last night, and the man tried to throw +me overboard, after nearly squeezing me to death and then punching my +head. I merely wanted to warn you to be on the lookout, and at the same +time to tell you that neither of the two men is on board now. You may +draw your own conclusions, sir." + +Ned Rector's face had flushed when Tad described the assault on himself. + +"Is that all?" asked Darwood indifferently. + +"Yes; I think so." + +"Thank you," said the Gold Digger, getting up slowly and strolling +forward. + +Ned laughed; Tad flushed. + +"That's what you get for meddling with other folks' business," declared +Rector. + +"I reckon you are right at that," answered Tad. Then he laughed +heartily. Nor did he exchange another word with the Gold Diggers of Taku +Pass during the rest of that journey on the "Corsair." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL + + +It was the early morn of a week later when the "Corsair" sailed into +Skagway harbor. Exclamations of delight were heard from every person who +had not been there before. This beautiful spot is located at the mouth +of the Skagway River, with mountains rising on all sides, from which +countless cascades rush foaming and sparkling down to the sea, or drop +sheer from such heights that one is forced to catch his breath. + +Skagway itself the Pony Rider Boys found gay with pretty cottages +climbing over the foot-hills; well-worn, flower-strewn paths leading to +the heights; the river's waters rippling over grassy flats; flower +gardens beyond the power of their vocabularies to describe. Added to +this, there was a sweetness in the air, which, as Stacy Brown expressed +it, "makes a fellow feel like sitting down and doing nothing for the +rest of his life." + +There were many trips to be taken from the city, perhaps the most +historic in all that wild country. The boys journeyed out into the +interior on the famous White Pass railway, climbed Mount Dewey to Dewey +Lake, and took a look at the hunting grounds where mountain sheep were +to be had providing one were quick enough on the trigger to get the +little animals before they leaped away. The next morning they turned +their attention to the task of purchasing such of their outfit as they +had not yet procured. + +Having been referred to a man who kept Alaskan ponies for sale, they +tramped out to the end of the long street on which the stores were +located. There, sure enough, was a large herd of them in a paddock in a +vacant lot. There were a good many vacant lots in Skagway. The boys +climbed the paddock fence and looked over the lot. + +"Me for that black one over yonder," cried Chunky. + +"Why the black one?" asked Ned. "I thought you liked the lighter colors, +the delicate tints?" + +"I do when some other fellow has to groom the animals. For a +labor-saving color give me black every time. With a black horse I can +sleep half an hour longer than any fellow who has a white one and yet be +ready for breakfast as soon as he is." + +"You're too lazy to change your mind," growled Ned Rector. + +"You want the black one, you say?" questioned Tad. + +"That's what I said." + +"And you, Ned?" + +"Oh, I don't care. I'll stand by your choice." + +"So will I," spoke up Walter. "The Professor said you were to choose +something in his class for him to ride, too." + +"Buy him a mule!" yelled Chunky. + +"Yes, that reminds me. We shall have to take a couple of mules. I wonder +if we can get them here. There comes the owner of this herd. We'll talk +to him." + +The owner of the ponies had been expecting the visit of the boys. He had +been told that they would require ponies and did not know that the Pony +Rider Boys had formed conclusions about them in advance. + +Tad introduced himself and his companions. + +"I've got just what you want, boys," nodded the owner. "Every one of +those fellows is kind and gentle and will stand without hitching." + +"That isn't exactly what we are looking for. We are not particular about +their being girls' horses. We want stock that has the gimp in it," Tad +informed him. + +"That's it, that's it. You've just hit it. Gimp! That's the word, and +there's another that fits--ginger! They're just full of ginger, every +one of them. There ain't any more lively nags in Alaska than these +fellows." + +"They must have changed within the last minute, then," smiled the Pony +Rider Boy. + +"How so?" + +"Why, you were just telling us how gentle they are, then almost in the +same breath you try to convince us that they are regular whirlwinds. +However, we'll let that go. What I do want to know is what sort of +mountain ponies they are. If they turn out not to be good mountain +climbers you may look for some trouble when we get back here." + +"Boys, every one of those nags has been brought up in this country. They +can follow a mountain trail like a deerhound, and that's straight. I +wouldn't sell you anything else." + +"Oh, no, certainly not," answered Butler. "How much for the +light-colored one?" + +"The buckskin?" + +"Yes." + +"Two hundred and fifty dollars." + +"I beg pardon?" asked Tad politely. + +"Two hundred and fifty." + +"I think you misunderstood me, sir. I didn't want to buy the whole +herd." + +"You wanted five ponies?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, there you are. The buckskin will cost you two-fifty and so will +the black. You can have any of the rest for two hundred and they're +cheap hosses at that." + +"Lead them out." + +"Then you'll take them at that?" + +"I haven't said anything about taking them, yet. I said lead them out. I +want to look them over." + +The owner smiled, but nodded to his hostler to rope and show the animals +to the young men. Tad examined a dozen head, out of which he got three +ponies, motioning to the hostler to tether them to one side where he +could look them over again. + +"What's the matter with the others?" asked the man. + +"Various things. Some are wind-broken, two have the distemper, and if +you don't watch out your whole herd will be getting it. I shall be +rather afraid to buy any stock of you on that account. How long have +they had the disease?" + +"I didn't know they had it at all," stammered the owner. + +"You had better watch them pretty carefully, then. How old is that +buckskin?" + +"Just coming four." + +"Did somebody tell you that, or did you learn it from your own +observation?" questioned Tad Butler sweetly. + +"I reckon I know a hoss's age when I look at his mouth," answered the +man, but not quite with the same assurance that he had made his first +statements. This clear-eyed, quiet young man, he began to understand, +knew a little something about horses, or at least pretended to. + +"Then, sir, you have neglected your horse education. The buckskin is +twelve years old," declared Butler firmly. + +"Mebby I might have made a mistake in looking at his mouth when I got +him," answered the owner apologetically. + +Suppressed grins might have been observed on the faces of the other +boys, who were still sitting on the paddock fence. They were leaving all +matters pertaining to the stock in Butler's hands, knowing full well +that Tad's judgment was better than theirs. + +In turn the lad once more examined the horses he had chosen, then added +to them enough to make up their allotment. + +"Stacy, you are quite sure you want the black?" he questioned. + +The fat boy nodded. + +"He has a slight ringbone," Tad informed him. + +"All the better." + +"Why do you say that? I never knew that a ringbone increased the value +of a horse." + +"A horse that wears rings must be a pretty classy horse," replied the +fat boy. "Me for the horse with the jewelry. Put a pair of natty boots +on him and there you have an outfit that would make a Mexican part with +his spurs." + +"Pshaw!" grunted Ned. "Very fancy, but not much good for real work." + +"Stacy doesn't mean that," answered Tad with a tolerant smile. + +"Yes, I do mean it." + +"We need a pack mule," said Butler, turning to the owner. "Can you tell +us where we may get one or two?" + +"Why, I've got just the critters you want. They're in the yard just back +of the stables. Say, Jim, drive out the mules." + +There were five mules in the pack driven out for their examination. +These started slowly moving about in a circle with heads well down, +trailing each other as if following a regular routine. + +"Fine young stock, hardy and true and quick," said the owner, rubbing +his palms together. + +"We don't want any quick one. We've had some experience with the quick +kind," declared Stacy Brown. "They were so quick I couldn't get out of +the way of their heels. No, siree, no quick mules for mine." + +"I don't think you need worry much about these," smiled Tad. "How much +do you ask for those fellows?" + +"How many?" + +"Two. I to take my pick." + +"A hundred apiece." + +"I wouldn't give that for the lot of them," scoffed Chunky. + +"Keep still. You aren't making this bargain," rebuked Ned, giving the +fat boy a poke in the ribs. + +Tad made a brief calculation on a slip of paper, then he looked up +severely. + +"Five ponies at seventy-five dollars would amount to three hundred and +seventy-five dollars. Two mules at forty each would be eighty more, +making a total of four hundred and fifty-five dollars," said Butler. +"I'll tell you what I will do. I will give you an even four hundred for +the five ponies I have picked out and the two mules that I shall +choose." + +"Outrageous!" exploded the owner. "Why, those mules are worth half of +the price you offer for the whole outfit." + +"Nonsense! Those mules have been used on crushers in the mines. Any one +could see that by watching them mill about in a circle--" + +"Five hundred dollars," broke in the owner. + +"Nothing doing, sir," answered Tad. "Four hundred even." + +"I'll make it four-fifty-five and not a cent less." + +"Come along, fellows. I know where we can get a better lot for the +money, anyway," declared Tad with a note of finality in his tone. + +"Don't I get my skate?" wailed Chunky. + +"Not at the price he asks. Never mind, I'll find you something better +for the money." Tad had already started away. His companions got slowly +down from the fence and followed, while the owner of the stock stood +mopping his forehead. + +"Here, take 'em!" he cried. "I might as well give them away, I suppose. +I need the money, but you're getting them for nothing." + +"You are wrong. As it is we are paying you a hundred dollars more than +the outfit is worth. Here is your money. Give me a receipt in full. We +will get the stock out some time this afternoon." + +"You're the hardest driver of a bargain I ever come up with," protested +the man. + +"You know you don't mean that. If we hadn't known something about horses +you know you would have done us to a turn," answered Tad, laughing. +"Yes, I do believe in driving a bargain, but I wouldn't ask a man to +sell me a thing at a lower price than it was worth. Just keep these +animals cut out if you will, unless you want to go to the bother of +cutting them out again." + +"I got my skate," grinned Chunky as they were walking back towards the +hotel where they were to meet the Professor. The latter had given Butler +the money for the stock earlier in the day, knowing full well that Tad +could make a much better bargain than could he. Tad had made a fair +bargain. He had obtained a good lot of stock and he planned, +furthermore, to sell the animals after finishing their journey, which +would reduce the cost at least to a nominal sum. + +The rest of the day was devoted to gathering supplies and packing. The +boys had brought their saddles, bridles and other equipment of this +nature with them, including tents and lighter camp equipment. In the +meantime they had looked about for a guide, but without success. They +were told that no doubt they would be able to find a man for their +purpose upon their arrival at Yakutat, a hundred miles further on. The +trail to that place, their informant told them, was a post trail which +they would find no difficulty in following. The post rider would not be +going through for another three days, and at any rate he undoubtedly +would travel faster than they cared to do. It was decided, therefore, +that they should start out without a guide on the morrow and make their +way to Yakutat as best they might. + +The start was made in the early morning, the great mountains and the +waters beneath it bathed in wondrous tints such as one finds nowhere +outside of these far northern regions. The boys were light-hearted, +happy, and were looking forward eagerly to experiences in the wilds of +Alaska that should wholly satisfy their longings for activity and +adventure. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TRAVELING A DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN PASS + + +To the right the well-known Chilkoot Pass extended up into the mountain +fastness, the pass that had been traveled by so many in the early rush +for the gold fields. Chilkoot a long distance to the northeast +intersects the White Horse Pass. It is a rugged trail, but an easier one +to travel than the one chosen by the Pony Rider Boys for the first stage +of their journeyings. + +The object of Professor Zepplin in choosing the route to the northwest +was to take the boys into territory that had been little explored, and +to give them their fill of what is really the wildest and most rugged +region of the United States. + +"By the way," called Rector after they had gotten well started and had +dropped the village behind them, "what became of our friends?" + +"The four gold diggers?" asked Butler. + +"They must have gone on with the ship," said Walter. + +"Yes, they must have," agreed Stacy. + +"No, they didn't," answered Tad. "I saw Dawson in town yesterday. Funny +thing, but he seemed not to see me. In fact he tried to avoid me." + +"Did you let him?" questioned Chunky. + +"Yes. Why should I wish to force myself on anyone who doesn't want to +see me? Not I. They are queer fellows. It isn't because they don't like +us, but rather because they are suspicious. They are afraid someone will +get a line on where they are going. Wouldn't it be queer if we were to +bump into them somewhere in the interior?" + +"No danger of that," spoke up the Professor. "I heard Mr. Darwood say +they were going out the Chilkoot Pass for a short distance, from which +they might branch off." + +Tad chuckled softly. + +"Why do you laugh?" demanded the Professor. + +"Oh, I was just thinking of something funny." + +"Let's hear it," begged Stacy. + +"I rather think I'll keep it to myself," answered Tad, smiling. "Let +Stacy tell you one of his funny stories." + +"All right, I'll tell you one," agreed Chunky readily. + +"Leave the telling until you get to camp," advised the Professor. "This +is a rough trail, and you need to give it your undivided attention." + +"The Professor is right. We would do well to watch out where we are +going," agreed Tad. + +"Yes, I dread to think what would happen to our packs were one of those +mules, in a moment of forgetfulness, to think he was traveling in a +circle at the end of a sweep down in a mine," said Ned. + +The trail they were now following was narrow. In fact, it was a mere +gash in the side of the mountain, winding in and out with many a sharp +turn, and there was barely room for the ponies to travel in single file. +Above them towered the mountains for thousands of feet. Below them was a +sheer precipice of fully two hundred feet, getting deeper all the time, +as they continued on a gradual ascent. + +"I don't think I should like to be the post rider on this trail," +decided Ned, gazing wide-eyed at the abyss. + +"Especially on a dark night," added Tad. + +"Or any other kind of a night," piped the fat boy. + +"Oh, I don't know about that," answered Walter. "On a dark night you +couldn't see the gorge. What we don't know doesn't hurt us, eh?" + +"There is some logic in that," agreed the Professor. + +Professor Zepplin was leading the way, dragging one mule after him at +the end of a rope. Then came Ned with the second pack mule, followed by +Tad and the other two boys. Butler wanted to follow behind the mules so +as to keep watch of them, he not feeling any too great confidence in the +worn-out old animals. + +The Professor halted at a turning-out place, where the rocks had been +worn out by the wash of a mountain stream sufficiently wide to enable +two horses to meet and pass by a tight pinch. + +"Young gentlemen, this is a wonderful country," he said. + +"It's kind of hilly," admitted Stacy. + +"In the Indian tongue, Alaska means 'the great country,'" added the +Professor. + +"Why, I didn't know you talked Indian," cried Ned. + +"I always suspected the Professor was an Indian. Now I know it," +chuckled Stacy. + +"Young men, if you will listen I shall be glad to enlighten you as to +some of the marvels of the country we are now in. If my recollection +serves me right, the country has an area of about six hundred thousand +square miles." + +Chunky uttered a long-drawn whistle of amazement. + +"Some territory that, eh, fellows?" he said, nodding. + +"If my recollection serves me right, Alaska is bigger than all the +Atlantic states combined from Maine to Louisiana." + +"That's where they have the 'gators," said Chunky. + +"And with half of Texas thrown in," continued the Professor. "It has a +coast line of about twenty-six thousand miles, a greater sea frontage +than all the shores of the United States combined." + +"Why one would travel as far as if he were to go around the world in +going over all the coast line, then, wouldn't he, Professor?" wondered +Tad. + +"Exactly. Furthermore, it extends so far towards Asia that it carries +the dominion of our great country as far west of San Francisco as New +York is east of it, making California really a central state." + +"Oh, Professor. Will you please repeat that? I didn't get it," called +the fat boy. + +"You must listen if you wish to hear what I am saying. Your mind +wanders." + +"I hope it doesn't do much wandering here. I'll surely be a dead one if +it does," retorted Stacy, peering down the sheer walls that dropped into +the gloomy pass below him. + +"To give you another illustration, were you to combine England, Ireland, +Scotland, France and Italy, you still would lack considerable of having +enough to make an Alaska. Then, added to this, are the great mountains, +thousands of feet high, and one great river--not to speak of the smaller +ones--that flows through more than two thousand miles of wonderful +country. I have given you a bird's-eye-view of the country, a small part +of which you have started to explore." + +"Yes, a fellow needs a bird's-eye up here. He has to have or he's a +goner," declared Chunky. + +"And by the way, Professor," said Tad. "Your pony is yawning with his +left hind leg." + +"Haw, haw, haw! That's a good one," laughed the fat boy. + +"What do you mean?" wondered the Professor. + +"He is stretching himself. His left hind foot at this moment is +suspended over several hundred feet of space. But don't startle him for +goodness' sake," laughed Tad. + +The Professor glanced back. Afterwards the boys declared he had gone +pale at the sight of that foot held so carelessly over the yawning +chasm, but the Professor denied the accusation. He clucked very gently +to the pony. The little animal lazily drew the foot in, and, after +trying several places, at last found a spot that appeared to suit it and +on which it placed the small foot. The boys drew a sigh of relief. + +"My, but that was a narrow escape," derided Ned. "Just think of it, +Professor." + +"Gid ap," commanded Professor Zepplin. "Look sharp that none of you does +worse." + +Now and then reaching a spot where they could get an unobstructed view +of the distance the boys were fairly thrilled by the sight of the jagged +peaks, sparkling in the sunlight, many hidden in the clouds and too high +to be seen. It was an awesome sight and at such times stilled the merry +voices of the Pony Rider Boys as they gazed off over the array of +wonderful heights. + +"What are they?" asked Ned when he first caught sight of this vista of +mountain peaks. + +"The first one should be Mt. Lituya and the next Mt. Fairweather," Tad +replied. + +"That is correct, according to the map," spoke up the Professor. "The +former is ten thousand feet high, the latter five thousand, five +hundred." + +A series of low wondering whistles were heard from the lips of the boys. +It did not seem possible that the distance to the tops of those +mountains could be so great. + +"I should like to climb one of the highest," declared Butler. + +"You can't," answered the Professor sharply. + +"Why not, Professor?" + +"Because I shall not allow it." + +"And there's another reason," announced Stacy. "You can't because you +can't. But if you did succeed in getting to the top think what sport you +could have!" + +"How so?" asked Butler. + +"You could do a toboggan slide two miles long. I reckon it would land +you somewhere over in Asia. Wouldn't that be funny?" + +"I don't know about that," reflected Butler. + +"You wouldn't know about it if you were to take the slide, either. But +how it would surprise some of those Asiatics to see a Pony Rider Boy +suddenly landing in their midst, coming from the nowhere," chuckled +Stacy. + +"I rather think it would surprise almost anyone to have a Pony Rider Boy +land in his midst," answered Tad with a smiling nod. + +"Is that some kind of joke?" demanded the fat boy. + +"No, that's an axiom," spoke up Rector. + +"An axiom?" reflected Chunky. "Oh, I know what that is. It is something +that something else revolves around, isn't it? That's the sort of thing +the world is supposed to revolve about. I know, for I read it in my +geography." + +The boys groaned. The suspicion of a smile played about the corners of +Professor Zepplin's mouth. + +"You had better go back to school rather than be traveling with real +men," advised Ned. + +"Isn't that an axiom, Professor?" called Stacy indignantly. + +"It is not." + +"Then what is one?" + +"You are a living example of one yourself," was the whimsical reply. +Stacy pondered over the Professor's retort all the rest of that day. But +when noon came and passed and no stop was made for a noonday meal, the +fat boy began to grow restive. + +"Don't we stop for something to eat?" he demanded. + +"I should like to know where?" answered Tad. + +"Isn't there a place wide enough for us, Tad?" + +"There is not." + +"But when are we going to find one?" + +"You know as much about that as I do. Remember none of us ever has been +over this trail. For aught I know we may have to sleep standing up +to-night." + +"Well, I reckon I'd just as soon fall off before dark as after. Anyhow, +I don't propose to sleep on this trail as it looks to me now--" + +"Hark!" + +Tad's voice was sharp and incisive. He was holding up one hand to impose +silence on his companions. Walter Perkins' face grew pale, the fat boy's +eyes were large and frightened. Professor Zepplin halted his pony +sharply and turning in his saddle glanced anxiously back toward his +charges. + +"What is it?" stammered Rector. + +"I don't know," answered Tad Butler. "It's something awful, whatever it +is." + +"Have no fear, young men. I know what that sound is. There is no danger +here where we are, for--" + +The Professor did not complete his sentence. The distant rumbling that +had at first attracted their attention suddenly merged into a deafening +roar, and the trail quivered under their feet. The ponies snorted and +threw up their heads, chafing at the bits. + +"Hold fast to your horses!" shouted Tad. His voice was lost in the great +roar that now overwhelmed them, sending terror to the hearts of every +Pony Rider Boy on that narrow ledge of rock known as the Yakutat trail. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CAUGHT IN A GIANT SLIDE + + +Tad knew the meaning of that rushing, roaring sound now. A few particles +chipped from the rocks far above them had struck him sharply in the +face. He knew that a landslide was sweeping down. + +His first impulse was to urge his companions forward, but upon second +thought he realized that this might be the very worst thing they could +do. His quick ears had told him that the center of the slide was ahead +of them. That was his judgment, but he knew how easily it was to be +mistaken in a moment like this. + +Glancing up the boy could see nothing but a great cloud of dust that +filled the air. His companions seemed powerless to stir, and it was +fortunate for them that such was the case, else they might have done +that which would have sent them to a quick death. + +Tad unslung his rope with the intention of casting it over a sharp rock +that extended some six feet up above the level of the trail and on the +mountainside. In an emergency it would serve to anchor him. He motioned +to the others to do the same, but either they did not understand or they +were too frightened to act. + +A sudden dust cloud obliterated the trail for fully five rods ahead of +Professor Zepplin, then went shooting out into the chasm beyond, and a +great mass of earth seemed to leap from the mountainside just above +them. It hovered right over the center of the line of ponies for an +agonizing second, then swept down on them. + +The secondary slide, which this was, had but little width, perhaps a few +feet. Furthermore, it had fallen only a short distance, so that it had +not had time to gain great velocity. The mass smote the pack mule just +ahead of Tad Butler. Tad saw the pack mule's hind feet go out from under +him. For the smallest fraction of a moment the animal stood quivering, +then his hind hoofs slipped over the edge of the trail. + +The little animal was making desperate efforts to cling to the trail +with its fore feet, at the same time trying to get its hind feet back on +solid ground. That effort was fatal. Little by little the frightened +beast slipped toward the great gulf. Evidently realizing the fate that +was in store for it, the mule brayed shrilly. + +The Pony Rider Boys sat gazing on the scene with fascinated eyes. Even +Professor Zepplin was at a loss for words, and at a greater loss for a +remedy for the disaster that was upon them. Tad Butler's brain was +working, however. + +Suddenly Tad raised his rope above his head and gave it three sharp +twirls. Then he let go. The big loop dropped over the head of the +unfortunate pack mule. + +"Jump on him and hold him down," shouted Tad. "Be careful that you don't +go over." + +The boys hesitated slightly. Perhaps they could not have accomplished +anything, but Butler did not wait to see. He had slipped from his own +pony with a sharp, commanding "Whoa" to the little animal, which served +in a measure to reassure it. + +The lad then sprang to the upright rock carrying the end of his rope +with him. He did not make the mistake of making the end fast to his own +body as he might have done in some circumstances. Instead he threw the +rope over the rock, taking one quick turn about it. He had no more than +taken that turn when the slack on the rope was suddenly taken up and the +rope was drawn taut. + +There was no need to look around to see what had happened. Butler knew +well enough without looking. The pack mule had slipped over the edge and +was hanging there with the boy's lasso about its neck. The rope was +tough rawhide, and Tad felt sure it would hold. Still, that would not +save the mule, so he made fast and sprang to the other side of the +trail. The mule, he found, was dying a terrible death. + +The freckle-faced Tad comprehended the situation in a single glance. He +knew now that it would not be possible to save the pack animal. Drawing +his revolver he placed the muzzle close to the head of the unfortunate +beast and pulled the trigger. + +The report, in the walled-in pass, sounded like the discharge of a +cannon. + +"N-n-n-now you've done it," chattered Stacy Brown. + +"Tad, Tad! What have you done?" cried the Professor. + +"I have put the poor thing out of its agony, that's all," answered +Butler. His face was pale and his eyes troubled. + +"But you've killed him," protested Professor Zepplin. + +"Didn't you see that he was choking to death, Professor? Don't you think +it was better to end his sufferings with a bullet rather than let him +slowly strangle?" + +The Professor took off his sombrero, and, with an unsteady hand, wiped +the perspiration from his forehead. + +"Too bad, too bad!" he muttered. "Yes, yes. You were right, Tad. You did +right. You thought more quickly and more clearly than I did. We had +better cut the rope and let him go. There is nothing else to be done, I +suppose." + +"There is something else to be done, sir. There is something quite +important to be done." + +"What do you mean?" + +"The pack. Surely we are not going to send that pack crashing to the +bottom of the pass. We shall have to go all the way back for more +supplies if we do that, provided we ever find a place where we can turn +around." + +"That is so. Still, lad, I am afraid it is hopeless. We never shall be +able to get the pack." + +"I think it can be done, but how I don't know yet. What time is it?" + +"The afternoon is well along," answered the Professor. + +"It'll be dark soon," spoke up Ned. "We simply must get out of this +before night or we are lost." + +"You forget about the length of the days up here at this time of the +year," reminded Tad with a faint smile. + +"That's so," agreed Rector. + +"You know it doesn't get really dark until about eleven o'clock +to-night. So you see we have plenty of time in which to get that pack +and reach a camping place before the night gets too dark for us to see +what we are about." + +Tad stepped to the edge of the trail and looked over the dead mule and +the pack lashed to him. He saw that the pack already had slipped +dangerously, and that a sudden jolt might send it hurtling into the +chasm. The lad measured the distance to the pack, with his eyes, and +also saw that he could not lean over far enough to accomplish anything. +Then an idea occurred to him. + +"Have you fellows got back your nerve so that you can help me?" he +asked. + +"Yes, sir," answered Chunky promptly. "Anything but jumping over. Don't +ask me to do that, please, or I shall be under the necessity of +returning a polite refusal." + +"I shan't ask you," answered Tad shortly. "How about you, Ned?" + +"I think I have got over my panic." + +"Good. Pass over two strong ropes here. We'll have that pack in no +time." + +"See here, Tad. I am not going to permit you to take unnecessary risks. +Before you go farther in this matter I want to know what you propose to +do," insisted the Professor. + +"I am going to secure one of these ropes to me. The boys will lower me +over the edge and I will fasten a second rope to the pack. I will tell +you what to do after that." + +"I can't permit it!" answered the Professor decisively. + +"Listen to me, please. There can be no possible danger. It is perfectly +simple. Before I go over I'll secure the rope to that rock, and in case +the boys let go, which they'd better not, I can't fall; the rope will +hold me." + +After a moment's reflection Professor Zepplin concluded that the task +would not be attended with a very great risk after all. Besides, it was +all-important that they get the pack and its contents, if this could be +done without endangering any lives. + +"How about it, sir?" asked Tad. "Time is precious." + +"You may try it, but I shall see to the fastening of the rope myself. +Make your arrangements." + +Tad lost no time in trying out his plan. He first secured one end of +their strongest rope to the rock that already had played such an +important part in their operations at that point. He next fashioned a +non-slip loop about his body under the arms, then taking the second rope +in his hands announced himself as ready. + +"Take a turn about the rock so you will have a leverage. Take up all the +slack. That's it. Now I'm all ready." + +The lad let himself over the edge of the precipice without hesitation. +There really was no great danger, but it was not a pleasant position in +which to be placed. He secured his rope to the pack lashings and tossed +the free end up to his friends. + +"How are you going to free the pack from the mule?" asked the Professor. + +"Cut it." + +"But we can't manage both you and the pack at the same time," protested +the boys. + +"You don't have to. Can't you folks think of two things at the same +time?" + +"I can when my thinking apparatus is working," returned Stacy. "The +whole plant is idle at the present moment." + +"Listen! Fasten the pack rope to that rock. Do you get that?" + +"Yes." + +"First take up all the slack or you may lose the pack after all. We +don't want any great jolt when I cut loose the lashings. Draw it up +well. Tighter! There, that's better. Now, have you got it so that it +will hold?" + +"It'll hold as long as the mountain holds together," answered Ned. + +[Illustration: Tad Freed the Pack.] + +"Then watch your rope. Here goes." + +Tad slit the cinch girth. He was obliged to make several efforts before +he freed the pack, which then swung out and away from the dead mule, +swaying back and forth for a moment or so, but safe. The boys uttered a +cheer. + +"Now shall we pull you up?" cried Ned. + +"Now, don't be in a hurry. I'm not done yet. I want to save my lasso. +You don't think I'm going to throw that away, do you? Pass me another +rope, please." + +This was done, after which Butler secured the third rope about the neck +of the mule. He tossed the free end up as he had done with the other +line. + +"Make it fast. First see if you can't give me a little slack." + +"Can't do it," called Walter. + +"Yes you can. Try again. That's the idea. A little more. You're doing +finely. You would make good sailors. Whoa! Make fast." + +Grunting and perspiring, and with aching backs, the boys made fast the +advantage they had gained. The weight of the dead mule was now resting +on the new rope which Butler had fastened about its neck. Some time was +occupied in getting his lasso loose, which had drawn very tight under +the weight of the mule. + +"That's what comes from having a good rope," said Tad. + +"Well, are you coming up? You must like it down there," cried Rector. + +"I'm almost ready. There, now see if you can get me up. Take up all your +advantage and hold it until I can get my hands on the ledge and help you +a little." + +Hauling Tad Butler up, a dead weight, was not the easiest thing in the +world. They drew him up an inch or so at a time, until at last he +fastened his hands on the edge of the trail and curled himself up. The +boys took up the slack and made fast at his direction. + +"You needn't pull any more, but stand by the rope. If I slip it will +give me a hard jolt." + +"I should say it would," muttered Ned. "How are you going to get up the +rest of the way if we don't haul you?" + +"This way." + +Tad crawled up the rope hand over hand until he was able to swing one +foot over on the trail. The rest was easy, and a moment later he was +standing on the trail, his face red, his hair and shirt wet with +perspiration. + +"Hooray!" bellowed Chunky. + +"Wait until we get the pack up. Don't waste your breath," grinned Tad. +"We are only half finished." + +The lad surveyed the situation critically. Still he saw no other way +than for them to haul the pack up by main strength. He told his +companions to get ready for real work. The pack was heavier than Tad. + +"I--I can't do another thing," wailed Chunky. + +"Why can't you?" demanded the Professor. + +"My heart won't stand it." + +"Oh, pooh!" scoffed Professor Zepplin. + +"Did you ever have a thorough physical examination, Chunky?" questioned +Ned. + +"I don't know. Why?" + +"If you had you would no doubt have found that you hadn't any heart at +all." + +"Now, Ned, that isn't fair," chided Tad laughingly. "You know Stacy has +a heart. He has shown many times that he has. The only trouble with it +is that it isn't as hard as it might be," added the freckle-faced boy +with a twinkle. + +The fat boy wasn't quite sure whether this was a compliment or +otherwise. He decided to think about it and make up his mind later. But +he most emphatically refused to pull a single pound on the rope. They +compromised by making him look out for the stock. + +Hauling the pack up was a slow and tedious process, for it was +continually catching on points of rock and threatening to drop into the +depths. Great patience was required to land it safely on the trail, but +land it they did after working and perspiring over it for nearly half an +hour. The Professor proposed that they move on at once, after having +divided the pack. Tad shook his head. + +"Not yet," he said. "I've something else to do first." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +GOING TO BED BY DAYLIGHT + + +"Something else to do?" repeated the Professor. "I know of nothing more +to be done except to get under way and try to find a safe portage." + +"I've got to bury the mule, sir." + +"Oh! Where?" + +"I'll show you. Stand clear of the rope, fellows," ordered Butler. + +Stepping to the edge of the trail he glanced down at the body of the +mule, swaying with a scarcely perceptible movement. Looking back to see +that the rope was clear, Tad drew his hunting knife and stooped over, +his companions drawing as near to the edge as they dared. + +Butler cut the rope that held the dead mule. The rope suddenly sprang +back as the unfortunate pack mule's body shot down into the shadowy +pass. The other boys instinctively drew back. Their nerve was not quite +equal to standing on the brink to watch the sight. With Tad it was +different. He seemed not to be at all affected by great heights or great +depths. He stood with the toes of his boots over the edge, gazing down +until a faint sound from far below told him that the body had struck. + +"That's all, fellows," he said, turning back to them. "I reckon we had +better do as the Professor suggests, and get under way at once. I will +confess that this bracing air is having some effect on my appetite." + +"Don't speak of it," begged Stacy. "I am trying to forget that I have an +appetite, but it's awful hard work." + +"Too bad about the mule, isn't it?" asked Rector soberly. + +Tad nodded. + +"Yes, I should say it is," agreed Stacy. "There's eight dollars of my +good money gone down into that hole." + +"Never mind. He was wind-broken and undoubtedly would have played out +before we got through the mountains. I am glad it wasn't the other one," +answered Butler cheerfully. "How is the trail ahead, Professor?" + +"I haven't looked." + +Bidding them wait until he made an inspection, Tad walked ahead. He +found the narrow trail filled with dirt and shale rock; there were many +tons of it heaped up on the trail. + +"Oh, fudge!" laughed the boy. "Fate is determined to make us turn back. +But we won't! We are going through, even if we have to build a tunnel. +Get out the shovel, Ned." + +This necessitated undoing the bundle that held all the tools of the +outfit, and also entailed the unloading of the pack on the back of the +remaining pack mule. Ned soon came trotting up with the shovel. He +uttered a long-drawn whistle when he saw the blocked trail. + +"We never shall be able to get through that," he groaned. + +"Oh, yes we shall. I'll shovel until I am tired, then you take hold and +make the dirt fly." + +"I'll do that all right," returned Rector. "I am too keen for my dinner +and supper to delay matters any more than I am obliged to. We ought to +make Chunky take a hand." + +"No, I wouldn't risk it. Before he had finished he would have lost the +shovel overboard. It is the only one we have. Here goes!" + +Tad did make the dirt fly. He was a sturdy young man, all muscle and +grit. He shoveled for twenty minutes, working his way through the great +heap of dirt. Then he straightened up, his face flushed and perspiring. + +"Go to it, Ned!" + +Ned did, with a will. An hour and a half was consumed in clearing the +trail, and, when they finished, both boys were wet with perspiration. + +"I think we had better walk for the present," suggested Tad. "We shall +stiffen up if we ride in our present overheated condition." + +Ned nodded. + +"I can't be much lamer than I am. I feel as if I had a broken hinge in +my back," he declared. + +They started on, moving with extreme care that they might not meet with +another such disaster. The remaining pack mule was a much better animal +than the one they had lost. He was possessed of better sense, too, and +seemed to understand that great responsibilities rested on his +shoulders. + +As for the trail, it was the same rugged, narrow path that they had been +following for hours. + +"What if we should meet someone here?" wondered Walter apprehensively. + +"Back up or jump over," answered Ned. + +Stacy shivered. + +"I don't like it at all," he muttered. + +The Professor uttered a shout. + +"What is it?" cried the boys all together. + +"Land ho!" was the answer. + +The boys craned their necks to see what the Professor had discovered, +but he was just rounding a bend beyond which they could not see. When +they had made the turn the boys shouted, too. The trail, they saw, +opened out into a broad pass. The ground there, though uneven, was +fairly level, thickly wooded with slender Alaskan cedar, its yellow, +lacy foliage drooping gracefully from the branches. Tall and straight, +the cedars shot up into the air until it seemed as if their slender tops +pierced the sky. + +"How beautiful!" cried Tad. + +"Wouldn't they make fish poles, though?" chuckled Ned. + +"Yes, we wouldn't have to leave home when we went fishing," answered +Stacy. "We could just sit on the back porch and drop a hook in the water +at the back of the old pasture lot." + +"How high do you think those trees are, Professor?" asked Tad. + +"All of a hundred and fifty feet. A marvelous growth." + +"I think I can appreciate the beauty of it more after I get something +inside of me," spoke up the fat boy. "Do we get anything to eat or do we +absorb landscape for our supper?" + +"I reckon we had better get busy," agreed Tad laughingly. + +They began unloading the packs at once. By the time the boys came in +with the wood the spot had assumed a really camp-like appearance. The +pots were filled with water and Tad began building a structure that was +to be their campfire when he was ready to touch it off. + +"Did you find any birch bark, Ned?" he asked. + +"Yes, there it is." + +"Oh, thank you. The cedar will burn all right, but it is a good thing to +have the birch. We shall have a supper worth while in a few minutes. +Stacy, get busy and prepare the coffee." + +For once the fat boy did not demur. He was too hungry, and was willing +to do almost anything that would hurry the supper along. Not a mouthful +had any of them eaten since breakfast. + +The ponies were browsing contentedly, but the mule had lain down and +gone to sleep. The day was still bright, though the air had grown cooler +than when the sun was at its height. Still, a warm glow suffused the +faces of the Pony Rider Boys because they had been exercising. They +usually were busy, and not one of the lads, unless it were Stacy Brown, +had a lazy streak in him. Stacy was constitutionally opposed to doing +anything that looked like real work. + +The cedar quickly blazed up into a crackling fire, consuming the +foliage. Tad took some of the brands and made a small cooking fire that +soon was a glowing bed of coals. Over this he broiled the bacon, toasted +the bread, and cooked the coffee without the least apparent effort. + +Stacy Brown sat regarding the operations. Ned said that Stacy reminded +him of a dog watching the preparation of its dinner, but the fat boy +took no notice of Ned's comparison. + +At last the meal was ready and the boys gathered around the spread that +was laid near the campfire, and began to eat with good appetites. Ned +nearly choked on a biscuit, and Tad swallowed a drink of water the wrong +way, while Walter accidentally kicked over the coffee pot, the contents +spilling over the Professor's ankle to the great damage of the +Professor's skin at that point. + +"Here, here! Is this a football scrimmage or are you young gentlemen at +your meal?" demanded the Professor. "I've seen nothing to indicate the +latter." + +"Oh, Professor," begged Tad laughingly. "Aren't you pretty hard on us?" + +"You did perfectly right, Professor," approved Stacy. "Their manners are +bad and I am glad you have called them to account. Why, their example is +so bad that I have been fearful all the time of getting into bad habits +myself." + +Ned gave him a warning look. + +"Wait!" warned Rector. + +"I can't. I'm too hungry." + +"Perhaps we have been rather rude, Professor," admitted Tad. "I beg your +pardon." + +"Show your repentance by making a fresh pot of coffee, as I have most of +the first lot in my stocking," reminded Professor Zepplin. + +It seemed odd to be eating supper in broad daylight, whereas they +ordinarily ate in the twilight or after dark. After supper, and when the +remains were cleared away, the boys strolled about, talking. At ten +o'clock the Professor called that it was time to turn in. + +"But it isn't dark yet," protested Ned. + +"The nights are short. Unless you turn in early you will not want to get +up in the morning," reminded Professor Zepplin. + +"He never does," averred Walter. + +"I don't want to turn in at chicken hours," objected Stacy. + +"Little boys should be in bed early," said Tad smilingly. + +"That's what they made me do when I was a baby. They'd tuck me in my +little crib and give me a bottle and sing me to sleep. What time does it +get daylight, Professor?" questioned the fat boy. + +"As a matter of fact it hardly gets dark," answered the Professor. "We +shall have only about three hours of real night, I think. That is about +the way it has been since we have been in this latitude. You will find +it more difficult to sleep with the morning light in your eyes than with +this light, so go to bed." + +"I am thinking the same. Good-night, all. Don't any of you boys dare +snore to-night. Remember we are sleeping in rather close quarters," +reminded Butler. + +"One of you may come in with me," offered the Professor. + +"No, thank you, we shall do very well as it is," replied Tad. + +Stacy had the usual number of complaints to make. The cedar odor +prevented his breathing properly, the sharp stickers on the cedar boughs +poked through his pajamas and into his skin. He voiced all the +complaints he could think of, after which he settled down to long, +rhythmic snores that could be heard all around the place, inside and +out. The purple twilight merged into blue shadows, then into black, +impenetrable darkness that swallowed up the pass and the two little +white tents of the Pony Rider Boys. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AN INTRUDER IN THE CAMP + + + "W'en de screech-owl light on de gable en' + En holler, Whoo-oo! oh-oh! + Den you bettah keep yo' eyeball peel, + Kase dey bring bad luck t' yo', + Oh-oh! oh-oh!" + +"Stop that noise!" shouted an angry voice from the tent occupied by the +boys. + +For a few moments silence reigned in the camp of the Pony Rider Boys. +Then the voice of the singer from somewhere outside was raised again. + + "W'en de ole black cat widdee yella eyes + Slink round like she atter ah mouse, + Den yo' bettah take keer yo'self en frien's, + Kase dey's sho'ly a witch en de house." + +"Who is making that unearthly noise?" demanded the Professor in an +irritated voice. + +"That's Stacy singing," answered Tad politely. + +"Singing?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Nonsense! Does he think he can sing?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Humph! I shall be obliged if some of you boys will remove that +impression from his mind so that I may go back to sleep." + +"Yes, sir." + + "W'en de puddle duck 'e leave de pon' + En start to comb e fedder--" + +A stone struck the rock on which Stacy Brown was sitting. Some small +particles flew up and hit him in the neck. + +"Hey, you fellows quit that!" + + "Den yo' bettah take yo' umbrell, + Kase dey's gwine to be wet wedder." + +"Yeow!" + +The fat boy left the rock, jumping right up into the air, for the wild +yell had seemed to come out of the rock itself. At that juncture three +pajama-clad figures rose from behind the rock and threw themselves upon +him. + +"Let go of my neck!" howled Chunky, fighting desperately to free +himself, not having caught a glance at his assailants, though he knew +well enough who they were. Stacy had calculated on aggravating them to +the danger point, then slipping away and hiding until breakfast time. +But he had gone a little too far with his so-called singing. + +The boys picked the fat boy up and carried him, kicking and yelling, to +a point just beyond the camp where a glacial stream trickled down, +forming in a pool some three feet deep near the trail. + +"I--I'll get even with you fellows for this. Can't you let me alone?" he +cried. + +Reaching the spring they held him by the feet and soused him into the +icy water head first, thrusting the fat boy in until his head struck the +hard bottom. He was howling lustily, howling and choking, when his head +was out of water. + +"You'll need your 'old ombrell' when we have done with you," cried Ned. + +"You will wake us up at this hour with your unearthly screeching, will +you?" demanded Tad. + +"I reckon the Professor will give you a spanking for disturbing his +morning slumbers," added Walter Perkins. + +"That's enough, fellows. Remember the water is cold," warned Butler. +"Let him go." + +They took Tad literally. They did let the fat boy go. He landed on his +head on a hard rock when they let go of him, and Stacy rolled on his +back yelling lustily. + +"Look out! There comes the Professor Stacy." + +Walter shouted the warning just in time. Professor Zepplin, stern of +face, gorgeous in a pair of new pajamas, a stick in one hand came +stalking toward the group. Stacy saw him coming. The fat boy bounded to +his feet in a hurry. He was especially interested in the cedar limb with +its sharp broken points, grasped so firmly in the right hand of the +Professor. + +"I reckon I'll see you all later," muttered Chunky as he made a bolt for +his tent. Either some one tripped him or he tripped himself. At least, +he measured his length on the ground just as the stick came in contact +with his body. It was not a hard blow, but merely a tap of reminder. The +Professor was now smiling broadly. + +Stacy leaped to his feet and ran, howling at the top of his voice, and +threatening dire revenge on the Professor. Professor Zepplin was plainly +undismayed, for he pursued with strides that made the merry onlookers +think of the seven-league boots. + +"Say, can't we arbitrate, without an appeal to force?" bellowed back +Stacy as he reached the tent. + +"We cannot," boomed the Professor's deep voice. "This is an instance in +which the punitive expedition must go through." + +_Whack! Whack!_ That stick played a tattoo that made Stacy sore in +more senses than one. Instead of burrowing deeper into the cedar boughs, +he got up hastily. In his desperation he seized the Professor's feet, +giving a mighty tug at them. + +"Here, stop that!" protested Professor Zepplin, laughing. + +He reached for the fat boy, but Chunky, with a new exertion of his +strength, brought the tutor down to a sitting position. + +"Retreat in good order, while you have a chance!" called Walter Perkins. +Three grinning faces met the fugitive at the tent. But Stacy bowled +Walter over, leaped the foot that Rector extended to trip him, and then +dashed for the shelter of the tall cedars, where he hid. + +There he shivered in his wet pajamas. It was three o'clock in the +morning, but young Brown cared not for time. His stomach told him only +that it was high breakfast time. The gnawing under his belt-line +continued. + +"I wish I hadn't been quite so fresh!" thought the boy, dismally. "It's +all right to have fun, but there are times when a square meal is worth +more." + +However, the Professor, though he was really enjoying the situation, +looked anything but amiable. + +"I'll try the crowd, anyway," thought Stacy, ruefully. "I've got to get +near the kitchen kit soon. Hello, the camp!" + +There was no response. Stacy emerged from his hiding place and began to +sing the song he had learned from Rastus Rastus in Kentucky. + +One end of the tent was suddenly raised. + +"Do you want another ducking?" demanded the angry voice of Ned Rector. + +"If you're man enough to give it to me," returned the fat boy. + +Ned came tumbling out, but by the time he had straightened up, Stacy was +nowhere in sight. The fat boy had stolen in among the trees whence he +watched the progress of events. Ned returned to his tent in disgust. No +further objection was heard from the Professor as to Chunky's vocal +exercises. + +"There's no use trying to sleep with that boy bawling away out there. +What does he think he is, a bird?" demanded Tad. + +"Sounds more like a hoot owl, the bird he was telling us about," averred +Ned. + +"I guess I'll get up. So long as he is abroad there will be no more rest +in this camp for the rest of the night." + +"Won't he catch cold? He must be all wet," said Walter solicitously. + +"I hope to goodness he does," retorted Rector. "I hope he gets such a +cold that he can't speak for a week. Then we'll have some peace." + +"Oh, I wouldn't put it quite so strongly as that," laughed Tad. +"However, I guess he will get the cold all right." + +Tad dressed himself. After finishing, he thought to look at his watch +and was disgusted to find it was only a few minutes after three o'clock. +Ned declared that he was going to sleep again if Tad would keep the fat +boy quiet. Butler promised to do his best and went out. He looked about +for Stacy but failed to see him, so the freckle-faced boy sat down on +the rock where Chunky had sat singing. + +"Hello, Tad," piped a voice behind him, causing Butler to jump a little. +Stacy had been hiding behind the rock, to which place he had crept from +the cedar forest. + +"Oh, it's you, is it?" + +"I guess so. I'm cold and--and hungry." + +"Go back to the tent. You should put on some dry clothes." + +"You don't care whether I freeze or not. Go get them for me, please." + +"I will not. You got yourself into this difficulty, now get out of it as +best you may," answered Butler. "There won't be any breakfast for three +hours yet. Tighten your belt." + +"I--I haven't any belt. I haven't my clothes on." + +"That's too bad," retorted Tad unfeelingly. + +"What'd you soak me for?" + +"A cold bath in the morning is an excellent tonic. Hadn't you ever heard +that?" + +"If I had I'd know now that it isn't true. I didn't think you could be +as mean as that, Tad." + +"I didn't think you could be so mean as to wake us up at three o'clock +in the morning with your screeching. Why did you do it?" + +"I--I was exercising my voice." + +"I should say so. But take my advice. Don't use it that way again, +especially so early in the morning. You'll ruin it and then you won't be +able to sing at all." + +"That would be a catastrophe," mumbled Chunky. + +"A blessing to the Pony Rider Boys community, you mean. Hello!" + +"What is it?" cried Stacy. + +Tad was staring fixedly at a rope suspended between two small cedars +near the tents. It was on this that some of the provisions had been hung +the previous evening. + +"Where is that ham?" he demanded, apparently not having heard his +companion's question. + +"What ham?" + +"The one I hung up there last night?" + +"I--I don't know. I didn't eat it." + +Tad got up and hastened to the "stores-line," as they called the rope +that held their meats and other provisions. He discovered that several +other articles besides the ham were missing. Even the pieces of twine +with which the provisions had been fastened to the line were missing. + +"Well, if this doesn't beat everything!" wondered Butler. + +"It does," agreed Chunky, who had made bold to approach. "I hope the +fellows won't blame me, but I reckon they will. They lay everything to +me." + +Tad did not reply. He was trying to make up his mind what had become of +the missing provisions. He turned sharply to Stacy. + +"See here, you aren't playing tricks on us, are you?" + +Stacy indignantly protested that he was not. + +"I knew you'd try to put it on me," he grumbled. "I'm pretty bad, I +know, but I don't steal." + +"Stop it! I haven't accused you of stealing. Of course I know you +wouldn't do that, but if you have taken the stuff and hidden it for a +joke, say so now before I call the others. They might not take kindly to +your joke after your early morning vocal exercises." + +"I didn't. I don't know any more about it than you do." + +Stacy's lips were blue with cold and he was chattering. Tad suddenly +observed these signs of cold and felt sorry for the boy. + +"When the others come out, you duck in and put on some dry clothes. You +will have plenty of time. I don't think they will bother you. Oh, Ned! +Professor!" called Tad. + +Ned Rector, Professor Zepplin and Walter came hurrying out. + +"Isn't there any rest at all in this camp?" protested Ned. + +"That is what I was about to inquire," declared the Professor. + +"What! _You_ here?" demanded Rector, fixing a menacing eye on the +fat boy. "Has he been cutting up again?" + +"It's something else this time." + +"What is it?" questioned Professor Zepplin sharply. + +"Did any of you folks remove the ham and the other stuff from the line +last night?" asked Butler. + +"No," replied Ned. + +"Of course not. You were the last one to attend to those things," said +the Professor. + +"I helped him tie them up," interjected "Walter. + +"And--and I watched him--them--do it," added Stacy. + +"Yes, that's about all you ever do do," objected Ned. + +"What's this you say?" questioned Professor Zepplin. "The ham missing?" + +"Yes, sir. It is nowhere about," Tad informed him. + +"Then we must have had a visit from a bear or some other animal." + +"What would a bear want with a rope?" asked Butler. + +"A rope?" + +"I left our quarter-inch reserve rope coiled at the foot of that tree +last night. It isn't there now." + +"Stacy Brown, do you know anything about this?" demanded the Professor +sternly. + +"What'd I tell you, Tad? I knew you'd be accusing me for the whole +business. I told Tad you would blame me." + +"Go put on some dry garments," commanded the Professor. + +Stacy lost no time in getting to the tent. + +"What do you make of it, Tad?" asked Professor Zepplin. + +"I can make only one thing out of it. There has been an intruder in the +camp while we slept. That intruder must have been a man. Bears do not +carry away ropes. Bears do not untie knots and take the strings away +with them," replied Tad Butler in a convincing tone. + +Stacy Brown poked his head through the tent opening. + +"What we need in this camp is a watch dog," he shouted. + +Ned Rector shied a tin can at him, whereat the fat boy ducked in out of +sight. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A MYSTERY UNSOLVED + + +"But surely whoever was here must have left some trace," protested +Professor Zepplin. + +"Perhaps you may be able to find it. I can't," answered Tad. + +"We'll all look," cried Ned. + +Tad nodded, and while they were scanning the ground he walked about the +outskirts of the camp with his glances on the ground. There was not a +footprint, not a thing to indicate that any person outside of themselves +had been near the camp. Tad was looking in particular for the strings +with which the stuff had been tied to the rope. Not finding these he was +certain that some human being had been in the camp. + +"We shall have to make the best of it and let it go at that," he said, +returning to his companions. "Shall we go to sleep again?" + +"Sleep!" shouted Ned. + +Stacy popped his head out to see what the shout was about. He ducked +back again upon encountering Rector's angry gaze. + +"If it isn't Stacy Brown raising a row it's Tad Butler, and if it isn't +Tad it's a midnight robber." + +"Or else Ned Rector himself," added the Professor. "If you young +gentlemen will excuse me I think I shall put on some clothes. We might +as well have our breakfast and get an early start, since we are all +awake." + +"I was going to suggest that," replied Tad. "I'll go rub down the ponies +while the rest of you get the breakfast." + +"Shall we dress before or after?" questioned Walter. + +"Before, of course," returned the Professor. + +Breakfast was not a very merry meal that morning. Tad was chagrined to +think a person could get into their camp and steal a ham without his +having heard the intruder. Either he had slept more soundly than usual, +or else their late visitor had been unusually stealthy. + +"I'll tell you what I think," spoke up Rector after a period of silence. + +"Out with it," answered the Professor. + +"I'll wager that some of these prospectors have ducked in here and taken +our stuff. There must be plenty of them in the mountains hereabouts." + +Tad shook his head. + +"I don't think so. I have an idea." + +"What is your idea?" questioned Professor Zepplin. + +"Are there Indians up here?" questioned Tad. + +"Many of them." + +"It was an Indian who did this job. No white man could get away with it +so skilfully. If it was, as I suspect, we might as well give it up," +concluded Butler. + +"Oh, I kissed that ham good-by a long time ago," piped Stacy solemnly. + +"I don't agree with any of you," said Ned. "I think the ham, unable to +endure Chunky's singing, took wings and flew away. Either that or it was +afraid he would kiss it again. He said he had kissed it good-by." + +"You are wrong," declared Walter. "If Stacy had got that close to the +ham he would have eaten it." + +"You're right," agreed the Professor with an emphatic nod. + +"I've got a bone to pick with you, too, Walt Perkins," warned Stacy. + +"A ham-bone?" twinkled Tad. + +"No, a drumstick." + +"The probability is that we shall never know any more about the affair +than we do now," decided the Professor. "Break camp as soon as we have +finished breakfast and we will get under way. Have you looked to see +which way the trail leads from this point, Tad?" + +"Yes, sir. That way," replied Tad, pointing. + +"Northwest?" + +"Yes, sir." + +Camp was broken in short order and within an hour they were on their +way. Though the country was very rough and rugged and the going awful, +they found the trail narrow and perilous only in spots. Generally they +found it perfectly safe. That night they camped in a pass through which +flowed a rushing glacial stream. Tall cottonwoods lined the stream and +giant arborvitæ was thick and almost impassable a short distance back +from the stream. The Professor explained that this arborvitæ was +ordinarily found about glaciers, and in cool, dim fiords. + +Determined not to be robbed of their provisions again, Tad led a string +through the loops made in tying the meats to the provision line. He +carried one end of the string into his tent and when he turned in he +tied the end to his wrist. + +Long after midnight he felt a jolt at his wrist that brought him to his +feet in an instant. Another jolt followed. + +The boy slipped the twine from his wrist and hurried out. The night was +not so dark but that he could make out objects distinctly. There was +nothing of an alarming nature in sight. He examined the provisions. None +had been tampered with. + +Considerably mystified, Tad returned to his tent, after rearranging his +burglar alarm, and lay down. He had just dozed off when there came +another tug more violent than the others. + +"Hang it! Something is at those provisions," he muttered. + +Tad once more slipped out. This time he remained out for a long time. He +sat down behind the tent where he waited and watched. Nothing of a +disturbing nature occurred. He could not understand it. + +"There must be ghosts around here," he muttered. "If there are, I reckon +I'll catch them before the night is over." + +He grew weary of waiting for the "ghosts," after a time, and returning +to the tent went to bed. Three times after that was the boy dragged out +by a violent tug at the rope, and three times did he return without +having discovered the cause. + +"I think I begin to smell a mouse," thought Tad Butler. + +He lay down. Again came the tugs at the string. But Tad apparently gave +no heed to them. After a time he began snoring, but stopped suddenly, +pinching himself to keep awake. A few moments later he got up quietly +and went out. This time he ran the fingers of one hand along the +provision line. The fingers stopped suddenly as they came in contact +with a second string the size of the one he had used for a burglar alarm +and evidently from the same ball of twine. + +"I thought so," chuckled the boy. "More of Chunky Brown's tricks. I +reckon I'll teach him a lesson and give him a surprise at the same time. +Let's see. Yes, I have it now." + +Tad found a quarter inch rope. He made a slip noose at one end, working +the honda or knot back and forth until it slipped easily. In reality it +was a lasso. He tucked the loop under the rear of the tent, then crawled +cautiously in after it. Great caution was necessary in order not to +disturb the other occupants of the tent, though the boys were sleeping +soundly, Stacy snoring thunderously. The fat boy's feet protruded from +under his blanket. Tad found them after a little careful groping. He +wished to make certain that he had the right feet. Satisfying himself on +this point he slipped the noose over the feet and wriggled out. + +Tad then drew the rope carefully about a slender tree, taking care that +there might be no strain on the other end about the fat boy's feet. +Using the tree as a leverage Butler gave the rope a quick jerk. A slight +commotion in the tent followed. + +He now gave the rope a mighty tug. A wild yell from the interior of the +tent told that his effort had been successful. The freckle-faced boy now +began pulling with all his might, hand over hand. Stacy Brown's yells +were loud and frightful. To his howls were added those of another voice. +Stacy was sliding out from under the rear of the tent feet first, being +dragged along on his back as Butler hauled in on the rope. + +But Stacy was not alone. Instead of one boy there were two. One of +Chunky's feet and one of Ned Rector's was fast in the loop. Tad had made +a mistake and selected a foot from each of the two boys. + +"Something's got me!" bellowed Chunky. "Help, help!" + +"It's got me, too," yelled Rector. "It's got me by the foot." + +"Oh, wow, wow! Help, help!" + +The two boys were fighting and clawing each other in their excitement. +Chunky fastened a hand in the hair of his companion fetching away a +handful. Ned retaliated by smiting Chunky on the nose. Then both grabbed +hold of the tent wall as they slipped out from under it feet first. The +tent swayed and threatened to collapse. + +Walter Perkins was struggling about in the dark, shouting to know what +had happened. Professor Zepplin roared out a similar inquiry and sprang +from his bed of boughs. He fell out into the open in his haste, but the +night was so dark that he was unable to make out a single object. He +could hear the two boys yelling at the rear of their tent, struggling +and fighting to free themselves from the grip on their ankles. + +The hauling ceased suddenly. Ned reached down and freed his foot, the +same movement freeing that of the fat boy. + +At this juncture Tad Butler dashed out from the tent, to which he had +run after having thrown the freed rope away. + +"Here, here, what's going on here?" he shouted. + +"Something got us. It was a snake," howled Chunky. "Oh, wow; oh, wow!" + +"A snake? Nonsense!" exploded the Professor. "There are no snakes in +Alaska." + +"There's one here and he's the biggest one you ever saw. Why, he twisted +right around my leg and dragged me out. I think he bit me, too," wailed +Chunky. + +"Somebody make a light here," commanded the Professor. + +"That's what I say," shouted Ned. "You pulled half the hair out of my +head, Chunky. I'll be even with you for that." + +"Did the Thing get you, too?" questioned Walter. + +"Get me? I should say it did. I never had anything grip me like that." + +Tad was busy starting the fire. The Professor, by this time, realized +that the boys were in earnest; that something really had happened to +disturb them, though he had not the least idea that it had been as bad +as they said. + +The fire began snapping briskly. Tad was bending over it in his pajamas, +standing as far back as possible to avoid the sparks. Glancing at the +others out of the corners of his eyes, he observed that Stacy's face was +pale; Ned Rector's was flushed and angry, and Ned kept passing a hand +over his head where the hair had come out. Tad could barely keep back +the laughter. + +"Now, show me!" demanded the Professor after the camp had been lighted +up. + +Stacy went into an elaborate explanation of what had occurred so far as +he knew. He said something had grabbed them by the ankles and dragged +them out under the tent. He showed where they had been dragged. The +backs of their pajamas were evidence enough of this fact, the dirt being +fairly ground into the cloth. + +The Professor fixed his keen eyes on the freckled face of Tad Butler. +The Professor was plainly suspicious, but he did not voice his +suspicion. Instead, he smiled to himself. + +"I am going back to bed, young gentlemen, and I trust there will be no +further disturbance in this camp to-night. If there is I shall be under +the necessity of taking a hand in it myself." + +"If Ned and Chunky will behave themselves, I don't believe there will be +any further trouble, sir," said Tad. + +Stacy fixed a glance of quick comprehension on Butler, and Tad saw in +that one glance that the fat boy's suspicions were aroused, too. Stacy +was sharper than Tad had given him credit for being. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +IN THE HOME OF THE THLINKITS + + +Stacy did not speak of his suspicions that night, but on the following +morning he was up earlier than the others, looking here and there about +the camp. He was unusually silent at breakfast time, but Ned Rector on +the contrary had a great deal to say. + +"Somebody was in this camp again last night. I don't know what he was +trying to do, but whatever it was, he made a good start," said Ned. + +"Perhaps it was the work of Indians," suggested Walter. + +"I shouldn't be surprised," replied the Professor dryly. + +"Perhaps," agreed Tad, "the Indian was after another ham and thought he +had hold of one when he got Chunky." + +"You keep on and I'll say something!" snorted the fat boy. + +"I have been looking at that red mark on my ankle," continued Ned. "It +was a rope that did the business. How do you suppose they ever managed +to tie it to our ankles without waking us up?" + +"I thought you did wake up," answered Tad with twinkling eyes. + +"We did afterwards, but I don't understand it at all. Didn't you hear +anything, Tad?" + +"If I remember rightly I heard two boys yelling like frightened babies." + +Once again Chunky snorted, but held his peace. Matters were rapidly +nearing a crisis. Chunky knew that he had played a mean trick on Tad by +tying a string to the provision line and giving it a jerk to wake his +companion up, thus making him believe someone was at the provisions. He +suspected that the trick had been turned on him, but he wasn't quite +sure. Stacy was covertly watching every expression on the face of Tad +Butler, every word that was uttered, Tad in the meantime continuing to +worry his fat companion. The latter stood it as long as possible. Then +he arose rather hastily and strode around to the rear of the tent, +returning a moment later with a rope in his hand. + +Tad recognized it instantly. + +"Here, if you want to know what got hold of us last night. Look at +this!" exclaimed Chunky. + +"What is it?" questioned Rector. + +"It's a rope. Don't you know a rope when you see one? It is the same +rope that dragged us from the tent by our ankles last night. Oh, this is +a fine outfit!" jeered Chunky. + +No one spoke for a few seconds. + +"Ah!" breathed the Professor. "I begin to see a light." + +"So did we," returned Stacy. "But it wasn't so very light that you could +notice it particularly." + +Ned started up, his face flushing violently. + +"Do you mean to tell me that one of our outfit dragged you and me out by +the heels last night?" he demanded. + +"Yes!" + +"Who did it?" cried Rector angrily. "I can thrash the fellow who did +that. Who is he, I say?" + +"Well, I may be wrong, but from the look of his face, I should say that +Tad Butler knows something about the affair. Mind you, I'm not saying he +did it, but I reckon he knows the man who did," observed Stacy. + +"Tad Butler, did you do that?" demanded Ned. + +"Stacy seems to think I did." + +"Then I've nothing more to say." + +"I--I thought you were going to whale the fellow who did it," reminded +Stacy. + +"I reckon I've changed my mind," muttered Ned. "I'll have a talk with +Tad later, though." + +"No time like the present," laughed Butler. + +"Young gentlemen, enough of this. I am amazed at you, Tad," rebuked +Professor Zepplin. + +"Tell them the rest, Stacy," nodded Tad. + +The fat boy hung his head. + +"Maybe I was to blame, after all. I reckon Tad was after me, not Ned," +admitted Stacy. + +"What had you done?" questioned the Professor with a poor attempt at +sternness. + +"I--I tied a string to the provision line. You know Tad had a line tied +to it with one end around his wrist so that he would know if an intruder +began to interfere with the provisions?" + +"Yes. Go on." + +"Well, as I told you, I tied another string to the rope. After Tad got +to sleep I pulled the rope. He went out to see what had done it. I guess +he didn't find it, for he went out several times after that. Oh, I made +him dance a merry dance," chuckled Stacy. "By and by I went to sleep. +That was the last I knew until I found myself sliding out of the tent on +my back." + +Everyone shouted. Stacy's droll way of telling the story was too much +for them. + +"So that was the way of it, eh?" questioned Ned. + +"So Stacy says," nodded Butler. + +"And you didn't mean to drag me out?" + +"No; the fellow who did the dragging must have gotten hold of the wrong +foot," replied Butler. + +"Then I forgive you. I would endure almost anything for the sake of +seeing Chunky get the worst of it." + +"Well, I like that!" shouted the fat boy. "I'm glad that you, too, got +some of the worst of it. Why didn't you tie the rope around his neck +while you were about it, Tad, and make a thorough job of it?" + +Nevertheless, Stacy was set upon having his revenge on Tad, even though +he was himself to blame for the trick that had been played on him. The +sun shone over the camp of the Pony Rider Boys a few hours later, and +the rough hike was again taken up. It was the middle of the fifth day +after the roping experience when the boys first caught sight of Yakutat +Bay. Huge cakes of floating ice were being thrown up into the air by the +strong gale that swept in from the Pacific, the whitened ice in strong +contrast with the black sands of the beach. + +Towering above it all, nearly five miles in the air, stood Mt. St. Elias +glistening in the mid-day sun. Rushing streams roared down the sides of +the mountain, thundering through deep gorges cut into the rocks through +perhaps thousands of years of wear. It was a tremendous spectacle, +exceeding in impressiveness anything the boys had ever looked upon. + +At their feet lay the wreck of the rude cabins of the early Thlinkit +Indians. There was no sign of any other village. The masts of a few +small schooners were visible on the southern side of the bay. It was in +this part of the waters that ships came to anchor. Here they were not +exposed to the heavy swell from the Pacific, being sheltered by islands +on the southern side. + +An Indian wrapped in a gaudy blanket went striding stolidly past the +Pony Rider party. + +"Will you tell us where the town is?" called Tad. + +Without looking at the questioner, the Indian pointed up the hill to the +right. + +"He means on top of the mountain," interpreted Stacy. + +"No. There is a trail leading up through the trees," answered Tad. "But +it can't be much of a settlement." + +"There must be quite a town here," said the Professor. "I have read that +in the year 1796 the Russians established a penal colony here, having +erected quite a plant. A city was laid out at the time, though I think I +have heard that the penal buildings were burned down. But we shall find +out more when we get to it." + +The climb was a stiff one--almost straight up, it seemed to the boys. +Three miles of this through a forest-bordered trail brought them to the +village. + +"This certainly is some town," laughed Tad. + +They saw before them a general store, two or three shops that looked as +if they were for the purpose of supplying miners' outfits, with a few +scattering cottages here and there. To the left they could make out the +smoke from the new Thlinkit village. Squaws from the latter were sitting +about the village street weaving baskets. Such beautiful baskets none of +that party ever had seen before. The boys could hardly resist the +temptation to buy, but knowing that every pound and every inch of bulk +in their packs counted, they contented themselves with admiring the +handicraft of the squaws. + +Ponies or horses were seldom seen in the Yakutat street, so those of the +Pony Rider outfit attracted no little attention. A swarm of Indian +children gathered about them, chattering half in English and half in +their native language. + +The keeper of the general store came out to greet the outfit, scenting +some trade, and shook hands with the Professor warmly. + +"Anybody'd think the Professor was his long-lost brother," chuckled +Stacy. + +A bevy of dark-eyed squaws surrounded the Professor. In several +instances papooses were strapped to their backs, the youngsters looking +as if they did not enjoy it any too well. + +"Why do they tie them up in splints?" asked Stacy. + +"To keep them from getting broken," answered Rector. + +A squaw offered Stacy a pair of beaded moccasins that were gorgeous to +his eyes. + +"How much?" + +"Fife dolee." + +"Eh? I don't hear very well?" + +"Four dolee." + +"I'll give you a dollar and fifty cents." + +"Two dolee. You take um?" + +"You bet I'll take um. It's like finding moccasins to get them for that +price." + +"You will have to carry them yourself, you know," warned Tad. + +"What do you think I'm going to do with those joy shoes?" demanded the +fat boy. + +"I supposed you intended to wear them when sitting by the fireside." + +"Like the squaw, you've got another guess coming. I'm going to send +those moccasins to my aunt in Chillicothe." + +This was an unusual thing to do. Stacy usually thought of himself, but +seldom of others. Tad called to the other boys to tell them the news. +They examined the moccasins gravely. + +At this juncture the Professor beckoned to the boys to come into the +store, which they did after hastily staking down their stock. + +"This gentleman says he thinks he can get us a guide," announced the +Professor. "I tell him we must have a reliable one, for we know +absolutely nothing about the country from here on." + +"Black or white?" questioned Stacy. + +"Oh, black, of course. There are no white guides up here. I think this +one was out with a government surveying party once," said the +store-keeper. + +"He should do very well, then," nodded the Professor, well pleased. + +"What's good enough for our Uncle Sam surely should be good enough for +us," agreed Ned Rector. "What do you say, Chunky?" + +"I decline to commit myself. I've been taken in on guides before this. +Trot out your guide and, after I've tried him out, I'll tell you what I +think of him. In buying guides I follow the same tactics that Tad Butler +does in purchasing horses." + +"Oh, you do, eh?" jeered Ned. + +"Always." + +"Then be sure you examine this fellow's legs to make certain that they +are sound. Feel his ankles that there is neither spavin nor ringbone, +then open his mouth and look at his teeth to be sure that he isn't lying +to you," advised Tad dryly. + +"After which, one Stacy Brown will be reduced to the condition that he +deserves," laughed Ned. + +"What condition?" demanded the fat boy. + +"Use your imagination." + +"It isn't working to-day. I'm too hungry." + +"Plenty of crackers and cheese and other things here," said Tad. "I am +going to have some. Isn't that 'pop' up there, sir?" he asked the +proprietor. + +"Yes; have some?" + +"What flavors have you?" + +"Sarsaparilla and ginger ale." + +"Give me both," interjected Stacy. "I'll have a pound of that cheese and +about a peck of crackers. Got anything else?" + +"Ginger snaps?" + +"Hooray! Just like being in Chillicothe, isn't it?" Stacy filched a hard +cracker and slipped it into the mouth of a papoose on its mother's back. + +The squaw did not observe the action, but one of her sister squaws +muttered something, whereat the mother snatched the cracker from the +mouth of her young hopeful, cast the cracker on the floor and put her +moccasined foot on it. She launched into a volley in her own language, +directed at Chunky. + +"That's all right, madam. Roast me all you wish. I don't care how much +you insult me so long as I don't understand a word you are saying." + +"Do you wish the cheese done up?" asked the proprietor. + +"Done up? Certainly not. I'll attend to the doing up myself." Chunky +took a large bite, then banged the end of the pop bottle against the +counter to open the bottle. The stuff was highly charged, and a good +quantity of it struck Ned Rector in the eye. Stacy waved the bottle at +arm's length before placing it to his mouth. The charge went over his +shoulder and soaked the Professor's whiskers before the fat boy +succeeded in steering the mouth of the bottle safely to his lips. + +Professor Zepplin sputtered, Ned Rector threatened, but the fat boy ate +and drank, regardless of the disturbance he had caused. + +"If you open any more of that stuff be good enough to go outdoors to do +so," advised the Professor. + +"I wuz thinking ob doig it in here and shooting a papoose with some +ginger ale," answered Stacy thickly. + +"You will keep on till you have those squaws pulling your hair, Chunky," +warned Butler. + +The other boys were by this time eating cheese, crackers and ginger +snaps. The proprietor had sent one of the Indian children to fetch the +man he had recommended as a guide, and by the time the Pony Rider Boys +had satisfied their appetites, the guide entered the store and stood +waiting to be recognized. + +The boys laughed when they saw him. