diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-04 03:46:30 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-04 03:46:30 -0800 |
| commit | 3b6e147420026b8fd344cdb2beda80b170def16f (patch) | |
| tree | 280a2d187e0ecc5e689a59d2391f0f14d33b59d3 | |
| parent | d21b09b5ebbb4b4b2a302c60e00bec4d9d0fbd00 (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-0.txt | 7354 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-0.zip | bin | 113099 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h.zip | bin | 1362829 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h/62946-h.htm | 7242 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 234433 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h/images/frontis.jpg | bin | 254206 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h/images/i001.jpg | bin | 250414 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h/images/i002.jpg | bin | 255476 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62946-h/images/i003.jpg | bin | 254388 -> 0 bytes |
12 files changed, 17 insertions, 14596 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e82c51 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62946 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62946) diff --git a/old/62946-0.txt b/old/62946-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f2a1a56..0000000 --- a/old/62946-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7354 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Lost -River Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -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/license - - -Title: Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Lost River Trail - -Author: Jessie Graham Flower - -Release Date: August 16, 2020 [EBook #62946] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON THE LOST RIVER TRAIL - - - - -[Illustration: “Elfreda Darted Ahead.”] - - - - - Grace Harlowe’s Overland - Riders on the Lost - River Trail - - By - - JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M. - - Author of The High School Girls Series, The College Girls Series, - The Grace Harlowe Overseas Series, Grace Harlowe’s Overland - Riders on the Old Apache Trail, Grace Harlowe’s Overland - Riders on the Great American Desert, Grace Harlowe’s - Overland Riders Among the Kentucky Mountaineers, Grace - Harlowe’s Overland Riders in the Great North Woods, - Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders in the High - Sierras, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders - in the Yellowstone National Park, - Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders - in the Black Hills, Grace Harlowe’s - Overland Riders - Among the Border - Guerrillas, etc., - etc. - - Illustrated - - PHILADELPHIA - HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY - - - - - Copyrighted, 1924, by - Howard E. Altemus - - PRINTED IN THE - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - - CONTENTS - -CHAPTER I—A Mystery of the Night - - “There is peril in the air,” warns the guide. - Overlanders take flight. Emma says the suspense is - killing her. “The worst is yet to come,” promises Stacy - Brown. Threatened by a forest fire. The Overland Riders - hasten to the relief of imperilled villagers. - -CHAPTER II—In the Demon’s Grip - - Inhabitants of Silver Creek deride Ham White’s warning. - Aroused at last. The fire demon roars. Miss Briggs - narrowly escapes. “The fire is yonder! Work, you - thick-heads!” A woman’s scream starts a panic among the - villagers. - -CHAPTER III—A Rain of Fire - - Ham White directs the fire-fighters. Great tongues of - flame. The panic increases. Grace urges village women to - the creek. Danger in the water. Elfreda Briggs is - carried away on the current. Land at last. The Overland - girl utters a thrilling cry. - -CHAPTER IV—The Lost Cabin - - The village is saved. Overland horses are missing. “Run, - girls! Run!” cries Grace. Ham White is excited. - Searching parties are organized. Emma concerned for her - “Hamilton.” Another member of the Overland party is - missing. “Help! I’m dying!” groans Elfreda’s caller. - -CHAPTER V—A Fruitless Quest - - Overland girls search the village for their missing - companions. Ham White hears more bad news. The guide - fears the worst. “There is another peril!” Only the - lieutenant knows that one of his party has slipped away - looking for the missing. - -CHAPTER VI—Facing a New Peril - - The wounded prospector tells his story. “Oh, you poor - man,” cries Elfreda Briggs. “They shot me for gold!” A - grave duty to perform. Miss Briggs’ legacy. Sam - Petersen’s horse hidden. Mountain bandits pay a visit to - Lost Cabin. - -CHAPTER VII—The Discovery - - “Hawk Murray!” breathes Elfreda Briggs. The Overland - girl keeps her nerve. Ready to defend herself. Startled - by the return of a bandit. “Lady, what about the saddle - over there in the brush?” he asks. Elfreda in the toils. - A strange thing happens. - -CHAPTER VIII—Stacy Takes a Hand - - “I’ll show you you can’t steal my beans and fish!” howls - the fat boy. Stacy proves himself a hero. Mysterious - shots put the caller to flight. “They’ve shot him!” - cried the girl. A voice from the shadows of the Lost - Cabin. An amazing disappearance. - -CHAPTER IX—Mysteries Multiply - - The journey to Silver Creek begun. Stacy helps himself - to beans. The welcome home. “Lost River” an Indian - legend. Words fail the fat boy. Miss Briggs confides in - Grace. Elfreda’s gold turns to stone. Sam Petersen’s - diary whisked from Grace Harlowe’s hand. - -CHAPTER X—The Man from Seattle - - “Hands up!” Peanuts are great civilizers. Overlanders - regard their guest with suspicion. Emma makes the fat - boy laugh. “Just another mystery.” “Now who are you, and - what is your game?” demands Ham White sternly. Stalked - by a shadow. “Quick! Something has happened to Elfreda!” - -CHAPTER XI—Believers in Safety First - - Guns bang and Stacy lies low. Struck on the head. “I - felt a hand under my pillow,” explains Miss Briggs. The - guide is disturbed. Emma offers to “demonstrate” for - him. Stacy alarmed for his trousers. Jim Haley makes a - mysterious disappearance. - -CHAPTER XII—A Successful Experiment - - Elfreda’s experience leaves her pale. More than one man - involved in the attack. White finds a trail of blood. - Stacy Brown votes himself the cross of war. The fat boy - up to mischief. Another shadow stalks the Overland - tents. A near panic in the camp. - -CHAPTER XIII—The Camp is Invaded - - Bears on the rampage. Ponies snort in fright. “We’ve got - them going!” cries Ham White. Havoc worked by marauding - beasts. One bear is killed. Stacy confesses that he - called the bears. The savagery of Nature let loose. - “They are coming! Move cautiously.” - -CHAPTER XIV—The Battle of the Beasts - - Howls are mingled with snarls. Coyotes attack the dead - bear. Wolves add to the uproar. A sight that thrilled. - The battle brief. Grace takes a shot and misses. Stacy - downs a lion. Slinking forms stalk the ponies. Beady for - trouble. A wounded man staggers into camp. - -CHAPTER XV—A Rude Awakening - - “It’s Jim Haley!” exclaims the guide. The mountain - ruffians wanted peanuts. White refuses to double-cross - the Overlanders. Ham White sees the “Forest Eyes.” The - old prospector’s secrets studied. Interrupted by an - intruder. “Who says a woman can’t throw a stone?” - -CHAPTER XVI—Bandits Take Their Toll - - Hippy and the guide search for a prowler. Guarding the - camp. An Overlander is missing. An anxious watch. The - search abandoned. Nora reassured by the guide. Ham White - admits that he has made a discovery. “Stacy Brown has - been forcibly removed!” is the startling announcement. - -CHAPTER XVII—A Test of Courage - - Two Overland Riders now missing. Hamilton White is - apprehensive. An all-night vigil. The guide sends wigwag - signals in the early morn. “Great danger to both!” Grace - Harlowe reads the fluttering message. A girl’s clever - strategy. “Hamilton White, I have you now!” - -CHAPTER XVIII—The Flaming Arrow - - Hippy finds himself in the toils. Visited by his - captors. “Keep quiet and listen to me!” warns a hoarse - voice. A long and trying hike. The Overlander restored - to his friends. “Isn’t that just like a man!” A guest - who is doubly welcome. A flaming messenger drops into - camp. - -CHAPTER XIX—His Fate in the Balance - - A letter from Stacy. The fat boy to “be shot at - sunrise.” In the hands of desperate men. A sudden flash - lights up Tom Gray’s eyes. Bandits’ demands are met. The - guide takes a hurried departure. A mysterious mission. - “It isn’t safe to say a word.” - -CHAPTER XX—“I’m Shot!” Cries Emma - - Tom leads in the long night journey. Battle sounds in - the air. Grace makes a pleasing discovery. A warning - against the mountain bandits. The Overland party - awakened by the crash of a rifle. The camp in confusion. - Emma Dean falls a victim. - -CHAPTER XXI—Stacy Seeks a Change - - Carried away on a horse. In the hands of rough men. The - fat boy forced to write a letter. His bluff is called. - Bandits hear bad news. Stacy takes advantage of his - opportunity. - -CHAPTER XXII—A Strange Visitor - - Emma misses an opportunity to “demonstrate.” A battle is - fought over the Overlanders’ heads. A thrilling duel in - the mountain meadow. “Something terrible is going to - happen!” An exhibition of great courage. A bandit’s - career ended. - -CHAPTER XXIII—A Thrilling Discovery - - Cat-foot Charlie arrives. A fallen hero. The arrival at - Three Mile Pass. The key to many mysteries. Sunlight - yellows the pass. “Look! Oh, look!” Grandma and the - Children! Elfreda Briggs comes into her own. A final - good-bye to forest and mountain trails. - -CHAPTER XXIV—The House of Happiness - - Overlanders visit Haven Home. A joyous Christmas - reunion. Stacy Brown makes a sensational entrance. The - pink and white bundle in the nursery. Surprises come - thick and fast. What the snowbird said to Emma and - Stacy. - - - - - GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND - RIDERS ON THE - LOST RIVER TRAIL - - - - - CHAPTER I - - A MYSTERY OF THE NIGHT - - -“Lieutenant! Lieutenant!” - -“Eh? Wha—what is it?” muttered Hippy Wingate, rousing himself from a -deep sleep. - -“Listen, Lieutenant! There is peril in the air,” answered Ham White. -“I don’t know where it is, but I do know there is trouble afoot, and -that instant action is necessary. I don’t think it advisable to let -the others of our party know, so long as there probably is no -immediate danger.” - -“Humph! You men of the forest make me weary. Everything is a -mystery—a peril and so forth and so on. Ham, you’re a good fellow, -but you remind me of Tom Gray—always looking for trouble. What is -the big idea?” - -Hamilton White placed his lips to Hippy’s ear and whispered. A -little distance from them the camp was sleeping soundly. Not a sound -disturbed the forest night save the faint whisperings of the -tree-tops and the occasional twitter of a bird high up among the -branches. - -“You don’t say!” exclaimed Hippy, sitting up awake and thoroughly on -the alert. “Are you positive?” - -“Yes. It may be a matter of hours; then again minutes may cover the -time.” - -“What shall we do?” questioned Hippy. - -“Move at once,” answered the guide with emphasis. “We will lay our -course to the northeast and get as far away from here as possible in -the shortest possible time. We’ve got to break camp now, -Lieutenant!” - -Hippy Wingate sprang to his feet and began dressing. While doing so -he asked how they were to explain their hurried departure to the -others of the party, unless the whole truth were told. White said he -would attend to that. - -Hippy shook his head. - -“Ham, you have the Overland Riders sized up wrong. They aren’t -tenderfeet, not by a long shot, nor are they shying at danger any -more than you are,” declared Hippy with some heat. - -“Turn them out!” ordered Ham. “We can’t afford to waste a moment.” - -“All right, Buddy, I’ll turn them out. You will have to do the rest, -though. Turn out, you sleepy-heads!” roared Hippy. - -The response was almost instantaneous. The Overland Riders bounced -out of their tents, rubbing their eyes, staggering a little, for -they were not yet fully awake, and demanding to know what had -happened. Ham White, who was already engaged in packing their -belongings, paused long enough to reply. - -“Folks, we must break camp and get out of this right smart,” he -informed them. - -“What! Lose my night’s sleep?” wailed Stacy Brown. “Move if you -wish, but I stay right here until after breakfast, then I’ll think -about seeking new and more beautiful scenes.” - -“Mr. White, will you please tell me why we must break camp at this -hour of the night?” begged Grace Harlowe, stepping over to the -guide, and looking up into his face. “What is it? I know you must -have good reason or—” - -“Because, Mrs. Gray, some trouble has developed in the woods, and we -are exposed to it. I don’t wish to alarm you, and for that reason I -can’t explain just now, so please trust to me and don’t urge me to -give my reasons,” answered the guide, resuming his work. - -Grace directed a quick glance at the sky, and Elfreda Briggs, now at -her side, did likewise. The stars were clear white, and a light -breeze was stirring the tops of the big pine trees. - -“Grace, what do you make of it?” questioned Miss Briggs. - -“Nothing, J. Elfreda. Mr. White is an experienced guide, so let’s -hustle and pack for a move.” - -Emma Dean, who had dressed hurriedly, was now importuning the guide -to tell her what it was he feared. - -“If you will only tell me, I will demonstrate over it, and you will -see how quickly the danger, or whatever it may be, will pass,” she -said. - -“Pardon me, Miss Dean, I am too busy to talk. Please get yourself -ready for riding as quickly as possible,” replied Mr. White. - -“Oh, very well!” Emma elevated her chin and walked away. - -“Go on! Demonstrate! I know Ham is willing to try most anything -once,” urged Stacy Brown. - -“If Mr. White tried you once, I am quite certain a second trial -would be unnecessary, Stacy,” retorted Emma. - -“Wow!” muttered Stacy. - -“If my Hippy says it is all right I am satisfied,” spoke up Nora -Wingate, giving Hippy a playful pat as he passed her. - -“How demonstrate?” wondered Hippy. “Is this another of your fads? -You have been ‘concentrating,’ ‘reading nature,’ and doing goodness -knows how many other crazy things, on several recent journeys.” - -“Mine is not a fad, Hippy,” replied Emma with dignity. “What you -call ‘fads’ are simply demonstrations of Truth.” - -“Such as Arline Thayer put over on you last year,” chuckled Stacy -Brown, to which Miss Dean deigned no reply. - -“It is too bad that poor Arline’s health will not permit her being -with us this year,” murmured Grace. - -“Demonstrating,” resumed Emma thoughtfully, “is to breathe in -harmony, permitting no inharmonious thoughts to enter your being.” - -“Meaning what?” persisted Hippy Wingate teasingly. - -“Meaning, sir, that if you will think hard in the right way, -believing with all your might that certain things will come out as -you wish them to, you will find that they will.” - -“Good! I’ll just demonstrate a million dollars into my pocket -between now and morning,” promised Stacy. - -Hamilton White gave the Overlanders a quick glance of appraisal, and -nodded to himself. He admitted that perhaps he had not at first -formed the proper estimate of the party he was guiding through the -forests and mountains of the rugged state of Washington. All hands, -with the possible exception of Stacy, began work, and in less than -an hour the camp had been struck and the equipment loaded on the -ponies, the embers of the cook fire having been well soaked with -water. - -The girls of the party were still trying to solve the mystery of -their hurried departure as they mounted and started away with Mr. -White in the lead. They soon found themselves too fully occupied to -give thought to anything other than to dodging trees and low-hanging -limbs, for the forest was very dark. Hippy Wingate brought up the -rear, Stacy Brown in the middle of the line of riders, grumbling and -complaining with every jolt of the pony, now and then dozing off in -his saddle but suddenly awakening as a tree-trunk scraped his shin -or a bough smote him in the face. - -After an hour of uncomfortable riding the guide called a halt, and, -strapping on his climbers, began climbing a tree. He was out of -sight in a few seconds. In the meantime, Grace, gazing up to the -skies, noticed that the stars had now lost their whiteness and had -taken on a faded tint. This puzzled her. She did not know how to -interpret the change, unless, perhaps, it was caused by fog. - -“Did you solve the mystery, Mr. White?” called Emma in her sweetest -voice as the guide stepped to the ground and began removing his -climbers, for Emma had already attached herself to Hamilton White as -a man worth while. “What did you discover?” - -“Principally atmosphere, Miss Dean,” was the noncommittal reply. - -“I think you are real mean,” pouted Emma. “I am angry with you. Some -persons think it is clever to make a mystery of everything, and—” - -“Oh, demonstrate over it,” advised Stacy wearily. “It’s only -light-headed persons who thus reason.” - -“Indeed! That accounts for some of your peculiarities,” Emma came -back quickly. By this time the Overlanders were laughing over the -sparring of Emma Dean and Stacy Brown. - -“Please get under way,” directed the guide, vaulting into his -saddle. Grace and Elfreda took up positions behind him, and the -journey through the somber forest again began. It continued on until -about an hour before daybreak, when, in the faint light, the two -girls observed the guide moisten a finger on his lips and hold it -up, slowly turning the finger from side to side. - -Grace wondered, and did the same several times, observed -questioningly by her companion. - -“What is it?” whispered Miss Briggs. - -“I—I’m not certain,” answered Grace a little lamely. - -“This suspense is killing me,” cried Emma, joining the two girls. -“Unless my curiosity is gratified, I surely shall expire.” - -“Why don’t you do what you threatened to do, demonstrate over the -situation?” demanded Elfreda laughingly. - -“Hamilton doesn’t like me to,” returned Miss Dean flushing. - -“So? That is the way the wind blows,” chuckled Elfreda, and the -girls laughed heartily. - -“Hamilton!” murmured Grace. “It seems to me that matters are -progressing rather rapidly, Emma dear. Here we have been out less -than two days on our annual vacation in the saddle, and you are -calling our handsome guide by his first name. I am amazed at you. -I—” - -Ham White threw up a hand as a signal that they were to halt. Day -was dawning, and the waving plumes of the tall pines were now quite -plainly visible from below. - -“Stop here and take a light breakfast. Better not unpack anything. I -will be back in a few minutes,” said the guide. “These are orders,” -he flung back over his shoulder as he rode rapidly away. - -“It seems to me that our guide is rather bossy,” observed Nora -Wingate. - -“He isn’t!” protested Emma indignantly. “He is the finest man I ever -knew.” - -The others looked at each other and burst out laughing; then they -began teasing Emma as they ate breakfast standing beside their -ponies. Mr. White returned ere they had finished their light meal. A -quick, comprehensive glance showed him that his orders had been -obeyed. - -“You people think me an alarmist, I know, but the fact is I did not -wish to alarm you until I was certain. Now that I have been able to -get a clear observation, I know.” - -“The worst is yet to come,” grumbled Stacy. - -“Yes. You always bring this outfit bad luck,” retorted Emma. - -“Please, please, children!” begged Grace. “What is it, Mr. White?” - -“We are in the direct path of a forest fire!” - -There followed a moment’s silence, then Hippy spoke up. - -“What is the chance of our getting away from it?” he asked. - -“I am coming to that, and—” - -“Then the question seems to be, how much time have we to get out of -the way of this fire?” questioned Grace. - -The guide said that neither he nor any one else could answer that -question. - -“A forest fire is a sneaking demon,” he declared. “Sometimes one -sees no fire at all, then again it seems as if the whole universe -were ablaze. As a rule, persons who are caught in forest fires never -realize it until the fire has leaped upon them. This fire, so far, -is the kind you do see. Look up!” - -All eyes were turned upwards. They saw that the sky was covered with -a yellow haze. The haze seemed low. Birds were winging their way -northward, flying swiftly, and there were rustlings farther out in -the forest, and sounds of unseen creatures hurrying. - -“I wish Tom were here,” breathed Grace. Tom Gray, her much-loved -husband, now a well-known forestry engineer, was somewhere off in -that vast forest, making a survey for the government. Grace uttered -a fervent prayer for his safety. - -“I believe the fire is still some hours away, but the breeze is in -our direction, and bids fair to hold all day. By striking off to the -eastward and making good time, we have an excellent chance of -getting to higher rocky ground where we shall probably be safe,” was -the guide’s prediction. - -“_Alors!