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE GUIDE WHO MADE A HIT + + +The guide might have been anywhere from twenty to forty years of age. +The boys were unable to say, though they decided that he was quite +young. He was considerably shorter in stature than the Indians they had +seen, and Tad wondered if he were not an Eskimo. The guide's head was +shaven except for a tuft of black coarse hair on the top, standing +straight up, while a yellow bar of paint had been drawn perpendicularly +on each cheek. He wore a shirt that had once been white, a pair of +trousers, one leg of which extended some six inches below the knee, the +other as far above the knee of the other leg. Over his shoulders drooped +a blanket of gaudy color. The guide's feet were clad in the mucklucks +worn both in summer and winter. Taking him all in all, the man was a +smile-producing combination. + +"Are you a guide?" asked the Professor. + +"Me guide." + +"How old are you?" + +"Twenty year." + +"I think that is about it," said the store-keeper. "These natives never +know their age exactly." + +"You look to me more like an Eskimo than an Indian," observed Professor +Zepplin. + +"Me Innuit--Siwash. You savvy me?" + +Stacy scratched his head. + +"Tell him to talk United States," suggested the fat boy. + +"What is your name?" asked Tad. + +"Anvik. Me smart man, savvy? Me educate Jesuit Mission. Me pilot +Chilkoot, White Horse, Caribou; me savvy all over." + +"Do you know how to cook?" questioned the Professor. + +"Heap cook all time. Me savvy cook." + +"You don't savvy any cooking for me," declared Stacy. + +"You will think differently about it when you are hungry. Remember, you +are full of cheese and crackers now," answered Rector. + +"You have been out with the white men surveying, I am told," resumed the +Professor. + +Anvik nodded solemnly. + +"Big snow--no trail--big mountains. White men get lost. Anvik find, +Anvik know trail. Anvik big pilot. Me take um to Ikogimeut when Yukon +ice get hard so man can go safe with dog team. Big feast, big feed, tell +heap big stories, big dance. Oh, heap big time. Innuit go, plenty +Ingalik go. Me got pony, too. Buy um from Ingalik man." + +"According to his story he seems to be the big noise up here," muttered +Ned Rector. + +"He has a pony. That is one point in his favor," said Tad. + +"Wait till you see it before you call it a pony," advised Stacy. + +"Me got gun, too. Me shoot. Bang!" + +Stacy staggered back, clapping a hand to his forehead. + +"I'm shot!" he cried dramatically. + +"Stacy, do restrain yourself until we get out on the trail again," +begged the Professor. + +"Me make snare. Me catch big game in snare. Me heap big pilot. Me +Ingalik." + +"Have some cheese," urged Chunky, passing a chunk to the now squatting +Indian. + +Without the least change of expression the Indian thrust the chunk into +his mouth and permitted it to lie there, bulging out the right cheek. + +"Do you think this man will do, sir?" asked Professor Zepplin, turning +to the store-keeper. + +"He will have to if you want a guide. He is the only fellow here who has +ever acted in that capacity, so far as I know." + +"We would prefer to have a white man." + +The proprietor shook his head. + +"White men mostly are up in the gold country, Dawson, Nome, all over." + +"Isn't there gold in this part, too?" questioned Tad. + +"Yes, there's gold everywhere. You can go down and pan out gold in the +black sands on the beach here. But what's the use? There is more money +to be made in other ways in this country, unless you are lucky enough to +strike it rich before you have spent a fortune locating the claim." + +"Where you go?" demanded Anvik. + +"North. Northwest from here. We want to get into the wildest of the +country and we don't want to get lost." + +"Me no lose. Mebby me find gold, uh!" + +"We are not looking for gold," replied the Professor. + +"We are always looking for gold," corrected Stacy. "If you know where +there is gold you just lead me to it and I'll be your brother for life." + +"Me show." + +"I take back all I said about this gentleman," announced Chunky. "If the +half that he says is true, he is worth several times the price he asks." + +"How much does he ask?" inquired Rector. + +"I don't know," replied the fat boy. "He's cheap at the price, anyway." + +"When you mush?" demanded Anvik. + +"We don't have mush. We have bacon and beans, and tin biscuit and +coffee, and plenty of other things, but no mush," answered the +Professor. + +The store-keeper laughed heartily. + +"He doesn't mean something to eat. Mush means march or move, a +corruption of the French-Canadian 'marché.' He means when are you going +to set out." + +"Oh!" exclaimed the Professor. + +"I thought you were an Indian, Professor?" said Tad laughingly. "I guess +if we depend upon you for interpreter we shall get left." + +"Of course I don't understand this jargon." + +"Of course you don't," agreed Butler. + +"I doubt if any other persons do outside of the locality itself. You see +this jargon is purely local and--" + +"That's what the doctor said about a pain I had once," interjected +Stacy. "But it hurt just the same." + +"Anvik, we would like to start this afternoon, if you are ready," +announced the Professor. + +The Indian shook his head. + +"No mush to-day. Mush to-mollel." + +"Why not to-day?" + +"Innua him angry to-day." + +"Who is Innua?" demanded the Professor, bristling. "We do not care who +is angry. That has nothing to do with us." + +"He means the mountain spirits," explained the store-keeper. + +"Eh?" questioned Chunky. "Mountain spirits?" + +"He means spirits in the air," explained Butler. "We are not afraid of +spirits, Anvik." + +"Anvik no like." + +"How do you know Innua is abroad?" asked the Professor, now curious to +know more of the native superstitions. + +"See um." + +"Where?" + +"On big mountain," indicating Mt. St. Elias with a sweeping gesture. + +"He won't go until to-morrow. If you want him you will have to wait," +the store-keeper informed them. + +"Then I suppose we shall have to wait," reflected Professor Zepplin. "It +may be an excellent idea after all. We can pitch camp in the village and +acquaint our guide with our methods of doing things, Anvik, do you know +how to put up tents and make camp?" + +"Me make Ighloo, fine Ighloo. Snow no get in, cold no get in, Innua no +get in." + +"How about rain?" put in Stacy. + +"Rain no get in." + +"That's all right, then. We don't care whether the snow gets in or not, +but we don't want to have to swim out of our Ighloos in the middle of +the night. One is liable to get wet, you know," reminded Brown. + +The Professor arranged the wages with Anvik, calling upon the +store-keeper to witness the bargain and put it in writing. The Professor +then directed the boys to take the new guide out and begin his +instruction in the ways of the Pony Rider Boys. The Professor remained +to purchase necessary stores and supplies, consulting the proprietor as +to what would be needed on the journey. The advice of the store-keeper +was helpful in aiding the Professor to take only such equipment and +supplies as would be absolutely necessary. + +Anvik went to the Indian village to bring his pony, the boys in the +meantime starting off to pick a camp site. + +"One thing, boys, we mustn't play tricks on Anvik," reminded Tad. "I +have an idea that he hasn't much of a sense of humor. He might lose his +temper and run away and leave us after we were deep in the interior of +the country." + +"Do you know, I don't believe he is an Indian at all," asserted Ned +Rector. + +"Neither an Indian nor a white man," suggested Stacy wisely. + +"I think he is an Esquimo," spoke up Walter. + +"What's the odds? We don't care what his race is so long as he answers +our purpose," declared Butler. + +"He says he is an I-Knew-It, and I believe him," said Stacy Brown with +emphasis. + +"An Innuit, you mean," corrected Tad. + +"That's it, an I-Knew-It, and that's what I did--" + +"There he comes," cried Walter. + +The Indian was leading a pony that looked as if it had not felt a brush +or comb since its birth, but Tad's discerning eye noted that the little +animal was hardy and well-conditioned, though of evident temper. + +"Does he kick?" asked the boy, as Anvik tied his mount to a tree. + +"Him kick like buck caribou. Him kick all time, both ways." + +"We'll hopple him if he does," said Tad. "Be sure that you tie him so he +doesn't kick our ponies, Anvik. We can't have anything of that sort. If +he persists in kicking I'll see if I can't break him of it." + +"You horse shaman?" asked Anvik. + +"Yes, he's ashamed of his horse, that's it," chuckled Stacy. + +Tad's face wore a puzzled look, which a few seconds later gave place to +a smile of understanding. + +"Oh! you mean, am I a horse doctor? Is that it?" + +"Uh." + +"That's what he is. Anvik has got you properly located this time. Ha, +ha!" laughed Chunky. + +"Come, boys, unpack. We must give our guide his first lesson. You sit +down and watch us, Anvik, while we make camp." + +The guide did so, grunting with approval or disapproval from time to +time as the work pleased or displeased him. Under the now skillful hands +of the Pony Rider Boys the camp rapidly assumed shape and form. All the +tents were erected on this occasion in order that the guide might +observe the whole process. The tents up, the boys settled them. There +were plenty of trees about from which to get boughs for their beds, and +wood was brought and a campfire built up. This especially interested the +guide. He uttered grunts and nods of approval as he watched Tad build +the fire in true woodsman-like manner. + +"White man no make fire like Indian. You make fire like Indian." + +"Thank you," smiled Butler. + +"You make cook fire. How you make sleep fire?" + +"A little fire close up to the tent," answered Butler. "I make it so as +to get all the heat into the tent instead of sending the heat up into +the air where it will do no good." + +"Heap good. You good Indian." + +"That's what he is, Anvil, he's an Indian," cried Stacy. + +"I seem to be a good many things in this camp," laughed Tad. "Any +further compliments you can pay me, Stacy?" + +"No, but if you don't chase that buck over yonder behind the Professor's +tent, I reckon you'll lose your rope," reminded the fat boy. + +Tad sprang to his feet, leaping over the tent ropes to the rear. A +native had reached under and was hauling out Butler's lasso. Tad grabbed +the fellow by an arm and sent him spinning. + +"You get out of here or I'll wallop you!" threatened the freckle-faced +boy. "Don't you try that! It doesn't go in this outfit. Anvik, tell your +friend that someone will get knocked in the head if he steals anything +in this camp." + +The guide uttered a volley of protest in Innuit, which the assembled +squaws, papooses and bucks received in stoical silence, and with +impassive faces. + +"They don't seem to be particularly impressed by your lecture," said +Ned. + +"Him no take. Anvik tell um stick um with knife if take." + +"You will do nothing of the sort. We will do all the punishing. Don't +let me see you using your knife to stick anyone. Now, I guess you had +better show us around. Take your pony and come along," rebuked Rector. + +"Where you want go?" + +"Oh, anywhere. You lead the way. Will anything here be taken while we +are away?" questioned Ned. + +"No take. Anvik stick um if take." + +"You're a savage, that's what you are," declared Chunky. + +The boys got on their ponies, while Anvik, after letting his blanket +slip to his waist, started away at a stride that the ponies had to trot +to keep up with. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +IN THE HEART OF NATURE + + +That night the Indian slept rolled in his blanket with feet close to the +campfire in true Indian style. He neither moved nor made a sound all +night long so far as the boys knew, but just as the dawn, was graying +the skies between the great white glaciers, he was up and striding, away +on some pilgrimage of his own. He did not return until two hours later. +When the boys awoke Anvik was sitting before the fire with both hands +clasped about his bunched knees. + +"Good morning," greeted Tad, who was the first to emerge from the tents. + +"Huh!" answered the guide. + +"Is the mountain spirit willing that we should make a start this +morning?" + +"Him gone," answered the Indian. + +"Where?" + +"Not know. Mebby Yukon, mebby Caribou," with a wave of his hand that +encompassed all the territory to the north of them. "You mush bymeby?" + +"Very soon. We will have breakfast now, then we will get under way." + +Anvik nodded and grunted, then, straightening up, let fall his blanket +and began preparing the things for breakfast. One by one the Pony Rider +Boys appeared, stretching themselves and yawning. A wash in an icy +spring close at hand awakened them instantly. Stacy was the last to +emerge from his tent. He sniffed the air, then turned up his nose. + +"Bacon!" he grumbled disgustedly. + +"Don't you like it?" asked Tad. + +"I was thinking last night that if I keep on eating bacon for many +months more I'll be growing a pork rind in my stomach." + +"You don't have to eat the bacon unless you want to, Chunky." + +"Yes, I do. It's either that or starve, and Stacy Brown never will +starve so long as there is anything to eat in the shop. Where's the bath +room? I want to wash." + +"Over yonder, and don't you wash where we get our breakfast water if you +know what's good for you." + +"All water looks alike to me," answered the fat boy, walking rather +unsteadily toward the spring, rubbing his eyes. + +Breakfast that morning was rather a hurried affair, for there was much +to be done. The supplies had been brought up from the store the night +before so there was no need to wait for the place to open, and Anvik +proved to be quite handy in striking camp, needing few instructions. He +remembered well all that had been told him the previous day. + +They got away early. As before, the guide disdained to ride his pony. He +trotted along ahead, leading the little animal until some five miles +beyond the village when he leaped to the pony's back, and with a shrill +"Yip, yip!" sent it galloping ahead. This made the boys laugh. They did +not laugh for long, however. A mile beyond this they swerved from the +trail that led up parallel with the border between the United States and +the Canadian possessions and struck straight into the wilds. + +"Say, where's the trail?" demanded the perspiring Stacy when the going +became so rough that the greater part of the time they were obliged to +walk, leaving their ponies to get along as best they might. + +"There is no trail. This is the trackless wilderness," replied Butler. +"There is time to go back if you wish to." + +"No, I don't want to go back." + +Ere that day was ended Chunky almost wished he _had_ gone back +while he had the opportunity. Time and time again they were obliged to +haul their ponies up the steep sides of rocks by main force. +Fortunately, the little animals, used to mountain climbing, were +unaffected by dizzy heights or dangerous crossings, and picked their way +almost daintily. The boys were perspiring and red of face, but happy. +They thoroughly enjoyed this wild traveling. It went beyond anything +they had ever experienced. + +"I hope you are satisfied," panted the Professor when at noon they +stopped on a little plateau from which gulches fell away on all sides, +leaving them, as it were, on a magic island high in the air. "I +sincerely hope it is wild enough for you young gentlemen." + +"Not any too much so, Professor," answered Tad. "I could stand it a lot +wilder." + +"At the present rate you will have it that way." + +They built a fire and cooked a light meal, after which all hands lay +down for an hour, with the exception of Anvik, who sat bunched in his +now familiar brooding position, gazing off into space. As he sat thus, +his far-seeing eyes discovered something, but he did not change +countenance. He simply sat in dreamy-eyed silence. Perhaps what he saw +did not interest him. A column of white smoke had attracted his +attention. Promptly on the expiration of the hour that the boys had +given themselves to sleep, Anvik stepped briskly to them, shaking each +one by the shoulder. + +"Mush!" he grunted with each shake. + +"I wish you wouldn't say that," grumbled Stacy. "It makes me think I'm +going to have breakfast." + +"Heap big mush. Big snow, big mountain," grunted the Innuit, with a +sweeping gesture towards the towering peaks of the St. Elias range which +they were now entering. + +"Have we got to go through that?" begged Walter anxiously. + +"Um," replied the guide. + +"But how shall we ever make it?" + +"Mush." + +"Yes, mush," jeered Chunky. "You just spread the mush over the mountain +side and slide. Don't you understand, Walt? My, but you are thick." + +All that afternoon they fought their way through the rugged mountains, +making camp that night in a gloomy pass at the foot of Vancouver +Mountain, a vast pile that towered nearly fourteen thousand feet high. +It seemed to the Pony Rider Boys that they were a long way from +civilization, and Tad admitted that he would soon be lost were he +obliged to follow a trail up there. + +The camp was made about six o'clock, still with broad daylight, but the +boys considered that they had done enough for one day. The ponies were +weary and Tad knew better than to press them too hard. After supper the +freckle-faced boy shouldered his rifle. + +Anvik gave him a glance of inquiry. + +"Where are you going?" demanded the Professor. + +"I'm going to 'mush' a little way up the pass to see if I can't get +something worth while for our breakfast." + +"You will get lost." + +"No, that will not be possible. So long as I keep in the pass I shall be +all right. Don't worry; I'll keep in the pass all right." + +The boy plunged into the thick undergrowth, and no sooner had he done so +than the giant mosquitoes and black gnats attacked him in force. Tad +fought them until he grew tired of it, then he trudged on grimly, +permitting them to do their worst. After a time he decided that he would +get no game if he remained down in the pass, so, after carefully taking +his bearings, Tad climbed the mountain until he was able to look over +the tops of the trees. It was like a level green sea. He sat down in the +sunlight, gazing out over the wonderful landscape. + +"A world of silence," he murmured. "If Chunky were here he would say I +was getting softening of the brain. Hello!" Tad froze himself. There was +scarcely a perceptible flicker of the eyelids as his gaze became fixed +on a point of rock just across the pass. There, poised with one foot in +the air, stood an antelope. It was a young doe, as Tad surmised it to +be. His position was not a favorable one for shooting because he was in +plain sight, and the least move on his part no doubt would be discovered +by the antelope. + +"She must have scented me or else she has got a whiff from the camp. If +I don't make any false moves she will be over in that camp within the +next hour." + +Tad raised his rifle slowly. Yet slow and cautious as he was, the +antelope's head went up sharply. So did Butler's rifle. He took quick +aim and pulled the trigger. The report of his shot went crashing from +wall to wall, like a series of heavy shots. + +[Illustration: He Raised His Rifle Slowly.] + +The freckle-faced boy leaped to his feet, and to one side, with rifle +ready for another shot in case he had missed. But he had not. The +antelope had leaped into the air, turned a complete somersault, and went +crashing down into the gulch out of sight. + +"Hooray! Maybe it was a chance shot, but it was a dandy just the same. +Now I wonder if I am going to be able to find her. I think I know how." + +The boy took out his compass and got a bearing on the point where he had +last seen the antelope. Noting the course he started down the mountain +side, sliding and leaping in his haste. Crossing over the pass was more +difficult, for a broad glacial stream was rushing through the center of +it. Nothing daunted, Tad plunged in, but was swept off his feet almost +instantly and carried several rods down before he was able to check +himself by grabbing a rock. + +The rifle had been held out of the water most of the way, though it got +a pretty good wetting. The water was less swift from the rock on, and +Tad essayed another crossing. He fell only once on the way over. This +time he went in all over, rifle and all, but he got up grinning. + +"It doesn't matter much now. I can't be any wetter, and I guess the gun +isn't any the worse off, though I shall have to give it a pretty +thorough cleaning and oiling when I get back to camp." + +Having been thrown considerably off his course, Butler found some +difficulty in picking it up again, but he found it at last, then guided +by the compass made his way straight to where the antelope lay amid a +thick mass of undergrowth. He examined her and found that the bullet had +entered just behind the left shoulder. + +"I couldn't have done any better than that at fifty yards," chuckled the +boy. "The next question is, how am I going to get her to camp? I reckon +I shall have to tote her." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A PONY RIDER BOY'S PLUCK + + +"White boy him make shoot," grunted Anvik. + +"He has shot?" questioned Ned. + +"Ugh." + +"How do you know?" + +"Hear um." + +"You must have pretty good ears. I haven't heard anything," replied the +fat boy. "How do you know it wasn't someone else?" + +"Know um gun." + +"It is queer we didn't hear him," said the Professor. "Do you think he +got some game?" + +The guide nodded. + +"We shall see how good a fortune-teller you are, but the joke will be on +you if it should prove not to have been Butler at all." + +To this the guide made no reply. In the meantime, Tad Butler was having +his troubles. The problem of how to get the antelope back to camp was +not so easily solved. But Tad thought he knew a way. First he got a +stick, which he sharpened at both ends. The stick, about six feet long, +he thrust through slits he had made in the hocks of the animal, somewhat +similar to what he would have done had he been going to string the +carcass up. + +First strapping his rifle over his shoulder, the Pony Rider Boy raised +the stick to his shoulders also, and, stooping, lifted the animal. It +was a heavy burden and he staggered. The head of the antelope was +dragging on the ground, which made Butler's labor still more trying. + +The lad started away, keeping close to the stream in his search of a +fording place, but he failed to find anything that looked easier than +the portage he had used before, so he finally decided to go back to +that. By the time he reached the former point he was obliged to drop his +burden and sink down on the rocks to rest. + +"Whew, but it's hot. And the mosquitoes and the gnats! If it isn't one +pest in the wilds, it is sure to be another and a worse one," he +concluded somewhat illogically, measuring the width of the stream with +his eyes. "I'll try it." + +The weight of his burden was a help rather than otherwise in crossing +the glacial stream, for the weight kept the boy on his feet, except on +one occasion when stepping on a flat, slippery rock, they were whipped +out from under him. Tad went in all over, with the antelope on top of +him, and there he struggled and splashed, losing his foothold almost as +fast as he gained it. + +"Well, I am a muffer," gasped Tad, finally getting to his feet. "I'm +worse than Chunky. I deserve a worse wetting, but I guess that's +impossible." + +The journey to the other side was made without further mishap. Then +began a hard, grilling tramp down through the pass, the ends of the pole +on which the animal was suspended continually catching on limbs and +brush, frequently throwing Butler down, tearing his clothes and +scratching his face and neck. His dogged determination carried him +through, however, but he was in the end considerably the worse for wear. +The first his companions saw of him was when Tad fell out into the open +in plain sight of the camp, flat on his face, with the carcass on top of +him. At first glance they thought it was a live animal they had seen. + +"Get a gun, quick!" bellowed Stacy. + +"Him white boy," answered the Indian. "Him git um." + +"What, Tad?" Ned uttered a yell and started on a trot for his companion +who, by this time, was getting up slowly and with evident effort. Stacy +and Walter followed. "What have you got there? We came near letting go +at you." + +"Yes, yes, we thought you were a bear," chuckled Stacy. + +"It's a deer," cried Walter Perkins. + +"Him antelope," nodded the Indian wisely. "White boy heap much big +hunter." + +"I'm afraid I am a better hunter than I am a toter. Stacy, I fell in." + +"Ye-e-e-ow!" yelled the fat boy joyously. + +"Here, let us take him in," offered Ned, reaching for one end of the +carrying stick. + +Butler shook his head. + +"I said I was going to get him to camp alone and I shall." + +"But--" protested Ned. + +"Oh, let him carry the beast if he wants to. Tad likes to work," laughed +the fat boy. + +"Which is a heap sight more than may be said of some persons we know +of," returned Ned. + +Tad dragged the carcass into camp, casting it down a short distance from +the tents. + +"Him heap big little man," reiterated the Indian. + +"How much does the animal weigh?" asked the Professor. + +"A good ton, I should say," replied Tad, sinking down by the fire. "I'm +all tuckered out." + +"You had better get on some dry clothes." + +"These will dry in a few minutes by the fire," was the philosophical +reply. + +"Yes, that's right," bubbled Stacy. "When one side gets dry I'll pry you +over with the stick on which you brought in the carcass. You can't say I +don't do my share of the work in this outfit." + +"I think I prefer to do my own rolling. I don't dare trust you," laughed +Tad. + +"That's it, you see. When I try to do anything you won't let me." + +"Perhaps Anvik will show you how to skin and cut up the antelope." + +"I don't want to know how to skin an antelope. We don't have that kind +at home, so what's the use knowing about it? I know how to 'skin the +cat,' and that's enough," Chunky declared. + +Anvik deftly strung up the carcass and in half an hour had it neatly +dressed, the boys watching the operation with interest. + +"Heap much good meat," he nodded. + +"Yes, heap," admitted Stacy solemnly. "What are you going to do with it +all?" + +"Eat um." + +"All of it?" + +"Some of um. Mebby wolf eat um rest. Mebby bear eat um." + +"Mebby they don't. Mebby Stacy Brown will eat um if there is any left +when my hungry friends get through with it to-morrow," jeered the fat +boy. "I'll have mine rare, if you please." + +"Huh!" grunted Anvik with the suspicion of a grin on his usually stolid +countenance. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +STACY BUMPS THE BUMPS + + +One by one the travelers were hauling the ponies up a steep mountain, +over which their course lay, four days after Tad had brought in the +antelope. They had eaten their fill of the meat, hiding the rest in case +they should by any chance come that way again. + +The going had been worse than before. It could not have been tougher for +either man or beast. The mountain side up which they were struggling was +rough and rugged. A short distance to the right of them the quartz rock +was as smooth as polished marble save for a hummock here and there, some +of the latter smooth, others rough. Neither Pony Rider Boy nor pony +could have held his footing there for an instant. + +After two hours' toil they got the last of the stock up, which in this +case was the pack mule. Ned pulled on the rope while Tad and Anvik +pushed. They were safe in doing so, for the mule could not kick without +going down altogether. Furthermore, it was as anxious as its helpers to +get to the top and have the disagreeable job over with. The result was +that all hands were pretty well fagged out by the time they got to a +level space from which their way led around the base of the higher +mountain. + +"Now, Stacy, you haven't done much except to give us the benefit of your +advice, so take the mule over yonder and tether him where he can +browse," directed Butler. "Walter, did you tether the others?" + +"I did." + +"Come on, you lazy mule. I'm not going to tote you. You'll tote yourself +if you want a feed," growled Stacy, taking hold of the lead rope and +slouching off to the right. The bushes where they had placed the ponies +were about ten rods to the northward of the point at which the party had +landed. Stacy was apparently trying to see how near he could walk to the +edge without himself or the mule slipping down that glassy side of +granite-like rocks. + +"Come along, you lazy cayuse," he yelled, giving the lead line a series +of tugs. It was like pulling on a dead weight, the pack mule being too +weary to hasten its lagging footsteps. Chunky turned around and taking +firm grip on the rope with both hands began to pull with all his might. +The mule braced himself. He resented this sort of treatment. + +The halter suddenly slipped over the animal's head, and the pack mule +sat down heavily. So did the fat boy. Unfortunately for the mule it sat +down with its haunches slightly over the edge of the slope, and down it +went over the slippery surface. + +"There goes the other mule!" yelled Walter Perkins. + +"Fat boy him go, too," grunted Anvik. + +They had failed to observe Stacy. What they were most interested in was +the sight of their pack mule sliding down the slope backwards in a +sitting posture. Alarmed as they were to see their stores disappearing, +the ludicrousness of the sight interested them. The mule came in contact +with one of the high places--a rocky bump, which bounced him up into the +air and turned him completely around. Down to the next obstruction the +animal traveled, principally on its nose. + +Stacy Brown was only a few seconds behind the mule. The two had sat down +facing each other. The mule being the heavier had gone first and, when +once under way, his momentum carried him along with greater force and +speed. + +With a wild yell, the fat boy, sprawling and struggling to catch hold of +something to stop his progress, began the descent. Below him he could +hear the rattle of tin cans, for the pack had broken open. It was +raining canned goods down there, but Stacy was not particularly +interested in this phase of the situation. He hit the bump over which +the pack mule had leaped, was hurled up into the air, where he did a +dizzy spin, then sat down with a force that for the instant knocked all +the breath out of him, and once more he shot towards the bottom. + +"They'll both be killed!" cried the Professor in great alarm. + +Tad, comprehending the scene in a twinkling, started on a run. Choosing +a point where there were no bumps in the way, he crept over and, sitting +on his feet, supported on each side by his hands, began a downward +shoot. But the freckle-faced boy did not long maintain that position. A +few seconds after starting he was flat on his back, going down feet +first at a speed that fairly took his breath away. + +Ere he was half-way down, the mule had reached the end of its journey at +the bottom of the slope. Then Stacy Brown came along, but not much more +gracefully than the mule, and landed feet first on the animal. What the +slide and the bumps had failed to do for the unfortunate beast, Stacy +Brown did. He was a human projectile and the mule, that had got to its +fore feet, promptly lay down again under the impact. Chunky did a +graceful dive over the body of his prostrate enemy, landing on his +shoulders in a thicket. + +"Stacy! Stacy!" yelled Tad as he reached the end of his own slide and +got to his feet. Tad had not been in the least injured by the fall. +"Stacy!" + +"What do you want?" + +"Are you hurt?" + +"No." + +"Then come and help me get the mule up." + +"I can't." + +"Why not?" + +"I'm strung up." + +Tad did not know what the trouble was, but he lost no time in getting to +his companion. Butler gazed, then he burst out laughing. Chunky lay on +his back on the ground, his eyes rolling. One foot was elevated as high +as it could reach and still permit the boy's body to remain on the +ground. The foot was caught in the crotch of a dwarfed tree, and was +wedged in tightly, too. + +"Gracious! How did you ever manage to get into that scrape?" questioned +Tad between laughs. "Hey, Ned, is that you?" as a crashing in the bushes +was heard near at hand. + +"Yes. I'm coming. Is Stacy hurt?" + +"No, but come here quick. Here's a sight for you!" + +Ned threshed his way to them, then he, too, burst out into a roar of +laughter. + +"Ha, ha!" mocked Chunky. "That's right. Never mind me. I'm only the fat +boy, taken along to do stunts to make the rest of you laugh. I'm quite +comfortable, thank you. I can stand on my head here for any old length +of time. Have your laugh out, then shoot me! I don't want to die a +lingering death." + +"I'll lift him up. You get the foot out, Ned," directed Tad. + +This was not so easily accomplished. Butler tried different ways of +doing this, but each time the fat boy's yells made him stop short. Every +attempt to lift Stacy gave his foot a wrench, bringing forth a howl. + +"Let me have your hatchet," demanded Tad. Ned passed it over. + +"What are you going to do? Going to chop my leg off?" demanded Stacy. + +"Don't worry. It won't hurt but a moment." + +"Pro-o-o-o-fessor!" + +"Keep still, you ninny! We aren't going to hurt you," growled Ned. + +Tad was already hacking at the tree, which was small, but very tough. +Every blow brought a yell from the fat boy. He couldn't have made much +more racket had his companions in reality been amputating the leg +itself. + +At last Butler had chopped through. He grabbed the tree, but Stacy, +jerking on his foot, pulled the tree right over on him, incidentally +throwing Tad down. Then Chunky let out a fresh series of howls as the +sharp sprouts smote him on the face and body. The foot, however, had +come free with the falling of the tree, but the boy still lay there +groaning, making no effort to help himself. + +"Get up! You're all right," commanded Ned, jerking Stacy out by the +collar. "See what you've accomplished now. You have done for our last +mule. Had you not been along I don't believe the other one would have +fallen off the trail." + +"That's right. Save the donk, but never mind a Stacy Brown. He's a good +joke, that's all," complained Stacy. + +Tad had run to the pack mule which had got up, and was standing with +nose close to the ground. + +"He isn't hurt," cried Tad. "He is all right, Professor," he called. +"Both mules are all right. Hooray!" + +"Eh?" growled Stacy, flushing hotly. + +Anvik, who had been making his way down by a more roundabout way, now +made his appearance. He grunted upon discovering the disheveled Chunky, +and shrugged his shoulders as he observed the display of tin cans strewn +about. + +"Much heap big fool!" ejaculated the Indian. + +"Are you addressing your remarks to me or to the mule?" demanded Stacy +calmly. + +"Huh!" That was the only reply Stacy got, and Anvik began gathering up +the stuff that had been lost from the battered pack. This was no small +task, owing to the way the provisions had been scattered. Butler, in the +meantime, had gone over the pack mule carefully to see if there were any +serious injuries. + +"He's a lucky mule," announced the lad. "There are no bones broken, but +I'll warrant he aches all over from the shaking up he has had. I shall +have to sew up that gash on his side when we get him up." + +"Let's get started and boost him up, then," urged Rector. + +"No, let the beggar rest. I haven't the heart to drag him up that +mountain again until he recovers from the shock. We'll tether him and +help Anvik get the provisions up first. Stacy, are you able to work?" + +"What you want me to do?" + +"Carry some of these stores up." + +The fat boy shook his head. + +"My weak heart won't stand it," he answered. Thrusting his hands in his +pockets he strolled off. + +The two boys looked at each other and Tad shook his head hopelessly. Ned +picked up a stone and savagely shied it at a tomato can. It hit the can +and split it wide open. + +"If you must give vent to your emotions I wish you would throw stones at +a tree, or at something that won't deplete our stores," suggested +Butler. "Now see what you've done." + +Stacy had promptly rescued the split tomato can and carefully holding it +before him stepped gingerly over to a rock on which he sat down and +began eating of the contents of the can. + +"I don't want to see. Stacy riles me so that I want to thrash him. I'll +do it some day, too!" threatened Ned. + +Stacy paid no attention to Rector's threats, but having finally emptied +the can, he threw it at Ned, then began climbing the mountain to rejoin +the outfit. + +It was all of two hours ere they finished their work of bringing the +damaged supplies up the mountain side. Then came a tug of war in getting +the mule up once more, the brute hanging back, the boys pulling and +pushing. The Professor had a new pack cover all cut and sewed by the +time they had finished. The boys decided to camp where they were for an +hour longer, then go on, making a late camp that afternoon, the days +being so long that this could be done without night traveling, which was +very perilous in that rugged section. + +They finally took up their journey, making camp on a high plateau where +Tad was destined to make an important discovery before they set out on +the following day. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE STORY IN THE DEAD FIRE + + +It was an hour past daylight on the following morning when Tad, who had +got up early, shouldered his rifle and stalked out of camp, returned. +The other boys were just out of their beds, heading for a spring to +"wash their eyes open." + +Tad did not show himself to them at once. There was no real reason for +his caution, save that he was a woodsman and therefore always cautious +as to the moves he made. Anvik caught sight of him instantly, and Tad +beckoned. The guide did not appear to have observed the signal, but +taking up his hatchet as if going out for wood, he strode from the camp +also, and Butler seeing that the guide was coming, turned and walked +briskly away from the camp. + +The freckle-faced boy led for a short quarter of a mile straight over +the plateau, a thickly wooded, rugged plain. Then he halted, waiting for +the guide to come up. Tad pointed to a heap of ashes, the remains of a +campfire. + +"Huh!" grunted the Indian. + +"Someone has been here before us," nodded Tad. "And not so very long +ago, I should say. What do you make of it, Anvik?" + +"You see um?" + +Butler nodded. + +"What you see?" + +"A dead campfire." + +"Huh. Heap much. What else you see?" + +"I see a few things, Anvik. Of course I can't see as much as you do, but +I should say this camp was not more than a day old. This fire was +blazing yesterday. The ashes aren't the right color for a very old one." + +"One sun," grunted the Indian. + +"It looks to me as if there had been two men here. Am I right?" + +"Heap good. Two men. Leave, big hurry. Him go that way. Stay here two +hour. Wonder why big hurry?" + +"Perhaps they wanted to get somewhere, some place for which they had set +out in a hurry. They had two ponies and pretty heavy packs." + +Anvik nodded. + +"White boy much wise. Him see almost like Indian. My father him shaman. +Him teach Anvik see many thing. White boy him see almost as much as +Anvik." + +"Where do you think they are going?" + +"Not know." + +"Perhaps they are miners prospecting for a claim." + +Anvik shook his head. + +"Too much big hurry. No prospect. Mebby go get claim. Mebby see um +again." + +"I hope we do. It would be pleasant to have some company in this wild +place. They went in that direction when they broke camp. Is that the way +we go?" asked Tad. + +"We follow um trail." + +"Then let's go back and get ready to move." + +The pair strode back without another word, the Indian's admiration for +the freckle-faced boy having increased greatly since Tad had beckoned +him from the camp. + +Shortly after noon as they were casting about for a favorable place in +which to make their mid-day halt, Ned Rector, who was riding to the +right of the others, uttered a shout. + +"What is it?" cried Tad. + +"There has been a campfire here." + +"How did you find it?" wondered Tad. + +"My pony walked through it and kicked up the ashes. Who do you suppose +it could have been?" + +"I am sure I don't know. See anything about the remains of the fire that +tells you anything?" + +"No. What is there to see, Tad?" + +"It takes a woodsman to see things," declared Stacy Brown, getting from +his saddle and gravely strolling to the heap of ashes, into which he +thrust one hand. + +"Well?" grinned Tad. + +"Ashes warm. Haven't been away from here very long." + +"Great!" cried the boys. + +"You are a wonder," nodded Butler approvingly. "But you all missed the +other one." + +"The other what?" demanded Ned. + +"The other campfire. There was another right near where we camped last +night. In that case the ashes were cold. The travelers haven't made as +much progress to-day as I should have thought they would, and it looks +to me as though they thought they were moving rather too rapidly and had +slowed down a little. What do you say, Anvik?" + +"Huh!" grunted the Indian, which Tad interpreted as meaning that he was +right. + +The Professor was much interested in the discovery, and asked Tad and +Anvik many questions about the earlier discovery. Still, there was not +much to be learned. A stranger in this wild place was something to +attract the attention and cause speculation and discussion, so during +the rest hour they talked of little else. Tad thought they would come up +with the two strangers, but the guide shook his head. + +"Him go north. Anvik go northwest. No see." + +"We shall see by to-morrow. I have an idea that we are going to catch up +with our friends before we get across the mountains," averred Tad +confidently. + +"Lunch is ready," announced the Professor. + +"And speaking of food, I'm a little hungry myself," said Tad with a +laugh. "I really am glad there is no one in our outfit with a delicate +appetite. Walt, do you remember what a dainty picker you were when we +first went out together?" + +"Yes. I have changed since then, haven't I?" + +"I should say you have. From a delicate little chap you've gotten to be +a regular whopper." + +"Yes, I reckon we've all grown some," agreed Chunky. "But if this kind +of going continues we'll all shrink away to nothing." + +"You will be able to lift a house after you have finished this journey," +laughed Tad. + +"I don't want to lift a house. I've got all I can do to lift myself." + +Soon after, the party started on, to meet with a surprise ere they had +gone far on their journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A SIGN FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOP + + +The surprise did not come until just before night closed in, shortly +after ten o'clock that night. + +A hard, grilling day had been spent on the trail, with little relief +from their labors, which were divided between hauling the ponies up +dangerous slopes, down almost sheer walls, across glacial streams cold +as ice, and last but not least the fighting of giant mosquitoes and +black gnats. + +"There is only one thing lacking to make this country the limit," +declared Stacy after they had made camp and settled down to warm +themselves while the guide was getting supper. + +"And what might that be?" questioned the Professor. + +"Snakes!" + +"Thank goodness there aren't any such things here," exclaimed Rector. +"It is bad enough as it is. Hark! What's that?" + +"Him wolf," grunted the Indian. + +"I should say there were several of 'him,'" laughed Tad Butler. "They +seemed to be stirred up about something. Are they timber wolves, Anvik?" + +The guide nodded and grunted. + +"Are you afraid of wolves?" demanded Rector. + +"No 'fraid wolves. Mebby 'fraid Ingalik." + +Tad drew from this that the Indian had something in mind that he had not +spoken to them about. The freckle-faced boy eyed the Indian keenly, but +Anvik's impassive face told him nothing. The guide had discovered +something else. Tad was sure of that, but what that something was the +boy had not the slightest idea. + +Tad's gaze roved about over the landscape, traveling slowly from +mountain to mountain, from peak to peak. Twice he went over the rugged +landscape spread out before them with his searching glances. Suddenly +his gaze halted and fixed on the peak of a low mountain off to the +northwest of them. Butler shaded his eyes, and Anvik, observing the +action, followed the direction of the boy's gaze. + +The guide made no move, nor did he change expression, but Tad saw that +Anvik saw. A tiny ring of smoke was rising slowly from the low mountain +peak, swaying lazily as it rose in the quiet air. It was almost white. +One might have taken it for a cloud did he not know better, and only a +mountaineer would have known better. + +A moment and a second ring ascended in the wake of the first one, then +after another interval a third ring rose. + +"What are you looking at?" demanded the Professor sharply. + +"Smoke," answered Tad. + +"Where?" + +"On that low peak. Where are the glasses?" + +Ned hurriedly fetched the glasses. He took the first look, but saw no +smoke. Tad reached for them. By this time another ring was rising. It, +like the first one he had seen, was followed by two others. + +"It's a signal!" announced Butler quietly. "Now what can it mean?" + +"It means trouble for us," spoke up Stacy. "I can feel it in my bones." + +"Who would desire to make trouble for us here?" demanded the Professor. + +"I don't know," replied Tad. "I don't believe that smoke has anything to +do with us. It must be an Indian signal." + +"No Indian," grunted Anvik. "Him white man smoke." + +"How do you know?" questioned the Professor sharply. + +"Me know." + +"Then perhaps you may be able to tell us whose smoke it is?" + +"Him white man. Mebby same man, mebby not. White man all same. Him call +other white man. Him say some along, by jink." + +"Let's make a smoke and answer him," suggested Ned eagerly. "That would +be a joke on him, whoever he is." + +Tad said "no," and said it emphatically. + +"No make smoke," agreed the Indian. "Smoke want white man off +yonder"--pointing to the southwest. + +"How do you know that?" asked Butler. + +"Smoke him go that way. Want us, smoke him go this way." + +"I never knew that before," reflected Tad. "You see, boys, they make +these signal smokes by building a smudge, then holding a blanket over +the smudge. By removing the blanket and replacing it they can make a +definite number of smokes, long smokes or short smokes; in fact, they +can almost make words, like the telegraph. It is a wonderful thing. I +wouldn't be surprised if those signals could be made out twenty or +thirty miles away, if one had eyes sharp enough to detect them." + +"But what are they signaling for?" demanded Stacy. + +"I don't know. Anvik says it is white men. I can't tell you anything +about that. Smoke is just smoke to me. They are communicating with +someone. We shan't see them, as they must be all of ten miles away." + +"Fifteen," corrected the guide. + +"That shows how poorly a novice judges distances in this country," +nodded Butler. "They may see our fire to-night. If they are friendly we +shall no doubt meet them. If they are not, we may never see a sign of +them again. That is the way I reason it out." + +Anvik grunted and nodded. The Indian understood a great deal more of +what was being said than one would have supposed. In fact, to look at +him one would not think he had even heard anything of what was being +said about him. He was the silent, impassive-faced stoic of his race. + +After darkness had set in the boys scanned the mountains for the light +of a campfire, but there was no light to be seen. The Pony Rider Boys' +campfire, however, was blazing up brightly, they having built up a large +fire on purpose to attract the attention of the men who had made the +smoke signals from the low mountain peak, low in comparison with the ten +and fifteen thousand feet ranges about them. The boys turned in at +midnight, a late hour for them, and were sound asleep within two minutes +thereafter. They were aroused an hour later by the most terrifying roar +they had ever listened to. + +"What's the matter?" cried Tad, springing from his tent, trying to +pierce the darkness with his gaze. + +"Is--is the world coming to an end?" yelled Ned. + +"I guess the mountain is falling down," shouted Stacy. + +"Guide, guide!" roared the Professor. + +Anvik, drawing his blanket still more closely about him, stepped over +and threw some fresh sticks on the fire. The roaring by this time had +become a thunderous, crashing noise that fairly deafened them. One had +to shout to make himself heard. Fine particles, like sharp stones, began +raining down upon them, stinging the faces, causing the boys to shield +their eyes with their arms. Stacy, in alarm, ran and hid in the tent; +the others stood their ground, yet not knowing what second they might be +caught in what seemed to them to be a great upheaval of nature. + +"It's an earthquake," shouted Ned Rector. + +Stacy heard the words in a brief lull. The fat boy burst from his tent +yelling like a wild Indian. + +"An earthquake! Oh, wow, wow, wow! We'll all be shot to pieces. Oh, +help!" + +Tad grabbed the boy by a shoulder, giving him a good shaking. + +"Stop that noise!" he commanded. "Don't yell until you are hurt." + +"I want to yell now. Maybe I can't yell after I'm hurt," returned +Chunky. + +"Guide! What is it?" roared the Professor, the perspiration standing out +over his face, as Tad observed when the fire blazed up. + +Anvik finished what he was doing before he answered. Then he spoke +without looking up. + +"Him mountain fall down." + +"Is it an ice slide?" shouted Tad. + +"Ugh!" + +"An avalanche, do you mean?" + +"Yes; an ice-avalanche," explained the Professor. "I have seen them in +other parts of the world." + +"Sun make him ice weak; ice fall down," explained Anvik. + +"How about danger for us?" asked Walter. + +For answer the Indian shrugged his shoulders and went on poking the +fire. Then, of a sudden, there came a crash like a salvo of artillery. A +crushing, grinding mass shot by them, snuffing out the fire as it +passed. + +Darkness and a terrifying silence followed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +AN UNEXPECTED MEETING + + +After the roar of the passing avalanche had ceased, and the awed silence +became oppressive, Stacy Brown's voice was heard. + +"Ow-wow!" he wailed. + +"Are we all here, and safe?" called Tad. "Professor, Ned, Walter, +Anvik!" + +Each answered to his name. + +"You didn't call for me," Chunky protested indignantly. "Don't I count +in this outfit?" + +"That's easy," answered Tad. "When you're not making a noise we know +you're somewhere else. Let's see what the ice did to our camp." + +"Heap one piece ice fall," grunted the guide. "Him sit on fire. Innua +him mad, by jink!" + +"Is Innua the scoundrel who has been throwing sections of mountains at +us?" demanded Walter. + +"He means the mountain spirit," explained Tad. "Don't you recall that +Anvik wouldn't start out with us the first day because he said the +mountain spirit was in a blue funk, or something of the sort?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"Old Innua must have been in a rage to-night then, and we are lucky that +we weren't in range of his projectiles," chuckled Tad. + +Beyond destroying their fire, no damage had been done to the camp. +However, after the excitement no one felt like sleep, so the boys sat +about the fire discussing the ice avalanche for an hour or more. Then, +at the Professor's urgent insistence, they turned in. Anvik long since +had wound himself up in his blanket and gone to sleep. + +Just as the dawn was graying, Tad got up, and shouldering his rifle +slipped from the camp unobserved by anyone except the Indian. Anvik +opened one eye, regarded the boy inquiringly, then closing the eye, +dozed off. He was by this time too well used to Tad's morning excursions +to ask any questions. He knew the boy was well able to take care of +himself. + +Tad had a two-fold purpose in view in going out this morning. He wanted +to get some fresh meat for the outfit and he also was curious to know +what the smoke of the previous evening had meant. While he did not +expect to come up with any strangers, he thought that, perhaps he might +discover something. + +Tad did. He had proceeded less than a mile from camp when he smelled +smoke. At first he thought the odor must come from his own camp, then he +saw that the slight breeze was from the opposite direction. + +"That means that someone isn't far ahead of me. It means I am going to +find out who it is if I can." + +After floundering about for fully half an hour, with the odor of smoke +becoming more pungent all the time, the boy was on the point of +confessing that he was beaten, when all at once he caught the sound of a +human voice. The voice was not loud enough to enable him to distinguish +the words, but he was quite sure it was the voice of a white man and not +far away at that. + +"They have masked their camp. That's why I haven't been able to find +them," muttered the boy, starting ahead again. After creeping forward +cautiously for some time, a wave of suffocating smoke from burning wood +smote him full in the face. + +Tad uttered a loud sneeze. Two men suddenly appeared in the haze of +smoke, and the boy heard the sound of hands slapping pistol holsters. He +was able to make the men out faintly, but not with sufficient clearness +to see who or what they were. + +"Hold on, boys--don't shoot!" warned Butler, as he stepped around the +smudge to enable him to get a better view of the men whom he had come +upon so unexpectedly, to them. + +Before him stood Curtis Darwood and Dill Bruce, the latter known among +his companions as the Pickle. Each man held his revolver ready for quick +action. + +"Why, how do you do?" smiled Tad. "I hadn't the least idea I should find +anyone I knew." + +"Well, suffering blue jays, if it isn't old Spotted Face!" exclaimed +Bruce. "Howdy?" + +"Very good. How are you?" Tad stepped forward. Bruce shook hands +cordially with the boy. Tad turned to Darwood, who had not said a word. +The latter's face darkened, and he appeared not to have observed the +hand that Tad extended toward him. + +"Aren't you going to shake hands with me, Mr. Darwood?" asked the lad. + +"I reckon you ought to know better than to ask it," returned the gold +digger. "I reckon, further, that if you know what's good for you you'll +be mushing out of this as fast as your legs will carry you, unless you +are looking for trouble. Git!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +AN UNFRIENDLY RECEPTION + + +Tad gazed at the gold digger in amazement. + +"I--I don't understand, Mr. Darwood." + +"Don't you understand plain English? I said 'git.' We don't want +anything to do with you, and if we find you fooling about our outfit +after this we'll try something else to keep you away," warned the +prospector. + +"I don't know why you appear to have taken such a dislike to me. I am +sure I have done nothing to merit it. However, I am equally sure that I +don't want anything to do with you. If you change your mind and can act +like a man, instead of a kid, I shall be glad to see you. But don't get +funny. We may be boys but we are quite able to take care of ourselves," +answered Tad, turning away. + +"Stop!" + +Darwood's voice was stern. Tad halted and turned towards the two men. + +"You reckon you're mighty smart, I know, but you must think I'm a +natural-born fool not to know that you have been following us all the +way up here." + +"What?" + +"Oh, you needn't play the innocent dodge. You know what I mean." + +"You--you think we have been following you?" questioned the boy, +scarcely able to believe that the prospector was in earnest. + +"I don't think. I know. You're like all the rest of them. We have had +this thing happen to us before. There are plenty more like you, and +they've followed us, hoping they will be the first to discover the bear +totem and the claim that we are in search of." + +"Taku Pass?" asked Butler with a half smile on his face. + +Darwood's face flushed angrily. + +"What did I tell you, Bruce?" he snapped. "Are you going?" he demanded, +turning towards Tad. + +"Yes. I don't care to stay where I'm not wanted. But before going I am +going to tell you something. We are not prospecting, nor following +prospectors. We are taking our usual summer vacation on horseback. All I +know about your affairs is what Captain Petersen of the 'Corsair' told +me, and what I overheard from Sandy Ketcham. If you will recall I told +you about that. The Captain gave me your history as far as he knew it, +and I was much interested. How could I help being? I love adventure and +so do my companions. We wanted to know more about it, but did not think +it was any of our business until I overheard Ketcham plotting against +you. We hadn't the least idea we ever should see you again. My finding +you this morning was a pure accident." + +"How'd you happen to do it?" interjected Dill Bruce. + +"I saw your smoke signs last night." + +"What!" + +Darwood snapped the word out like the crack of a whip. + +"I saw your smoke signs. At least I suppose they were yours. This +morning I started out, as I frequently do, in search of game. I smelled +your smoke and out of curiosity hunted you up to see who our neighbors +were. That's all there is to it. If you can get anything out of that you +are welcome to it. I wish you luck in finding Taku Pass. If I should +stumble on it, I'll look you up and let you know. We aren't looking for +gold mines especially. 'Bye." + +"Well, what d'ye think of that?" grinned the Pickle after Tad had left +them. + +"I think somebody will get hurt if they don't leave us alone," growled +Darwood, caressing the butt of his revolver. "I'm getting tired of this +kind of nagging." + +"That outfit isn't nagging you," answered Bruce. + +"How do you know?" + +"They are nothing but boys. At least one of them is the right sort. +Spotted Face did us a favor. He isn't a crook." + +"I haven't said he was. But you don't know who is in their outfit now. +Besides, there isn't one chance in a thousand that they'd be so close on +our trail unless they had followed us on purpose. No, this business must +be stopped. We may be on the right track, and if we are we must protect +ourselves, and we'll do it, even though we have to kill a few curious +hounds who are following the trail. The boy business may be merely a +mask for the operations of some other persons." + +"Why don't you find out, then?" + +Darwood bent a keen gaze on his companion. + +"What do you mean?" + +"Hunt up their camp and see what is going on?" + +"I'll do it," answered the gold digger with emphasis. "What's more, I'll +do it now." + +"That's the talk! If you hurry, you may be able to find the boy and +follow him in. Shall I go along?" + +"No. You stay here and look after things. I may be away for some time. I +don't know where they are, but I'll find them if it takes all day. If +our two comrades come in, you hold them here. Needn't tell them where I +am." + +Darwood shouldered his rifle and strode from his camp without another +word. Bruce replenished the fire in order to make a smudge that could be +smelled for some distance away, which was for the purpose of directing +their companions to them, and also had served to call Tad Butler into +their camp in advance of the other two gold diggers. + +Tad was out of sight by the time Curtis Darwood got out, but Darwood was +able to follow the boy's trail, though it was not an easy one. Tad had +made no effort to mask his trail, but his natural instincts taught him +to leave as few indications of his progress as possible. Darwood saw +this. Instead of lessening his suspicions this fact served to increase +them. The gold digger was using his nose more than his eyes, sniffing +the air for the smoke from the camp of the Pony Rider Boys' outfit. He +caught the scent after half an hour or so of trudging over the hard +trail. From this time on it was easy so far as finding his way was +concerned. Butler, knowing the way, had made much better time back to +his own camp. + +Breakfast was ready by the time he reached there. Tad did not mention +his experience, not having decided what he would do in this matter. + +"You find big smoke?" questioned the Indian as Tad stood over him by the +fire. + +"Yes," answered the lad carelessly. Anvik shrewdly deduced that Butler +had made some sort of discovery, but he asked no further questions. +Perhaps the guide also had discovered that they had near neighbors. If +so he kept that fact to himself. + +The boys sat down to breakfast. They discussed the day's ride and talked +of their further journeyings, though Tad had little to say that morning. +He was thinking deeply on what had just occurred. + +The breakfast was about half finished when the lad flashed a quick, keen +glance in the direction from which he had entered the camp. The others +did not observe his sharp glance of inquiry. Tad had seen something. A +movement of the foliage had attracted his observant eyes. He glanced at +Anvik, who was sitting with his back to the party, gazing off over the +mountains to the rear of them and through which they had worked their +way to the present camping place. + +Tad casually reached over for his rifle that was standing against a +rock. + +"What's up?" demanded Ned sharply. + +"I want to examine my gun," replied the boy. + +"Funny time to examine it when eating your breakfast," spoke up Walter. + +"I prefer to eat," said Stacy. + +"We know that," chuckled Ned. "No need for you to tell us." + +The Professor was eyeing Tad inquiringly, observing that the boy's face +was slightly flushed. + +"What is it, Tad?" he asked. + +"Nothing, except that I am going to take a pot shot at an intruder," +replied the boy calmly, suddenly leveling his rifle on the bushes where +he had observed the movement a few moments before. + +He pulled the trigger. A deafening crash brought the boys to their feet, +yelling. The shot was followed by a shout from the bushes. + +"Stop that shooting, you fool!" roared a voice. Tad put down his gun, +grinning broadly, the others dancing about excitedly. + +[Illustration: Curtis Darwood Stepped Out.] + +"Come out of that or I'll give you something to yell at," commanded the +Pony Rider Boy. + +Curtis Darwood, his face stern and determined, stepped out into the open +and walked straight towards the amazed group now standing near the +campfire. The Indian guide was the only person who had not gotten up +when Tad Butler sent a bullet into the thicket fully six feet above the +head of the gold digger who was spying on the camp. + +Darwood was more angry at having been discovered than being shot at. He +had heard the bullet rip through the foliage above his head, and knew +that the shot had been intended to stir him up rather than to reach him. +That the boy whom he had driven from his own camp should have thus +turned the tables on him angered him almost beyond his control. Darwood +was so angry that he failed to see any humor in the situation. + +"It is Mr. Darwood, isn't it?" cried the Professor with face aglow, +striding forward with outstretched hand. As in Butler's case, Darwood +professed not to see the proffered hand. He looked the Professor +squarely in the face. + +"Won't you sit down and have a snack with us?" asked Professor Zepplin. +"We were eating when Tad fired that shot. That was very careless of you, +young man. You might have killed someone." + +"I reckon he knew whom he was shooting at," answered the gold digger. +"You see, this isn't the first time that young fellow and myself have +met." + +"Of course not. We all met on the 'Corsair,'" spoke up Rector. + +"He and I have met since then," answered Darwood. "I reckon you know all +about it. He came spying on our camp this morning just after daylight, +and--" + +"You know that isn't true," interjected Tad. "Why don't you tell it +straight if you are bound to tell it?" + +The miner let one hand fall to his holster. + +"Up in this country they don't call men liars," answered Darwood, +looking Butler coldly in the eyes. + +"Then men shouldn't place themselves in a position to be called liars," +retorted Tad boldly. "You had better take your hand from your revolver. +If you will take the time to glance at the rock to your right you may +possibly see something to interest you." + +The miner cast a quick glance of inquiry in the direction indicated, and +found himself looking into the muzzle of a rifle, laid over the top of +the rock. Behind the rifle was Chunky, one eye peering over the sights. + +Tad laughed. + +"Stacy!" thundered the Professor. "What does this mean?" + +"Nothing, Professor," answered Tad. "Chunky got a little excited, that +is all. You may put the gun down, Stacy. Mr. Darwood doesn't understand; +that's all. Sit down and have a snack with us, as the Professor has +asked you to do," urged Butler. + +"I don't want to eat with you. You know it. Don't you go to getting me +riled or I won't answer for the consequences." + +"Neither will I," answered Tad smilingly. "We are easy to get along with +unless someone treads on our toes; then it's a different story. Sit down +and we will talk this matter over." + +Tad threw himself down beside the fire. Stacy still sat behind the rock, +gazing suspiciously at their early morning visitor. + +"I demand to know the meaning of this scene," said the Professor +sternly. + +"Let Mr. Darwood tell you," replied Butler. + +The gold digger made no answer. Tad turned to the Professor. + +"I will tell you what there is to it, sir. Mr. Darwood thinks we are +like some others he has met. He thinks we are trying to steal his gold +mine," declared Tad in an impressive voice. + +Professor Zepplin flushed deeply. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE PROFESSOR IN A RAGE + + +"What!" fairly exploded Professor Zepplin. + +"Mr. Darwood accuses us of having followed him to find out where this +wonderful gold deposit is located. He thinks we want to steal it away +from him." + +"Preposterous!" + +"Show me some gold," urged Stacy, edging near. "I am looking for gold. I +don't make any bones about saying so, either." + +"Be silent," commanded the Professor. + +"I smelled smoke when I was out this morning," continued Butler. "I +followed the scent until I stumbled into Mr. Darwood's camp. It was his +signal smokes that we saw yesterday. Mr. Darwood did not give me a very +cordial welcome; he ordered me out of his camp. Not only that, but he +threatened me in case we persisted in following him. I think he would +have used his pistol on me if I had not gone away when I did." + +"Is this true, Darwood?" questioned the Professor, who was restraining +himself with an effort. + +"I reckon it's right, so far as it goes. I know what you fellows are up +to. You may think you can fool me, but I've been in these parts too long +to be an easy mark. It's nobody's business whether we are in search of +gold or whether we are up here for our health. Whatever our business is, +we don't propose to have a lot of folks sticking their noses into it." + +"What do you propose that we shall do?" asked Professor Zepplin. + +"I don't care what you do," roared the gold digger. + +"Then there is nothing more to be said." + +"Oh, yes there is. There's a lot to be said. I am not going to say it +all right here, but I reckon I'll say it in a different way later on. +You are following us. Don't deny it. I know you are. You pumped the +Captain and everybody else on the boat about us. Then, when you thought +you had got all the information you wanted, you followed us." + +"It's not true. You know it's a lie!" shouted the Professor. + +"Be careful how you nag me on," warned the miner. + +"You know you think nothing of the kind. What is it that you reckon to +say at some other time?" + +"This," answered Darwood, tapping his holster significantly. + +Tad laughed softly to himself. This angered the gold digger more than +ever. + +"You folks get out of these hills! Go anywhere you want to, but get out +and get out quick. Some more of my men are coming along to-day. If you +are here to-night it will be the worse for you," threatened the miner. + +"Which direction would you suggest our taking?" asked Tad in a soothing +voice. + +"Go back the way you came. I don't care where you go." + +"You are not consistent," laughed the freckle-faced boy. "You tell us +you don't care where we go, then you order us to proceed in a definite +direction. You are going too far, Mr. Darwood. When you have had a +chance to cool down I think you will look at this matter in a different +light. If you will use your head a little you will see it is not +possible that we could have had any previous knowledge of your plans or +of your gold mine. You had better make friends with us. We might be of +some use to you. Professor Zepplin is a scientist. He could give you +valuable help. Shall we call quits and shake hands? Come on." + +The words that he would utter seemed to stick in the gold digger's +throat. He clutched twice at his holster, but the evident desire on his +part to use his pistol appeared to have no effect at all on the Pony +Rider outfit. Darwood knew very well that drawing his weapon would +practically be the end of himself, and this did not tend to make his +situation any better. + +"I'll not shake hands with you. I am going back to my camp. If you +thieves are here by to-night I promise you there will be something +doing. I--" + +Professor Zepplin strode forward, his whiskers bristling, his fists +clenched. The boys never had seen their guardian so angry. + +"That for your threats!" he roared, shaking a fist under the nose of +Curtis Darwood. "Your threats don't frighten us. Your pistol doesn't +frighten us. We're not that kind." + +The miner started to reply. + +"Don't you open your mouth or I shall forget myself and slap your face. +Thieves!" Professor Zepplin struggled to master his emotions. "Thieves! +This is too much. You tell us that if we are here to-night you will make +matters lively for us. If it will accommodate you any we will remain +right here. But we should be on our way. We are going to follow a +straight course as near as possible to the northwest. We shall, with +reasonable luck, be about twenty miles from here by eleven o'clock +to-night. If that is the direction you are going you will have no +difficulty in finding us. But let me warn you, sir, we shall put up with +no trifling. We have as good a right to be here as have you, and I am +not sure but that we have a better right." + +"We'll see about that," retorted Darwood angrily. + +"You let us alone! Do you hear? You let us alone! If you are looking for +trouble you may have all you want and then some more besides. We are +peaceable travelers, but we know from long experience how to take care +of ourselves. Have you anything more to say to me?" demanded the +Professor. + +"I reckon not. I've said my say." + +"Then get out before I forget myself and hit you on the nose!" roared +Professor Zepplin. "Don't you dare come fooling around our camp again, +and thank your lucky stars that Master Tad didn't make a mistake and +shoot lower. Are you going, or are you waiting for me to throw you out?" +fumed the Professor. + +"I reckon I'm going. You'll hear from me again. Next time the shoe will +pinch the other foot." + +"It will be the foot that kicks you out of camp in that case," answered +the Professor. + +"Hooray!" howled the fat boy. "Three cheers for Professor Zip-zip!" + +"Be silent!" thundered Professor Zepplin. + +"Yes, you had better look out or he will take it out of you after Mr. +Darwood has gone," warned Tad. "The Professor is all stirred up." + +The Professor was. Darwood turned and strode from the camp without +trusting himself to utter another word. Professor Zepplin strode back +and forth with clenched fists, muttering to himself for five minutes +after the departure of their guest. + +"He called us thieves!" he exclaimed, halting and glaring angrily at +Stacy. + +"Well, don't blame me for it," answered the fat boy. + +"Professor, calm yourself," begged Tad. "Those men have met with a lot +of crookedness. You can't blame them. I shouldn't be surprised if some +other person had been trying to follow them since they have been out +this time. They probably think we are in league with the others to get +ahead of them in the discovery of this treasure." + +"I don't believe there is any treasure," raged the Professor. + +"As to that, of course, I can't say, but I should think it quite +probable that they had something definite. There must be something in +what they have to go on. They are not fools, but intelligent men. What +is more, they must think they are on the right track or they wouldn't +fly off the handle as Darwood has done to-day. What will you do?" asked +Tad. + +"Do? Do? What do you think I am going to do?" + +"Knowing you as I do, I should say you would go on as we have planned," +answered Butler laughingly. + +"Exactly! If that man thinks he can frighten us out of our course he +will find that he has made a grave mistake." + +"Why didn't you punch him when you had the chance?" demanded Chunky. +"You could have hit him an awful wallop when his chin was in the air +that time." + +"Stacy! You are a savage!" rebuked the Professor. + +"Maybe, maybe," reflected the fat boy. "But judging from some things +that have occurred in this camp this morning, I'm not the only savage in +the outfit." + +The boys laughed uproariously. + +"That's one for you, Professor," chuckled Ned. + +"Anvik! We break camp at once," fairly snapped the Professor. + +"Gold man him heap fool," grunted the Indian. + +"No, not that, Anvik. He is gold-mad like all the rest of them," +corrected Butler. "I hope I never shall get that way." + +"It can't be such bad fun to be gold-mad," argued Stacy, who usually +wanted the other side of an argument. "I'd like to try it once, if I +could find enough gold to make it interesting." + +Camp was hastily broken that morning, for there was much lost time to be +made up. Everyone was eager to get started, anxious to find out what +would be the outcome of the dispute with the gold diggers. + +"We don't know in what direction they're going to move, while they do +know our route," said Tad. "So it will be an easy matter for Darwood to +watch us as long as he wants to keep us in sight." + +At seven o'clock that morning Professor Zepplin gave the word to "mush." +This morning the Professor was extremely silent, but there was a grim +look to the corners of his mouth. + +Exciting experiences lay before them all. The boys felt it in the very +air about them. The certainty made them feel buoyant and exhilarated. +Surely this wild old Alaska was a great bit of country! + +"I don't care how soon somebody starts something," mused Ned. "We have +our heavy artillery well on ahead." + +As he spoke he gazed smilingly at the tight-jawed Professor, who never +looked to better advantage than when in warlike mood. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +TAD DISCOVERS SOMETHING + + +"I don't see our friends," said Ned, an hour later. + +"They're not in their camp," answered Tad. "We passed that an hour ago. +They have no horses, so they're packing their outfits on their backs." + +"Huh! That's one part of the gold-madness that I don't want," said +Chunky. "Do all gold diggers have to pack their outfits?" + +"I guess few of them can afford to buy ponies," answered Butler. "Then, +too, the places they go to are usually beyond the reach of anything +except a wild animal. We are fortunate if we get through with our stock. +Even our own ponies that we left at home would never be able to make +this rough trail. What's that, Anvik?" + +The guide was pointing to a waving ribbon of white that appeared to +reach from point to point on the rocks high above them and some distance +ahead. + +"What is it?" demanded the boy. + +"Him goat." + +"Mountain goats? Look, boys!" cried Tad. + +Stacy threw up his rifle and took a shot. Of course he missed. A leaping +mountain goat is not an easy mark even for the best shot, and the fat +boy, while shooting very well, could hardly be called an expert. + +"Those are the animals from which the beautiful blankets are made," the +Professor informed them. "Do you know how the Indians get the wool?" + +"They pull it out by the roots, I guess," suggested Stacy. + +"Hardly," laughed Ned. + +"Spring is the shedding time. The goats, in leaping from place to place, +leave tufts of wool clinging to rocks and bushes, and this the lazy +Indians gather for their blankets, rather than take the trouble to hunt +the goats." + +"Squaw him get wool," spoke up Anvik. + +"Worse yet," laughed Butler. "You are the laziest folks on earth." + +"Squaw work, him no talk lies. Him mouth keep shut." + +The boys laughed at this crude reasoning of the Indian. + +"Did they teach you at the Mission to make your squaws work?" asked Tad +Butler. + +Anvik shook his head slowly. He did not answer in words, but hastened +his pony's pace by his heavy pull at the halter. + +All that day the boys kept a lookout for smoke, but in vain. After they +had made camp that night the Professor said: + +"There are indications here of unusual formations. If you have no +objections I should like to remain here for a day, perhaps two, and do +research work." + +"Right, Professor," replied Tad. "The ponies will be better for a rest, +and maybe we can do some hunting. How about it, Anvik?" + +"Anvik not care," was the guide's reply. + +After breakfast the next morning the Professor set off at once. + +"Now, fellows," said Tad, "I propose that Stacy and I follow that ravine +to the left and Ned and Walter go to the right. From the formation I +should say that some time late in the day we ought to meet. It's wild in +those passes, and we should get game." + +After arranging that three quick shots should announce the finding of +game and that the distress signal of one shot, a pause, then two quick +shots should be a call for help, the boys set off, each carrying +biscuit, a drinking cup, and matches, besides their rifles. + +The boys tramped all morning without sighting game. + +After a short rest the two boys went on again, bearing more to the left. +As they trudged on the sound of rushing water was borne to their ears. +Then they came out on a broad stream, a torrent that came from the top +of three lofty, ice-covered mountains. + +"Let's work up toward that pass," suggested Tad, wishing to see the +gulch from which the stream was flowing. + +They had worked their way upstream for half a mile when Chunky yelled: + +"Look there! What's that?" + +Tad saw a hideous head projecting above the bushes. At first he was +startled, then he laughed. + +"That's a totem pole, Chunky. They're put up usually in behalf of the +Indian dead to drive the spirits away. Let's go and look at it." + +The totem pole was standing at the entrance of a second narrow gulch. +Sand and shale rock were heaped up at the entrance. + +"A stream flowed through here at one time, Stacy. I imagine that it was +the same body of water we've just been looking at." + +"Yeh," said Stacy absently. "Say, Tad, let's see who can first hit that +evil-looking thing with a stone." + +Tad laughed and stooped to pick up a stone. As he did so, he noticed an +arrow cut into the rock at one side of the gulch, the point of the arrow +aimed up the gulch. + +"That's queer," muttered the boy. "I suppose it's an Indian sign. This +is a place of many mysteries." He stooped to pick up the rusty-looking +stone that had caught his glance. It was worn full of holes as if by the +action of water and when he took it in his hand its heaviness aroused +his curiosity. Opening his knife, he dug into the stone. + +Tad's face flushed a vivid red, and he uttered a sharp exclamation. + +"What is it?" demanded Stacy. + +"Nothing much. Maybe I've made a discovery. Don't let's idle here. Let's +go on and see if we can't get our bear. This seems to be our lucky day," +said the boy, pocketing the stone and once more shouldering his rifle. +"Come, mush, as Anvik would say." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +CONCLUSION + + +Professor Zepplin had been closeted in his tent for an hour when he +beckoned Tad Butler to enter. + +"Boy, this rusty stone that you picked up is a gold nugget, worth, I +should say, all of five hundred dollars!" cried the Professor excitedly. +"Are there more of them, Tad?" + +"I can't say. I found this one on a bar where it was probably washed +down. The place was once a stream, but it changed its course and is now +some distance to the west. I've an idea that there's gold in that +sand-bar." + +"Then we'd better go after it. It probably belongs to no one." + +"I'm not sure of that. Others may have a juster claim than we have, +Professor." + +"You suspect something, Tad, without knowing fully. We'll look at the +place and decide what to do later." + +The others were in bed, but still awake when Tad left the Professor's +tent, but to their questions he gave evasive answers. + +It seemed to Tad that he had been asleep but a few minutes when he felt +a touch on his shoulder. He sat up, instantly wide awake. Anvik was +bending over him. + +"Somebody come," muttered the guide. "One, two, three, four, maybe +more." + +Day was just breaking. Tad awakened his companions, giving each +instructions as to what he was to do. Then he hurried to the Professor's +tent to give Anvik's news. + +"Look out!" yelled Stacy shrilly. + +A series of quick, sharp reports punctured the stillness of the morning. +Tad and Professor Zepplin dashed out, and so did Walter Perkins. Ned +Rector and Stacy Brown were nowhere to be seen. Anvik stood against a +rock, his blanket drawn about him, the muzzle of a rifle protruding from +the lower end of it. + +Four men appeared in the open, each holding a rifle. The rifles were +aimed at the members of the Pony Rider outfit. + +"It's Darwood!" gasped the Professor. It was Darwood, accompanied by Sam +Dawson, Dill Bruce and Curley Tinker. "What's the meaning of this +outrage, gentlemen?" he demanded. + +"I gave you warning to mush back to where you came from," answered +Darwood. + +"And I told you we'd do nothing of the sort!" + +"You're going now, and in a hurry!" + +"What will you do if we refuse again?" + +"You'll find out what we'll do. We're north of fifty-three now. You know +what that means. Put down those guns, and do it quick." + +"Suppose you set the example," said Tad quietly. He had not spoken up to +this point. + +"Keep still!" commanded Darwood. "Put down those guns." + +"Don't be in a hurry," advised Tad. "Before you do anything that you'll +regret, let me say that every man of you is covered. The slightest +hostile motion on your part is your death warrant." + +"The Indian's got away!" cried Dawson. + +Darwood for the first time realized that all the Pony Rider outfit was +not in sight. + +"Either your friends will put down their guns and come out or we'll +shoot," snarled Darwood, fixing his gaze on Tad Butler. + +"Are you so anxious to die, Curtis Darwood?" asked the lad calmly. + +Darwood flushed, but the four men lowered their rifles to the ground. + +"Mr. Darwood, I have something to tell you. Sit down," went on the boy. + +"I reckon we'll do nothing of the sort." + +"Sit down, I say!" + +The men obeyed reluctantly. + +"Keep them covered until they come to their senses, boys," directed Tad. +Then he went on to the men: "We don't blame you for feeling that every +man's hand is against you; but I'm going to prove to you that ours are +not. See this?" and Tad tossed to Darwood the rusty stone that he had +found in the sand-bar. + +"Gold! A nugget of pure gold," breathed Darwood. "Where did you get it?" + +"Perhaps we found the Taku Pass." + +"And we've lost it," groaned Dawson. + +"We'll fight for it, then!" shouted Darwood. + +"You might wait until there's need for fighting, Mr. Darwood," said Tad +contemptuously. He then went on to describe the totem pole, while his +listeners became more and more excited. They got out an old map, and +after studying it Tad said: + +"It is the Taku Pass that Stacy and I discovered. As it is undoubtedly +yours, we relinquish all claim to the land." + +"How much do you want for the relinquishment?" asked Dawson. + +"Nothing. Sit down and have breakfast with us and then we will lead you +to the place." + +"I can't say much," said Darwood falteringly. "We've been a bunch of +driveling idiots." + +After breakfast Anvik was sent to the men's camp for pans and implements +and supplies, and the others set off in Tad Butler's wake to explore the +gulch. + +At one point the party found a slender vein of pure gold, enough to give +hope that the vein broadened out farther on. Tad, in a cavelike niche, +saw a gray streak of ore that reached for a long distance. A piece of +this about the size of a goose egg lay at his feet. It was heavy, and he +put it in his pocket to show to the others. + +Anvik came in with the tools, surveying chains, and pans, and Darwood +and the others staked off their claims, taking in enough to give each +boy a claim, putting up heaps of stones to mark the boundaries. + +"Of course, if anyone else were to file a prior claim we'd have a hard +time to substantiate ours. But there's not much danger." + +The claim staked, Darwood proposed that they pan in the bar to see what +they could find. To the delight of all, sparkling particles of rich +yellow dust lay in the bottoms of the sieves, and they felt convinced +that there was gold in paying quantities. + +Once more back in the camp, the Professor disappeared into his tent. +When he emerged he looked excited. + +"Boys!" he shouted. "Tad! Your sample is platinum! Gentlemen, you have +indeed a fortune! The platinum is worth about double its weight in +gold!" + +Such a hurrah as went up! Such an evening of rejoicing and excitement! +But early the next morning came the reaction. + +Tad, up early, went out to the claim, too impatient to await breakfast. +To his amazement instead of finding the markers they had set, he found +that they had been removed, and in their places some one had cut off +saplings and marked the stumps of them with deep-cut notches. + +"It's that rascal, Sandy Ketcham," declared Darwood in a strained voice, +when Tad reported his discovery. "He's been on our trail for nearly +three years, and now he's got us! He's on his way to Skagway now to +register the claim in the land office," the man groaned. + +"We'll get ahead of them, then," cried Tad. "He hasn't much of a start. +When does a steamer leave Yakutat?" + +"This is the twenty-third. The 'Corsair' will leave Yakutat on the +twenty-seventh. He will just about make it." + +"So will I," cried Tad Butler stoutly. + +Tad won Professor Zepplin's consent to his plan, and after Darwood had +got the papers ready and the boys had gathered provisions together, Tad +was off, riding one pony and leading another, that he might change from +one to the other, thus avoiding tiring either. + +With lather standing out all over his mount, Tad pounded on, eyes and +ears alight for Sandy Ketcham. He halted at noon to change horses and +let each drink a little from a spring. Then on once more for seemingly +countless hours. + +There was a brief pause in the evening, to allow the ponies to rest and +graze, then on again in the darkness. The second night a longer rest was +imperative, while Tad fretted, tired as he was, to be off again. + +On the third day he came across the still hot ashes of a campfire, and +decided that he was not far behind Ketcham. Still twenty miles from +Yakutat, one of the ponies strained a tendon. The boy was forced +regretfully to abandon the animal and to go forward on the second mount. + +It was about eleven o'clock in the morning of the fourth day that he +caught sight of a column of black smoke through an opening between the +mountains. + +"It's the 'Corsair,'" he groaned. "She's getting ready to sail." + +On and on he rode. He swept through the village on the panting pony and +down to the dock to see the 'Corsair' weighing anchor. + +Tad Butler set up a yell, then drove his pony into the bay. No small +boats were in sight, so, throwing himself in the icy water, he grasped +the pony's mane and, swimming with the animal, headed for the ship. + +The anchor was up, but Captain Petersen had not yet signaled for slow +speed ahead. He ordered a boat lowered and Tad was hauled aboard in a +semi-dazed condition. Relieved of its burden, the pony rose and swam for +shore. Tad was confined to his cabin, worn out by the hard ride and the +icy swim. But he learned that Ketcham was on board, and Ketcham, of +course, knew of Tad's presence. + +The morning of their arrival at Skagway was gray and windy. The sea was +rolling into the harbor in heavy, boisterous swells. The captain +announced that he would not put off a boat until the sea subsided, as +capsizing was certain in the heavy seas. + +Tad, impatient, was standing at the rail when he saw Sandy Ketcham leap +over the rail into the sea. The boy did not hesitate. He sprang to the +rail and dived as far out as he could, striking a rod or so behind +Ketcham. Then began a desperate race. But youth won, and Tad staggered +out of the water a few moments ahead of his adversary and ran for the +land office, Ketcham close behind him. + +"I file the claim to Taku Pass in the name of Curtis Darwood and +others," shouted Tad, slapping the oilskin parcel on the desk. "That +man's an impostor. He destroyed our markers and erected his own on our +claim." + +"It's a lie!" yelled Sandy, making a leap for the boy. + +There was a furious fight, in which the interested bystanders did not +interfere. But at last Tad's fist shot up in a vicious uppercut on the +man's chin, and Sandy Ketcham settled to the floor as the boy leaped out +of the way. + +"Have you filed the papers?" gasped Tad. + +"Sure, boy! You've won the first round. The rest will be up to the +government, but I guess you've got it clinched for all time." + +When Tad returned to Yakutat three government surveyors went with him to +run the lines and definitely establish the claim. Sandy Ketcham also +filed a claim, but Tad's being the prior one the case would have to be +decided by the proper government officials; though there was really no +doubt of the outcome. + +For a month after Tad Butler's return the Pony Rider Boys stayed at Taku +Pass, panning over a section allotted to them by the Gold Diggers, each +filling a small sack with yellow dust and a few nuggets. In addition the +Gold Diggers insisted that the boys and their tutor jointly should have +a twentieth interest in the claims, which would undoubtedly give each a +comfortable amount of wealth. + +It was their last night in the camp and the boys and the Professor were +talking over future plans. + +"I'm going home to rest and study after my strenuous life of the last +few seasons," the Professor stated. "How about you, Walter?" + +"Father has a job for me as messenger in a bank in St. Joseph," answered +Walter Perkins. + +"Your turn, Chunky. What's it to be?" + +"Banking. I'm going into Walter Perkins' father's bank." + +"Does father know about it?" + +"Of course he does!" retorted Stacy. "Did you think I was going to break +into the bank?" + +"Can't tell about you," laughed Tad. "As for Ned and me--Professor +Zepplin's friend, Colonel Van Zandt, who has large timber interests, has +used his influence to get us appointments in the United States Forestry +Service. We'll go to work next spring. And now, fellows, I suggest that +we give three cheers for the best fellow that ever lived, Professor +Zepplin!" + +The cheers were given with a will, then all went to their tents for +their last night in their camp in Alaska. + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska, by Frank Gee Patchin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA *** + +***** This file should be named 30588-8.txt or 30588-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/5/8/30588/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +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: The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska + The Gold Diggers of Taku Pass + +Author: Frank Gee Patchin + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [EBook #30588] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<hr class='pb' /> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' id="img001" alt='' /> +<p class='center caption'> +“I File the Claim!” Shouted Tad. <i>Frontispiece.</i> +</p></div> + +<hr class='pb' /> + +<p class='tp' style='font-size:2.0em;margin-bottom:20px;'>The Pony Rider Boys +in<br />Alaska</p> +<p class='tp' style='margin-bottom:10px;'>OR</p> +<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.4em;margin-bottom:30px;'>The Gold Diggers of +Taku Pass</p> +<p class='tp' style=''>By</p> +<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.2em;'>FRANK GEE PATCHIN</p> +<p class='tp' style='font-size:smaller;margin-bottom:30px;'>Author of The Pony +Rider Boys in the Rockies, The Pony Rider Boys<br /> +in Texas, The Pony Rider Boys in Montana, The Pony Rider<br /> +Boys in the Ozarks, The Pony Rider Boys in the Alkali,<br /> +The Pony Rider Boys in New Mexico, The Pony<br /> +Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon, The Pony Rider<br /> +Boys with the Texas Rangers, The Pony<br /> +Rider Boys on the Blue Ridge, The Pony<br /> +Rider Boys in New England, The<br /> +Pony Rider Boys in Louisiana,<br /> +etc., etc.</p> +<p class='tp' style='margin-bottom:20px;'>Illustrated</p> +<p class='tp' style=''>THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY</p> +<p class='tp' style=''>Akron, Ohio New York</p> +<p class='tp' style='font-size:smaller;'>Made in U. S. A.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> + +<div style='font-size:smaller'> +<p class='tp' style=''>Copyright MCMXXIV</p> +<p class='tp' style='margin-bottom:20px;'><i>By</i> THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY</p> +<p class='tp' style=''>PRINTED IN THE</p> +<p class='tp' style=''>UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> +</div> + +<hr class='pb' /> + +<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.2em;'>CONTENTS</p> + +<table summary='toc'> + +<tr><td colspan="3" style='text-align:right;font-size:smaller;'>PAGE</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter I–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Through Enchanting Waters</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_1'>11</a></td></tr> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td>The mystery of the Gold Diggers. The story of an Indian capture. The +skipper gives himself a hunch. The lure of the yellow metal. The abode +of an angry spirit. +</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter II–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>The Boys Scent a Plot</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_2'>29</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Ned Rector puts his foot in. The man with the combustible whiskers. +Tad overhears an exciting conversation. His duty not clear to him. +Attacked by a desperado.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter III–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>In Desperate Straits</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_3'>40</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Almost hurled overboard. Help comes in the nick of time. Tad accuses +his assailant. Whiskers as evidence. Plotters are driven from the ship +by young Butler.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter IV–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>On the Overland Trail</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_4'>48</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“You have neglected your horse education.” Tad amazes a horse trader. +Chunky wants no “quick” mules. Driving a keen bargain. The boys decide +to guide themselves.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter V–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Traveling a Dangerous Mountain Pass</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_5'>59</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>The Professor tells the boys about the “great country.” When a fellow +needs a bird’s eye. A toboggan slide that might reach to Asia. Pony +Rider Boys hear a terrifying sound.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter VI–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Caught in a Giant Slide</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_6'>69</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>A pack mule swept from the ledge. Tad fires a humane shot. Taking +desperate chances to rescue the pack. “I don’t propose to lose my +lasso.”</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter VII–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Going to Bed by Daylight</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_7'>82</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>How the pack mule was buried. Heavy obstacles are overcome. A cure for +cold feet. The fat boy knows his own capacity. Tents are swallowed up +in the gloom of an Alaskan night.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter VIII–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>An Intruder in the Camp</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_8'>91</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>The fat boy’s singing brings disaster. Professor Zepplin wields his +stick. A wild scrimmage in pajamas. The mystery of the lost ham. +“There has been a prowler in this camp while we slept!”</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter IX–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>A Mystery Unsolved</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_9'>103</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“It was an Indian who did this job.” Stacy is roped out of bed. Two +fish on one hook. Suspicion is directed toward Tad. Ned’s head suffers +the loss of some hair.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter X–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>In the Home of the Thlinkits</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_10'>113</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Ned Rector is full of fight. Stacy makes Tad Butler dance. Chunky +plans revenge. The fat boy finds a food emporium. A mother squaw in a +rage.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XI–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>The Guide Who Made a Hit</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_11'>125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“Me heap big smart man.” Anvik refuses to “mush” because the spirits +are abroad. “Him kick like buck caribou.” Tad Butler gets a new title. +Off for the wilds.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XII–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>In the Heart of Nature</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_12'>136</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>From trail to trackless wilderness. A grilling hike. Tad, in a fine +shot, bags an antelope. “Hooray! Maybe that was a chance shot!” A +ducking in an icy mountain stream.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XIII–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>A Pony Rider Boy’s Pluck</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'> <a href='#link_13'>146</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Tad carries the dead doe to camp. “Him heap big little man.” Stacy +knows how to “skin the cat.” The antelope dressed by the Indian guide. +Fresh meat in plenty now.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XIV–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Stacy Bumps the Bumps</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_14'>152</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>The difficulty of leading a mule. Chunky and the animal go over the +brink. Tin cans rattle down the mountain side. The fat boy hung up by +one foot.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XV–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>The Story in the Dead Fire</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_15'>162</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“White boy see almost like Indian.” Campers had left in a hurry. Stacy +discovers something. Eating ice cream with a pickle fork. Surrounded +by mysteries in the great mountains.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XVI–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>A Sign from the Mountain Top</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_16'>167</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“Him white man smoke.” The wonders of mountain signaling. Friends or +enemies? Overwhelmed by an avalanche of ice. A roar and an even more +terrifying silence.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XVII–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>An Unexpected Meeting</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_17'>174</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“Innua him mad.” Heap big ice nearly wipes out the Pony Rider Boys’ +camp. Tad makes a morning excursion and meets an unpleasant surprise.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XVIII–An Unfriendly Reception</td><td><a href='#link_18'>178</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Tad boldly faces his accusers. Threats from the prospectors. A man on +Butler’s trail. Tad takes a pot shot and gets immediate results. “Stop +that shooting, you fool!” The fat boy draws a bead.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XIX–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>The Professor in a Rage</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_19'>189</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>“It’s a lie!” thunders Professor Zepplin. Ordered out of the hills on +penalty of being shot. “If you are looking for trouble you may have +all you want!” A threat to punch the prospector’s nose.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XX–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Tad Discovers Something</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_20'>198</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Pony Rider Boys off for bear. The fat boy frightened by a totem pole. +In a place of many mysteries. Tad makes a great find. A discovery that +led to sensational results.</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td class='c2' colspan="2">Chapter XXI–<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Conclusion</span></td><td style='text-align:right;'><a href='#link_21'>203</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td> +<td>Rifle shots fired into the Pony Rider Boys’ camp. Miners in a frenzy +of joy. Butler makes a new find. Their boundary markings found +destroyed. Tad starts on a desperate ride. His claim must be filed +ahead of that of the enemy at whatever cost. A race through +ice-clogged waters. A fight to the finish before the clerk’s desk. A +triumph for the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass. The end of the long, long +trail.</td><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<hr class='pb' /> + +<h1><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11'></a>11</span>THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA</h1> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><a id='link_1'></a>CHAPTER I<br /><span class='h2fs'>THROUGH ENCHANTING WATERS</span></h2> + +<p>“Captain, who are the four silent men leaning over the rail on the +other side of the boat?” asked Tad Butler. “I have been wondering +about them almost ever since we left Vancouver. They don’t seem to speak +to a person, and seldom to each other, though somehow they appear to be +traveling in company. They act as if they were afraid someone would recognize +them. I am sure they aren’t bad characters.”</p> + +<p>Captain Petersen, commander of the steamer “Corsair,” which for +some days had been plowing its way through the ever-changing northern waters, +stroked his grizzled beard reflectively.</p> + +<p>“Bad characters, eh?” he twinkled. “Well, no, I +shouldn’t say as they were. They’re fair-weather <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12'></a>12</span>lads. I’ll vouch for +them if necessary, and I guess I’m about the only person on board that +knows who they are.”</p> + +<p>Tad waited expectantly until the skipper came to the point of the story he +was telling.</p> + +<p>“They are the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass, lad.”</p> + +<p>“The Gold Diggers of Taku Pass?” repeated Tad Butler. “I +don’t think I ever heard that name before. Where is this pass, +sir?”</p> + +<p>The skipper shook his head.</p> + +<p>“No one knows,” he said.</p> + +<p>“That is strange,” wondered Butler. “Does no one know where +they dig for gold?”</p> + +<p>“No. They don’t even know themselves,” was the puzzling +reply.</p> + +<p>Tad fixed the weather-beaten face of the skipper with a questioning gaze.</p> + +<p>“I don’t think I understand, sir.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll tell you what I know about it some other time, lad. I +haven’t the time to spin the yarn now. It’s a long one. I’ve +been sailing up and down these waters, fair weather and foul, for a good many +years, and I’ve seen a fair cargo of strange things in my time, but this +Digger outfit is the most peculiar one I ever came across. They are a living +example of what the lure of gold means when it gets into a man’s system. +Gold is all right. I <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_13'></a>13</span>wish I had more of it; but, my boy, don’t ever +let the love of it get to the windward of you if you hope to enjoy peace of mind +afterwards,” concluded the skipper with emphasis.</p> + +<p>“What’s that he says about gold?” interjected Stacy Brown, +more commonly known to his companions as Chunky, the fat boy.</p> + +<p>Stacy, with Ned Rector and Walter Perkins, had been lounging against the +starboard rail of the “Corsair,” observing Tad and the Captain as +they talked. A few paces forward sat Professor Zepplin, their traveling +companion, wholly absorbed in a scientific discussion with an engineer who was +on his way to an Alaskan mine, of which the latter was to assume control. Many +other passengers were strolling about the decks of the “Corsair.” +There were seasoned miners with bearded faces; sharp-eyed, sharp-featured men +with shifty eyes; pale-faced prospectors on their way to the land of promise, in +quest of the yellow metal; capitalists going to Alaska to look into this or that +claim with a view to investment; and, more in evidence than all the rest, a +large list of tourists bound up the coast on a merry holiday. The former, in +most instances, were quiet, reserved men, the latter talkative and +boisterous.</p> + +<p>“The Captain was speaking of the lure that gold holds for the human +race,” replied Tad <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_14'></a>14</span>Butler in answer to Stacy Brown’s question. +“I guess the Captain is right, too.”</p> + +<p>“Be warned in time, Chunky,” added Rector.</p> + +<p>“I’ve never seen enough gold to become lured by it,” +retorted the fat boy. “I should like to see enough to excite me just once. +I shouldn’t mind being lured that way. Would you, Walt?”</p> + +<p>Walter Perkins shook his head and smiled.</p> + +<p>“I fear you will have to shake yourself–get over your natural +laziness–before you can hope to,” chuckled Ned. “I doubt if +you would know a lure if you met one on Main Street in Chillicothe.”</p> + +<p>“Try me and see,” grinned Stacy.</p> + +<p>“There must be a lot of gold up here, judging from what I have read, +and from the number of persons going after it,” added Tad, with a sweeping +gesture that included the deckload of miners and prospectors. “But the +hardships and the heart-breakings must be terrible. I have read a lot about the +terrors that men have gone through in this country, especially in the awful +winters they have in Alaska.”</p> + +<p>“I shouldn’t mind them if I had a sledge and a pack of dogs to +tote me around, the way they do up here,” declared Chunky.</p> + +<p>“That would be great fun,” agreed young <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_15'></a>15</span>Perkins. “You wouldn’t have +far to fall if you got bucked off from that kind of broncho, would you, +Stacy?”</p> + +<p>“Not unless you fell off a mountain,” answered Ned, glancing at +the distant towering cliffs of the coast range.</p> + +<p>“I was asking the Captain about those four men yonder,” said +Tad.</p> + +<p>“Oh, the fellows who don’t speak to anyone?” nodded +Rector.</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“Who are they? I have wondered about them.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know their names, but the skipper tells me they are +known as the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass,” replied Butler. “The queer +part of it is, he says, that no one, so far as he is aware, knows even that +there is such a place as Taku Pass. They don’t know themselves,” +added Tad with a smile.</p> + +<p>“That’s strange,” wondered Rector. “Crazy?”</p> + +<p>“No, I think not. They are prospecting for an unknown claim,” +replied Tad.</p> + +<p>“I–I don’t know anything about that,” spoke up Stacy +Brown. “But I know who those fellows are.”</p> + +<p>“You do?” exclaimed the boys in chorus.</p> + +<p>“Yes. I asked them. That’s the way to <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_16'></a>16</span>find out what you want to know, +isn’t it?” chuckled Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Who are they?” asked Butler laughingly.</p> + +<p>“The minery-looking fellow is Sam Dawson. The one beside him is Curtis +Darwood. The tall, slim chap nearest to us is Dill Bruce. They call him the +Pickle for short.”</p> + +<p>“He looks sour enough to be one,” laughed Walter.</p> + +<p>“The other chap, the little one, is Curley Tinker. And there you have +the whole outfit. I’ll introduce you to them if you like,” +volunteered Chunky.</p> + +<p>“No, thank you. I already have tried to talk with the men, but they +don’t seem inclined to open their mouths,” replied Butler.</p> + +<p>“It strikes me that you have made more progress that anyone else on +this boat, so far as the four gold diggers are concerned,” added Rector, +addressing Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Yes, I am convinced that Chunky is rather forward,” agreed +Tad.</p> + +<p>“Oh, no one can resist me,” averred the fat boy. “Anything +else you want to know, Tad?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, a great deal. But here is the Captain. He will tell +me.”</p> + +<p>Captain Petersen had taken a fancy to the boys almost from the first. He had +learned who they were early on that voyage, and in the <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_17'></a>17</span>meantime they had become very well +acquainted with the commander of the “Corsair.” He had taken pains +to explain to the lads many things about the country past which they were +sailing–things that otherwise they would not have known, and the voyage +was proving very interesting to them, as well as to Professor Zepplin +himself.</p> + +<p>“Come below now and I’ll tell you the story,” invited +Captain Petersen, starting to descend the after companionway. “All of you +come along. That will save your asking questions later on,” he smiled.</p> + +<p>“You see, he invited you on my account,” chuckled Stacy Brown, +tapping his breast with the tips of his fingers.</p> + +<p>The lads filed down the companionway behind the Captain, and when they had +finally settled themselves in the skipper’s cabin and he had lighted his +pipe, he began to speak.</p> + +<p>“I always come below and put my feet on the table after we pass the +Shoal of Seals,” he explained. “That is the time I take my ‘watch +below,’ as we call it, when we come down for a rest or a sleep. But you +are eager to hear the story. Very good. Here goes. A good many years ago an +expedition came up to this part of the world on an exploring mission. In that +party was a Dr. Darwood from some place in <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_18'></a>18</span>the East. I don’t believe I ever heard the name +of the place, and if I knew the state I have forgotten it. Well, to make a long +story short, the party was ambushed by the Kak-wan-tan Indians. Every man of the +party was captured and all were put to death, with the exception of Dr. Darwood. +Somehow, the Indians had learned that he was a big medicine man, so they made +the Doctor captive and took him over the mountains many miles from there. They +probably killed the others so as to make sure of the Doctor.”</p> + +<p>“What did they want with a medicine man?” interjected the fat +boy.</p> + +<p>“They wanted him professionally. Their chief was a very sick man. I +guess the old gentleman was about ready to die. At least he thought so. The +chief bore the name of Chief Anna-Hoots. Nice name, eh? No wonder he got +sick.”</p> + +<p>“He must have belonged to the owl family,” observed Chunky.</p> + +<p>Tad rebuked the fat boy with a look. The Captain regarded Stacy quizzically, +then proceeded with his story.</p> + +<p>“Their own medicine man had been killed by a bear. You see his medicine +wasn’t calculated to head off bears. The chief, therefore, was in a bad +way. Dr. Darwood was commanded <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_19'></a>19</span>to make the chief well, and, so the story goes, after +examining Hoots, he at once saw what was the trouble with the old man. He set to +work over the savage, not so much from a professional interest as that he knew +very well his life would be forfeited did he not do something for the patient. +It is a safe guess that the Doctor never had worked more heroically over a +patient. Well, he saved the chief–had him on his feet and hopping around +as lively as a jack-rabbit in less than twenty-four hours. There was great +rejoicing among Anna’s people, and Darwood was feasted and made much of. +He was almost as big a man as Old Hoots himself. Nothing was too good for him in +that camp.”</p> + +<p>“Why didn’t he poison the whole tribe while he had the +chance?” questioned Rector.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps it wasn’t professional,” smiled the Captain in +reply. “But Chief Anna-Hoots–precious old rascal that he +was–was so grateful that he made the Doctor chief medicine man over all +the tribes and a tribal chief of one of the subordinate tribes. And now we are +coming to the point of our story. Old Hoots, later on, let the Doctor into a +great secret. Having driven the evil spirits out of Anna and set him on his feet +almost as good as new, the patient evidently was of the opinion that the +medicine <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20'></a>20</span>man was +entitled to something more than the ordinary fee for such a service. He took the +Doctor to a place where a roaring glacial stream of icy water was tearing down +through a narrow gash in the mountains on its way to the sea, and there he +showed the doctor-chief gold in great quantities, so the story runs, the pass +being guarded by the Bear Totem. It is not certain whether the vein from which +this gold had been washed was then known. I think Darwood must have found it +later on and located a claim. He at least took from the mouth of the pass enough +gold to make him a fairly rich man. This he hid away, awaiting a favorable +opportunity to get away with it. Such opportunity presented itself while his +tribe was away on a hunt in the fall for meat for the winter, and made his +escape. After some months of terrible hardships he succeeded in reaching +civilization, fairly staggering under the weight of the gold he had brought +away. He had the gold-madness badly, you see.”</p> + +<p>“He was plucky,” muttered Butler.</p> + +<p>“Yes. It was Darwood’s intention to return, at the head of a +well-armed party, properly equipped, and work the pay dirt to its limit. But he +died before he could do so. The hardships of that journey, loaded down with dust +and nuggets, led to his ultimate death. You <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_21'></a>21</span>see what avarice will do to a fellow. It gets to +windward of him every time.”</p> + +<p>“I’d be willing to stagger under all I could carry and take my +chances on the future,” observed Chunky reflectively.</p> + +<p>“So would we all,” nodded the skipper. “That’s the +worst of us, our greed. I am glad I am at sea, where I <i>can’t</i> dig. +Nothing was done in the matter of locating and working the claim for some years +after the Doctor’s death. Then a grandson, Curtis Darwood, who is now +aboard this boat, found a paper or map or something of the sort, on which was a +description of the Doctor’s find. It couldn’t have been very +definite or they wouldn’t have been so long in locating the place. Of +course, the younger man was fired with the desire to find this wonderful mine. +The lure had him fast and hard. He came up here alone the first time and +prospected all summer, but failed, and late that fall he went back home. When he +returned the three other men, who are his companions now, were with him. They +have been together ever since in their prospecting work. Dawson is a pioneer +prospector who knows the game thoroughly. The others, who have been up here +three years, might now be placed in the same class, though Dawson is the real +miner. One can’t help but admire their pluck and persistence, <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22'></a>22</span> but I shouldn’t want +to be caught interfering with them. When a fellow gets the gold madness he is a +dangerous customer to annoy.”</p> + +<p>“Have they found the gold?” asked Walter Perkins.</p> + +<p>Captain Petersen shook his head.</p> + +<p>“I think not. If they have, only they know it. They take no one into +their confidence. They went home for the winter last fall, and what amazes me +further is that they are getting up here so late this spring. Here it is June. +They should have been on the job six weeks ago, and in order to do so they ought +to have wintered in the hills. To me that means something. It will be a wonder +if this unusual move on their part doesn’t attract attention. You may +believe they are watched. There are, no doubt, those who are watching the +Diggers, and who do not miss any of their movements.” The skipper +hesitated, then brought a big fist down on his cabin table with a bang that set +the glassware jingling. “By George, I begin to see a light!” he +roared.</p> + +<p>“What do you mean?” cried Chunky.</p> + +<p>“What is it, sir?” chorused Tad and Ned in one voice.</p> + +<p>“That accounts for Red Whiskers. That accounts for his presence +on–” The skipper checked himself suddenly. “But no matter. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23'></a>23</span>It isn’t for me +to say.” He lapsed into thoughtful silence. “Well, what do you think +of the story?” he asked a few moments later.</p> + +<p>“It is all very remarkable,” answered Butler. “Where are +they going–their destination, I mean?”</p> + +<p>“You never can tell. They have explored pretty much all of the country +within a few hundred miles of here, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if +they had stumbled over the right place dozens of times and didn’t know it. +But there is one significant fact. They have brought up a lot of equipment this +time. It looks as if they thought they had the place pretty well located. It +certainly does look that way. There’s another thing I forgot to tell you. +This place, this pass where the gold is supposed to lie, is the abode of a great +and angry spirit.”</p> + +<p>“A really, truly spirit?” questioned Walter wonderingly.</p> + +<p>“I can’t say about the really-truly business,” replied +Captain Petersen, with a grin. “I am telling you the story as I have heard +it. Had Old Hoots’ tribe known that the Doctor went in there and dug out +gold which he salted away they would have put him to death. It’s a sacred +place. It was then, and I’ll wager it is now. You may believe that the +superstition has been handed down.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24'></a>24</span>“But the +Indians up here now are not at all savage, are they?” asked Butler.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps not where the white man has taken possession in force. But you +get into the far interior–there is a great deal of Alaska that the white +man knows very little about yet–and you will find them savage enough, +provided they think they have you in a pocket, and especially so if you +interfere with any of their religious customs or beliefs. In these respects they +are simply human.”</p> + +<p>“I should call them inhuman,” observed the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“I don’t blame them,” nodded Tad.</p> + +<p>“Now, that is the story of the Gold Diggers, so far as I know +it,” continued the Captain. “As I have already said, not many +persons up here do know it. A veil of mystery surrounds the four silent men. +They make no other friends, confide in no one, and live in a little world all +their own. The story, as I have repeated it to you, was told to me by a man from +their part of the country who came up here to spend the summer last season. That +is how I came to know the details. It is possible, though not probable, that you +might get them to tell you something about the country.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll make them talk,” answered Stacy pompously.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25'></a>25</span>“What is +their destination?” asked Butler quickly.</p> + +<p>“Skagway. However, that undoubtedly is a blind. They may be going on +farther from that point, or they may be intending to work back along the coast +after they leave the ship, then strike into the hills at some remote point. I +can’t say as to that, of course. They will disappear. You may depend upon +that, and nothing may be heard of them again for a year.”</p> + +<p>“What do they do for provisions?” questioned Rector.</p> + +<p>“The same as you will have to do if you penetrate far into the +interior. They hunt and fish, saving their canned supplies for the winter, for +the winter months are long and drear up in this far northern country.”</p> + +<p>“When does winter set in?” asked Ned.</p> + +<p>“Very early. It seems to be most always winter up here.”</p> + +<p>“Thank you very much,” said Tad. “This has been most +interesting. I should like to ask them something about the country where we are +going. Of course I shouldn’t presume to question them about their own +affairs. That would be none of my business.”</p> + +<p>“Where are you going?”</p> + +<p>“We had planned to strike north from Yakutat.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26'></a>26</span>“You will +find rough country that way. I should say you would have tough traveling all the +way. If you can get the Gold Diggers to open up, they will undoubtedly be able +to give you some useful information that would enable you to lay your course to +the best advantage. But I think I know the Diggers. You may not be able to get a +civil word out of them.”</p> + +<p>“They’ll talk to me,” answered the fat boy confidently.</p> + +<p>“Please don’t permit yourself to be overcome,” warned +Rector. “Remember your most excellent opinion of yourself has been the +cause of some mighty falls already.”</p> + +<p>“Well, I fell in soft spots anyhow,” retorted Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Ordinarily on your head, I believe,” answered Ned quickly.</p> + +<p>Again thanking the Captain for his kindness, the lads returned to the deck. +Tad leaned against the rail thinking over the story related by the skipper. The +romance of the quest of the Diggers appealed to Butler’s adventure-loving +nature. He declared to himself that he would draw them into conversation and +satisfy his further curiosity. Looking them over in the light of what he had +heard, Tad saw that the four were determined-looking men, were men who would do +and dare, no matter how great <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_27'></a>27</span>the obstacles or the perils. He could not but feel a +keen admiration for them. They were real men, even if they were surly and +reticent.</p> + +<p>“Tad, how would you like to belong to that party of prospectors?” +asked Ned, nodding toward the four.</p> + +<p>“I can’t imagine anything more exciting. I wish we might. I +wonder if they are going our way?”</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you ask them?”</p> + +<p>“I intend to,” answered Tad, rousing himself and starting towards +the prospectors who were lounging apart from the other passengers on the deck of +the steamer.</p> + +<p>“Watch him get turned down,” grinned Stacy. “I shall have +to break the ice for him. He never will be able to do it for himself.”</p> + +<p>“Better wait until you are asked,” advised Ned Rector.</p> + +<p>As Stacy had said, Tad did not succeed in getting into conversation with the +Diggers that day. Early on the following morning the boys were on deck, being +unwilling to miss a single moment of the scenery.</p> + +<p>The “Corsair” was swinging majestically into Queen Charlotte +Sound, a splendid sweep of purple water, where great waves from the Pacific +rolled in, sending the steamer plunging desperately. There was a scurry on the +part <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28'></a>28</span>of many of the +early risers to get below decks, for the change from the quiet waters through +which the boat had been sailing to this tumultuous sea was more than most of +them were able to stand. Stacy Brown was already on his back in the shadow of a +life boat, groaning miserably. Walter Perkins’ face was pale, but he held +himself together by a strong effort of will, but Tad Butler and Ned Rector +appeared not in the least affected by the roll of the steamer. Both were lost in +admiration of the scene that was unfolding before them.</p> + +<p>“They roll along with the lightness of thistledown across a green +field,” declared Tad enthusiastically, speaking to himself. “It is +simply glorious.”</p> + +<p>He heard someone come to the rail at his side, but the lad was too fully +absorbed to look around.</p> + +<p>“That wasn’t bad for a sentiment, young fellow,” said a +voice at his elbow. “If you stay up in this country long enough, however, +you will get all the sentiment frozen out of you. I know, for I’ve been +all through it. I’m lucky that my bones aren’t up yonder +somewhere.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir,” answered Butler.</p> + +<p>Glancing around he found himself gazing into the face of Curtis Darwood.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29'></a>29</span><a id='link_2'></a>CHAPTER II<br /><span class='h2fs'>THE BOYS SCENT A PLOT</span></h2> + +<p>“Oh, how do you do, sir. Did I say anything?”</p> + +<p>“Well, there’s a chance for a difference of opinion as to +that,” smiled the miner.</p> + +<p>“I have been enjoying the scenery, sir. Isn’t it +beautiful?”</p> + +<p>“You should see it at sunrise,” answered Darwood. “These +mists are well worth coming all the way up here to gaze upon. In the morning +they take on all the delicate tints of the primrose. Then at sunset of course +the colors grow warmer–amber, orange, gold–almost everything that +could be imagined in the way of wonderful colorings. All that sort of thing, you +know. I never saw anything like it in any part of the world, and I’ve seen +some,” added the Gold Digger reflectively.</p> + +<p>“I should like to see it at sunset,” answered Tad. “Is it +ever like this in the interior, sir?”</p> + +<p>“Interior of what?”</p> + +<p>“Of the country? Up there in the mountains?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30'></a>30</span>Darwood gave the +boy a quick glance of inquiry. There was suspicion in his eyes.</p> + +<p>“In the far country?” added Butler.</p> + +<p>“I can’t say as to that; I can’t say that I know,” +replied the prospector shortly.</p> + +<p>“What we wanted to ask you about was the Yakutat trail from the coast +up?” interjected Ned. “You see, we are going that way and we want to +get all the information we can about the trails and the country +itself.”</p> + +<p>Tad gave his companion a warning look, but Ned persisted in pressing his +questioning. The miner’s hands dropped from the rail.</p> + +<p>“I reckon you would better ask someone else. I can’t tell you +anything about the trail,” replied Darwood, turning on his heel and +striding away.</p> + +<p>“There, you’ve done it now,” complained Butler ruefully. +“Of course you had to break in and spoil it all. Now we shan’t get +another opportunity. Mr. Darwood is suspicious of us, and he won’t talk +with us again. It’s too bad.”</p> + +<p>“Well, you wanted to know. What’s the use in beating about the +bush when you want to know a thing. I believe in asking for what you +want,” protested Ned.</p> + +<p>“So do I, but it isn’t always best to go at it bald-headed. +However, never mind, Ned. I am now convinced that there would be little use +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31'></a>31</span>in asking Mr. Darwood +questions in any circumstances. The instant you begin to talk Alaska with that +man he is going to shy off. He fears he might be trapped into an admission, or +else he thinks we are trying to pump him for some other reason. You may be sure +that others have tried to draw him out, believing they might obtain information +that he is supposed to possess.”</p> + +<p>“They are a queer lot,” muttered Ned. “Didn’t the +Captain say no one knew anything about this gold pass, or whatever you call +it?”</p> + +<p>“Taku Pass? Yes. That is, he said few persons knew of it, but you may +be sure that the purpose of these men up here is known. There are plenty of +gentlemen waiting to beat those four into the land of golden promise. I +don’t blame the Diggers for having their suspicions of everyone about +them. I wish I could convince them that we aren’t that sort of people. I +like that fellow. I’d like to help him, too,” mused Tad.</p> + +<p>“I shouldn’t. However, I’m sorry I put my foot in +it,” nodded Ned.</p> + +<p>“You needn’t be. See! We are running out of the swell +now.”</p> + +<p>The steamer, soon coming under the lee of the islands, was steaming into +Fitzhugh Sound, where dangerous shoals menace the navigators <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32'></a>32</span>of these enchanting waters. +Captain Petersen was now occupying the little bridge just forward of the pilot +house. His face was grim and set. The good fellow was no longer present–it +was now the master, bent upon attending to his duties.</p> + +<p>The sound is a slender waterway, extending directly northward fully thirty +miles, more entrancing, it seemed to the boys, than any other water over which +they had sailed. The Pony Rider Boys were having a glorious passage into the far +north where they were going in search of new adventure. They were bound for the +wildest and most remote section of Uncle Sam’s domain, where they hoped to +spend the summer months.</p> + +<p>Now that the waters had become more quiet, Stacy Brown slowly dragged himself +from the shadow of the life-boat and stood gripping the gunwale. After getting +his head leveled somewhat he walked unsteadily to his companions who were +leaning on the steamer’s rail regarding him with smiling faces.</p> + +<p>“Sick?” questioned Tad.</p> + +<p>“No; merely ailing,” replied the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t be a landlubber,” jeered Rector.</p> + +<p>“You would, if you were in my place,” muttered Stacy.</p> + +<p>On through a panorama of changing scenes <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_33'></a>33</span>and colors sailed the “Corsair.” In +Finlayson Channel, some distance farther on, the forest that lined the shores +was a solid mountain of green on each side, the trees growing down to the water. +Here the reflections were so brilliant that the dividing line between shore and +water was difficult for the untrained eye to make out. The boys seemed to be +gazing upon an optical illusion. From the water’s edge the mountains rose +sheer to a great height, their distant peaks capped with snow glistening in the +morning sunlight, while glacial streams flashed over the open spaces on the +mountain sides.</p> + +<p>“Is there no end to it?” wondered Tad Butler, gazing at the +scenery until his eyes ached.</p> + +<p>“It is all very wonderful,” agreed Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“I call it tiresome,” declared the fat boy wearily. “I +prefer something exciting.”</p> + +<p>Ned suggested that he jump overboard. Stacy replied that he would were it not +that he didn’t want to put his companions to the trouble of rescuing +him.</p> + +<p>The entrancing scenery continued at intervals until the evening of the second +day after their unsuccessful attempt to draw out Curtis Darwood. They were now +passing through Frederick Sound, bordered by spire-shaped <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_34'></a>34</span>glaciers that towered in the sky, pale and +chaste, more than two thousand feet above the sound. Darkness fell, the sky +being overcast, and the air chill, giving the passengers the shivers and sending +them to their cabins below. Tad Butler and Ned Rector had clambered to the top +of the deck-house and settled themselves between the two smokestacks. It was a +nice warm berth and they appreciated it. They seemed far away from human +habitation there.</p> + +<p>“You said you had something to tell me this evening,” Ned +reminded his companion, after a few moments of contented silence.</p> + +<p>“Yes. It was about last night. You remember that remark of the +skipper’s the other day, don’t you?”</p> + +<p>“About what?”</p> + +<p>“What he said about ‘Red Whiskers’?”</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“I have the gentleman located, Ned. I am reasonably certain that I +have. Of course it’s none of my business, but I have been curious ever +since the Captain said that. My man has red whiskers, regular combustible +whiskers,” added the freckle-faced boy with a grin.</p> + +<p>“There are several men on board this boat who wear red upholstery on +their chins,” averred Rector.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35'></a>35</span>“I know +that, but this one is the fellow, all right,” declared Tad in a confident +tone.</p> + +<p>“You know something!” exclaimed Ned.</p> + +<p>“I do. Don’t speak so loudly. Someone might hear. I heard someone +passing along the deck just below us a moment ago.”</p> + +<p>“No one down there could distinguish what we were saying,” +answered Ned, as the two drew back farther between the steel bases of the two +funnels.</p> + +<p>“Well?” urged Ned.</p> + +<p>“The man referred to by Captain Petersen is Sandy Ketcham, the tall, +lank fellow, with the squinty eyes and the stoop shoulders. He has a trick of +peering up from under his eyelids when he looks at you.”</p> + +<p>“Oh! I know the one you mean, and I don’t like his looks. How did +you know?”</p> + +<p>“Since the Captain made that remark about ‘Red Whiskers’ I have +been taking an interest in every man on the boat who wore red whiskers,” +said Tad. “I tried to decide, in my own mind, which of them was the right +one.”</p> + +<p>“So did I,” admitted Ned. “But I got all mixed up. If you +succeeded in picking out the right one you are mighty sharp. I wish I were as +keen as you.”</p> + +<p>“Keen? Not a bit of it! It was a pure accident that I found out. I just +blundered on the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_36'></a>36</span>truth last night. The man I had picked out +wasn’t the fellow at all. I had the wrong man, so you see I am not so +smart as you thought. You remember you left Stacy and myself sitting on a bale +of freight at the rear end of the boat when you went down late last +evening?”</p> + +<p>“Yes. Chunky was half asleep.”</p> + +<p>“Exactly. Well, I shook him up a few moments later and he went below +grumbling because I wouldn’t let him sleep when he was so comfortable. He +was liable to catch cold in the damp air. Then I went to sleep myself,” +admitted Butler. “I’m not much of an adviser, am I?”</p> + +<p>“Go on,” urged Rector.</p> + +<p>“Something awakened me. Two men were talking nearby. I couldn’t +see them, but could hear every word they said. One of the two I recognized by +his voice. The other I was unable to place. I got him placed right to-day +though, when I heard him talking on deck. They are a precious pair of rascals, +Ned. Perhaps it is considered fair enough up here to do those things, but I just +can’t hold myself when I see crookedness going on.”</p> + +<p>“You haven’t said what it was about yet,” reminded Ned.</p> + +<p>“They were plotting against Darwood.”</p> + +<p>“You don’t say?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37'></a>37</span>“Yes, they +were.”</p> + +<p>“How?”</p> + +<p>“I am not going to tell you now. The question is, ought I to tell Mr. +Darwood? Would it be right to carry tales, even in a case like this?”</p> + +<p>“Not knowing what the case is I can’t very well advise +you,” answered Ned Rector.</p> + +<p>“What did they say?”</p> + +<p>“I’d rather not say a word about that until I have decided what +to do.”</p> + +<p>“You’re a queer chap, Tad. You arouse my curiosity; then you +won’t satisfy it.”</p> + +<p>“You shall know all about it in good time. Hark! Was that you who +kicked the collar of the stack?”</p> + +<p>“No. I didn’t hear anything. Who was the other man?”</p> + +<p>“His name is Ainsworth. He is a prospector, too. They are together, he +and the man Sandy. There are some others in the plot, as I learned from the +conversation, but I hardly think they are on board. I take it that the others +are to meet this party at Skagway, which proves to me that the plans of our +friends, the four Gold Diggers, were learned by the plotters some time before +the former set sail for the north country. Oh, it is a fine game of grab they +are planning! But I believe that, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_38'></a>38</span>if Mr. Darwood be warned in time, he will be perfectly +able to take care of himself. I am quite sure I shouldn’t care to be the +other fellow.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know why we should get so excited over it,” +grumbled Ned. “Darwood and his companions are no friends of ours. I should +say that quite the opposite is the case.”</p> + +<p>“But they are real men, just the same,” objected Tad. “I +don’t care whether they are friendly to us or not. Come on; let’s +get down.”</p> + +<p>Grasping awning spars the two lads swung down to the promenade of the upper +deck. After they had cleared the deck-house a man dropped to the deck from the +deck-house, on the opposite side.</p> + +<p>After a few moments’ stroll, during which the boys continued their +conversation, they went below. On reaching his cabin, Butler discovered that he +had lost his pocket knife. Thinking that it had slipped from his pocket while +the two were lounging on the deck-house, Tad went back to look for it. He was +the only person in sight on deck. That part of the deck was unlighted, save as a +faint glow shone up through the engine room grating. The freckle-faced boy +looked carefully about on top of the deck-house for several minutes, in search +of <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39'></a>39</span>his lost knife, +lighting match after match to aid him in his quest. He failed to find it. With a +grunt of disappointment he again swung himself to the deck.</p> + +<p>The instant his feet touched the deck, Tad Butler met with a violent +surprise. He was suddenly grabbed from behind. A powerful arm gripped him like a +vise, pinioning his own right arm to his side, while a big hand was clapped over +his mouth, forcing the lad’s head violently backwards with a jolt which +for the moment he thought had dislocated his neck.</p> + +<p>Tad struggled and fought with all his might, but to little purpose. The boy +realized that he was in the hands of a man who was a giant for strength and who +was slowly but surely forcing him toward the steamer’s rail. The Pony +Rider Boy felt a bushy beard over his shoulder and against his neck. Now he was +against the rail, facing out over the water. Butler knew that, despite his +struggles, he was going to be dropped over the side. Then a sudden idea came to +him. Tad shot up his free left hand, fastening his fingers in the long beard of +the man behind him. He heard a smothered exclamation over his shoulder, and for +the instant the hand over his mouth was withdrawn.</p> + +<p>“Help!” shouted Tad Butler. Then a blow on the head sent him +limply to the deck.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40'></a>40</span><a id='link_3'></a>CHAPTER III<br /><span class='h2fs'>IN DESPERATE STRAITS</span></h2> + +<p>Tad’s assailant hastily gathered the boy up. The man staggered +slightly, as, after a hurried glance up and down the deck, he stepped toward the +rail with his burden. Just then footsteps were heard.</p> + +<p>“Hey! What are you doing there?” bellowed a voice. A man came +running from somewhere in the after part of the ship. Butler’s assailant +dropped his burden, dodged into a passageway in the deck-house, closing the door +behind him and disappearing before the newcomer reached the door and threw it +open. Then the rescuer turned to the unconscious Tad Butler.</p> + +<p>“Well, here’s trouble!” he muttered. Taking up Tad’s +limp form he carried it to where the light from the grating shone up. +“It’s that freckle-faced kid. Somebody gave him a tough +wallop,” growled the man. Tad’s rescuer was Sam Dawson, one of the +Gold Diggers. “I reckon I’ll fetch him around if his neck +isn’t broken.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41'></a>41</span>Laying the lad +down on the deck where he would have plenty of air, the Digger worked over the +Pony Rider Boy for fully five minutes before Tad returned to consciousness. +Butler was too dazed to realize what had occurred.</p> + +<p>“I’ll take you below now, my lad,” said Dawson.</p> + +<p>“No, no. Not yet,” protested Tad. “Wait. I want to +think.”</p> + +<p>“Who was the fellow who hit you?” demanded Dawson.</p> + +<p>“I–I don’t know,” stammered Tad.</p> + +<p>“What did he do it for?”</p> + +<p>“I–I don’t know. I–”</p> + +<p>“You aren’t very strong on information, are you?” grinned +the prospector.</p> + +<p>“I want–want to see Mr. Darwood.”</p> + +<p>“You can see him to-morrow. You’d better get into your bunk right +smart. I’ll help you down.”</p> + +<p>“Thank you. I’ll go alone–in a minute,” said Butler, +pulling himself up by the rail to which he clung unsteadily. “I +don’t want anyone to know. I’ll tell Mr. Darwood what I have to +say.”</p> + +<p>“Have it your own way. I’m going to follow along behind, to see +that you get down all right,” answered the man.</p> + +<p>“Thank you. I guess you saved me from <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_42'></a>42</span>getting a wetting,” said the boy, extending an +impulsive hand. “Now I’ll go to my cabin. Please don’t say +anything about this. Good-night.”</p> + +<p>Tad’s progress below was slow and unsteady. Dawson watched him until +the door of the cabin had closed behind the Pony Rider Boy.</p> + +<p>“That’s a raw deal,” muttered the miner. “I’d +like to punch the head of the fellow who would do that to a kid!”</p> + +<p>Butler got into his bunk without awakening his companions. His head ached +terribly, and it was a long time before he fell asleep. The next morning his +head felt twice its ordinary size. The boys joked him on his appearance, but Tad +merely smiled, refusing to say what had been the matter with him. Ned was +suspicious. He knew that Butler had been engaged in a scuffle, but what it was +he was unable to imagine. Tad had been strolling about the decks all the +morning, as if in search of someone. He found the man he was seeking late in the +forenoon. The man was sitting on a keg of nails on the after part of the upper +deck, his back to Tad.</p> + +<p>“Good morning, Mr. Ketcham,” greeted the Pony Rider Boy.</p> + +<p>The red-whiskered man whirled, letting the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_43'></a>43</span>hand that had been caressing his beard fall limply to +his side.</p> + +<p>“Beard hurt you?” questioned Tad sweetly.</p> + +<p>“None of yer business!” was the surly reply.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Ketcham, I know you and I know your game,” began Butler in a +low, even tone. “I know, too, that you are the man who assaulted me and +tried to put me overboard.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know what ye’re talking about,” growled +Sandy.</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes you do–and so do I! I’ve a handful of whiskers +which match perfectly those you are wearing. Shall I pull some more for +comparison with those I already have?” questioned the boy +aggravatingly.</p> + +<p>Ketcham half rose, then settled back again, as if fearing to trust +himself.</p> + +<p>“You may be thankful that you didn’t do it. My companions would +have taken care of you, had anything happened to me,” Tad went on +composedly. “I want to say, now, that it would be good judgment on your +part not to try any more strong-arm tactics on me or on my companions. If you +do, you will instantly find yourself in more kinds of trouble than you have ever +before experienced. Now that we know you, we shall be able to take care of you +as you deserve. I reckon you know what that means, Red Whiskers.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44'></a>44</span>“Get out of +here, before I do something to you!” roared Sandy.</p> + +<p>“Oh, no you won’t! You don’t dare raise your hand. I could +turn you over to the Captain and have you placed in irons till we get ashore. I +have proof enough to send you to a jail, if they have such places up here. But +I’m not going to do that. I am going to be fair with you and tell you +exactly what I propose. I am going to tell Curtis Darwood about you. No, I +shan’t tell him who it is. I will tell him that someone is following and +watching him–you and Ainsworth. He will find you out, never fear. I will +give you one chance. Get off at the next stop, and I will tell him after we +leave there. Take your choice. Take your friend with you. I don’t want to +be responsible for any shooting on this boat. What do you say, Mr. +Sandy?”</p> + +<p>The fellow’s fingers opened and closed nervously. He attempted to speak +but failed three times. Finally he blurted out his answer:</p> + +<p>“Will you git out of here? I’ll lose myself in a minit; then I +won’t answer for what I do.”</p> + +<p>“Never mind,” answered Tad laughingly. “I can take care of +myself. <i>Your</i> kind never did scare me worth a cent.”</p> + +<p>Sandy sprang up. He hesitated for a few tense seconds, then strode forward +with Butler’s soft chuckle in his ears.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45'></a>45</span>The two men did +get off when the boat stopped late that afternoon. Tad was at the rail watching +them. Sam Dawson was also an observer of the scene. He saw the threatening scowl +that Ketcham gave the smiling Tad, and drew his own conclusions, and at the same +time decided that the freckle-faced boy was pretty well able to hold his own. +Dawson really suspected part of the reason for this hasty disembarking, though +he thought it was because Tad had threatened to expose the man Ketcham.</p> + +<p>It was after supper when Tad called Ned Rector aside.</p> + +<p>“I promised to tell you, Ned. Come with me and listen to what I am +going to tell Mr. Darwood.”</p> + +<p>Ned went willingly. Darwood was sitting on deck. Tad halted before him, +Darwood glancing up at the boys with languid interest.</p> + +<p>“May I speak with you?” asked the lad politely.</p> + +<p>“I reckon there’s nothing to prevent,” was the careless +answer.</p> + +<p>Tad went direct to the point of his story.</p> + +<p>“A night or so ago I chanced to overhear two men who were passengers on +this boat talking of you and the gentlemen who were with you. They were planning +to follow and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46'></a>46</span>watch +you. They thought you had discovered the claim for which you have been looking +for so long.”</p> + +<p>Darwood shot an angry glance at the boy.</p> + +<p>“Go on,” he growled.</p> + +<p>“From their conversation I inferred that perhaps you already had +discovered this claim and were on your way with equipment to work it. I further +understood that they were to be met by others on shore and that the party was +then to divide up and cover the movements of yourself and your friends. One of +these fellows, I think, overheard me telling part of this story to my friend, +Ned, last night, and the man tried to throw me overboard, after nearly squeezing +me to death and then punching my head. I merely wanted to warn you to be on the +lookout, and at the same time to tell you that neither of the two men is on +board now. You may draw your own conclusions, sir.”</p> + +<p>Ned Rector’s face had flushed when Tad described the assault on +himself.</p> + +<p>“Is that all?” asked Darwood indifferently.</p> + +<p>“Yes; I think so.”</p> + +<p>“Thank you,” said the Gold Digger, getting up slowly and +strolling forward.</p> + +<p>Ned laughed; Tad flushed.</p> + +<p>“That’s what you get for meddling with other folks’ +business,” declared Rector.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47'></a>47</span>“I reckon +you are right at that,” answered Tad. Then he laughed heartily. Nor did he +exchange another word with the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass during the rest of that +journey on the “Corsair.”</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48'></a>48</span><a id='link_4'></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><span class='h2fs'>ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL</span></h2> + +<p>It was the early morn of a week later when the “Corsair” sailed +into Skagway harbor. Exclamations of delight were heard from every person who +had not been there before. This beautiful spot is located at the mouth of the +Skagway River, with mountains rising on all sides, from which countless cascades +rush foaming and sparkling down to the sea, or drop sheer from such heights that +one is forced to catch his breath.</p> + +<p>Skagway itself the Pony Rider Boys found gay with pretty cottages climbing +over the foot-hills; well-worn, flower-strewn paths leading to the heights; the +river’s waters rippling over grassy flats; flower gardens beyond the power +of their vocabularies to describe. Added to this, there was a sweetness in the +air, which, as Stacy Brown expressed it, “makes a fellow feel like sitting +down and doing nothing for the rest of his life.”</p> + +<p>There were many trips to be taken from the city, perhaps the most historic in +all that wild <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_49'></a>49</span>country. The boys journeyed out into the interior on +the famous White Pass railway, climbed Mount Dewey to Dewey Lake, and took a +look at the hunting grounds where mountain sheep were to be had providing one +were quick enough on the trigger to get the little animals before they leaped +away. The next morning they turned their attention to the task of purchasing +such of their outfit as they had not yet procured.</p> + +<p>Having been referred to a man who kept Alaskan ponies for sale, they tramped +out to the end of the long street on which the stores were located. There, sure +enough, was a large herd of them in a paddock in a vacant lot. There were a good +many vacant lots in Skagway. The boys climbed the paddock fence and looked over +the lot.</p> + +<p>“Me for that black one over yonder,” cried Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Why the black one?” asked Ned. “I thought you liked the +lighter colors, the delicate tints?”</p> + +<p>“I do when some other fellow has to groom the animals. For a +labor-saving color give me black every time. With a black horse I can sleep half +an hour longer than any fellow who has a white one and yet be ready for +breakfast as soon as he is.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_50'></a>50</span>“You’re too lazy to change your +mind,” growled Ned Rector.</p> + +<p>“You want the black one, you say?” questioned Tad.</p> + +<p>“That’s what I said.”</p> + +<p>“And you, Ned?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, I don’t care. I’ll stand by your choice.”</p> + +<p>“So will I,” spoke up Walter. “The Professor said you were +to choose something in his class for him to ride, too.”</p> + +<p>“Buy him a mule!” yelled Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Yes, that reminds me. We shall have to take a couple of mules. I +wonder if we can get them here. There comes the owner of this herd. We’ll +talk to him.”</p> + +<p>The owner of the ponies had been expecting the visit of the boys. He had been +told that they would require ponies and did not know that the Pony Rider Boys +had formed conclusions about them in advance.</p> + +<p>Tad introduced himself and his companions.</p> + +<p>“I’ve got just what you want, boys,” nodded the owner. +“Every one of those fellows is kind and gentle and will stand without +hitching.”</p> + +<p>“That isn’t exactly what we are looking for. We are not +particular about their being girls’ horses. We want stock that has the +gimp in it,” Tad informed him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_51'></a>51</span>“That’s it, that’s it. You’ve +just hit it. Gimp! That’s the word, and there’s another that +fits–ginger! They’re just full of ginger, every one of them. There +ain’t any more lively nags in Alaska than these fellows.”</p> + +<p>“They must have changed within the last minute, then,” smiled the +Pony Rider Boy.</p> + +<p>“How so?”</p> + +<p>“Why, you were just telling us how gentle they are, then almost in the +same breath you try to convince us that they are regular whirlwinds. However, +we’ll let that go. What I do want to know is what sort of mountain ponies +they are. If they turn out not to be good mountain climbers you may look for +some trouble when we get back here.”</p> + +<p>“Boys, every one of those nags has been brought up in this country. +They can follow a mountain trail like a deerhound, and that’s straight. I +wouldn’t sell you anything else.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, no, certainly not,” answered Butler. “How much for the +light-colored one?”</p> + +<p>“The buckskin?”</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“Two hundred and fifty dollars.”</p> + +<p>“I beg pardon?” asked Tad politely.</p> + +<p>“Two hundred and fifty.”</p> + +<p>“I think you misunderstood me, sir. I didn’t want to buy the +whole herd.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52'></a>52</span>“You wanted +five ponies?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<p>“Well, there you are. The buckskin will cost you two-fifty and so will +the black. You can have any of the rest for two hundred and they’re cheap +hosses at that.”</p> + +<p>“Lead them out.”</p> + +<p>“Then you’ll take them at that?”</p> + +<p>“I haven’t said anything about taking them, yet. I said lead them +out. I want to look them over.”</p> + +<p>The owner smiled, but nodded to his hostler to rope and show the animals to +the young men. Tad examined a dozen head, out of which he got three ponies, +motioning to the hostler to tether them to one side where he could look them +over again.</p> + +<p>“What’s the matter with the others?” asked the man.</p> + +<p>“Various things. Some are wind-broken, two have the distemper, and if +you don’t watch out your whole herd will be getting it. I shall be rather +afraid to buy any stock of you on that account. How long have they had the +disease?”</p> + +<p>“I didn’t know they had it at all,” stammered the +owner.</p> + +<p>“You had better watch them pretty carefully, then. How old is that +buckskin?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53'></a>53</span>“Just coming +four.”</p> + +<p>“Did somebody tell you that, or did you learn it from your own +observation?” questioned Tad Butler sweetly.</p> + +<p>“I reckon I know a hoss’s age when I look at his mouth,” +answered the man, but not quite with the same assurance that he had made his +first statements. This clear-eyed, quiet young man, he began to understand, knew +a little something about horses, or at least pretended to.</p> + +<p>“Then, sir, you have neglected your horse education. The buckskin is +twelve years old,” declared Butler firmly.</p> + +<p>“Mebby I might have made a mistake in looking at his mouth when I got +him,” answered the owner apologetically.</p> + +<p>Suppressed grins might have been observed on the faces of the other boys, who +were still sitting on the paddock fence. They were leaving all matters +pertaining to the stock in Butler’s hands, knowing full well that +Tad’s judgment was better than theirs.</p> + +<p>In turn the lad once more examined the horses he had chosen, then added to +them enough to make up their allotment.</p> + +<p>“Stacy, you are quite sure you want the black?” he +questioned.</p> + +<p>The fat boy nodded.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54'></a>54</span>“He has a +slight ringbone,” Tad informed him.</p> + +<p>“All the better.”</p> + +<p>“Why do you say that? I never knew that a ringbone increased the value +of a horse.”</p> + +<p>“A horse that wears rings must be a pretty classy horse,” replied +the fat boy. “Me for the horse with the jewelry. Put a pair of natty boots +on him and there you have an outfit that would make a Mexican part with his +spurs.”</p> + +<p>“Pshaw!” grunted Ned. “Very fancy, but not much good for +real work.”</p> + +<p>“Stacy doesn’t mean that,” answered Tad with a tolerant +smile.</p> + +<p>“Yes, I do mean it.”</p> + +<p>“We need a pack mule,” said Butler, turning to the owner. +“Can you tell us where we may get one or two?”</p> + +<p>“Why, I’ve got just the critters you want. They’re in the +yard just back of the stables. Say, Jim, drive out the mules.”</p> + +<p>There were five mules in the pack driven out for their examination. These +started slowly moving about in a circle with heads well down, trailing each +other as if following a regular routine.</p> + +<p>“Fine young stock, hardy and true and quick,” said the owner, +rubbing his palms together.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55'></a>55</span>“We +don’t want any quick one. We’ve had some experience with the quick +kind,” declared Stacy Brown. “They were so quick I couldn’t +get out of the way of their heels. No, siree, no quick mules for +mine.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t think you need worry much about these,” smiled +Tad. “How much do you ask for those fellows?”</p> + +<p>“How many?”</p> + +<p>“Two. I to take my pick.”</p> + +<p>“A hundred apiece.”</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t give that for the lot of them,” scoffed +Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Keep still. You aren’t making this bargain,” rebuked Ned, +giving the fat boy a poke in the ribs.</p> + +<p>Tad made a brief calculation on a slip of paper, then he looked up +severely.</p> + +<p>“Five ponies at seventy-five dollars would amount to three hundred and +seventy-five dollars. Two mules at forty each would be eighty more, making a +total of four hundred and fifty-five dollars,” said Butler. +“I’ll tell you what I will do. I will give you an even four hundred +for the five ponies I have picked out and the two mules that I shall +choose.”</p> + +<p>“Outrageous!” exploded the owner. “Why, those mules are +worth half of the price you offer for the whole outfit.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56'></a>56</span>“Nonsense! +Those mules have been used on crushers in the mines. Any one could see that by +watching them mill about in a circle–”</p> + +<p>“Five hundred dollars,” broke in the owner.</p> + +<p>“Nothing doing, sir,” answered Tad. “Four hundred +even.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll make it four-fifty-five and not a cent less.”</p> + +<p>“Come along, fellows. I know where we can get a better lot for the +money, anyway,” declared Tad with a note of finality in his tone.</p> + +<p>“Don’t I get my skate?” wailed Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Not at the price he asks. Never mind, I’ll find you something +better for the money.” Tad had already started away. His companions got +slowly down from the fence and followed, while the owner of the stock stood +mopping his forehead.</p> + +<p>“Here, take ’em!” he cried. “I might as well give +them away, I suppose. I need the money, but you’re getting them for +nothing.”</p> + +<p>“You are wrong. As it is we are paying you a hundred dollars more than +the outfit is worth. Here is your money. Give me a receipt in full. We will get +the stock out some time this afternoon.”</p> + +<p>“You’re the hardest driver of a bargain I ever come up +with,” protested the man.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57'></a>57</span>“You know +you don’t mean that. If we hadn’t known something about horses you +know you would have done us to a turn,” answered Tad, laughing. +“Yes, I do believe in driving a bargain, but I wouldn’t ask a man to +sell me a thing at a lower price than it was worth. Just keep these animals cut +out if you will, unless you want to go to the bother of cutting them out +again.”</p> + +<p>“I got my skate,” grinned Chunky as they were walking back +towards the hotel where they were to meet the Professor. The latter had given +Butler the money for the stock earlier in the day, knowing full well that Tad +could make a much better bargain than could he. Tad had made a fair bargain. He +had obtained a good lot of stock and he planned, furthermore, to sell the +animals after finishing their journey, which would reduce the cost at least to a +nominal sum.