_ Let’s go,” urged J. Elfreda Briggs, with a touch of her -old-time lightness of spirit. - -“That is what I am getting at. I can direct you so that you folks -ought to make it, but I dislike leaving you,” added Mr. White. - -“Leaving us!” exclaimed Emma. - -“Yes. More than half a day’s ride from here is a village, a forest -mountain village, with women and children, who, perhaps, will never -know their peril until too late. It is known as Silver Creek, named -from the stream that flows through it, a stream that for about half -of the year is a swollen torrent—water icy cold, coming from the -mountain peaks in the north. In any event, they will need help, and -it is my duty to get there as quickly as possible. Lieutenant, will -you take it upon yourself to lead your party to safety, and let me -go on?” - -“That—that is for the girls to answer,” replied Hippy gravely, -turning to Grace and her companions. - -“Help will be needed at Silver Creek, you think, Mr. White?” -questioned Grace. - -“Yes. All they can get.” - -“Girls, I think we, too, know where our duty lies, do we not?” she -asked evenly. - -“Yes!” was the quick reply from Elfreda and Nora and Emma. - -“We are going with you, Mr. White,” announced Grace. - -“Oh, help!” wailed Stacy. - -A moment later the Overland party was riding at top speed, following -closely on the heels of the guided pony, knowing that upon their -speed in reaching their destination many lives might depend. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - IN THE DEMON’S GRIP - - -“Whew! The weather is getting hotter and hotter up here!” exclaimed -Stacy, fanning himself with his sombrero as they trotted along. -“Does it always get this way up here?” - -“Sometimes,” answered the guide, with a grim smile. - -The others of the party who saw the smile understood. - -“Hamilton, you don’t mean it is the heat coming from the forest that -we feel, do you?” questioned Miss Dean. - -The guide nodded and urged his pony ahead at a more rapid pace. The -others were keeping up a continual chatter, laughing and joking, and -Ham White wondered if they fully realized the peril that was -stalking them. Mr. White did not yet know the young people he was -guiding. Nor did they know him, which fact Elfreda Briggs voiced -when she spoke to Grace on the subject as they were jogging along. - -“There is something about Mr. White that I can’t interpret,” she -said. - -“And that is?” demanded Grace, regarding her companion with -twinkling eyes. - -“That is just it; I don’t know. I do know that Emma has an awful -crush on him, though I am positive that Mr. White doesn’t know it.” - -“It is nothing new with Emma, is it?” answered Grace laughingly. -“Let me see, how many men has the dear girl been in love with since -we went to France for war work with our college unit?” - -“Oh, I lost the count a long time ago. What is that?” - -“Snow. Look at the snow!” shouted Stacy, pointing to a shower of -white flakes that was sifting down over them. - -“Oh, it can’t be possible!” wondered Nora Wingate. - -“Yes, snow, and the temperature a hundred in the shade,” declared -Stacy. “This is a fine climate. I feel cooler just at sight of those -beautiful white flakes.” - -“What is it, Ham?” called Hippy. - -“Ashes!” answered the guide. “Ride hard!” - -The Overlanders understood now. It was ashes from the forest fire -that was following on their trail, and no further urging was -necessary to keep them going as fast as they could force their -horses. In a short time they were free from the feathery shower and -the air seemed fresher, though they occasionally caught a faint odor -of smoke. The Overlanders felt a certain relief, believing that they -had thrown off their pursuer, but Hamilton White felt no such -assurance. That taint of smoke told him more than the shower of -ashes had told him. It meant that the fire was creeping rather than -blazing high, and he knew that a creeping forest fire was a much to -be dreaded enemy. One never knew when or where to look for it, and -it had an uncanny habit of swooping down on one when least looked -for, and devouring. Ham increased his pace. - -No stop had been made in that long ride, except once to let the -sweating ponies drink from a cold mountain stream, and about -mid-afternoon the guide called back that they were nearing Silver -Creek village. The party caught their first glance at the creek, -whose shining surface indicated that it had been well named. It was -silvery, but ere they had followed it long, little waves of -mud-colored water were leaping up. - -There had been a severe storm in the mountains within a day, and the -flood was pouring down on its way to the lowlands. It was soon -roaring so loudly that they had to shout to make themselves heard. - -Then the village suddenly burst upon them, a settlement of several -hundred people, with stores and a post office that got its mail -twice a week by a post rider. - -The party of riders as they entered the village attracted the entire -attention of the inhabitants, who gathered about, and regarded the -newcomers closely. - -“Got anything to eat in this burg?” demanded Stacy Brown, slipping -from his saddle and grinning at the villagers. - -“Reckon ye can git something at the store,” answered someone. - -“Then me for the store!” - -Stacy left his pony and ambled into the general store, where Ham -White and Hippy already had gone. White was just greeting the -postmaster, who owned the place, as Stacy entered. - -“Forest fire?” jeered the postmaster, in reply to the guide’s -warning. “Never had any such thing at Silver Creek—never expect to. -Creek yonder will stop any forest fire that ever sprung a spark. -Look at it! Listen to it! I reckon you’ve—” - -“Stop it!” commanded White sternly. “I demand the help of the -villagers, and if they don’t make haste this town will be wiped out -before they get started.” - -Stacy helped himself liberally from the cracker barrel, listening -wide-eyed to the conversation. So long as the crackers held out he -was well satisfied to have the men talk and keep the storekeeper -occupied. - -“Who be ye?” demanded the man. - -“I am the guide of this party, and—” Ham whispered to the -storekeeper. - -“Eh? Oh, well, if that’s the case I reckon we’ve got to go through -the motions of stopping a fire that ain’t. What do ye propose to -do?” - -“Call these people together and tell them to get their axes and -begin to fell trees around the village. I will tell them which ones -to cut. Then I want them to help us backfire the grass around the -village; get out every pail and pan in the place. If there are any -barrels here, fill them with water. Cut boughs to whip out the fire -and keep it from getting away from us while we are backfiring. My -party will help. Have you seen any rangers here within a day or so?” - -“No. Bud Carver was passing through about a week ago, and he said—” - -“Never mind what he said. Get out and tell those people what they -are to do—” - -White was interrupted by a growl from the storekeeper, who had -grabbed Stacy by the collar and separated him from the cracker -barrel. - -“Here, ye young thief—” - -“Don’t you call me a thief!” protested Stacy. “I am paying for what -I get. I’d have paid in advance, but you were busy and I didn’t want -to interrupt you,” explained the fat boy lamely. “Here’s five cents, -and that is more than the whole barrel is worth. I’ll bet you have -had them here ever since Washington stopped being a territory—in -name.” - -Uttering a growl, the storekeeper stalked out to the porch and waved -the people to him. Hippy Wingate grasped Stacy by an arm and -propelled him from the store. - -“It is fortunate for you, young man, that there was nothing to eat -in the postoffice part of the place, or you would have helped -yourself and got in trouble with the United States Government,” -declared Hippy. - -The others of the party had led their ponies up to the porch and -were standing beside them, waiting for orders from the guide, each -one listening attentively while the storekeeper told the villagers -what Hamilton White had directed him to say. - -A loud laugh followed the remarks. - -“Ain’t goin’ to burn no grass ’round here! That’s stock grass fer -the cows and the hosses next winter,” warned one. - -“The grass is going to be burned, and if you don’t do it we shall do -it ourselves. If we fail, the forest fire will do it and take in the -village at the same time,” warned the guide. - -“Show me a forest fire and I’ll think about it,” demanded the man. - -“You have a nose. Can’t you smell it?” retorted Hippy Wingate. - -The villager laughed. - -“That smoke is from a bush fire on Bald Mountain where a feller is -clearing a pa’cel of ground fer a cabin,” jeered the villager. - -“The breeze doesn’t happen to be blowing from the direction of Bald -Mountain, my man,” reminded White. “It is coming from the opposite -direction. If you will use your brains, provided you have any, you -will find that the air from the south on your face is hotter by -several degrees than it is from the other direction. Get your axes -and the other things that Mr. Skinner has for us.” - -Still unconvinced, the man shook his head, and refused. - -“Tie your horses, Overlanders! We will backfire ourselves,” called -White. - -“Ye’ll get a charge of buckshot in yer carcass if ye do!” threatened -the mountaineer. - -“Try it!” suggested Ham White, giving the man a long, steady look in -the eyes. The protesting villager melted away. - -At White’s direction, the storekeeper got out all the pails in his -store, which, together with axes and grub-hoes, were cast out on the -porch. - -“You ladies must keep back out of the way,” directed Ham. - -“We shall do our part, Mr. White,” answered Grace. “Give us -something to do.” - -“Very well,” answered the guide after slight hesitation. “You may -fill all these pails with water and distribute them along the edge -of the village on the north side.” - -Boughs, green and tough, were quickly cut by White, who then -directed Hippy to start backfiring, which means firing towards the -approaching forest fire, the start of which is always a risk—the -risk of its getting away and burning that which the fire fighters -are seeking to protect. Only a small section at the edge of the -forest was fired at first, Ham White standing guard with Stacy, -ready to leap to the danger point if a blaze should begin creeping -towards the village. - -Not a villager lifted a hand to assist, but loud protests were -voiced when the pungent smoke from the burning grass settled over -them. - -“You will be in luck if you swallow nothing worse than smoke,” Ham -White flung back at them. - -There was something in this lithe, upstanding man of the forest that -held the villagers back from taking matters into their own hands and -driving the intruders from the place. He was everywhere, directing -Hippy where to fire, advising the girls where to pour water, -prodding Stacy Brown to keep that worthy from sitting down and -shirking his share of the labor. - -Perspiration was standing out on every face, and every face was red -from the heat of the flames that were rapidly eating their way -towards the big trees in the background. Ham White wanted to fell -those trees, but he could not do it alone, nor would the villagers -do it for him, so he did what could be done, and was glad that he -had such ready workers as the Overland Riders proved themselves to -be. They were resourceful, too, and soon understanding what the -guide was seeking to accomplish, went to it without further -instruction. - -“Miss Briggs!” he called, and Elfreda was at his side in a moment. - -“What is it, Mr. White?” - -“You are a level-headed woman—” - -“Thank you,” answered Elfreda smilingly, mopping the perspiration on -her face into sooty streaks. - -“I wish you would go around the right-hand side of this burn. The -smoke is blowing towards us now, so you will get little odor from -it. Go into the forest a little way and watch and listen and sniff. -Watch the ground, not the sides. Any indications of fire that you -discover, hear or smell, let me know instantly.” - -“Thank you, Mr. White. Carrying water is not particularly inspiring. -I am glad to do something that will occupy me more absorbingly. How -shall I get back here if you fire the right-hand side you just -mentioned?” - -“This side will be burned off by then, but don’t stand in one spot -many seconds at a time when crossing it. You might burn your feet. -Be careful that you don’t get lost. I trust you to take care of -yourself.” - -For a few brief seconds they held each other’s eyes, then Elfreda -turned and walked briskly away. - -“Please, Hamilton, won’t you come back out of danger,” begged Emma, -slipping an arm through his at this juncture. “I am terribly -nervous, but I am demonstrating for you with every fiber of my -being.” - -“Go demonstrate on the villagers—do something worth while,” advised -Stacy sourly. - -“I will after this is finished—I’ll demonstrate over you,” retorted -Emma. - -The guide made no reply, but turned back to his work. Elfreda had -already disappeared from sight. Hers was a responsible post, and -none knew that so well as Hamilton White himself, though Elfreda -began to realize it when she found herself alone in the forest. With -every sense on the alert, Elfreda devoted herself to following Mr. -White’s instructions. She could catch faint whiffs of smoke from the -south, but could see no fire. At first, she thought the odor was -from their own backfire, but after a little she was able to -distinguish a difference in the odor coming from the south. It was -more pungent, more overpowering, seeming to possess more substance, -more body, than did the faint smoke from the grass fire that reached -her nostrils. - -“I wonder if I had better run back and report? No. I will stay here -until I have something definite. I may be imagining.” - -Elfreda was now so far back in the forest that she could not hear -the crackling of the grass backfire that Ham White had started, and -she could but faintly hear the flow of Silver Creek. Soon a few -scattering “snowflakes” began falling about her, and from the -previous experience she knew what these meant. There was fire to the -south, though it might be many miles away. Elfreda was not -sufficiently familiar with forest fires to interpret these -indications with certainty. - -A low, rumbling noise, that might have been distant thunder, caused -her to listen attentively. - -“It might have been a train,” she murmured, then instantly recalled -that there was no railway within fifty miles. - -A breeze sprang up from the south and the tops of the trees bent -under it ever so little. Then suddenly Elfreda Briggs witnessed a -sight that, for the instant, paralyzed her—that prevented her from -moving a muscle. - -What, at first sight, looked to be a shining serpent, was wriggling -toward her, now and then breathing a little spurt of smoke. The -“serpent” disappeared, and she then saw others, all wriggling, -twisting, turning, disappearing, and suddenly appearing in another -spot a few yards away. - -“Merciful heaven, what is it?” cried the Overland girl. - -A little pine tree, not more than two yards in height, suddenly -became the victim of one of these shining “serpents” and burst into -crackling flames and was consumed in a few minutes. - -“Fire!” cried the watcher. Elfreda turned, startled, and fled -towards the “burn” that her companions had made. - -They saw her coming on fleet feet. Hamilton White waved to her to -keep to the right, for the grass was still holding fire on the -course she was following, but Elfreda took the gesture for a wave of -welcome, and waved back. In the next second she saw the guide -running towards her, followed by Grace. - -Elfreda darted ahead, and was nearly at the edge of the burn when -she came up with them. To her amazement, the guide picked her up, -then threw her flat on the ground. He rolled her over and over in -the blackened ashes of the grass, Grace assisting by vigorous pats, -for Elfreda’s skirt had caught fire. - -The blaze was out in a moment, and now the girl began to feel the -sting of burns. Assisted to her feet Elfreda was a sight, her face, -neck and arms black, little patches of white showing here and there, -accentuating the blackness of the rest. - -“Quick, take her somewhere and look her over. Get oil from the store -and put on her burns if she has any. Be lively. I—” - -“The fiery serpents are there!” gasped Elfreda. - -“What!” demanded the guide. - -“They’re there, darting all around just beyond the edge of the burn -in the forest. I don’t know—I think—” - -“Take her away!” commanded White sternly. - -The guide bounded across the burned space and plunged into the -forest. He came back a few moments later, even more rapidly than he -had gone out, never stopping until he reached the store porch. - -Something in Hamilton White’s attitude or in his expression silenced -the villagers who had gone into spasms of laughter at Elfreda -Briggs’ plight. - -“Men, the forest fire is yonder, less than an eighth of a mile -away!” he shouted. “It may not be too late to save the village, but -I think it is. Get your women and children down to the bank of the -creek. Bring water and wet down everything. Work, you thick-heads!” -There were murmurs of objection. A puff of hot air was driven -through the village, and a few moments later a blue haze settled -over it. A great silence fell over the people. It was broken by a -woman’s scream. - -“Fire!” yelled a man. - -“Fire! Fire! Fire!” - -The chorus was taken up by a hundred voices, and panic seized upon -the inhabitants of Silver Creek. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - A RAIN OF FIRE - - -“Wet down the roofs of all the houses. Keep your heads or you’re -goners!” shouted Ham White. - -The Overlanders had grabbed pails and filled them from the creek, -running with them to points where water soon would be needed. Stacy, -however, with his usual disinclination to work, took it upon himself -to boss the villagers, which he did very well. He appeared to be not -at all disturbed by the peril that menaced them. - -The sky was now heavily overcast. To add to the gloom, daylight was -fading with the prospect of a night of terror for the people of -Silver Creek. The air grew hot and the pungent odor of smoke sent -many into paroxysms of coughing. - -Hamilton White, cool and collected, was giving terse orders here and -there, and working with tireless energy. Hot puffs of wind drove -through the village streets, and that, he knew, was the vanguard of -what was to come. - -Men were working under difficulties but to good purpose, for the -guide was directing the work of covering roofs with wet blankets, -which were wet down as fast as water could be brought. The smoke -grew more dense, more suffocating with the moments, and, somewhere -off to the south, a roar like that of an approaching storm was -plainly heard. Ham White, hearing, understood. - -“Look! Oh, look!” cried Nora Wingate. - -Great tongues of flame were seen leaping into the air high above the -tree-tops of the forest. Sparks and burning embers were now falling -in the village streets. Overhead the air itself seemed to be on -fire. Sheets of flame were curling and rolling through the forest -like breakers on a reef. At one moment the sky would be lighted up -brilliantly, and in the next deep, impenetrable darkness covered -all. - -The terror of the villagers increased, and the Overland girls, on -their way to and fro for water, did what they could to calm the -women, but without great success. To add to the terror and the -peril, the village was now surrounded with fire on three sides. It -seemed to be growing more threatening with the moments, and the -clouds of soot became denser. - -“Oh, how terrible!” cried Nora to Grace Harlowe. - -“Yes, but one of the most tremendous spectacles I have ever seen,” -answered Grace, whose face, like all others about her, was so black -as to be almost unrecognizable. - -In all the excitement, however, the two girls found time to observe -and marvel. They saw streamers of fire appear to die out, and then -charge forward toward the village at race-horse speed, threatening -to envelop and devour it. - -The villagers started to run as their panic increased. - -“Stay where you are! You are safer here!” Ham White shouted in -warning to all. - -Houses were now catching fire, despite all efforts, and men worked -in a frenzy, for, if the fire once got a good start in the village, -they now knew that it would be destroyed. Some of the cooler heads -among the women lent much assistance to the Overlanders, but most of -them were too terrified to give any assistance at all. - -“Some of these women surely will perish unless something is done at -once,” said Miss Briggs. “Suggest something, Grace, for the love of -heaven.” - -“The creek! Help me herd them down on its bank,” answered Grace with -ready resource. “Nora! You and Emma must assist. Don’t hesitate. -Jump to it! There are men enough to carry water. Lives are of more -account than houses.” - -The girls sprang to their task with energy. It was not an easy task -to which they had assigned themselves, and the first of the women -sent to the stream had to be forced there. There were choking -protests, but the Overland girls gave no heed, as there was no time -for argument, and seconds wasted might mean loss of lives. - -“If your clothes catch fire, duck into the creek,” was the advice -shouted over and over again to the village women by Grace and her -companions. “Keep close to the shore or you may be swept off your -feet and carried downstream.” - -The latter part of the Overlanders’ advice was not heeded in every -instance, and now and then one of the girls found it necessary to -haul ashore some woman who was in danger of being carried away by -the current. - -As the heat in the village increased in intensity, shivering women -and children were standing in the creek’s cold waters, protecting -themselves from the burning air by covering their heads with wetted -articles of clothing. - -Another peril found them there. Logs, broken, charred tree-limbs, -were rolling and tumbling down with the stream. Something hit -Elfreda, who was dragging a woman to safety, and pushed the girl -under. Struggle as she would, Miss Briggs was unable for some time -to extricate herself, though she did manage to keep her head above -water. Her skirts had caught on the branches of what proved to be -the bushy top of a tree, and she was swept away on the current. - -After what seemed hours Elfreda succeeded in freeing herself, and -permitted herself to float while she rested, breathing hard from her -exertions. - -The village of Silver Creek had disappeared in the distance. A -roaring sound came to Elfreda’s ears, which she soon discovered was -caused by the rushing current of a turbulent river. - -“Mercy! What am I coming to?” cried the girl in her extremity. -Elfreda was frightened, but by no means panic-stricken. “Oh, this -surely is the end!” gasped the girl as she found herself suddenly -whirled into wild waters. - -It was Roaring River into which Miss Briggs had been swept from the -creek, and now her last hope seemed gone, for the stream was wide -and full of floating logs and brush, and here and there dark objects -brushed past her. The girl drifted on and on, chilled and exhausted, -but still possessing a strength of will that kept her from letting -go, as many another would have done in her circumstances. - -Of how long she had been in the water Elfreda had not the slightest -idea, but it seemed to have been hours, when suddenly she was halted -by the roots of a tree on the bank of the river, from which the dirt -had been washed away. - -Grasping at the roots, Miss Briggs clung there resting. After a -little she dragged herself over the roots and finally reached soft -yielding earth. - -“Thank God!” breathed Elfreda fervently, and stretching out she sank -into a deep sleep of exhaustion. - -When Miss Briggs awakened from that sleep the sun was shining, but -there was a yellow haze in the air, and the odor of smoke was wafted -to her on the morning breeze. Birds were singing in the trees, and -the earth seemed at peace. - -“J. Elfreda, you have done it this time!” she rebuked herself. “Why -did you ever go into that terrible water? Oh, what has become of the -others? This will never do. I must do something!” she cried, rousing -herself and standing up to look about her. - -What to do, was the perplexing question. It was then that Elfreda -discovered a trail. Trees along the trail had been blazed, but the -blazes were not new. The path had been used frequently, she -observed, and led into the forest. For that the Overland girl was -thankful. - -After brief reflection, Miss Briggs decided to follow the trail that -Fate had offered to her. It must lead somewhere, she reasoned. Had -Elfreda been more familiar with life in the forest she would have -known that this was either a trapper’s or a fisherman’s trail, but -to her all forest blazes looked alike, so she plodded on slowly, -keeping a sharp lookout for slashes on sides of the trees, and for -signs of human habitation. - -When an hour had passed, and the trail still led on, the girl began -to lose heart. She sank down to rest and think, but as she peered -underneath the low-hanging branches of under-brush and saplings, -Elfreda made a discovery that set her pulses beating. There, less -than fifty yards ahead of her, she saw a shack, and about it was a -hedge of evergreens that undoubtedly had been placed there by human -hands. - -“Saved!” cried Elfreda, springing to her feet, forgetful of the -aches and pains of a few moments before. - -The Overland girl caught her breath suddenly, and a rush of color -leaped to her cheeks, for Elfreda Briggs had made another discovery, -and with it came the realization that a most amazing thing had -occurred. - -Uttering a shrill little cry, Elfreda started forward at a run. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - THE LOST CABIN - - -“The village is saved!” - -Hamilton White, blackened, red-eyed, his clothing scorched, made -that announcement as, at the break of day, he had opportunity to -look about him. - -“Yes, and not a life lost,” agreed Grace Harlowe, herself worn out -and disheveled. “It is a miracle. Mr. White, they should get down on -their knees to thank you for what you have done for Silver Creek. -Without your resourcefulness—Well, there would be nothing left of -the village or people.” - -“Thank you!” Ham White bowed and grinned through the soot on his -face. “The credit is due wholly to the assistance of the -Overlanders. In other words, the shoe is on the other foot.” - -“Well, what next?” demanded Hippy Wingate coming up, Emma Dean -following, and taking her place beside the guide. - -“Something to eat if we can find it, then to get out of here and to -dodge what is left of the fire,” replied the guide. “Suppose we go -down to the creek and wash our faces.” - -“Get out of here!” jeered Hippy. “With what? I haven’t seen anything -that looked like a horse since yesterday. I think our animals must -have gone downstream, and that we are all fixed for a long hike to -some place where fresh mounts can be had.” - -“Oh, Hamilton! Is it really true that the ponies have run away?” -begged Emma, linking arms with the guide. - -“Too true, little bird,” chuckled Hippy. “Thank you, Mr. Wingate. -Being a bird is better than being a donkey,” answered Emma. - -“And hop from bough to bough, and chatter and then chatter some -more,” finished Hippy. - -“While a donkey can only bray, and then bray some more,” was Emma’s -parting shot, which brought a shout of laughter from the begrimed -Overlanders. - -Hippy made a gesture of helpless resignation, and turned to the -guide to ask what they had better do. - -“We will find the stock somewhere to the northeast, provided they -have been neither burned nor drowned. Stock have an instinct that -tells them to seek high ground,” said the guide. “By the way, is -Miss Briggs in one of the houses resting?” - -“Elfreda!” cried Nora. - -The girls looked at each other with the same question in their eyes. -None had seen her since the evening before, and in the excitement -and confusion she had not been missed. - -“Girls, girls! Run!” cried Grace. “Go to every house in the village. -She must be here! She must be here! Hippy! Mr. White! Please help -us.” - -There was instant compliance, and half an hour later the Overlanders -met in front of the post office. Grace was the only one of the party -that had any information to convey. Grace had found the woman whom -Miss Briggs had tried to rescue, and ascertained that the last that -woman had seen of her was when Elfreda had given her a vigorous push -towards the shore. - -For the first time since the Overlanders had known him, Ham White -lost his composure. He steadied himself in a moment. Leaping to the -steps of the store he shouted to the villagers that were still -thronging the streets. - -“Men!” he said. “These splendid young women have helped to save your -town and your women and children. One of the young women, Miss -Briggs, is missing. She _must_ be found, and I want you men to form -a searching party. Get your breakfasts, but never mind anything -else. If you are men, which I believe you to be, you won’t have to -be urged. I’ll tell you what to do. Will you go?” - -“Yes!” The answer was a shout. And Hamilton White smiled. - -The guide directed the girls to steady themselves, and eat. As for -himself, he wanted nothing to eat except what he could carry with -him and munch on his way. White sent one searching party down each -side of the creek, heading the party on the left side himself, with -Lieutenant Hippy Wingate leading the party on the right. - -“Do not worry if we aren’t back as quickly as you might hope for, as -we shall be looking for stock—for our horses—at the same time,” he -urged. - -“Oh, Hamilton, do be careful of yourself,” begged Emma as the men -were starting away. “I shall demonstrate for you all the time you -are away.” - -Grace linked an arm in Emma’s. - -“My dear, how long have you known Mr. White?” she asked gently. - -“It seems as though I have always known him,” answered Emma -dreamily. - -“As a matter of fact, you have known him less than a week. It is -true we took him on the recommendation of the banker at Cresco, -where we made our start for the Cascade Range of Washington State, -and we know him to be a man of intelligence, a brave, resourceful -fellow, but there is still something about him that I do not -understand. I don’t believe he is what he represents himself to be, -but, if we should ever go out again, he is the man I should like to -have lead us. Just the same, that is no reason why you should be so -forward. Emma, well-bred girls are not supposed to wear their hearts -on their sleeves. Be a good fellow, which you are, but be -dignified,” admonished Grace smilingly. - -“I am and I do,” answered Miss Dean haughtily. - -“Now let us forget our little lecture, and do what we can to assist -the women of the village to get set, so to speak,” suggested Grace. -“We must not worry about Elfreda. I believe we shall find her and -that she is as safe at this moment as we are.” - -“I’ll demonstrate over her. I’ll keep saying to myself, ‘Elfreda is -well and happy. No harm can come to her because only error can mean -harm,’” promised Emma, bubbling and laughing. - -“Come,” said Grace. “Demonstrate after we have given some material -aid to these distressed people.” - -It was about this time that Elfreda reached the shack in the forest -and made the discovery that so startled her. Elfreda’s amazement was -caused by the sight of a human being, sitting on a stump near the -shack. The human being was short and fat. He was eating from a can -of baked beans, his big eyes regarding Miss Briggs soulfully, his -cheeks puffed out with the beans. - -“Stacy!” cried Elfreda. “Oh, Stacy Brown! Am I dreaming?” - -“Mebby,” mumbled the fat boy, digging more beans from the can. - -Elfreda ran to him, and in her joy at seeing her Overland companion, -she threw her arms about Stacy. In doing so she knocked the can of -beans from his hands, and the rest of the contents was spilled on -the ground. - -“Now see what you’ve done,” wailed the fat boy. “And the beanery -fifty miles away.” - -“Never mind the beans. What is this place?” - -“Lost cabin,” answered Stacy promptly. - -“How do you know?” - -“I don’t. I just guessed it. Hungry?” - -“Famished,” answered J. Elfreda. - -“Some more canned stuff under the floor of the shack,” he informed -her, waving a hand towards the cabin, and picking up the spilled -beans one by one, placing each individual bean carefully in his -mouth. - -“First tell me how you got here?” demanded Miss Briggs. - -“Came down on a Roaring River Liner—other words, a log. Where’s the -party?” - -“Trying to put out the fire at Silver Creek. Shall we try to find -our way back?” - -“What! With all that food cached in the shack?” demanded Stacy -almost indignantly. “So long as the food holds out and no fire comes -along, I stay right here. I know a good thing when I find it. After -I get enough to keep my strength up I am going down to the river and -catch some fish. Then we will have a real spread.” - -“Hopeless!” exclaimed Elfreda. “I am glad to see you, though. I -think you are right about remaining here for the day. When the fire -is under control our folks will search for us, and Mr. White will -pick up our trail.” - -“Yes. I left ‘feetprints’ in the river when the log rolled me off. -Did you ever observe how wonderfully prominent ‘feetprints’ in the -water are, Elfreda?” - -Elfreda gave her head a toss and walked to the cabin. It was a -typical forest shack. There was a plain deal table, two chairs, a -bed on the floor and blankets hung over a line. The dishes were -limited, but sufficient for one or two persons. She investigated an -opening in the floor, from which Stacy had lifted the trap door, and -found there a good supply of canned goods, some rope, axes, picks -and shovels. - -“A forest ranger’s shack,” she murmured. “Yes, I think that must be -it.” Elfreda helped herself to a can of beans, surveyed it ruefully -and carried it outside. - -“Have you the can-opener, Stacy?” she asked. - -Stacy shook his head. - -“How did you open your cans then?” Several empty cans lay about the -stump on which he was sitting. - -“With my teeth. Bit ’em open!” said the fat boy thickly. - -“Stacy Brown, you are impossible! I think I know a better way.” -Elfreda got an axe from the shack and attacked the can of beans. She -made a bad job of it, and most of the beans that were not mashed -flat were scattered about on the ground. These, the fat boy gathered -up carefully and placed in his own can. - -“Get another can. I’m busy, but I will open it for you. Girls are so -helpless.” - -“I am beginning to agree with you,” answered Miss Briggs, returning -to the cabin for another can. When she came back Stacy removed the -top of the can with his knife, and handed the food to her. - -“For this, you buy me a new knife when we reach a store somewhere. -Knives cost money, and I can’t afford to waste mine on girls.” - -“You shall have a new knife, and thank you very much for your -courtesy,” returned Elfreda. - -Stacy gave her a sidelong glance. - -“You look all fagged out. After you finish that can, better go in -and lie down. Besides, it won’t do to overload your stomach so soon -after a bath.” - -“Oh, you funny boy!” Elfreda laughed until two tear drops were -sparkling on her brown cheeks. “If you will catch some fish I -promise to cook them for you, and we will have a real spread. Yes, I -will take a nap, for I am completely fagged. Did you discover any -coffee in the shack?” - -“Uh-huh. I didn’t have time to make coffee. I’m too busy to do so -now.” - -Miss Briggs went to the shack, spread out the blankets for -inspection, and found them clean; so she laid them on the bed and -stretched out for a rest. Until then she had not realized how weary -she was, and, in a few moments, fell into a deep sleep. - -After a time Stacy took a nap by the stump, from which he did not -awaken until late in the afternoon. He did not know what time it -was, his watch having stopped on his wet ride from the village of -Silver Creek. The fat boy decided to go fishing. There was a bamboo -pole, hook and line in the shack, and this he got, after taking a -squint at the sleeping Elfreda. - -“Girls are such sleepy-heads,” muttered the boy, as he shouldered -the pole and went out, making all the noise he could, all of which -failed to awaken Miss Briggs. On the way to the stream he looked for -a rotting stump, one of which he eventually found, and with his -hunting knife managed to dig out some nice white grubs for bait. - -“Humph! They do look almost good enough to eat,” he muttered, -surveying some of the grubs in the palm of his hand. “I don’t blame -the fish for liking them.” - -Shortly after that the fat boy sat down on the bank with his line in -the water, thoroughly at peace with the world, and content to remain -where he was so long as the food held out. - -Stacy had not been fishing long when he heard a horse approaching, -but did not turn his head, his eyes remaining fixed on the fish line -that caused a little ripple in the stream as it split the current. - -“Hello, boy!” called a voice behind him. - -“Same to you,” returned Stacy. - -“Fishing?” - -“No. Just teaching this grub how to swim.” - -“Say, you! You’re too fresh. I’ve a good mind to throw you into the -river,” growled the newcomer. - -“Better not. I’ll get wet.” - -“Where do you come from?” demanded the man, his voice sharp and -incisive. - -“Up Silver Creek way. I came down here on the river packet to get -away from the forest fire.” - -“I mean, where do you live?” - -“Right here at the present moment. I don’t look as if I were dead, -do I?” - -“You may be soon if you ain’t more civil. What happened to the -village?” - -“Some people got singed, others got wet. I got a little of both -before I shipped.” - -The man got down from his horse and stepped around where he could -see the fat boy’s face. Stacy gave him a slow, sidelong glance, then -turned his attention to his line. He had a bite, and a few seconds -later he landed a fish. - -“Huh!” grunted the stranger. “Anybody with you?” - -“A few grubs in my pocket and myself, that’s all. Who are you?” - -“None of your business!” - -Stacy regarded the stranger blinkingly. The fellow was not a -pleasant-looking man, and a scar across one cheek gave him a still -more evil look. The horse he rode, Stacy observed, was a fine animal -and looked as though it could develop a lot of speed. - -“Where’d you get the nag?” questioned the boy. - -“Bought him. Didn’t think I stole him, did you?” demanded the man -indignantly. - -Stacy shrugged his shoulders, but made no reply. He resumed his -fishing. - -“Let me give you some advice, young fellow. This is no place for -children. You git out of here, and stay out. I’ll be back later, and -if you’re here then I’ll help you out on the run.” - -“Thanks,” drawled the fat boy without looking up. - -The stranger rode away, and Stacy resumed his fishing. He caught a -fine mess of trout; then the grubs gave out. Being too tired to -return to the shack just then the Overlander decided to take a nap, -which he proceeded to do. Night came on, and Stacy Brown was still -asleep. So was Elfreda Briggs, in the shack. Miss Briggs had not -moved since she lay down hours before. - -It was late when she finally suddenly roused herself and sat up. The -cabin was enshrouded in darkness. Peering out, she saw that it was -night. - -“Stacy!” she called. There was no response. Stacy Brown was sleeping -peacefully on the bank of Roaring River. - -Elfreda wondered what had awakened her so suddenly. Then all at once -she understood. She heard a horse approaching. The animal stopped -just beyond the cabin. Miss Briggs did not go to the door, but got -to her feet and listened. She thought she heard someone groan; then -all was silence for a moment. - -“Oh!” exclaimed the Overland girl under her breath as the door of -the shack was slowly pushed open. “Who is it?” she cried, with all -the steadiness that she could summon. Miss Briggs reached for her -revolver, but it was not in its holster. - -A man staggered in. She could see his figure faintly outlined in the -doorway. - -“Help! I’m shot—I’m dying!” groaned the man, and collapsed at the -feet of Elfreda Briggs. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - A FRUITLESS QUEST - - -“Grace! Oh, Grace!” - -After several hours of hard work assisting the women of the village -to untangle the confusion of their homes, the contents of most of -which were in the streets, Nora came running in search of Grace -Harlowe. - -“What is wrong, Nora?” begged Grace a little fearfully. - -“Have you seen Stacy?” - -“No. Come to think of it, I have not. Why, I haven’t seen him since -last night, either.” - -“Neither has anyone else, so far as I have been able to learn.” - -“Are you positive that he did not go out with the men this morning?” -asked Grace. - -“They say he did not.” - -“Chunky”—as his companions sometimes called him—“is probably asleep -somewhere about,” suggested Emma Dean. “You know what a wonderful -sleeper he is.” - -“I doubt it,” answered Grace reflectively. “Was he in the creek?” - -Nora said she did not know. - -“That makes two of our party that are missing. What are we going to -do?” begged Nora, tears of anxiety springing to her eyes. - -“We will search for him in the vicinity of the village. That is all -we can do. If we do not find him we simply shall have to wait until -the men return to-night,” decided Grace. - -“If Hamilton were only here he would know what is best,” complained -Emma. - -Grace gave her a look of rebuke. - -“Mr. White probably will find the boy. He will leave nothing undone, -of that we girls are certain, and we shall have to make the best of -a bad situation, which may not be nearly so bad as it seems,” -comforted Grace. “Come, let us take different directions and search -the village and its immediate vicinity.” - -“I have another one to demonstrate over now. I don’t want to -demonstrate over Chunky, but I suppose it wouldn’t be honest not -to,” complained Emma. “This is terrible.” - -The girls separated and made a careful search about the village and -out among the trees, as far from the village as they dared to go. -There were still many little smouldering fires, but there was so -little for them to feed upon that they could not spread. - -Not a trace of the missing boy did the girls find, though there was -plenty of tragic evidence of the deadly work of the forest fire -everywhere they went. The girls returned, giving up the task. - -“We must wait, and go on with our work. It will help to keep our -minds from our worries. My husband would be a great comfort if he -were here, for Tom is ever ready and resourceful,” murmured Grace. - -“He is no better than Hamilton,” protested Emma indignantly. “What -Hamilton doesn’t know about everything up here isn’t worth knowing.” - -The girls laughed at Emma, who turned away, face flushed and eyes -moist. They busied themselves all the rest of the day, but when -night came on, the searchers had not returned. Shortly after nine -o’clock, however, a shout told the anxious Overlanders that someone -was approaching. It proved to be Hippy Wingate and his party. Hippy -reported that they had not found a trace of Elfreda Briggs. He was -shocked when he learned that Stacy also was missing. - -It was an hour later when Hamilton White and his party of searchers -came in. They were leading a bunch of horses. - -“We got them all but one, folks,” he cried as the villagers and the -Overlanders crowded about him and his party. - -“But Miss Briggs!” wailed Nora Wingate. “Don’t tell me that—” - -“She was not found on the left-hand side of the river. We followed -Roaring River down to a point about fifteen miles below here. As you -see, we got all the mounts but one, and that one evidently was swept -away, else he would have been with his mates.” - -White was speaking more rapidly than was his wont, and Grace was -regarding him keenly. - -“Did you know that Stacy Brown is missing also?” she asked. - -The guide regarded her for a moment. - -“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Don’t be disheartened, Mrs. Gray. -To-morrow I shall take the other side of the river and stay out -until I get a definite line on what has happened. It would have been -useless to remain out longer to-night.” - -After a little, when he had answered many questions, White beckoned -Grace aside. - -“You are a level-headed woman, Mrs. Gray, so I think it best to tell -you what I have discovered. I—” - -“I knew you were keeping something back. Tell me. The truth is -better than the suspense.” - -“No, I don’t agree with you. I found Miss Briggs’ hat and her -handkerchief on my side of the river. The men with me do not know -this. The current on my side of the stream set into a bend at one -point, then switched over to the right-hand side. That is why I am -going down the right-hand side to-morrow. To me the finding of the -hat is proof that our missing woman was really swept downstream, but -my confidence in Miss Briggs’ cool-headedness is so strong that I -believe she found a way to get out of the river.” - -“I hope so,” replied Grace quietly. “By the same token, I think we -shall find Stacy. If he succeeds in finding something to eat, he -will remain where the food is until it is exhausted,” she added with -a little smile. - -“Just so,” agreed the guide. “I am more disturbed about possible -peril to Miss Briggs after she escaped from the river.” - -“Meaning what?” demanded Grace. - -“That there is danger to the north of us—a peril worse than forest -fires or wild beasts.” - -“Yes, yes!” urged Grace. - -“I mean the Murrays.” - -Grace said she never had heard of them. - -“They are notorious bandits, cutthroats, robbers, everything that is -vicious. Did Miss Briggs wear any jewels?” - -“She did—a diamond ring that is quite valuable, and a jewelled watch -that was presented to her by the French government after she -finished her work there with our college unit in the war.” - -“They would kill for less than that!” was the disturbing -announcement of Hamilton White, as he turned abruptly away. - -Ham White did not wait until morning to resume his search. After -taking a light supper, and packing some “grub” in his kit bag, he -quietly forded the creek with one of the Overland ponies, then -disappeared in the darkness, headed downstream. Only Lieutenant -Hippy Wingate knew that he had gone. Ham White was headed towards an -adventure that proved to be a thrilling one, both for himself and -others. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - FACING A NEW PERIL - - -“Sho—Shot!” gasped Elfreda Briggs, as the stranger lay huddled on -the floor where he had fallen. He was breathing heavily, and perhaps -it was this that brought Miss Briggs to herself. After long service -with wounded men in France, she knew what a bullet wound was, and -her first instinct upon recovering from her fright was to give first -aid. - -Elfreda had found candles and matches in the cabin, and these she -quickly procured, lighting two candles the better to see her -patient. She peered down at her unexpected guest, a long, lean -figure, his lined, unshaven face ashen from pain and weakness. -Elfreda instantly recognized the symptoms. - -“Oh, you poor, poor man!” she cried in a voice full of sympathy, and -placed a folded blanket under his head. Then the Overland girl ran -out to a spring just back of the cabin, returning with a basin of -cold mountain water. First giving the wounded man a drink, she tore -open the faded, worn shirt and bathed his wound, which she knew at -once was a serious one. - -This served to rouse the patient a little, and he regarded her with -searching eyes—eyes that were full of pain. - -“Tha—ank you. You’re a good girl. What be you doing here?” - -“I belong to a party, but was carried down the river from Silver -Creek village when the forest fire reached there. Never mind -that—tell me about yourself.” - -“The gang got me—Hawk Murray’s gang. Name’s Sam Petersen, and I’m a -prospector—was a prospector, but I’m done, finished now.” - -“Why did they shoot you?” - -“For gold, Miss, gold! But I hung on to my horse and got away. -They’ll be here.” - -Elfreda begged him not to worry, seeing that the thought of the -Murray gang excited him. - -“Promise me, for your own sake, that you will not let them find me -or know that I have been here. If they find out they’ll do the same -by you that they have done by Sam Petersen.” - -Miss Briggs caressed the gray head, and moistened his lips with the -cold mountain water. Then, as tenderly as possible, she dragged the -wounded man to the bunk at one corner of the room, where he might be -more comfortable. - -“It’s mighty good to have you help me, but tain’t no use. I’ve -staked my last claim and—listen!” Petersen roused himself, and a new -light flashed into his eyes. “I must tell you, and I must do it -quick. Reach in my pocket and take out the diary there. Hide it! -Left hand po—pocket. That’s it.” - -Elfreda hesitatingly drew forth a well-worn book, the corners of -which were broken down and the leaves swollen from frequent -thumbing. - -“There’s something else there, too. Take that, too; it’s your’n.” - -The Overland girl drew forth a small canvas bag, soiled and worn, -and heavy. It was tied at the neck with a buckskin thong, and at his -nod she opened the bag. She saw a handful of nuggets, some worn and -shiny, water-worn as they proved to be, while at the bottom of the -bag was some dust. - -“Gold!” murmured Elfreda Briggs. “Is this why they shot you, Mr. -Petersen?” - -“Yes, and for what’s in that diary. Mebby you’ve heard of Lost Mine, -a dried-up water course that the Indians say many years ago was -paved with gold.” - -Elfreda shook her head. - -“Crazy prospectors like Sam Petersen have been hunting for that mine -for more’n twenty-five years. Sam Petersen found it!” The man’s -voice had dropped to a thrilling whisper. A dead silence followed, -broken by the hoot of an owl near the cabin. - -Elfreda shivered a little. - -“It’s there in the book—all but how to get there. Hawk Murray and -his gang found out that I’d got this bag of dust and nuggets. They -knew I’d been prospecting for just what they’d been trying for a -long time to find, and they believed I’d found it. Hawk and his -bunch trailed me, and we had a shooting match. I downed one of the -gang, but Hawk got me. Lady, I ain’t a bad man—I’m an honest man, -but up here a man’s what he is, and if he ain’t able to shuffle for -himself he’s all set to be shuffled off one day.” - -“You are talking too much—exerting too much effort. Be quiet and -rest,” commanded Elfreda. - -“I got to talk. I got to talk fast. I ain’t got much more time. -Write down in the book what I got to say. Ready?” - -Miss Briggs nodded. “Lost River, north branch, Grandma and the -Children, three peaks dead east—and there’s the bed of Lost River. -In it is gold, shining gold, the promised land and—it’s yours. I -ain’t got no family.” - -“I don’t quite understand. Can you make it a little clearer?” - -“All yours and—” - -“Please don’t talk any more. I want you to rest. You are getting -excited. What is gold compared to a man’s life, Mr. Petersen?” - -There was no reply. - -Elfreda Briggs glanced at the face, then, leaning over, peered -closer. - -“Get rid of the horse—shoot him. They’ll be here soon after daylight -and then—” - -That was all. The tired old voice trailed off into nothingness. Sam -Petersen had staked his last claim. - -Tears trickled down Elfreda’s cheeks. A thin gray bar of daylight -was now creeping across the cabin floor, and with it came the memory -of the old prospector’s warning: “The Murray gang will be here soon -after daylight”—and then—“Get rid of the horse!” - -Realizing that perhaps her own life might hang on following -Petersen’s advice, Miss Briggs sprang up and ran out. Standing a few -yards from the cabin, there was a fine bay mare browsing on the -tender leaves of the hedge. The animal regarded her solemnly, and, -she thought, with a friendly approving look. - -“You poor horse! Shoot _you?_ I couldn’t do it, but I am going to -try to hide you,” declared the Overland girl. - -Gripping the bridle she led the animal off to the right of the cabin -until she reached a stream. Into this she led the animal for some -distance, and secreted him in a narrow pass that was well hidden. - -“I think I will take the saddle and hide that,” reflected Elfreda. -Upon second thought she decided to carry it back and hide it near -the cabin, for she recognized it as a fine Mexican saddle. The -saddle she did secrete in a thick growth of bushes about fifty yards -from the shack. - -As she approached the cabin her footsteps became halting. - -“What if they should come and find him here? Oh, this is terrible. -Where, where can Stacy be? Why doesn’t he come back?” - -It was not a pleasant task that confronted Elfreda Briggs, but she -went to it with lips set, face pale, and heart beating nervously. -She covered the thin old frame of Sam Petersen, and over it laid the -blankets. - -“Oh, this is terrible,” moaned the girl, then grew suddenly rigid. -The sound of approaching horses reached her alert ears as she stood -in the middle of the floor, every faculty on the alert. - -They galloped up to the shack and halted. - -“Hello the cabin!” called a rough voice. - -Miss Briggs pinched her cheeks to bring back the color that she knew -had left them, then summoning all her courage she stepped to the -door. That courage almost failed her when she saw before her six of -the roughest looking men she ever had seen. They were mounted on -lean, tough horses; there was a rifle in every saddle boot, and they -wore side arms as well. - -“The Murrays!” gasped the girl. “Sam Petersen knew whereof he -spoke.” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE DISCOVERY - - -“Hawk Murray!” exclaimed Elfreda Briggs, as one of the horsemen rode -around the hedge and up to the door of the cabin. Elfreda recognized -the man by his long hooked nose that really resembled the beak of a -hawk. It was not a pleasant face to look upon. - -“Mornin’, Miss,” he greeted, with an attempt at politeness. - -“Good morning, sir,” replied Miss Briggs firmly, essaying a smile as -she said it, though she did not feel like smiling, for the eyes of -the rider seemed to be searching her very soul. - -“Do ye live here?” was the next question. - -“For the present, yes.” - -“Ye don’t reckon ye’ve seen a stranger on a bay mare passin’ here -this mornin’, do ye?” he questioned, leaning over and peering into -the face of the Overland girl. - -“No, sir. No one has passed here, so far as I know, since daylight. -I don’t know who passed before that. Why do you ask?” - -“We’re a posse on the track of a hoss thief. The bay mare he rode -was stole, and some gold he had was stole, too.” - -“Indeed!” observed Elfreda. - -“We trailed the thief this way, but back a piece we kind of lost the -trail,” volunteered the Hawk, grinning apologetically. “Be ye -alone?” - -“Oh, no. I am with a party. They are not here now, but I look for -them to arrive shortly,” she answered, trying hard not to appear -disturbed. - -“Well, so long. We’ll be on our way.” The man swung off his hat and, -wheeling his horse about, jogged along. Her heart sank as she saw -that the riders were taking a direction, which, if followed on, -would lead perilously close to the spot at which she had secreted -Sam Petersen’s horse. She regarded each man keenly as they passed -her, and theirs she saw on close inspection were hard, callous, -reckless faces. There was coldness, there was daring, in them. - -The last man in the line, younger than his companions, while his -face was also cold, appeared to be of a character different from the -others. There was a poise of the head, a grace in riding, and in the -manner with which he bowed as he swung his hat low, that singled him -out as a man somewhat above his fellows, in intelligence at least. - -The riders were out of sight in a moment, and, with their passing, -Elfreda Briggs’ knees grew suddenly weak. She staggered into the -cabin and sat down heavily. - -“Had they come in I don’t know what I should have done,” murmured -the girl, placing a hand on the diary that she had hidden in her -blouse. The bag of nuggets and “dust” lay in plain sight near the -bunk on which Sam Petersen lay. Elfreda hurriedly sprang up and -secreted the bag under the blankets. Then a sudden thought came to -her. She recalled that the old prospector wore a holster, and that -she had noticed the size of the revolver butt that protruded from -it. Instant determination to possess herself of the weapon seized -her. - -“They will return! I feel it!” she cried. - -It took but a moment to get the weapon and the cartridge belt, to -both of which the girl gave critical inspection, for Elfreda had -handled revolvers, both in France in wartime, and on their annual -summer outings in the saddle. The weapon was loaded, and several -rounds of cartridges still remained in the belt. - -“There!” she exclaimed, after strapping the holster on. “I at least -have the means of defending myself. Hark!” - -Hoof-beats were plainly audible, but they seemed to be those of only -one horse. A glance through the doorway, without revealing herself, -verified this. - -“It’s the good-looking one,” breathed Elfreda, retiring into the -shadows and giving her holster a shift. “I must go out. It never -will do to let that man come into the cabin,” she decided as she -stepped to the door with an expression of surprised inquiry in her -eyes. - -“Ye didn’t think I’d be back so soon, did ye?” he grinned. - -“I don’t think I looked for you to return,” Elfreda replied. “What -is it you wish?” - -“I reckoned as I’d like a drink of water.” - -“Wait. I will fetch a dipper. The spring is just beyond the stump -over yonder.” Elfreda was out with a dipper in her hand in a moment, -and held it up to him, but the rider did not take it. He swung from -the saddle and stood leaning against his mount, regarding her with -something like a twinkle in his eyes. Elfreda saw that twinkle and -was reassured. - -“I see ye’ve got your hardware on,” he said, pointing to the -revolver. “Purty sizable gun for a lady, eh? Ye didn’t have it on -when I was here before.” - -“Perhaps I was expecting more company after you went off. Why do you -ask?” - -The rider shrugged his shoulders. - -“Reckon I’ll take that dipper now,” he said, extending a hand for -it. Elfreda gave it to him, and keen as his eyes were, it is -doubtful if he discovered the fear that Elfreda felt. After stepping -back she got a broom and began sweeping up the cabin floor, which -she was still doing when the man returned from the spring. Hearing -him coming, she stepped outside. - -“Thankee,” he said, returning the dipper. - -“What would ye say, lady, if I told ye I wanted to search the -shack?” he asked. - -“I should say _no!_” was the emphatic reply. - -“And what if I decided to do it anyhow?” grinned the mountain rider. - -“I’d shoot you!” she answered coldly. - -“Sufferin’ cats! I believe ye would. Never can tell what these quiet -kind might do. Can I have a look at the little toy?” he teased. - -“You may look at the muzzle, if you wish.” - -The fellow laughed and slapped his thigh. - -“Ye’re a cool one, I’ll tell them all.” - -“Thank you.” Elfreda was covertly watching every movement of her -caller, every expression of face and eyes, and she could not but -feel that he was unusually confident about something. Rack her brain -as she might, she could not think what that something might be, -unless Hawk’s party had discovered the bay mare, which she did not -believe was a fact, for the party had swerved off to the right after -leaving the vicinity of the forest cabin. - -“If I reckerlect, lady, ye told the boss that ye hadn’t seen any -strangers hereabouts—a fellow on a bay mare, an old party and a -tough one.” - -“I told you no one had passed here, and to the latter part of your -question I am free to say that your party included the only ‘tough -ones’ I have seen since coming into the forest.” - -“So! I reckon I see the p’int. Lady, what about that saddle over -there in the brush?” - -Elfreda could feel her face going pale. - -“The—the saddle!” she gasped, but instantly recovered herself. “What -saddle do you mean?” - -“I mean Sam Petersen’s saddle. I’d know that leather among all the -rest in the Cascade range. He stole that, too. Now where’s the bay -mare? He sure didn’t ride her away without the saddle.” - -“Find him, if you want to know. Don’t ask me! As for the saddle that -you say is over yonder in the brush, draw whatever conclusions you -wish. Is that all? If so, I have work to do and will go to it,” -announced J. Elfreda with great dignity. - -“I reckon that’s ’bout all, ’cept that I’d like to look over that -shack.” - -“Very well, you may step up to the door and look in, but no farther -if you value your life,” replied Elfreda, turning her back on him -and stepping through the doorway. - -The visitor was not slow to accept the invitation. He reached the -threshold, and was about to stride into the cabin when he suddenly -found himself facing the old prospector’s revolver, held in the -steady hand of Elfreda Briggs. - -“You may take a look at the revolver now if you like,” she offered. -“Stay where you are!” - -A glint came into the man’s eyes, a glint of danger, but it faded -and he laughed. - -“Very neat, Miss. I think I’ll take a look at that bunk over there, -and that there hole in the floor with the trap door in it.” - -“Out! Instantly!” Elfreda’s voice rang out with a new note in it. - -The unwelcome guest’s hand sagged slowly towards his own holster. - -“Hands up! Quick!” - -The man obeyed, his eyes never leaving hers, nor did Elfreda’s eyes -leave those of her caller. While he undoubtedly, with his long -experience in quick work, could have dodged and drawn and fired ere -Miss Briggs was able to prevent it, he did not do so. Perhaps he -feared that she might hit his horse instead of himself, for that -animal was directly in range with her weapon. - -“Mount! Leave this place instantly! If you attempt to interfere with -me you will do so at your peril!” she warned. - -“Farewell, lady,” he answered mockingly. “I shall see ye just the -same, and ye will answer my questions next time.” The fellow swung -into his saddle, Miss Briggs still keeping her weapon trained on him -as she followed him out. - -Then she saw the man suddenly stiffen in his saddle, and what -followed came at such speed that she was dazed. The fellow’s -revolver leaped, it seemed to her, from its holster and met his hand -half way. There was a sudden report, and a faint puff of grayish -smoke from the muzzle. - -A fraction of a second, after the report of his weapon, brought a -shot from somewhere to the left of the Overland girl. The bandit’s -horse jumped, and to Elfreda it was plain that the animal had been -hit. It reared, and its rider toppled over and plunged backwards to -the ground. - -[Illustration: The Bandit Was Using Elfreda as a Shield.] - -“He’s killed!” cried Miss Briggs, dropping her own weapon and -running to the prostrate bandit who lay where he had fallen, his -face turned to one side, and half hidden by his sombrero. She gave -no thought to the peril that she might be inviting by aiding the -ruffian. Her one thought was to give aid. - -The girl was bending over him, when, in a flash, the fellow was on -his feet, and two sinewy hands had grabbed her arms and whirled her -about in the direction of the shot that had been fired at him. -Elfreda Briggs had walked into a trap! - -That was not all. A report at her ear was followed by another and -another. The bandit was shooting over her shoulder, using the -Overland girl as a shield. - -There were no answering shots, nor could Elfreda see what the bandit -had been shooting at, but she stood frozen, while he, alert and -cool, kept his gaze fixed on a clump of bushes a few dozen yards -ahead of them. - -Elfreda had not uttered a sound. She was trembling, but rather than -have the man using her as a shield know this she summoned all her -will power and gained control of herself. - -The bandit fired again. The shooting, so close to her ear, fairly -deafened her. Elfreda had another cause for worry, for she did not -know at what instant the bandit’s enemy might conclude to fire -again. To a person in her position, that was not a comforting -thought. No answering shot came, and the girl drew a long breath of -relief. - -Not a word had passed between them up to this point, but now she -spoke. - -“You coward!” breathed Elfreda. - -“Had to do it,” was the brief reply. - -“You will pay dearly for this,” she threatened. - -“Shut up! I’ll give ye a clout over the head if ye don’t, and I’d -hate to do that to a purty gal like—” _Bang!_ - -The bandit fired. Then a strange thing happened, and Elfreda was -hurled forward on her face with unexpected violence. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - STACY TAKES A HAND - - -“Wow! I’ll show you that you can’t steal my beans and my fish!” -yelled an angry voice behind Miss Briggs. The outlaw was pulling -himself together and unsteadily getting to his feet just as Elfreda -sprang to hers. Then there sounded a sudden whack, a grunt, and the -bandit again measured his length on the ground, after receiving -another blow on the head. - -“Stacy! Stacy Brown!” cried Elfreda, for it was Stacy who had stolen -up behind the bandit and clouted the outlaw on the head with a stick -just after the fellow had fired his last shot. - -Ere the man had fully recovered from this last whack, Chunky had -sprung forward and snatched up the bandit’s weapon. - -“Now you get out of this before I get mad. I’m only out of patience -now, but when I’m mad I’m a dangerous man. Get!” - -With his own revolver trained on him, the bandit evidently -considered prudence the wise course. He had not yet fully recovered -from Stacy’s last wallop, and staggered as he ran to his horse. As -he swung into his saddle, a shot from somewhere brought a grunt from -the fellow, and the Overlander saw the bandit shudder. - -“Don’t shoot! He’s hit,” warned Elfreda. - -“I didn’t shoot this time. It was someone else,” flung back the boy. -“You move, and you move fast. And next time you steal a fellow’s -beans and fish, you pick out some fellow who’ll stand for it!” - -The outlaw rode away at a brisk gallop, swaying a little in his -saddle, still considerably dazed from Stacy’s two wallops, and in -pain from the bullet that had hit him. - -“Stacy! Oh, Stacy!” cried Elfreda, running to the boy and throwing -both arms about him. “You wonderful boy! I never thought you had -such courage.” - -“Courage? I’m a hero! I always was. All I needed was the opportunity -to show that I am. I ought to have a medal.” - -“You shall have one. Do—do you think he will come back?” she asked -with an apprehensive glance in the direction taken by the outlaw. - -“Come back? Why, I should say he wouldn’t. That fellow is scared -stiff. You couldn’t drag him back here.” - -“There are others, Stacy. You don’t know all. They were all here, -and after they went away he came back and—” - -“Others?” Stacy’s face went solemn. “If that’s the case, I reckon -we’d better run while the running is good.” - -“I can’t, not yet. I must talk with you. There is something to be -done before we leave. But you were so brave, and all the time you -were hiding behind the bushes, letting that desperate fellow shoot -at you without your firing a shot fearing that you might hit me. It -was wonderful! What did you mean when you accused the man of -stealing your fish—had you seen him before?” - -“Of course I had seen him. He tried to interfere with me while I was -fishing for a mess of trout for you yesterday afternoon. I did get a -mess of them, beauties, too,” declared Stacy boastfully. “I finally -got tired; the bait gave out, so I ate part of a can of beans and -lay down for a nap. Well, I didn’t wake up, I guess, until this -morning. The fish were gone, and so were the rest of the beans. I -tell you I was good and angry. When I got here you were having your -misunderstanding with the ruffian.” - -“And you really were in those bushes shooting at him?” - -“I was in the bushes all right.” - -“But who fired that last shot that hit him?” demanded Miss Briggs -suddenly, regarding her companion narrowly. - -“The—the sec—That’s so. I wonder who did. He was some shooter. But -listen! I know. It must have been one of that fiend’s friends -shooting at me. He didn’t hit the fellow he fired at. Isn’t that a -good joke on the fellow in the bushes, and on the one that got hit!” -cried the fat boy, his assurance returning. “Tell me what has -happened here.” Stacy was stalking back and forth twirling the -outlaw’s weapon on his finger. - -“Come with me to the shack and I will tell you. Tragedy, not comedy, -has come to this place. I would have given anything could you have -been here to help me, for, Stacy, I needed help as I never in my -life needed it before. Listen, for we must lose no time in doing -what we have to do, and then get away from this unhappy spot.” - -They were in the cabin by this time. - -“A man came here last night, wounded and faint. I tried to help him, -but he was beyond help. Stacy, the poor fellow died. Those ruffians -had shot him. I do not think the man who shot him was the one who -made a shield of me, but it was one of the same gang.” - -“Di—died!” gasped Stacy. - -“Yes, in a few minutes after he got here. I have his horse hidden -some little distance from here.” - -“Whe—whe—where is he?” - -“There!” she announced gently, pointing to the bunk. “We can’t leave -him there, Stacy. There is something to be done, and I just can’t -bring myself to do it.” - -Stacy, his eyes large and round, backed hurriedly from the shack. - -“Come on out. I can’t talk in there any more,” he urged, and Elfreda -joined him at once. “Let me think. I can’t do it, either. I can -fight a bad man, or wild animals, but this—this I—I can’t. Why did -they shoot him?” - -“They said he was a horse thief, but I know better. He possessed -information that they wanted. This fellow that you sent away found -the man’s saddle, though I don’t know how he chanced to discover it. -The horse he may have discovered also, but I hardly think so. If -not, we can take the animal and try to find our way back to Silver -Creek.” - -“Yes. Let’s find the horse. We can send Ham White back to do what -you said. Where is the horse?” - -“We will go look for him, but we must proceed with caution,” said -Elfreda. “Take your revolver and I will take mine. You fall in -behind. I will lead because I know the way.” - -Stacy did not appear to relish the mission at all, but he relished -still less being left alone at the cabin, so he followed along -obediently. Elfreda proceeded with great caution, watching the -ground and the surrounding forest. - -“Keep perfectly quiet,” she warned, as they neared the spot where -the horse had been secreted. “Stay where you are,” added Elfreda in -a whisper, then crept forward. - -“This is spooky,” muttered the fat boy. “I don’t like what I can’t -see.” - -“Stacy!” There was alarm in Elfreda’s voice. “Come here!” - -He did not move as rapidly as he might, but a few moments later was -standing at her side, and Stacy blinked as his gaze followed the -direction in which she pointed. - -A handsome bay mare lay dead in the secluded spot. It was the horse -that Sam Petersen had left in her charge. - -“Shot! The brutes!” cried Elfreda. “They have shot her. Well, -perhaps that is better. Mr. Petersen asked me to dispose of the -animal or hide her. What a pity!” - -“I call it a good riddance. Say, Elfreda, you don’t suppose any of -that gang are hanging around here, do you?” questioned Stacy -apprehensively. - -“Gracious! I hope not. Come, let us get away from this place.” - -Stacy was quite ready to move, and took the lead, Elfreda following. -They lost no time in getting back to the cabin, but, as they -approached, Stacy again began to lag. - -“Aren’t we going down to the river and try to find our way back to -our party?” he asked as his companion started to enter the cottage. - -“Not yet. I have something to do in here first,” she made reply. -“Oh!” Elfreda sprang back. - -“Wha—wha—what!” - -“There’s someone in there,” she whispered. - -“Oh, wow!” Stacy jumped and started off. - -Elfreda looked her disgust, and, summoning her courage, stepped into -the cabin. - -“Who is it?” she demanded. - -“I was waiting to see how steady your nerves are,” answered a voice -that brought a thrill to her. A man rose and stepped towards her. - -“Mr. White! Stacy, come in, it’s all right,” she called, a happier -note in her voice. “I am so glad to see you, for I need you.” -Elfreda shook hands with the guide. “How long have you been here?” - -“I came in just a moment ago. My horse is down near the river, where -I picked up your trail and came up here. What has been going on -here? I believe there was some shooting up this way. So it sounded -to me.” - -“The Murrays have been here, and, had it not been for Stacy, I fear -something serious might have happened to me. Stacy really saved me, -even going so far as to let one of the outlaws shoot at him. Would -you think, from what you have seen of him, that Stacy is brave -enough to fight a duel with one of that gang?” - -Ham White looked solemn and shook his head. - -“Our party is very much worried about you, Miss Briggs—” - -“Oh, are they all right?” cried the Overland girl, flushing at -thought of her forgetfulness. - -“Every one of them, but we must get back to them as soon as -possible. Tell me the story.” - -Elfreda then related the whole story of her experiences, passing -briefly over her trip down the creek and the river, and relating the -story of the arrival of Sam Petersen and his death, omitting the -incident of the diary, as well as the story of the lost mine and the -bag of nuggets and dust. - -“Died here? Where is—” - -“There!” answered the girl in a low voice, pointing to the bunk. -“You and Stacy will please do what is necessary. I could do it if I -had to, but so long as you are here it is better not.” - -“What did the ruffian who came back here look like?” - -Miss Briggs described the man in detail. - -“That was Two-gun Murray, one of the most notorious gun-fighters on -the range. He has more brains than his brother, Hawk Murray, and -some personal charm, but he is a cold-blooded ruffian. Is he the -fellow you saw down by the river, that Miss Briggs has told me -about?” questioned White, turning to Stacy. - -“Yes. And he is the fellow who stole my fish and ate my beans,” -complained the boy. - -“I wonder what that crowd was after Sam Petersen for?” reflected the -guide, regarding the two Overlanders from beneath half-closed -eyelids. - -“He had something that they wanted—information or something of the -sort,” murmured Miss Briggs. Elfreda was not yet ready to confide in -the guide. She wished for time to think over carefully what Petersen -had told her, and to examine his diary critically. - -“I don’t quite get it, but I will,” he replied. - -Ham White got up briskly. - -“Come, Stacy. Let us do our duty.” - -“Just a moment,” begged Elfreda. “I wish to do something here first. -Will you two please step outside?” - -The guide gave her a quick look, and his face hardened ever so -little. He bowed and walked from the cabin. The instant he was out -of sight, Miss Briggs got the bag of gold and secreted it in her -blouse. - -“Mr. White, I am going out in the forest to think, while you are -busy here,” she added, stepping from the cabin. Elfreda’s face was -flushed. Hamilton White regarded her narrowly but merely nodded in -reply to her announcement. That nod was cold, and Miss Briggs -realized it. Her head was held a little higher as she walked away, -though she knew that self-imagined guilt was at the back of her -annoyance. - -Ham White knew that there was some purpose in the Overland girl’s -remaining in the cabin for a few moments; perhaps he came nearer to -knowing her purpose than Elfreda imagined. - -The girl sat down under a tree and thought. The bag of gold in her -blouse troubled her. Elfreda took it out and emptied the contents in -her lap. Apparently a small fortune lay there, but, as she gathered -up a handful of the contents of the bag, Elfreda Briggs made a -terrible discovery. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - MYSTERIES MULTIPLY - - -“Miss Briggs, do you feel equal to starting back to Silver Creek?” -questioned the guide as she returned. “The sooner we get away from -here the better it may be for us.” - -“Yes. Anything to get away from this haunt of tragedy. How far are -we from there?” - -“About thirty-five kilometers, I should say, though it may be more.” - -Elfreda glanced at him quickly. - -“Were you in service in France during the war?” she questioned. - -“Yes.” - -“May I ask in what capacity? You know the girls of this party were -there with the Overton College unit.” - -“I was with the signal corps. To return to the subject of our -journey, I have a horse a short distance from here. You may ride -him, and Mr. Brown and I will walk.” - -“Walk! Walk thirty-five miles?” demanded Stacy in a tone that was -almost a wail. - -“I said thirty-five kilometers, not thirty-five miles,” corrected -the guide. - -“I don’t care which it is; thirty-five of anything is too far for -me. I can’t walk. I have a sore finger. I stuck it on a fishhook -yesterday,” protested the fat boy. - -“Very well, you may remain here if you wish. Come, Miss Briggs. We -must take along some of the provisions that are in the cabin.” - -“Mr. White found those too,” thought Elfreda, then aloud: “Have we -the right to do that?” - -“Within reason, yes. This is a forest ranger’s cabin, and one is -free to help himself.” Stacy ran in and filled his pockets with -cans, and the guide took a can of beans for himself and one for Miss -Briggs, directing Stacy to put back all but one of those he had -taken. The three then set out at a brisk walk, and at about a mile -from the cabin they turned off, and soon found the horse, on which -they placed the Overland girl. After mounting, she secretly tucked -the canvas bag into the saddle pocket. - -It was a relief to Elfreda not to have to walk, and further, it gave -her opportunity to study the wiry figure of Hamilton White as he -strode along in the rear of Stacy, whom he was urging along, much to -that young man’s freely voiced disgust. - -Shortly after noon they stopped to water the horse and to give the -rider an opportunity to rest. They then pressed on, for the way was -rough and progress slow. It was near night when they came within -hailing distance of Silver Creek village, and a great shout went up -from the Overlanders when they saw Elfreda. - -During the absence of the guide, the Overlanders’ missing horse had -come in, enabling the Overland Riders to resume their journey to the -Cascade Range. It was an evening of rejoicing for them, in which the -villagers joined, for the young women of the Overland party had been -of great assistance to them in their trouble. Not alone that, but it -was freely admitted that Ham White and the Overlanders had saved the -village from destruction. - -Early on the following morning, after bidding good-bye to the -villagers, the Overlanders rode away. On the way, Miss Briggs told -her companions of her experiences during her absence, omitting any -reference to the bag of gold and the diary. Even Hamilton White had -no idea that she possessed it, so far as she was aware, though -Elfreda was not so certain that he did not suspect her