</p> + +<p>The rest of the day was devoted to gathering supplies and packing. The boys +had brought their saddles, bridles and other equipment of this nature with them, +including tents and lighter camp equipment. In the meantime they had looked +about for a guide, but without success. They were told that no doubt they would +be able to find a man for their purpose upon their arrival at Yakutat, a hundred +miles <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58'></a>58</span>further on. The +trail to that place, their informant told them, was a post trail which they +would find no difficulty in following. The post rider would not be going through +for another three days, and at any rate he undoubtedly would travel faster than +they cared to do. It was decided, therefore, that they should start out without +a guide on the morrow and make their way to Yakutat as best they might.</p> + +<p>The start was made in the early morning, the great mountains and the waters +beneath it bathed in wondrous tints such as one finds nowhere outside of these +far northern regions. The boys were light-hearted, happy, and were looking +forward eagerly to experiences in the wilds of Alaska that should wholly satisfy +their longings for activity and adventure.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59'></a>59</span><a id='link_5'></a>CHAPTER V<br /><span class='h2fs'>TRAVELING A DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN PASS</span></h2> + +<p>To the right the well-known Chilkoot Pass extended up into the mountain +fastness, the pass that had been traveled by so many in the early rush for the +gold fields. Chilkoot a long distance to the northeast intersects the White +Horse Pass. It is a rugged trail, but an easier one to travel than the one +chosen by the Pony Rider Boys for the first stage of their journeyings.</p> + +<p>The object of Professor Zepplin in choosing the route to the northwest was to +take the boys into territory that had been little explored, and to give them +their fill of what is really the wildest and most rugged region of the United +States.</p> + +<p>“By the way,” called Rector after they had gotten well started +and had dropped the village behind them, “what became of our +friends?”</p> + +<p>“The four gold diggers?” asked Butler.</p> + +<p>“They must have gone on with the ship,” said Walter.</p> + +<p>“Yes, they must have,” agreed Stacy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60'></a>60</span>“No, they +didn’t,” answered Tad. “I saw Dawson in town yesterday. Funny +thing, but he seemed not to see me. In fact he tried to avoid me.”</p> + +<p>“Did you let him?” questioned Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Yes. Why should I wish to force myself on anyone who doesn’t +want to see me? Not I. They are queer fellows. It isn’t because they +don’t like us, but rather because they are suspicious. They are afraid +someone will get a line on where they are going. Wouldn’t it be queer if +we were to bump into them somewhere in the interior?”</p> + +<p>“No danger of that,” spoke up the Professor. “I heard Mr. +Darwood say they were going out the Chilkoot Pass for a short distance, from +which they might branch off.”</p> + +<p>Tad chuckled softly.</p> + +<p>“Why do you laugh?” demanded the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Oh, I was just thinking of something funny.”</p> + +<p>“Let’s hear it,” begged Stacy.</p> + +<p>“I rather think I’ll keep it to myself,” answered Tad, +smiling. “Let Stacy tell you one of his funny stories.”</p> + +<p>“All right, I’ll tell you one,” agreed Chunky readily.</p> + +<p>“Leave the telling until you get to camp,” <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_61'></a>61</span>advised the Professor. “This is a +rough trail, and you need to give it your undivided attention.”</p> + +<p>“The Professor is right. We would do well to watch out where we are +going,” agreed Tad.</p> + +<p>“Yes, I dread to think what would happen to our packs were one of those +mules, in a moment of forgetfulness, to think he was traveling in a circle at +the end of a sweep down in a mine,” said Ned.</p> + +<p>The trail they were now following was narrow. In fact, it was a mere gash in +the side of the mountain, winding in and out with many a sharp turn, and there +was barely room for the ponies to travel in single file. Above them towered the +mountains for thousands of feet. Below them was a sheer precipice of fully two +hundred feet, getting deeper all the time, as they continued on a gradual +ascent.</p> + +<p>“I don’t think I should like to be the post rider on this +trail,” decided Ned, gazing wide-eyed at the abyss.</p> + +<p>“Especially on a dark night,” added Tad.</p> + +<p>“Or any other kind of a night,” piped the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“Oh, I don’t know about that,” answered Walter. “On a +dark night you couldn’t see the gorge. What we don’t know +doesn’t hurt us, eh?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62'></a>62</span>“There is +some logic in that,” agreed the Professor.</p> + +<p>Professor Zepplin was leading the way, dragging one mule after him at the end +of a rope. Then came Ned with the second pack mule, followed by Tad and the +other two boys. Butler wanted to follow behind the mules so as to keep watch of +them, he not feeling any too great confidence in the worn-out old animals.</p> + +<p>The Professor halted at a turning-out place, where the rocks had been worn +out by the wash of a mountain stream sufficiently wide to enable two horses to +meet and pass by a tight pinch.</p> + +<p>“Young gentlemen, this is a wonderful country,” he said.</p> + +<p>“It’s kind of hilly,” admitted Stacy.</p> + +<p>“In the Indian tongue, Alaska means ‘the great country,’” +added the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Why, I didn’t know you talked Indian,” cried Ned.</p> + +<p>“I always suspected the Professor was an Indian. Now I know it,” +chuckled Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Young men, if you will listen I shall be glad to enlighten you as to +some of the marvels of the country we are now in. If my recollection serves me +right, the country has an area of about six hundred thousand square +miles.”</p> + +<p>Chunky uttered a long-drawn whistle of amazement.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63'></a>63</span>“Some +territory that, eh, fellows?” he said, nodding.</p> + +<p>“If my recollection serves me right, Alaska is bigger than all the +Atlantic states combined from Maine to Louisiana.”</p> + +<p>“That’s where they have the ’gators,” said Chunky.</p> + +<p>“And with half of Texas thrown in,” continued the Professor. +“It has a coast line of about twenty-six thousand miles, a greater sea +frontage than all the shores of the United States combined.”</p> + +<p>“Why one would travel as far as if he were to go around the world in +going over all the coast line, then, wouldn’t he, Professor?” +wondered Tad.</p> + +<p>“Exactly. Furthermore, it extends so far towards Asia that it carries +the dominion of our great country as far west of San Francisco as New York is +east of it, making California really a central state.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, Professor. Will you please repeat that? I didn’t get +it,” called the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“You must listen if you wish to hear what I am saying. Your mind +wanders.”</p> + +<p>“I hope it doesn’t do much wandering here. I’ll surely be a +dead one if it does,” retorted Stacy, peering down the sheer walls that +dropped into the gloomy pass below him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64'></a>64</span>“To give you +another illustration, were you to combine England, Ireland, Scotland, France and +Italy, you still would lack considerable of having enough to make an Alaska. +Then, added to this, are the great mountains, thousands of feet high, and one +great river–not to speak of the smaller ones–that flows through more +than two thousand miles of wonderful country. I have given you a +bird’s-eye-view of the country, a small part of which you have started to +explore.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, a fellow needs a bird’s-eye up here. He has to have or +he’s a goner,” declared Chunky.</p> + +<p>“And by the way, Professor,” said Tad. “Your pony is +yawning with his left hind leg.”</p> + +<p>“Haw, haw, haw! That’s a good one,” laughed the fat +boy.</p> + +<p>“What do you mean?” wondered the Professor.</p> + +<p>“He is stretching himself. His left hind foot at this moment is +suspended over several hundred feet of space. But don’t startle him for +goodness’ sake,” laughed Tad.</p> + +<p>The Professor glanced back. Afterwards the boys declared he had gone pale at +the sight of that foot held so carelessly over the yawning chasm, but the +Professor denied the accusation. He clucked very gently to the pony. The <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65'></a>65</span>little animal lazily drew +the foot in, and, after trying several places, at last found a spot that +appeared to suit it and on which it placed the small foot. The boys drew a sigh +of relief.</p> + +<p>“My, but that was a narrow escape,” derided Ned. “Just +think of it, Professor.”</p> + +<p>“Gid ap,” commanded Professor Zepplin. “Look sharp that +none of you does worse.”</p> + +<p>Now and then reaching a spot where they could get an unobstructed view of the +distance the boys were fairly thrilled by the sight of the jagged peaks, +sparkling in the sunlight, many hidden in the clouds and too high to be seen. It +was an awesome sight and at such times stilled the merry voices of the Pony +Rider Boys as they gazed off over the array of wonderful heights.</p> + +<p>“What are they?” asked Ned when he first caught sight of this +vista of mountain peaks.</p> + +<p>“The first one should be Mt. Lituya and the next Mt. +Fairweather,” Tad replied.</p> + +<p>“That is correct, according to the map,” spoke up the Professor. +“The former is ten thousand feet high, the latter five thousand, five +hundred.”</p> + +<p>A series of low wondering whistles were heard from the lips of the boys. It +did not seem possible that the distance to the tops of those mountains could be +so great.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66'></a>66</span>“I should +like to climb one of the highest,” declared Butler.</p> + +<p>“You can’t,” answered the Professor sharply.</p> + +<p>“Why not, Professor?”</p> + +<p>“Because I shall not allow it.”</p> + +<p>“And there’s another reason,” announced Stacy. “You +can’t because you can’t. But if you did succeed in getting to the +top think what sport you could have!”</p> + +<p>“How so?” asked Butler.</p> + +<p>“You could do a toboggan slide two miles long. I reckon it would land +you somewhere over in Asia. Wouldn’t that be funny?”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know about that,” reflected Butler.</p> + +<p>“You wouldn’t know about it if you were to take the slide, +either. But how it would surprise some of those Asiatics to see a Pony Rider Boy +suddenly landing in their midst, coming from the nowhere,” chuckled +Stacy.</p> + +<p>“I rather think it would surprise almost anyone to have a Pony Rider +Boy land in his midst,” answered Tad with a smiling nod.</p> + +<p>“Is that some kind of joke?” demanded the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“No, that’s an axiom,” spoke up Rector.</p> + +<p>“An axiom?” reflected Chunky. “Oh, I know what that is. It +is something that something else revolves around, isn’t it? That’s +the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67'></a>67</span>sort of thing the +world is supposed to revolve about. I know, for I read it in my +geography.”</p> + +<p>The boys groaned. The suspicion of a smile played about the corners of +Professor Zepplin’s mouth.</p> + +<p>“You had better go back to school rather than be traveling with real +men,” advised Ned.</p> + +<p>“Isn’t that an axiom, Professor?” called Stacy +indignantly.</p> + +<p>“It is not.”</p> + +<p>“Then what is one?”</p> + +<p>“You are a living example of one yourself,” was the whimsical +reply. Stacy pondered over the Professor’s retort all the rest of that +day. But when noon came and passed and no stop was made for a noonday meal, the +fat boy began to grow restive.</p> + +<p>“Don’t we stop for something to eat?” he demanded.</p> + +<p>“I should like to know where?” answered Tad.</p> + +<p>“Isn’t there a place wide enough for us, Tad?”</p> + +<p>“There is not.”</p> + +<p>“But when are we going to find one?”</p> + +<p>“You know as much about that as I do. Remember none of us ever has been +over this trail. For aught I know we may have to sleep standing up +to-night.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68'></a>68</span>“Well, I +reckon I’d just as soon fall off before dark as after. Anyhow, I +don’t propose to sleep on this trail as it looks to me +now–”</p> + +<p>“Hark!”</p> + +<p>Tad’s voice was sharp and incisive. He was holding up one hand to +impose silence on his companions. Walter Perkins’ face grew pale, the fat +boy’s eyes were large and frightened. Professor Zepplin halted his pony +sharply and turning in his saddle glanced anxiously back toward his charges.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” stammered Rector.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know,” answered Tad Butler. “It’s +something awful, whatever it is.”</p> + +<p>“Have no fear, young men. I know what that sound is. There is no danger +here where we are, for–”</p> + +<p>The Professor did not complete his sentence. The distant rumbling that had at +first attracted their attention suddenly merged into a deafening roar, and the +trail quivered under their feet. The ponies snorted and threw up their heads, +chafing at the bits.</p> + +<p>“Hold fast to your horses!” shouted Tad. His voice was lost in +the great roar that now overwhelmed them, sending terror to the hearts of every +Pony Rider Boy on that narrow ledge of rock known as the Yakutat trail.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69'></a>69</span><a id='link_6'></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><span class='h2fs'>CAUGHT IN A GIANT SLIDE</span></h2> + +<p>Tad knew the meaning of that rushing, roaring sound now. A few particles +chipped from the rocks far above them had struck him sharply in the face. He +knew that a landslide was sweeping down.</p> + +<p>His first impulse was to urge his companions forward, but upon second thought +he realized that this might be the very worst thing they could do. His quick +ears had told him that the center of the slide was ahead of them. That was his +judgment, but he knew how easily it was to be mistaken in a moment like +this.</p> + +<p>Glancing up the boy could see nothing but a great cloud of dust that filled +the air. His companions seemed powerless to stir, and it was fortunate for them +that such was the case, else they might have done that which would have sent +them to a quick death.</p> + +<p>Tad unslung his rope with the intention of casting it over a sharp rock that +extended some six feet up above the level of the trail and on the mountainside. +In an emergency it would <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_70'></a>70</span>serve to anchor him. He motioned to the others to do +the same, but either they did not understand or they were too frightened to +act.</p> + +<p>A sudden dust cloud obliterated the trail for fully five rods ahead of +Professor Zepplin, then went shooting out into the chasm beyond, and a great +mass of earth seemed to leap from the mountainside just above them. It hovered +right over the center of the line of ponies for an agonizing second, then swept +down on them.</p> + +<p>The secondary slide, which this was, had but little width, perhaps a few +feet. Furthermore, it had fallen only a short distance, so that it had not had +time to gain great velocity. The mass smote the pack mule just ahead of Tad +Butler. Tad saw the pack mule’s hind feet go out from under him. For the +smallest fraction of a moment the animal stood quivering, then his hind hoofs +slipped over the edge of the trail.</p> + +<p>The little animal was making desperate efforts to cling to the trail with its +fore feet, at the same time trying to get its hind feet back on solid ground. +That effort was fatal. Little by little the frightened beast slipped toward the +great gulf. Evidently realizing the fate that was in store for it, the mule +brayed shrilly.</p> + +<p>The Pony Rider Boys sat gazing on the scene with fascinated eyes. Even +Professor Zepplin <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71'></a>71</span>was +at a loss for words, and at a greater loss for a remedy for the disaster that +was upon them. Tad Butler’s brain was working, however.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Tad raised his rope above his head and gave it three sharp twirls. +Then he let go. The big loop dropped over the head of the unfortunate pack +mule.</p> + +<p>“Jump on him and hold him down,” shouted Tad. “Be careful +that you don’t go over.”</p> + +<p>The boys hesitated slightly. Perhaps they could not have accomplished +anything, but Butler did not wait to see. He had slipped from his own pony with +a sharp, commanding “Whoa” to the little animal, which served in a +measure to reassure it.</p> + +<p>The lad then sprang to the upright rock carrying the end of his rope with +him. He did not make the mistake of making the end fast to his own body as he +might have done in some circumstances. Instead he threw the rope over the rock, +taking one quick turn about it. He had no more than taken that turn when the +slack on the rope was suddenly taken up and the rope was drawn taut.</p> + +<p>There was no need to look around to see what had happened. Butler knew well +enough without looking. The pack mule had slipped over the edge and was hanging +there with the boy’s <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_72'></a>72</span>lasso about its neck. The rope was tough rawhide, and +Tad felt sure it would hold. Still, that would not save the mule, so he made +fast and sprang to the other side of the trail. The mule, he found, was dying a +terrible death.</p> + +<p>The freckle-faced Tad comprehended the situation in a single glance. He knew +now that it would not be possible to save the pack animal. Drawing his revolver +he placed the muzzle close to the head of the unfortunate beast and pulled the +trigger.</p> + +<p>The report, in the walled-in pass, sounded like the discharge of a +cannon.</p> + +<p>“N-n-n-now you’ve done it,” chattered Stacy Brown.</p> + +<p>“Tad, Tad! What have you done?” cried the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I have put the poor thing out of its agony, that’s all,” +answered Butler. His face was pale and his eyes troubled.</p> + +<p>“But you’ve killed him,” protested Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Didn’t you see that he was choking to death, Professor? +Don’t you think it was better to end his sufferings with a bullet rather +than let him slowly strangle?”</p> + +<p>The Professor took off his sombrero, and, with an unsteady hand, wiped the +perspiration from his forehead.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73'></a>73</span>“Too bad, +too bad!” he muttered. “Yes, yes. You were right, Tad. You did +right. You thought more quickly and more clearly than I did. We had better cut +the rope and let him go. There is nothing else to be done, I suppose.”</p> + +<p>“There is something else to be done, sir. There is something quite +important to be done.”</p> + +<p>“What do you mean?”</p> + +<p>“The pack. Surely we are not going to send that pack crashing to the +bottom of the pass. We shall have to go all the way back for more supplies if we +do that, provided we ever find a place where we can turn around.”</p> + +<p>“That is so. Still, lad, I am afraid it is hopeless. We never shall be +able to get the pack.”</p> + +<p>“I think it can be done, but how I don’t know yet. What time is +it?”</p> + +<p>“The afternoon is well along,” answered the Professor.</p> + +<p>“It’ll be dark soon,” spoke up Ned. “We simply must +get out of this before night or we are lost.”</p> + +<p>“You forget about the length of the days up here at this time of the +year,” reminded Tad with a faint smile.</p> + +<p>“That’s so,” agreed Rector.</p> + +<p>“You know it doesn’t get really dark until <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_74'></a>74</span>about eleven o’clock to-night. So +you see we have plenty of time in which to get that pack and reach a camping +place before the night gets too dark for us to see what we are about.”</p> + +<p>Tad stepped to the edge of the trail and looked over the dead mule and the +pack lashed to him. He saw that the pack already had slipped dangerously, and +that a sudden jolt might send it hurtling into the chasm. The lad measured the +distance to the pack, with his eyes, and also saw that he could not lean over +far enough to accomplish anything. Then an idea occurred to him.</p> + +<p>“Have you fellows got back your nerve so that you can help me?” +he asked.</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir,” answered Chunky promptly. “Anything but jumping +over. Don’t ask me to do that, please, or I shall be under the necessity +of returning a polite refusal.”</p> + +<p>“I shan’t ask you,” answered Tad shortly. “How about +you, Ned?”</p> + +<p>“I think I have got over my panic.”</p> + +<p>“Good. Pass over two strong ropes here. We’ll have that pack in +no time.”</p> + +<p>“See here, Tad. I am not going to permit you to take unnecessary risks. +Before you go farther in this matter I want to know what you propose to +do,” insisted the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I am going to secure one of these ropes <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_75'></a>75</span>to me. The boys will lower me over the +edge and I will fasten a second rope to the pack. I will tell you what to do +after that.”</p> + +<p>“I can’t permit it!” answered the Professor decisively.</p> + +<p>“Listen to me, please. There can be no possible danger. It is perfectly +simple. Before I go over I’ll secure the rope to that rock, and in case +the boys let go, which they’d better not, I can’t fall; the rope +will hold me.”</p> + +<p>After a moment’s reflection Professor Zepplin concluded that the task +would not be attended with a very great risk after all. Besides, it was +all-important that they get the pack and its contents, if this could be done +without endangering any lives.</p> + +<p>“How about it, sir?” asked Tad. “Time is +precious.”</p> + +<p>“You may try it, but I shall see to the fastening of the rope myself. +Make your arrangements.”</p> + +<p>Tad lost no time in trying out his plan. He first secured one end of their +strongest rope to the rock that already had played such an important part in +their operations at that point. He next fashioned a non-slip loop about his body +under the arms, then taking the second rope in his hands announced himself as +ready.</p> + +<p>“Take a turn about the rock so you will <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_76'></a>76</span>have a leverage. Take up all the slack. +That’s it. Now I’m all ready.”</p> + +<p>The lad let himself over the edge of the precipice without hesitation. There +really was no great danger, but it was not a pleasant position in which to be +placed. He secured his rope to the pack lashings and tossed the free end up to +his friends.</p> + +<p>“How are you going to free the pack from the mule?” asked the +Professor.</p> + +<p>“Cut it.”</p> + +<p>“But we can’t manage both you and the pack at the same +time,” protested the boys.</p> + +<p>“You don’t have to. Can’t you folks think of two things at +the same time?”</p> + +<p>“I can when my thinking apparatus is working,” returned Stacy. +“The whole plant is idle at the present moment.”</p> + +<p>“Listen! Fasten the pack rope to that rock. Do you get that?”</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“First take up all the slack or you may lose the pack after all. We +don’t want any great jolt when I cut loose the lashings. Draw it up well. +Tighter! There, that’s better. Now, have you got it so that it will +hold?”</p> + +<p>“It’ll hold as long as the mountain holds together,” +answered Ned.</p> + +<p>“Then watch your rope. Here goes.”</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src='images/illus-077.jpg' id="img002" alt='' /> +<p class='center caption'>Tad Freed the Pack.</p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78'></a>78</span>Tad slit the cinch +girth. He was obliged to make several efforts before he freed the pack, which +then swung out and away from the dead mule, swaying back and forth for a moment +or so, but safe. The boys uttered a cheer.</p> + +<p>“Now shall we pull you up?” cried Ned.</p> + +<p>“Now, don’t be in a hurry. I’m not done yet. I want to save +my lasso. You don’t think I’m going to throw that away, do you? Pass +me another rope, please.”</p> + +<p>This was done, after which Butler secured the third rope about the neck of +the mule. He tossed the free end up as he had done with the other line.</p> + +<p>“Make it fast. First see if you can’t give me a little +slack.”</p> + +<p>“Can’t do it,” called Walter.</p> + +<p>“Yes you can. Try again. That’s the idea. A little more. +You’re doing finely. You would make good sailors. Whoa! Make +fast.”</p> + +<p>Grunting and perspiring, and with aching backs, the boys made fast the +advantage they had gained. The weight of the dead mule was now resting on the +new rope which Butler had fastened about its neck. Some time was occupied in +getting his lasso loose, which had drawn very tight under the weight of the +mule.</p> + +<p>“That’s what comes from having a good rope,” said Tad.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79'></a>79</span>“Well, are +you coming up? You must like it down there,” cried Rector.</p> + +<p>“I’m almost ready. There, now see if you can get me up. Take up +all your advantage and hold it until I can get my hands on the ledge and help +you a little.”</p> + +<p>Hauling Tad Butler up, a dead weight, was not the easiest thing in the world. +They drew him up an inch or so at a time, until at last he fastened his hands on +the edge of the trail and curled himself up. The boys took up the slack and made +fast at his direction.</p> + +<p>“You needn’t pull any more, but stand by the rope. If I slip it +will give me a hard jolt.”</p> + +<p>“I should say it would,” muttered Ned. “How are you going +to get up the rest of the way if we don’t haul you?”</p> + +<p>“This way.”</p> + +<p>Tad crawled up the rope hand over hand until he was able to swing one foot +over on the trail. The rest was easy, and a moment later he was standing on the +trail, his face red, his hair and shirt wet with perspiration.</p> + +<p>“Hooray!” bellowed Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Wait until we get the pack up. Don’t waste your breath,” +grinned Tad. “We are only half finished.”</p> + +<p>The lad surveyed the situation critically. Still he saw no other way than for +them to haul <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80'></a>80</span>the pack +up by main strength. He told his companions to get ready for real work. The pack +was heavier than Tad.</p> + +<p>“I–I can’t do another thing,” wailed Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Why can’t you?” demanded the Professor.</p> + +<p>“My heart won’t stand it.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, pooh!” scoffed Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Did you ever have a thorough physical examination, Chunky?” +questioned Ned.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know. Why?”</p> + +<p>“If you had you would no doubt have found that you hadn’t any +heart at all.”</p> + +<p>“Now, Ned, that isn’t fair,” chided Tad laughingly. +“You know Stacy has a heart. He has shown many times that he has. The only +trouble with it is that it isn’t as hard as it might be,” added the +freckle-faced boy with a twinkle.</p> + +<p>The fat boy wasn’t quite sure whether this was a compliment or +otherwise. He decided to think about it and make up his mind later. But he most +emphatically refused to pull a single pound on the rope. They compromised by +making him look out for the stock.</p> + +<p>Hauling the pack up was a slow and tedious process, for it was continually +catching on points of rock and threatening to drop into the depths. Great +patience was required to land <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_81'></a>81</span>it safely on the trail, but land it they did after +working and perspiring over it for nearly half an hour. The Professor proposed +that they move on at once, after having divided the pack. Tad shook his +head.</p> + +<p>“Not yet,” he said. “I’ve something else to do +first.”</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82'></a>82</span><a id='link_7'></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><span class='h2fs'>GOING TO BED BY DAYLIGHT</span></h2> + +<p>“Something else to do?” repeated the Professor. “I know of +nothing more to be done except to get under way and try to find a safe +portage.”</p> + +<p>“I’ve got to bury the mule, sir.”</p> + +<p>“Oh! Where?”</p> + +<p>“I’ll show you. Stand clear of the rope, fellows,” ordered +Butler.</p> + +<p>Stepping to the edge of the trail he glanced down at the body of the mule, +swaying with a scarcely perceptible movement. Looking back to see that the rope +was clear, Tad drew his hunting knife and stooped over, his companions drawing +as near to the edge as they dared.</p> + +<p>Butler cut the rope that held the dead mule. The rope suddenly sprang back as +the unfortunate pack mule’s body shot down into the shadowy pass. The +other boys instinctively drew back. Their nerve was not quite equal to standing +on the brink to watch the sight. With Tad it was different. He seemed not to be +at all affected by great heights or great <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_83'></a>83</span>depths. He stood with the toes of his boots over the +edge, gazing down until a faint sound from far below told him that the body had +struck.</p> + +<p>“That’s all, fellows,” he said, turning back to them. +“I reckon we had better do as the Professor suggests, and get under way at +once. I will confess that this bracing air is having some effect on my +appetite.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t speak of it,” begged Stacy. “I am trying to +forget that I have an appetite, but it’s awful hard work.”</p> + +<p>“Too bad about the mule, isn’t it?” asked Rector +soberly.</p> + +<p>Tad nodded.</p> + +<p>“Yes, I should say it is,” agreed Stacy. “There’s +eight dollars of my good money gone down into that hole.”</p> + +<p>“Never mind. He was wind-broken and undoubtedly would have played out +before we got through the mountains. I am glad it wasn’t the other +one,” answered Butler cheerfully. “How is the trail ahead, +Professor?”</p> + +<p>“I haven’t looked.”</p> + +<p>Bidding them wait until he made an inspection, Tad walked ahead. He found the +narrow trail filled with dirt and shale rock; there were many tons of it heaped +up on the trail.</p> + +<p>“Oh, fudge!” laughed the boy. “Fate is determined <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84'></a>84</span>to make us turn back. But +we won’t! We are going through, even if we have to build a tunnel. Get out +the shovel, Ned.”</p> + +<p>This necessitated undoing the bundle that held all the tools of the outfit, +and also entailed the unloading of the pack on the back of the remaining pack +mule. Ned soon came trotting up with the shovel. He uttered a long-drawn whistle +when he saw the blocked trail.</p> + +<p>“We never shall be able to get through that,” he groaned.</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes we shall. I’ll shovel until I am tired, then you take +hold and make the dirt fly.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll do that all right,” returned Rector. “I am too +keen for my dinner and supper to delay matters any more than I am obliged to. We +ought to make Chunky take a hand.”</p> + +<p>“No, I wouldn’t risk it. Before he had finished he would have +lost the shovel overboard. It is the only one we have. Here goes!”</p> + +<p>Tad did make the dirt fly. He was a sturdy young man, all muscle and grit. He +shoveled for twenty minutes, working his way through the great heap of dirt. +Then he straightened up, his face flushed and perspiring.</p> + +<p>“Go to it, Ned!”</p> + +<p>Ned did, with a will. An hour and a half was consumed in clearing the trail, +and, when <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85'></a>85</span>they +finished, both boys were wet with perspiration.</p> + +<p>“I think we had better walk for the present,” suggested Tad. +“We shall stiffen up if we ride in our present overheated +condition.”</p> + +<p>Ned nodded.</p> + +<p>“I can’t be much lamer than I am. I feel as if I had a broken +hinge in my back,” he declared.</p> + +<p>They started on, moving with extreme care that they might not meet with +another such disaster. The remaining pack mule was a much better animal than the +one they had lost. He was possessed of better sense, too, and seemed to +understand that great responsibilities rested on his shoulders.</p> + +<p>As for the trail, it was the same rugged, narrow path that they had been +following for hours.</p> + +<p>“What if we should meet someone here?” wondered Walter +apprehensively.</p> + +<p>“Back up or jump over,” answered Ned.</p> + +<p>Stacy shivered.</p> + +<p>“I don’t like it at all,” he muttered.</p> + +<p>The Professor uttered a shout.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” cried the boys all together.</p> + +<p>“Land ho!” was the answer.</p> + +<p>The boys craned their necks to see what the Professor had discovered, but he +was just <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86'></a>86</span>rounding a +bend beyond which they could not see. When they had made the turn the boys +shouted, too. The trail, they saw, opened out into a broad pass. The ground +there, though uneven, was fairly level, thickly wooded with slender Alaskan +cedar, its yellow, lacy foliage drooping gracefully from the branches. Tall and +straight, the cedars shot up into the air until it seemed as if their slender +tops pierced the sky.</p> + +<p>“How beautiful!” cried Tad.</p> + +<p>“Wouldn’t they make fish poles, though?” chuckled Ned.</p> + +<p>“Yes, we wouldn’t have to leave home when we went fishing,” +answered Stacy. “We could just sit on the back porch and drop a hook in +the water at the back of the old pasture lot.”</p> + +<p>“How high do you think those trees are, Professor?” asked +Tad.</p> + +<p>“All of a hundred and fifty feet. A marvelous growth.”</p> + +<p>“I think I can appreciate the beauty of it more after I get something +inside of me,” spoke up the fat boy. “Do we get anything to eat or +do we absorb landscape for our supper?”</p> + +<p>“I reckon we had better get busy,” agreed Tad laughingly.</p> + +<p>They began unloading the packs at once. By <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_87'></a>87</span>the time the boys came in with the wood the spot had +assumed a really camp-like appearance. The pots were filled with water and Tad +began building a structure that was to be their campfire when he was ready to +touch it off.</p> + +<p>“Did you find any birch bark, Ned?” he asked.</p> + +<p>“Yes, there it is.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, thank you. The cedar will burn all right, but it is a good thing +to have the birch. We shall have a supper worth while in a few minutes. Stacy, +get busy and prepare the coffee.”</p> + +<p>For once the fat boy did not demur. He was too hungry, and was willing to do +almost anything that would hurry the supper along. Not a mouthful had any of +them eaten since breakfast.</p> + +<p>The ponies were browsing contentedly, but the mule had lain down and gone to +sleep. The day was still bright, though the air had grown cooler than when the +sun was at its height. Still, a warm glow suffused the faces of the Pony Rider +Boys because they had been exercising. They usually were busy, and not one of +the lads, unless it were Stacy Brown, had a lazy streak in him. Stacy was +constitutionally opposed to doing anything that looked like real work.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88'></a>88</span>The cedar quickly +blazed up into a crackling fire, consuming the foliage. Tad took some of the +brands and made a small cooking fire that soon was a glowing bed of coals. Over +this he broiled the bacon, toasted the bread, and cooked the coffee without the +least apparent effort.</p> + +<p>Stacy Brown sat regarding the operations. Ned said that Stacy reminded him of +a dog watching the preparation of its dinner, but the fat boy took no notice of +Ned’s comparison.</p> + +<p>At last the meal was ready and the boys gathered around the spread that was +laid near the campfire, and began to eat with good appetites. Ned nearly choked +on a biscuit, and Tad swallowed a drink of water the wrong way, while Walter +accidentally kicked over the coffee pot, the contents spilling over the +Professor’s ankle to the great damage of the Professor’s skin at +that point.</p> + +<p>“Here, here! Is this a football scrimmage or are you young gentlemen at +your meal?” demanded the Professor. “I’ve seen nothing to +indicate the latter.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, Professor,” begged Tad laughingly. “Aren’t you +pretty hard on us?”</p> + +<p>“You did perfectly right, Professor,” approved Stacy. +“Their manners are bad and I am glad you have called them to account. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89'></a>89</span>Why, their example is +so bad that I have been fearful all the time of getting into bad habits +myself.”</p> + +<p>Ned gave him a warning look.</p> + +<p>“Wait!” warned Rector.</p> + +<p>“I can’t. I’m too hungry.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we have been rather rude, Professor,” admitted Tad. +“I beg your pardon.”</p> + +<p>“Show your repentance by making a fresh pot of coffee, as I have most +of the first lot in my stocking,” reminded Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>It seemed odd to be eating supper in broad daylight, whereas they ordinarily +ate in the twilight or after dark. After supper, and when the remains were +cleared away, the boys strolled about, talking. At ten o’clock the +Professor called that it was time to turn in.</p> + +<p>“But it isn’t dark yet,” protested Ned.</p> + +<p>“The nights are short. Unless you turn in early you will not want to +get up in the morning,” reminded Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“He never does,” averred Walter.</p> + +<p>“I don’t want to turn in at chicken hours,” objected +Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Little boys should be in bed early,” said Tad smilingly.</p> + +<p>“That’s what they made me do when I was a baby. They’d tuck +me in my little crib and give me a bottle and sing me to sleep. What <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90'></a>90</span>time does it get daylight, +Professor?” questioned the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“As a matter of fact it hardly gets dark,” answered the +Professor. “We shall have only about three hours of real night, I think. +That is about the way it has been since we have been in this latitude. You will +find it more difficult to sleep with the morning light in your eyes than with +this light, so go to bed.”</p> + +<p>“I am thinking the same. Good-night, all. Don’t any of you boys +dare snore to-night. Remember we are sleeping in rather close quarters,” +reminded Butler.</p> + +<p>“One of you may come in with me,” offered the Professor.</p> + +<p>“No, thank you, we shall do very well as it is,” replied Tad.</p> + +<p>Stacy had the usual number of complaints to make. The cedar odor prevented +his breathing properly, the sharp stickers on the cedar boughs poked through his +pajamas and into his skin. He voiced all the complaints he could think of, after +which he settled down to long, rhythmic snores that could be heard all around +the place, inside and out. The purple twilight merged into blue shadows, then +into black, impenetrable darkness that swallowed up the pass and the two little +white tents of the Pony Rider Boys.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91'></a>91</span><a id='link_8'></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><span class='h2fs'>AN INTRUDER IN THE CAMP</span></h2> + +<div class='poetry'> +<p> “W’en de screech-owl light on de gable +en’<br /> En holler, Whoo-oo! oh-oh!<br /> + Den you bettah keep yo’ eyeball peel,<br /> + Kase dey bring bad luck t’ yo’,<br /> + Oh-oh! oh-oh!”</p> </div> + +<p>“Stop that noise!” shouted an angry voice from the tent occupied +by the boys.</p> + +<p>For a few moments silence reigned in the camp of the Pony Rider Boys. Then +the voice of the singer from somewhere outside was raised again.</p> + +<div class='poetry'> +<p> “W’en de ole black cat widdee yella +eyes<br /> Slink round like she atter ah mouse,<br /> + Den yo’ bettah take keer yo’self en frien’s,<br /> + Kase dey’s sho’ly a witch en de house.”</p> +</div> + +<p>“Who is making that unearthly noise?” demanded the Professor in +an irritated voice.</p> + +<p>“That’s Stacy singing,” answered Tad politely.</p> + +<p>“Singing?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92'></a>92</span>“Nonsense! +Does he think he can sing?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<p>“Humph! I shall be obliged if some of you boys will remove that +impression from his mind so that I may go back to sleep.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<div class='poetry'> +<p> “W’en de puddle duck ’e leave de +pon’<br /> En start to comb e +fedder–”</p> </div> + +<p>A stone struck the rock on which Stacy Brown was sitting. Some small +particles flew up and hit him in the neck.</p> + +<p>“Hey, you fellows quit that!”</p> + +<div class='poetry'> +<p> “Den yo’ bettah take yo’ +umbrell,<br /> Kase dey’s gwine to be wet +wedder.”</p> </div> + +<p>“Yeow!”</p> + +<p>The fat boy left the rock, jumping right up into the air, for the wild yell +had seemed to come out of the rock itself. At that juncture three pajama-clad +figures rose from behind the rock and threw themselves upon him.</p> + +<p>“Let go of my neck!” howled Chunky, fighting desperately to free +himself, not having caught a glance at his assailants, though he knew well +enough who they were. Stacy had calculated on aggravating them to the danger +point, then slipping away and hiding until <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_93'></a>93</span>breakfast time. But he had gone a little too far with +his so-called singing.</p> + +<p>The boys picked the fat boy up and carried him, kicking and yelling, to a +point just beyond the camp where a glacial stream trickled down, forming in a +pool some three feet deep near the trail.</p> + +<p>“I–I’ll get even with you fellows for this. Can’t you +let me alone?” he cried.</p> + +<p>Reaching the spring they held him by the feet and soused him into the icy +water head first, thrusting the fat boy in until his head struck the hard +bottom. He was howling lustily, howling and choking, when his head was out of +water.</p> + +<p>“You’ll need your ‘old ombrell’ when we have done with +you,” cried Ned.</p> + +<p>“You will wake us up at this hour with your unearthly screeching, will +you?” demanded Tad.</p> + +<p>“I reckon the Professor will give you a spanking for disturbing his +morning slumbers,” added Walter Perkins.</p> + +<p>“That’s enough, fellows. Remember the water is cold,” +warned Butler. “Let him go.”</p> + +<p>They took Tad literally. They did let the fat boy go. He landed on his head +on a hard rock when they let go of him, and Stacy rolled on his back yelling +lustily.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94'></a>94</span>“Look out! +There comes the Professor Stacy.”</p> + +<p>Walter shouted the warning just in time. Professor Zepplin, stern of face, +gorgeous in a pair of new pajamas, a stick in one hand came stalking toward the +group. Stacy saw him coming. The fat boy bounded to his feet in a hurry. He was +especially interested in the cedar limb with its sharp broken points, grasped so +firmly in the right hand of the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I reckon I’ll see you all later,” muttered Chunky as he +made a bolt for his tent. Either some one tripped him or he tripped himself. At +least, he measured his length on the ground just as the stick came in contact +with his body. It was not a hard blow, but merely a tap of reminder. The +Professor was now smiling broadly.</p> + +<p>Stacy leaped to his feet and ran, howling at the top of his voice, and +threatening dire revenge on the Professor. Professor Zepplin was plainly +undismayed, for he pursued with strides that made the merry onlookers think of +the seven-league boots.</p> + +<p>“Say, can’t we arbitrate, without an appeal to force?” +bellowed back Stacy as he reached the tent.</p> + +<p>“We cannot,” boomed the Professor’s deep <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95'></a>95</span>voice. “This is an +instance in which the punitive expedition must go through.”</p> + +<p><i>Whack! Whack!</i>That stick played a tattoo that made Stacy sore in more +senses than one. Instead of burrowing deeper into the cedar boughs, he got up +hastily. In his desperation he seized the Professor’s feet, giving a +mighty tug at them.</p> + +<p>“Here, stop that!” protested Professor Zepplin, laughing.</p> + +<p>He reached for the fat boy, but Chunky, with a new exertion of his strength, +brought the tutor down to a sitting position.</p> + +<p>“Retreat in good order, while you have a chance!” called Walter +Perkins. Three grinning faces met the fugitive at the tent. But Stacy bowled +Walter over, leaped the foot that Rector extended to trip him, and then dashed +for the shelter of the tall cedars, where he hid.</p> + +<p>There he shivered in his wet pajamas. It was three o’clock in the +morning, but young Brown cared not for time. His stomach told him only that it +was high breakfast time. The gnawing under his belt-line continued.</p> + +<p>“I wish I hadn’t been quite so fresh!” thought the boy, +dismally. “It’s all right to have fun, but there are times when a +square meal is worth more.”</p> + +<p>However, the Professor, though he was really <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_96'></a>96</span>enjoying the situation, looked anything but +amiable.</p> + +<p>“I’ll try the crowd, anyway,” thought Stacy, ruefully. +“I’ve got to get near the kitchen kit soon. Hello, the +camp!”</p> + +<p>There was no response. Stacy emerged from his hiding place and began to sing +the song he had learned from Rastus Rastus in Kentucky.</p> + +<p>One end of the tent was suddenly raised.</p> + +<p>“Do you want another ducking?” demanded the angry voice of Ned +Rector.</p> + +<p>“If you’re man enough to give it to me,” returned the fat +boy.</p> + +<p>Ned came tumbling out, but by the time he had straightened up, Stacy was +nowhere in sight. The fat boy had stolen in among the trees whence he watched +the progress of events. Ned returned to his tent in disgust. No further +objection was heard from the Professor as to Chunky’s vocal exercises.</p> + +<p>“There’s no use trying to sleep with that boy bawling away out +there. What does he think he is, a bird?” demanded Tad.</p> + +<p>“Sounds more like a hoot owl, the bird he was telling us about,” +averred Ned.</p> + +<p>“I guess I’ll get up. So long as he is abroad there will be no +more rest in this camp for the rest of the night.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97'></a>97</span>“Won’t +he catch cold? He must be all wet,” said Walter solicitously.</p> + +<p>“I hope to goodness he does,” retorted Rector. “I hope he +gets such a cold that he can’t speak for a week. Then we’ll have +some peace.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, I wouldn’t put it quite so strongly as that,” laughed +Tad. “However, I guess he will get the cold all right.”</p> + +<p>Tad dressed himself. After finishing, he thought to look at his watch and was +disgusted to find it was only a few minutes after three o’clock. Ned +declared that he was going to sleep again if Tad would keep the fat boy quiet. +Butler promised to do his best and went out. He looked about for Stacy but +failed to see him, so the freckle-faced boy sat down on the rock where Chunky +had sat singing.</p> + +<p>“Hello, Tad,” piped a voice behind him, causing Butler to jump a +little. Stacy had been hiding behind the rock, to which place he had crept from +the cedar forest.</p> + +<p>“Oh, it’s you, is it?”</p> + +<p>“I guess so. I’m cold and–and hungry.”</p> + +<p>“Go back to the tent. You should put on some dry clothes.”</p> + +<p>“You don’t care whether I freeze or not. Go get them for me, +please.”</p> + +<p>“I will not. You got yourself into this difficulty, <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98'></a>98</span>now get out of it as best +you may,” answered Butler. “There won’t be any breakfast for +three hours yet. Tighten your belt.”</p> + +<p>“I–I haven’t any belt. I haven’t my clothes +on.”</p> + +<p>“That’s too bad,” retorted Tad unfeelingly.</p> + +<p>“What’d you soak me for?”</p> + +<p>“A cold bath in the morning is an excellent tonic. Hadn’t you +ever heard that?”</p> + +<p>“If I had I’d know now that it isn’t true. I didn’t +think you could be as mean as that, Tad.”</p> + +<p>“I didn’t think you could be so mean as to wake us up at three +o’clock in the morning with your screeching. Why did you do it?”</p> + +<p>“I–I was exercising my voice.”</p> + +<p>“I should say so. But take my advice. Don’t use it that way +again, especially so early in the morning. You’ll ruin it and then you +won’t be able to sing at all.”</p> + +<p>“That would be a catastrophe,” mumbled Chunky.</p> + +<p>“A blessing to the Pony Rider Boys community, you mean. +Hello!”</p> + +<p>“What is it?” cried Stacy.</p> + +<p>Tad was staring fixedly at a rope suspended between two small cedars near the +tents. It was on this that some of the provisions had been hung the previous +evening.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99'></a>99</span>“Where is +that ham?” he demanded, apparently not having heard his companion’s +question.</p> + +<p>“What ham?”</p> + +<p>“The one I hung up there last night?”</p> + +<p>“I–I don’t know. I didn’t eat it.”</p> + +<p>Tad got up and hastened to the “stores-line,” as they called the +rope that held their meats and other provisions. He discovered that several +other articles besides the ham were missing. Even the pieces of twine with which +the provisions had been fastened to the line were missing.</p> + +<p>“Well, if this doesn’t beat everything!” wondered +Butler.</p> + +<p>“It does,” agreed Chunky, who had made bold to approach. “I +hope the fellows won’t blame me, but I reckon they will. They lay +everything to me.”</p> + +<p>Tad did not reply. He was trying to make up his mind what had become of the +missing provisions. He turned sharply to Stacy.</p> + +<p>“See here, you aren’t playing tricks on us, are you?”</p> + +<p>Stacy indignantly protested that he was not.</p> + +<p>“I knew you’d try to put it on me,” he grumbled. +“I’m pretty bad, I know, but I don’t steal.”</p> + +<p>“Stop it! I haven’t accused you of stealing. <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_100'></a>100</span>Of course I know you wouldn’t do +that, but if you have taken the stuff and hidden it for a joke, say so now +before I call the others. They might not take kindly to your joke after your +early morning vocal exercises.”</p> + +<p>“I didn’t. I don’t know any more about it than you +do.”</p> + +<p>Stacy’s lips were blue with cold and he was chattering. Tad suddenly +observed these signs of cold and felt sorry for the boy.</p> + +<p>“When the others come out, you duck in and put on some dry clothes. You +will have plenty of time. I don’t think they will bother you. Oh, Ned! +Professor!” called Tad.</p> + +<p>Ned Rector, Professor Zepplin and Walter came hurrying out.</p> + +<p>“Isn’t there any rest at all in this camp?” protested +Ned.</p> + +<p>“That is what I was about to inquire,” declared the +Professor.</p> + +<p>“What! <i>You</i> here?” demanded Rector, fixing a menacing eye on +the fat boy. “Has he been cutting up again?”</p> + +<p>“It’s something else this time.”</p> + +<p>“What is it?” questioned Professor Zepplin sharply.</p> + +<p>“Did any of you folks remove the ham and the other stuff from the line +last night?” asked Butler.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_101'></a>101</span>“No,” replied Ned.</p> + +<p>“Of course not. You were the last one to attend to those things,” +said the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I helped him tie them up,” interjected “Walter.</p> + +<p>“And–and I watched him–them–do it,” added +Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Yes, that’s about all you ever do do,” objected Ned.</p> + +<p>“What’s this you say?” questioned Professor Zepplin. +“The ham missing?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir. It is nowhere about,” Tad informed him.</p> + +<p>“Then we must have had a visit from a bear or some other +animal.”</p> + +<p>“What would a bear want with a rope?” asked Butler.</p> + +<p>“A rope?”</p> + +<p>“I left our quarter-inch reserve rope coiled at the foot of that tree +last night. It isn’t there now.”</p> + +<p>“Stacy Brown, do you know anything about this?” demanded the +Professor sternly.</p> + +<p>“What’d I tell you, Tad? I knew you’d be accusing me for +the whole business. I told Tad you would blame me.”</p> + +<p>“Go put on some dry garments,” commanded the Professor.</p> + +<p>Stacy lost no time in getting to the tent.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102'></a>102</span>“What do +you make of it, Tad?” asked Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“I can make only one thing out of it. There has been an intruder in the +camp while we slept. That intruder must have been a man. Bears do not carry away +ropes. Bears do not untie knots and take the strings away with them,” +replied Tad Butler in a convincing tone.</p> + +<p>Stacy Brown poked his head through the tent opening.</p> + +<p>“What we need in this camp is a watch dog,” he shouted.</p> + +<p>Ned Rector shied a tin can at him, whereat the fat boy ducked in out of +sight.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103'></a>103</span><a id='link_9'></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><span class='h2fs'>A MYSTERY UNSOLVED</span></h2> + +<p>“But surely whoever was here must have left some trace,” +protested Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps you may be able to find it. I can’t,” answered +Tad.</p> + +<p>“We’ll all look,” cried Ned.</p> + +<p>Tad nodded, and while they were scanning the ground he walked about the +outskirts of the camp with his glances on the ground. There was not a footprint, +not a thing to indicate that any person outside of themselves had been near the +camp. Tad was looking in particular for the strings with which the stuff had +been tied to the rope. Not finding these he was certain that some human being +had been in the camp.</p> + +<p>“We shall have to make the best of it and let it go at that,” he +said, returning to his companions. “Shall we go to sleep again?”</p> + +<p>“Sleep!” shouted Ned.</p> + +<p>Stacy popped his head out to see what the shout was about. He ducked back +again upon encountering Rector’s angry gaze.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104'></a>104</span>“If it +isn’t Stacy Brown raising a row it’s Tad Butler, and if it +isn’t Tad it’s a midnight robber.”</p> + +<p>“Or else Ned Rector himself,” added the Professor. “If you +young gentlemen will excuse me I think I shall put on some clothes. We might as +well have our breakfast and get an early start, since we are all +awake.”</p> + +<p>“I was going to suggest that,” replied Tad. “I’ll go +rub down the ponies while the rest of you get the breakfast.”</p> + +<p>“Shall we dress before or after?” questioned Walter.</p> + +<p>“Before, of course,” returned the Professor.</p> + +<p>Breakfast was not a very merry meal that morning. Tad was chagrined to think +a person could get into their camp and steal a ham without his having heard the +intruder. Either he had slept more soundly than usual, or else their late +visitor had been unusually stealthy.</p> + +<p>“I’ll tell you what I think,” spoke up Rector after a +period of silence.</p> + +<p>“Out with it,” answered the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I’ll wager that some of these prospectors have ducked in here +and taken our stuff. There must be plenty of them in the mountains +hereabouts.”</p> + +<p>Tad shook his head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105'></a>105</span>“I +don’t think so. I have an idea.”</p> + +<p>“What is your idea?” questioned Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Are there Indians up here?” questioned Tad.</p> + +<p>“Many of them.”</p> + +<p>“It was an Indian who did this job. No white man could get away with it +so skilfully. If it was, as I suspect, we might as well give it up,” +concluded Butler.</p> + +<p>“Oh, I kissed that ham good-by a long time ago,” piped Stacy +solemnly.</p> + +<p>“I don’t agree with any of you,” said Ned. “I think +the ham, unable to endure Chunky’s singing, took wings and flew away. +Either that or it was afraid he would kiss it again. He said he had kissed it +good-by.”</p> + +<p>“You are wrong,” declared Walter. “If Stacy had got that +close to the ham he would have eaten it.”</p> + +<p>“You’re right,” agreed the Professor with an emphatic +nod.</p> + +<p>“I’ve got a bone to pick with you, too, Walt Perkins,” +warned Stacy.</p> + +<p>“A ham-bone?” twinkled Tad.</p> + +<p>“No, a drumstick.”</p> + +<p>“The probability is that we shall never know any more about the affair +than we do now,” decided the Professor. “Break camp as soon as <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106'></a>106</span>we have finished +breakfast and we will get under way. Have you looked to see which way the trail +leads from this point, Tad?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir. That way,” replied Tad, pointing.</p> + +<p>“Northwest?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<p>Camp was broken in short order and within an hour they were on their way. +Though the country was very rough and rugged and the going awful, they found the +trail narrow and perilous only in spots. Generally they found it perfectly safe. +That night they camped in a pass through which flowed a rushing glacial stream. +Tall cottonwoods lined the stream and giant arborvitæ was thick and almost +impassable a short distance back from the stream. The Professor explained that +this arborvitæ was ordinarily found about glaciers, and in cool, dim fiords.</p> + +<p>Determined not to be robbed of their provisions again, Tad led a string +through the loops made in tying the meats to the provision line. He carried one +end of the string into his tent and when he turned in he tied the end to his +wrist.</p> + +<p>Long after midnight he felt a jolt at his wrist that brought him to his feet +in an instant. Another jolt followed.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107'></a>107</span>The boy slipped +the twine from his wrist and hurried out. The night was not so dark but that he +could make out objects distinctly. There was nothing of an alarming nature in +sight. He examined the provisions. None had been tampered with.</p> + +<p>Considerably mystified, Tad returned to his tent, after rearranging his +burglar alarm, and lay down. He had just dozed off when there came another tug +more violent than the others.</p> + +<p>“Hang it! Something is at those provisions,” he muttered.</p> + +<p>Tad once more slipped out. This time he remained out for a long time. He sat +down behind the tent where he waited and watched. Nothing of a disturbing nature +occurred. He could not understand it.</p> + +<p>“There must be ghosts around here,” he muttered. “If there +are, I reckon I’ll catch them before the night is over.”</p> + +<p>He grew weary of waiting for the “ghosts,” after a time, and +returning to the tent went to bed. Three times after that was the boy dragged +out by a violent tug at the rope, and three times did he return without having +discovered the cause.</p> + +<p>“I think I begin to smell a mouse,” thought Tad Butler.</p> + +<p>He lay down. Again came the tugs at the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_108'></a>108</span>string. But Tad apparently gave no heed to them. +After a time he began snoring, but stopped suddenly, pinching himself to keep +awake. A few moments later he got up quietly and went out. This time he ran the +fingers of one hand along the provision line. The fingers stopped suddenly as +they came in contact with a second string the size of the one he had used for a +burglar alarm and evidently from the same ball of twine.</p> + +<p>“I thought so,” chuckled the boy. “More of Chunky +Brown’s tricks. I reckon I’ll teach him a lesson and give him a +surprise at the same time. Let’s see. Yes, I have it now.”</p> + +<p>Tad found a quarter inch rope. He made a slip noose at one end, working the +honda or knot back and forth until it slipped easily. In reality it was a lasso. +He tucked the loop under the rear of the tent, then crawled cautiously in after +it. Great caution was necessary in order not to disturb the other occupants of +the tent, though the boys were sleeping soundly, Stacy snoring thunderously. The +fat boy’s feet protruded from under his blanket. Tad found them after a +little careful groping. He wished to make certain that he had the right feet. +Satisfying himself on this point he slipped the noose over the feet and wriggled +out.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109'></a>109</span>Tad then drew +the rope carefully about a slender tree, taking care that there might be no +strain on the other end about the fat boy’s feet. Using the tree as a +leverage Butler gave the rope a quick jerk. A slight commotion in the tent +followed.</p> + +<p>He now gave the rope a mighty tug. A wild yell from the interior of the tent +told that his effort had been successful. The freckle-faced boy now began +pulling with all his might, hand over hand. Stacy Brown’s yells were loud +and frightful. To his howls were added those of another voice. Stacy was sliding +out from under the rear of the tent feet first, being dragged along on his back +as Butler hauled in on the rope.</p> + +<p>But Stacy was not alone. Instead of one boy there were two. One of +Chunky’s feet and one of Ned Rector’s was fast in the loop. Tad had +made a mistake and selected a foot from each of the two boys.</p> + +<p>“Something’s got me!” bellowed Chunky. “Help, +help!”</p> + +<p>“It’s got me, too,” yelled Rector. “It’s got me +by the foot.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, wow, wow! Help, help!”</p> + +<p>The two boys were fighting and clawing each other in their excitement. Chunky +fastened a hand in the hair of his companion fetching <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_110'></a>110</span>away a handful. Ned retaliated by +smiting Chunky on the nose. Then both grabbed hold of the tent wall as they +slipped out from under it feet first. The tent swayed and threatened to +collapse.</p> + +<p>Walter Perkins was struggling about in the dark, shouting to know what had +happened. Professor Zepplin roared out a similar inquiry and sprang from his bed +of boughs. He fell out into the open in his haste, but the night was so dark +that he was unable to make out a single object. He could hear the two boys +yelling at the rear of their tent, struggling and fighting to free themselves +from the grip on their ankles.</p> + +<p>The hauling ceased suddenly. Ned reached down and freed his foot, the same +movement freeing that of the fat boy.</p> + +<p>At this juncture Tad Butler dashed out from the tent, to which he had run +after having thrown the freed rope away.</p> + +<p>“Here, here, what’s going on here?” he shouted.</p> + +<p>“Something got us. It was a snake,” howled Chunky. “Oh, +wow; oh, wow!”</p> + +<p>“A snake? Nonsense!” exploded the Professor. “There are no +snakes in Alaska.”</p> + +<p>“There’s one here and he’s the biggest one you ever saw. +Why, he twisted right around <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_111'></a>111</span>my leg and dragged me out. I think he bit me, +too,” wailed Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Somebody make a light here,” commanded the Professor.</p> + +<p>“That’s what I say,” shouted Ned. “You pulled half +the hair out of my head, Chunky. I’ll be even with you for +that.”</p> + +<p>“Did the Thing get you, too?” questioned Walter.</p> + +<p>“Get me? I should say it did. I never had anything grip me like +that.”</p> + +<p>Tad was busy starting the fire. The Professor, by this time, realized that +the boys were in earnest; that something really had happened to disturb them, +though he had not the least idea that it had been as bad as they said.</p> + +<p>The fire began snapping briskly. Tad was bending over it in his pajamas, +standing as far back as possible to avoid the sparks. Glancing at the others out +of the corners of his eyes, he observed that Stacy’s face was pale; Ned +Rector’s was flushed and angry, and Ned kept passing a hand over his head +where the hair had come out. Tad could barely keep back the laughter.</p> + +<p>“Now, show me!” demanded the Professor after the camp had been +lighted up.</p> + +<p>Stacy went into an elaborate explanation of what had occurred so far as he +knew. He said <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_112'></a>112</span>something had grabbed them by the ankles and dragged +them out under the tent. He showed where they had been dragged. The backs of +their pajamas were evidence enough of this fact, the dirt being fairly ground +into the cloth.</p> + +<p>The Professor fixed his keen eyes on the freckled face of Tad Butler. The +Professor was plainly suspicious, but he did not voice his suspicion. Instead, +he smiled to himself.</p> + +<p>“I am going back to bed, young gentlemen, and I trust there will be no +further disturbance in this camp to-night. If there is I shall be under the +necessity of taking a hand in it myself.”</p> + +<p>“If Ned and Chunky will behave themselves, I don’t believe there +will be any further trouble, sir,” said Tad.</p> + +<p>Stacy fixed a glance of quick comprehension on Butler, and Tad saw in that +one glance that the fat boy’s suspicions were aroused, too. Stacy was +sharper than Tad had given him credit for being.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113'></a>113</span><a id='link_10'></a>CHAPTER X<br /><span class='h2fs'>IN THE HOME OF THE THLINKITS</span></h2> + +<p>Stacy did not speak of his suspicions that night, but on the following +morning he was up earlier than the others, looking here and there about the +camp. He was unusually silent at breakfast time, but Ned Rector on the contrary +had a great deal to say.</p> + +<p>“Somebody was in this camp again last night. I don’t know what he +was trying to do, but whatever it was, he made a good start,” said +Ned.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps it was the work of Indians,” suggested Walter.</p> + +<p>“I shouldn’t be surprised,” replied the Professor +dryly.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps,” agreed Tad, “the Indian was after another ham +and thought he had hold of one when he got Chunky.”</p> + +<p>“You keep on and I’ll say something!” snorted the fat +boy.</p> + +<p>“I have been looking at that red mark on my ankle,” continued +Ned. “It was a rope that did the business. How do you suppose they <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114'></a>114</span>ever managed to tie it to +our ankles without waking us up?”</p> + +<p>“I thought you did wake up,” answered Tad with twinkling +eyes.</p> + +<p>“We did afterwards, but I don’t understand it at all. +Didn’t you hear anything, Tad?”</p> + +<p>“If I remember rightly I heard two boys yelling like frightened +babies.”</p> + +<p>Once again Chunky snorted, but held his peace. Matters were rapidly nearing a +crisis. Chunky knew that he had played a mean trick on Tad by tying a string to +the provision line and giving it a jerk to wake his companion up, thus making +him believe someone was at the provisions. He suspected that the trick had been +turned on him, but he wasn’t quite sure. Stacy was covertly watching every +expression on the face of Tad Butler, every word that was uttered, Tad in the +meantime continuing to worry his fat companion. The latter stood it as long as +possible. Then he arose rather hastily and strode around to the rear of the +tent, returning a moment later with a rope in his hand.</p> + +<p>Tad recognized it instantly.</p> + +<p>“Here, if you want to know what got hold of us last night. Look at +this!” exclaimed Chunky.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” questioned Rector.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_115'></a>115</span>“It’s a rope. Don’t you know a +rope when you see one? It is the same rope that dragged us from the tent by our +ankles last night. Oh, this is a fine outfit!” jeered Chunky.</p> + +<p>No one spoke for a few seconds.</p> + +<p>“Ah!” breathed the Professor. “I begin to see a +light.”</p> + +<p>“So did we,” returned Stacy. “But it wasn’t so very +light that you could notice it particularly.”</p> + +<p>Ned started up, his face flushing violently.</p> + +<p>“Do you mean to tell me that one of our outfit dragged you and me out +by the heels last night?” he demanded.</p> + +<p>“Yes!”</p> + +<p>“Who did it?” cried Rector angrily. “I can thrash the +fellow who did that. Who is he, I say?”</p> + +<p>“Well, I may be wrong, but from the look of his face, I should say that +Tad Butler knows something about the affair. Mind you, I’m not saying he +did it, but I reckon he knows the man who did,” observed Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Tad Butler, did you do that?” demanded Ned.</p> + +<p>“Stacy seems to think I did.”</p> + +<p>“Then I’ve nothing more to say.”</p> + +<p>“I–I thought you were going to whale the fellow who did +it,” reminded Stacy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116'></a>116</span>“I reckon +I’ve changed my mind,” muttered Ned. “I’ll have a talk +with Tad later, though.”</p> + +<p>“No time like the present,” laughed Butler.</p> + +<p>“Young gentlemen, enough of this. I am amazed at you, Tad,” +rebuked Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Tell them the rest, Stacy,” nodded Tad.</p> + +<p>The fat boy hung his head.</p> + +<p>“Maybe I was to blame, after all. I reckon Tad was after me, not +Ned,” admitted Stacy.</p> + +<p>“What had you done?” questioned the Professor with a poor attempt +at sternness.</p> + +<p>“I–I tied a string to the provision line. You know Tad had a line +tied to it with one end around his wrist so that he would know if an intruder +began to interfere with the provisions?”</p> + +<p>“Yes. Go on.”</p> + +<p>“Well, as I told you, I tied another string to the rope. After Tad got +to sleep I pulled the rope. He went out to see what had done it. I guess he +didn’t find it, for he went out several times after that. Oh, I made him +dance a merry dance,” chuckled Stacy. “By and by I went to sleep. +That was the last I knew until I found myself sliding out of the tent on my +back.”</p> + +<p>Everyone shouted. Stacy’s droll way of telling the story was too much +for them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117'></a>117</span>“So that +was the way of it, eh?” questioned Ned.</p> + +<p>“So Stacy says,” nodded Butler.</p> + +<p>“And you didn’t mean to drag me out?”</p> + +<p>“No; the fellow who did the dragging must have gotten hold of the wrong +foot,” replied Butler.</p> + +<p>“Then I forgive you. I would endure almost anything for the sake of +seeing Chunky get the worst of it.”</p> + +<p>“Well, I like that!” shouted the fat boy. “I’m glad +that you, too, got some of the worst of it. Why didn’t you tie the rope +around his neck while you were about it, Tad, and make a thorough job of +it?”</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, Stacy was set upon having his revenge on Tad, even though he +was himself to blame for the trick that had been played on him. The sun shone +over the camp of the Pony Rider Boys a few hours later, and the rough hike was +again taken up. It was the middle of the fifth day after the roping experience +when the boys first caught sight of Yakutat Bay. Huge cakes of floating ice were +being thrown up into the air by the strong gale that swept in from the Pacific, +the whitened ice in strong contrast with the black sands of the beach.</p> + +<p>Towering above it all, nearly five miles in the air, stood Mt. St. Elias +glistening in the mid-day <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_118'></a>118</span>sun. Rushing streams roared down the sides of the +mountain, thundering through deep gorges cut into the rocks through perhaps +thousands of years of wear. It was a tremendous spectacle, exceeding in +impressiveness anything the boys had ever looked upon.</p> + +<p>At their feet lay the wreck of the rude cabins of the early Thlinkit Indians. +There was no sign of any other village. The masts of a few small schooners were +visible on the southern side of the bay. It was in this part of the waters that +ships came to anchor. Here they were not exposed to the heavy swell from the +Pacific, being sheltered by islands on the southern side.</p> + +<p>An Indian wrapped in a gaudy blanket went striding stolidly past the Pony +Rider party.</p> + +<p>“Will you tell us where the town is?” called Tad.</p> + +<p>Without looking at the questioner, the Indian pointed up the hill to the +right.</p> + +<p>“He means on top of the mountain,” interpreted Stacy.</p> + +<p>“No. There is a trail leading up through the trees,” answered +Tad. “But it can’t be much of a settlement.”</p> + +<p>“There must be quite a town here,” said the Professor. “I +have read that in the year 1796 the Russians established a penal colony <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119'></a>119</span>here, having erected +quite a plant. A city was laid out at the time, though I think I have heard that +the penal buildings were burned down. But we shall find out more when we get to +it.”</p> + +<p>The climb was a stiff one–almost straight up, it seemed to the boys. +Three miles of this through a forest-bordered trail brought them to the +village.</p> + +<p>“This certainly is some town,” laughed Tad.</p> + +<p>They saw before them a general store, two or three shops that looked as if +they were for the purpose of supplying miners’ outfits, with a few +scattering cottages here and there. To the left they could make out the smoke +from the new Thlinkit village. Squaws from the latter were sitting about the +village street weaving baskets. Such beautiful baskets none of that party ever +had seen before. The boys could hardly resist the temptation to buy, but knowing +that every pound and every inch of bulk in their packs counted, they contented +themselves with admiring the handicraft of the squaws.</p> + +<p>Ponies or horses were seldom seen in the Yakutat street, so those of the Pony +Rider outfit attracted no little attention. A swarm of Indian children gathered +about them, chattering half in English and half in their native language.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120'></a>120</span>The keeper of +the general store came out to greet the outfit, scenting some trade, and shook +hands with the Professor warmly.</p> + +<p>“Anybody’d think the Professor was his long-lost brother,” +chuckled Stacy.</p> + +<p>A bevy of dark-eyed squaws surrounded the Professor. In several instances +papooses were strapped to their backs, the youngsters looking as if they did not +enjoy it any too well.</p> + +<p>“Why do they tie them up in splints?” asked Stacy.</p> + +<p>“To keep them from getting broken,” answered Rector.</p> + +<p>A squaw offered Stacy a pair of beaded moccasins that were gorgeous to his +eyes.</p> + +<p>“How much?”</p> + +<p>“Fife dolee.”</p> + +<p>“Eh? I don’t hear very well?”</p> + +<p>“Four dolee.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll give you a dollar and fifty cents.”</p> + +<p>“Two dolee. You take um?”</p> + +<p>“You bet I’ll take um. It’s like finding moccasins to get +them for that price.”</p> + +<p>“You will have to carry them yourself, you know,” warned Tad.</p> + +<p>“What do you think I’m going to do with those joy shoes?” +demanded the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“I supposed you intended to wear them when sitting by the +fireside.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121'></a>121</span>“Like the +squaw, you’ve got another guess coming. I’m going to send those +moccasins to my aunt in Chillicothe.”</p> + +<p>This was an unusual thing to do. Stacy usually thought of himself, but seldom +of others. Tad called to the other boys to tell them the news. They examined the +moccasins gravely.</p> + +<p>At this juncture the Professor beckoned to the boys to come into the store, +which they did after hastily staking down their stock.</p> + +<p>“This gentleman says he thinks he can get us a guide,” announced +the Professor. “I tell him we must have a reliable one, for we know +absolutely nothing about the country from here on.”</p> + +<p>“Black or white?” questioned Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Oh, black, of course. There are no white guides up here. I think this +one was out with a government surveying party once,” said the +store-keeper.</p> + +<p>“He should do very well, then,” nodded the Professor, well +pleased.</p> + +<p>“What’s good enough for our Uncle Sam surely should be good +enough for us,” agreed Ned Rector. “What do you say, +Chunky?”</p> + +<p>“I decline to commit myself. I’ve been taken in on guides before +this. Trot out your guide and, after I’ve tried him out, I’ll tell +you what I think of him. In buying guides I follow the <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_122'></a>122</span>same tactics that Tad Butler does in +purchasing horses.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, you do, eh?” jeered Ned.</p> + +<p>“Always.”</p> + +<p>“Then be sure you examine this fellow’s legs to make certain that +they are sound. Feel his ankles that there is neither spavin nor ringbone, then +open his mouth and look at his teeth to be sure that he isn’t lying to +you,” advised Tad dryly.</p> + +<p>“After which, one Stacy Brown will be reduced to the condition that he +deserves,” laughed Ned.</p> + +<p>“What condition?” demanded the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“Use your imagination.”</p> + +<p>“It isn’t working to-day. I’m too hungry.”</p> + +<p>“Plenty of crackers and cheese and other things here,” said Tad. +“I am going to have some. Isn’t that ‘pop’ up there, +sir?” he asked the proprietor.</p> + +<p>“Yes; have some?”</p> + +<p>“What flavors have you?”</p> + +<p>“Sarsaparilla and ginger ale.”</p> + +<p>“Give me both,” interjected Stacy. “I’ll have a pound +of that cheese and about a peck of crackers. Got anything else?”</p> + +<p>“Ginger snaps?”</p> + +<p>“Hooray! Just like being in Chillicothe, isn’t it?” Stacy +filched a hard cracker and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_123'></a>123</span>slipped it into the mouth of a papoose on its +mother’s back.</p> + +<p>The squaw did not observe the action, but one of her sister squaws muttered +something, whereat the mother snatched the cracker from the mouth of her young +hopeful, cast the cracker on the floor and put her moccasined foot on it. She +launched into a volley in her own language, directed at Chunky.</p> + +<p>“That’s all right, madam. Roast me all you wish. I don’t +care how much you insult me so long as I don’t understand a word you are +saying.”</p> + +<p>“Do you wish the cheese done up?” asked the proprietor.</p> + +<p>“Done up? Certainly not. I’ll attend to the doing up +myself.” Chunky took a large bite, then banged the end of the pop bottle +against the counter to open the bottle. The stuff was highly charged, and a good +quantity of it struck Ned Rector in the eye. Stacy waved the bottle at +arm’s length before placing it to his mouth. The charge went over his +shoulder and soaked the Professor’s whiskers before the fat boy succeeded +in steering the mouth of the bottle safely to his lips.</p> + +<p>Professor Zepplin sputtered, Ned Rector threatened, but the fat boy ate and +drank, regardless of the disturbance he had caused.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124'></a>124</span>“If you +open any more of that stuff be good enough to go outdoors to do so,” +advised the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I wuz thinking ob doig it in here and shooting a papoose with some +ginger ale,” answered Stacy thickly.</p> + +<p>“You will keep on till you have those squaws pulling your hair, +Chunky,” warned Butler.</p> + +<p>The other boys were by this time eating cheese, crackers and ginger snaps. +The proprietor had sent one of the Indian children to fetch the man he had +recommended as a guide, and by the time the Pony Rider Boys had satisfied their +appetites, the guide entered the store and stood waiting to be recognized.</p> + +<p>The boys laughed when they saw him.