having the -bag of gold. - -It was noticed by at least one of the party that Miss Briggs and the -guide had little to say to each other that day; in fact, they seemed -to avoid each other. Not so with Emma Dean, who kept as close to -Hamilton White as she could, hanging on his words and showing her -keen interest in him in the expression of her eyes. At supper that -evening, however, Elfreda asked him a direct question. - -“Mr. White, have you ever heard of a stream known as Lost River?” -she asked. - -“I have,” spoke up Stacy Brown. “I fell in it the other night when -they had the fireworks at Silver Creek village.” - -“I believe there is an old Indian legend of some sort about Lost -River—something to do with gold or silver,” replied the guide, -giving her a swift, appraising glance. - -“Is there such a thing as an Indian legend about ‘Grandma and the -Children’?” persisted Elfreda. - -“Ha, ha! That’s a good one. Did they fall into the foaming flood -also?” demanded Chunky in a loud voice. - -“Children should be seen and not heard,” rebuked Emma sternly. - -“Is that why you are so quiet to-day, Miss Dean?” asked the boy. - -“I am quiet, Stacy Brown, because you so disturb the atmosphere that -one has to shout to make herself heard at all,” returned Emma with -great dignity. - -The Overlanders laughed heartily. - -“I reckon that will hold you for a few moments,” interjected Hippy -Wingate. “Got anything more to say on the subject, young man?” - -“Not a word.” - -Stacy did not even join in the laugh that followed. - -By this time they had finished their supper, and Elfreda nodded to -Grace to indicate that she wished to speak with her, and the two -strolled off without attracting attention. They were soon out of -earshot, and Grace suggested that they go no farther. - -“Now what is it that is troubling you, J. Elfreda?” she asked. - -“I have a guilty conscience, dear Loyalheart, and I must confess to -you.” - -“I knew you had something on your mind,” nodded Grace. “So far as -concerns your having a guilty conscience, that is impossible. You -only imagine it.” - -“After you have heard my story you will think differently. Grace, -you don’t know all that took place in the forest cabin—all that -occurred in connection with the death of the old prospector.” -Elfreda then related the story in detail, giving the real reason, as -told to her by Petersen, for the attack of the Murrays. “Have you -your lamp, your pocket lamp?” - -Grace produced her flashlight, and Miss Briggs, taking it from her, -turned a bar of light on the diary that she had removed from her -blouse. - -“This is it, Grace, and here are the notes I made of what Mr. -Petersen told me. I haven’t read the writing in Mr. Petersen’s -diary—I haven’t had the heart or the inclination to do so. I feel -like a thief.” - -“Elfreda!” rebuked Grace. - -“Then you think I have a right to keep this—this thing?” - -“Why not? You say he has no family, no relatives. What you have -shown me is, in reality, the will of a dying man. He gave you what -he had in payment for your kindness to him. So far as his story of -finding the lost mine is concerned, I am inclined to think it a -myth. At any rate, don’t trouble your head over the matter any more. -The chances are that, even if the mine really exists, we never shall -find it, but when Tom joins us in the Cascades I will lay the facts -before him. Tom knows this country pretty well. That is why the -Government is employing him to make a timber survey, and at the same -time, to look into some other matters.” - -“But, Grace, this is going to be a terrible weight on my mind,” -protested Elfreda. - -“And you a successful lawyer!” laughed Grace. “I never thought that -a lawyer could be so conscientious. And think of the romance of all -this,” went on Grace Harlowe with growing enthusiasm. “Have you no -romance in your soul?” - -Miss Briggs shook her head. - -“It is not given to many girls to play a leading part in a search -for a lost gold mine. Even the suggestion of courting peril ought to -appeal to you, Elfreda. I should like to go through the diary with -care. I don’t like doing that now when we can’t see about us, as we -have reason to believe that there may be people in this vicinity who -would stop at nothing to obtain possession of it. Of course, we are -safe here, though. What about the bag of nuggets and dust that -Petersen gave you?” - -“I have the bag. The contents I threw away.” - -“Elfreda Briggs!” cried Grace indignantly. “Threw away a bag of gold -nuggets and gold dust! Are you crazy?” - -“I may be, Grace dear. When I opened the bag, after putting Mr. -Petersen’s horse away, I found that it contained nothing but -worthless quartz rock. There was no gold there. The nuggets and gold -dust had been taken out. Someone had stolen the nuggets and dust in -the short time that I was away from the shack.” - -Grace uttered an exclamation. - -“When Stacy and I returned to the shack, we found Mr. White sitting -in the cabin. I asked him to go outside for a moment, and while he -was away I got the bag. Then I made an excuse for going out into the -forest. On emptying the contents of the bag into my lap I found that -I was the proud possessor of only a bag of worthless stones!” - -“Elfreda! You don’t mean to infer that Mr. White took it—you can’t -think such a terrible thing of him!” begged Grace. - -“I don’t know what to think. He was there; he has acted peculiarly -ever since, and has avoided me. Isn’t it a natural thing for me at -least to wonder?” demanded Miss Briggs. - -“Elfreda Briggs, I am amazed!” cried Grace Harlowe. “Is that why you -have been so cold and distant towards the guide? He does not deserve -such treatment. Were I in your place I should, in the light of what -you have told me, tell him the story that you have related to me.” - -“No, no!” Elfreda said with strong emphasis. “I have no reason for -confiding in anyone but you. Neither shall I do anything farther in -this matter. Gold mines—gold doesn’t bring happiness. Quite the -contrary, so far as my experience goes.” - -“Yes, that is true, but after one has found happiness, gold is a -mighty good thing to keep that happiness from getting wobbly. I—” -Grace paused abruptly. She thought she had heard a sound close at -hand. Grabbing the flashlight, she swung the bar of light about with -one hand, the other hand holding the prospector’s diary. - -An amazing thing occurred. - -The prospector’s diary was whisked away from Grace Harlowe, leaving -in her hand only a leaf out of it that she had held between her -fingers. - -“Overland!” It was the shrill rallying cry of the Overland Riders, -and hearing it, they sprang to their feet and ran up, as Grace -Harlowe’s cry for assistance was echoing through the forest. - -Ham White reached the two girls first, calling out his name as he -charged to them. - -“What is it?” he demanded. - -“Someone was here, Mr. White. At least someone or something snatched -a book out of my hands. I saw no one, but am positive that I heard -someone just before the occurrence,” Grace informed him. - -The rest of the party, with the exception of Stacy Brown, were on -the scene a moment or so later, each with an eager question. - -“Why, Hamilton, you went out that way a few moments before the girls -were disturbed. Didn’t you see anyone?” wondered Emma. - -The guide shook his head. He was regarding Grace and Elfreda with a -curious expression on his face as they came within range of the -campfire. - -“Was the book of value?” he asked, meeting Miss Briggs’ eyes. She -returned his gaze with a level glance. - -“It may have been, Mr. White,” replied the girl, turning away. - -Grace laughed. The incident had not disturbed her, but the mystery -of it did. That a prowler could get so close to her without -attracting her attention hurt her pride. Her companions were much -more upset than was either of the two active participants. Stacy -slept through it all, and did not awaken until morning. - -It was some time after that before the camp settled down for the -night, but the guide sat in the shadows, smoking his pipe and -thinking. - -“Did you hear what Emma said?” questioned Elfreda in a whisper to -Grace as they snuggled under their blankets. - -“About what?” - -“About Mr. White. It seems he may have been somewhere near us out -there.” - -“This affair has several queer phases,” admitted Grace. - -“I don’t care. I’m glad the diary is out of my hands; now I can wash -them of it all, and my conscience at the same time. My gold mine has -gone a-glimmering.” Elfreda laughed, but without much mirth. - -“My dear J. Elfreda, you are not going to get off so easily. Here is -the page on which you wrote the location of the gold mine at Mr. -Petersen’s direction. I had the leaf in my hand when the book was -snatched away, and it just tore itself loose and remained with me. -So you see you are still fated to be a millionaire. Reason will tell -you that the book may not be of value to the possessor.” - -Miss Briggs asked why. - -“Because,” replied Grace, “there can be nothing very definite in the -diary or it would not have been necessary for Mr. Petersen to give -you the definite directions that he did. The matter of real value, -you will find, is on the sheet that I still have. I’ll give it to -you in the morning. My advice to you is to commit those lines to -memory, and then burn the slip of paper.” - -“Yes. I will burn it all right,” agreed Miss Briggs. “Don’t say gold -to me again to-night. I wish to sleep—to sleep peacefully.” Elfreda -made good her word on the following morning, and destroyed the slip -of paper. - -Before the others were awake the guide went out and was away from -the camp for more than an hour. He was just returning when Hippy -Wingate came out. - -“Find anything exciting this morning?” asked Hippy jovially. - -“Yes. Someone was prowling about the camp last night. I found the -spot where the young ladies were sitting, and I also found the -imprints of booted feet. About a quarter of a mile to the west of us -a horse was tethered, and the fellow who was here undoubtedly rode -it, and went north, after leaving this vicinity. Is it your wish -that I run his trail out, Lieutenant?” - -“No. What’s the use? If he is particularly interested in us he will -come again, and maybe he will come once too often and get caught,” -suggested Hippy. - -The guide bowed and went about getting breakfast. The party was in -their saddles at an early hour, turning their faces toward the -north, and the Cascade Range, which was their destination. It was a -glorious day, and even Hamilton White thawed under the sweet lure of -the forest, and talked forest and woodcraft to his party. - -They camped that night in a rocky pass, well sheltered, and with a -mountain stream at their feet. Everyone was tired, and chilled from -the mist that was settling over the pass. Before anything else was -done, a fire was built and coffee prepared by the girls. Then Ham -White began making camp, and Stacy and Lieutenant Wingate cared for -the horses. - -Stacy, very proud of his saddle, which he had ridden for a long -time, in fact ever since he had ridden with the Pony Rider Boys on -their many adventurous journeys, brought the saddle in and threw it -down near the fire. Something fell out of the saddle pocket. Stacy -picked it up and looked at the object frowningly. - -“What’s that?” demanded Grace a little sharply. - -“That? I’m blest if I know,” answered Stacy, his face showing some -perplexity. - -Grace took the object from him, glanced into it, and looking up at -Elfreda, laughed. - -“Here is the book—the diary,” announced Grace, extending it to Miss -Briggs. “Remember what I told you last night? Did I not say that you -would not get off so easily? Stacy, how did you come by this?” -demanded the Overland girl, turning to the fat boy. - -“What’s all the fuss about? I picked it up when I went after my -horse this morning and forgot all about it. Why the excitement?” - -“There is no excitement,” answered Miss Briggs with dignity as she -tucked the old prospector’s diary into her blouse. “Mr. White, Mr. -Brown found the missing book and has returned it to us.” - -Before anyone could comment on the find or ask questions about it, -Ham White held up a hand for silence. - -From far away came a shot. After a little it was followed by two -shots, an interval and one shot. - -“A signal,” announced the guide. - -Hippy Wingate raised his revolver to fire. - -“Stop!” commanded Ham White. “Let the other fellow do the shooting. -We aren’t certain that we want to know him.” There was meaning in -the guide’s words, a warning, and the Overlanders fell silent. There -was also the vivid memory with Elfreda and Grace of the mysterious -hand that had snatched the prospector’s diary, and both girls felt -an intuition of other mysteries to come. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - THE MAN FROM SEATTLE - - -“Someone is coming,” announced Grace, when, half an hour later, her -keen ears detected a sound, faint, though unmistakable. She was the -only one of the party to hear it at that instant, though a moment -later the guide nodded. - -The Overlanders saw him hitch his revolver holster into convenient -position as he stood up and leaned easily against a tree. - -“As I was saying,” he began. “Sometimes it rains and sometimes it -snows, and—” - -“Hands up!” rang out a sudden command. “Put ’em up till I look you -over.” - -Stacy Brown was the only one of the party that obeyed the command. -The Overlanders were too much interested in the newcomer to obey the -command, for he was fantastically clad. The fellow was holding two -revolvers which he kept moving from side to side, his keen eyes -regarding the party appraisingly as well as alertly. It was his -clothing that attracted most attention, for the man was dressed like -a Mexican rancher, with the velvet jacket, embroidered with silver, -the broad sombrero, likewise embellished with silver, and the faint -metallic tinkle of silver spurs was heard as he shifted his -position. - -The keen expression in his eyes changed to a twinkle. - -“Well, well, who would have thought it!” he exclaimed. “A bunch of -foozleheads.” - -“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Stacy Brown. “Foozleheads! That is a brand new -one. Emma, he is looking at you.” - -The newcomer lowered his weapons and shoved them into their -holsters. - -“Well, who are you?” demanded Ham White. “You appear to be a new -specimen up here.” - -“Who, me? Haven’t you heard of me? I’m Jim Haley, sole -representative of the International Peanut Company in the State of -Washington. I’m known as the Man from Seattle, and I’ll have peanuts -in every home, in every bandit cave in the great preserves of the -State, and all over the rugged peaks of the Cascades if I hold out -long enough. Peanuts are a great civilizer; they are the oil on -troubled waters, and if the wild men up here were to eat enough of -them I’ll guarantee that they never would hold up another -unfortunate traveler.” - -“Bandits?” questioned the guide, regarding the visitor narrowly. - -“Yes. They’ve held me up twice in twenty-four hours, and the last -time they took my horse away.” - -“It strikes me that you are quite handy with hold-up methods -yourself,” observed Hippy Wingate. - -“Peanuts? Peanuts?” demanded Stacy eagerly. “Got any with you?” - -“It will be my everlasting regret that I have not. You see I ate up -most of my samples, then the bandits took the rest of them. This is -a rotten country. I had to get food, and when I smelled your smoke I -took a chance, not knowing whether or not I was running into another -bunch of bandits, and here I am, safe and sound. Luck is with the -Man from Seattle, the greatest peanut salesman in the world. I’ll -have a cup of coffee, if you please, and anything else that’s lying -around loose, then I shall be delighted to take your orders for -peanuts to be delivered at your homes, freight paid, and an extra -bag gratis for good luck.” - -“Why, certainly, you shall have something to eat,” promised Grace. -“Girls, help me rustle some grub for our caller. Were you lost?” - -“Lost? Why, I’ve never found myself since I came into the forest. -How could a man, who never has known where he was at, be lost? Been -held up by these mountain ruffians yet?” - -The Overlanders shook their heads. - -“They are so sudden. Why, they wouldn’t even give me an opportunity -to demonstrate—” - -“Demonstrate!” cried Emma with sudden interest. “Do you demonstrate, -Mr. Hart—” - -“Haley, if you please,” interjected the newcomer. - -“Really, do you, Mr. Haley?” - -“Of course I do.” - -“Isn’t that perfectly lovely! You see, girls, I am not the only one -that demonstrates to ward off trouble. Just think, think hard, that -something you desire very much, will be, and it will be.” - -The Man from Seattle looked puzzled for a moment, then he laughed -heartily. - -“Demonstrate a bag of peanuts for me, then,” spoke up Stacy Brown. - -“That’s it, young man—it’s peanuts that I demonstrate. I’ll see that -you get a fair sample when I get back to Seattle,” promised Haley. - -“Oh, fudge! Everything is food with you, Stacy Brown. Why can’t you -be less gross, and more spiritual?” complained Emma. - -“I presume it is the company I keep, and—” - -“Your supper is ready, Mr. Haley,” called Grace. - -The peanut man did full justice to the meal prepared for him, and, -while he ate, the Overlanders plied him with questions. Ham White -sat back and regarded their guest with interest. White was keen, and -little escaped his alert eyes. - -“That fellow is bluffing!” was his mental comment. “I wonder what -his game is.” - -“Now that you have no horse, what are you going to do?” asked Hippy. - -“Sell peanuts! I’ll take your orders now.” - -The peanut man did, and when he had finished, each member of the -party had given him an order for a bag of peanuts, Stacy being the -only one whose order was a gift. From then on until bedtime the -visitor rattled on, keeping the party convulsed with laughter. In -the conversations that followed the evening’s entertainment, Jim -Haley succeeded in drawing from them the story of their experiences -in the brief time that they had been out, and discovered that he was -not talking with greenhorns. - -Mr. Haley was particularly interested in Miss Briggs’ experiences -with the bandits at the ranger cabin, and questioned her in detail -as to the appearances of the riders. - -“Probably the same fellows that held me up,” he observed, stroking -his chin. “You say the old prospector had something that they wanted -to get possession of?” he asked, turning to Elfreda. - -She answered with a slight incline of the head. - -“What was it?” The question was direct and incisively put. - -“Being a lawyer, and having my client’s interests at heart, I -decline to permit her to answer,” returned Elfreda, which brought a -hearty laugh from the party, Jim Haley laughing more loudly than any -of the others. - -Hamilton White’s face hardened ever so little. - -“Your questions are rather personal, and I must ask you to be more -discreet,” he rebuked. - -“A thousand pardons!” bowed the visitor. “For this indiscretion, I -shall include some handsome oil paintings, which we give only to big -jobbers with large orders for International Peanuts Products, when I -fill the orders you have been so magnanimous as to favor me with.” - -“That’s a mighty indigestible word, that magnanimous thing. Don’t -put anything like that in the shipment with my peanuts,” declared -Stacy. - -“You don’t mean to say you don’t know the meaning of that word?” -exclaimed Nora. - -“Can’t say that I do,” answered Stacy carelessly. “What does it -mean, Emma?” - -“Your education has been neglected. Any schoolboy ought to know the -meaning of a word so common as that,” returned Emma airily. - -“All right, you tell us. I’ll swallow whatever you say—once!” - -“Why, magnanimous means—it means—it means—Pshaw, I know what it -means perfectly well, but somehow I can’t properly explain it.” -Emma’s face was growing red. “Oh, Hamilton, you tell my ignorant -companion what—” - -“Ha, ha, ha!” chortled the fat boy. “You tell him, Hamilton.” - -Grace and Elfreda were laughing immoderately, and Hippy was -chuckling to himself. All knew that Miss Dean knew the meaning of -the word, but that Stacy, with his question, had confused her. - -“I believe the dictionary explains it as being elevated in soul,” -answered the guide smilingly. - -“Oh, Hamilton, isn’t that wonderful?” breathed Emma. “It sounds so -utterly poetic.” - -“You wouldn’t think so were you to swallow it with a bag of -peanuts,” grumbled the fat boy. - -And after the laughter had subsided, Grace announced that she was -tired and said she would turn in. - -“Do we make an early start in the morning, Mr. White?” she asked, -turning smilingly towards the guide. - -“Yes, if that is agreeable to you, Mrs. Gray,” was the courteous -reply. The easy grace of this man, and the evident culture that was -beneath the surface, had puzzled Grace Harlowe from the beginning. -There was that about him that was mysterious, unfathomable. These -thoughts were in the Overland girl’s mind as she turned towards the -little tent which she and Elfreda occupied together. - -“By the way, Mr. Haley,” she added, halting at the tent opening, -“Mr. White will fix you up for the night with a blanket. If you will -bunk in with Lieutenant Wingate, there is room. Mr. White prefers to -sleep in the open.” - -“So do I. In the vast open, with the ambient atmosphere enveloping -me like a blanket, I can ponder over the psychology of merchandising -peanuts better than when I am shut in. All nature assists, the -saplings sap and seep into my brain, into my subconscious being, and -the leaves leave their native habitat to come to my aid, and—” - -“One can’t blame them so much for that,” observed Emma. “Good-night, -Mr. Haley; good-night, Hamilton; good-night, all.” - -“Either that man is a lunatic or else he is a big fraud,” declared -Elfreda, entering the tent. “Which is it?” - -“Just another mystery, that is all,” answered Grace good-naturedly. -“Why worry about him?” - -“I don’t. I have sufficient troubles of my own to keep me from -sleeping soundly.” - -By this time the others were turning in; the visitor had already -rolled himself up in a blanket with feet to the fire, and Ham White -was out seeing that the ponies were secure for the night. He -remained out there for a long time, looking up at the tree tops, -dimly discernible in the faint light. At the same time he appeared -to be listening, now and then glancing back at the silent figure of -Jim Haley. - -At last the guide turned and strode back into camp, and threw his -blanket down beside Haley. But White did not lie down at once. -Instead, he crouched down beside the visitor and peered down into -the man’s face. A pair of twinkling eyes were gazing up at him. - -“You are awake, eh? I rather thought you would be. Now who are you, -and what is your game? Out with it or out you go!” - -“Who am I? I am G 16, and I want to talk with you!” Haley’s voice -sank to a whisper as he made the mysterious announcement. - -Ham White uttered an exclamation, then, quickly collecting himself, -he lay down on his blanket close to the peanut salesman, and for the -next half hour the two men spoke in earnest tones, tones too low for -the Overlanders to hear. - -It was long after midnight, when, had one been awake, he might have -discovered a shadowy figure slinking along at the rear of the camp. -It first paused at the tent occupied by Hippy and Stacy, then crept -on all fours to the one in which Grace and Elfreda were sleeping. -These little tents were open at both ends, though they could be -closed in the event of a storm, and a person at either end, by -peering closely, could see the heads and faces of the occupants. - -Inch by inch the shadow, now flat on the ground, wriggled towards -the two sleeping girls. A lean hand reached cautiously under, first -Grace’s pillow, then under Elfreda’s. The pillows were pneumatic -pillows that were filled with air before retiring, and were soft and -comfortable, as well as sensitive to the touch. - -The pressure of the shadow’s hand under the pillow disturbed Elfreda -Briggs, and her eyes slowly opened, but she did not move, believing -that the hand belonged to her companion. A sidelong glance, however, -told her that Grace’s back was towards her, therefore the hand could -not belong to her. Elfreda’s next thought was that Stacy Brown was -trying to play pranks on her. - -In the meantime the hand crept slowly about under the pillow. It was -time to act, and Miss Briggs, half raising herself on one elbow, -made a grab for it. She grasped a bare muscular arm. - -“Overland!” cried the girl, and the familiar thrilling call of -distress awakened every person in the camp with the exception of -Stacy Brown. Then darkness overwhelmed Elfreda and she knew no more. - -Grace, awakened by the cry, threw her arms about the neck of her -companion. - -“Elfreda! Elfreda! What is it?” - -There was no reply. - -“Overland! Quick! Something has happened to Elfreda!” she cried, -springing from her blanket, as the quick, sharp report of a revolver -smote the ears of the campers. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - BELIEVERS IN SAFETY FIRST - - -Bang! Bang! Bang! The air seemed filled with explosions of rifles -and revolvers, and the Overland camp was in an uproar in a moment, -even Stacy Brown rousing himself sufficiently to sit up and take -quick notice. The instant the shooting began Stacy, concluding that -his services were not needed, lay down with his blanket drawn up -over his head. - -“Safety first,” muttered the boy as a bullet tore a hole through his -little dog tent. “Wow! I wonder what all the excitement is about?” - -Grace and Stacy were the only ones of the outfit who had not run out -following the alarm. Grace had turned her pocket lamp on Elfreda’s -face. It was a pallid face that she looked upon. - -“Elfreda! Elfreda! What is it?” begged Grace. “Oh, what is it?” - -Miss Briggs was breathing, but was unconscious. - -The shooting died away as suddenly as it had started, and then Emma -and Nora ran to Grace’s tent, crying out to know what had happened. - -“I don’t know, girls. Please hold the light so I can examine her. I -heard Elfreda scream, then came the shooting, and that is all I know -about it,” answered Grace. Her nimble fingers ran over her -companion’s head, neck and shoulders, for Grace’s experience in the -hospital service in France had not only made her efficient in -emergencies, but had taught her to keep her own self well in hand. - -“Ah! Here it is.” - -“Wha—what!” gasped Nora. - -“A lump on the top of her head, well down near the forehead. She has -been dealt a heavy blow, but with what, I can’t say. Fetch water. We -must try to revive her.” - -Lieutenant Hippy Wingate came running up at this juncture, revolver -in hand. - -“What is it?” he demanded. - -“Elfreda has been knocked out,” Nora told him. - -“With what?” - -“I don’t know, Hippy,” spoke up Grace. “Please go away. This is no -place for you. Stand by in case we need you. Where is the guide?” - -“He is trying to find out if there are prowlers about here. I think -he found someone, for I heard a man yell,” Hippy informed them as he -left the tent. - -Reviving Elfreda was a matter of only a few minutes after they began -bathing her face and rubbing her body. Grace then uttered a sigh of -relief. - -“What—what happened to you?” stammered Emma. - -“Don’t question her now. Can’t you see that she is weak?” rebuked -Grace. “Lie perfectly quiet, dear. You can talk later,” admonished -Grace, as Miss Briggs indicated that she had something to say. “You -girls had better step out and give us a few moments’ quiet,” she -advised. “Hippy, if it is prudent, you had better start up the -fire,” she called. “We must have light and warm water. Where is -Stacy?” - -Hippy said he had not seen the fat boy, and then went straight to -Stacy’s tent, where he found him still practicing safety first. -Hippy dragged Stacy out by the feet. - -“Leggo! Wow!” howled Stacy. “Oh, it’s you, is it?” he added. “What -do you mean by waking up a fellow like this? Anything wrong?” he -questioned innocently. - -“Oh, no; nothing at all. Everything is peaceful and quiet. You get -out and help me build a fire, and be lively about it, too. I’m not -in the mood to trifle with you.” - -While Hippy and Stacy were building a fire, the two girls, Emma and -Nora, got water to be heated. Grace bathed Miss Briggs’ feet in the -hot water, for the injured girl was in a chill. A lump of sizable -proportions had formed on her head. This was dressed by Grace, and -in a short time Miss Briggs was asleep. Grace then stepped outside -to her companions who were standing about the fire. - -“Hasn’t Mr. White come in yet?” she demanded. - -“I haven’t seen him. Has J. Elfreda said anything yet?” questioned -Hippy. - -“Not about what happened. If she awakens again, and is then able to -talk, I will question her. Please let me know when Mr. White comes -in.” - -It was some time later when the guide returned. Elfreda had been -awake from her brief sleep long enough to tell Grace what she knew -of the occurrence. - -“Mr. White, what do you know about this?” asked Grace. - -“Not a thing. The first I knew of anything being wrong was when -someone called, followed by a cry. I think it was Miss Briggs who -first cried out.” - -Grace nodded. - -“As I got on my feet I saw a man running, and knowing that it could -be none of our party running away, I fired at him. I don’t think I -hit him. He returned the fire, but at that juncture Lieutenant -Wingate began shooting. Lieutenant, I’ll say you aren’t slow about -getting into action. It was bully. Then I chased the man and he and -I both emptied our revolvers at each other. One of us hit him—” - -“It was your shot, Ham,” interrupted Hippy. “I wasn’t shooting when -he cried out.” - -“Then you didn’t get the fellow?” demanded Grace, addressing the -guide. - -“No. He got away. I wish it had been daylight. That is all I can -tell you. May I ask what Miss Briggs has to say of the attack on -her?” - -“She says she felt something moving under her pillow, and after -waiting a moment she became convinced that a hand was searching -there. She made a grab for the hand and caught a man’s arm and then -lost consciousness.” - -“Fright?” asked the guide. - -“Fright! No. A blow on the head, Mr. White. I think the fellow must -have brought his fist down, for the injury doesn’t look as if it had -been done with a stick or an instrument. That is all she knows about -it, sir.” - -“Was anything taken—did she have anything under her pillow?” -persisted White. - -“Yes. That little canvas bag she carries. There was nothing of value -in it. There may have been some small change there, for most of her -money was in her money belt around her waist. The other things in -the bag were such toilet articles as we all carry to use while -riding—and a little powder,” added Grace smilingly. “Mere men don’t -understand those things.” - -“Thieves!” cried Stacy. “Oh, wow!” The fat boy ran to his tent and -feverishly searched his clothing. He was back in a few moments. “I -knew it! The thief didn’t dare tackle a real man. You see, he picked -out weak women. He knew better than to trifle with Stacy Brown.” - -“Even if Stacy Brown did hide under a blanket when the show opened,” -supplemented Lieutenant Wingate. “I presume, if Elfreda had not -given the alarm, the man would have gone through all our -belongings.” - -Ham White was pacing up and down. They could see that he was -disturbed. - -“The low-down cur!” he breathed, clenching his fists, his face set -and slightly paler than usual. - -“Hamilton! Hamilton! Don’t disturb yourself so,” begged Emma -solicitously. “Be calm, do. I will demonstrate for you.” - -“Aw, let the peanut man do the demonstrating,” jeered Stacy. “Your -demonstrating might do at a family picnic, but up here it is punk!” - -White gave no heed to Emma’s sympathetic words. He stood with -lowered chin thinking. - -“The peanut man!” cried Nora. - -“Yes. Where is Mr. Haley, Mr. White?” demanded Grace. - -“I don’t know, Mrs. Gray,” replied the guide slowly. “I thought he -was sleeping beside me when I sprang up. I haven’t seen him since,” -added Ham White, bending over to poke the fire. - -The Overlanders looked at each other, and each knew what the other -was thinking about. - -“Some demonstrator, that fellow,” observed Stacy Brown. “I’m mighty -glad that he didn’t demonstrate over that fifty-cent piece in my -trousers pocket.” - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT - - -“We might as well move on,” advised Grace. “To-morrow will be -Sunday, and we ought to find a good camping place for that day, and -have a day of rest.” - -“Does Miss Briggs feel able to ride?” asked Ham White. - -“Yes. Her head naturally is still quite sore, but otherwise she is -as fit as any of us. It takes a lot to put J. Elfreda Briggs out of -commission,” added Grace laughingly. - -“That it does,” agreed Elfreda herself, emerging from her tent with -a head bandage like a turban. - -The party were just gathering for breakfast on the morning after the -attack on Elfreda. She was a little pale, but wholly herself. The -Overlanders all shook hands with her as she came out, Ham White -among the number, and, for the instant of the hand-clasp, their eyes -met, each seeking in the fleeting look to read the secret of the -other’s reserve. - -“I have been out since break of day, following the trail of our -prowler,” announced White. “There was more than one man involved in -the game, whatever it was. They had horses, three horses, and there -must have been that many men involved, though only one man entered -the camp. The probabilities are that they reasoned one man would -stand a better chance to carry out their plan without detection than -would a bunch of them, and they undoubtedly were right. One of our -shots, as I said last night, hit the fellow, for I found a trail of -blood drops. Their trail shows that he had to be assisted to his -saddle, and that a companion rode along at his side when they went -away.” - -“Oh, Hamilton. Did you demonstrate all of that?” begged Emma, her -eyes filled with admiration. - -“I read the trail, that’s all,” replied the guide. “If that is -demonstrating, I demonstrated.” - -“Ha, ha!” laughed Stacy. - -“Stacy Brown, you are a young ruffian!” cried Emma indignantly. - -“I know it.” - -“Besides, you show the most abject cowardice whenever courage is -called for. Why not be like Mr. White, afraid of nothing?” - -“I suppose Ham’s a hero, eh?” - -“Yes, you know he is,” agreed Emma, her face relaxing into a happy -smile. - -“Well, he didn’t do anything to save Elfreda’s life, did he?” - -“Perhaps not directly. Indirectly he did.” - -“Then I am the heroest hero of the two. Elfreda, didn’t I save your -life—directly—when that bandit was shooting at—” Stacy checked -himself. “I leave it to this honorable bunch if I am not entitled to -the cross of war with all the palms on it that the old thing will -hold. I demand a rising vote.” - -All except Emma got up, and all were laughing heartily. - -“Carried! We will now proceed to replenish the coal bin,” announced -Stacy, resuming his breakfast. - -Emma had nothing further to say to him, though Stacy regarded her -with large, soulful eyes during most of the meal. Following -breakfast, the men of the party broke camp and rolled the packs, and -in a very short time they were on their way. - -Grace and Elfreda rode side by side, Grace wishing to see to it that -her companion did not overdo herself. - -“I haven’t had an opportunity to ask you if the thief got anything -of value?” asked Grace. - -“No. The diary was not in the bag. I put it under my money belt when -I turned in,” Elfreda informed her. - -“Good for you! I have been thinking that you and I should look -through that book carefully, and if there be information of value in -it, we should make a copy of it. You keep the original and I will -keep the copy.” - -Miss Briggs said she didn’t care much what happened to the diary, -save that she did not like the idea of being beaten. - -“I hope I am too good a lawyer to give up a case until the jury has -brought in a verdict against me. Then, after I have carried it to -the higher court and have been defeated there, then I’m beaten. But -not until then. What about the peanut man? Grace, is he the guilty -one?” - -“Ask Hamilton White. He knows,” was the low-spoken reply. - -“Why do you say that?” - -“From the expression of his face when I asked about Haley. There is -something about those men that I do not clearly understand.” - -Elfreda averred that there were several “somethings” that needed -clearing up. - -“My dear Elfreda, we are involved in so many mysteries that, first -thing we know, we will be accusing each other. To-morrow being -Sunday, I suggest that we go over the diary—get off somewhere by -ourselves and make a thorough job of it,” suggested Grace, to which -Elfreda agreed with a nod. - -Grace, at this juncture, turned in her saddle to see what had become -of Stacy, who had been lagging behind all the morning. He was not in -sight when she looked, but the next time she turned he was observed -back some distance, riding off the trail a little way, leaning over -and catching bushes in his hands. - -“I wonder what mischief that boy is up to now?” murmured Grace. -“Surely he is not doing that solely for exercise.” - -“Don’t you think he needs exercise?” questioned Miss Briggs with a -smile. - -Grace’s answer was a laugh. - -“Nevertheless I owe Stacy Brown an obligation that I never can -repay,” added Elfreda gravely, and to this Grace gave an emphatic -assent. - -The day’s journey was without incident, and was thoroughly enjoyed. -Many trails were crossed, some of which Hamilton White halted to -examine, and then proceeded on his way without comment, unless he -gave an opinion to Hippy Wingate who was riding beside him. Emma -Dean kept as close to the guide as possible, and watched him as -though fearing that he might get away from her. The guide, however, -gave only the most ordinary attention to Emma, just as he did to the -others of the party. - -“Is there much gold up this way, or is it a myth?” Hippy was asking -him, as the fat boy continued with his operations at the rear of the -line of horses. - -“There undoubtedly is plenty of it if one knew where or how to find -it. I never did, never expect to, and don’t know that I should care -to. In my experience I have learned that not only is gold an elusive -substance, but that it seldom brings the finder happiness. -Ordinarily it brings him disaster, even death!” - -“Whew! You talk like an actor playing in a tragedy,” observed -Lieutenant Wingate. - -The guide grinned and resumed his study of the trail. Hippy had -thought there might be opportunity to draw Hamilton White out as to -his career. The Overlander was positive that it would prove an -interesting story, but no opportunity presented itself on this -occasion, so Hippy prudently kept his questions to himself. Emma, -however, kept up an almost continuous chatter all the morning and -most of the afternoon. - -As the day waned, they began urging their horses to a faster pace, -White explaining that he wished to reach a certain camp-site that -day. He said it would make an ideal Sunday rest camp. - -“Do you think we shall be safe there?” questioned Emma. “Oh, I hope -so, Hamilton.” - -“As safe there as anywhere up here—perhaps more so, for we shall be -on high ground where nothing can get to us, at least in daylight, -without our observing the approach.” - -“You know the place, then?” suggested Hippy. “Have you been there -before?” - -“No.” The answer was brief and final, and Hippy wondered how Ham -could know about a particular spot in the forest, and lead them -directly to it if he never had been there. Hippy could find no -answer to that. - -The Overland Riders reached the site just before sundown. The -country about them was mountainous and heavily forested. Back of the -camp towered a huge rock. A little way from it was a smooth level -spot, and bubbling from the rock itself there came a stream of water -almost at ice temperature, as they discovered when drinking cups -were brought and all hands helped themselves. - -“Oh!” cried Grace. “Is there any drink in the world to equal it?” - -“Not now,” answered Hippy Wingate. - -“And never has been,” nodded Miss Briggs. - -The