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125'></a>125</span><a id='link_11'></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><span class='h2fs'>THE GUIDE WHO MADE A HIT</span></h2> + +<p>The guide might have been anywhere from twenty to forty years of age. The +boys were unable to say, though they decided that he was quite young. He was +considerably shorter in stature than the Indians they had seen, and Tad wondered +if he were not an Eskimo. The guide’s head was shaven except for a tuft of +black coarse hair on the top, standing straight up, while a yellow bar of paint +had been drawn perpendicularly on each cheek. He wore a shirt that had once been +white, a pair of trousers, one leg of which extended some six inches below the +knee, the other as far above the knee of the other leg. Over his shoulders +drooped a blanket of gaudy color. The guide’s feet were clad in the +mucklucks worn both in summer and winter. Taking him all in all, the man was a +smile-producing combination.</p> + +<p>“Are you a guide?” asked the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Me guide.”</p> + +<p>“How old are you?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126'></a>126</span>“Twenty +year.”</p> + +<p>“I think that is about it,” said the store-keeper. “These +natives never know their age exactly.”</p> + +<p>“You look to me more like an Eskimo than an Indian,” observed +Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Me Innuit–Siwash. You savvy me?”</p> + +<p>Stacy scratched his head.</p> + +<p>“Tell him to talk United States,” suggested the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“What is your name?” asked Tad.</p> + +<p>“Anvik. Me smart man, savvy? Me educate Jesuit Mission. Me pilot +Chilkoot, White Horse, Caribou; me savvy all over.”</p> + +<p>“Do you know how to cook?” questioned the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Heap cook all time. Me savvy cook.”</p> + +<p>“You don’t savvy any cooking for me,” declared Stacy.</p> + +<p>“You will think differently about it when you are hungry. Remember, you +are full of cheese and crackers now,” answered Rector.</p> + +<p>“You have been out with the white men surveying, I am told,” +resumed the Professor.</p> + +<p>Anvik nodded solemnly.</p> + +<p>“Big snow–no trail–big mountains. White men get lost. Anvik +find, Anvik know trail. Anvik big pilot. Me take um to Ikogimeut when Yukon ice +get hard so man can go safe with <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_127'></a>127</span>dog team. Big feast, big feed, tell heap big +stories, big dance. Oh, heap big time. Innuit go, plenty Ingalik go. Me got +pony, too. Buy um from Ingalik man.”</p> + +<p>“According to his story he seems to be the big noise up here,” +muttered Ned Rector.</p> + +<p>“He has a pony. That is one point in his favor,” said Tad.</p> + +<p>“Wait till you see it before you call it a pony,” advised +Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Me got gun, too. Me shoot. Bang!”</p> + +<p>Stacy staggered back, clapping a hand to his forehead.</p> + +<p>“I’m shot!” he cried dramatically.</p> + +<p>“Stacy, do restrain yourself until we get out on the trail +again,” begged the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Me make snare. Me catch big game in snare. Me heap big pilot. Me +Ingalik.”</p> + +<p>“Have some cheese,” urged Chunky, passing a chunk to the now +squatting Indian.</p> + +<p>Without the least change of expression the Indian thrust the chunk into his +mouth and permitted it to lie there, bulging out the right cheek.</p> + +<p>“Do you think this man will do, sir?” asked Professor Zepplin, +turning to the store-keeper.</p> + +<p>“He will have to if you want a guide. He is the only fellow here who +has ever acted in that capacity, so far as I know.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128'></a>128</span>“We would +prefer to have a white man.”</p> + +<p>The proprietor shook his head.</p> + +<p>“White men mostly are up in the gold country, Dawson, Nome, all +over.”</p> + +<p>“Isn’t there gold in this part, too?” questioned Tad.</p> + +<p>“Yes, there’s gold everywhere. You can go down and pan out gold +in the black sands on the beach here. But what’s the use? There is more +money to be made in other ways in this country, unless you are lucky enough to +strike it rich before you have spent a fortune locating the claim.”</p> + +<p>“Where you go?” demanded Anvik.</p> + +<p>“North. Northwest from here. We want to get into the wildest of the +country and we don’t want to get lost.”</p> + +<p>“Me no lose. Mebby me find gold, uh!”</p> + +<p>“We are not looking for gold,” replied the Professor.</p> + +<p>“We are always looking for gold,” corrected Stacy. “If you +know where there is gold you just lead me to it and I’ll be your brother +for life.”</p> + +<p>“Me show.”</p> + +<p>“I take back all I said about this gentleman,” announced Chunky. +“If the half that he says is true, he is worth several times the price he +asks.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129'></a>129</span>“How much +does he ask?” inquired Rector.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know,” replied the fat boy. “He’s +cheap at the price, anyway.”</p> + +<p>“When you mush?” demanded Anvik.</p> + +<p>“We don’t have mush. We have bacon and beans, and tin biscuit and +coffee, and plenty of other things, but no mush,” answered the +Professor.</p> + +<p>The store-keeper laughed heartily.</p> + +<p>“He doesn’t mean something to eat. Mush means march or move, a +corruption of the French-Canadian ‘marché.’ He means when are you going to +set out.”</p> + +<p>“Oh!” exclaimed the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I thought you were an Indian, Professor?” said Tad laughingly. +“I guess if we depend upon you for interpreter we shall get +left.”</p> + +<p>“Of course I don’t understand this jargon.”</p> + +<p>“Of course you don’t,” agreed Butler.</p> + +<p>“I doubt if any other persons do outside of the locality itself. You +see this jargon is purely local and–”</p> + +<p>“That’s what the doctor said about a pain I had once,” +interjected Stacy. “But it hurt just the same.”</p> + +<p>“Anvik, we would like to start this afternoon, if you are ready,” +announced the Professor.</p> + +<p>The Indian shook his head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130'></a>130</span>“No mush +to-day. Mush to-mollel.”</p> + +<p>“Why not to-day?”</p> + +<p>“Innua him angry to-day.”</p> + +<p>“Who is Innua?” demanded the Professor, bristling. “We do +not care who is angry. That has nothing to do with us.”</p> + +<p>“He means the mountain spirits,” explained the store-keeper.</p> + +<p>“Eh?” questioned Chunky. “Mountain spirits?”</p> + +<p>“He means spirits in the air,” explained Butler. “We are +not afraid of spirits, Anvik.”</p> + +<p>“Anvik no like.”</p> + +<p>“How do you know Innua is abroad?” asked the Professor, now +curious to know more of the native superstitions.</p> + +<p>“See um.”</p> + +<p>“Where?”</p> + +<p>“On big mountain,” indicating Mt. St. Elias with a sweeping +gesture.</p> + +<p>“He won’t go until to-morrow. If you want him you will have to +wait,” the store-keeper informed them.</p> + +<p>“Then I suppose we shall have to wait,” reflected Professor +Zepplin. “It may be an excellent idea after all. We can pitch camp in the +village and acquaint our guide with our methods of doing things, Anvik, do you +know how to put up tents and make camp?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131'></a>131</span>“Me make +Ighloo, fine Ighloo. Snow no get in, cold no get in, Innua no get in.”</p> + +<p>“How about rain?” put in Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Rain no get in.”</p> + +<p>“That’s all right, then. We don’t care whether the snow +gets in or not, but we don’t want to have to swim out of our Ighloos in +the middle of the night. One is liable to get wet, you know,” reminded +Brown.</p> + +<p>The Professor arranged the wages with Anvik, calling upon the store-keeper to +witness the bargain and put it in writing. The Professor then directed the boys +to take the new guide out and begin his instruction in the ways of the Pony +Rider Boys. The Professor remained to purchase necessary stores and supplies, +consulting the proprietor as to what would be needed on the journey. The advice +of the store-keeper was helpful in aiding the Professor to take only such +equipment and supplies as would be absolutely necessary.</p> + +<p>Anvik went to the Indian village to bring his pony, the boys in the meantime +starting off to pick a camp site.</p> + +<p>“One thing, boys, we mustn’t play tricks on Anvik,” +reminded Tad. “I have an idea that he hasn’t much of a sense of +humor. He might lose his temper and run away and leave us after we were deep in +the interior of the country.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132'></a>132</span>“Do you +know, I don’t believe he is an Indian at all,” asserted Ned +Rector.</p> + +<p>“Neither an Indian nor a white man,” suggested Stacy wisely.</p> + +<p>“I think he is an Esquimo,” spoke up Walter.</p> + +<p>“What’s the odds? We don’t care what his race is so long as +he answers our purpose,” declared Butler.</p> + +<p>“He says he is an I-Knew-It, and I believe him,” said Stacy Brown +with emphasis.</p> + +<p>“An Innuit, you mean,” corrected Tad.</p> + +<p>“That’s it, an I-Knew-It, and that’s what I +did–”</p> + +<p>“There he comes,” cried Walter.</p> + +<p>The Indian was leading a pony that looked as if it had not felt a brush or +comb since its birth, but Tad’s discerning eye noted that the little +animal was hardy and well-conditioned, though of evident temper.</p> + +<p>“Does he kick?” asked the boy, as Anvik tied his mount to a +tree.</p> + +<p>“Him kick like buck caribou. Him kick all time, both ways.”</p> + +<p>“We’ll hopple him if he does,” said Tad. “Be sure +that you tie him so he doesn’t kick our ponies, Anvik. We can’t have +anything of that sort. If he persists in kicking I’ll see if I can’t +break him of it.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133'></a>133</span>“You horse +shaman?” asked Anvik.</p> + +<p>“Yes, he’s ashamed of his horse, that’s it,” chuckled +Stacy.</p> + +<p>Tad’s face wore a puzzled look, which a few seconds later gave place to +a smile of understanding.</p> + +<p>“Oh! you mean, am I a horse doctor? Is that it?”</p> + +<p>“Uh.”</p> + +<p>“That’s what he is. Anvik has got you properly located this time. +Ha, ha!” laughed Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Come, boys, unpack. We must give our guide his first lesson. You sit +down and watch us, Anvik, while we make camp.”</p> + +<p>The guide did so, grunting with approval or disapproval from time to time as +the work pleased or displeased him. Under the now skillful hands of the Pony +Rider Boys the camp rapidly assumed shape and form. All the tents were erected +on this occasion in order that the guide might observe the whole process. The +tents up, the boys settled them. There were plenty of trees about from which to +get boughs for their beds, and wood was brought and a campfire built up. This +especially interested the guide. He uttered grunts and nods of approval as he +watched Tad build the fire in true woodsman-like manner.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134'></a>134</span>“White man +no make fire like Indian. You make fire like Indian.”</p> + +<p>“Thank you,” smiled Butler.</p> + +<p>“You make cook fire. How you make sleep fire?”</p> + +<p>“A little fire close up to the tent,” answered Butler. “I +make it so as to get all the heat into the tent instead of sending the heat up +into the air where it will do no good.”</p> + +<p>“Heap good. You good Indian.”</p> + +<p>“That’s what he is, Anvil, he’s an Indian,” cried +Stacy.</p> + +<p>“I seem to be a good many things in this camp,” laughed Tad. +“Any further compliments you can pay me, Stacy?”</p> + +<p>“No, but if you don’t chase that buck over yonder behind the +Professor’s tent, I reckon you’ll lose your rope,” reminded +the fat boy.</p> + +<p>Tad sprang to his feet, leaping over the tent ropes to the rear. A native had +reached under and was hauling out Butler’s lasso. Tad grabbed the fellow +by an arm and sent him spinning.</p> + +<p>“You get out of here or I’ll wallop you!” threatened the +freckle-faced boy. “Don’t you try that! It doesn’t go in this +outfit. Anvik, tell your friend that someone will get knocked in the head if he +steals anything in this camp.”</p> + +<p>The guide uttered a volley of protest in <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_135'></a>135</span>Innuit, which the assembled squaws, papooses and +bucks received in stoical silence, and with impassive faces.</p> + +<p>“They don’t seem to be particularly impressed by your +lecture,” said Ned.</p> + +<p>“Him no take. Anvik tell um stick um with knife if take.”</p> + +<p>“You will do nothing of the sort. We will do all the punishing. +Don’t let me see you using your knife to stick anyone. Now, I guess you +had better show us around. Take your pony and come along,” rebuked +Rector.</p> + +<p>“Where you want go?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, anywhere. You lead the way. Will anything here be taken while we +are away?” questioned Ned.</p> + +<p>“No take. Anvik stick um if take.”</p> + +<p>“You’re a savage, that’s what you are,” declared +Chunky.</p> + +<p>The boys got on their ponies, while Anvik, after letting his blanket slip to +his waist, started away at a stride that the ponies had to trot to keep up +with.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136'></a>136</span><a id='link_12'></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><span class='h2fs'>IN THE HEART OF NATURE</span></h2> + +<p>That night the Indian slept rolled in his blanket with feet close to the +campfire in true Indian style. He neither moved nor made a sound all night long +so far as the boys knew, but just as the dawn, was graying the skies between the +great white glaciers, he was up and striding, away on some pilgrimage of his +own. He did not return until two hours later. When the boys awoke Anvik was +sitting before the fire with both hands clasped about his bunched knees.</p> + +<p>“Good morning,” greeted Tad, who was the first to emerge from the +tents.</p> + +<p>“Huh!” answered the guide.</p> + +<p>“Is the mountain spirit willing that we should make a start this +morning?”</p> + +<p>“Him gone,” answered the Indian.</p> + +<p>“Where?”</p> + +<p>“Not know. Mebby Yukon, mebby Caribou,” with a wave of his hand +that encompassed all the territory to the north of them. “You mush +bymeby?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137'></a>137</span>“Very +soon. We will have breakfast now, then we will get under way.”</p> + +<p>Anvik nodded and grunted, then, straightening up, let fall his blanket and +began preparing the things for breakfast. One by one the Pony Rider Boys +appeared, stretching themselves and yawning. A wash in an icy spring close at +hand awakened them instantly. Stacy was the last to emerge from his tent. He +sniffed the air, then turned up his nose.</p> + +<p>“Bacon!” he grumbled disgustedly.</p> + +<p>“Don’t you like it?” asked Tad.</p> + +<p>“I was thinking last night that if I keep on eating bacon for many +months more I’ll be growing a pork rind in my stomach.”</p> + +<p>“You don’t have to eat the bacon unless you want to, +Chunky.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I do. It’s either that or starve, and Stacy Brown never +will starve so long as there is anything to eat in the shop. Where’s the +bath room? I want to wash.”</p> + +<p>“Over yonder, and don’t you wash where we get our breakfast water +if you know what’s good for you.”</p> + +<p>“All water looks alike to me,” answered the fat boy, walking +rather unsteadily toward the spring, rubbing his eyes.</p> + +<p>Breakfast that morning was rather a hurried affair, for there was much to be +done. The <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138'></a>138</span>supplies +had been brought up from the store the night before so there was no need to wait +for the place to open, and Anvik proved to be quite handy in striking camp, +needing few instructions. He remembered well all that had been told him the +previous day.</p> + +<p>They got away early. As before, the guide disdained to ride his pony. He +trotted along ahead, leading the little animal until some five miles beyond the +village when he leaped to the pony’s back, and with a shrill “Yip, +yip!” sent it galloping ahead. This made the boys laugh. They did not +laugh for long, however. A mile beyond this they swerved from the trail that led +up parallel with the border between the United States and the Canadian +possessions and struck straight into the wilds.</p> + +<p>“Say, where’s the trail?” demanded the perspiring Stacy +when the going became so rough that the greater part of the time they were +obliged to walk, leaving their ponies to get along as best they might.</p> + +<p>“There is no trail. This is the trackless wilderness,” replied +Butler. “There is time to go back if you wish to.”</p> + +<p>“No, I don’t want to go back.”</p> + +<p>Ere that day was ended Chunky almost wished he <i>had</i> gone back while he +had the opportunity. Time and time again they were <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_139'></a>139</span> obliged to haul their ponies up the +steep sides of rocks by main force. Fortunately, the little animals, used to +mountain climbing, were unaffected by dizzy heights or dangerous crossings, and +picked their way almost daintily. The boys were perspiring and red of face, but +happy. They thoroughly enjoyed this wild traveling. It went beyond anything they +had ever experienced.</p> + +<p>“I hope you are satisfied,” panted the Professor when at noon +they stopped on a little plateau from which gulches fell away on all sides, +leaving them, as it were, on a magic island high in the air. “I sincerely +hope it is wild enough for you young gentlemen.”</p> + +<p>“Not any too much so, Professor,” answered Tad. “I could +stand it a lot wilder.”</p> + +<p>“At the present rate you will have it that way.”</p> + +<p>They built a fire and cooked a light meal, after which all hands lay down for +an hour, with the exception of Anvik, who sat bunched in his now familiar +brooding position, gazing off into space. As he sat thus, his far-seeing eyes +discovered something, but he did not change countenance. He simply sat in +dreamy-eyed silence. Perhaps what he saw did not interest him. A column of white +smoke had attracted his attention. Promptly on the expiration <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140'></a>140</span>of the hour that the boys +had given themselves to sleep, Anvik stepped briskly to them, shaking each one +by the shoulder.</p> + +<p>“Mush!” he grunted with each shake.</p> + +<p>“I wish you wouldn’t say that,” grumbled Stacy. “It +makes me think I’m going to have breakfast.”</p> + +<p>“Heap big mush. Big snow, big mountain,” grunted the Innuit, with +a sweeping gesture towards the towering peaks of the St. Elias range which they +were now entering.</p> + +<p>“Have we got to go through that?” begged Walter anxiously.</p> + +<p>“Um,” replied the guide.</p> + +<p>“But how shall we ever make it?”</p> + +<p>“Mush.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, mush,” jeered Chunky. “You just spread the mush over +the mountain side and slide. Don’t you understand, Walt? My, but you are +thick.”</p> + +<p>All that afternoon they fought their way through the rugged mountains, making +camp that night in a gloomy pass at the foot of Vancouver Mountain, a vast pile +that towered nearly fourteen thousand feet high. It seemed to the Pony Rider +Boys that they were a long way from civilization, and Tad admitted that he would +soon be lost were he obliged to follow a trail up there.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141'></a>141</span>The camp was +made about six o’clock, still with broad daylight, but the boys considered +that they had done enough for one day. The ponies were weary and Tad knew better +than to press them too hard. After supper the freckle-faced boy shouldered his +rifle.</p> + +<p>Anvik gave him a glance of inquiry.</p> + +<p>“Where are you going?” demanded the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I’m going to ‘mush’ a little way up the pass to see if I +can’t get something worth while for our breakfast.”</p> + +<p>“You will get lost.”</p> + +<p>“No, that will not be possible. So long as I keep in the pass I shall +be all right. Don’t worry; I’ll keep in the pass all +right.”</p> + +<p>The boy plunged into the thick undergrowth, and no sooner had he done so than +the giant mosquitoes and black gnats attacked him in force. Tad fought them +until he grew tired of it, then he trudged on grimly, permitting them to do +their worst. After a time he decided that he would get no game if he remained +down in the pass, so, after carefully taking his bearings, Tad climbed the +mountain until he was able to look over the tops of the trees. It was like a +level green sea. He sat down in the sunlight, gazing out over the wonderful +landscape.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142'></a>142</span>“A world +of silence,” he murmured. “If Chunky were here he would say I was +getting softening of the brain. Hello!” Tad froze himself. There was +scarcely a perceptible flicker of the eyelids as his gaze became fixed on a +point of rock just across the pass. There, poised with one foot in the air, +stood an antelope. It was a young doe, as Tad surmised it to be. His position +was not a favorable one for shooting because he was in plain sight, and the +least move on his part no doubt would be discovered by the antelope.</p> + +<p>“She must have scented me or else she has got a whiff from the camp. If +I don’t make any false moves she will be over in that camp within the next +hour.”</p> + +<p>Tad raised his rifle slowly. Yet slow and cautious as he was, the +antelope’s head went up sharply. So did Butler’s rifle. He took +quick aim and pulled the trigger. The report of his shot went crashing from wall +to wall, like a series of heavy shots.</p> + +<p>The freckle-faced boy leaped to his feet, and to one side, with rifle ready +for another shot in case he had missed. But he had not. The antelope had leaped +into the air, turned a complete somersault, and went crashing down into the +gulch out of sight.</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src='images/illus-143.jpg' id="img003" alt='' /> +<p class='center caption'> +He Raised His Rifle Slowly. +</p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144'></a>144</span>“Hooray! +Maybe it was a chance shot, but it was a dandy just the same. Now I wonder if I +am going to be able to find her. I think I know how.”</p> + +<p>The boy took out his compass and got a bearing on the point where he had last +seen the antelope. Noting the course he started down the mountain side, sliding +and leaping in his haste. Crossing over the pass was more difficult, for a broad +glacial stream was rushing through the center of it. Nothing daunted, Tad +plunged in, but was swept off his feet almost instantly and carried several rods +down before he was able to check himself by grabbing a rock.</p> + +<p>The rifle had been held out of the water most of the way, though it got a +pretty good wetting. The water was less swift from the rock on, and Tad essayed +another crossing. He fell only once on the way over. This time he went in all +over, rifle and all, but he got up grinning.</p> + +<p>“It doesn’t matter much now. I can’t be any wetter, and I +guess the gun isn’t any the worse off, though I shall have to give it a +pretty thorough cleaning and oiling when I get back to camp.”</p> + +<p>Having been thrown considerably off his course, Butler found some difficulty +in picking it up again, but he found it at last, then guided by the compass made +his way straight to where <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_145'></a>145</span>the antelope lay amid a thick mass of undergrowth. +He examined her and found that the bullet had entered just behind the left +shoulder.</p> + +<p>“I couldn’t have done any better than that at fifty yards,” +chuckled the boy. “The next question is, how am I going to get her to +camp? I reckon I shall have to tote her.”</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146'></a>146</span><a id='link_13'></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><span class='h2fs'>A PONY RIDER BOY’S PLUCK</span></h2> + +<p>“White boy him make shoot,” grunted Anvik.</p> + +<p>“He has shot?” questioned Ned.</p> + +<p>“Ugh.”</p> + +<p>“How do you know?”</p> + +<p>“Hear um.”</p> + +<p>“You must have pretty good ears. I haven’t heard anything,” +replied the fat boy. “How do you know it wasn’t someone +else?”</p> + +<p>“Know um gun.”</p> + +<p>“It is queer we didn’t hear him,” said the Professor. +“Do you think he got some game?”</p> + +<p>The guide nodded.</p> + +<p>“We shall see how good a fortune-teller you are, but the joke will be +on you if it should prove not to have been Butler at all.”</p> + +<p>To this the guide made no reply. In the meantime, Tad Butler was having his +troubles. The problem of how to get the antelope back to camp was not so easily +solved. But Tad thought he knew a way. First he got a stick, which he sharpened +at both ends. The stick, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_147'></a>147</span>about six feet long, he thrust through slits he had +made in the hocks of the animal, somewhat similar to what he would have done had +he been going to string the carcass up.</p> + +<p>First strapping his rifle over his shoulder, the Pony Rider Boy raised the +stick to his shoulders also, and, stooping, lifted the animal. It was a heavy +burden and he staggered. The head of the antelope was dragging on the ground, +which made Butler’s labor still more trying.</p> + +<p>The lad started away, keeping close to the stream in his search of a fording +place, but he failed to find anything that looked easier than the portage he had +used before, so he finally decided to go back to that. By the time he reached +the former point he was obliged to drop his burden and sink down on the rocks to +rest.</p> + +<p>“Whew, but it’s hot. And the mosquitoes and the gnats! If it +isn’t one pest in the wilds, it is sure to be another and a worse +one,” he concluded somewhat illogically, measuring the width of the stream +with his eyes. “I’ll try it.”</p> + +<p>The weight of his burden was a help rather than otherwise in crossing the +glacial stream, for the weight kept the boy on his feet, except on one occasion +when stepping on a flat, slippery <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_148'></a>148</span>rock, they were whipped out from under him. Tad went +in all over, with the antelope on top of him, and there he struggled and +splashed, losing his foothold almost as fast as he gained it.</p> + +<p>“Well, I am a muffer,” gasped Tad, finally getting to his feet. +“I’m worse than Chunky. I deserve a worse wetting, but I guess +that’s impossible.”</p> + +<p>The journey to the other side was made without further mishap. Then began a +hard, grilling tramp down through the pass, the ends of the pole on which the +animal was suspended continually catching on limbs and brush, frequently +throwing Butler down, tearing his clothes and scratching his face and neck. His +dogged determination carried him through, however, but he was in the end +considerably the worse for wear. The first his companions saw of him was when +Tad fell out into the open in plain sight of the camp, flat on his face, with +the carcass on top of him. At first glance they thought it was a live animal +they had seen.</p> + +<p>“Get a gun, quick!” bellowed Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Him white boy,” answered the Indian. “Him git +um.”</p> + +<p>“What, Tad?” Ned uttered a yell and started on a trot for his +companion who, by this time, was getting up slowly and with evident <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149'></a>149</span>effort. Stacy and Walter +followed. “What have you got there? We came near letting go at +you.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, yes, we thought you were a bear,” chuckled Stacy.</p> + +<p>“It’s a deer,” cried Walter Perkins.</p> + +<p>“Him antelope,” nodded the Indian wisely. “White boy heap +much big hunter.”</p> + +<p>“I’m afraid I am a better hunter than I am a toter. Stacy, I fell +in.”</p> + +<p>“Ye-e-e-ow!” yelled the fat boy joyously.</p> + +<p>“Here, let us take him in,” offered Ned, reaching for one end of +the carrying stick.</p> + +<p>Butler shook his head.</p> + +<p>“I said I was going to get him to camp alone and I shall.”</p> + +<p>“But–” protested Ned.</p> + +<p>“Oh, let him carry the beast if he wants to. Tad likes to work,” +laughed the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“Which is a heap sight more than may be said of some persons we know +of,” returned Ned.</p> + +<p>Tad dragged the carcass into camp, casting it down a short distance from the +tents.</p> + +<p>“Him heap big little man,” reiterated the Indian.</p> + +<p>“How much does the animal weigh?” asked the Professor.</p> + +<p>“A good ton, I should say,” replied Tad, <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_150'></a>150</span>sinking down by the fire. +“I’m all tuckered out.”</p> + +<p>“You had better get on some dry clothes.”</p> + +<p>“These will dry in a few minutes by the fire,” was the +philosophical reply.</p> + +<p>“Yes, that’s right,” bubbled Stacy. “When one side +gets dry I’ll pry you over with the stick on which you brought in the +carcass. You can’t say I don’t do my share of the work in this +outfit.”</p> + +<p>“I think I prefer to do my own rolling. I don’t dare trust +you,” laughed Tad.</p> + +<p>“That’s it, you see. When I try to do anything you won’t +let me.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps Anvik will show you how to skin and cut up the +antelope.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t want to know how to skin an antelope. We don’t +have that kind at home, so what’s the use knowing about it? I know how to +‘skin the cat,’ and that’s enough,” Chunky declared.</p> + +<p>Anvik deftly strung up the carcass and in half an hour had it neatly dressed, +the boys watching the operation with interest.</p> + +<p>“Heap much good meat,” he nodded.</p> + +<p>“Yes, heap,” admitted Stacy solemnly. “What are you going +to do with it all?”</p> + +<p>“Eat um.”</p> + +<p>“All of it?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151'></a>151</span>“Some of +um. Mebby wolf eat um rest. Mebby bear eat um.”</p> + +<p>“Mebby they don’t. Mebby Stacy Brown will eat um if there is any +left when my hungry friends get through with it to-morrow,” jeered the fat +boy. “I’ll have mine rare, if you please.”</p> + +<p>“Huh!” grunted Anvik with the suspicion of a grin on his usually +stolid countenance.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152'></a>152</span><a id='link_14'></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><span class='h2fs'>STACY BUMPS THE BUMPS</span></h2> + +<p>One by one the travelers were hauling the ponies up a steep mountain, over +which their course lay, four days after Tad had brought in the antelope. They +had eaten their fill of the meat, hiding the rest in case they should by any +chance come that way again.</p> + +<p>The going had been worse than before. It could not have been tougher for +either man or beast. The mountain side up which they were struggling was rough +and rugged. A short distance to the right of them the quartz rock was as smooth +as polished marble save for a hummock here and there, some of the latter smooth, +others rough. Neither Pony Rider Boy nor pony could have held his footing there +for an instant.</p> + +<p>After two hours’ toil they got the last of the stock up, which in this +case was the pack mule. Ned pulled on the rope while Tad and Anvik pushed. They +were safe in doing so, for the mule could not kick without going down +altogether. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_153'></a>153</span>Furthermore, it was as anxious as its helpers to get +to the top and have the disagreeable job over with. The result was that all +hands were pretty well fagged out by the time they got to a level space from +which their way led around the base of the higher mountain.</p> + +<p>“Now, Stacy, you haven’t done much except to give us the benefit +of your advice, so take the mule over yonder and tether him where he can +browse,” directed Butler. “Walter, did you tether the +others?”</p> + +<p>“I did.”</p> + +<p>“Come on, you lazy mule. I’m not going to tote you. You’ll +tote yourself if you want a feed,” growled Stacy, taking hold of the lead +rope and slouching off to the right. The bushes where they had placed the ponies +were about ten rods to the northward of the point at which the party had landed. +Stacy was apparently trying to see how near he could walk to the edge without +himself or the mule slipping down that glassy side of granite-like rocks.</p> + +<p>“Come along, you lazy cayuse,” he yelled, giving the lead line a +series of tugs. It was like pulling on a dead weight, the pack mule being too +weary to hasten its lagging footsteps. Chunky turned around and taking firm grip +on <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154'></a>154</span>the rope with +both hands began to pull with all his might. The mule braced himself. He +resented this sort of treatment.</p> + +<p>The halter suddenly slipped over the animal’s head, and the pack mule +sat down heavily. So did the fat boy. Unfortunately for the mule it sat down +with its haunches slightly over the edge of the slope, and down it went over the +slippery surface.</p> + +<p>“There goes the other mule!” yelled Walter Perkins.</p> + +<p>“Fat boy him go, too,” grunted Anvik.</p> + +<p>They had failed to observe Stacy. What they were most interested in was the +sight of their pack mule sliding down the slope backwards in a sitting posture. +Alarmed as they were to see their stores disappearing, the ludicrousness of the +sight interested them. The mule came in contact with one of the high +places–a rocky bump, which bounced him up into the air and turned him +completely around. Down to the next obstruction the animal traveled, principally +on its nose.</p> + +<p>Stacy Brown was only a few seconds behind the mule. The two had sat down +facing each other. The mule being the heavier had gone first and, when once +under way, his momentum carried him along with greater force and speed.</p> + +<p>With a wild yell, the fat boy, sprawling and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_155'></a>155</span>struggling to catch hold of something to stop his +progress, began the descent. Below him he could hear the rattle of tin cans, for +the pack had broken open. It was raining canned goods down there, but Stacy was +not particularly interested in this phase of the situation. He hit the bump over +which the pack mule had leaped, was hurled up into the air, where he did a dizzy +spin, then sat down with a force that for the instant knocked all the breath out +of him, and once more he shot towards the bottom.</p> + +<p>“They’ll both be killed!” cried the Professor in great +alarm.</p> + +<p>Tad, comprehending the scene in a twinkling, started on a run. Choosing a +point where there were no bumps in the way, he crept over and, sitting on his +feet, supported on each side by his hands, began a downward shoot. But the +freckle-faced boy did not long maintain that position. A few seconds after +starting he was flat on his back, going down feet first at a speed that fairly +took his breath away.</p> + +<p>Ere he was half-way down, the mule had reached the end of its journey at the +bottom of the slope. Then Stacy Brown came along, but not much more gracefully +than the mule, and landed feet first on the animal. What the slide and the bumps +had failed to do for the unfortunate beast, Stacy Brown did. He was a <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156'></a>156</span>human projectile and the +mule, that had got to its fore feet, promptly lay down again under the impact. +Chunky did a graceful dive over the body of his prostrate enemy, landing on his +shoulders in a thicket.</p> + +<p>“Stacy! Stacy!” yelled Tad as he reached the end of his own slide +and got to his feet. Tad had not been in the least injured by the fall. +“Stacy!”</p> + +<p>“What do you want?”</p> + +<p>“Are you hurt?”</p> + +<p>“No.”</p> + +<p>“Then come and help me get the mule up.”</p> + +<p>“I can’t.”</p> + +<p>“Why not?”</p> + +<p>“I’m strung up.”</p> + +<p>Tad did not know what the trouble was, but he lost no time in getting to his +companion. Butler gazed, then he burst out laughing. Chunky lay on his back on +the ground, his eyes rolling. One foot was elevated as high as it could reach +and still permit the boy’s body to remain on the ground. The foot was +caught in the crotch of a dwarfed tree, and was wedged in tightly, too.</p> + +<p>“Gracious! How did you ever manage to get into that scrape?” +questioned Tad between laughs. “Hey, Ned, is that you?” as a +crashing in the bushes was heard near at hand.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157'></a>157</span>“Yes. +I’m coming. Is Stacy hurt?”</p> + +<p>“No, but come here quick. Here’s a sight for you!”</p> + +<p>Ned threshed his way to them, then he, too, burst out into a roar of +laughter.</p> + +<p>“Ha, ha!” mocked Chunky. “That’s right. Never mind +me. I’m only the fat boy, taken along to do stunts to make the rest of you +laugh. I’m quite comfortable, thank you. I can stand on my head here for +any old length of time. Have your laugh out, then shoot me! I don’t want +to die a lingering death.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll lift him up. You get the foot out, Ned,” directed +Tad.</p> + +<p>This was not so easily accomplished. Butler tried different ways of doing +this, but each time the fat boy’s yells made him stop short. Every attempt +to lift Stacy gave his foot a wrench, bringing forth a howl.</p> + +<p>“Let me have your hatchet,” demanded Tad. Ned passed it over.</p> + +<p>“What are you going to do? Going to chop my leg off?” demanded +Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt but a moment.”</p> + +<p>“Pro-o-o-o-fessor!”</p> + +<p>“Keep still, you ninny! We aren’t going to hurt you,” +growled Ned.</p> + +<p>Tad was already hacking at the tree, which <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_158'></a>158</span>was small, but very tough. Every blow brought a yell +from the fat boy. He couldn’t have made much more racket had his +companions in reality been amputating the leg itself.</p> + +<p>At last Butler had chopped through. He grabbed the tree, but Stacy, jerking +on his foot, pulled the tree right over on him, incidentally throwing Tad down. +Then Chunky let out a fresh series of howls as the sharp sprouts smote him on +the face and body. The foot, however, had come free with the falling of the +tree, but the boy still lay there groaning, making no effort to help +himself.</p> + +<p>“Get up! You’re all right,” commanded Ned, jerking Stacy +out by the collar. “See what you’ve accomplished now. You have done +for our last mule. Had you not been along I don’t believe the other one +would have fallen off the trail.”</p> + +<p>“That’s right. Save the donk, but never mind a Stacy Brown. +He’s a good joke, that’s all,” complained Stacy.</p> + +<p>Tad had run to the pack mule which had got up, and was standing with nose +close to the ground.</p> + +<p>“He isn’t hurt,” cried Tad. “He is all right, +Professor,” he called. “Both mules are all right. Hooray!”</p> + +<p>“Eh?” growled Stacy, flushing hotly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159'></a>159</span>Anvik, who had +been making his way down by a more roundabout way, now made his appearance. He +grunted upon discovering the disheveled Chunky, and shrugged his shoulders as he +observed the display of tin cans strewn about.</p> + +<p>“Much heap big fool!” ejaculated the Indian.</p> + +<p>“Are you addressing your remarks to me or to the mule?” demanded +Stacy calmly.</p> + +<p>“Huh!” That was the only reply Stacy got, and Anvik began +gathering up the stuff that had been lost from the battered pack. This was no +small task, owing to the way the provisions had been scattered. Butler, in the +meantime, had gone over the pack mule carefully to see if there were any serious +injuries.</p> + +<p>“He’s a lucky mule,” announced the lad. “There are no +bones broken, but I’ll warrant he aches all over from the shaking up he +has had. I shall have to sew up that gash on his side when we get him +up.”</p> + +<p>“Let’s get started and boost him up, then,” urged +Rector.</p> + +<p>“No, let the beggar rest. I haven’t the heart to drag him up that +mountain again until he recovers from the shock. We’ll tether him and help +Anvik get the provisions up first. Stacy, are you able to work?”</p> + +<p>“What you want me to do?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160'></a>160</span>“Carry +some of these stores up.”</p> + +<p>The fat boy shook his head.</p> + +<p>“My weak heart won’t stand it,” he answered. Thrusting his +hands in his pockets he strolled off.</p> + +<p>The two boys looked at each other and Tad shook his head hopelessly. Ned +picked up a stone and savagely shied it at a tomato can. It hit the can and +split it wide open.</p> + +<p>“If you must give vent to your emotions I wish you would throw stones +at a tree, or at something that won’t deplete our stores,” suggested +Butler. “Now see what you’ve done.”</p> + +<p>Stacy had promptly rescued the split tomato can and carefully holding it +before him stepped gingerly over to a rock on which he sat down and began eating +of the contents of the can.</p> + +<p>“I don’t want to see. Stacy riles me so that I want to thrash +him. I’ll do it some day, too!” threatened Ned.</p> + +<p>Stacy paid no attention to Rector’s threats, but having finally emptied +the can, he threw it at Ned, then began climbing the mountain to rejoin the +outfit.</p> + +<p>It was all of two hours ere they finished their work of bringing the damaged +supplies up the mountain side. Then came a tug of war in getting the mule up +once more, the brute hanging back, the boys pulling and pushing. The Professor +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161'></a>161</span>had a new pack +cover all cut and sewed by the time they had finished. The boys decided to camp +where they were for an hour longer, then go on, making a late camp that +afternoon, the days being so long that this could be done without night +traveling, which was very perilous in that rugged section.</p> + +<p>They finally took up their journey, making camp on a high plateau where Tad +was destined to make an important discovery before they set out on the following +day.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162'></a>162</span><a id='link_15'></a>CHAPTER XV<br /><span class='h2fs'>THE STORY IN THE DEAD FIRE</span></h2> + +<p>It was an hour past daylight on the following morning when Tad, who had got +up early, shouldered his rifle and stalked out of camp, returned. The other boys +were just out of their beds, heading for a spring to “wash their eyes +open.”</p> + +<p>Tad did not show himself to them at once. There was no real reason for his +caution, save that he was a woodsman and therefore always cautious as to the +moves he made. Anvik caught sight of him instantly, and Tad beckoned. The guide +did not appear to have observed the signal, but taking up his hatchet as if +going out for wood, he strode from the camp also, and Butler seeing that the +guide was coming, turned and walked briskly away from the camp.</p> + +<p>The freckle-faced boy led for a short quarter of a mile straight over the +plateau, a thickly wooded, rugged plain. Then he halted, waiting for the guide +to come up. Tad pointed to a heap of ashes, the remains of a campfire.</p> + +<p>“Huh!” grunted the Indian.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163'></a>163</span>“Someone +has been here before us,” nodded Tad. “And not so very long ago, I +should say. What do you make of it, Anvik?”</p> + +<p>“You see um?”</p> + +<p>Butler nodded.</p> + +<p>“What you see?”</p> + +<p>“A dead campfire.”</p> + +<p>“Huh. Heap much. What else you see?”</p> + +<p>“I see a few things, Anvik. Of course I can’t see as much as you +do, but I should say this camp was not more than a day old. This fire was +blazing yesterday. The ashes aren’t the right color for a very old +one.”</p> + +<p>“One sun,” grunted the Indian.</p> + +<p>“It looks to me as if there had been two men here. Am I +right?”</p> + +<p>“Heap good. Two men. Leave, big hurry. Him go that way. Stay here two +hour. Wonder why big hurry?”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps they wanted to get somewhere, some place for which they had +set out in a hurry. They had two ponies and pretty heavy packs.”</p> + +<p>Anvik nodded.</p> + +<p>“White boy much wise. Him see almost like Indian. My father him shaman. +Him teach Anvik see many thing. White boy him see almost as much as +Anvik.”</p> + +<p>“Where do you think they are going?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164'></a>164</span>“Not +know.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps they are miners prospecting for a claim.”</p> + +<p>Anvik shook his head.</p> + +<p>“Too much big hurry. No prospect. Mebby go get claim. Mebby see um +again.”</p> + +<p>“I hope we do. It would be pleasant to have some company in this wild +place. They went in that direction when they broke camp. Is that the way we +go?” asked Tad.</p> + +<p>“We follow um trail.”</p> + +<p>“Then let’s go back and get ready to move.”</p> + +<p>The pair strode back without another word, the Indian’s admiration for +the freckle-faced boy having increased greatly since Tad had beckoned him from +the camp.</p> + +<p>Shortly after noon as they were casting about for a favorable place in which +to make their mid-day halt, Ned Rector, who was riding to the right of the +others, uttered a shout.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” cried Tad.</p> + +<p>“There has been a campfire here.”</p> + +<p>“How did you find it?” wondered Tad.</p> + +<p>“My pony walked through it and kicked up the ashes. Who do you suppose +it could have been?”</p> + +<p>“I am sure I don’t know. See anything about the remains of the +fire that tells you anything?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165'></a>165</span>“No. What +is there to see, Tad?”</p> + +<p>“It takes a woodsman to see things,” declared Stacy Brown, +getting from his saddle and gravely strolling to the heap of ashes, into which +he thrust one hand.</p> + +<p>“Well?” grinned Tad.</p> + +<p>“Ashes warm. Haven’t been away from here very long.”</p> + +<p>“Great!” cried the boys.</p> + +<p>“You are a wonder,” nodded Butler approvingly. “But you all +missed the other one.”</p> + +<p>“The other what?” demanded Ned.</p> + +<p>“The other campfire. There was another right near where we camped last +night. In that case the ashes were cold. The travelers haven’t made as +much progress to-day as I should have thought they would, and it looks to me as +though they thought they were moving rather too rapidly and had slowed down a +little. What do you say, Anvik?”</p> + +<p>“Huh!” grunted the Indian, which Tad interpreted as meaning that +he was right.</p> + +<p>The Professor was much interested in the discovery, and asked Tad and Anvik +many questions about the earlier discovery. Still, there was not much to be +learned. A stranger in this wild place was something to attract the attention +and cause speculation and discussion, so during the rest hour they talked of +little <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166'></a>166</span>else. Tad +thought they would come up with the two strangers, but the guide shook his +head.</p> + +<p>“Him go north. Anvik go northwest. No see.”</p> + +<p>“We shall see by to-morrow. I have an idea that we are going to catch +up with our friends before we get across the mountains,” averred Tad +confidently.</p> + +<p>“Lunch is ready,” announced the Professor.</p> + +<p>“And speaking of food, I’m a little hungry myself,” said +Tad with a laugh. “I really am glad there is no one in our outfit with a +delicate appetite. Walt, do you remember what a dainty picker you were when we +first went out together?”</p> + +<p>“Yes. I have changed since then, haven’t I?”</p> + +<p>“I should say you have. From a delicate little chap you’ve gotten +to be a regular whopper.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I reckon we’ve all grown some,” agreed Chunky. +“But if this kind of going continues we’ll all shrink away to +nothing.”</p> + +<p>“You will be able to lift a house after you have finished this +journey,” laughed Tad.</p> + +<p>“I don’t want to lift a house. I’ve got all I can do to +lift myself.”</p> + +<p>Soon after, the party started on, to meet with a surprise ere they had gone +far on their journey.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167'></a>167</span><a id='link_16'></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><span class='h2fs'>A SIGN FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOP</span></h2> + +<p>The surprise did not come until just before night closed in, shortly after +ten o’clock that night.</p> + +<p>A hard, grilling day had been spent on the trail, with little relief from +their labors, which were divided between hauling the ponies up dangerous slopes, +down almost sheer walls, across glacial streams cold as ice, and last but not +least the fighting of giant mosquitoes and black gnats.</p> + +<p>“There is only one thing lacking to make this country the limit,” +declared Stacy after they had made camp and settled down to warm themselves +while the guide was getting supper.</p> + +<p>“And what might that be?” questioned the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Snakes!”</p> + +<p>“Thank goodness there aren’t any such things here,” +exclaimed Rector. “It is bad enough as it is. Hark! What’s +that?”</p> + +<p>“Him wolf,” grunted the Indian.</p> + +<p>“I should say there were several of ‘him,’” <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168'></a>168</span>laughed Tad Butler. +“They seemed to be stirred up about something. Are they timber wolves, +Anvik?”</p> + +<p>The guide nodded and grunted.</p> + +<p>“Are you afraid of wolves?” demanded Rector.</p> + +<p>“No ’fraid wolves. Mebby ’fraid Ingalik.”</p> + +<p>Tad drew from this that the Indian had something in mind that he had not +spoken to them about. The freckle-faced boy eyed the Indian keenly, but +Anvik’s impassive face told him nothing. The guide had discovered +something else. Tad was sure of that, but what that something was the boy had +not the slightest idea.</p> + +<p>Tad’s gaze roved about over the landscape, traveling slowly from +mountain to mountain, from peak to peak. Twice he went over the rugged landscape +spread out before them with his searching glances. Suddenly his gaze halted and +fixed on the peak of a low mountain off to the northwest of them. Butler shaded +his eyes, and Anvik, observing the action, followed the direction of the +boy’s gaze.</p> + +<p>The guide made no move, nor did he change expression, but Tad saw that Anvik +saw. A tiny ring of smoke was rising slowly from the low mountain peak, swaying +lazily as it rose in the quiet air. It was almost white. One <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169'></a>169</span>might have taken it for a +cloud did he not know better, and only a mountaineer would have known +better.</p> + +<p>A moment and a second ring ascended in the wake of the first one, then after +another interval a third ring rose.</p> + +<p>“What are you looking at?” demanded the Professor sharply.</p> + +<p>“Smoke,” answered Tad.</p> + +<p>“Where?”</p> + +<p>“On that low peak. Where are the glasses?”</p> + +<p>Ned hurriedly fetched the glasses. He took the first look, but saw no smoke. +Tad reached for them. By this time another ring was rising. It, like the first +one he had seen, was followed by two others.</p> + +<p>“It’s a signal!” announced Butler quietly. “Now what +can it mean?”</p> + +<p>“It means trouble for us,” spoke up Stacy. “I can feel it +in my bones.”</p> + +<p>“Who would desire to make trouble for us here?” demanded the +Professor.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know,” replied Tad. “I don’t believe +that smoke has anything to do with us. It must be an Indian signal.”</p> + +<p>“No Indian,” grunted Anvik. “Him white man +smoke.”</p> + +<p>“How do you know?” questioned the Professor sharply.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170'></a>170</span>“Me +know.”</p> + +<p>“Then perhaps you may be able to tell us whose smoke it is?”</p> + +<p>“Him white man. Mebby same man, mebby not. White man all same. Him call +other white man. Him say some along, by jink.”</p> + +<p>“Let’s make a smoke and answer him,” suggested Ned eagerly. +“That would be a joke on him, whoever he is.”</p> + +<p>Tad said “no,” and said it emphatically.</p> + +<p>“No make smoke,” agreed the Indian. “Smoke want white man +off yonder”–pointing to the southwest.</p> + +<p>“How do you know that?” asked Butler.</p> + +<p>“Smoke him go that way. Want us, smoke him go this way.”</p> + +<p>“I never knew that before,” reflected Tad. “You see, boys, +they make these signal smokes by building a smudge, then holding a blanket over +the smudge. By removing the blanket and replacing it they can make a definite +number of smokes, long smokes or short smokes; in fact, they can almost make +words, like the telegraph. It is a wonderful thing. I wouldn’t be +surprised if those signals could be made out twenty or thirty miles away, if one +had eyes sharp enough to detect them.”</p> + +<p>“But what are they signaling for?” demanded Stacy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171'></a>171</span>“I +don’t know. Anvik says it is white men. I can’t tell you anything +about that. Smoke is just smoke to me. They are communicating with someone. We +shan’t see them, as they must be all of ten miles away.”</p> + +<p>“Fifteen,” corrected the guide.</p> + +<p>“That shows how poorly a novice judges distances in this +country,” nodded Butler. “They may see our fire to-night. If they +are friendly we shall no doubt meet them. If they are not, we may never see a +sign of them again. That is the way I reason it out.”</p> + +<p>Anvik grunted and nodded. The Indian understood a great deal more of what was +being said than one would have supposed. In fact, to look at him one would not +think he had even heard anything of what was being said about him. He was the +silent, impassive-faced stoic of his race.</p> + +<p>After darkness had set in the boys scanned the mountains for the light of a +campfire, but there was no light to be seen. The Pony Rider Boys’ +campfire, however, was blazing up brightly, they having built up a large fire on +purpose to attract the attention of the men who had made the smoke signals from +the low mountain peak, low in comparison with the ten and fifteen thousand feet +ranges about them. The boys turned in at midnight, a late hour for <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172'></a>172</span>them, and were sound +asleep within two minutes thereafter. They were aroused an hour later by the +most terrifying roar they had ever listened to.</p> + +<p>“What’s the matter?” cried Tad, springing from his tent, +trying to pierce the darkness with his gaze.</p> + +<p>“Is–is the world coming to an end?” yelled Ned.</p> + +<p>“I guess the mountain is falling down,” shouted Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Guide, guide!” roared the Professor.</p> + +<p>Anvik, drawing his blanket still more closely about him, stepped over and +threw some fresh sticks on the fire. The roaring by this time had become a +thunderous, crashing noise that fairly deafened them. One had to shout to make +himself heard. Fine particles, like sharp stones, began raining down upon them, +stinging the faces, causing the boys to shield their eyes with their arms. +Stacy, in alarm, ran and hid in the tent; the others stood their ground, yet not +knowing what second they might be caught in what seemed to them to be a great +upheaval of nature.</p> + +<p>“It’s an earthquake,” shouted Ned Rector.</p> + +<p>Stacy heard the words in a brief lull. The fat boy burst from his tent +yelling like a wild Indian.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173'></a>173</span>“An +earthquake! Oh, wow, wow, wow! We’ll all be shot to pieces. Oh, +help!”</p> + +<p>Tad grabbed the boy by a shoulder, giving him a good shaking.</p> + +<p>“Stop that noise!” he commanded. “Don’t yell until +you are hurt.”</p> + +<p>“I want to yell now. Maybe I can’t yell after I’m +hurt,” returned Chunky.</p> + +<p>“Guide! What is it?” roared the Professor, the perspiration +standing out over his face, as Tad observed when the fire blazed up.</p> + +<p>Anvik finished what he was doing before he answered. Then he spoke without +looking up.</p> + +<p>“Him mountain fall down.”</p> + +<p>“Is it an ice slide?” shouted Tad.</p> + +<p>“Ugh!”</p> + +<p>“An avalanche, do you mean?”</p> + +<p>“Yes; an ice-avalanche,” explained the Professor. “I have +seen them in other parts of the world.”</p> + +<p>“Sun make him ice weak; ice fall down,” explained Anvik.</p> + +<p>“How about danger for us?” asked Walter.</p> + +<p>For answer the Indian shrugged his shoulders and went on poking the fire. +Then, of a sudden, there came a crash like a salvo of artillery. A crushing, +grinding mass shot by them, snuffing out the fire as it passed.</p> + +<p>Darkness and a terrifying silence followed.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174'></a>174</span><a id='link_17'></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /><span class='h2fs'>AN UNEXPECTED MEETING</span></h2> + +<p>After the roar of the passing avalanche had ceased, and the awed silence +became oppressive, Stacy Brown’s voice was heard.</p> + +<p>“Ow-wow!” he wailed.</p> + +<p>“Are we all here, and safe?” called Tad. “Professor, Ned, +Walter, Anvik!”</p> + +<p>Each answered to his name.</p> + +<p>“You didn’t call for me,” Chunky protested indignantly. +“Don’t I count in this outfit?”</p> + +<p>“That’s easy,” answered Tad. “When you’re not +making a noise we know you’re somewhere else. Let’s see what the ice +did to our camp.”</p> + +<p>“Heap one piece ice fall,” grunted the guide. “Him sit on +fire. Innua him mad, by jink!”</p> + +<p>“Is Innua the scoundrel who has been throwing sections of mountains at +us?” demanded Walter.</p> + +<p>“He means the mountain spirit,” explained Tad. “Don’t +you recall that Anvik wouldn’t start out with us the first day because he +said <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175'></a>175</span>the mountain +spirit was in a blue funk, or something of the sort?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes.”</p> + +<p>“Old Innua must have been in a rage to-night then, and we are lucky +that we weren’t in range of his projectiles,” chuckled Tad.</p> + +<p>Beyond destroying their fire, no damage had been done to the camp. However, +after the excitement no one felt like sleep, so the boys sat about the fire +discussing the ice avalanche for an hour or more. Then, at the Professor’s +urgent insistence, they turned in. Anvik long since had wound himself up in his +blanket and gone to sleep.</p> + +<p>Just as the dawn was graying, Tad got up, and shouldering his rifle slipped +from the camp unobserved by anyone except the Indian. Anvik opened one eye, +regarded the boy inquiringly, then closing the eye, dozed off. He was by this +time too well used to Tad’s morning excursions to ask any questions. He +knew the boy was well able to take care of himself.</p> + +<p>Tad had a two-fold purpose in view in going out this morning. He wanted to +get some fresh meat for the outfit and he also was curious to know what the +smoke of the previous evening had meant. While he did not expect to come up with +any strangers, he thought that, perhaps he might discover something.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176'></a>176</span>Tad did. He had +proceeded less than a mile from camp when he smelled smoke. At first he thought +the odor must come from his own camp, then he saw that the slight breeze was +from the opposite direction.</p> + +<p>“That means that someone isn’t far ahead of me. It means I am +going to find out who it is if I can.”</p> + +<p>After floundering about for fully half an hour, with the odor of smoke +becoming more pungent all the time, the boy was on the point of confessing that +he was beaten, when all at once he caught the sound of a human voice. The voice +was not loud enough to enable him to distinguish the words, but he was quite +sure it was the voice of a white man and not far away at that.</p> + +<p>“They have masked their camp. That’s why I haven’t been +able to find them,” muttered the boy, starting ahead again. After creeping +forward cautiously for some time, a wave of suffocating smoke from burning wood +smote him full in the face.</p> + +<p>Tad uttered a loud sneeze. Two men suddenly appeared in the haze of smoke, +and the boy heard the sound of hands slapping pistol holsters. He was able to +make the men out faintly, but not with sufficient clearness to see who or what +they were.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177'></a>177</span>“Hold on, +boys–don’t shoot!” warned Butler, as he stepped around the +smudge to enable him to get a better view of the men whom he had come upon so +unexpectedly, to them.</p> + +<p>Before him stood Curtis Darwood and Dill Bruce, the latter known among his +companions as the Pickle. Each man held his revolver ready for quick action.</p> + +<p>“Why, how do you do?” smiled Tad. “I hadn’t the least +idea I should find anyone I knew.”</p> + +<p>“Well, suffering blue jays, if it isn’t old Spotted Face!” +exclaimed Bruce. “Howdy?”</p> + +<p>“Very good. How are you?” Tad stepped forward. Bruce shook hands +cordially with the boy. Tad turned to Darwood, who had not said a word. The +latter’s face darkened, and he appeared not to have observed the hand that +Tad extended toward him.</p> + +<p>“Aren’t you going to shake hands with me, Mr. Darwood?” +asked the lad.</p> + +<p>“I reckon you ought to know better than to ask it,” returned the +gold digger. “I reckon, further, that if you know what’s good for +you you’ll be mushing out of this as fast as your legs will carry you, +unless you are looking for trouble. Git!”</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178'></a>178</span><a id='link_18'></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /><span class='h2fs'>AN UNFRIENDLY RECEPTION</span></h2> + +<p>Tad gazed at the gold digger in amazement.</p> + +<p>“I–I don’t understand, Mr. Darwood.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t you understand plain English? I said ‘git.’ We +don’t want anything to do with you, and if we find you fooling about our +outfit after this we’ll try something else to keep you away,” warned +the prospector.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know why you appear to have taken such a dislike to me. +I am sure I have done nothing to merit it. However, I am equally sure that I +don’t want anything to do with you. If you change your mind and can act +like a man, instead of a kid, I shall be glad to see you. But don’t get +funny. We may be boys but we are quite able to take care of ourselves,” +answered Tad, turning away.</p> + +<p>“Stop!”</p> + +<p>Darwood’s voice was stern. Tad halted and turned towards the two +men.</p> + +<p>“You reckon you’re mighty smart, I know, <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_179'></a>179</span>but you must think I’m a +natural-born fool not to know that you have been following us all the way up +here.”</p> + +<p>“What?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, you needn’t play the innocent dodge. You know what I +mean.”</p> + +<p>“You–you think we have been following you?” questioned the +boy, scarcely able to believe that the prospector was in earnest.</p> + +<p>“I don’t think. I know. You’re like all the rest of them. +We have had this thing happen to us before. There are plenty more like you, and +they’ve followed us, hoping they will be the first to discover the bear +totem and the claim that we are in search of.”</p> + +<p>“Taku Pass?” asked Butler with a half smile on his face.</p> + +<p>Darwood’s face flushed angrily.</p> + +<p>“What did I tell you, Bruce?” he snapped. “Are you +going?” he demanded, turning towards Tad.</p> + +<p>“Yes. I don’t care to stay where I’m not wanted. But before +going I am going to tell you something. We are not prospecting, nor following +prospectors. We are taking our usual summer vacation on horseback. All I know +about your affairs is what Captain Petersen of the ‘Corsair’ told me, and +what I overheard from Sandy Ketcham. If you will recall <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_180'></a>180</span>I told you about that. The Captain gave +me your history as far as he knew it, and I was much interested. How could I +help being? I love adventure and so do my companions. We wanted to know more +about it, but did not think it was any of our business until I overheard Ketcham +plotting against you. We hadn’t the least idea we ever should see you +again. My finding you this morning was a pure accident.”</p> + +<p>“How’d you happen to do it?” interjected Dill Bruce.</p> + +<p>“I saw your smoke signs last night.”</p> + +<p>“What!”</p> + +<p>Darwood snapped the word out like the crack of a whip.</p> + +<p>“I saw your smoke signs. At least I suppose they were yours. This +morning I started out, as I frequently do, in search of game. I smelled your +smoke and out of curiosity hunted you up to see who our neighbors were. +That’s all there is to it. If you can get anything out of that you are +welcome to it. I wish you luck in finding Taku Pass. If I should stumble on it, +I’ll look you up and let you know. We aren’t looking for gold mines +especially. ’Bye.”</p> + +<p>“Well, what d’ye think of that?” grinned the Pickle after +Tad had left them.</p> + +<p>“I think somebody will get hurt if they don’t leave us +alone,” growled Darwood, caressing <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_181'></a>181</span>the butt of his revolver. “I’m getting +tired of this kind of nagging.”</p> + +<p>“That outfit isn’t nagging you,” answered Bruce.</p> + +<p>“How do you know?”</p> + +<p>“They are nothing but boys. At least one of them is the right sort. +Spotted Face did us a favor. He isn’t a crook.”</p> + +<p>“I haven’t said he was. But you don’t know who is in their +outfit now. Besides, there isn’t one chance in a thousand that +they’d be so close on our trail unless they had followed us on purpose. +No, this business must be stopped. We may be on the right track, and if we are +we must protect ourselves, and we’ll do it, even though we have to kill a +few curious hounds who are following the trail. The boy business may be merely a +mask for the operations of some other persons.”</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you find out, then?”</p> + +<p>Darwood bent a keen gaze on his companion.</p> + +<p>“What do you mean?”</p> + +<p>“Hunt up their camp and see what is going on?”</p> + +<p>“I’ll do it,” answered the gold digger with emphasis. +“What’s more, I’ll do it now.”</p> + +<p>“That’s the talk! If you hurry, you may be able to find the boy +and follow him in. Shall I go along?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182'></a>182</span>“No. You +stay here and look after things. I may be away for some time. I don’t know +where they are, but I’ll find them if it takes all day. If our two +comrades come in, you hold them here. Needn’t tell them where I +am.”</p> + +<p>Darwood shouldered his rifle and strode from his camp without another word. +Bruce replenished the fire in order to make a smudge that could be smelled for +some distance away, which was for the purpose of directing their companions to +them, and also had served to call Tad Butler into their camp in advance of the +other two gold diggers.</p> + +<p>Tad was out of sight by the time Curtis Darwood got out, but Darwood was able +to follow the boy’s trail, though it was not an easy one. Tad had made no +effort to mask his trail, but his natural instincts taught him to leave as few +indications of his progress as possible. Darwood saw this. Instead of lessening +his suspicions this fact served to increase them. The gold digger was using his +nose more than his eyes, sniffing the air for the smoke from the camp of the +Pony Rider Boys’ outfit. He caught the scent after half an hour or so of +trudging over the hard trail. From this time on it was easy so far as finding +his way was concerned. Butler, knowing the way, had made much better time back +to his own camp.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183'></a>183</span>Breakfast was +ready by the time he reached there. Tad did not mention his experience, not +having decided what he would do in this matter.</p> + +<p>“You find big smoke?” questioned the Indian as Tad stood over him +by the fire.</p> + +<p>“Yes,” answered the lad carelessly. Anvik shrewdly deduced that +Butler had made some sort of discovery, but he asked no further questions. +Perhaps the guide also had discovered that they had near neighbors. If so he +kept that fact to himself.</p> + +<p>The boys sat down to breakfast. They discussed the day’s ride and +talked of their further journeyings, though Tad had little to say that morning. +He was thinking deeply on what had just occurred.</p> + +<p>The breakfast was about half finished when the lad flashed a quick, keen +glance in the direction from which he had entered the camp. The others did not +observe his sharp glance of inquiry. Tad had seen something. A movement of the +foliage had attracted his observant eyes. He glanced at Anvik, who was sitting +with his back to the party, gazing off over the mountains to the rear of them +and through which they had worked their way to the present camping place.</p> + +<p>Tad casually reached over for his rifle that was standing against a rock.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_184'></a>184</span>“What’s up?” demanded Ned +sharply.</p> + +<p>“I want to examine my gun,” replied the boy.</p> + +<p>“Funny time to examine it when eating your breakfast,” spoke up +Walter.</p> + +<p>“I prefer to eat,” said Stacy.</p> + +<p>“We know that,” chuckled Ned. “No need for you to tell +us.”</p> + +<p>The Professor was eyeing Tad inquiringly, observing that the boy’s face +was slightly flushed.</p> + +<p>“What is it, Tad?” he asked.</p> + +<p>“Nothing, except that I am going to take a pot shot at an +intruder,” replied the boy calmly, suddenly leveling his rifle on the +bushes where he had observed the movement a few moments before.</p> + +<p>He pulled the trigger. A deafening crash brought the boys to their feet, +yelling. The shot was followed by a shout from the bushes.</p> + +<p>“Stop that shooting, you fool!” roared a voice. Tad put down his +gun, grinning broadly, the others dancing about excitedly.</p> + +<p>“Come out of that or I’ll give you something to yell at,” +commanded the Pony Rider Boy.</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src='images/illus-185.jpg' id="img004" alt='' /> +<p class='center caption'> +Curtis Darwood Stepped Out. +</p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186'></a>186</span>Curtis Darwood, +his face stern and determined, stepped out into the open and walked straight +towards the amazed group now standing near the campfire. The Indian guide was +the only person who had not gotten up when Tad Butler sent a bullet into the +thicket fully six feet above the head of the gold digger who was spying on the +camp.</p> + +<p>Darwood was more angry at having been discovered than being shot at. He had +heard the bullet rip through the foliage above his head, and knew that the shot +had been intended to stir him up rather than to reach him. That the boy whom he +had driven from his own camp should have thus turned the tables on him angered +him almost beyond his control. Darwood was so angry that he failed to see any +humor in the situation.</p> + +<p>“It is Mr. Darwood, isn’t it?” cried the Professor with +face aglow, striding forward with outstretched hand. As in Butler’s case, +Darwood professed not to see the proffered hand. He looked the Professor +squarely in the face.</p> + +<p>“Won’t you sit down and have a snack with us?” asked +Professor Zepplin. “We were eating when Tad fired that shot. That was very +careless of you, young man. You might have killed someone.”</p> + +<p>“I reckon he knew whom he was shooting at,” answered the gold +digger. “You see, this isn’t the first time that young fellow and +myself have met.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187'></a>187</span>“Of course +not. We all met on the ‘Corsair,’” spoke up Rector.</p> + +<p>“He and I have met since then,” answered Darwood. “I reckon +you know all about it. He came spying on our camp this morning just after +daylight, and–”</p> + +<p>“You know that isn’t true,” interjected Tad. “Why +don’t you tell it straight if you are bound to tell it?”</p> + +<p>The miner let one hand fall to his holster.</p> + +<p>“Up in this country they don’t call men liars,” answered +Darwood, looking Butler coldly in the eyes.</p> + +<p>“Then men shouldn’t place themselves in a position to be called +liars,” retorted Tad boldly. “You had better take your hand from +your revolver. If you will take the time to glance at the rock to your right you +may possibly see something to interest you.”</p> + +<p>The miner cast a quick glance of inquiry in the direction indicated, and +found himself looking into the muzzle of a rifle, laid over the top of the rock. +Behind the rifle was Chunky, one eye peering over the sights.</p> + +<p>Tad laughed.</p> + +<p>“Stacy!” thundered the Professor. “What does this +mean?”</p> + +<p>“Nothing, Professor,” answered Tad. “Chunky got a little +excited, that is all. You <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_188'></a>188</span>may put the gun down, Stacy. Mr. Darwood +doesn’t understand; that’s all. Sit down and have a snack with us, +as the Professor has asked you to do,” urged Butler.</p> + +<p>“I don’t want to eat with you. You know it. Don’t you go to +getting me riled or I won’t answer for the consequences.”</p> + +<p>“Neither will I,” answered Tad smilingly. “We are easy to +get along with unless someone treads on our toes; then it’s a different +story. Sit down and we will talk this matter over.”</p> + +<p>Tad threw himself down beside the fire. Stacy still sat behind the rock, +gazing suspiciously at their early morning visitor.</p> + +<p>“I demand to know the meaning of this scene,” said the Professor +sternly.</p> + +<p>“Let Mr. Darwood tell you,” replied Butler.</p> + +<p>The gold digger made no answer. Tad turned to the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I will tell you what there is to it, sir. Mr. Darwood thinks we are +like some others he has met. He thinks we are trying to steal his gold +mine,” declared Tad in an impressive voice.</p> + +<p>Professor Zepplin flushed deeply.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189'></a>189</span><a id='link_19'></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /><span class='h2fs'>THE PROFESSOR IN A RAGE</span></h2> + +<p>“What!” fairly exploded Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Darwood accuses us of having followed him to find out where this +wonderful gold deposit is located. He thinks we want to steal it away from +him.”</p> + +<p>“Preposterous!”</p> + +<p>“Show me some gold,” urged Stacy, edging near. “I am +looking for gold. I don’t make any bones about saying so, +either.”</p> + +<p>“Be silent,” commanded the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I smelled smoke when I was out this morning,” continued Butler. +“I followed the scent until I stumbled into Mr. Darwood’s camp. It +was his signal smokes that we saw yesterday. Mr. Darwood did not give me a very +cordial welcome; he ordered me out of his camp. Not only that, but he threatened +me in case we persisted in following him. I think he would have used his pistol +on me if I had not gone away when I did.”</p> + +<p>“Is this true, Darwood?” questioned the <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_190'></a>190</span>Professor, who was restraining himself +with an effort.</p> + +<p>“I reckon it’s right, so far as it goes. I know what you fellows +are up to. You may think you can fool me, but I’ve been in these parts too +long to be an easy mark. It’s nobody’s business whether we are in +search of gold or whether we are up here for our health. Whatever our business +is, we don’t propose to have a lot of folks sticking their noses into +it.”</p> + +<p>“What do you propose that we shall do?” asked Professor +Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“I don’t care what you do,” roared the gold digger.</p> + +<p>“Then there is nothing more to be said.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes there is. There’s a lot to be said. I am not going to +say it all right here, but I reckon I’ll say it in a different way later +on. You are following us. Don’t deny it. I know you are. You pumped the +Captain and everybody else on the boat about us. Then, when you thought you had +got all the information you wanted, you followed us.”</p> + +<p>“It’s not true. You know it’s a lie!” shouted the +Professor.</p> + +<p>“Be careful how you nag me on,” warned the miner.</p> + +<p>“You know you think nothing of the kind. <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_191'></a>191</span>What is it that you reckon to say at +some other time?”</p> + +<p>“This,” answered Darwood, tapping his holster significantly.</p> + +<p>Tad laughed softly to himself. This angered the gold digger more than +ever.</p> + +<p>“You folks get out of these hills! Go anywhere you want to, but get out +and get out quick. Some more of my men are coming along to-day. If you are here +to-night it will be the worse for you,” threatened the miner.</p> + +<p>“Which direction would you suggest our taking?” asked Tad in a +soothing voice.</p> + +<p>“Go back the way you came. I don’t care where you go.”</p> + +<p>“You are not consistent,” laughed the freckle-faced boy. +“You tell us you don’t care where we go, then you order us to +proceed in a definite direction. You are going too far, Mr. Darwood. When you +have had a chance to cool down I think you will look at this matter in a +different light. If you will use your head a little you will see it is not +possible that we could have had any previous knowledge of your plans or of your +gold mine. You had better make friends with us. We might be of some use to you. +Professor Zepplin is a scientist. He could give you valuable help. Shall we call +quits and shake hands? Come on.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192'></a>192</span>The words that +he would utter seemed to stick in the gold digger’s throat. He clutched +twice at his holster, but the evident desire on his part to use his pistol +appeared to have no effect at all on the Pony Rider outfit. Darwood knew very +well that drawing his weapon would practically be the end of himself, and this +did not tend to make his situation any better.</p> + +<p>“I’ll not shake hands with you. I am going back to my camp. If +you thieves are here by to-night I promise you there will be something doing. +I–”</p> + +<p>Professor Zepplin strode forward, his whiskers bristling, his fists clenched. +The boys never had seen their guardian so angry.</p> + +<p>“That for your threats!” he roared, shaking a fist under the nose +of Curtis Darwood. “Your threats don’t frighten us. Your pistol +doesn’t frighten us. We’re not that kind.”</p> + +<p>The miner started to reply.</p> + +<p>“Don’t you open your mouth or I shall forget myself and slap your +face. Thieves!” Professor Zepplin struggled to master his emotions. +“Thieves! This is too much. You tell us that if we are here to-night you +will make matters lively for us. If it will accommodate you any we will remain +right here. But we should be on our way. We are going to follow <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193'></a>193</span>a straight course as near +as possible to the northwest. We shall, with reasonable luck, be about twenty +miles from here by eleven o’clock to-night. If that is the direction you +are going you will have no difficulty in finding us. But let me warn you, sir, +we shall put up with no trifling. We have as good a right to be here as have +you, and I am not sure but that we have a better right.”</p> + +<p>“We’ll see about that,” retorted Darwood angrily.</p> + +<p>“You let us alone! Do you hear? You let us alone! If you are looking +for trouble you may have all you want and then some more besides. We are +peaceable travelers, but we know from long experience how to take care of +ourselves. Have you anything more to say to me?” demanded the +Professor.</p> + +<p>“I reckon not. I’ve said my say.”</p> + +<p>“Then get out before I forget myself and hit you on the nose!” +roared Professor Zepplin. “Don’t you dare come fooling around our +camp again, and thank your lucky stars that Master Tad didn’t make a +mistake and shoot lower. Are you going, or are you waiting for me to throw you +out?” fumed the Professor.</p> + +<p>“I reckon I’m going. You’ll hear from me again. Next time +the shoe will pinch the other foot.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194'></a>194</span>“It will +be the foot that kicks you out of camp in that case,” answered the +Professor.</p> + +<p>“Hooray!” howled the fat boy. “Three cheers for Professor +Zip-zip!”</p> + +<p>“Be silent!” thundered Professor Zepplin.</p> + +<p>“Yes, you had better look out or he will take it out of you after Mr. +Darwood has gone,” warned Tad. “The Professor is all stirred +up.”</p> + +<p>The Professor was. Darwood turned and strode from the camp without trusting +himself to utter another word. Professor Zepplin strode back and forth with +clenched fists, muttering to himself for five minutes after the departure of +their guest.</p> + +<p>“He called us thieves!” he exclaimed, halting and glaring angrily +at Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Well, don’t blame me for it,” answered the fat boy.</p> + +<p>“Professor, calm yourself,” begged Tad. “Those men have met +with a lot of crookedness. You can’t blame them. I shouldn’t be +surprised if some other person had been trying to follow them since they have +been out this time. They probably think we are in league with the others to get +ahead of them in the discovery of this treasure.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t believe there is any treasure,” raged the +Professor.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195'></a>195</span>“As to +that, of course, I can’t say, but I should think it quite probable that +they had something definite. There must be something in what they have to go on. +They are not fools, but intelligent men. What is more, they must think they are +on the right track or they wouldn’t fly off the handle as Darwood has done +to-day. What will you do?” asked Tad.</p> + +<p>“Do? Do? What do you think I am going to do?”</p> + +<p>“Knowing you as I do, I should say you would go on as we have +planned,” answered Butler laughingly.</p> + +<p>“Exactly! If that man thinks he can frighten us out of our course he +will find that he has made a grave mistake.”</p> + +<p>“Why didn’t you punch him when you had the chance?” +demanded Chunky. “You could have hit him an awful wallop when his chin was +in the air that time.”</p> + +<p>“Stacy! You are a savage!” rebuked the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Maybe, maybe,” reflected the fat boy. “But judging from +some things that have occurred in this camp this morning, I’m not the only +savage in the outfit.”</p> + +<p>The boys laughed uproariously.</p> + +<p>“That’s one for you, Professor,” chuckled Ned.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196'></a>196</span>“Anvik! We +break camp at once,” fairly snapped the Professor.</p> + +<p>“Gold man him heap fool,” grunted the Indian.</p> + +<p>“No, not that, Anvik. He is gold-mad like all the rest of them,” +corrected Butler. “I hope I never shall get that way.”</p> + +<p>“It can’t be such bad fun to be gold-mad,” argued Stacy, +who usually wanted the other side of an argument. “I’d like to try +it once, if I could find enough gold to make it interesting.”</p> + +<p>Camp was hastily broken that morning, for there was much lost time to be made +up. Everyone was eager to get started, anxious to find out what would be the +outcome of the dispute with the gold diggers.</p> + +<p>“We don’t know in what direction they’re going to move, +while they do know our route,” said Tad. “So it will be an easy +matter for Darwood to watch us as long as he wants to keep us in +sight.”</p> + +<p>At seven o’clock that morning Professor Zepplin gave the word to +“mush.” This morning the Professor was extremely silent, but there +was a grim look to the corners of his mouth.</p> + +<p>Exciting experiences lay before them all. The boys felt it in the very air +about them. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197'></a>197</span>The +certainty made them feel buoyant and exhilarated. Surely this wild old Alaska +was a great bit of country!</p> + +<p>“I don’t care how soon somebody starts something,” mused +Ned. “We have our heavy artillery well on ahead.”</p> + +<p>As he spoke he gazed smilingly at the tight-jawed Professor, who never looked +to better advantage than when in warlike mood.</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198'></a>198</span><a id='link_20'></a>CHAPTER XX<br /><span class='h2fs'>TAD DISCOVERS SOMETHING</span></h2> + +<p>“I don’t see our friends,” said Ned, an hour later.</p> + +<p>“They’re not in their camp,” answered Tad. “We passed +that an hour ago. They have no horses, so they’re packing their outfits on +their backs.”</p> + +<p>“Huh! That’s one part of the gold-madness that I don’t +want,” said Chunky. “Do all gold diggers have to pack their +outfits?”</p> + +<p>“I guess few of them can afford to buy ponies,” answered Butler. +“Then, too, the places they go to are usually beyond the reach of anything +except a wild animal. We are fortunate if we get through with our stock. Even +our own ponies that we left at home would never be able to make this rough +trail. What’s that, Anvik?”</p> + +<p>The guide was pointing to a waving ribbon of white that appeared to reach +from point to point on the rocks high above them and some distance ahead.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” demanded the boy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199'></a>199</span>“Him +goat.”</p> + +<p>“Mountain goats? Look, boys!” cried Tad.</p> + +<p>Stacy threw up his rifle and took a shot. Of course he missed. A leaping +mountain goat is not an easy mark even for the best shot, and the fat boy, while +shooting very well, could hardly be called an expert.</p> + +<p>“Those are the animals from which the beautiful blankets are +made,” the Professor informed them. “Do you know how the Indians get +the wool?”</p> + +<p>“They pull it out by the roots, I guess,” suggested Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Hardly,” laughed Ned.</p> + +<p>“Spring is the shedding time. The goats, in leaping from place to +place, leave tufts of wool clinging to rocks and bushes, and this the lazy +Indians gather for their blankets, rather than take the trouble to hunt the +goats.”</p> + +<p>“Squaw him get wool,” spoke up Anvik.</p> + +<p>“Worse yet,” laughed Butler. “You are the laziest folks on +earth.”</p> + +<p>“Squaw work, him no talk lies. Him mouth keep shut.”</p> + +<p>The boys laughed at this crude reasoning of the Indian.</p> + +<p>“Did they teach you at the Mission to make your squaws work?” +asked Tad Butler.</p> + +<p>Anvik shook his head slowly. He did not answer <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_200'></a>200</span>in words, but hastened his pony’s +pace by his heavy pull at the halter.</p> + +<p>All that day the boys kept a lookout for smoke, but in vain. After they had +made camp that night the Professor said:</p> + +<p>“There are indications here of unusual formations. If you have no +objections I should like to remain here for a day, perhaps two, and do research +work.”</p> + +<p>“Right, Professor,” replied Tad. “The ponies will be better +for a rest, and maybe we can do some hunting. How about it, Anvik?”</p> + +<p>“Anvik not care,” was the guide’s reply.</p> + +<p>After breakfast the next morning the Professor set off at once.</p> + +<p>“Now, fellows,” said Tad, “I propose that Stacy and I +follow that ravine to the left and Ned and Walter go to the right. From the +formation I should say that some time late in the day we ought to meet. +It’s wild in those passes, and we should get game.”</p> + +<p>After arranging that three quick shots should announce the finding of game +and that the distress signal of one shot, a pause, then two quick shots should +be a call for help, the boys set off, each carrying biscuit, a drinking cup, and +matches, besides their rifles.</p> + +<p>The boys tramped all morning without sighting game.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201'></a>201</span>After a short +rest the two boys went on again, bearing more to the left. As they trudged on +the sound of rushing water was borne to their ears. Then they came out on a +broad stream, a torrent that came from the top of three lofty, ice-covered +mountains.</p> + +<p>“Let’s work up toward that pass,” suggested Tad, wishing to +see the gulch from which the stream was flowing.</p> + +<p>They had worked their way upstream for half a mile when Chunky yelled:</p> + +<p>“Look there! What’s that?”</p> + +<p>Tad saw a hideous head projecting above the bushes. At first he was startled, +then he laughed.</p> + +<p>“That’s a totem pole, Chunky. They’re put up usually in +behalf of the Indian dead to drive the spirits away. Let’s go and look at +it.”</p> + +<p>The totem pole was standing at the entrance of a second narrow gulch. Sand +and shale rock were heaped up at the entrance.</p> + +<p>“A stream flowed through here at one time, Stacy. I imagine that it was +the same body of water we’ve just been looking at.”</p> + +<p>“Yeh,” said Stacy absently. “Say, Tad, let’s see who +can first hit that evil-looking thing with a stone.”</p> + +<p>Tad laughed and stooped to pick up a stone. As he did so, he noticed an arrow +cut into the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202'></a>202</span>rock +at one side of the gulch, the point of the arrow aimed up the gulch.</p> + +<p>“That’s queer,” muttered the boy. “I suppose +it’s an Indian sign. This is a place of many mysteries.” He stooped +to pick up the rusty-looking stone that had caught his glance. It was worn full +of holes as if by the action of water and when he took it in his hand its +heaviness aroused his curiosity. Opening his knife, he dug into the stone.</p> + +<p>Tad’s face flushed a vivid red, and he uttered a sharp exclamation.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” demanded Stacy.</p> + +<p>“Nothing much. Maybe I’ve made a discovery. Don’t +let’s idle here. Let’s go on and see if we can’t get our bear. +This seems to be our lucky day,” said the boy, pocketing the stone and +once more shouldering his rifle. “Come, mush, as Anvik would +say.”</p> + +<hr class='pb' /> +<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203'></a>203</span><a id='link_21'></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /><span class='h2fs'>CONCLUSION</span></h2> + +<p>Professor Zepplin had been closeted in his tent for an hour when he beckoned +Tad Butler to enter.</p> + +<p>“Boy, this rusty stone that you picked up is a gold nugget, worth, I +should say, all of five hundred dollars!” cried the Professor excitedly. +“Are there more of them, Tad?”</p> + +<p>“I can’t say. I found this one on a bar where it was probably +washed down. The place was once a stream, but it changed its course and is now +some distance to the west. I’ve an idea that there’s gold in that +sand-bar.”</p> + +<p>“Then we’d better go after it. It probably belongs to no +one.”</p> + +<p>“I’m not sure of that. Others may have a juster claim than we +have, Professor.”</p> + +<p>“You suspect something, Tad, without knowing fully. We’ll look at +the place and decide what to do later.”</p> + +<p>The others were in bed, but still awake when Tad left the Professor’s +tent, but to their questions he gave evasive answers.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204'></a>204</span>It seemed to Tad +that he had been asleep but a few minutes when he felt a touch on his shoulder. +He sat up, instantly wide awake. Anvik was bending over him.</p> + +<p>“Somebody come,” muttered the guide. “One, two, three, +four, maybe more.”</p> + +<p>Day was just breaking. Tad awakened his companions, giving each instructions +as to what he was to do. Then he hurried to the Professor’s tent to give +Anvik’s news.</p> + +<p>“Look out!” yelled Stacy shrilly.</p> + +<p>A series of quick, sharp reports punctured the stillness of the morning. Tad +and Professor Zepplin dashed out, and so did Walter Perkins. Ned Rector and +Stacy Brown were nowhere to be seen. Anvik stood against a rock, his blanket +drawn about him, the muzzle of a rifle protruding from the lower end of it.</p> + +<p>Four men appeared in the open, each holding a rifle. The rifles were aimed at +the members of the Pony Rider outfit.</p> + +<p>“It’s Darwood!” gasped the Professor. It was Darwood, +accompanied by Sam Dawson, Dill Bruce and Curley Tinker. “What’s the +meaning of this outrage, gentlemen?” he demanded.</p> + +<p>“I gave you warning to mush back to where you came from,” +answered Darwood.</p> + +<p>“And I told you we’d do nothing of the sort!”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_205'></a>205</span>“You’re going now, and in a +hurry!”</p> + +<p>“What will you do if we refuse again?”</p> + +<p>“You’ll find out what we’ll do. We’re north of +fifty-three now. You know what that means. Put down those guns, and do it +quick.”</p> + +<p>“Suppose you set the example,” said Tad quietly. He had not +spoken up to this point.</p> + +<p>“Keep still!” commanded Darwood. “Put down those +guns.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t be in a hurry,” advised Tad. “Before you do +anything that you’ll regret, let me say that every man of you is covered. +The slightest hostile motion on your part is your death warrant.”</p> + +<p>“The Indian’s got away!” cried Dawson.</p> + +<p>Darwood for the first time realized that all the Pony Rider outfit was not in +sight.</p> + +<p>“Either your friends will put down their guns and come out or +we’ll shoot,” snarled Darwood, fixing his gaze on Tad Butler.</p> + +<p>“Are you so anxious to die, Curtis Darwood?” asked the lad +calmly.</p> + +<p>Darwood flushed, but the four men lowered their rifles to the ground.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Darwood, I have something to tell you. Sit down,” went on +the boy.</p> + +<p>“I reckon we’ll do nothing of the sort.”</p> + +<p>“Sit down, I say!”</p> + +<p>The men obeyed reluctantly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206'></a>206</span>“Keep them +covered until they come to their senses, boys,” directed Tad. Then he went +on to the men: “We don’t blame you for feeling that every +man’s hand is against you; but I’m going to prove to you that ours +are not. See this?” and Tad tossed to Darwood the rusty stone that he had +found in the sand-bar.</p> + +<p>“Gold! A nugget of pure gold,” breathed Darwood. “Where did +you get it?”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we found the Taku Pass.”</p> + +<p>“And we’ve lost it,” groaned Dawson.</p> + +<p>“We’ll fight for it, then!” shouted Darwood.</p> + +<p>“You might wait until there’s need for fighting, Mr. +Darwood,” said Tad contemptuously. He then went on to describe the totem +pole, while his listeners became more and more excited. They got out an old map, +and after studying it Tad said:</p> + +<p>“It is the Taku Pass that Stacy and I discovered. As it is undoubtedly +yours, we relinquish all claim to the land.”</p> + +<p>“How much do you want for the relinquishment?” asked Dawson.</p> + +<p>“Nothing. Sit down and have breakfast with us and then we will lead you +to the place.”</p> + +<p>“I can’t say much,” said Darwood falteringly. +“We’ve been a bunch of driveling idiots.”</p> + +<p>After breakfast Anvik was sent to the men’s <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_207'></a>207</span>camp for pans and implements and +supplies, and the others set off in Tad Butler’s wake to explore the +gulch.</p> + +<p>At one point the party found a slender vein of pure gold, enough to give hope +that the vein broadened out farther on. Tad, in a cavelike niche, saw a gray +streak of ore that reached for a long distance. A piece of this about the size +of a goose egg lay at his feet. It was heavy, and he put it in his pocket to +show to the others.</p> + +<p>Anvik came in with the tools, surveying chains, and pans, and Darwood and the +others staked off their claims, taking in enough to give each boy a claim, +putting up heaps of stones to mark the boundaries.</p> + +<p>“Of course, if anyone else were to file a prior claim we’d have a +hard time to substantiate ours. But there’s not much danger.”</p> + +<p>The claim staked, Darwood proposed that they pan in the bar to see what they +could find. To the delight of all, sparkling particles of rich yellow dust lay +in the bottoms of the sieves, and they felt convinced that there was gold in +paying quantities.</p> + +<p>Once more back in the camp, the Professor disappeared into his tent. When he +emerged he looked excited.</p> + +<p>“Boys!” he shouted. “Tad! Your sample <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_208'></a>208</span>is platinum! Gentlemen, you have indeed +a fortune! The platinum is worth about double its weight in gold!”</p> + +<p>Such a hurrah as went up! Such an evening of rejoicing and excitement! But +early the next morning came the reaction.</p> + +<p>Tad, up early, went out to the claim, too impatient to await breakfast. To +his amazement instead of finding the markers they had set, he found that they +had been removed, and in their places some one had cut off saplings and marked +the stumps of them with deep-cut notches.</p> + +<p>“It’s that rascal, Sandy Ketcham,” declared Darwood in a +strained voice, when Tad reported his discovery. “He’s been on our +trail for nearly three years, and now he’s got us! He’s on his way +to Skagway now to register the claim in the land office,” the man +groaned.</p> + +<p>“We’ll get ahead of them, then,” cried Tad. “He +hasn’t much of a start. When does a steamer leave Yakutat?”</p> + +<p>“This is the twenty-third. The ‘Corsair’ will leave Yakutat on +the twenty-seventh. He will just about make it.”</p> + +<p>“So will I,” cried Tad Butler stoutly.</p> + +<p>Tad won Professor Zepplin’s consent to his plan, and after Darwood had +got the papers ready and the boys had gathered provisions together, <span +class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209'></a>209</span>Tad was off, riding one +pony and leading another, that he might change from one to the other, thus +avoiding tiring either.</p> + +<p>With lather standing out all over his mount, Tad pounded on, eyes and ears +alight for Sandy Ketcham. He halted at noon to change horses and let each drink +a little from a spring. Then on once more for seemingly countless hours.</p> + +<p>There was a brief pause in the evening, to allow the ponies to rest and +graze, then on again in the darkness. The second night a longer rest was +imperative, while Tad fretted, tired as he was, to be off again.</p> + +<p>On the third day he came across the still hot ashes of a campfire, and +decided that he was not far behind Ketcham. Still twenty miles from Yakutat, one +of the ponies strained a tendon. The boy was forced regretfully to abandon the +animal and to go forward on the second mount.</p> + +<p>It was about eleven o’clock in the morning of the fourth day that he +caught sight of a column of black smoke through an opening between the +mountains.</p> + +<p>“It’s the ‘Corsair,’” he groaned. “She’s +getting ready to sail.”</p> + +<p>On and on he rode. He swept through the village on the panting pony and down +to the dock to see the ‘Corsair’ weighing anchor.</p> + +<p>Tad Butler set up a yell, then drove his pony <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_210'></a>210</span>into the bay. No small boats were in +sight, so, throwing himself in the icy water, he grasped the pony’s mane +and, swimming with the animal, headed for the ship.</p> + +<p>The anchor was up, but Captain Petersen had not yet signaled for slow speed +ahead. He ordered a boat lowered and Tad was hauled aboard in a semi-dazed +condition. Relieved of its burden, the pony rose and swam for shore. Tad was +confined to his cabin, worn out by the hard ride and the icy swim. But he +learned that Ketcham was on board, and Ketcham, of course, knew of Tad’s +presence.</p> + +<p>The morning of their arrival at Skagway was gray and windy. The sea was +rolling into the harbor in heavy, boisterous swells. The captain announced that +he would not put off a boat until the sea subsided, as capsizing was certain in +the heavy seas.</p> + +<p>Tad, impatient, was standing at the rail when he saw Sandy Ketcham leap over +the rail into the sea. The boy did not hesitate. He sprang to the rail and dived +as far out as he could, striking a rod or so behind Ketcham. Then began a +desperate race. But youth won, and Tad staggered out of the water a few moments +ahead of his adversary and ran for the land office, Ketcham close behind +him.</p> + +<p>“I file the claim to Taku Pass in the name of <span class='pagenum +pncolor'><a id='page_211'></a>211</span>Curtis Darwood and others,” +shouted Tad, slapping the oilskin parcel on the desk. “That man’s an +impostor. He destroyed our markers and erected his own on our claim.”</p> + +<p>“It’s a lie!” yelled Sandy, making a leap for the boy.</p> + +<p>There was a furious fight, in which the interested bystanders did not +interfere. But at last Tad’s fist shot up in a vicious uppercut on the +man’s chin, and Sandy Ketcham settled to the floor as the boy leaped out +of the way.</p> + +<p>“Have you filed the papers?” gasped Tad.</p> + +<p>“Sure, boy! You’ve won the first round. The rest will be up to +the government, but I guess you’ve got it clinched for all +time.”</p> + +<p>When Tad returned to Yakutat three government surveyors went with him to run +the lines and definitely establish the claim. Sandy Ketcham also filed a claim, +but Tad’s being the prior one the case would have to be decided by the +proper government officials; though there was really no doubt of the +outcome.</p> + +<p>For a month after Tad Butler’s return the Pony Rider Boys stayed at +Taku Pass, panning over a section allotted to them by the Gold Diggers, each +filling a small sack with yellow dust and a few nuggets. In addition the Gold +Diggers insisted that the boys and their tutor jointly should have a twentieth +interest in the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a +id='page_212'></a>212</span>claims, which would undoubtedly give each a +comfortable amount of wealth.</p> + +<p>It was their last night in the camp and the boys and the Professor were +talking over future plans.</p> + +<p>“I’m going home to rest and study after my strenuous life of the +last few seasons,” the Professor stated. “How about you, +Walter?”</p> + +<p>“Father has a job for me as messenger in a bank in St. Joseph,” +answered Walter Perkins.</p> + +<p>“Your turn, Chunky. What’s it to be?”</p> + +<p>“Banking. I’m going into Walter Perkins’ father’s +bank.”</p> + +<p>“Does father know about it?”</p> + +<p>“Of course he does!” retorted Stacy. “Did you think I was +going to break into the bank?”</p> + +<p>“Can’t tell about you,” laughed Tad. “As for Ned and +me–Professor Zepplin’s friend, Colonel Van Zandt, who has large +timber interests, has used his influence to get us appointments in the United +States Forestry Service. We’ll go to work next spring. And now, fellows, I +suggest that we give three cheers for the best fellow that ever lived, Professor +Zepplin!”</p> + +<p>The cheers were given with a will, then all went to their tents for their +last night in their camp in Alaska.</p> + +<p class='tp' style='margin-top:2em;'>THE END</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska, by Frank Gee Patchin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA *** + +***** This file should be named 30588-h.htm or 30588-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/5/8/30588/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +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: The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska + The Gold Diggers of Taku Pass + +Author: Frank Gee Patchin + +Release Date: December 2, 2009 [EBook #30588] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "I File the Claim!" Shouted Tad. _Frontispiece._] + + + + +THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA + +OR + +THE GOLD DIGGERS OF TAKU PASS + +By + +FRANK GEE PATCHIN + +Author of The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies, The Pony Rider Boys in +Texas, The Pony Rider Boys in Montana, The Pony Rider Boys in the +Ozarks, The Pony Rider Boys in the Alkali, The Pony Rider Boys in New +Mexico, The Pony Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon, The Pony Rider Boys +with the Texas Rangers, The Pony Rider Boys on the Blue Ridge, The +Pony Rider Boys in New England, The Pony Rider Boys in Louisiana, +etc., etc. + +Illustrated + +THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY + +Akron, Ohio--New York + +Made in U. S. A. + + + + +Copyright MCMXXIV + +By THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY + +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + + +CONTENTS + +PAGE + +Chapter I--Through Enchanting Waters 11 + + The mystery of the Gold Diggers. The story of an + Indian capture. The skipper gives himself a hunch. + The lure of the yellow metal. The abode of an + angry spirit. + +Chapter II--The Boys Scent a Plot 29 + + Ned Rector puts his foot in. The man with the + combustible whiskers. Tad overhears an exciting + conversation. His duty not clear to him. Attacked + by a desperado. + +Chapter III--In Desperate Straits 40 + + Almost hurled overboard. Help comes in the nick + of time. Tad accuses his assailant. Whiskers as + evidence. Plotters are driven from the ship by + young Butler. + +Chapter IV--On the Overland Trail 48 + + "You have neglected your horse education." Tad + amazes a horse trader. Chunky wants no "quick" + mules. Driving a keen bargain. The boys decide + to guide themselves. + +Chapter V--Traveling a Dangerous Mountain Pass 59 + + The Professor tells the boys about the "great + country." When a fellow needs a bird's eye. A + toboggan slide that might reach to Asia. Pony + Rider Boys hear a terrifying sound. + +Chapter VI--Caught in a Giant Slide 69 + + A pack mule swept from the ledge. Tad fires a + humane shot. Taking desperate chances to rescue + the pack. "I don't propose to lose my lasso." + +Chapter VII--Going to Bed by Daylight 82 + + How the pack mule was buried. Heavy obstacles are + overcome. A cure for cold feet. The fat boy knows + his own capacity. Tents are swallowed up in the + gloom of an Alaskan night. + +Chapter VIII--An Intruder in the Camp 91 + + The fat boy's singing brings disaster. Professor + Zepplin wields his stick. A wild scrimmage in + pajamas. The mystery of the lost ham. "There + has been a prowler in this camp while we slept!" + +Chapter IX--A Mystery Unsolved 103 + + "It was an Indian who did this job." Stacy is + roped out of bed. Two fish on one hook. Suspicion + is directed toward Tad. Ned's head suffers the loss + of some hair. + +Chapter X--In the Home of the Thlinkits 113 + + Ned Rector is full of fight. Stacy makes Tad Butler + dance. Chunky plans revenge. The fat boy finds a + food emporium. A mother squaw in a rage. + +Chapter XI--The Guide Who Made a Hit 125 + + "Me heap big smart man." Anvik refuses to + "mush" because the spirits are abroad. "Him + kick like buck caribou." Tad Butler gets a new + title. Off for the wilds. + +Chapter XII--In the Heart of Nature 136 + + From trail to trackless wilderness. A grilling hike. + Tad, in a fine shot, bags an antelope. "Hooray! + Maybe that was a chance shot!" A ducking in an + icy mountain stream. + +Chapter XIII--A Pony Rider Boy's Pluck 146 + + Tad carries the dead doe to camp. "Him heap + big little man." Stacy knows how to "skin the + cat." The antelope dressed by the Indian guide. + Fresh meat in plenty now. + +Chapter XIV--Stacy Bumps the Bumps 152 + + The difficulty of leading a mule. Chunky and the + animal go over the brink. Tin cans rattle down the + mountain side. The fat boy hung up by one foot. + +Chapter XV--The Story in the Dead Fire 162 + + "White boy see almost like Indian." Campers had + left in a hurry. Stacy discovers something. Eating + ice cream with a pickle fork. Surrounded by + mysteries in the great mountains. + +Chapter XVI--A Sign from the Mountain Top 167 + + "Him white man smoke." The wonders of mountain + signaling. Friends or enemies? Overwhelmed + by an avalanche of ice. A roar and an even more + terrifying silence. + +Chapter XVII--An Unexpected Meeting 174 + + "Innua him mad." Heap big ice nearly wipes out + the Pony Rider Boys' camp. Tad makes a morning + excursion and meets an unpleasant surprise. + +Chapter XVIII--An Unfriendly Reception 178 + + Tad boldly faces his accusers. Threats from the + prospectors. A man on Butler's trail. Tad takes a + pot shot and gets immediate results. "Stop that + shooting, you fool!" The fat boy draws a bead. + +Chapter XIX--The Professor in a Rage 189 + + "It's a lie!" thunders Professor Zepplin. Ordered + out of the hills on penalty of being shot. "If you are + looking for trouble you may have all you want!" + A threat to punch the prospector's nose. + +Chapter XX--Tad Discovers Something 198 + + Pony Rider Boys off for bear. The fat boy frightened + by a totem pole. In a place of many mysteries. + Tad makes a great find. A discovery that led + to sensational results. + +Chapter XXI--Conclusion 203 + + Rifle shots fired into the Pony Rider Boys' camp. + Miners in a frenzy of joy. Butler makes a new find. + Their boundary markings found destroyed. Tad + starts on a desperate ride. His claim must be filed + ahead of that of the enemy at whatever cost. A + race through ice-clogged waters. A fight to the finish + before the clerk's desk. A triumph for the Gold + Diggers of Taku Pass. The end of the long, long trail. + + + + +THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THROUGH ENCHANTING WATERS + + +"Captain, who are the four silent men leaning over the rail on the other +side of the boat?" asked Tad Butler. "I have been wondering about them +almost ever since we left Vancouver. They don't seem to speak to a +person, and seldom to each other, though somehow they appear to be +traveling in company. They act as if they were afraid someone would +recognize them. I am sure they aren't bad characters." + +Captain Petersen, commander of the steamer "Corsair," which for some +days had been plowing its way through the ever-changing northern waters, +stroked his grizzled beard reflectively. + +"Bad characters, eh?" he twinkled. "Well, no, I shouldn't say as they +were. They're fair-weather lads. I'll vouch for them if necessary, and I +guess I'm about the only person on board that knows who they are." + +Tad waited expectantly until the skipper came to the point of the story +he was telling. + +"They are the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass, lad." + +"The Gold Diggers of Taku Pass?" repeated Tad Butler. "I don't think I +ever heard that name before. Where is this pass, sir?" + +The skipper shook his head. + +"No one knows," he said. + +"That is strange," wondered Butler. "Does no one know where they dig for +gold?" + +"No. They don't even know themselves," was the puzzling reply. + +Tad fixed the weather-beaten face of the skipper with a questioning +gaze. + +"I don't think I understand, sir." + +"I'll tell you what I know about it some other time, lad. I haven't the +time to spin the yarn now. It's a long one. I've been sailing up and +down these waters, fair weather and foul, for a good many years, and +I've seen a fair cargo of strange things in my time, but this Digger +outfit is the most peculiar one I ever came across. They are a living +example of what the lure of gold means when it gets into a man's system. +Gold is all right. I wish I had more of it; but, my boy, don't ever let +the love of it get to the windward of you if you hope to enjoy peace of +mind afterwards," concluded the skipper with emphasis. + +"What's that he says about gold?" interjected Stacy Brown, more commonly +known to his companions as Chunky, the fat boy. + +Stacy, with Ned Rector and Walter Perkins, had been lounging against the +starboard rail of the "Corsair," observing Tad and the Captain as they +talked. A few paces forward sat Professor Zepplin, their traveling +companion, wholly absorbed in a scientific discussion with an engineer +who was on his way to an Alaskan mine, of which the latter was to assume +control. Many other passengers were strolling about the decks of the +"Corsair." There were seasoned miners with bearded faces; sharp-eyed, +sharp-featured men with shifty eyes; pale-faced prospectors on their way +to the land of promise, in quest of the yellow metal; capitalists going +to Alaska to look into this or that claim with a view to investment; +and, more in evidence than all the rest, a large list of tourists bound +up the coast on a merry holiday. The former, in most instances, were +quiet, reserved men, the latter talkative and boisterous. + +"The Captain was speaking of the lure that gold holds for the human +race," replied Tad Butler in answer to Stacy Brown's question. "I guess +the Captain is right, too." + +"Be warned in time, Chunky," added Rector. + +"I've never seen enough gold to become lured by it," retorted the fat +boy. "I should like to see enough to excite me just once. I shouldn't +mind being lured that way. Would you, Walt?" + +Walter Perkins shook his head and smiled. + +"I fear you will have to shake yourself--get over your natural +laziness--before you can hope to," chuckled Ned. "I doubt if you would +know a lure if you met one on Main Street in Chillicothe." + +"Try me and see," grinned Stacy. + +"There must be a lot of gold up here, judging from what I have read, and +from the number of persons going after it," added Tad, with a sweeping +gesture that included the deckload of miners and prospectors. "But the +hardships and the heart-breakings must be terrible. I have read a lot +about the terrors that men have gone through in this country, especially +in the awful winters they have in Alaska." + +"I shouldn't mind them if I had a sledge and a pack of dogs to tote me +around, the way they do up here," declared Chunky. + +"That would be great fun," agreed young Perkins. "You wouldn't have far +to fall if you got bucked off from that kind of broncho, would you, +Stacy?" + +"Not unless you fell off a mountain," answered Ned, glancing at the +distant towering cliffs of the coast range. + +"I was asking the Captain about those four men yonder," said Tad. + +"Oh, the fellows who don't speak to anyone?" nodded Rector. + +"Yes." + +"Who are they? I have wondered about them." + +"I don't know their names, but the skipper tells me they are known as +the Gold Diggers of Taku Pass," replied Butler. "The queer part of it +is, he says, that no one, so far as he is aware, knows even that there +is such a place as Taku Pass. They don't know themselves," added Tad +with a smile. + +"That's strange," wondered Rector. "Crazy?" + +"No, I think not. They are prospecting for an unknown claim," replied +Tad. + +"I--I don't know anything about that," spoke up Stacy Brown. "But I know +who those fellows are." + +"You do?" exclaimed the boys in chorus. + +"Yes. I asked them. That's the way to find out what you want to know, +isn't it?" chuckled Stacy. + +"Who are they?" asked Butler laughingly. + +"The minery-looking fellow is Sam Dawson. The one beside him is Curtis +Darwood. The tall, slim chap nearest to us is Dill Bruce. They call him +the Pickle for short." + +"He looks sour enough to be one," laughed Walter. + +"The other chap, the little one, is Curley Tinker. And there you have +the whole outfit. I'll introduce you to them if you like," volunteered +Chunky. + +"No, thank you. I already have tried to talk with the men, but they +don't seem inclined to open their mouths," replied Butler. + +"It strikes me that you have made more progress that anyone else on this +boat, so far as the four gold diggers are concerned," added Rector, +addressing Chunky. + +"Yes, I am convinced that Chunky is rather forward," agreed Tad. + +"Oh, no one can resist me," averred the fat boy. "Anything else you want +to know, Tad?" + +"Yes, a great deal. But here is the Captain. He will tell me." + +Captain Petersen had taken a fancy to the boys almost from the first. He +had learned who they were early on that voyage, and in the meantime they +had become very well acquainted with the commander of the "Corsair." He +had taken pains to explain to the lads many things about the country +past which they were sailing--things that otherwise they would not have +known, and the voyage was proving very interesting to them, as well as +to Professor Zepplin himself. + +"Come below now and I'll tell you the story," invited Captain Petersen, +starting to descend the after companionway. "All of you come along. That +will save your asking questions later on," he smiled. + +"You see, he invited you on my account," chuckled Stacy Brown, tapping +his breast with the tips of his fingers. + +The lads filed down the companionway behind the Captain, and when they +had finally settled themselves in the skipper's cabin and he had lighted +his pipe, he began to speak. + +"I always come below and put my feet on the table after we pass the +Shoal of Seals," he explained. "That is the time I take my 'watch +below,' as we call it, when we come down for a rest or a sleep. But you +are eager to hear the story. Very good. Here goes. A good many years ago +an expedition came up to this part of the world on an exploring mission. +In that party was a Dr. Darwood from some place in the East. I don't +believe I ever heard the name of the place, and if I knew the state I +have forgotten it. Well, to make a long story short, the party was +ambushed by the Kak-wan-tan Indians. Every man of the party was captured +and all were put to death, with the exception of Dr. Darwood. Somehow, +the Indians had learned that he was a big medicine man, so they made the +Doctor captive and took him over the mountains many miles from there. +They probably killed the others so as to make sure of the Doctor." + +"What did they want with a medicine man?" interjected the fat boy. + +"They wanted him professionally. Their chief was a very sick man. I +guess the old gentleman was about ready to die. At least he thought so. +The chief bore the name of Chief Anna-Hoots. Nice name, eh? No wonder he +got sick." + +"He must have belonged to the owl family," observed Chunky. + +Tad rebuked the fat boy with a look. The Captain regarded Stacy +quizzically, then proceeded with his story. + +"Their own medicine man had been killed by a bear. You see his medicine +wasn't calculated to head off bears. The chief, therefore, was in a bad +way. Dr. Darwood was commanded to make the chief well, and, so the story +goes, after examining Hoots, he at once saw what was the trouble with +the old man. He set to work over the savage, not so much from a +professional interest as that he knew very well his life would be +forfeited did he not do something for the patient. It is a safe guess +that the Doctor never had worked more heroically over a patient. Well, +he saved the chief--had him on his feet and hopping around as lively as +a jack-rabbit in less than twenty-four hours. There was great rejoicing +among Anna's people, and Darwood was feasted and made much of. He was +almost as big a man as Old Hoots himself. Nothing was too good for him +in that camp." + +"Why didn't he poison the whole tribe while he had the chance?" +questioned Rector. + +"Perhaps it wasn't professional," smiled the Captain in reply. "But +Chief Anna-Hoots--precious old rascal that he was--was so grateful that +he made the Doctor chief medicine man over all the tribes and a tribal +chief of one of the subordinate tribes. And now we are coming to the +point of our story. Old Hoots, later on, let the Doctor into a great +secret. Having driven the evil spirits out of Anna and set him on his +feet almost as good as new, the patient evidently was of the opinion +that the medicine man was entitled to something more than the ordinary +fee for such a service. He took the Doctor to a place where a roaring +glacial stream of icy water was tearing down through a narrow gash in +the mountains on its way to the sea, and there he showed the +doctor-chief gold in great quantities, so the story runs, the pass being +guarded by the Bear Totem. It is not certain whether the vein from which +this gold had been washed was then known. I think Darwood must have +found it later on and located a claim. He at least took from the mouth +of the pass enough gold to make him a fairly rich man. This he hid away, +awaiting a favorable opportunity to get away with it. Such opportunity +presented itself while his tribe was away on a hunt in the fall for meat +for the winter, and made his escape. After some months of terrible +hardships he succeeded in reaching civilization, fairly staggering under +the weight of the gold he had brought away. He had the gold-madness +badly, you see." + +"He was plucky," muttered Butler. + +"Yes. It was Darwood's intention to return, at the head of a well-armed +party, properly equipped, and work the pay dirt to its limit. But he +died before he could do so. The hardships of that journey, loaded down +with dust and nuggets, led to his ultimate death. You see what avarice +will do to a fellow. It gets to windward of him every time." + +"I'd be willing to stagger under all I could carry and take my chances +on the future," observed Chunky reflectively. + +"So would we all," nodded the skipper. "That's the worst of us, our +greed. I am glad I am at sea, where I _can't_ dig. Nothing was done +in the matter of locating and working the claim for some years after the +Doctor's death. Then a grandson, Curtis Darwood, who is now aboard this +boat, found a paper or map or something of the sort, on which was a +description of the Doctor's find. It couldn't have been very definite or +they wouldn't have been so long in locating the place. Of course, the +younger man was fired with the desire to find this wonderful mine. The +lure had him fast and hard. He came up here alone the first time and +prospected all summer, but failed, and late that fall he went back home. +When he returned the three other men, who are his companions now, were +with him. They have been together ever since in their prospecting work. +Dawson is a pioneer prospector who knows the game thoroughly. The +others, who have been up here three years, might now be placed in the +same class, though Dawson is the real miner. One can't help but admire +their pluck and persistence, but I shouldn't want to be caught +interfering with them. When a fellow gets the gold madness he is a +dangerous customer to annoy." + +"Have they found the gold?" asked Walter Perkins. + +Captain Petersen shook his head. + +"I think not. If they have, only they know it. They take no one into +their confidence. They went home for the winter last fall, and what +amazes me further is that they are getting up here so late this spring. +Here it is June. They should have been on the job six weeks ago, and in +order to do so they ought to have wintered in the hills. To me that +means something. It will be a wonder if this unusual move on their part +doesn't attract attention. You may believe they are watched. There are, +no doubt, those who are watching the Diggers, and who do not miss any of +their movements." The skipper hesitated, then brought a big fist down on +his cabin table with a bang that set the glassware jingling. "By George, +I begin to see a light!" he roared. + +"What do you mean?" cried Chunky. + +"What is it, sir?" chorused Tad and Ned in one voice. + +"That accounts for Red Whiskers. That accounts for his presence on--" +The skipper checked himself suddenly. "But no matter. It isn't for me to +say." He lapsed into thoughtful silence. "Well, what do you think of the +story?" he asked a few moments later. + +"It is all very remarkable," answered Butler. "Where are they +going--their destination, I mean?" + +"You never can tell. They have explored pretty much all of the country +within a few hundred miles of here, and it wouldn't surprise me at all +if they had stumbled over the right place dozens of times and didn't +know it. But there is one significant fact. They have brought up a lot +of equipment this time. It looks as if they thought they had the place +pretty well located. It certainly does look that way. There's another +thing I forgot to tell you. This place, this pass where the gold is +supposed to lie, is the abode of a great and angry spirit." + +"A really, truly spirit?" questioned Walter wonderingly. + +"I can't say about the really-truly business," replied Captain Petersen, +with a grin. "I am telling you the story as I have heard it. Had Old +Hoots' tribe known that the Doctor went in there and dug out gold which +he salted away they would have put him to death. It's a sacred place. It +was then, and I'll wager it is now. You may believe that the +superstition has been handed down." + +"But the Indians up here now are not at all savage, are they?" asked +Butler. + +"Perhaps not where the white man has taken possession in force. But you +get into the far interior--there is a great deal of Alaska that the +white man knows very little about yet--and you will find them savage +enough, provided they think they have you in a pocket, and especially so +if you interfere with any of their religious customs or beliefs. In +these respects they are simply human." + +"I should call them inhuman," observed the fat boy. + +"I don't blame them," nodded Tad. + +"Now, that is the story of the Gold Diggers, so far as I know it," +continued the Captain. "As I have already said, not many persons up here +do know it. A veil of mystery surrounds the four silent men. They make +no other friends, confide in no one, and live in a little world all +their own. The story, as I have repeated it to you, was told to me by a +man from their part of the country who came up here to spend the summer +last season. That is how I came to know the details. It is possible, +though not probable, that you might get them to tell you something about +the country." + +"I'll make them talk," answered Stacy pompously. + +"What is their destination?" asked Butler quickly. + +"Skagway. However, that undoubtedly is a blind. They may be going on +farther from that point, or they may be intending to work back along the +coast after they leave the ship, then strike into the hills at some +remote point. I can't say as to that, of course. They will disappear. +You may depend upon that, and nothing may be heard of them again for a +year." + +"What do they do for provisions?" questioned Rector. + +"The same as you will have to do if you penetrate far into the interior. +They hunt and fish, saving their canned supplies for the winter, for the +winter months are long and drear up in this far northern country." + +"When does winter set in?" asked Ned. + +"Very early. It seems to be most always winter up here." + +"Thank you very much," said Tad. "This has been most interesting. I +should like to ask them something about the country where we are going. +Of course I shouldn't presume to question them about their own affairs. +That would be none of my business." + +"Where are you going?" + +"We had planned to strike north from Yakutat." + +"You will find rough country that way. I should say you would have tough +traveling all the way. If you can get the Gold Diggers to open up, they +will undoubtedly be able to give you some useful information that would +enable you to lay your course to the best advantage. But I think I know +the Diggers. You may not be able to get a civil word out of them." + +"They'll talk to me," answered the fat boy confidently. + +"Please don't permit yourself to be overcome," warned Rector. "Remember +your most excellent opinion of yourself has been the cause of some +mighty falls already." + +"Well, I fell in soft spots anyhow," retorted Stacy. + +"Ordinarily on your head, I believe," answered Ned quickly. + +Again thanking the Captain for his kindness, the lads returned to the +deck. Tad leaned against the rail thinking over the story related by the +skipper. The romance of the quest of the Diggers appealed to Butler's +adventure-loving nature. He declared to himself that he would draw them +into conversation and satisfy his further curiosity. Looking them over +in the light of what he had heard, Tad saw that the four were +determined-looking men, were men who would do and dare, no matter how +great the obstacles or the perils. He could not but feel a keen +admiration for them. They were real men, even if they were surly and +reticent. + +"Tad, how would you like to belong to that party of prospectors?" asked +Ned, nodding toward the four. + +"I can't imagine anything more exciting. I wish we might. I wonder if +they are going our way?" + +"Why don't you ask them?" + +"I intend to," answered Tad, rousing himself and starting towards the +prospectors who were lounging apart from the other passengers on the +deck of the steamer. + +"Watch him get turned down," grinned Stacy. "I shall have to break the +ice for him. He never will be able to do it for himself." + +"Better wait until you are asked," advised Ned Rector. + +As Stacy had said, Tad did not succeed in getting into conversation with +the Diggers that day. Early on the following morning the boys were on +deck, being unwilling to miss a single moment of the scenery. + +The "Corsair" was swinging majestically into Queen Charlotte Sound, a +splendid sweep of purple water, where great waves from the Pacific +rolled in, sending the steamer plunging desperately. There was a scurry +on the part of many of the early risers to get below decks, for the +change from the quiet waters through which the boat had been sailing to +this tumultuous sea was more than most of them were able to stand. Stacy +Brown was already on his back in the shadow of a life boat, groaning +miserably. Walter Perkins' face was pale, but he held himself together +by a strong effort of will, but Tad Butler and Ned Rector appeared not +in the least affected by the roll of the steamer. Both were lost in +admiration of the scene that was unfolding before them. + +"They roll along with the lightness of thistledown across a green +field," declared Tad enthusiastically, speaking to himself. "It is +simply glorious." + +He heard someone come to the rail at his side, but the lad was too fully +absorbed to look around. + +"That wasn't bad for a sentiment, young fellow," said a voice at his +elbow. "If you stay up in this country long enough, however, you will +get all the sentiment frozen out of you. I know, for I've been all +through it. I'm lucky that my bones aren't up yonder somewhere." + +"Yes, sir," answered Butler. + +Glancing around he found himself gazing into the face of Curtis Darwood. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE BOYS SCENT A PLOT + + +"Oh, how do you do, sir. Did I say anything?" + +"Well, there's a chance for a difference of opinion as to that," smiled +the miner. + +"I have been enjoying the scenery, sir. Isn't it beautiful?" + +"You should see it at sunrise," answered Darwood. "These mists are well +worth coming all the way up here to gaze upon. In the morning they take +on all the delicate tints of the primrose. Then at sunset of course the +colors grow warmer--amber, orange, gold--almost everything that could be +imagined in the way of wonderful colorings. All that sort of thing, you +know. I never saw anything like it in any part of the world, and I've +seen some," added the Gold Digger reflectively. + +"I should like to see it at sunset," answered Tad. "Is it ever like this +in the interior, sir?" + +"Interior of what?" + +"Of the country? Up there in the mountains?" + +Darwood gave the boy a quick glance of inquiry. There was suspicion in +his eyes. + +"In the far country?" added Butler. + +"I can't say as to that; I can't say that I know," replied the +prospector shortly. + +"What we wanted to ask you about was the Yakutat trail from the coast +up?" interjected Ned. "You see, we are going that way and we want to get +all the information we can about the trails and the country itself." + +Tad gave his companion a warning look, but Ned persisted in pressing his +questioning. The miner's hands dropped from the rail. + +"I reckon you would better ask someone else. I can't tell you anything +about the trail," replied Darwood, turning on his heel and striding +away. + +"There, you've done it now," complained Butler ruefully. "Of course you +had to break in and spoil it all. Now we shan't get another opportunity. +Mr. Darwood is suspicious of us, and he won't talk with us again. It's +too bad." + +"Well, you wanted to know. What's the use in beating about the bush when +you want to know a thing. I believe in asking for what you want," +protested Ned. + +"So do I, but it isn't always best to go at it bald-headed. However, +never mind, Ned. I am now convinced that there would be little use in +asking Mr. Darwood questions in any circumstances. The instant you begin +to talk Alaska with that man he is going to shy off. He fears he might +be trapped into an admission, or else he thinks we are trying to pump +him for some other reason. You may be sure that others have tried to +draw him out, believing they might obtain information that he is +supposed to possess." + +"They are a queer lot," muttered Ned. "Didn't the Captain say no one +knew anything about this gold pass, or whatever you call it?" + +"Taku Pass? Yes. That is, he said few persons knew of it, but you may be +sure that the purpose of these men up here is known. There are plenty of +gentlemen waiting to beat those four into the land of golden promise. I +don't blame the Diggers for having their suspicions of everyone about +them. I wish I could convince them that we aren't that sort of people. I +like that fellow. I'd like to help him, too," mused Tad. + +"I shouldn't. However, I'm sorry I put my foot in it," nodded Ned. + +"You needn't be. See! We are running out of the swell now." + +The steamer, soon coming under the lee of the islands, was steaming into +Fitzhugh Sound, where dangerous shoals menace the navigators of these +enchanting waters. Captain Petersen was now occupying the little bridge +just forward of the pilot house. His face was grim and set. The good +fellow was no longer present--it was now the master, bent upon attending +to his duties. + +The sound is a slender waterway, extending directly northward fully +thirty miles, more entrancing, it seemed to the boys, than any other +water over which they had sailed. The Pony Rider Boys were having a +glorious passage into the far north where they were going in search of +new adventure. They were bound for the wildest and most remote section +of Uncle Sam's domain, where they hoped to spend the summer months. + +Now that the waters had become more quiet, Stacy Brown slowly dragged +himself from the shadow of the life-boat and stood gripping the gunwale. +After getting his head leveled somewhat he walked unsteadily to his +companions who were leaning on the steamer's rail regarding him with +smiling faces. + +"Sick?" questioned Tad. + +"No; merely ailing," replied the fat boy. + +"I wouldn't be a landlubber," jeered Rector. + +"You would, if you were in my place," muttered Stacy. + +On through a panorama of changing scenes and colors sailed the +"Corsair." In Finlayson Channel, some distance farther on, the forest +that lined the shores was a solid mountain of green on each side, the +trees growing down to the water. Here the reflections were so brilliant +that the dividing line between shore and water was difficult for the +untrained eye to make out. The boys seemed to be gazing upon an optical +illusion. From the water's edge the mountains rose sheer to a great +height, their distant peaks capped with snow glistening in the morning +sunlight, while glacial streams flashed over the open spaces on the +mountain sides. + +"Is there no end to it?" wondered Tad Butler, gazing at the scenery +until his eyes ached. + +"It is all very wonderful," agreed Professor Zepplin. + +"I call it tiresome," declared the fat boy wearily. "I prefer something +exciting." + +Ned suggested that he jump overboard. Stacy replied that he would were +it not that he didn't want to put his companions to the trouble of +rescuing him. + +The entrancing scenery continued at intervals until the evening of the +second day after their unsuccessful attempt to draw out Curtis Darwood. +They were now passing through Frederick Sound, bordered by spire-shaped +glaciers that towered in the sky, pale and chaste, more than two +thousand feet above the sound. Darkness fell, the sky being overcast, +and the air chill, giving the passengers the shivers and sending them to +their cabins below. Tad Butler and Ned Rector had clambered to the top +of the deck-house and settled themselves between the two smokestacks. It +was a nice warm berth and they appreciated it. They seemed far away from +human habitation there. + +"You said you had something to tell me this evening," Ned reminded his +companion, after a few moments of contented silence. + +"Yes. It was about last night. You remember that remark of the skipper's +the other day, don't you?" + +"About what?" + +"What he said about 'Red Whiskers'?" + +"Yes." + +"I have the gentleman located, Ned. I am reasonably certain that I have. +Of course it's none of my business, but I have been curious ever since +the Captain said that. My man has red whiskers, regular combustible +whiskers," added the freckle-faced boy with a grin. + +"There are several men on board this boat who wear red upholstery on +their chins," averred Rector. + +"I know that, but this one is the fellow, all right," declared Tad in a +confident tone. + +"You know something!" exclaimed Ned. + +"I do. Don't speak so loudly. Someone might hear. I heard someone +passing along the deck just below us a moment ago." + +"No one down there could distinguish what we were saying," answered Ned, +as the two drew back farther between the steel bases of the two funnels. + +"Well?" urged Ned. + +"The man referred to by Captain Petersen is Sandy Ketcham, the tall, +lank fellow, with the squinty eyes and the stoop shoulders. He has a +trick of peering up from under his eyelids when he looks at you." + +"Oh! I know the one you mean, and I don't like his looks. How did you +know?" + +"Since the Captain made that remark about 'Red Whiskers' I have been +taking an interest in every man on the boat who wore red whiskers," said +Tad. "I tried to decide, in my own mind, which of them was the right +one." + +"So did I," admitted Ned. "But I got all mixed up. If you succeeded in +picking out the right one you are mighty sharp. I wish I were as keen as +you." + +"Keen? Not a bit of it! It was a pure accident that I found out. I just +blundered on the truth last night. The man I had picked out wasn't the +fellow at all. I had the wrong man, so you see I am not so smart as you +thought. You remember you left Stacy and myself sitting on a bale of +freight at the rear end of the boat when you went down late last +evening?" + +"Yes. Chunky was half asleep." + +"Exactly. Well, I shook him up a few moments later and he went below +grumbling because I wouldn't let him sleep when he was so comfortable. +He was liable to catch cold in the damp air. Then I went to sleep +myself," admitted Butler. "I'm not much of an adviser, am I?" + +"Go on," urged Rector. + +"Something awakened me. Two men were talking nearby. I couldn't see +them, but could hear every word they said. One of the two I recognized +by his voice. The other I was unable to place. I got him placed right +to-day though, when I heard him talking on deck. They are a precious +pair of rascals, Ned. Perhaps it is considered fair enough up here to do +those things, but I just can't hold myself when I see crookedness going +on." + +"You haven't said what it was about yet," reminded Ned. + +"They were plotting against Darwood." + +"You don't say?" + +"Yes, they were." + +"How?" + +"I am not going to tell you now. The question is, ought I to tell Mr. +Darwood? Would it be right to carry tales, even in a case like this?" + +"Not knowing what the case is I can't very well advise you," answered +Ned Rector. + +"What did they say?" + +"I'd rather not say a word about that until I have decided what to do." + +"You're a queer chap, Tad. You arouse my curiosity; then you won't +satisfy it." + +"You shall know all about it in good time. Hark! Was that you who kicked +the collar of the stack?" + +"No. I didn't hear anything. Who was the other man?" + +"His name is Ainsworth. He is a prospector, too. They are together, he +and the man Sandy. There are some others in the plot, as I learned from +the conversation, but I hardly think they are on board. I take it that +the others are to meet this party at Skagway, which proves to me that +the plans of our friends, the four Gold Diggers, were learned by the +plotters some time before the former set sail for the north country. Oh, +it is a fine game of grab they are planning! But I believe that, if Mr. +Darwood be warned in time, he will be perfectly able to take care of +himself. I am quite sure I shouldn't care to be the other fellow." + +"I don't know why we should get so excited over it," grumbled Ned. +"Darwood and his companions are no friends of ours. I should say that +quite the opposite is the case." + +"But they are real men, just the same," objected Tad. "I don't care +whether they are friendly to us or not. Come on; let's get down." + +Grasping awning spars the two lads swung down to the promenade of the +upper deck. After they had cleared the deck-house a man dropped to the +deck from the deck-house, on the opposite side. + +After a few moments' stroll, during which the boys continued their +conversation, they went below. On reaching his cabin, Butler discovered +that he had lost his pocket knife. Thinking that it had slipped from his +pocket while the two were lounging on the deck-house, Tad went back to +look for it. He was the only person in sight on deck. That part of the +deck was unlighted, save as a faint glow shone up through the engine +room grating. The freckle-faced boy looked carefully about on top of the +deck-house for several minutes, in search of his lost knife, lighting +match after match to aid him in his quest. He failed to find it. With a +grunt of disappointment he again swung himself to the deck. + +The instant his feet touched the deck, Tad Butler met with a violent +surprise. He was suddenly grabbed from behind. A powerful arm gripped +him like a vise, pinioning his own right arm to his side, while a big +hand was clapped over his mouth, forcing the lad's head violently +backwards with a jolt which for the moment he thought had dislocated his +neck. + +Tad struggled and fought with all his might, but to little purpose. The +boy realized that he was in the hands of a man who was a giant for +strength and who was slowly but surely forcing him toward the steamer's +rail. The Pony Rider Boy felt a bushy beard over his shoulder and +against his neck. Now he was against the rail, facing out over the +water. Butler knew that, despite his struggles, he was going to be +dropped over the side. Then a sudden idea came to him. Tad shot up his +free left hand, fastening his fingers in the long beard of the man +behind him. He heard a smothered exclamation over his shoulder, and for +the instant the hand over his mouth was withdrawn. + +"Help!" shouted Tad Butler. Then a blow on the head sent him limply to +the deck. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +IN DESPERATE STRAITS + + +Tad's assailant hastily gathered the boy up. The man staggered slightly, +as, after a hurried glance up and down the deck, he stepped toward the +rail with his burden. Just then footsteps were heard. + +"Hey! What are you doing there?" bellowed a voice. A man came running +from somewhere in the after part of the ship. Butler's assailant dropped +his burden, dodged into a passageway in the deck-house, closing the door +behind him and disappearing before the newcomer reached the door and +threw it open. Then the rescuer turned to the unconscious Tad Butler. + +"Well, here's trouble!" he muttered. Taking up Tad's limp form he +carried it to where the light from the grating shone up. "It's that +freckle-faced kid. Somebody gave him a tough wallop," growled the man. +Tad's rescuer was Sam Dawson, one of the Gold Diggers. "I reckon I'll +fetch him around if his neck isn't broken." + +Laying the lad down on the deck where he would have plenty of air, the +Digger worked over the Pony Rider Boy for fully five minutes before Tad +returned to consciousness. Butler was too dazed to realize what had +occurred. + +"I'll take you below now, my lad," said Dawson. + +"No, no. Not yet," protested Tad. "Wait. I want to think." + +"Who was the fellow who hit you?" demanded Dawson. + +"I--I don't know," stammered Tad. + +"What did he do it for?" + +"I--I don't know. I--" + +"You aren't very strong on information, are you?" grinned the +prospector. + +"I want--want to see Mr. Darwood." + +"You can see him to-morrow. You'd better get into your bunk right smart. +I'll help you down." + +"Thank you. I'll go alone--in a minute," said Butler, pulling himself up +by the rail to which he clung unsteadily. "I don't want anyone to know. +I'll tell Mr. Darwood what I have to say." + +"Have it your own way. I'm going to follow along behind, to see that you +get down all right," answered the man. + +"Thank you. I guess you saved me from getting a wetting," said the boy, +extending an impulsive hand. "Now I'll go to my cabin. Please don't say +anything about this. Good-night." + +Tad's progress below was slow and unsteady. Dawson watched him until the +door of the cabin had closed behind the Pony Rider Boy. + +"That's a raw deal," muttered the miner. "I'd like to punch the head of +the fellow who would do that to a kid!" + +Butler got into his bunk without awakening his companions. His head +ached terribly, and it was a long time before he fell asleep. The next +morning his head felt twice its ordinary size. The boys joked him on his +appearance, but Tad merely smiled, refusing to say what had been the +matter with him. Ned was suspicious. He knew that Butler had been +engaged in a scuffle, but what it was he was unable to imagine. Tad had +been strolling about the decks all the morning, as if in search of +someone. He found the man he was seeking late in the forenoon. The man +was sitting on a keg of nails on the after part of the upper deck, his +back to Tad. + +"Good morning, Mr. Ketcham," greeted the Pony Rider Boy. + +The red-whiskered man whirled, letting the hand that had been caressing +his beard fall limply to his side. + +"Beard hurt you?" questioned Tad sweetly. + +"None of yer business!" was the surly reply. + +"Mr. Ketcham, I know you and I know your game," began Butler in a low, +even tone. "I know, too, that you are the man who assaulted me and tried +to put me overboard." + +"I don't know what ye're talking about," growled Sandy. + +"Oh, yes you do--and so do I! I've a handful of whiskers which match +perfectly those you are wearing. Shall I pull some more for comparison +with those I already have?" questioned the boy aggravatingly. + +Ketcham half rose, then settled back again, as if fearing to trust +himself. + +"You may be thankful that you didn't do it. My companions would have +taken care of you, had anything happened to me," Tad went on composedly. +"I want to say, now, that it would be good judgment on your part not to +try any more strong-arm tactics on me or on my companions. If you do, +you will instantly find yourself in more kinds of trouble than you have +ever before experienced. Now that we know you, we shall be able to take +care of you as you deserve. I reckon you know what that means, Red +Whiskers." + +"Get out of here, before I do something to you!" roared Sandy. + +"Oh, no you won't! You don't dare raise your hand. I could turn you over +to the Captain and have you placed in irons till we get ashore. I have +proof enough to send you to a jail, if they have such places up here. +But I'm not going to do that. I am going to be fair with you and tell +you exactly what I propose. I am going to tell Curtis Darwood about you. +No, I shan't tell him who it is. I will tell him that someone is +following and watching him--you and Ainsworth. He will find you out, +never fear. I will give you one chance. Get off at the next stop, and I +will tell him after we leave there. Take your choice. Take your friend +with you. I don't want to be responsible for any shooting on this boat. +What do you say, Mr. Sandy?" + +The fellow's fingers opened and closed nervously. He attempted to speak +but failed three times. Finally he blurted out his answer: + +"Will you git out of here? I'll lose myself in a minit; then I won't +answer for what I do." + +"Never mind," answered Tad laughingly. "I can take care of myself. +_Your_ kind never did scare me worth a cent." + +Sandy sprang up. He hesitated for a few tense seconds, then strode +forward with Butler's soft chuckle in his ears. + +The two men did get off when the boat stopped late that afternoon. Tad +was at the rail watching them. Sam Dawson was also an observer of the +scene. He saw the threatening scowl that Ketcham gave the smiling Tad, +and drew his own conclusions, and at the same time decided that the +freckle-faced boy was pretty well able to hold his own. Dawson really +suspected part of the reason for this hasty disembarking, though he +thought it was because Tad had threatened to expose the man Ketcham. + +It was after supper when Tad called Ned Rector aside. + +"I promised to tell you, Ned. Come with me and listen to what I am going +to tell Mr. Darwood." + +Ned went willingly. Darwood was sitting on deck. Tad halted before him, +Darwood glancing up at the boys with languid interest. + +"May I speak with you?" asked the lad politely. + +"I reckon there's nothing to prevent," was the careless answer. + +Tad went direct to the point of his story. + +"A night or so ago I chanced to overhear two men who were passengers on +this boat talking of you and the gentlemen who were with you. They were +planning to follow and watch you. They thought you had discovered the +claim for which you have been looking for so long." + +Darwood shot an angry glance at the boy. + +"Go on," he growled. + +"From their conversation I inferred that perhaps you already had +discovered this claim and were on your way with equipment to work it. I +further understood that they were to be met by others on shore and that +the party was then to divide up and cover the movements of yourself and +your friends. One of these fellows, I think, overheard me telling part +of this story to my friend, Ned, last night, and the man tried to throw +me overboard, after nearly squeezing me to death and then punching my +head. I merely wanted to warn you to be on the lookout, and at the same +time to tell you that neither of the two men is on board now. You may +draw your own conclusions, sir." + +Ned Rector's face had flushed when Tad described the assault on himself. + +"Is that all?" asked Darwood indifferently. + +"Yes; I think so." + +"Thank you," said the Gold Digger, getting up slowly and strolling +forward. + +Ned laughed; Tad flushed. + +"That's what you get for meddling with other folks' business," declared +Rector. + +"I reckon you are right at that," answered Tad. Then he laughed +heartily. Nor did he exchange another word with the Gold Diggers of Taku +Pass during the rest of that journey on the "Corsair." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL + + +It was the early morn of a week later when the "Corsair" sailed into +Skagway harbor. Exclamations of delight were heard from every person who +had not been there before. This beautiful spot is located at the mouth +of the Skagway River, with mountains rising on all sides, from which +countless cascades rush foaming and sparkling down to the sea, or drop +sheer from such heights that one is forced to catch his breath. + +Skagway itself the Pony Rider Boys found gay with pretty cottages +climbing over the foot-hills; well-worn, flower-strewn paths leading to +the heights; the river's waters rippling over grassy flats; flower +gardens beyond the power of their vocabularies to describe. Added to +this, there was a sweetness in the air, which, as Stacy Brown expressed +it, "makes a fellow feel like sitting down and doing nothing for the +rest of his life." + +There were many trips to be taken from the city, perhaps the most +historic in all that wild country. The boys journeyed out into the +interior on the famous White Pass railway, climbed Mount Dewey to Dewey +Lake, and took a look at the hunting grounds where mountain sheep were +to be had providing one were quick enough on the trigger to get the +little animals before they leaped away. The next morning they turned +their attention to the task of purchasing such of their outfit as they +had not yet procured. + +Having been referred to a man who kept Alaskan ponies for sale, they +tramped out to the end of the long street on which the stores were +located. There, sure enough, was a large herd of them in a paddock in a +vacant lot. There were a good many vacant lots in Skagway. The boys +climbed the paddock fence and looked over the lot. + +"Me for that black one over yonder," cried Chunky. + +"Why the black one?" asked Ned. "I thought you liked the lighter colors, +the delicate tints?" + +"I do when some other fellow has to groom the animals. For a +labor-saving color give me black every time. With a black horse I can +sleep half an hour longer than any fellow who has a white one and yet be +ready for breakfast as soon as he is." + +"You're too lazy to change your mind," growled Ned Rector. + +"You want the black one, you say?" questioned Tad. + +"That's what I said." + +"And you, Ned?" + +"Oh, I don't care. I'll stand by your choice." + +"So will I," spoke up Walter. "The Professor said you were to choose +something in his class for him to ride, too." + +"Buy him a mule!" yelled Chunky. + +"Yes, that reminds me. We shall have to take a couple of mules. I wonder +if we can get them here. There comes the owner of this herd. We'll talk +to him." + +The owner of the ponies had been expecting the visit of the boys. He had +been told that they would require ponies and did not know that the Pony +Rider Boys had formed conclusions about them in advance. + +Tad introduced himself and his companions. + +"I've got just what you want, boys," nodded the owner. "Every one of +those fellows is kind and gentle and will stand without hitching." + +"That isn't exactly what we are looking for. We are not particular about +their being girls' horses. We want stock that has the gimp in it," Tad +informed him. + +"That's it, that's it. You've just hit it. Gimp! That's the word, and +there's another that fits--ginger! They're just full of ginger, every +one of them. There ain't any more lively nags in Alaska than these +fellows." + +"They must have changed within the last minute, then," smiled the Pony +Rider Boy. + +"How so?" + +"Why, you were just telling us how gentle they are, then almost in the +same breath you try to convince us that they are regular whirlwinds. +However, we'll let that go. What I do want to know is what sort of +mountain ponies they are. If they turn out not to be good mountain +climbers you may look for some trouble when we get back here." + +"Boys, every one of those nags has been brought up in this country. They +can follow a mountain trail like a deerhound, and that's straight. I +wouldn't sell you anything else." + +"Oh, no, certainly not," answered Butler. "How much for the +light-colored one?" + +"The buckskin?" + +"Yes." + +"Two hundred and fifty dollars." + +"I beg pardon?" asked Tad politely. + +"Two hundred and fifty." + +"I think you misunderstood me, sir. I didn't want to buy the whole +herd." + +"You wanted five ponies?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, there you are. The buckskin will cost you two-fifty and so will +the black. You can have any of the rest for two hundred and they're +cheap hosses at that." + +"Lead them out." + +"Then you'll take them at that?" + +"I haven't said anything about taking them, yet. I said lead them out. I +want to look them over." + +The owner smiled, but nodded to his hostler to rope and show the animals +to the young men. Tad examined a dozen head, out of which he got three +ponies, motioning to the hostler to tether them to one side where he +could look them over again. + +"What's the matter with the others?" asked the man. + +"Various things. Some are wind-broken, two have the distemper, and if +you don't watch out your whole herd will be getting it. I shall be +rather afraid to buy any stock of you on that account. How long have +they had the disease?" + +"I didn't know they had it at all," stammered the owner. + +"You had better watch them pretty carefully, then. How old is that +buckskin?" + +"Just coming four." + +"Did somebody tell you that, or did you learn it from your own +observation?" questioned Tad Butler sweetly. + +"I reckon I know a hoss's age when I look at his mouth," answered the +man, but not quite with the same assurance that he had made his first +statements. This clear-eyed, quiet young man, he began to understand, +knew a little something about horses, or at least pretended to. + +"Then, sir, you have neglected your horse education. The buckskin is +twelve years old," declared Butler firmly. + +"Mebby I might have made a mistake in looking at his mouth when I got +him," answered the owner apologetically. + +Suppressed grins might have been observed on the faces of the other +boys, who were still sitting on the paddock fence. They were leaving all +matters pertaining to the stock in Butler's hands, knowing full well +that Tad's judgment was better than theirs. + +In turn the lad once more examined the horses he had chosen, then added +to them enough to make up their allotment. + +"Stacy, you are quite sure you want the black?" he questioned. + +The fat boy nodded. + +"He has a slight ringbone," Tad informed him. + +"All the better." + +"Why do you say that? I never knew that a ringbone increased the value +of a horse." + +"A horse that wears rings must be a pretty classy horse," replied the +fat boy. "Me for the horse with the jewelry. Put a pair of natty boots +on him and there you have an outfit that would make a Mexican part with +his spurs." + +"Pshaw!" grunted Ned. "Very fancy, but not much good for real work." + +"Stacy doesn't mean that," answered Tad with a tolerant smile. + +"Yes, I do mean it." + +"We need a pack mule," said Butler, turning to the owner. "Can you tell +us where we may get one or two?" + +"Why, I've got just the critters you want. They're in the yard just back +of the stables. Say, Jim, drive out the mules." + +There were five mules in the pack driven out for their examination. +These started slowly moving about in a circle with heads well down, +trailing each other as if following a regular routine. + +"Fine young stock, hardy and true and quick," said the owner, rubbing +his palms together. + +"We don't want any quick one. We've had some experience with the quick +kind," declared Stacy Brown. "They were so quick I couldn't get out of +the way of their heels. No, siree, no quick mules for mine." + +"I don't think you need worry much about these," smiled Tad. "How much +do you ask for those fellows?" + +"How many?" + +"Two. I to take my pick." + +"A hundred apiece." + +"I wouldn't give that for the lot of them," scoffed Chunky. + +"Keep still. You aren't making this bargain," rebuked Ned, giving the +fat boy a poke in the ribs. + +Tad made a brief calculation on a slip of paper, then he looked up +severely. + +"Five ponies at seventy-five dollars would amount to three hundred and +seventy-five dollars. Two mules at forty each would be eighty more, +making a total of four hundred and fifty-five dollars," said Butler. +"I'll tell you what I will do. I will give you an even four hundred for +the five ponies I have picked out and the two mules that I shall +choose." + +"Outrageous!" exploded the owner. "Why, those mules are worth half of +the price you offer for the whole outfit." + +"Nonsense! Those mules have been used on crushers in the mines. Any one +could see that by watching them mill about in a circle--" + +"Five hundred dollars," broke in the owner. + +"Nothing doing, sir," answered Tad. "Four hundred even." + +"I'll make it four-fifty-five and not a cent less." + +"Come along, fellows. I know where we can get a better lot for the +money, anyway," declared Tad with a note of finality in his tone. + +"Don't I get my skate?" wailed Chunky. + +"Not at the price he asks. Never mind, I'll find you something better +for the money." Tad had already started away. His companions got slowly +down from the fence and followed, while the owner of the stock stood +mopping his forehead. + +"Here, take 'em!" he cried. "I might as well give them away, I suppose. +I need the money, but you're getting them for nothing." + +"You are wrong. As it is we are paying you a hundred dollars more than +the outfit is worth. Here is your money. Give me a receipt in full. We +will get the stock out some time this afternoon." + +"You're the hardest driver of a bargain I ever come up with," protested +the man. + +"You know you don't mean that. If we hadn't known something about horses +you know you would have done us to a turn," answered Tad, laughing. +"Yes, I do believe in driving a bargain, but I wouldn't ask a man to +sell me a thing at a lower price than it was worth. Just keep these +animals cut out if you will, unless you want to go to the bother of +cutting them out again." + +"I got my skate," grinned Chunky as they were walking back towards the +hotel where they were to meet the Professor. The latter had given Butler +the money for the stock earlier in the day, knowing full well that Tad +could make a much better bargain than could he. Tad had made a fair +bargain. He had obtained a good lot of stock and he planned, +furthermore, to sell the animals after finishing their journey, which +would reduce the cost at least to a nominal sum. + +The rest of the day was devoted to gathering supplies and packing. The +boys had brought their saddles, bridles and other equipment of this +nature with them, including tents and lighter camp equipment. In the +meantime they had looked about for a guide, but without success. They +were told that no doubt they would be able to find a man for their +purpose upon their arrival at Yakutat, a hundred miles further on. The +trail to that place, their informant told them, was a post trail which +they would find no difficulty in following. The post rider would not be +going through for another three days, and at any rate he undoubtedly +would travel faster than they cared to do. It was decided, therefore, +that they should start out without a guide on the morrow and make their +way to Yakutat as best they might. + +The start was made in the early morning, the great mountains and the +waters beneath it bathed in wondrous tints such as one finds nowhere +outside of these far northern regions. The boys were light-hearted, +happy, and were looking forward eagerly to experiences in the wilds of +Alaska that should wholly satisfy their longings for activity and +adventure. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TRAVELING A DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN PASS + + +To the right the well-known Chilkoot Pass extended up into the mountain +fastness, the pass that had been traveled by so many in the early rush +for the gold fields. Chilkoot a long distance to the northeast +intersects the White Horse Pass. It is a rugged trail, but an easier one +to travel than the one chosen by the Pony Rider Boys for the first stage +of their journeyings. + +The object of Professor Zepplin in choosing the route to the northwest +was to take the boys into territory that had been little explored, and +to give them their fill of what is really the wildest and most rugged +region of the United States. + +"By the way," called Rector after they had gotten well started and had +dropped the village behind them, "what became of our friends?" + +"The four gold diggers?" asked Butler. + +"They must have gone on with the ship," said Walter. + +"Yes, they must have," agreed Stacy. + +"No, they didn't," answered Tad. "I saw Dawson in town yesterday. Funny +thing, but he seemed not to see me. In fact he tried to avoid me." + +"Did you let him?" questioned Chunky. + +"Yes. Why should I wish to force myself on anyone who doesn't want to +see me? Not I. They are queer fellows. It isn't because they don't like +us, but rather because they are suspicious. They are afraid someone will +get a line on where they are going. Wouldn't it be queer if we were to +bump into them somewhere in the interior?" + +"No danger of that," spoke up the Professor. "I heard Mr. Darwood say +they were going out the Chilkoot Pass for a short distance, from which +they might branch off." + +Tad chuckled softly. + +"Why do you laugh?" demanded the Professor. + +"Oh, I was just thinking of something funny." + +"Let's hear it," begged Stacy. + +"I rather think I'll keep it to myself," answered Tad, smiling. "Let +Stacy tell you one of his funny stories." + +"All right, I'll tell you one," agreed Chunky readily. + +"Leave the telling until you get to camp," advised the Professor. "This +is a rough trail, and you need to give it your undivided attention." + +"The Professor is right. We would do well to watch out where we are +going," agreed Tad. + +"Yes, I dread to think what would happen to our packs were one of those +mules, in a moment of forgetfulness, to think he was traveling in a +circle at the end of a sweep down in a mine," said Ned. + +The trail they were now following was narrow. In fact, it was a mere +gash in the side of the mountain, winding in and out with many a sharp +turn, and there was barely room for the ponies to travel in single file. +Above them towered the mountains for thousands of feet. Below them was a +sheer precipice of fully two hundred feet, getting deeper all the time, +as they continued on a gradual ascent. + +"I don't think I should like to be the post rider on this trail," +decided Ned, gazing wide-eyed at the abyss. + +"Especially on a dark night," added Tad. + +"Or any other kind of a night," piped the fat boy. + +"Oh, I don't know about that," answered Walter. "On a dark night you +couldn't see the gorge. What we don't know doesn't hurt us, eh?" + +"There is some logic in that," agreed the Professor. + +Professor Zepplin was leading the way, dragging one mule after him at +the end of a rope. Then came Ned with the second pack mule, followed by +Tad and the other two boys. Butler wanted to follow behind the mules so +as to keep watch of them, he not feeling any too great confidence in the +worn-out old animals. + +The Professor halted at a turning-out place, where the rocks had been +worn out by the wash of a mountain stream sufficiently wide to enable +two horses to meet and pass by a tight pinch. + +"Young gentlemen, this is a wonderful country," he said. + +"It's kind of hilly," admitted Stacy. + +"In the Indian tongue, Alaska means 'the great country,'" added the +Professor. + +"Why, I didn't know you talked Indian," cried Ned. + +"I always suspected the Professor was an Indian. Now I know it," +chuckled Stacy. + +"Young men, if you will listen I shall be glad to enlighten you as to +some of the marvels of the country we are now in. If my recollection +serves me right, the country has an area of about six hundred thousand +square miles." + +Chunky uttered a long-drawn whistle of amazement. + +"Some territory that, eh, fellows?" he said, nodding. + +"If my recollection serves me right, Alaska is bigger than all the +Atlantic states combined from Maine to Louisiana." + +"That's where they have the 'gators," said Chunky. + +"And with half of Texas thrown in," continued the Professor. "It has a +coast line of about twenty-six thousand miles, a greater sea frontage +than all the shores of the United States combined." + +"Why one would travel as far as if he were to go around the world in +going over all the coast line, then, wouldn't he, Professor?" wondered +Tad. + +"Exactly. Furthermore, it extends so far towards Asia that it carries +the dominion of our great country as far west of San Francisco as New +York is east of it, making California really a central state." + +"Oh, Professor. Will you please repeat that? I didn't get it," called +the fat boy. + +"You must listen if you wish to hear what I am saying. Your mind +wanders." + +"I hope it doesn't do much wandering here. I'll surely be a dead one if +it does," retorted Stacy, peering down the sheer walls that dropped into +the gloomy pass below him. + +"To give you another illustration, were you to combine England, Ireland, +Scotland, France and Italy, you still would lack considerable of having +enough to make an Alaska. Then, added to this, are the great mountains, +thousands of feet high, and one great river--not to speak of the smaller +ones--that flows through more than two thousand miles of wonderful +country. I have given you a bird's-eye-view of the country, a small part +of which you have started to explore." + +"Yes, a fellow needs a bird's-eye up here. He has to have or he's a +goner," declared Chunky. + +"And by the way, Professor," said Tad. "Your pony is yawning with his +left hind leg." + +"Haw, haw, haw! That's a good one," laughed the fat boy. + +"What do you mean?" wondered the Professor. + +"He is stretching himself. His left hind foot at this moment is +suspended over several hundred feet of space. But don't startle him for +goodness' sake," laughed Tad. + +The Professor glanced back. Afterwards the boys declared he had gone +pale at the sight of that foot held so carelessly over the yawning +chasm, but the Professor denied the accusation. He clucked very gently +to the pony. The little animal lazily drew the foot in, and, after +trying several places, at last found a spot that appeared to suit it and +on which it placed the small foot. The boys drew a sigh of relief. + +"My, but that was a narrow escape," derided Ned. "Just think of it, +Professor." + +"Gid ap," commanded Professor Zepplin. "Look sharp that none of you does +worse." + +Now and then reaching a spot where they could get an unobstructed view +of the distance the boys were fairly thrilled by the sight of the jagged +peaks, sparkling in the sunlight, many hidden in the clouds and too high +to be seen. It was an awesome sight and at such times stilled the merry +voices of the Pony Rider Boys as they gazed off over the array of +wonderful heights. + +"What are they?" asked Ned when he first caught sight of this vista of +mountain peaks. + +"The first one should be Mt. Lituya and the next Mt. Fairweather," Tad +replied. + +"That is correct, according to the map," spoke up the Professor. "The +former is ten thousand feet high, the latter five thousand, five +hundred." + +A series of low wondering whistles were heard from the lips of the boys. +It did not seem possible that the distance to the tops of those +mountains could be so great. + +"I should like to climb one of the highest," declared Butler. + +"You can't," answered the Professor sharply. + +"Why not, Professor?" + +"Because I shall not allow it." + +"And there's another reason," announced Stacy. "You can't because you +can't. But if you did succeed in getting to the top think what sport you +could have!" + +"How so?" asked Butler. + +"You could do a toboggan slide two miles long. I reckon it would land +you somewhere over in Asia. Wouldn't that be funny?" + +"I don't know about that," reflected Butler. + +"You wouldn't know about it if you were to take the slide, either. But +how it would surprise some of those Asiatics to see a Pony Rider Boy +suddenly landing in their midst, coming from the nowhere," chuckled +Stacy. + +"I rather think it would surprise almost anyone to have a Pony Rider Boy +land in his midst," answered Tad with a smiling nod. + +"Is that some kind of joke?" demanded the fat boy. + +"No, that's an axiom," spoke up Rector. + +"An axiom?" reflected Chunky. "Oh, I know what that is. It is something +that something else revolves around, isn't it? That's the sort of thing +the world is supposed to revolve about. I know, for I read it in my +geography." + +The boys groaned. The suspicion of a smile played about the corners of +Professor Zepplin's mouth. + +"You had better go back to school rather than be traveling with real +men," advised Ned. + +"Isn't that an axiom, Professor?" called Stacy indignantly. + +"It is not." + +"Then what is one?" + +"You are a living example of one yourself," was the whimsical reply. +Stacy pondered over the Professor's retort all the rest of that day. But +when noon came and passed and no stop was made for a noonday meal, the +fat boy began to grow restive. + +"Don't we stop for something to eat?" he demanded. + +"I should like to know where?" answered Tad. + +"Isn't there a place wide enough for us, Tad?" + +"There is not." + +"But when are we going to find one?" + +"You know as much about that as I do. Remember none of us ever has been +over this trail. For aught I know we may have to sleep standing up +to-night." + +"Well, I reckon I'd just as soon fall off before dark as after. Anyhow, +I don't propose to sleep on this trail as it looks to me now--" + +"Hark!" + +Tad's voice was sharp and incisive. He was holding up one hand to impose +silence on his companions. Walter Perkins' face grew pale, the fat boy's +eyes were large and frightened. Professor Zepplin halted his pony +sharply and turning in his saddle glanced anxiously back toward his +charges. + +"What is it?" stammered Rector. + +"I don't know," answered Tad Butler. "It's something awful, whatever it +is." + +"Have no fear, young men. I know what that sound is. There is no danger +here where we are, for--" + +The Professor did not complete his sentence. The distant rumbling that +had at first attracted their attention suddenly merged into a deafening +roar, and the trail quivered under their feet. The ponies snorted and +threw up their heads, chafing at the bits. + +"Hold fast to your horses!" shouted Tad. His voice was lost in the great +roar that now overwhelmed them, sending terror to the hearts of every +Pony Rider Boy on that narrow ledge of rock known as the Yakutat trail. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CAUGHT IN A GIANT SLIDE + + +Tad knew the meaning of that rushing, roaring sound now. A few particles +chipped from the rocks far above them had struck him sharply in the +face. He knew that a landslide was sweeping down. + +His first impulse was to urge his companions forward, but upon second +thought he realized that this might be the very worst thing they could +do. His quick ears had told him that the center of the slide was ahead +of them. That was his judgment, but he knew how easily it was to be +mistaken in a moment like this. + +Glancing up the boy could see nothing but a great cloud of dust that +filled the air. His companions seemed powerless to stir, and it was +fortunate for them that such was the case, else they might have done +that which would have sent them to a quick death. + +Tad unslung his rope with the intention of casting it over a sharp rock +that extended some six feet up above the level of the trail and on the +mountainside. In an emergency it would serve to anchor him. He motioned +to the others to do the same, but either they did not understand or they +were too frightened to act. + +A sudden dust cloud obliterated the trail for fully five rods ahead of +Professor Zepplin, then went shooting out into the chasm beyond, and a +great mass of earth seemed to leap from the mountainside just above +them. It hovered right over the center of the line of ponies for an +agonizing second, then swept down on them. + +The secondary slide, which this was, had but little width, perhaps a few +feet. Furthermore, it had fallen only a short distance, so that it had +not had time to gain great velocity. The mass smote the pack mule just +ahead of Tad Butler. Tad saw the pack mule's hind feet go out from under +him. For the smallest fraction of a moment the animal stood quivering, +then his hind hoofs slipped over the edge of the trail. + +The little animal was making desperate efforts to cling to the trail +with its fore feet, at the same time trying to get its hind feet back on +solid ground. That effort was fatal. Little by little the frightened +beast slipped toward the great gulf. Evidently realizing the fate that +was in store for it, the mule brayed shrilly. + +The Pony Rider Boys sat gazing on the scene with fascinated eyes. Even +Professor Zepplin was at a loss for words, and at a greater loss for a +remedy for the disaster that was upon them. Tad Butler's brain was +working, however. + +Suddenly Tad raised his rope above his head and gave it three sharp +twirls. Then he let go. The big loop dropped over the head of the +unfortunate pack mule. + +"Jump on him and hold him down," shouted Tad. "Be careful that you don't +go over." + +The boys hesitated slightly. Perhaps they could not have accomplished +anything, but Butler did not wait to see. He had slipped from his own +pony with a sharp, commanding "Whoa" to the little animal, which served +in a measure to reassure it. + +The lad then sprang to the upright rock carrying the end of his rope +with him. He did not make the mistake of making the end fast to his own +body as he might have done in some circumstances. Instead he threw the +rope over the rock, taking one quick turn about it. He had no more than +taken that turn when the slack on the rope was suddenly taken up and the +rope was drawn taut. + +There was no need to look around to see what had happened. Butler knew +well enough without looking. The pack mule had slipped over the edge and +was hanging there with the boy's lasso about its neck. The rope was +tough rawhide, and Tad felt sure it would hold. Still, that would not +save the mule, so he made fast and sprang to the other side of the +trail. The mule, he found, was dying a terrible death. + +The freckle-faced Tad comprehended the situation in a single glance. He +knew now that it would not be possible to save the pack animal. Drawing +his revolver he placed the muzzle close to the head of the unfortunate +beast and pulled the trigger. + +The report, in the walled-in pass, sounded like the discharge of a +cannon. + +"N-n-n-now you've done it," chattered Stacy Brown. + +"Tad, Tad! What have you done?" cried the Professor. + +"I have put the poor thing out of its agony, that's all," answered +Butler. His face was pale and his eyes troubled. + +"But you've killed him," protested Professor Zepplin. + +"Didn't you see that he was choking to death, Professor? Don't you think +it was better to end his sufferings with a bullet rather than let him +slowly strangle?" + +The Professor took off his sombrero, and, with an unsteady hand, wiped +the perspiration from his forehead. + +"Too bad, too bad!" he muttered. "Yes, yes. You were right, Tad. You did +right. You thought more quickly and more clearly than I did. We had +better cut the rope and let him go. There is nothing else to be done, I +suppose." + +"There is something else to be done, sir. There is something quite +important to be done." + +"What do you mean?" + +"The pack. Surely we are not going to send that pack crashing to the +bottom of the pass. We shall have to go all the way back for more +supplies if we do that, provided we ever find a place where we can turn +around." + +"That is so. Still, lad, I am afraid it is hopeless. We never shall be +able to get the pack." + +"I think it can be done, but how I don't know yet. What time is it?" + +"The afternoon is well along," answered the Professor. + +"It'll be dark soon," spoke up Ned. "We simply must get out of this +before night or we are lost." + +"You forget about the length of the days up here at this time of the +year," reminded Tad with a faint smile. + +"That's so," agreed Rector. + +"You know it doesn't get really dark until about eleven o'clock +to-night. So you see we have plenty of time in which to get that pack +and reach a camping place before the night gets too dark for us to see +what we are about." + +Tad stepped to the edge of the trail and looked over the dead mule and +the pack lashed to him. He saw that the pack already had slipped +dangerously, and that a sudden jolt might send it hurtling into the +chasm. The lad measured the distance to the pack, with his eyes, and +also saw that he could not lean over far enough to accomplish anything. +Then an idea occurred to him. + +"Have you fellows got back your nerve so that you can help me?" he +asked. + +"Yes, sir," answered Chunky promptly. "Anything but jumping over. Don't +ask me to do that, please, or I shall be under the necessity of +returning a polite refusal." + +"I shan't ask you," answered Tad shortly. "How about you, Ned?" + +"I think I have got over my panic." + +"Good. Pass over two strong ropes here. We'll have that pack in no +time." + +"See here, Tad. I am not going to permit you to take unnecessary risks. +Before you go farther in this matter I want to know what you propose to +do," insisted the Professor. + +"I am going to secure one of these ropes to me. The boys will lower me +over the edge and I will fasten a second rope to the pack. I will tell +you what to do after that." + +"I can't permit it!" answered the Professor decisively. + +"Listen to me, please. There can be no possible danger. It is perfectly +simple. Before I go over I'll secure the rope to that rock, and in case +the boys let go, which they'd better not, I can't fall; the rope will +hold me." + +After a moment's reflection Professor Zepplin concluded that the task +would not be attended with a very great risk after all. Besides, it was +all-important that they get the pack and its contents, if this could be +done without endangering any lives. + +"How about it, sir?" asked Tad. "Time is precious." + +"You may try it, but I shall see to the fastening of the rope myself. +Make your arrangements." + +Tad lost no time in trying out his plan. He first secured one end of +their strongest rope to the rock that already had played such an +important part in their operations at that point. He next fashioned a +non-slip loop about his body under the arms, then taking the second rope +in his hands announced himself as ready. + +"Take a turn about the rock so you will have a leverage. Take up all the +slack. That's it. Now I'm all ready." + +The lad let himself over the edge of the precipice without hesitation. +There really was no great danger, but it was not a pleasant position in +which to be placed. He secured his rope to the pack lashings and tossed +the free end up to his friends. + +"How are you going to free the pack from the mule?" asked the Professor. + +"Cut it." + +"But we can't manage both you and the pack at the same time," protested +the boys. + +"You don't have to. Can't you folks think of two things at the same +time?" + +"I can when my thinking apparatus is working," returned Stacy. "The +whole plant is idle at the present moment." + +"Listen! Fasten the pack rope to that rock. Do you get that?" + +"Yes." + +"First take up all the slack or you may lose the pack after all. We +don't want any great jolt when I cut loose the lashings. Draw it up +well. Tighter! There, that's better. Now, have you got it so that it +will hold?" + +"It'll hold as long as the mountain holds together," answered Ned. + +[Illustration: Tad Freed the Pack.] + +"Then watch your rope. Here goes." + +Tad slit the cinch girth. He was obliged to make several efforts before +he freed the pack, which then swung out and away from the dead mule, +swaying back and forth for a moment or so, but safe. The boys uttered a +cheer. + +"Now shall we pull you up?" cried Ned. + +"Now, don't be in a hurry. I'm not done yet. I want to save my lasso. +You don't think I'm going to throw that away, do you? Pass me another +rope, please." + +This was done, after which Butler secured the third rope about the neck +of the mule. He tossed the free end up as he had done with the other +line. + +"Make it fast. First see if you can't give me a little slack." + +"Can't do it," called Walter. + +"Yes you can. Try again. That's the idea. A little more. You're doing +finely. You would make good sailors. Whoa! Make fast." + +Grunting and perspiring, and with aching backs, the boys made fast the +advantage they had gained. The weight of the dead mule was now resting +on the new rope which Butler had fastened about its neck. Some time was +occupied in getting his lasso loose, which had drawn very tight under +the weight of the mule. + +"That's what comes from having a good rope," said Tad. + +"Well, are you coming up? You must like it down there," cried Rector. + +"I'm almost ready. There, now see if you can get me up. Take up all your +advantage and hold it until I can get my hands on the ledge and help you +a little." + +Hauling Tad Butler up, a dead weight, was not the easiest thing in the +world. They drew him up an inch or so at a time, until at last he +fastened his hands on the edge of the trail and curled himself up. The +boys took up the slack and made fast at his direction. + +"You needn't pull any more, but stand by the rope. If I slip it will +give me a hard jolt." + +"I should say it would," muttered Ned. "How are you going to get up the +rest of the way if we don't haul you?" + +"This way." + +Tad crawled up the rope hand over hand until he was able to swing one +foot over on the trail. The rest was easy, and a moment later he was +standing on the trail, his face red, his hair and shirt wet with +perspiration. + +"Hooray!" bellowed Chunky. + +"Wait until we get the pack up. Don't waste your breath," grinned Tad. +"We are only half finished." + +The lad surveyed the situation critically. Still he saw no other way +than for them to haul the pack up by main strength. He told his +companions to get ready for real work. The pack was heavier than Tad. + +"I--I can't do another thing," wailed Chunky. + +"Why can't you?" demanded the Professor. + +"My heart won't stand it." + +"Oh, pooh!" scoffed Professor Zepplin. + +"Did you ever have a thorough physical examination, Chunky?" questioned +Ned. + +"I don't know. Why?" + +"If you had you would no doubt have found that you hadn't any heart at +all." + +"Now, Ned, that isn't fair," chided Tad laughingly. "You know Stacy has +a heart. He has shown many times that he has. The only trouble with it +is that it isn't as hard as it might be," added the freckle-faced boy +with a twinkle. + +The fat boy wasn't quite sure whether this was a compliment or +otherwise. He decided to think about it and make up his mind later. But +he most emphatically refused to pull a single pound on the rope. They +compromised by making him look out for the stock. + +Hauling the pack up was a slow and tedious process, for it was +continually catching on points of rock and threatening to drop into the +depths. Great patience was required to land it safely on the trail, but +land it they did after working and perspiring over it for nearly half an +hour. The Professor proposed that they move on at once, after having +divided the pack. Tad shook his head. + +"Not yet," he said. "I've something else to do first." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +GOING TO BED BY DAYLIGHT + + +"Something else to do?" repeated the Professor. "I know of nothing more +to be done except to get under way and try to find a safe portage." + +"I've got to bury the mule, sir." + +"Oh! Where?" + +"I'll show you. Stand clear of the rope, fellows," ordered Butler. + +Stepping to the edge of the trail he glanced down at the body of the +mule, swaying with a scarcely perceptible movement. Looking back to see +that the rope was clear, Tad drew his hunting knife and stooped over, +his companions drawing as near to the edge as they dared. + +Butler cut the rope that held the dead mule. The rope suddenly sprang +back as the unfortunate pack mule's body shot down into the shadowy +pass. The other boys instinctively drew back. Their nerve was not quite +equal to standing on the brink to watch the sight. With Tad it was +different. He seemed not to be at all affected by great heights or great +depths. He stood with the toes of his boots over the edge, gazing down +until a faint sound from far below told him that the body had struck. + +"That's all, fellows," he said, turning back to them. "I reckon we had +better do as the Professor suggests, and get under way at once. I will +confess that this bracing air is having some effect on my appetite." + +"Don't speak of it," begged Stacy. "I am trying to forget that I have an +appetite, but it's awful hard work." + +"Too bad about the mule, isn't it?" asked Rector soberly. + +Tad nodded. + +"Yes, I should say it is," agreed Stacy. "There's eight dollars of my +good money gone down into that hole." + +"Never mind. He was wind-broken and undoubtedly would have played out +before we got through the mountains. I am glad it wasn't the other one," +answered Butler cheerfully. "How is the trail ahead, Professor?" + +"I haven't looked." + +Bidding them wait until he made an inspection, Tad walked ahead. He +found the narrow trail filled with dirt and shale rock; there were many +tons of it heaped up on the trail. + +"Oh, fudge!" laughed the boy. "Fate is determined to make us turn back. +But we won't! We are going through, even if we have to build a tunnel. +Get out the shovel, Ned." + +This necessitated undoing the bundle that held all the tools of the +outfit, and also entailed the unloading of the pack on the back of the +remaining pack mule. Ned soon came trotting up with the shovel. He +uttered a long-drawn whistle when he saw the blocked trail. + +"We never shall be able to get through that," he groaned. + +"Oh, yes we shall. I'll shovel until I am tired, then you take hold and +make the dirt fly." + +"I'll do that all right," returned Rector. "I am too keen for my dinner +and supper to delay matters any more than I am obliged to. We ought to +make Chunky take a hand." + +"No, I wouldn't risk it. Before he had finished he would have lost the +shovel overboard. It is the only one we have. Here goes!" + +Tad did make the dirt fly. He was a sturdy young man, all muscle and +grit. He shoveled for twenty minutes, working his way through the great +heap of dirt. Then he straightened up, his face flushed and perspiring. + +"Go to it, Ned!" + +Ned did, with a will. An hour and a half was consumed in clearing the +trail, and, when they finished, both boys were wet with perspiration. + +"I think we had better walk for the present," suggested Tad. "We shall +stiffen up if we ride in our present overheated condition." + +Ned nodded. + +"I can't be much lamer than I am. I feel as if I had a broken hinge in +my back," he declared. + +They started on, moving with extreme care that they might not meet with +another such disaster. The remaining pack mule was a much better animal +than the one they had lost. He was possessed of better sense, too, and +seemed to understand that great responsibilities rested on his +shoulders. + +As for the trail, it was the same rugged, narrow path that they had been +following for hours. + +"What if we should meet someone here?" wondered Walter apprehensively. + +"Back up or jump over," answered Ned. + +Stacy shivered. + +"I don't like it at all," he muttered. + +The Professor uttered a shout. + +"What is it?" cried the boys all together. + +"Land ho!" was the answer. + +The boys craned their necks to see what the Professor had discovered, +but he was just rounding a bend beyond which they could not see. When +they had made the turn the boys shouted, too. The trail, they saw, +opened out into a broad pass. The ground there, though uneven, was +fairly level, thickly wooded with slender Alaskan cedar, its yellow, +lacy foliage drooping gracefully from the branches. Tall and straight, +the cedars shot up into the air until it seemed as if their slender tops +pierced the sky. + +"How beautiful!" cried Tad. + +"Wouldn't they make fish poles, though?" chuckled Ned. + +"Yes, we wouldn't have to leave home when we went fishing," answered +Stacy. "We could just sit on the back porch and drop a hook in the water +at the back of the old pasture lot." + +"How high do you think those trees are, Professor?" asked Tad. + +"All of a hundred and fifty feet. A marvelous growth." + +"I think I can appreciate the beauty of it more after I get something +inside of me," spoke up the fat boy. "Do we get anything to eat or do we +absorb landscape for our supper?" + +"I reckon we had better get busy," agreed Tad laughingly. + +They began unloading the packs at once. By the time the boys came in +with the wood the spot had assumed a really camp-like appearance. The +pots were filled with water and Tad began building a structure that was +to be their campfire when he was ready to touch it off. + +"Did you find any birch bark, Ned?" he asked. + +"Yes, there it is." + +"Oh, thank you. The cedar will burn all right, but it is a good thing to +have the birch. We shall have a supper worth while in a few minutes. +Stacy, get busy and prepare the coffee." + +For once the fat boy did not demur. He was too hungry, and was willing +to do almost anything that would hurry the supper along. Not a mouthful +had any of them eaten since breakfast. + +The ponies were browsing contentedly, but the mule had lain down and +gone to sleep. The day was still bright, though the air had grown cooler +than when the sun was at its height. Still, a warm glow suffused the +faces of the Pony Rider Boys because they had been exercising. They +usually were busy, and not one of the lads, unless it were Stacy Brown, +had a lazy streak in him. Stacy was constitutionally opposed to doing +anything that looked like real work. + +The cedar quickly blazed up into a crackling fire, consuming the +foliage. Tad took some of the brands and made a small cooking fire that +soon was a glowing bed of coals. Over this he broiled the bacon, toasted +the bread, and cooked the coffee without the least apparent effort. + +Stacy Brown sat regarding the operations. Ned said that Stacy reminded +him of a dog watching the preparation of its dinner, but the fat boy +took no notice of Ned's comparison. + +At last the meal was ready and the boys gathered around the spread that +was laid near the campfire, and began to eat with good appetites. Ned +nearly choked on a biscuit, and Tad swallowed a drink of water the wrong +way, while Walter accidentally kicked over the coffee pot, the contents +spilling over the Professor's ankle to the great damage of the +Professor's skin at that point. + +"Here, here! Is this a football scrimmage or are you young gentlemen at +your meal?" demanded the Professor. "I've seen nothing to indicate the +latter." + +"Oh, Professor," begged Tad laughingly. "Aren't you pretty hard on us?" + +"You did perfectly right, Professor," approved Stacy. "Their manners are +bad and I am glad you have called them to account. Why, their example is +so bad that I have been fearful all the time of getting into bad habits +myself." + +Ned gave him a warning look. + +"Wait!" warned Rector. + +"I can't. I'm too hungry." + +"Perhaps we have been rather rude, Professor," admitted Tad. "I beg your +pardon." + +"Show your repentance by making a fresh pot of coffee, as I have most of +the first lot in my stocking," reminded Professor Zepplin. + +It seemed odd to be eating supper in broad daylight, whereas they +ordinarily ate in the twilight or after dark. After supper, and when the +remains were cleared away, the boys strolled about, talking. At ten +o'clock the Professor called that it was time to turn in. + +"But it isn't dark yet," protested Ned. + +"The nights are short. Unless you turn in early you will not want to get +up in the morning," reminded Professor Zepplin. + +"He never does," averred Walter. + +"I don't want to turn in at chicken hours," objected Stacy. + +"Little boys should be in bed early," said Tad smilingly. + +"That's what they made me do when I was a baby. They'd tuck me in my +little crib and give me a bottle and sing me to sleep. What time does it +get daylight, Professor?" questioned the fat boy. + +"As a matter of fact it hardly gets dark," answered the Professor. "We +shall have only about three hours of real night, I think. That is about +the way it has been since we have been in this latitude. You will find +it more difficult to sleep with the morning light in your eyes than with +this light, so go to bed." + +"I am thinking the same. Good-night, all. Don't any of you boys dare +snore to-night. Remember we are sleeping in rather close quarters," +reminded Butler. + +"One of you may come in with me," offered the Professor. + +"No, thank you, we shall do very well as it is," replied Tad. + +Stacy had the usual number of complaints to make. The cedar odor +prevented his breathing properly, the sharp stickers on the cedar boughs +poked through his pajamas and into his skin. He voiced all the +complaints he could think of, after which he settled down to long, +rhythmic snores that could be heard all around the place, inside and +out. The purple twilight merged into blue shadows, then into black, +impenetrable darkness that swallowed up the pass and the two little +white tents of the Pony Rider Boys. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AN INTRUDER IN THE CAMP + + + "W'en de screech-owl light on de gable en' + En holler, Whoo-oo! oh-oh! + Den you bettah keep yo' eyeball peel, + Kase dey bring bad luck t' yo', + Oh-oh! oh-oh!" + +"Stop that noise!" shouted an angry voice from the tent occupied by the +boys. + +For a few moments silence reigned in the camp of the Pony Rider Boys. +Then the voice of the singer from somewhere outside was raised again. + + "W'en de ole black cat widdee yella eyes + Slink round like she atter ah mouse, + Den yo' bettah take keer yo'self en frien's, + Kase dey's sho'ly a witch en de house." + +"Who is making that unearthly noise?" demanded the Professor in an +irritated voice. + +"That's Stacy singing," answered Tad politely. + +"Singing?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Nonsense! Does he think he can sing?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Humph! I shall be obliged if some of you boys will remove that +impression from his mind so that I may go back to sleep." + +"Yes, sir." + + "W'en de puddle duck 'e leave de pon' + En start to comb e fedder--" + +A stone struck the rock on which Stacy Brown was sitting. Some small +particles flew up and hit him in the neck. + +"Hey, you fellows quit that!" + + "Den yo' bettah take yo' umbrell, + Kase dey's gwine to be wet wedder." + +"Yeow!" + +The fat boy left the rock, jumping right up into the air, for the wild +yell had seemed to come out of the rock itself. At that juncture three +pajama-clad figures rose from behind the rock and threw themselves upon +him. + +"Let go of my neck!" howled Chunky, fighting desperately to free +himself, not having caught a glance at his assailants, though he knew +well enough who they were. Stacy had calculated on aggravating them to +the danger point, then slipping away and hiding until breakfast time. +But he had gone a little too far with his so-called singing. + +The boys picked the fat boy up and carried him, kicking and yelling, to +a point just beyond the camp where a glacial stream trickled down, +forming in a pool some three feet deep near the trail. + +"I--I'll get even with you fellows for this. Can't you let me alone?" he +cried. + +Reaching the spring they held him by the feet and soused him into the +icy water head first, thrusting the fat boy in until his head struck the +hard bottom. He was howling lustily, howling and choking, when his head +was out of water. + +"You'll need your 'old ombrell' when we have done with you," cried Ned. + +"You will wake us up at this hour with your unearthly screeching, will +you?" demanded Tad. + +"I reckon the Professor will give you a spanking for disturbing his +morning slumbers," added Walter Perkins. + +"That's enough, fellows. Remember the water is cold," warned Butler. +"Let him go." + +They took Tad literally. They did let the fat boy go. He landed on his +head on a hard rock when they let go of him, and Stacy rolled on his +back yelling lustily. + +"Look out! There comes the Professor Stacy." + +Walter shouted the warning just in time. Professor Zepplin, stern of +face, gorgeous in a pair of new pajamas, a stick in one hand came +stalking toward the group. Stacy saw him coming. The fat boy bounded to +his feet in a hurry. He was especially interested in the cedar limb with +its sharp broken points, grasped so firmly in the right hand of the +Professor. + +"I reckon I'll see you all later," muttered Chunky as he made a bolt for +his tent. Either some one tripped him or he tripped himself. At least, +he measured his length on the ground just as the stick came in contact +with his body. It was not a hard blow, but merely a tap of reminder. The +Professor was now smiling broadly. + +Stacy leaped to his feet and ran, howling at the top of his voice, and +threatening dire revenge on the Professor. Professor Zepplin was plainly +undismayed, for he pursued with strides that made the merry onlookers +think of the seven-league boots. + +"Say, can't we arbitrate, without an appeal to force?" bellowed back +Stacy as he reached the tent. + +"We cannot," boomed the Professor's deep voice. "This is an instance in +which the punitive expedition must go through." + +_Whack! Whack!_ That stick played a tattoo that made Stacy sore in +more senses than one. Instead of burrowing deeper into the cedar boughs, +he got up hastily. In his desperation he seized the Professor's feet, +giving a mighty tug at them. + +"Here, stop that!" protested Professor Zepplin, laughing. + +He reached for the fat boy, but Chunky, with a new exertion of his +strength, brought the tutor down to a sitting position. + +"Retreat in good order, while you have a chance!" called Walter Perkins. +Three grinning faces met the fugitive at the tent. But Stacy bowled +Walter over, leaped the foot that Rector extended to trip him, and then +dashed for the shelter of the tall cedars, where he hid. + +There he shivered in his wet pajamas. It was three o'clock in the +morning, but young Brown cared not for time. His stomach told him only +that it was high breakfast time. The gnawing under his belt-line +continued. + +"I wish I hadn't been quite so fresh!" thought the boy, dismally. "It's +all right to have fun, but there are times when a square meal is worth +more." + +However, the Professor, though he was really enjoying the situation, +looked anything but amiable. + +"I'll try the crowd, anyway," thought Stacy, ruefully. "I've got to get +near the kitchen kit soon. Hello, the camp!" + +There was no response. Stacy emerged from his hiding place and began to +sing the song he had learned from Rastus Rastus in Kentucky. + +One end of the tent was suddenly raised. + +"Do you want another ducking?" demanded the angry voice of Ned Rector. + +"If you're man enough to give it to me," returned the fat boy. + +Ned came tumbling out, but by the time he had straightened up, Stacy was +nowhere in sight. The fat boy had stolen in among the trees whence he +watched the progress of events. Ned returned to his tent in disgust. No +further objection was heard from the Professor as to Chunky's vocal +exercises. + +"There's no use trying to sleep with that boy bawling away out there. +What does he think he is, a bird?" demanded Tad. + +"Sounds more like a hoot owl, the bird he was telling us about," averred +Ned. + +"I guess I'll get up. So long as he is abroad there will be no more rest +in this camp for the rest of the night." + +"Won't he catch cold? He must be all wet," said Walter solicitously. + +"I hope to goodness he does," retorted Rector. "I hope he gets such a +cold that he can't speak for a week. Then we'll have some peace." + +"Oh, I wouldn't put it quite so strongly as that," laughed Tad. +"However, I guess he will get the cold all right." + +Tad dressed himself. After finishing, he thought to look at his watch +and was disgusted to find it was only a few minutes after three o'clock. +Ned declared that he was going to sleep again if Tad would keep the fat +boy quiet. Butler promised to do his best and went out. He looked about +for Stacy but failed to see him, so the freckle-faced boy sat down on +the rock where Chunky had sat singing. + +"Hello, Tad," piped a voice behind him, causing Butler to jump a little. +Stacy had been hiding behind the rock, to which place he had crept from +the cedar forest. + +"Oh, it's you, is it?" + +"I guess so. I'm cold and--and hungry." + +"Go back to the tent. You should put on some dry clothes." + +"You don't care whether I freeze or not. Go get them for me, please." + +"I will not. You got yourself into this difficulty, now get out of it as +best you may," answered Butler. "There won't be any breakfast for three +hours yet. Tighten your belt." + +"I--I haven't any belt. I haven't my clothes on." + +"That's too bad," retorted Tad unfeelingly. + +"What'd you soak me for?" + +"A cold bath in the morning is an excellent tonic. Hadn't you ever heard +that?" + +"If I had I'd know now that it isn't true. I didn't think you could be +as mean as that, Tad." + +"I didn't think you could be so mean as to wake us up at three o'clock +in the morning with your screeching. Why did you do it?" + +"I--I was exercising my voice." + +"I should say so. But take my advice. Don't use it that way again, +especially so early in the morning. You'll ruin it and then you won't be +able to sing at all." + +"That would be a catastrophe," mumbled Chunky. + +"A blessing to the Pony Rider Boys community, you mean. Hello!" + +"What is it?" cried Stacy. + +Tad was staring fixedly at a rope suspended between two small cedars +near the tents. It was on this that some of the provisions had been hung +the previous evening. + +"Where is that ham?" he demanded, apparently not having heard his +companion's question. + +"What ham?" + +"The one I hung up there last night?" + +"I--I don't know. I didn't eat it." + +Tad got up and hastened to the "stores-line," as they called the rope +that held their meats and other provisions. He discovered that several +other articles besides the ham were missing. Even the pieces of twine +with which the provisions had been fastened to the line were missing. + +"Well, if this doesn't beat everything!" wondered Butler. + +"It does," agreed Chunky, who had made bold to approach. "I hope the +fellows won't blame me, but I reckon they will. They lay everything to +me." + +Tad did not reply. He was trying to make up his mind what had become of +the missing provisions. He turned sharply to Stacy. + +"See here, you aren't playing tricks on us, are you?" + +Stacy indignantly protested that he was not. + +"I knew you'd try to put it on me," he grumbled. "I'm pretty bad, I +know, but I don't steal." + +"Stop it! I haven't accused you of stealing. Of course I know you +wouldn't do that, but if you have taken the stuff and hidden it for a +joke, say so now before I call the others. They might not take kindly to +your joke after your early morning vocal exercises." + +"I didn't. I don't know any more about it than you do." + +Stacy's lips were blue with cold and he was chattering. Tad suddenly +observed these signs of cold and felt sorry for the boy. + +"When the others come out, you duck in and put on some dry clothes. You +will have plenty of time. I don't think they will bother you. Oh, Ned! +Professor!" called Tad. + +Ned Rector, Professor Zepplin and Walter came hurrying out. + +"Isn't there any rest at all in this camp?" protested Ned. + +"That is what I was about to inquire," declared the Professor. + +"What! _You_ here?" demanded Rector, fixing a menacing eye on the +fat boy. "Has he been cutting up again?" + +"It's something else this time." + +"What is it?" questioned Professor Zepplin sharply. + +"Did any of you folks remove the ham and the other stuff from the line +last night?" asked Butler. + +"No," replied Ned. + +"Of course not. You were the last one to attend to those things," said +the Professor. + +"I helped him tie them up," interjected "Walter. + +"And--and I watched him--them--do it," added Stacy. + +"Yes, that's about all you ever do do," objected Ned. + +"What's this you say?" questioned Professor Zepplin. "The ham missing?" + +"Yes, sir. It is nowhere about," Tad informed him. + +"Then we must have had a visit from a bear or some other animal." + +"What would a bear want with a rope?" asked Butler. + +"A rope?" + +"I left our quarter-inch reserve rope coiled at the foot of that tree +last night. It isn't there now." + +"Stacy Brown, do you know anything about this?" demanded the Professor +sternly. + +"What'd I tell you, Tad? I knew you'd be accusing me for the whole +business. I told Tad you would blame me." + +"Go put on some dry garments," commanded the Professor. + +Stacy lost no time in getting to the tent. + +"What do you make of it, Tad?" asked Professor Zepplin. + +"I can make only one thing out of it. There has been an intruder in the +camp while we slept. That intruder must have been a man. Bears do not +carry away ropes. Bears do not untie knots and take the strings away +with them," replied Tad Butler in a convincing tone. + +Stacy Brown poked his head through the tent opening. + +"What we need in this camp is a watch dog," he shouted. + +Ned Rector shied a tin can at him, whereat the fat boy ducked in out of +sight. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A MYSTERY UNSOLVED + + +"But surely whoever was here must have left some trace," protested +Professor Zepplin. + +"Perhaps you may be able to find it. I can't," answered Tad. + +"We'll all look," cried Ned. + +Tad nodded, and while they were scanning the ground he walked about the +outskirts of the camp with his glances on the ground. There was not a +footprint, not a thing to indicate that any person outside of themselves +had been near the camp. Tad was looking in particular for the strings +with which the stuff had been tied to the rope. Not finding these he was +certain that some human being had been in the camp. + +"We shall have to make the best of it and let it go at that," he said, +returning to his companions. "Shall we go to sleep again?" + +"Sleep!" shouted Ned. + +Stacy popped his head out to see what the shout was about. He ducked +back again upon encountering Rector's angry gaze. + +"If it isn't Stacy Brown raising a row it's Tad Butler, and if it isn't +Tad it's a midnight robber." + +"Or else Ned Rector himself," added the Professor. "If you young +gentlemen will excuse me I think I shall put on some clothes. We might +as well have our breakfast and get an early start, since we are all +awake." + +"I was going to suggest that," replied Tad. "I'll go rub down the ponies +while the rest of you get the breakfast." + +"Shall we dress before or after?" questioned Walter. + +"Before, of course," returned the Professor. + +Breakfast was not a very merry meal that morning. Tad was chagrined to +think a person could get into their camp and steal a ham without his +having heard the intruder. Either he had slept more soundly than usual, +or else their late visitor had been unusually stealthy. + +"I'll tell you what I think," spoke up Rector after a period of silence. + +"Out with it," answered the Professor. + +"I'll wager that some of these prospectors have ducked in here and taken +our stuff. There must be plenty of them in the mountains hereabouts." + +Tad shook his head. + +"I don't think so. I have an idea." + +"What is your idea?" questioned Professor Zepplin. + +"Are there Indians up here?" questioned Tad. + +"Many of them." + +"It was an Indian who did this job. No white man could get away with it +so skilfully. If it was, as I suspect, we might as well give it up," +concluded Butler. + +"Oh, I kissed that ham good-by a long time ago," piped Stacy solemnly. + +"I don't agree with any of you," said Ned. "I think the ham, unable to +endure Chunky's singing, took wings and flew away. Either that or it was +afraid he would kiss it again. He said he had kissed it good-by." + +"You are wrong," declared Walter. "If Stacy had got that close to the +ham he would have eaten it." + +"You're right," agreed the Professor with an emphatic nod. + +"I've got a bone to pick with you, too, Walt Perkins," warned Stacy. + +"A ham-bone?" twinkled Tad. + +"No, a drumstick." + +"The probability is that we shall never know any more about the affair +than we do now," decided the Professor. "Break camp as soon as we have +finished breakfast and we will get under way. Have you looked to see +which way the trail leads from this point, Tad?" + +"Yes, sir. That way," replied Tad, pointing. + +"Northwest?" + +"Yes, sir." + +Camp was broken in short order and within an hour they were on their +way. Though the country was very rough and rugged and the going awful, +they found the trail narrow and perilous only in spots. Generally they +found it perfectly safe. That night they camped in a pass through which +flowed a rushing glacial stream. Tall cottonwoods lined the stream and +giant arborvitae was thick and almost impassable a short distance back +from the stream. The Professor explained that this arborvitae was +ordinarily found about glaciers, and in cool, dim fiords. + +Determined not to be robbed of their provisions again, Tad led a string +through the loops made in tying the meats to the provision line. He +carried one end of the string into his tent and when he turned in he +tied the end to his wrist. + +Long after midnight he felt a jolt at his wrist that brought him to his +feet in an instant. Another jolt followed. + +The boy slipped the twine from his wrist and hurried out. The night was +not so dark but that he could make out objects distinctly. There was +nothing of an alarming nature in sight. He examined the provisions. None +had been tampered with. + +Considerably mystified, Tad returned to his tent, after rearranging his +burglar alarm, and lay down. He had just dozed off when there came +another tug more violent than the others. + +"Hang it! Something is at those provisions," he muttered. + +Tad once more slipped out. This time he remained out for a long time. He +sat down behind the tent where he waited and watched. Nothing of a +disturbing nature occurred. He could not understand it. + +"There must be ghosts around here," he muttered. "If there are, I reckon +I'll catch them before the night is over." + +He grew weary of waiting for the "ghosts," after a time, and returning +to the tent went to bed. Three times after that was the boy dragged out +by a violent tug at the rope, and three times did he return without +having discovered the cause. + +"I think I begin to smell a mouse," thought Tad Butler. + +He lay down. Again came the tugs at the string. But Tad apparently gave +no heed to them. After a time he began snoring, but stopped suddenly, +pinching himself to keep awake. A few moments later he got up quietly +and went out. This time he ran the fingers of one hand along the +provision line. The fingers stopped suddenly as they came in contact +with a second string the size of the one he had used for a burglar alarm +and evidently from the same ball of twine. + +"I thought so," chuckled the boy. "More of Chunky Brown's tricks. I +reckon I'll teach him a lesson and give him a surprise at the same time. +Let's see. Yes, I have it now." + +Tad found a quarter inch rope. He made a slip noose at one end, working +the honda or knot back and forth until it slipped easily. In reality it +was a lasso. He tucked the loop under the rear of the tent, then crawled +cautiously in after it. Great caution was necessary in order not to +disturb the other occupants of the tent, though the boys were sleeping +soundly, Stacy snoring thunderously. The fat boy's feet protruded from +under his blanket. Tad found them after a little careful groping. He +wished to make certain that he had the right feet. Satisfying himself on +this point he slipped the noose over the feet and wriggled out. + +Tad then drew the rope carefully about a slender tree, taking care that +there might be no strain on the other end about the fat boy's feet. +Using the tree as a leverage Butler gave the rope a quick jerk. A slight +commotion in the tent followed. + +He now gave the rope a mighty tug. A wild yell from the interior of the +tent told that his effort had been successful. The freckle-faced boy now +began pulling with all his might, hand over hand. Stacy Brown's yells +were loud and frightful. To his howls were added those of another voice. +Stacy was sliding out from under the rear of the tent feet first, being +dragged along on his back as Butler hauled in on the rope. + +But Stacy was not alone. Instead of one boy there were two. One of +Chunky's feet and one of Ned Rector's was fast in the loop. Tad had made +a mistake and selected a foot from each of the two boys. + +"Something's got me!" bellowed Chunky. "Help, help!" + +"It's got me, too," yelled Rector. "It's got me by the foot." + +"Oh, wow, wow! Help, help!" + +The two boys were fighting and clawing each other in their excitement. +Chunky fastened a hand in the hair of his companion fetching away a +handful. Ned retaliated by smiting Chunky on the nose. Then both grabbed +hold of the tent wall as they slipped out from under it feet first. The +tent swayed and threatened to collapse. + +Walter Perkins was struggling about in the dark, shouting to know what +had happened. Professor Zepplin roared out a similar inquiry and sprang +from his bed of boughs. He fell out into the open in his haste, but the +night was so dark that he was unable to make out a single object. He +could hear the two boys yelling at the rear of their tent, struggling +and fighting to free themselves from the grip on their ankles. + +The hauling ceased suddenly. Ned reached down and freed his foot, the +same movement freeing that of the fat boy. + +At this juncture Tad Butler dashed out from the tent, to which he had +run after having thrown the freed rope away. + +"Here, here, what's going on here?" he shouted. + +"Something got us. It was a snake," howled Chunky. "Oh, wow; oh, wow!" + +"A snake? Nonsense!" exploded the Professor. "There are no snakes in +Alaska." + +"There's one here and he's the biggest one you ever saw. Why, he twisted +right around my leg and dragged me out. I think he bit me, too," wailed +Chunky. + +"Somebody make a light here," commanded the Professor. + +"That's what I say," shouted Ned. "You pulled half the hair out of my +head, Chunky. I'll be even with you for that." + +"Did the Thing get you, too?" questioned Walter. + +"Get me? I should say it did. I never had anything grip me like that." + +Tad was busy starting the fire. The Professor, by this time, realized +that the boys were in earnest; that something really had happened to +disturb them, though he had not the least idea that it had been as bad +as they said. + +The fire began snapping briskly. Tad was bending over it in his pajamas, +standing as far back as possible to avoid the sparks. Glancing at the +others out of the corners of his eyes, he observed that Stacy's face was +pale; Ned Rector's was flushed and angry, and Ned kept passing a hand +over his head where the hair had come out. Tad could barely keep back +the laughter. + +"Now, show me!" demanded the Professor after the camp had been lighted +up. + +Stacy went into an elaborate explanation of what had occurred so far as +he knew. He said something had grabbed them by the ankles and dragged +them out under the tent. He showed where they had been dragged. The +backs of their pajamas were evidence enough of this fact, the dirt being +fairly ground into the cloth. + +The Professor fixed his keen eyes on the freckled face of Tad Butler. +The Professor was plainly suspicious, but he did not voice his +suspicion. Instead, he smiled to himself. + +"I am going back to bed, young gentlemen, and I trust there will be no +further disturbance in this camp to-night. If there is I shall be under +the necessity of taking a hand in it myself." + +"If Ned and Chunky will behave themselves, I don't believe there will be +any further trouble, sir," said Tad. + +Stacy fixed a glance of quick comprehension on Butler, and Tad saw in +that one glance that the fat boy's suspicions were aroused, too. Stacy +was sharper than Tad had given him credit for being. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +IN THE HOME OF THE THLINKITS + + +Stacy did not speak of his suspicions that night, but on the following +morning he was up earlier than the others, looking here and there about +the camp. He was unusually silent at breakfast time, but Ned Rector on +the contrary had a great deal to say. + +"Somebody was in this camp again last night. I don't know what he was +trying to do, but whatever it was, he made a good start," said Ned. + +"Perhaps it was the work of Indians," suggested Walter. + +"I shouldn't be surprised," replied the Professor dryly. + +"Perhaps," agreed Tad, "the Indian was after another ham and thought he +had hold of one when he got Chunky." + +"You keep on and I'll say something!" snorted the fat boy. + +"I have been looking at that red mark on my ankle," continued Ned. "It +was a rope that did the business. How do you suppose they ever managed +to tie it to our ankles without waking us up?" + +"I thought you did wake up," answered Tad with twinkling eyes. + +"We did afterwards, but I don't understand it at all. Didn't you hear +anything, Tad?" + +"If I remember rightly I heard two boys yelling like frightened babies." + +Once again Chunky snorted, but held his peace. Matters were rapidly +nearing a crisis. Chunky knew that he had played a mean trick on Tad by +tying a string to the provision line and giving it a jerk to wake his +companion up, thus making him believe someone was at the provisions. He +suspected that the trick had been turned on him, but he wasn't quite +sure. Stacy was covertly watching every expression on the face of Tad +Butler, every word that was uttered, Tad in the meantime continuing to +worry his fat companion. The latter stood it as long as possible. Then +he arose rather hastily and strode around to the rear of the tent, +returning a moment later with a rope in his hand. + +Tad recognized it instantly. + +"Here, if you want to know what got hold of us last night. Look at +this!" exclaimed Chunky. + +"What is it?" questioned Rector. + +"It's a rope. Don't you know a rope when you see one? It is the same +rope that dragged us from the tent by our ankles last night. Oh, this is +a fine outfit!" jeered Chunky. + +No one spoke for a few seconds. + +"Ah!" breathed the Professor. "I begin to see a light." + +"So did we," returned Stacy. "But it wasn't so very light that you could +notice it particularly." + +Ned started up, his face flushing violently. + +"Do you mean to tell me that one of our outfit dragged you and me out by +the heels last night?" he demanded. + +"Yes!" + +"Who did it?" cried Rector angrily. "I can thrash the fellow who did +that. Who is he, I say?" + +"Well, I may be wrong, but from the look of his face, I should say that +Tad Butler knows something about the affair. Mind you, I'm not saying he +did it, but I reckon he knows the man who did," observed Stacy. + +"Tad Butler, did you do that?" demanded Ned. + +"Stacy seems to think I did." + +"Then I've nothing more to say." + +"I--I thought you were going to whale the fellow who did it," reminded +Stacy. + +"I reckon I've changed my mind," muttered Ned. "I'll have a talk with +Tad later, though." + +"No time like the present," laughed Butler. + +"Young gentlemen, enough of this. I am amazed at you, Tad," rebuked +Professor Zepplin. + +"Tell them the rest, Stacy," nodded Tad. + +The fat boy hung his head. + +"Maybe I was to blame, after all. I reckon Tad was after me, not Ned," +admitted Stacy. + +"What had you done?" questioned the Professor with a poor attempt at +sternness. + +"I--I tied a string to the provision line. You know Tad had a line tied +to it with one end around his wrist so that he would know if an intruder +began to interfere with the provisions?" + +"Yes. Go on." + +"Well, as I told you, I tied another string to the rope. After Tad got +to sleep I pulled the rope. He went out to see what had done it. I guess +he didn't find it, for he went out several times after that. Oh, I made +him dance a merry dance," chuckled Stacy. "By and by I went to sleep. +That was the last I knew until I found myself sliding out of the tent on +my back." + +Everyone shouted. Stacy's droll way of telling the story was too much +for them. + +"So that was the way of it, eh?" questioned Ned. + +"So Stacy says," nodded Butler. + +"And you didn't mean to drag me out?" + +"No; the fellow who did the dragging must have gotten hold of the wrong +foot," replied Butler. + +"Then I forgive you. I would endure almost anything for the sake of +seeing Chunky get the worst of it." + +"Well, I like that!" shouted the fat boy. "I'm glad that you, too, got +some of the worst of it. Why didn't you tie the rope around his neck +while you were about it, Tad, and make a thorough job of it?" + +Nevertheless, Stacy was set upon having his revenge on Tad, even though +he was himself to blame for the trick that had been played on him. The +sun shone over the camp of the Pony Rider Boys a few hours later, and +the rough hike was again taken up. It was the middle of the fifth day +after the roping experience when the boys first caught sight of Yakutat +Bay. Huge cakes of floating ice were being thrown up into the air by the +strong gale that swept in from the Pacific, the whitened ice in strong +contrast with the black sands of the beach. + +Towering above it all, nearly five miles in the air, stood Mt. St. Elias +glistening in the mid-day sun. Rushing streams roared down the sides of +the mountain, thundering through deep gorges cut into the rocks through +perhaps thousands of years of wear. It was a tremendous spectacle, +exceeding in impressiveness anything the boys had ever looked upon. + +At their feet lay the wreck of the rude cabins of the early Thlinkit +Indians. There was no sign of any other village. The masts of a few +small schooners were visible on the southern side of the bay. It was in +this part of the waters that ships came to anchor. Here they were not +exposed to the heavy swell from the Pacific, being sheltered by islands +on the southern side. + +An Indian wrapped in a gaudy blanket went striding stolidly past the +Pony Rider party. + +"Will you tell us where the town is?" called Tad. + +Without looking at the questioner, the Indian pointed up the hill to the +right. + +"He means on top of the mountain," interpreted Stacy. + +"No. There is a trail leading up through the trees," answered Tad. "But +it can't be much of a settlement." + +"There must be quite a town here," said the Professor. "I have read that +in the year 1796 the Russians established a penal colony here, having +erected quite a plant. A city was laid out at the time, though I think I +have heard that the penal buildings were burned down. But we shall find +out more when we get to it." + +The climb was a stiff one--almost straight up, it seemed to the boys. +Three miles of this through a forest-bordered trail brought them to the +village. + +"This certainly is some town," laughed Tad. + +They saw before them a general store, two or three shops that looked as +if they were for the purpose of supplying miners' outfits, with a few +scattering cottages here and there. To the left they could make out the +smoke from the new Thlinkit village. Squaws from the latter were sitting +about the village street weaving baskets. Such beautiful baskets none of +that party ever had seen before. The boys could hardly resist the +temptation to buy, but knowing that every pound and every inch of bulk +in their packs counted, they contented themselves with admiring the +handicraft of the squaws. + +Ponies or horses were seldom seen in the Yakutat street, so those of the +Pony Rider outfit attracted no little attention. A swarm of Indian +children gathered about them, chattering half in English and half in +their native language. + +The keeper of the general store came out to greet the outfit, scenting +some trade, and shook hands with the Professor warmly. + +"Anybody'd think the Professor was his long-lost brother," chuckled +Stacy. + +A bevy of dark-eyed squaws surrounded the Professor. In several +instances papooses were strapped to their backs, the youngsters looking +as if they did not enjoy it any too well. + +"Why do they tie them up in splints?" asked Stacy. + +"To keep them from getting broken," answered Rector. + +A squaw offered Stacy a pair of beaded moccasins that were gorgeous to +his eyes. + +"How much?" + +"Fife dolee." + +"Eh? I don't hear very well?" + +"Four dolee." + +"I'll give you a dollar and fifty cents." + +"Two dolee. You take um?" + +"You bet I'll take um. It's like finding moccasins to get them for that +price." + +"You will have to carry them yourself, you know," warned Tad. + +"What do you think I'm going to do with those joy shoes?" demanded the +fat boy. + +"I supposed you intended to wear them when sitting by the fireside." + +"Like the squaw, you've got another guess coming. I'm going to send +those moccasins to my aunt in Chillicothe." + +This was an unusual thing to do. Stacy usually thought of himself, but +seldom of others. Tad called to the other boys to tell them the news. +They examined the moccasins gravely. + +At this juncture the Professor beckoned to the boys to come into the +store, which they did after hastily staking down their stock. + +"This gentleman says he thinks he can get us a guide," announced the +Professor. "I tell him we must have a reliable one, for we know +absolutely nothing about the country from here on." + +"Black or white?" questioned Stacy. + +"Oh, black, of course. There are no white guides up here. I think this +one was out with a government surveying party once," said the +store-keeper. + +"He should do very well, then," nodded the Professor, well pleased. + +"What's good enough for our Uncle Sam surely should be good enough for +us," agreed Ned Rector. "What do you say, Chunky?" + +"I decline to commit myself. I've been taken in on guides before this. +Trot out your guide and, after I've tried him out, I'll tell you what I +think of him. In buying guides I follow the same tactics that Tad Butler +does in purchasing horses." + +"Oh, you do, eh?" jeered Ned. + +"Always." + +"Then be sure you examine this fellow's legs to make certain that they +are sound. Feel his ankles that there is neither spavin nor ringbone, +then open his mouth and look at his teeth to be sure that he isn't lying +to you," advised Tad dryly. + +"After which, one Stacy Brown will be reduced to the condition that he +deserves," laughed Ned. + +"What condition?" demanded the fat boy. + +"Use your imagination." + +"It isn't working to-day. I'm too hungry." + +"Plenty of crackers and cheese and other things here," said Tad. "I am +going to have some. Isn't that 'pop' up there, sir?" he asked the +proprietor. + +"Yes; have some?" + +"What flavors have you?" + +"Sarsaparilla and ginger ale." + +"Give me both," interjected Stacy. "I'll have a pound of that cheese and +about a peck of crackers. Got anything else?" + +"Ginger snaps?" + +"Hooray! Just like being in Chillicothe, isn't it?" Stacy filched a hard +cracker and slipped it into the mouth of a papoose on its mother's back. + +The squaw did not observe the action, but one of her sister squaws +muttered something, whereat the mother snatched the cracker from the +mouth of her young hopeful, cast the cracker on the floor and put her +moccasined foot on it. She launched into a volley in her own language, +directed at Chunky. + +"That's all right, madam. Roast me all you wish. I don't care how much +you insult me so long as I don't understand a word you are saying." + +"Do you wish the cheese done up?" asked the proprietor. + +"Done up? Certainly not. I'll attend to the doing up myself." Chunky +took a large bite, then banged the end of the pop bottle against the +counter to open the bottle. The stuff was highly charged, and a good +quantity of it struck Ned Rector in the eye. Stacy waved the bottle at +arm's length before placing it to his mouth. The charge went over his +shoulder and soaked the Professor's whiskers before the fat boy +succeeded in steering the mouth of the bottle safely to his lips. + +Professor Zepplin sputtered, Ned Rector threatened, but the fat boy ate +and drank, regardless of the disturbance he had caused. + +"If you open any more of that stuff be good enough to go outdoors to do +so," advised the Professor. + +"I wuz thinking ob doig it in here and shooting a papoose with some +ginger ale," answered Stacy thickly. + +"You will keep on till you have those squaws pulling your hair, Chunky," +warned Butler. + +The other boys were by this time eating cheese, crackers and ginger +snaps. The proprietor had sent one of the Indian children to fetch the +man he had recommended as a guide, and by the time the Pony Rider Boys +had satisfied their appetites, the guide entered the store and stood +waiting to be recognized. + +The boys laughed when they saw him. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE GUIDE WHO MADE A HIT + + +The guide might have been anywhere from twenty to forty years of age. +The boys were unable to say, though they decided that he was quite +young. He was considerably shorter in stature than the Indians they had +seen, and Tad wondered if he were not an Eskimo. The guide's head was +shaven except for a tuft of black coarse hair on the top, standing +straight up, while a yellow bar of paint had been drawn perpendicularly +on each cheek. He wore a shirt that had once been white, a pair of +trousers, one leg of which extended some six inches below the knee, the +other as far above the knee of the other leg. Over his shoulders drooped +a blanket of gaudy color. The guide's feet were clad in the mucklucks +worn both in summer and winter. Taking him all in all, the man was a +smile-producing combination. + +"Are you a guide?" asked the Professor. + +"Me guide." + +"How old are you?" + +"Twenty year." + +"I think that is about it," said the store-keeper. "These natives never +know their age exactly." + +"You look to me more like an Eskimo than an Indian," observed Professor +Zepplin. + +"Me Innuit--Siwash. You savvy me?" + +Stacy scratched his head. + +"Tell him to talk United States," suggested the fat boy. + +"What is your name?" asked Tad. + +"Anvik. Me smart man, savvy? Me educate Jesuit Mission. Me pilot +Chilkoot, White Horse, Caribou; me savvy all over." + +"Do you know how to cook?" questioned the Professor. + +"Heap cook all time. Me savvy cook." + +"You don't savvy any cooking for me," declared Stacy. + +"You will think differently about it when you are hungry. Remember, you +are full of cheese and crackers now," answered Rector. + +"You have been out with the white men surveying, I am told," resumed the +Professor. + +Anvik nodded solemnly. + +"Big snow--no trail--big mountains. White men get lost. Anvik find, +Anvik know trail. Anvik big pilot. Me take um to Ikogimeut when Yukon +ice get hard so man can go safe with dog team. Big feast, big feed, tell +heap big stories, big dance. Oh, heap big time. Innuit go, plenty +Ingalik go. Me got pony, too. Buy um from Ingalik man." + +"According to his story he seems to be the big noise up here," muttered +Ned Rector. + +"He has a pony. That is one point in his favor," said Tad. + +"Wait till you see it before you call it a pony," advised Stacy. + +"Me got gun, too. Me shoot. Bang!" + +Stacy staggered back, clapping a hand to his forehead. + +"I'm shot!" he cried dramatically. + +"Stacy, do restrain yourself until we get out on the trail again," +begged the Professor. + +"Me make snare. Me catch big game in snare. Me heap big pilot. Me +Ingalik." + +"Have some cheese," urged Chunky, passing a chunk to the now squatting +Indian. + +Without the least change of expression the Indian thrust the chunk into +his mouth and permitted it to lie there, bulging out the right cheek. + +"Do you think this man will do, sir?" asked Professor Zepplin, turning +to the store-keeper. + +"He will have to if you want a guide. He is the only fellow here who has +ever acted in that capacity, so far as I know." + +"We would prefer to have a white man." + +The proprietor shook his head. + +"White men mostly are up in the gold country, Dawson, Nome, all over." + +"Isn't there gold in this part, too?" questioned Tad. + +"Yes, there's gold everywhere. You can go down and pan out gold in the +black sands on the beach here. But what's the use? There is more money +to be made in other ways in this country, unless you are lucky enough to +strike it rich before you have spent a fortune locating the claim." + +"Where you go?" demanded Anvik. + +"North. Northwest from here. We want to get into the wildest of the +country and we don't want to get lost." + +"Me no lose. Mebby me find gold, uh!" + +"We are not looking for gold," replied the Professor. + +"We are always looking for gold," corrected Stacy. "If you know where +there is gold you just lead me to it and I'll be your brother for life." + +"Me show." + +"I take back all I said about this gentleman," announced Chunky. "If the +half that he says is true, he is worth several times the price he asks." + +"How much does he ask?" inquired Rector. + +"I don't know," replied the fat boy. "He's cheap at the price, anyway." + +"When you mush?" demanded Anvik. + +"We don't have mush. We have bacon and beans, and tin biscuit and +coffee, and plenty of other things, but no mush," answered the +Professor. + +The store-keeper laughed heartily. + +"He doesn't mean something to eat. Mush means march or move, a +corruption of the French-Canadian 'marche.' He means when are you going +to set out." + +"Oh!" exclaimed the Professor. + +"I thought you were an Indian, Professor?" said Tad laughingly. "I guess +if we depend upon you for interpreter we shall get left." + +"Of course I don't understand this jargon." + +"Of course you don't," agreed Butler. + +"I doubt if any other persons do outside of the locality itself. You see +this jargon is purely local and--" + +"That's what the doctor said about a pain I had once," interjected +Stacy. "But it hurt just the same." + +"Anvik, we would like to start this afternoon, if you are ready," +announced the Professor. + +The Indian shook his head. + +"No mush to-day. Mush to-mollel." + +"Why not to-day?" + +"Innua him angry to-day." + +"Who is Innua?" demanded the Professor, bristling. "We do not care who +is angry. That has nothing to do with us." + +"He means the mountain spirits," explained the store-keeper. + +"Eh?" questioned Chunky. "Mountain spirits?" + +"He means spirits in the air," explained Butler. "We are not afraid of +spirits, Anvik." + +"Anvik no like." + +"How do you know Innua is abroad?" asked the Professor, now curious to +know more of the native superstitions. + +"See um." + +"Where?" + +"On big mountain," indicating Mt. St. Elias with a sweeping gesture. + +"He won't go until to-morrow. If you want him you will have to wait," +the store-keeper informed them. + +"Then I suppose we shall have to wait," reflected Professor Zepplin. "It +may be an excellent idea after all. We can pitch camp in the village and +acquaint our guide with our methods of doing things, Anvik, do you know +how to put up tents and make camp?" + +"Me make Ighloo, fine Ighloo. Snow no get in, cold no get in, Innua no +get in." + +"How about rain?" put in Stacy. + +"Rain no get in." + +"That's all right, then. We don't care whether the snow gets in or not, +but we don't want to have to swim out of our Ighloos in the middle of +the night. One is liable to get wet, you know," reminded Brown. + +The Professor arranged the wages with Anvik, calling upon the +store-keeper to witness the bargain and put it in writing. The Professor +then directed the boys to take the new guide out and begin his +instruction in the ways of the Pony Rider Boys. The Professor remained +to purchase necessary stores and supplies, consulting the proprietor as +to what would be needed on the journey. The advice of the store-keeper +was helpful in aiding the Professor to take only such equipment and +supplies as would be absolutely necessary. + +Anvik went to the Indian village to bring his pony, the boys in the +meantime starting off to pick a camp site. + +"One thing, boys, we mustn't play tricks on Anvik," reminded Tad. "I +have an idea that he hasn't much of a sense of humor. He might lose his +temper and run away and leave us after we were deep in the interior of +the country." + +"Do you know, I don't believe he is an Indian at all," asserted Ned +Rector. + +"Neither an Indian nor a white man," suggested Stacy wisely. + +"I think he is an Esquimo," spoke up Walter. + +"What's the odds? We don't care what his race is so long as he answers +our purpose," declared Butler. + +"He says he is an I-Knew-It, and I believe him," said Stacy Brown with +emphasis. + +"An Innuit, you mean," corrected Tad. + +"That's it, an I-Knew-It, and that's what I did--" + +"There he comes," cried Walter. + +The Indian was leading a pony that looked as if it had not felt a brush +or comb since its birth, but Tad's discerning eye noted that the little +animal was hardy and well-conditioned, though of evident temper. + +"Does he kick?" asked the boy, as Anvik tied his mount to a tree. + +"Him kick like buck caribou. Him kick all time, both ways." + +"We'll hopple him if he does," said Tad. "Be sure that you tie him so he +doesn't kick our ponies, Anvik. We can't have anything of that sort. If +he persists in kicking I'll see if I can't break him of it." + +"You horse shaman?" asked Anvik. + +"Yes, he's ashamed of his horse, that's it," chuckled Stacy. + +Tad's face wore a puzzled look, which a few seconds later gave place to +a smile of understanding. + +"Oh! you mean, am I a horse doctor? Is that it?" + +"Uh." + +"That's what he is. Anvik has got you properly located this time. Ha, +ha!" laughed Chunky. + +"Come, boys, unpack. We must give our guide his first lesson. You sit +down and watch us, Anvik, while we make camp." + +The guide did so, grunting with approval or disapproval from time to +time as the work pleased or displeased him. Under the now skillful hands +of the Pony Rider Boys the camp rapidly assumed shape and form. All the +tents were erected on this occasion in order that the guide might +observe the whole process. The tents up, the boys settled them. There +were plenty of trees about from which to get boughs for their beds, and +wood was brought and a campfire built up. This especially interested the +guide. He uttered grunts and nods of approval as he watched Tad build +the fire in true woodsman-like manner. + +"White man no make fire like Indian. You make fire like Indian." + +"Thank you," smiled Butler. + +"You make cook fire. How you make sleep fire?" + +"A little fire close up to the tent," answered Butler. "I make it so as +to get all the heat into the tent instead of sending the heat up into +the air where it will do no good." + +"Heap good. You good Indian." + +"That's what he is, Anvil, he's an Indian," cried Stacy. + +"I seem to be a good many things in this camp," laughed Tad. "Any +further compliments you can pay me, Stacy?" + +"No, but if you don't chase that buck over yonder behind the Professor's +tent, I reckon you'll lose your rope," reminded the fat boy. + +Tad sprang to his feet, leaping over the tent ropes to the rear. A +native had reached under and was hauling out Butler's lasso. Tad grabbed +the fellow by an arm and sent him spinning. + +"You get out of here or I'll wallop you!" threatened the freckle-faced +boy. "Don't you try that! It doesn't go in this outfit. Anvik, tell your +friend that someone will get knocked in the head if he steals anything +in this camp." + +The guide uttered a volley of protest in Innuit, which the assembled +squaws, papooses and bucks received in stoical silence, and with +impassive faces. + +"They don't seem to be particularly impressed by your lecture," said +Ned. + +"Him no take. Anvik tell um stick um with knife if take." + +"You will do nothing of the sort. We will do all the punishing. Don't +let me see you using your knife to stick anyone. Now, I guess you had +better show us around. Take your pony and come along," rebuked Rector. + +"Where you want go?" + +"Oh, anywhere. You lead the way. Will anything here be taken while we +are away?" questioned Ned. + +"No take. Anvik stick um if take." + +"You're a savage, that's what you are," declared Chunky. + +The boys got on their ponies, while Anvik, after letting his blanket +slip to his waist, started away at a stride that the ponies had to trot +to keep up with. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +IN THE HEART OF NATURE + + +That night the Indian slept rolled in his blanket with feet close to the +campfire in true Indian style. He neither moved nor made a sound all +night long so far as the boys knew, but just as the dawn, was graying +the skies between the great white glaciers, he was up and striding, away +on some pilgrimage of his own. He did not return until two hours later. +When the boys awoke Anvik was sitting before the fire with both hands +clasped about his bunched knees. + +"Good morning," greeted Tad, who was the first to emerge from the tents. + +"Huh!" answered the guide. + +"Is the mountain spirit willing that we should make a start this +morning?" + +"Him gone," answered the Indian. + +"Where?" + +"Not know. Mebby Yukon, mebby Caribou," with a wave of his hand that +encompassed all the territory to the north of them. "You mush bymeby?" + +"Very soon. We will have breakfast now, then we will get under way." + +Anvik nodded and grunted, then, straightening up, let fall his blanket +and began preparing the things for breakfast. One by one the Pony Rider +Boys appeared, stretching themselves and yawning. A wash in an icy +spring close at hand awakened them instantly. Stacy was the last to +emerge from his tent. He sniffed the air, then turned up his nose. + +"Bacon!" he grumbled disgustedly. + +"Don't you like it?" asked Tad. + +"I was thinking last night that if I keep on eating bacon for many +months more I'll be growing a pork rind in my stomach." + +"You don't have to eat the bacon unless you want to, Chunky." + +"Yes, I do. It's either that or starve, and Stacy Brown never will +starve so long as there is anything to eat in the shop. Where's the bath +room? I want to wash." + +"Over yonder, and don't you wash where we get our breakfast water if you +know what's good for you." + +"All water looks alike to me," answered the fat boy, walking rather +unsteadily toward the spring, rubbing his eyes. + +Breakfast that morning was rather a hurried affair, for there was much +to be done. The supplies had been brought up from the store the night +before so there was no need to wait for the place to open, and Anvik +proved to be quite handy in striking camp, needing few instructions. He +remembered well all that had been told him the previous day. + +They got away early. As before, the guide disdained to ride his pony. He +trotted along ahead, leading the little animal until some five miles +beyond the village when he leaped to the pony's back, and with a shrill +"Yip, yip!" sent it galloping ahead. This made the boys laugh. They did +not laugh for long, however. A mile beyond this they swerved from the +trail that led up parallel with the border between the United States and +the Canadian possessions and struck straight into the wilds. + +"Say, where's the trail?" demanded the perspiring Stacy when the going +became so rough that the greater part of the time they were obliged to +walk, leaving their ponies to get along as best they might. + +"There is no trail. This is the trackless wilderness," replied Butler. +"There is time to go back if you wish to." + +"No, I don't want to go back." + +Ere that day was ended Chunky almost wished he _had_ gone back +while he had the opportunity. Time and time again they were obliged to +haul their ponies up the steep sides of rocks by main force. +Fortunately, the little animals, used to mountain climbing, were +unaffected by dizzy heights or dangerous crossings, and picked their way +almost daintily. The boys were perspiring and red of face, but happy. +They thoroughly enjoyed this wild traveling. It went beyond anything +they had ever experienced. + +"I hope you are satisfied," panted the Professor when at noon they +stopped on a little plateau from which gulches fell away on all sides, +leaving them, as it were, on a magic island high in the air. "I +sincerely hope it is wild enough for you young gentlemen." + +"Not any too much so, Professor," answered Tad. "I could stand it a lot +wilder." + +"At the present rate you will have it that way." + +They built a fire and cooked a light meal, after which all hands lay +down for an hour, with the exception of Anvik, who sat bunched in his +now familiar brooding position, gazing off into space. As he sat thus, +his far-seeing eyes discovered something, but he did not change +countenance. He simply sat in dreamy-eyed silence. Perhaps what he saw +did not interest him. A column of white smoke had attracted his +attention. Promptly on the expiration of the hour that the boys had +given themselves to sleep, Anvik stepped briskly to them, shaking each +one by the shoulder. + +"Mush!" he grunted with each shake. + +"I wish you wouldn't say that," grumbled Stacy. "It makes me think I'm +going to have breakfast." + +"Heap big mush. Big snow, big mountain," grunted the Innuit, with a +sweeping gesture towards the towering peaks of the St. Elias range which +they were now entering. + +"Have we got to go through that?" begged Walter anxiously. + +"Um," replied the guide. + +"But how shall we ever make it?" + +"Mush." + +"Yes, mush," jeered Chunky. "You just spread the mush over the mountain +side and slide. Don't you understand, Walt? My, but you are thick." + +All that afternoon they fought their way through the rugged mountains, +making camp that night in a gloomy pass at the foot of Vancouver +Mountain, a vast pile that towered nearly fourteen thousand feet high. +It seemed to the Pony Rider Boys that they were a long way from +civilization, and Tad admitted that he would soon be lost were he +obliged to follow a trail up there. + +The camp was made about six o'clock, still with broad daylight, but the +boys considered that they had done enough for one day. The ponies were +weary and Tad knew better than to press them too hard. After supper the +freckle-faced boy shouldered his rifle. + +Anvik gave him a glance of inquiry. + +"Where are you going?" demanded the Professor. + +"I'm going to 'mush' a little way up the pass to see if I can't get +something worth while for our breakfast." + +"You will get lost." + +"No, that will not be possible. So long as I keep in the pass I shall be +all right. Don't worry; I'll keep in the pass all right." + +The boy plunged into the thick undergrowth, and no sooner had he done so +than the giant mosquitoes and black gnats attacked him in force. Tad +fought them until he grew tired of it, then he trudged on grimly, +permitting them to do their worst. After a time he decided that he would +get no game if he remained down in the pass, so, after carefully taking +his bearings, Tad climbed the mountain until he was able to look over +the tops of the trees. It was like a level green sea. He sat down in the +sunlight, gazing out over the wonderful landscape. + +"A world of silence," he murmured. "If Chunky were here he would say I +was getting softening of the brain. Hello!" Tad froze himself. There was +scarcely a perceptible flicker of the eyelids as his gaze became fixed +on a point of rock just across the pass. There, poised with one foot in +the air, stood an antelope. It was a young doe, as Tad surmised it to +be. His position was not a favorable one for shooting because he was in +plain sight, and the least move on his part no doubt would be discovered +by the antelope. + +"She must have scented me or else she has got a whiff from the camp. If +I don't make any false moves she will be over in that camp within the +next hour." + +Tad raised his rifle slowly. Yet slow and cautious as he was, the +antelope's head went up sharply. So did Butler's rifle. He took quick +aim and pulled the trigger. The report of his shot went crashing from +wall to wall, like a series of heavy shots. + +[Illustration: He Raised His Rifle Slowly.] + +The freckle-faced boy leaped to his feet, and to one side, with rifle +ready for another shot in case he had missed. But he had not. The +antelope had leaped into the air, turned a complete somersault, and went +crashing down into the gulch out of sight. + +"Hooray! Maybe it was a chance shot, but it was a dandy just the same. +Now I wonder if I am going to be able to find her. I think I know how." + +The boy took out his compass and got a bearing on the point where he had +last seen the antelope. Noting the course he started down the mountain +side, sliding and leaping in his haste. Crossing over the pass was more +difficult, for a broad glacial stream was rushing through the center of +it. Nothing daunted, Tad plunged in, but was swept off his feet almost +instantly and carried several rods down before he was able to check +himself by grabbing a rock. + +The rifle had been held out of the water most of the way, though it got +a pretty good wetting. The water was less swift from the rock on, and +Tad essayed another crossing. He fell only once on the way over. This +time he went in all over, rifle and all, but he got up grinning. + +"It doesn't matter much now. I can't be any wetter, and I guess the gun +isn't any the worse off, though I shall have to give it a pretty +thorough cleaning and oiling when I get back to camp." + +Having been thrown considerably off his course, Butler found some +difficulty in picking it up again, but he found it at last, then guided +by the compass made his way straight to where the antelope lay amid a +thick mass of undergrowth. He examined her and found that the bullet had +entered just behind the left shoulder. + +"I couldn't have done any better than that at fifty yards," chuckled the +boy. "The next question is, how am I going to get her to camp? I reckon +I shall have to tote her." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A PONY RIDER BOY'S PLUCK + + +"White boy him make shoot," grunted Anvik. + +"He has shot?" questioned Ned. + +"Ugh." + +"How do you know?" + +"Hear um." + +"You must have pretty good ears. I haven't heard anything," replied the +fat boy. "How do you know it wasn't someone else?" + +"Know um gun." + +"It is queer we didn't hear him," said the Professor. "Do you think he +got some game?" + +The guide nodded. + +"We shall see how good a fortune-teller you are, but the joke will be on +you if it should prove not to have been Butler at all." + +To this the guide made no reply. In the meantime, Tad Butler was having +his troubles. The problem of how to get the antelope back to camp was +not so easily solved. But Tad thought he knew a way. First he got a +stick, which he sharpened at both ends. The stick, about six feet long, +he thrust through slits he had made in the hocks of the animal, somewhat +similar to what he would have done had he been going to string the +carcass up. + +First strapping his rifle over his shoulder, the Pony Rider Boy raised +the stick to his shoulders also, and, stooping, lifted the animal. It +was a heavy burden and he staggered. The head of the antelope was +dragging on the ground, which made Butler's labor still more trying. + +The lad started away, keeping close to the stream in his search of a +fording place, but he failed to find anything that looked easier than +the portage he had used before, so he finally decided to go back to +that. By the time he reached the former point he was obliged to drop his +burden and sink down on the rocks to rest. + +"Whew, but it's hot. And the mosquitoes and the gnats! If it isn't one +pest in the wilds, it is sure to be another and a worse one," he +concluded somewhat illogically, measuring the width of the stream with +his eyes. "I'll try it." + +The weight of his burden was a help rather than otherwise in crossing +the glacial stream, for the weight kept the boy on his feet, except on +one occasion when stepping on a flat, slippery rock, they were whipped +out from under him. Tad went in all over, with the antelope on top of +him, and there he struggled and splashed, losing his foothold almost as +fast as he gained it. + +"Well, I am a muffer," gasped Tad, finally getting to his feet. "I'm +worse than Chunky. I deserve a worse wetting, but I guess that's +impossible." + +The journey to the other side was made without further mishap. Then +began a hard, grilling tramp down through the pass, the ends of the pole +on which the animal was suspended continually catching on limbs and +brush, frequently throwing Butler down, tearing his clothes and +scratching his face and neck. His dogged determination carried him +through, however, but he was in the end considerably the worse for wear. +The first his companions saw of him was when Tad fell out into the open +in plain sight of the camp, flat on his face, with the carcass on top of +him. At first glance they thought it was a live animal they had seen. + +"Get a gun, quick!" bellowed Stacy. + +"Him white boy," answered the Indian. "Him git um." + +"What, Tad?" Ned uttered a yell and started on a trot for his companion +who, by this time, was getting up slowly and with evident effort. Stacy +and Walter followed. "What have you got there? We came near letting go +at you." + +"Yes, yes, we thought you were a bear," chuckled Stacy. + +"It's a deer," cried Walter Perkins. + +"Him antelope," nodded the Indian wisely. "White boy heap much big +hunter." + +"I'm afraid I am a better hunter than I am a toter. Stacy, I fell in." + +"Ye-e-e-ow!" yelled the fat boy joyously. + +"Here, let us take him in," offered Ned, reaching for one end of the +carrying stick. + +Butler shook his head. + +"I said I was going to get him to camp alone and I shall." + +"But--" protested Ned. + +"Oh, let him carry the beast if he wants to. Tad likes to work," laughed +the fat boy. + +"Which is a heap sight more than may be said of some persons we know +of," returned Ned. + +Tad dragged the carcass into camp, casting it down a short distance from +the tents. + +"Him heap big little man," reiterated the Indian. + +"How much does the animal weigh?" asked the Professor. + +"A good ton, I should say," replied Tad, sinking down by the fire. "I'm +all tuckered out." + +"You had better get on some dry clothes." + +"These will dry in a few minutes by the fire," was the philosophical +reply. + +"Yes, that's right," bubbled Stacy. "When one side gets dry I'll pry you +over with the stick on which you brought in the carcass. You can't say I +don't do my share of the work in this outfit." + +"I think I prefer to do my own rolling. I don't dare trust you," laughed +Tad. + +"That's it, you see. When I try to do anything you won't let me." + +"Perhaps Anvik will show you how to skin and cut up the antelope." + +"I don't want to know how to skin an antelope. We don't have that kind +at home, so what's the use knowing about it? I know how to 'skin the +cat,' and that's enough," Chunky declared. + +Anvik deftly strung up the carcass and in half an hour had it neatly +dressed, the boys watching the operation with interest. + +"Heap much good meat," he nodded. + +"Yes, heap," admitted Stacy solemnly. "What are you going to do with it +all?" + +"Eat um." + +"All of it?" + +"Some of um. Mebby wolf eat um rest. Mebby bear eat um." + +"Mebby they don't. Mebby Stacy Brown will eat um if there is any left +when my hungry friends get through with it to-morrow," jeered the fat +boy. "I'll have mine rare, if you please." + +"Huh!" grunted Anvik with the suspicion of a grin on his usually stolid +countenance. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +STACY BUMPS THE BUMPS + + +One by one the travelers were hauling the ponies up a steep mountain, +over which their course lay, four days after Tad had brought in the +antelope. They had eaten their fill of the meat, hiding the rest in case +they should by any chance come that way again. + +The going had been worse than before. It could not have been tougher for +either man or beast. The mountain side up which they were struggling was +rough and rugged. A short distance to the right of them the quartz rock +was as smooth as polished marble save for a hummock here and there, some +of the latter smooth, others rough. Neither Pony Rider Boy nor pony +could have held his footing there for an instant. + +After two hours' toil they got the last of the stock up, which in this +case was the pack mule. Ned pulled on the rope while Tad and Anvik +pushed. They were safe in doing so, for the mule could not kick without +going down altogether. Furthermore, it was as anxious as its helpers to +get to the top and have the disagreeable job over with. The result was +that all hands were pretty well fagged out by the time they got to a +level space from which their way led around the base of the higher +mountain. + +"Now, Stacy, you haven't done much except to give us the benefit of your +advice, so take the mule over yonder and tether him where he can +browse," directed Butler. "Walter, did you tether the others?" + +"I did." + +"Come on, you lazy mule. I'm not going to tote you. You'll tote yourself +if you want a feed," growled Stacy, taking hold of the lead rope and +slouching off to the right. The bushes where they had placed the ponies +were about ten rods to the northward of the point at which the party had +landed. Stacy was apparently trying to see how near he could walk to the +edge without himself or the mule slipping down that glassy side of +granite-like rocks. + +"Come along, you lazy cayuse," he yelled, giving the lead line a series +of tugs. It was like pulling on a dead weight, the pack mule being too +weary to hasten its lagging footsteps. Chunky turned around and taking +firm grip on the rope with both hands began to pull with all his might. +The mule braced himself. He resented this sort of treatment. + +The halter suddenly slipped over the animal's head, and the pack mule +sat down heavily. So did the fat boy. Unfortunately for the mule it sat +down with its haunches slightly over the edge of the slope, and down it +went over the slippery surface. + +"There goes the other mule!" yelled Walter Perkins. + +"Fat boy him go, too," grunted Anvik. + +They had failed to observe Stacy. What they were most interested in was +the sight of their pack mule sliding down the slope backwards in a +sitting posture. Alarmed as they were to see their stores disappearing, +the ludicrousness of the sight interested them. The mule came in contact +with one of the high places--a rocky bump, which bounced him up into the +air and turned him completely around. Down to the next obstruction the +animal traveled, principally on its nose. + +Stacy Brown was only a few seconds behind the mule. The two had sat down +facing each other. The mule being the heavier had gone first and, when +once under way, his momentum carried him along with greater force and +speed. + +With a wild yell, the fat boy, sprawling and struggling to catch hold of +something to stop his progress, began the descent. Below him he could +hear the rattle of tin cans, for the pack had broken open. It was +raining canned goods down there, but Stacy was not particularly +interested in this phase of the situation. He hit the bump over which +the pack mule had leaped, was hurled up into the air, where he did a +dizzy spin, then sat down with a force that for the instant knocked all +the breath out of him, and once more he shot towards the bottom. + +"They'll both be killed!" cried the Professor in great alarm. + +Tad, comprehending the scene in a twinkling, started on a run. Choosing +a point where there were no bumps in the way, he crept over and, sitting +on his feet, supported on each side by his hands, began a downward +shoot. But the freckle-faced boy did not long maintain that position. A +few seconds after starting he was flat on his back, going down feet +first at a speed that fairly took his breath away. + +Ere he was half-way down, the mule had reached the end of its journey at +the bottom of the slope. Then Stacy Brown came along, but not much more +gracefully than the mule, and landed feet first on the animal. What the +slide and the bumps had failed to do for the unfortunate beast, Stacy +Brown did. He was a human projectile and the mule, that had got to its +fore feet, promptly lay down again under the impact. Chunky did a +graceful dive over the body of his prostrate enemy, landing on his +shoulders in a thicket. + +"Stacy! Stacy!" yelled Tad as he reached the end of his own slide and +got to his feet. Tad had not been in the least injured by the fall. +"Stacy!" + +"What do you want?" + +"Are you hurt?" + +"No." + +"Then come and help me get the mule up." + +"I can't." + +"Why not?" + +"I'm strung up." + +Tad did not know what the trouble was, but he lost no time in getting to +his companion. Butler gazed, then he burst out laughing. Chunky lay on +his back on the ground, his eyes rolling. One foot was elevated as high +as it could reach and still permit the boy's body to remain on the +ground. The foot was caught in the crotch of a dwarfed tree, and was +wedged in tightly, too. + +"Gracious! How did you ever manage to get into that scrape?" questioned +Tad between laughs. "Hey, Ned, is that you?" as a crashing in the bushes +was heard near at hand. + +"Yes. I'm coming. Is Stacy hurt?" + +"No, but come here quick. Here's a sight for you!" + +Ned threshed his way to them, then he, too, burst out into a roar of +laughter. + +"Ha, ha!" mocked Chunky. "That's right. Never mind me. I'm only the fat +boy, taken along to do stunts to make the rest of you laugh. I'm quite +comfortable, thank you. I can stand on my head here for any old length +of time. Have your laugh out, then shoot me! I don't want to die a +lingering death." + +"I'll lift him up. You get the foot out, Ned," directed Tad. + +This was not so easily accomplished. Butler tried different ways of +doing this, but each time the fat boy's yells made him stop short. Every +attempt to lift Stacy gave his foot a wrench, bringing forth a howl. + +"Let me have your hatchet," demanded Tad. Ned passed it over. + +"What are you going to do? Going to chop my leg off?" demanded Stacy. + +"Don't worry. It won't hurt but a moment." + +"Pro-o-o-o-fessor!" + +"Keep still, you ninny! We aren't going to hurt you," growled Ned. + +Tad was already hacking at the tree, which was small, but very tough. +Every blow brought a yell from the fat boy. He couldn't have made much +more racket had his companions in reality been amputating the leg +itself. + +At last Butler had chopped through. He grabbed the tree, but Stacy, +jerking on his foot, pulled the tree right over on him, incidentally +throwing Tad down. Then Chunky let out a fresh series of howls as the +sharp sprouts smote him on the face and body. The foot, however, had +come free with the falling of the tree, but the boy still lay there +groaning, making no effort to help himself. + +"Get up! You're all right," commanded Ned, jerking Stacy out by the +collar. "See what you've accomplished now. You have done for our last +mule. Had you not been along I don't believe the other one would have +fallen off the trail." + +"That's right. Save the donk, but never mind a Stacy Brown. He's a good +joke, that's all," complained Stacy. + +Tad had run to the pack mule which had got up, and was standing with +nose close to the ground. + +"He isn't hurt," cried Tad. "He is all right, Professor," he called. +"Both mules are all right. Hooray!" + +"Eh?" growled Stacy, flushing hotly. + +Anvik, who had been making his way down by a more roundabout way, now +made his appearance. He grunted upon discovering the disheveled Chunky, +and shrugged his shoulders as he observed the display of tin cans strewn +about. + +"Much heap big fool!" ejaculated the Indian. + +"Are you addressing your remarks to me or to the mule?" demanded Stacy +calmly. + +"Huh!" That was the only reply Stacy got, and Anvik began gathering up +the stuff that had been lost from the battered pack. This was no small +task, owing to the way the provisions had been scattered. Butler, in the +meantime, had gone over the pack mule carefully to see if there were any +serious injuries. + +"He's a lucky mule," announced the lad. "There are no bones broken, but +I'll warrant he aches all over from the shaking up he has had. I shall +have to sew up that gash on his side when we get him up." + +"Let's get started and boost him up, then," urged Rector. + +"No, let the beggar rest. I haven't the heart to drag him up that +mountain again until he recovers from the shock. We'll tether him and +help Anvik get the provisions up first. Stacy, are you able to work?" + +"What you want me to do?" + +"Carry some of these stores up." + +The fat boy shook his head. + +"My weak heart won't stand it," he answered. Thrusting his hands in his +pockets he strolled off. + +The two boys looked at each other and Tad shook his head hopelessly. Ned +picked up a stone and savagely shied it at a tomato can. It hit the can +and split it wide open. + +"If you must give vent to your emotions I wish you would throw stones at +a tree, or at something that won't deplete our stores," suggested +Butler. "Now see what you've done." + +Stacy had promptly rescued the split tomato can and carefully holding it +before him stepped gingerly over to a rock on which he sat down and +began eating of the contents of the can. + +"I don't want to see. Stacy riles me so that I want to thrash him. I'll +do it some day, too!" threatened Ned. + +Stacy paid no attention to Rector's threats, but having finally emptied +the can, he threw it at Ned, then began climbing the mountain to rejoin +the outfit. + +It was all of two hours ere they finished their work of bringing the +damaged supplies up the mountain side. Then came a tug of war in getting +the mule up once more, the brute hanging back, the boys pulling and +pushing. The Professor had a new pack cover all cut and sewed by the +time they had finished. The boys decided to camp where they were for an +hour longer, then go on, making a late camp that afternoon, the days +being so long that this could be done without night traveling, which was +very perilous in that rugged section. + +They finally took up their journey, making camp on a high plateau where +Tad was destined to make an important discovery before they set out on +the following day. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE STORY IN THE DEAD FIRE + + +It was an hour past daylight on the following morning when Tad, who had +got up early, shouldered his rifle and stalked out of camp, returned. +The other boys were just out of their beds, heading for a spring to +"wash their eyes open." + +Tad did not show himself to them at once. There was no real reason for +his caution, save that he was a woodsman and therefore always cautious +as to the moves he made. Anvik caught sight of him instantly, and Tad +beckoned. The guide did not appear to have observed the signal, but +taking up his hatchet as if going out for wood, he strode from the camp +also, and Butler seeing that the guide was coming, turned and walked +briskly away from the camp. + +The freckle-faced boy led for a short quarter of a mile straight over +the plateau, a thickly wooded, rugged plain. Then he halted, waiting for +the guide to come up. Tad pointed to a heap of ashes, the remains of a +campfire. + +"Huh!" grunted the Indian. + +"Someone has been here before us," nodded Tad. "And not so very long +ago, I should say. What do you make of it, Anvik?" + +"You see um?" + +Butler nodded. + +"What you see?" + +"A dead campfire." + +"Huh. Heap much. What else you see?" + +"I see a few things, Anvik. Of course I can't see as much as you do, but +I should say this camp was not more than a day old. This fire was +blazing yesterday. The ashes aren't the right color for a very old one." + +"One sun," grunted the Indian. + +"It looks to me as if there had been two men here. Am I right?" + +"Heap good. Two men. Leave, big hurry. Him go that way. Stay here two +hour. Wonder why big hurry?" + +"Perhaps they wanted to get somewhere, some place for which they had set +out in a hurry. They had two ponies and pretty heavy packs." + +Anvik nodded. + +"White boy much wise. Him see almost like Indian. My father him shaman. +Him teach Anvik see many thing. White boy him see almost as much as +Anvik." + +"Where do you think they are going?" + +"Not know." + +"Perhaps they are miners prospecting for a claim." + +Anvik shook his head. + +"Too much big hurry. No prospect. Mebby go get claim. Mebby see um +again." + +"I hope we do. It would be pleasant to have some company in this wild +place. They went in that direction when they broke camp. Is that the way +we go?" asked Tad. + +"We follow um trail." + +"Then let's go back and get ready to move." + +The pair strode back without another word, the Indian's admiration for +the freckle-faced boy having increased greatly since Tad had beckoned +him from the camp. + +Shortly after noon as they were casting about for a favorable place in +which to make their mid-day halt, Ned Rector, who was riding to the +right of the others, uttered a shout. + +"What is it?" cried Tad. + +"There has been a campfire here." + +"How did you find it?" wondered Tad. + +"My pony walked through it and kicked up the ashes. Who do you suppose +it could have been?" + +"I am sure I don't know. See anything about the remains of the fire that +tells you anything?" + +"No. What is there to see, Tad?" + +"It takes a woodsman to see things," declared Stacy Brown, getting from +his saddle and gravely strolling to the heap of ashes, into which he +thrust one hand. + +"Well?" grinned Tad. + +"Ashes warm. Haven't been away from here very long." + +"Great!" cried the boys. + +"You are a wonder," nodded Butler approvingly. "But you all missed the +other one." + +"The other what?" demanded Ned. + +"The other campfire. There was another right near where we camped last +night. In that case the ashes were cold. The travelers haven't made as +much progress to-day as I should have thought they would, and it looks +to me as though they thought they were moving rather too rapidly and had +slowed down a little. What do you say, Anvik?" + +"Huh!" grunted the Indian, which Tad interpreted as meaning that he was +right. + +The Professor was much interested in the discovery, and asked Tad and +Anvik many questions about the earlier discovery. Still, there was not +much to be learned. A stranger in this wild place was something to +attract the attention and cause speculation and discussion, so during +the rest hour they talked of little else. Tad thought they would come up +with the two strangers, but the guide shook his head. + +"Him go north. Anvik go northwest. No see." + +"We shall see by to-morrow. I have an idea that we are going to catch up +with our friends before we get across the mountains," averred Tad +confidently. + +"Lunch is ready," announced the Professor. + +"And speaking of food, I'm a little hungry myself," said Tad with a +laugh. "I really am glad there is no one in our outfit with a delicate +appetite. Walt, do you remember what a dainty picker you were when we +first went out together?" + +"Yes. I have changed since then, haven't I?" + +"I should say you have. From a delicate little chap you've gotten to be +a regular whopper." + +"Yes, I reckon we've all grown some," agreed Chunky. "But if this kind +of going continues we'll all shrink away to nothing." + +"You will be able to lift a house after you have finished this journey," +laughed Tad. + +"I don't want to lift a house. I've got all I can do to lift myself." + +Soon after, the party started on, to meet with a surprise ere they had +gone far on their journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A SIGN FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOP + + +The surprise did not come until just before night closed in, shortly +after ten o'clock that night. + +A hard, grilling day had been spent on the trail, with little relief +from their labors, which were divided between hauling the ponies up +dangerous slopes, down almost sheer walls, across glacial streams cold +as ice, and last but not least the fighting of giant mosquitoes and +black gnats. + +"There is only one thing lacking to make this country the limit," +declared Stacy after they had made camp and settled down to warm +themselves while the guide was getting supper. + +"And what might that be?" questioned the Professor. + +"Snakes!" + +"Thank goodness there aren't any such things here," exclaimed Rector. +"It is bad enough as it is. Hark! What's that?" + +"Him wolf," grunted the Indian. + +"I should say there were several of 'him,'" laughed Tad Butler. "They +seemed to be stirred up about something. Are they timber wolves, Anvik?" + +The guide nodded and grunted. + +"Are you afraid of wolves?" demanded Rector. + +"No 'fraid wolves. Mebby 'fraid Ingalik." + +Tad drew from this that the Indian had something in mind that he had not +spoken to them about. The freckle-faced boy eyed the Indian keenly, but +Anvik's impassive face told him nothing. The guide had discovered +something else. Tad was sure of that, but what that something was the +boy had not the slightest idea. + +Tad's gaze roved about over the landscape, traveling slowly from +mountain to mountain, from peak to peak. Twice he went over the rugged +landscape spread out before them with his searching glances. Suddenly +his gaze halted and fixed on the peak of a low mountain off to the +northwest of them. Butler shaded his eyes, and Anvik, observing the +action, followed the direction of the boy's gaze. + +The guide made no move, nor did he change expression, but Tad saw that +Anvik saw. A tiny ring of smoke was rising slowly from the low mountain +peak, swaying lazily as it rose in the quiet air. It was almost white. +One might have taken it for a cloud did he not know better, and only a +mountaineer would have known better. + +A moment and a second ring ascended in the wake of the first one, then +after another interval a third ring rose. + +"What are you looking at?" demanded the Professor sharply. + +"Smoke," answered Tad. + +"Where?" + +"On that low peak. Where are the glasses?" + +Ned hurriedly fetched the glasses. He took the first look, but saw no +smoke. Tad reached for them. By this time another ring was rising. It, +like the first one he had seen, was followed by two others. + +"It's a signal!" announced Butler quietly. "Now what can it mean?" + +"It means trouble for us," spoke up Stacy. "I can feel it in my bones." + +"Who would desire to make trouble for us here?" demanded the Professor. + +"I don't know," replied Tad. "I don't believe that smoke has anything to +do with us. It must be an Indian signal." + +"No Indian," grunted Anvik. "Him white man smoke." + +"How do you know?" questioned the Professor sharply. + +"Me know." + +"Then perhaps you may be able to tell us whose smoke it is?" + +"Him white man. Mebby same man, mebby not. White man all same. Him call +other white man. Him say some along, by jink." + +"Let's make a smoke and answer him," suggested Ned eagerly. "That would +be a joke on him, whoever he is." + +Tad said "no," and said it emphatically. + +"No make smoke," agreed the Indian. "Smoke want white man off +yonder"--pointing to the southwest. + +"How do you know that?" asked Butler. + +"Smoke him go that way. Want us, smoke him go this way." + +"I never knew that before," reflected Tad. "You see, boys, they make +these signal smokes by building a smudge, then holding a blanket over +the smudge. By removing the blanket and replacing it they can make a +definite number of smokes, long smokes or short smokes; in fact, they +can almost make words, like the telegraph. It is a wonderful thing. I +wouldn't be surprised if those signals could be made out twenty or +thirty miles away, if one had eyes sharp enough to detect them." + +"But what are they signaling for?" demanded Stacy. + +"I don't know. Anvik says it is white men. I can't tell you anything +about that. Smoke is just smoke to me. They are communicating with +someone. We shan't see them, as they must be all of ten miles away." + +"Fifteen," corrected the guide. + +"That shows how poorly a novice judges distances in this country," +nodded Butler. "They may see our fire to-night. If they are friendly we +shall no doubt meet them. If they are not, we may never see a sign of +them again. That is the way I reason it out." + +Anvik grunted and nodded. The Indian understood a great deal more of +what was being said than one would have supposed. In fact, to look at +him one would not think he had even heard anything of what was being +said about him. He was the silent, impassive-faced stoic of his race. + +After darkness had set in the boys scanned the mountains for the light +of a campfire, but there was no light to be seen. The Pony Rider Boys' +campfire, however, was blazing up brightly, they having built up a large +fire on purpose to attract the attention of the men who had made the +smoke signals from the low mountain peak, low in comparison with the ten +and fifteen thousand feet ranges about them. The boys turned in at +midnight, a late hour for them, and were sound asleep within two minutes +thereafter. They were aroused an hour later by the most terrifying roar +they had ever listened to. + +"What's the matter?" cried Tad, springing from his tent, trying to +pierce the darkness with his gaze. + +"Is--is the world coming to an end?" yelled Ned. + +"I guess the mountain is falling down," shouted Stacy. + +"Guide, guide!" roared the Professor. + +Anvik, drawing his blanket still more closely about him, stepped over +and threw some fresh sticks on the fire. The roaring by this time had +become a thunderous, crashing noise that fairly deafened them. One had +to shout to make himself heard. Fine particles, like sharp stones, began +raining down upon them, stinging the faces, causing the boys to shield +their eyes with their arms. Stacy, in alarm, ran and hid in the tent; +the others stood their ground, yet not knowing what second they might be +caught in what seemed to them to be a great upheaval of nature. + +"It's an earthquake," shouted Ned Rector. + +Stacy heard the words in a brief lull. The fat boy burst from his tent +yelling like a wild Indian. + +"An earthquake! Oh, wow, wow, wow! We'll all be shot to pieces. Oh, +help!" + +Tad grabbed the boy by a shoulder, giving him a good shaking. + +"Stop that noise!" he commanded. "Don't yell until you are hurt." + +"I want to yell now. Maybe I can't yell after I'm hurt," returned +Chunky. + +"Guide! What is it?" roared the Professor, the perspiration standing out +over his face, as Tad observed when the fire blazed up. + +Anvik finished what he was doing before he answered. Then he spoke +without looking up. + +"Him mountain fall down." + +"Is it an ice slide?" shouted Tad. + +"Ugh!" + +"An avalanche, do you mean?" + +"Yes; an ice-avalanche," explained the Professor. "I have seen them in +other parts of the world." + +"Sun make him ice weak; ice fall down," explained Anvik. + +"How about danger for us?" asked Walter. + +For answer the Indian shrugged his shoulders and went on poking the +fire. Then, of a sudden, there came a crash like a salvo of artillery. A +crushing, grinding mass shot by them, snuffing out the fire as it +passed. + +Darkness and a terrifying silence followed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +AN UNEXPECTED MEETING + + +After the roar of the passing avalanche had ceased, and the awed silence +became oppressive, Stacy Brown's voice was heard. + +"Ow-wow!" he wailed. + +"Are we all here, and safe?" called Tad. "Professor, Ned, Walter, +Anvik!" + +Each answered to his name. + +"You didn't call for me," Chunky protested indignantly. "Don't I count +in this outfit?" + +"That's easy," answered Tad. "When you're not making a noise we know +you're somewhere else. Let's see what the ice did to our camp." + +"Heap one piece ice fall," grunted the guide. "Him sit on fire. Innua +him mad, by jink!" + +"Is Innua the scoundrel who has been throwing sections of mountains at +us?" demanded Walter. + +"He means the mountain spirit," explained Tad. "Don't you recall that +Anvik wouldn't start out with us the first day because he said the +mountain spirit was in a blue funk, or something of the sort?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"Old Innua must have been in a rage to-night then, and we are lucky that +we weren't in range of his projectiles," chuckled Tad. + +Beyond destroying their fire, no damage had been done to the camp. +However, after the excitement no one felt like sleep, so the boys sat +about the fire discussing the ice avalanche for an hour or more. Then, +at the Professor's urgent insistence, they turned in. Anvik long since +had wound himself up in his blanket and gone to sleep. + +Just as the dawn was graying, Tad got up, and shouldering his rifle +slipped from the camp unobserved by anyone except the Indian. Anvik +opened one eye, regarded the boy inquiringly, then closing the eye, +dozed off. He was by this time too well used to Tad's morning excursions +to ask any questions. He knew the boy was well able to take care of +himself. + +Tad had a two-fold purpose in view in going out this morning. He wanted +to get some fresh meat for the outfit and he also was curious to know +what the smoke of the previous evening had meant. While he did not +expect to come up with any strangers, he thought that, perhaps he might +discover something. + +Tad did. He had proceeded less than a mile from camp when he smelled +smoke. At first he thought the odor must come from his own camp, then he +saw that the slight breeze was from the opposite direction. + +"That means that someone isn't far ahead of me. It means I am going to +find out who it is if I can." + +After floundering about for fully half an hour, with the odor of smoke +becoming more pungent all the time, the boy was on the point of +confessing that he was beaten, when all at once he caught the sound of a +human voice. The voice was not loud enough to enable him to distinguish +the words, but he was quite sure it was the voice of a white man and not +far away at that. + +"They have masked their camp. That's why I haven't been able to find +them," muttered the boy, starting ahead again. After creeping forward +cautiously for some time, a wave of suffocating smoke from burning wood +smote him full in the face. + +Tad uttered a loud sneeze. Two men suddenly appeared in the haze of +smoke, and the boy heard the sound of hands slapping pistol holsters. He +was able to make the men out faintly, but not with sufficient clearness +to see who or what they were. + +"Hold on, boys--don't shoot!" warned Butler, as he stepped around the +smudge to enable him to get a better view of the men whom he had come +upon so unexpectedly, to them. + +Before him stood Curtis Darwood and Dill Bruce, the latter known among +his companions as the Pickle. Each man held his revolver ready for quick +action. + +"Why, how do you do?" smiled Tad. "I hadn't the least idea I should find +anyone I knew." + +"Well, suffering blue jays, if it isn't old Spotted Face!" exclaimed +Bruce. "Howdy?" + +"Very good. How are you?" Tad stepped forward. Bruce shook hands +cordially with the boy. Tad turned to Darwood, who had not said a word. +The latter's face darkened, and he appeared not to have observed the +hand that Tad extended toward him. + +"Aren't you going to shake hands with me, Mr. Darwood?" asked the lad. + +"I reckon you ought to know better than to ask it," returned the gold +digger. "I reckon, further, that if you know what's good for you you'll +be mushing out of this as fast as your legs will carry you, unless you +are looking for trouble. Git!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +AN UNFRIENDLY RECEPTION + + +Tad gazed at the gold digger in amazement. + +"I--I don't understand, Mr. Darwood." + +"Don't you understand plain English? I said 'git.' We don't want +anything to do with you, and if we find you fooling about our outfit +after this we'll try something else to keep you away," warned the +prospector. + +"I don't know why you appear to have taken such a dislike to me. I am +sure I have done nothing to merit it. However, I am equally sure that I +don't want anything to do with you. If you change your mind and can act +like a man, instead of a kid, I shall be glad to see you. But don't get +funny. We may be boys but we are quite able to take care of ourselves," +answered Tad, turning away. + +"Stop!" + +Darwood's voice was stern. Tad halted and turned towards the two men. + +"You reckon you're mighty smart, I know, but you must think I'm a +natural-born fool not to know that you have been following us all the +way up here." + +"What?" + +"Oh, you needn't play the innocent dodge. You know what I mean." + +"You--you think we have been following you?" questioned the boy, +scarcely able to believe that the prospector was in earnest. + +"I don't think. I know. You're like all the rest of them. We have had +this thing happen to us before. There are plenty more like you, and +they've followed us, hoping they will be the first to discover the bear +totem and the claim that we are in search of." + +"Taku Pass?" asked Butler with a half smile on his face. + +Darwood's face flushed angrily. + +"What did I tell you, Bruce?" he snapped. "Are you going?" he demanded, +turning towards Tad. + +"Yes. I don't care to stay where I'm not wanted. But before going I am +going to tell you something. We are not prospecting, nor following +prospectors. We are taking our usual summer vacation on horseback. All I +know about your affairs is what Captain Petersen of the 'Corsair' told +me, and what I overheard from Sandy Ketcham. If you will recall I told +you about that. The Captain gave me your history as far as he knew it, +and I was much interested. How could I help being? I love adventure and +so do my companions. We wanted to know more about it, but did not think +it was any of our business until I overheard Ketcham plotting against +you. We hadn't the least idea we ever should see you again. My finding +you this morning was a pure accident." + +"How'd you happen to do it?" interjected Dill Bruce. + +"I saw your smoke signs last night." + +"What!" + +Darwood snapped the word out like the crack of a whip. + +"I saw your smoke signs. At least I suppose they were yours. This +morning I started out, as I frequently do, in search of game. I smelled +your smoke and out of curiosity hunted you up to see who our neighbors +were. That's all there is to it. If you can get anything out of that you +are welcome to it. I wish you luck in finding Taku Pass. If I should +stumble on it, I'll look you up and let you know. We aren't looking for +gold mines especially. 'Bye." + +"Well, what d'ye think of that?" grinned the Pickle after Tad had left +them. + +"I think somebody will get hurt if they don't leave us alone," growled +Darwood, caressing the butt of his revolver. "I'm getting tired of this +kind of nagging." + +"That outfit isn't nagging you," answered Bruce. + +"How do you know?" + +"They are nothing but boys. At least one of them is the right sort. +Spotted Face did us a favor. He isn't a crook." + +"I haven't said he was. But you don't know who is in their outfit now. +Besides, there isn't one chance in a thousand that they'd be so close on +our trail unless they had followed us on purpose. No, this business must +be stopped. We may be on the right track, and if we are we must protect +ourselves, and we'll do it, even though we have to kill a few curious +hounds who are following the trail. The boy business may be merely a +mask for the operations of some other persons." + +"Why don't you find out, then?" + +Darwood bent a keen gaze on his companion. + +"What do you mean?" + +"Hunt up their camp and see what is going on?" + +"I'll do it," answered the gold digger with emphasis. "What's more, I'll +do it now." + +"That's the talk! If you hurry, you may be able to find the boy and +follow him in. Shall I go along?" + +"No. You stay here and look after things. I may be away for some time. I +don't know where they are, but I'll find them if it takes all day. If +our two comrades come in, you hold them here. Needn't tell them where I +am." + +Darwood shouldered his rifle and strode from his camp without another +word. Bruce replenished the fire in order to make a smudge that could be +smelled for some distance away, which was for the purpose of directing +their companions to them, and also had served to call Tad Butler into +their camp in advance of the other two gold diggers. + +Tad was out of sight by the time Curtis Darwood got out, but Darwood was +able to follow the boy's trail, though it was not an easy one. Tad had +made no effort to mask his trail, but his natural instincts taught him +to leave as few indications of his progress as possible. Darwood saw +this. Instead of lessening his suspicions this fact served to increase +them. The gold digger was using his nose more than his eyes, sniffing +the air for the smoke from the camp of the Pony Rider Boys' outfit. He +caught the scent after half an hour or so of trudging over the hard +trail. From this time on it was easy so far as finding his way was +concerned. Butler, knowing the way, had made much better time back to +his own camp. + +Breakfast was ready by the time he reached there. Tad did not mention +his experience, not having decided what he would do in this matter. + +"You find big smoke?" questioned the Indian as Tad stood over him by the +fire. + +"Yes," answered the lad carelessly. Anvik shrewdly deduced that Butler +had made some sort of discovery, but he asked no further questions. +Perhaps the guide also had discovered that they had near neighbors. If +so he kept that fact to himself. + +The boys sat down to breakfast. They discussed the day's ride and talked +of their further journeyings, though Tad had little to say that morning. +He was thinking deeply on what had just occurred. + +The breakfast was about half finished when the lad flashed a quick, keen +glance in the direction from which he had entered the camp. The others +did not observe his sharp glance of inquiry. Tad had seen something. A +movement of the foliage had attracted his observant eyes. He glanced at +Anvik, who was sitting with his back to the party, gazing off over the +mountains to the rear of them and through which they had worked their +way to the present camping place. + +Tad casually reached over for his rifle that was standing against a +rock. + +"What's up?" demanded Ned sharply. + +"I want to examine my gun," replied the boy. + +"Funny time to examine it when eating your breakfast," spoke up Walter. + +"I prefer to eat," said Stacy. + +"We know that," chuckled Ned. "No need for you to tell us." + +The Professor was eyeing Tad inquiringly, observing that the boy's face +was slightly flushed. + +"What is it, Tad?" he asked. + +"Nothing, except that I am going to take a pot shot at an intruder," +replied the boy calmly, suddenly leveling his rifle on the bushes where +he had observed the movement a few moments before. + +He pulled the trigger. A deafening crash brought the boys to their feet, +yelling. The shot was followed by a shout from the bushes. + +"Stop that shooting, you fool!" roared a voice. Tad put down his gun, +grinning broadly, the others dancing about excitedly. + +[Illustration: Curtis Darwood Stepped Out.] + +"Come out of that or I'll give you something to yell at," commanded the +Pony Rider Boy. + +Curtis Darwood, his face stern and determined, stepped out into the open +and walked straight towards the amazed group now standing near the +campfire. The Indian guide was the only person who had not gotten up +when Tad Butler sent a bullet into the thicket fully six feet above the +head of the gold digger who was spying on the camp. + +Darwood was more angry at having been discovered than being shot at. He +had heard the bullet rip through the foliage above his head, and knew +that the shot had been intended to stir him up rather than to reach him. +That the boy whom he had driven from his own camp should have thus +turned the tables on him angered him almost beyond his control. Darwood +was so angry that he failed to see any humor in the situation. + +"It is Mr. Darwood, isn't it?" cried the Professor with face aglow, +striding forward with outstretched hand. As in Butler's case, Darwood +professed not to see the proffered hand. He looked the Professor +squarely in the face. + +"Won't you sit down and have a snack with us?" asked Professor Zepplin. +"We were eating when Tad fired that shot. That was very careless of you, +young man. You might have killed someone." + +"I reckon he knew whom he was shooting at," answered the gold digger. +"You see, this isn't the first time that young fellow and myself have +met." + +"Of course not. We all met on the 'Corsair,'" spoke up Rector. + +"He and I have met since then," answered Darwood. "I reckon you know all +about it. He came spying on our camp this morning just after daylight, +and--" + +"You know that isn't true," interjected Tad. "Why don't you tell it +straight if you are bound to tell it?" + +The miner let one hand fall to his holster. + +"Up in this country they don't call men liars," answered Darwood, +looking Butler coldly in the eyes. + +"Then men shouldn't place themselves in a position to be called liars," +retorted Tad boldly. "You had better take your hand from your revolver. +If you will take the time to glance at the rock to your right you may +possibly see something to interest you." + +The miner cast a quick glance of inquiry in the direction indicated, and +found himself looking into the muzzle of a rifle, laid over the top of +the rock. Behind the rifle was Chunky, one eye peering over the sights. + +Tad laughed. + +"Stacy!" thundered the Professor. "What does this mean?" + +"Nothing, Professor," answered Tad. "Chunky got a little excited, that +is all. You may put the gun down, Stacy. Mr. Darwood doesn't understand; +that's all. Sit down and have a snack with us, as the Professor has +asked you to do," urged Butler. + +"I don't want to eat with you. You know it. Don't you go to getting me +riled or I won't answer for the consequences." + +"Neither will I," answered Tad smilingly. "We are easy to get along with +unless someone treads on our toes; then it's a different story. Sit down +and we will talk this matter over." + +Tad threw himself down beside the fire. Stacy still sat behind the rock, +gazing suspiciously at their early morning visitor. + +"I demand to know the meaning of this scene," said the Professor +sternly. + +"Let Mr. Darwood tell you," replied Butler. + +The gold digger made no answer. Tad turned to the Professor. + +"I will tell you what there is to it, sir. Mr. Darwood thinks we are +like some others he has met. He thinks we are trying to steal his gold +mine," declared Tad in an impressive voice. + +Professor Zepplin flushed deeply. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE PROFESSOR IN A RAGE + + +"What!" fairly exploded Professor Zepplin. + +"Mr. Darwood accuses us of having followed him to find out where this +wonderful gold deposit is located. He thinks we want to steal it away +from him." + +"Preposterous!" + +"Show me some gold," urged Stacy, edging near. "I am looking for gold. I +don't make any bones about saying so, either." + +"Be silent," commanded the Professor. + +"I smelled smoke when I was out this morning," continued Butler. "I +followed the scent until I stumbled into Mr. Darwood's camp. It was his +signal smokes that we saw yesterday. Mr. Darwood did not give me a very +cordial welcome; he ordered me out of his camp. Not only that, but he +threatened me in case we persisted in following him. I think he would +have used his pistol on me if I had not gone away when I did." + +"Is this true, Darwood?" questioned the Professor, who was restraining +himself with an effort. + +"I reckon it's right, so far as it goes. I know what you fellows are up +to. You may think you can fool me, but I've been in these parts too long +to be an easy mark. It's nobody's business whether we are in search of +gold or whether we are up here for our health. Whatever our business is, +we don't propose to have a lot of folks sticking their noses into it." + +"What do you propose that we shall do?" asked Professor Zepplin. + +"I don't care what you do," roared the gold digger. + +"Then there is nothing more to be said." + +"Oh, yes there is. There's a lot to be said. I am not going to say it +all right here, but I reckon I'll say it in a different way later on. +You are following us. Don't deny it. I know you are. You pumped the +Captain and everybody else on the boat about us. Then, when you thought +you had got all the information you wanted, you followed us." + +"It's not true. You know it's a lie!" shouted the Professor. + +"Be careful how you nag me on," warned the miner. + +"You know you think nothing of the kind. What is it that you reckon to +say at some other time?" + +"This," answered Darwood, tapping his holster significantly. + +Tad laughed softly to himself. This angered the gold digger more than +ever. + +"You folks get out of these hills! Go anywhere you want to, but get out +and get out quick. Some more of my men are coming along to-day. If you +are here to-night it will be the worse for you," threatened the miner. + +"Which direction would you suggest our taking?" asked Tad in a soothing +voice. + +"Go back the way you came. I don't care where you go." + +"You are not consistent," laughed the freckle-faced boy. "You tell us +you don't care where we go, then you order us to proceed in a definite +direction. You are going too far, Mr. Darwood. When you have had a +chance to cool down I think you will look at this matter in a different +light. If you will use your head a little you will see it is not +possible that we could have had any previous knowledge of your plans or +of your gold mine. You had better make friends with us. We might be of +some use to you. Professor Zepplin is a scientist. He could give you +valuable help. Shall we call quits and shake hands? Come on." + +The words that he would utter seemed to stick in the gold digger's +throat. He clutched twice at his holster, but the evident desire on his +part to use his pistol appeared to have no effect at all on the Pony +Rider outfit. Darwood knew very well that drawing his weapon would +practically be the end of himself, and this did not tend to make his +situation any better. + +"I'll not shake hands with you. I am going back to my camp. If you +thieves are here by to-night I promise you there will be something +doing. I--" + +Professor Zepplin strode forward, his whiskers bristling, his fists +clenched. The boys never had seen their guardian so angry. + +"That for your threats!" he roared, shaking a fist under the nose of +Curtis Darwood. "Your threats don't frighten us. Your pistol doesn't +frighten us. We're not that kind." + +The miner started to reply. + +"Don't you open your mouth or I shall forget myself and slap your face. +Thieves!" Professor Zepplin struggled to master his emotions. "Thieves! +This is too much. You tell us that if we are here to-night you will make +matters lively for us. If it will accommodate you any we will remain +right here. But we should be on our way. We are going to follow a +straight course as near as possible to the northwest. We shall, with +reasonable luck, be about twenty miles from here by eleven o'clock +to-night. If that is the direction you are going you will have no +difficulty in finding us. But let me warn you, sir, we shall put up with +no trifling. We have as good a right to be here as have you, and I am +not sure but that we have a better right." + +"We'll see about that," retorted Darwood angrily. + +"You let us alone! Do you hear? You let us alone! If you are looking for +trouble you may have all you want and then some more besides. We are +peaceable travelers, but we know from long experience how to take care +of ourselves. Have you anything more to say to me?" demanded the +Professor. + +"I reckon not. I've said my say." + +"Then get out before I forget myself and hit you on the nose!" roared +Professor Zepplin. "Don't you dare come fooling around our camp again, +and thank your lucky stars that Master Tad didn't make a mistake and +shoot lower. Are you going, or are you waiting for me to throw you out?" +fumed the Professor. + +"I reckon I'm going. You'll hear from me again. Next time the shoe will +pinch the other foot." + +"It will be the foot that kicks you out of camp in that case," answered +the Professor. + +"Hooray!" howled the fat boy. "Three cheers for Professor Zip-zip!" + +"Be silent!" thundered Professor Zepplin. + +"Yes, you had better look out or he will take it out of you after Mr. +Darwood has gone," warned Tad. "The Professor is all stirred up." + +The Professor was. Darwood turned and strode from the camp without +trusting himself to utter another word. Professor Zepplin strode back +and forth with clenched fists, muttering to himself for five minutes +after the departure of their guest. + +"He called us thieves!" he exclaimed, halting and glaring angrily at +Stacy. + +"Well, don't blame me for it," answered the fat boy. + +"Professor, calm yourself," begged Tad. "Those men have met with a lot +of crookedness. You can't blame them. I shouldn't be surprised if some +other person had been trying to follow them since they have been out +this time. They probably think we are in league with the others to get +ahead of them in the discovery of this treasure." + +"I don't believe there is any treasure," raged the Professor. + +"As to that, of course, I can't say, but I should think it quite +probable that they had something definite. There must be something in +what they have to go on. They are not fools, but intelligent men. What +is more, they must think they are on the right track or they wouldn't +fly off the handle as Darwood has done to-day. What will you do?" asked +Tad. + +"Do? Do? What do you think I am going to do?" + +"Knowing you as I do, I should say you would go on as we have planned," +answered Butler laughingly. + +"Exactly! If that man thinks he can frighten us out of our course he +will find that he has made a grave mistake." + +"Why didn't you punch him when you had the chance?" demanded Chunky. +"You could have hit him an awful wallop when his chin was in the air +that time." + +"Stacy! You are a savage!" rebuked the Professor. + +"Maybe, maybe," reflected the fat boy. "But judging from some things +that have occurred in this camp this morning, I'm not the only savage in +the outfit." + +The boys laughed uproariously. + +"That's one for you, Professor," chuckled Ned. + +"Anvik! We break camp at once," fairly snapped the Professor. + +"Gold man him heap fool," grunted the Indian. + +"No, not that, Anvik. He is gold-mad like all the rest of them," +corrected Butler. "I hope I never shall get that way." + +"It can't be such bad fun to be gold-mad," argued Stacy, who usually +wanted the other side of an argument. "I'd like to try it once, if I +could find enough gold to make it interesting." + +Camp was hastily broken that morning, for there was much lost time to be +made up. Everyone was eager to get started, anxious to find out what +would be the outcome of the dispute with the gold diggers. + +"We don't know in what direction they're going to move, while they do +know our route," said Tad. "So it will be an easy matter for Darwood to +watch us as long as he wants to keep us in sight." + +At seven o'clock that morning Professor Zepplin gave the word to "mush." +This morning the Professor was extremely silent, but there was a grim +look to the corners of his mouth. + +Exciting experiences lay before them all. The boys felt it in the very +air about them. The certainty made them feel buoyant and exhilarated. +Surely this wild old Alaska was a great bit of country! + +"I don't care how soon somebody starts something," mused Ned. "We have +our heavy artillery well on ahead." + +As he spoke he gazed smilingly at the tight-jawed Professor, who never +looked to better advantage than when in warlike mood. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +TAD DISCOVERS SOMETHING + + +"I don't see our friends," said Ned, an hour later. + +"They're not in their camp," answered Tad. "We passed that an hour ago. +They have no horses, so they're packing their outfits on their backs." + +"Huh! That's one part of the gold-madness that I don't want," said +Chunky. "Do all gold diggers have to pack their outfits?" + +"I guess few of them can afford to buy ponies," answered Butler. "Then, +too, the places they go to are usually beyond the reach of anything +except a wild animal. We are fortunate if we get through with our stock. +Even our own ponies that we left at home would never be able to make +this rough trail. What's that, Anvik?" + +The guide was pointing to a waving ribbon of white that appeared to +reach from point to point on the rocks high above them and some distance +ahead. + +"What is it?" demanded the boy. + +"Him goat." + +"Mountain goats? Look, boys!" cried Tad. + +Stacy threw up his rifle and took a shot. Of course he missed. A leaping +mountain goat is not an easy mark even for the best shot, and the fat +boy, while shooting very well, could hardly be called an expert. + +"Those are the animals from which the beautiful blankets are made," the +Professor informed them. "Do you know how the Indians get the wool?" + +"They pull it out by the roots, I guess," suggested Stacy. + +"Hardly," laughed Ned. + +"Spring is the shedding time. The goats, in leaping from place to place, +leave tufts of wool clinging to rocks and bushes, and this the lazy +Indians gather for their blankets, rather than take the trouble to hunt +the goats." + +"Squaw him get wool," spoke up Anvik. + +"Worse yet," laughed Butler. "You are the laziest folks on earth." + +"Squaw work, him no talk lies. Him mouth keep shut." + +The boys laughed at this crude reasoning of the Indian. + +"Did they teach you at the Mission to make your squaws work?" asked Tad +Butler. + +Anvik shook his head slowly. He did not answer in words, but hastened +his pony's pace by his heavy pull at the halter. + +All that day the boys kept a lookout for smoke, but in vain. After they +had made camp that night the Professor said: + +"There are indications here of unusual formations. If you have no +objections I should like to remain here for a day, perhaps two, and do +research work." + +"Right, Professor," replied Tad. "The ponies will be better for a rest, +and maybe we can do some hunting. How about it, Anvik?" + +"Anvik not care," was the guide's reply. + +After breakfast the next morning the Professor set off at once. + +"Now, fellows," said Tad, "I propose that Stacy and I follow that ravine +to the left and Ned and Walter go to the right. From the formation I +should say that some time late in the day we ought to meet. It's wild in +those passes, and we should get game." + +After arranging that three quick shots should announce the finding of +game and that the distress signal of one shot, a pause, then two quick +shots should be a call for help, the boys set off, each carrying +biscuit, a drinking cup, and matches, besides their rifles. + +The boys tramped all morning without sighting game. + +After a short rest the two boys went on again, bearing more to the left. +As they trudged on the sound of rushing water was borne to their ears. +Then they came out on a broad stream, a torrent that came from the top +of three lofty, ice-covered mountains. + +"Let's work up toward that pass," suggested Tad, wishing to see the +gulch from which the stream was flowing. + +They had worked their way upstream for half a mile when Chunky yelled: + +"Look there! What's that?" + +Tad saw a hideous head projecting above the bushes. At first he was +startled, then he laughed. + +"That's a totem pole, Chunky. They're put up usually in behalf of the +Indian dead to drive the spirits away. Let's go and look at it." + +The totem pole was standing at the entrance of a second narrow gulch. +Sand and shale rock were heaped up at the entrance. + +"A stream flowed through here at one time, Stacy. I imagine that it was +the same body of water we've just been looking at." + +"Yeh," said Stacy absently. "Say, Tad, let's see who can first hit that +evil-looking thing with a stone." + +Tad laughed and stooped to pick up a stone. As he did so, he noticed an +arrow cut into the rock at one side of the gulch, the point of the arrow +aimed up the gulch. + +"That's queer," muttered the boy. "I suppose it's an Indian sign. This +is a place of many mysteries." He stooped to pick up the rusty-looking +stone that had caught his glance. It was worn full of holes as if by the +action of water and when he took it in his hand its heaviness aroused +his curiosity. Opening his knife, he dug into the stone. + +Tad's face flushed a vivid red, and he uttered a sharp exclamation. + +"What is it?" demanded Stacy. + +"Nothing much. Maybe I've made a discovery. Don't let's idle here. Let's +go on and see if we can't get our bear. This seems to be our lucky day," +said the boy, pocketing the stone and once more shouldering his rifle. +"Come, mush, as Anvik would say." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +CONCLUSION + + +Professor Zepplin had been closeted in his tent for an hour when he +beckoned Tad Butler to enter. + +"Boy, this rusty stone that you picked up is a gold nugget, worth, I +should say, all of five hundred dollars!" cried the Professor excitedly. +"Are there more of them, Tad?" + +"I can't say. I found this one on a bar where it was probably washed +down. The place was once a stream, but it changed its course and is now +some distance to the west. I've an idea that there's gold in that +sand-bar." + +"Then we'd better go after it. It probably belongs to no one." + +"I'm not sure of that. Others may have a juster claim than we have, +Professor." + +"You suspect something, Tad, without knowing fully. We'll look at the +place and decide what to do later." + +The others were in bed, but still awake when Tad left the Professor's +tent, but to their questions he gave evasive answers. + +It seemed to Tad that he had been asleep but a few minutes when he felt +a touch on his shoulder. He sat up, instantly wide awake. Anvik was +bending over him. + +"Somebody come," muttered the guide. "One, two, three, four, maybe +more." + +Day was just breaking. Tad awakened his companions, giving each +instructions as to what he was to do. Then he hurried to the Professor's +tent to give Anvik's news. + +"Look out!" yelled Stacy shrilly. + +A series of quick, sharp reports punctured the stillness of the morning. +Tad and Professor Zepplin dashed out, and so did Walter Perkins. Ned +Rector and Stacy Brown were nowhere to be seen. Anvik stood against a +rock, his blanket drawn about him, the muzzle of a rifle protruding from +the lower end of it. + +Four men appeared in the open, each holding a rifle. The rifles were +aimed at the members of the Pony Rider outfit. + +"It's Darwood!" gasped the Professor. It was Darwood, accompanied by Sam +Dawson, Dill Bruce and Curley Tinker. "What's the meaning of this +outrage, gentlemen?" he demanded. + +"I gave you warning to mush back to where you came from," answered +Darwood. + +"And I told you we'd do nothing of the sort!" + +"You're going now, and in a hurry!" + +"What will you do if we refuse again?" + +"You'll find out what we'll do. We're north of fifty-three now. You know +what that means. Put down those guns, and do it quick." + +"Suppose you set the example," said Tad quietly. He had not spoken up to +this point. + +"Keep still!" commanded Darwood. "Put down those guns." + +"Don't be in a hurry," advised Tad. "Before you do anything that you'll +regret, let me say that every man of you is covered. The slightest +hostile motion on your part is your death warrant." + +"The Indian's got away!" cried Dawson. + +Darwood for the first time realized that all the Pony Rider outfit was +not in sight. + +"Either your friends will put down their guns and come out or we'll +shoot," snarled Darwood, fixing his gaze on Tad Butler. + +"Are you so anxious to die, Curtis Darwood?" asked the lad calmly. + +Darwood flushed, but the four men lowered their rifles to the ground. + +"Mr. Darwood, I have something to tell you. Sit down," went on the boy. + +"I reckon we'll do nothing of the sort." + +"Sit down, I say!" + +The men obeyed reluctantly. + +"Keep them covered until they come to their senses, boys," directed Tad. +Then he went on to the men: "We don't blame you for feeling that every +man's hand is against you; but I'm going to prove to you that ours are +not. See this?" and Tad tossed to Darwood the rusty stone that he had +found in the sand-bar. + +"Gold! A nugget of pure gold," breathed Darwood. "Where did you get it?" + +"Perhaps we found the Taku Pass." + +"And we've lost it," groaned Dawson. + +"We'll fight for it, then!" shouted Darwood. + +"You might wait until there's need for fighting, Mr. Darwood," said Tad +contemptuously. He then went on to describe the totem pole, while his +listeners became more and more excited. They got out an old map, and +after studying it Tad said: + +"It is the Taku Pass that Stacy and I discovered. As it is undoubtedly +yours, we relinquish all claim to the land." + +"How much do you want for the relinquishment?" asked Dawson. + +"Nothing. Sit down and have breakfast with us and then we will lead you +to the place." + +"I can't say much," said Darwood falteringly. "We've been a bunch of +driveling idiots." + +After breakfast Anvik was sent to the men's camp for pans and implements +and supplies, and the others set off in Tad Butler's wake to explore the +gulch. + +At one point the party found a slender vein of pure gold, enough to give +hope that the vein broadened out farther on. Tad, in a cavelike niche, +saw a gray streak of ore that reached for a long distance. A piece of +this about the size of a goose egg lay at his feet. It was heavy, and he +put it in his pocket to show to the others. + +Anvik came in with the tools, surveying chains, and pans, and Darwood +and the others staked off their claims, taking in enough to give each +boy a claim, putting up heaps of stones to mark the boundaries. + +"Of course, if anyone else were to file a prior claim we'd have a hard +time to substantiate ours. But there's not much danger." + +The claim staked, Darwood proposed that they pan in the bar to see what +they could find. To the delight of all, sparkling particles of rich +yellow dust lay in the bottoms of the sieves, and they felt convinced +that there was gold in paying quantities. + +Once more back in the camp, the Professor disappeared into his tent. +When he emerged he looked excited. + +"Boys!" he shouted. "Tad! Your sample is platinum! Gentlemen, you have +indeed a fortune! The platinum is worth about double its weight in +gold!" + +Such a hurrah as went up! Such an evening of rejoicing and excitement! +But early the next morning came the reaction. + +Tad, up early, went out to the claim, too impatient to await breakfast. +To his amazement instead of finding the markers they had set, he found +that they had been removed, and in their places some one had cut off +saplings and marked the stumps of them with deep-cut notches. + +"It's that rascal, Sandy Ketcham," declared Darwood in a strained voice, +when Tad reported his discovery. "He's been on our trail for nearly +three years, and now he's got us! He's on his way to Skagway now to +register the claim in the land office," the man groaned. + +"We'll get ahead of them, then," cried Tad. "He hasn't much of a start. +When does a steamer leave Yakutat?" + +"This is the twenty-third. The 'Corsair' will leave Yakutat on the +twenty-seventh. He will just about make it." + +"So will I," cried Tad Butler stoutly. + +Tad won Professor Zepplin's consent to his plan, and after Darwood had +got the papers ready and the boys had gathered provisions together, Tad +was off, riding one pony and leading another, that he might change from +one to the other, thus avoiding tiring either. + +With lather standing out all over his mount, Tad pounded on, eyes and +ears alight for Sandy Ketcham. He halted at noon to change horses and +let each drink a little from a spring. Then on once more for seemingly +countless hours. + +There was a brief pause in the evening, to allow the ponies to rest and +graze, then on again in the darkness. The second night a longer rest was +imperative, while Tad fretted, tired as he was, to be off again. + +On the third day he came across the still hot ashes of a campfire, and +decided that he was not far behind Ketcham. Still twenty miles from +Yakutat, one of the ponies strained a tendon. The boy was forced +regretfully to abandon the animal and to go forward on the second mount. + +It was about eleven o'clock in the morning of the fourth day that he +caught sight of a column of black smoke through an opening between the +mountains. + +"It's the 'Corsair,'" he groaned. "She's getting ready to sail." + +On and on he rode. He swept through the village on the panting pony and +down to the dock to see the 'Corsair' weighing anchor. + +Tad Butler set up a yell, then drove his pony into the bay. No small +boats were in sight, so, throwing himself in the icy water, he grasped +the pony's mane and, swimming with the animal, headed for the ship. + +The anchor was up, but Captain Petersen had not yet signaled for slow +speed ahead. He ordered a boat lowered and Tad was hauled aboard in a +semi-dazed condition. Relieved of its burden, the pony rose and swam for +shore. Tad was confined to his cabin, worn out by the hard ride and the +icy swim. But he learned that Ketcham was on board, and Ketcham, of +course, knew of Tad's presence. + +The morning of their arrival at Skagway was gray and windy. The sea was +rolling into the harbor in heavy, boisterous swells. The captain +announced that he would not put off a boat until the sea subsided, as +capsizing was certain in the heavy seas. + +Tad, impatient, was standing at the rail when he saw Sandy Ketcham leap +over the rail into the sea. The boy did not hesitate. He sprang to the +rail and dived as far out as he could, striking a rod or so behind +Ketcham. Then began a desperate race. But youth won, and Tad staggered +out of the water a few moments ahead of his adversary and ran for the +land office, Ketcham close behind him. + +"I file the claim to Taku Pass in the name of Curtis Darwood and +others," shouted Tad, slapping the oilskin parcel on the desk. "That +man's an impostor. He destroyed our markers and erected his own on our +claim." + +"It's a lie!" yelled Sandy, making a leap for the boy. + +There was a furious fight, in which the interested bystanders did not +interfere. But at last Tad's fist shot up in a vicious uppercut on the +man's chin, and Sandy Ketcham settled to the floor as the boy leaped out +of the way. + +"Have you filed the papers?" gasped Tad. + +"Sure, boy! You've won the first round. The rest will be up to the +government, but I guess you've got it clinched for all time." + +When Tad returned to Yakutat three government surveyors went with him to +run the lines and definitely establish the claim. Sandy Ketcham also +filed a claim, but Tad's being the prior one the case would have to be +decided by the proper government officials; though there was really no +doubt of the outcome. + +For a month after Tad Butler's return the Pony Rider Boys stayed at Taku +Pass, panning over a section allotted to them by the Gold Diggers, each +filling a small sack with yellow dust and a few nuggets. In addition the +Gold Diggers insisted that the boys and their tutor jointly should have +a twentieth interest in the claims, which would undoubtedly give each a +comfortable amount of wealth. + +It was their last night in the camp and the boys and the Professor were +talking over future plans. + +"I'm going home to rest and study after my strenuous life of the last +few seasons," the Professor stated. "How about you, Walter?" + +"Father has a job for me as messenger in a bank in St. Joseph," answered +Walter Perkins. + +"Your turn, Chunky. What's it to be?" + +"Banking. I'm going into Walter Perkins' father's bank." + +"Does father know about it?" + +"Of course he does!" retorted Stacy. "Did you think I was going to break +into the bank?" + +"Can't tell about you," laughed Tad. "As for Ned and me--Professor +Zepplin's friend, Colonel Van Zandt, who has large timber interests, has +used his influence to get us appointments in the United States Forestry +Service. We'll go to work next spring. And now, fellows, I suggest that +we give three cheers for the best fellow that ever lived, Professor +Zepplin!" + +The cheers were given with a will, then all went to their tents for +their last night in their camp in Alaska. + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Pony Rider Boys in Alaska, by Frank Gee Patchin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN ALASKA *** + +***** This file should be named 30588.txt or 30588.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/5/8/30588/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +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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