guide gave expression to a wry smile and went on about his work -of preparing for a week-end camp. Lieutenant Wingate attended to the -unloading, the equipment being piled in orderly manner, and, after a -time, Stacy was prodded into assisting him. - -“Mercy! What a peculiar odor there is here,” exclaimed Grace. “Don’t -you smell it, girls?” - -Nora, Emma and Elfreda sniffed the air. - -“Hippy, what is it? Don’t you smell something disagreeable?” -demanded Nora. - -“Now that you speak of it, I do. Stacy, see if you can find anything -dead about here.” - -“The place is all dead,” growled the fat boy. “No excitement, no -nothing. But there may be, there may be.” - -“May be what?” asked Hippy, regarding the boy keenly. - -“Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking.” Stacy avoided Hippy’s eyes, -for his was a guilty conscience. Stacy Brown had been making an -experiment, but as yet he did not know whether or not it was going -to produce satisfactory results. He saw Hamilton White give him a -slanting glance out of the corners of his eyes, and got busy at once -unrolling packs and laying out the tents. This alone should have -been sufficient to arouse the suspicion of the Overland Riders, for -the fat boy never worked unless for some particular reason of his -own. The others of the party were too busy to notice him, and after -a time they became used to the strange odor, faint at times and then -strong, as the evening breeze stirred it into life. - -At supper, however, they did find it most unpleasant, and Lieutenant -Wingate discovered that the odor was always more noticeable in the -vicinity of Stacy, but he made no comment. The guide some time -before that had made a similar discovery. - -Immediately after the evening meal, Mr. White made a survey of their -surroundings, including a visit to the top of the big rock. From -there he found what he expected to find, an excellent view of the -mountains and the forest for many miles about, but the light was -fading, and he deferred further survey until the morning when the -light would be right to see much farther. - -The Riders were tired after their long day’s ride, so all hands -turned in early, and were asleep in a few moments, except the fat -boy. Stacy, by frequent pinchings of himself, and chuckling over the -fun he might have were his experiment to prove a success, managed to -keep awake. - -Giving his companions ample time to sink into a profound sleep, the -fat boy crept from his blanket, moving very cautiously so as not to -awaken Hippy Wingate. Once outside he took a long look at the form -of Hamilton White who lay rolled in his blanket near the campfire, -for the air was now chill. White was plainly asleep. - -Stacy crept to Grace’s tent, then to the one occupied by Nora and -Emma, pausing for a moment at each and performing some peculiar -motions. It would have been difficult for anyone to even guess at -what the boy might be up to. - -“I’d like to give that guide fellow a dose, too,” muttered the fat -boy, again pausing for a long look at White. “I reckon I’d better -let well enough alone, though.” - -Stacy got back to his own tent without awakening a single member of -the party. - -“Humph!” he muttered. “Sleepy-heads, all. Anybody could walk in here -and steal them without awakening a single person. I don’t believe -anything is going to happen at all. That fellow down at Cresco is a -fake, and I’ll be even with him when we get back there. I’ll get my -money back or—or—” Stacy Brown’s eyes closed, his mutterings became -mere murmurs and then ceased altogether. He, too, was sound asleep, -the biggest sleepy-head of them all. - -It was several hours after that that something happened. - -Emma Dean uttered a terrified scream, and Nora Wingate, suddenly -awakened, screamed louder than Emma did. The two girls bounded from -their beds and ran from the tent hysterically crying for help. - -“Hamilton! Oh, Hamilton!” cried Emma. - -The guide had sprung to his feet at the first scream. Grace and -Elfreda were only a few seconds behind him. - -“Merciful heaven! What is it?” cried Miss Briggs, as her eyes saw -what appeared to be a huge form at the tent entrance. - -Both girls ran out at the other end of the tent, then Hamilton -White’s rifle spoke, waking the echoes of the forest, just as Stacy -Brown ran from his own tent in a terrible fright. - -“Oh, wow, wow, wow!” howled the fat boy. “He got me, he did.” - -Stacy’s experiment had proved an entire success, and he had fallen a -victim to his own prank. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - THE CAMP IS INVADED - - -“Don’t run. Keep together back of me. Lieutenant, look out for the -rear. I’ll take care of the rest,” shouted the guide. - -“What is it? Hamilton, what is it?” cried Emma. - -“Bears!” answered Grace Harlowe. “I never saw so many in all my -life. What does it mean?” - -The camp was full of the beasts. They were ambling swiftly here and -there, growling, sniffing, pawing, and apparently without fear. -This, as some of the party knew, was not like the ways of the black -bear. Ordinarily a black bear cannot get away from man quickly -enough. Even the discharge of the guide’s rifle did not put the -invaders to flight. - -“Fire into their legs, Lieutenant,” directed White. “We don’t want -to kill them if we can avoid it. Besides, it is against the law.” - -The two men let loose with their rifles at the feet of the beasts, -but in the faint light aim was uncertain, and it was only -occasionally that a grunt indicated that an animal had been hit. - -Out in the bushes the ponies were snorting in fright. Stacy suddenly -uttered a yell as a bear ran between his legs and threw him down. -From the way the bear got away from him it was evident that the -beast was as badly frightened as was the fat boy. The swift work of -White and Hippy was having its effect, too, and here and there a -dark form was observed ambling away into the forest. - -“Now! All together. We’ve got them going!” cried Ham White. “Be -careful that you don’t shoot towards the ponies.” - -Stacy ran for his rifle, and a moment later he, too, was firing -away, and continued to fire until he was pulling the trigger on -empty chambers, but his assistance was no longer needed. - -“I think they are all out now,” announced the guide. “I suspect that -we shall have some bear meat for breakfast just the same, but we -can’t help it. A man has a right to defend himself, though I always -try to keep within the law. Lieutenant, keep the camp clear while I -build a fire so we can see what we have.” - -The coals of the evening fire were still smouldering, and it was the -work of but a few moments to start a blaze large enough to light up -the camp. The bears had torn and uprooted two tents and worked other -havoc. The camp was in a mess. - -Hippy circled the camp. - -“We got one of the beasts, a small one,” he called. “Sure we’ll have -bear meat for breakfast.” - -White hurried to him. - -“Nice fat fellow, too. We will dress him, and then we shall have to -guard the carcass or there will be none of it left by morning.” - -“I think I’ll turn in, now that the excitement is all over,” -announced Stacy at this juncture. - -“You will not. You will assist us to prepare the carcass or you get -no bear steak for breakfast.” - -“I don’t care. I prefer venison anyway. Bear meat is too coarse for -Emma and me. We prefer something lighter, more spiritual.” - -“_More_ is the meat of your argument, as usual,” flung back Miss -Dean. - -With Hippy’s assistance the bear was hung up from a pole which was -thrust through its hocks, and White began deftly skinning it. The -animal was then dressed and left to cool. - -The guide was perspiring freely and so was Hippy. - -“Good work, Lieutenant. I reckon this isn’t the first time you have -dressed bear,” approved the guide. - -“What now?” asked Hippy. - -“You people had better go to bed. I shall sit up, for we may look -for visitors before daylight.” - -“Visitors!” cried the Overlanders. - -“Yes,” answered White, smiling. “You will hear them, and after their -arrival there will be little sleep in this outfit.” - -Hippy decided to remain on watch with the guide. - -“Oh, Mr. Brown!” - -Stacy, on his way to his tent, halted at the guide’s call. - -“Well, what is it?” - -“Suppose you come over and tell us about it, so that we may laugh at -the joke, too.” - -All eyes were turned on the fat boy. - -“I’m going to bed,” protested Stacy sourly. - -“Not now you are not,” decided Hippy sternly. “You come here. Now, -Mr. White, go on with the entertainment. I suspect we are going to -hear something. In fact, I already have a sneaking suspicion that -there has been something shady in this bear affair.” - -“Where did you get the stuff?” began White. - -“What stuff?” - -“The bear-bait that you have been distributing along the way and in -camp?” - -“I—I did—” - -“Stacy!” rebuked Emma. “Be a good little George Washington now, and -confess to Hamilton that you cut down the cherry tree.” - -“I realized that there was something familiar in the odor that we -detected here last evening, but I could not place it. That odor is -here now. It is bear-bait, and we have you to thank for our -unexpected Sunday dinner,” accused Ham White. - -“Stacy Brown! Did you do that?” demanded Nora severely. - -“Well, it was this way,” admitted the fat boy. - -“Why didn’t you tell me that you had the urge to do this terrible -thing so that I might demonstrate over you?” begged Emma. - -“Oh, demonstrate over the wild animals.” - -“That is what I have suggested,” reminded Emma. “The wild animal did -not give me the cue.” - -“Go on, young man,” urged Hippy. - -“I—I thought some bear meat might be appreciated by you folks, and -of course I knew we couldn’t shoot bear, as it is out of season, -unless we had to get rid of them. I—” - -“Close your throttle! You are on the wrong division,” commanded -Hippy. “Where did you get that stuff—I mean the stuff that you -planted to call the bears?” - -“Down at Cresco. I was talking with an old hunter who told me that -he used bear-bait, and could call bear to him at any time. He said I -must plaster it along the trail on bushes, and a few hours -afterwards the bear would come right to the camp, that you didn’t -have to hunt them at all. That is the way to hunt—wait for them to -come to you. It is so much simpler. Well, he had some of it and was -willing to sell it to me for five cart wheels—” - -“Five what?” interrupted Nora. - -“Cart wheels—dollars. I thought I had been stuck, but I wasn’t, was -I?” chuckled the fat boy. “Wait! I have some of it left in a can. -I’ll get it and show it to you,” offered Stacy, turning to run to -his tent. - -“No!” shouted the Overlanders. - -Hippy grabbed the fat boy and hauled him back. - -“We aren’t finished with you yet. Go on with the story. It is -interesting,” averred Hippy. - -“I waited till you were all asleep, then I plastered the tents, and -then went to sleep. You know the rest. It worked, didn’t it?” - -“It did,” agreed the guide. Ham White’s eyes were twinkling. - -“Stacy Brown, aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” cried Nora Wingate. - -“Ashamed? No, of course not. I am proud of myself. The trouble with -you folks is that you have no sense of humor. Even a Britisher would -laugh at this. I haven’t had time to laugh for myself, but I am -going to now.” - -Stacy did. He laughed uproariously and long, but there was little -mirth in his laughter. His motive was to put his companions in a -frame of mind that would make it easier for him, for Stacy secretly -feared they would take sweet revenge on him for his prank. - -A brief period of silence followed the fat boy’s laughter, then the -Overlanders broke loose. Theirs was real mirth, and their laugh -lasted longer. - -“Well, what are we going to do with him?” demanded Hippy. - -“I reckon the young man is right about our lack of a sense of -humor,” agreed Ham. “We have had our laugh; we have some fine meat -for to-morrow, and we have had some excitement with no harm done -except a little loss of sleep and a somewhat mussed-up camp. My -suggestion is that if Mr. Brown will go bury that can of bear-bait, -then sleep out in the woods to-night, we will let him off this time. -Well?” - -“I’ll bury the stuff, yes, but I won’t sleep out in the woods. The -bears might get me,” objected Stacy. “One tried to, in my tent.” - -“That is exactly the point that Hamilton is making,” spoke up Emma. -“Sleep out in the woods, by all means.” - -A long, wailing cry echoed through the forest. - -“Mercy! What’s that?” cried Nora. - -“The coyotes have scented the fresh meat,” answered White. “They -will all be here soon, and some other beasts, too. Are you folks -game for a sight that will thrill you—that will show you the -savagery of nature let loose?” he asked quickly. - -“Yes!” agreed the Overlanders eagerly. They did not know what he -proposed to do, but were ready for anything that he might suggest as -a diversion. - -“Get your belongings, blankets, and such things as you don’t care to -lose. We men will get the horses, and—” - -“Oh, have a heart!” begged Stacy. “What! Ride at this time of night? -I prefer to stay in camp.” - -“You may,” agreed the guide. - -Stacy sat down and regarded the preparations sourly, but when he saw -that his companions really were going to leave him, he ran for his -pony and his equipment. It was but a short time later that the party -filed out of camp, leading their horses, stepping out at a brisk -walk, for White was in some haste. - -After proceeding several hundred yards from the camp, the guide -halted. - -“Tie your stock, and tie them securely, for we shall have to leave -them here alone for a time,” he directed. - -This having been done, the party gathered together, waiting for Ham -White to direct them what to do next. - -“We will wait here for the present,” he said. - -Five, ten minutes of tense silence passed; then a long mournful howl -resounded through the forest. It was answered by other howls farther -away, then a scream brought rustlings in the tree-tops where the -birds stirred restlessly. - -“They’re coming. Move forward cautiously; make no loud noises and be -careful where you step. No one is to use a weapon unless I tell him -to do so. Come!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - THE BATTLE OF THE BEASTS - - -“Oh, Hamilton!” said Emma, as she placed a trembling hand on the arm -of the guide. - -“Be quiet,” he admonished. - -The howls were coming nearer with the seconds, it seemed. There were -suggestive rustlings, and the faint sound of padded feet on the soft -ground somewhere to the right of the party. - -The sensations of the Overland Riders were not wholly delightful, -and their nerves were tense and on edge. - -The howls of the coyotes were mingled with snarls, and between -themselves and the faint light of the campfire the Overlanders now -made out slinking shadows. - -“Mother of Mercy! What does it all mean?” murmured Nora Wingate. - -“The coyotes are here,” Grace informed her. “Don’t be alarmed. They -cannot harm us if we keep together and don’t get panic-stricken.” - -“Silence, please!” ordered White. “We will proceed. Pick your way.” - -They had reached a point further on when the guide halted them. - -“Look!” he said in a low tone of voice. - -The Overlanders gazed on a scene such as they had never gazed upon -before. - -A pack of coyotes were milling and snarling at the carcass of the -suspended bear. They were leaping and rending the bear’s flesh, -springing upon each other in their frenzy, biting and tearing their -fellows. - -A long-drawn howl from the forest was followed by a chorus of yelps. -The air seemed full of hoarse wails. - -“Wolves!” announced the guide briefly. “You can talk now. Your -voices can’t be heard by those beasts with all this uproar. How do -you like it?” - -“It is terrible!” murmured Elfreda. - -“Perhaps, but that is the way, not only of the beasts, but of man, -though man is more cruel. Life is a survival of the fittest. Look at -the trees and you have the answer. The tall ones are the vigorous -ones; the runts—” - -The guide was interrupted by a scream that was almost human in its -quality. - -“Ah! Now we shall see something worth while. Watch!” he warned. - -What seemed to be a big ball of fur came hurtling from a tree, -landing right among the coyotes. Then followed the maddest battle -and the noisiest one that any member of the Overland party, with the -possible exception of Ham White, had ever seen. - -“See the big cat give it to them!” cried the guide. - -“The—the cat!” stammered Emma. - -“Yes. That’s a mountain lion, which, as a matter of fact, is not a -lion at all.” - -The girls were too thrilled with the scene before them to give heed -to his words. - -The battle was brief, but when the lion finally leaped away with a -large chunk of meat in his jaws, three coyotes lay stretched out on -the ground. Whether the lion had killed them, or whether their own -fellows had done the deed, the eyes of the Overlanders had not been -quick enough to perceive. Now that they were rid of their enemy, the -coyotes returned to their savage feast. - -“Say! You aren’t going to let those beasts eat up all our meat, are -you?” demanded Stacy. “I want some of that meat myself.” - -“Is there any danger to us, Mr. White?” questioned a voice in the -guide’s ear. - -He turned quickly, to find Miss Briggs standing at his side. - -“No. We have our rifles, and so long as the bear meat holds out -those cowardly brutes can think of nothing else. We will give them -something to think about shortly, however. I think we have seen -about enough of this, and I am a little anxious about the ponies, -too.” - -“Why?” - -“You heard the wolves howling a little while ago. Well, you don’t -hear them now, do you?” - -“Meaning?” interjected Grace. - -“That they may be attacking the ponies or they may be stalking -us—may at this moment be within a few yards of us. I don’t worry -about our safety. They would have to be very hungry to attack us, in -force as we are, but let them overwhelm a pony and get him down, and -he is lost.” - -The guide paused, and peered through the leaves of a bunch of -saplings behind which the party was standing. He gazed steadily for -a full minute. - -“Mrs. Gray, fix your gaze on that tree with the umbrella top. Do you -get it?” asked White eagerly. - -“Yes.” - -“Let me know if you see anything.” - -“I see something dark on one of the projecting limbs,” answered -Grace, after a long look. “What is it?” - -“An animal, probably a lion.” - -“Ours?” questioned Hippy. - -The guide shook his head. - -“‘Ours’ as you call him is too full of bear meat at this moment to -climb a tree. He is probably still munching under a thick growth of -creeping juniper somewhere, and may remain there all night. That -animal in the umbrella tree must be another lion. Want to try your -marksmanship on him, Mrs. Gray? Take a shot at him,” urged Hamilton -White. “This isn’t a fair test, I know, for you can’t even see your -rifle sights.” - -“Why, yes, I’ll try it.” The members of the party, at the guide’s -direction, had brought along their rifles, as Ham knew that the -weapons might be needed. Grace stepped forward a little, moved to -the right, then to the left, each time peering over the barrel of -her automatic rifle. “I am not certain, but I think I can line up -one sight. Shall I fire?” - -“Sure!” answered White. - -The Overland girl knelt down and rested the rifle against the side -of a tree, but the position did not suit her, so she lay flat on her -back on the ground, with the weapon held between her elevated knees. -It was for only a few seconds that she waited, then there came a -flash and a sharp report, followed by a _spat_! - -A snarl, and a faint squeal, came down to them. - -“You hit the tree, and I shouldn’t be surprised if you barked the -beast, too!” cried Ham enthusiastically. “Try it again.” - -“No. Give the others a chance. The one who brings down the beast -shall be free from all camp duties until Monday night,” suggested -Grace. - -“Here! Let me take a shot!” exclaimed Stacy. He raised his rifle, -without changing his position at all, and before the girls could ask -an opportunity to shoot, Stacy fired three quick shots. - -A scream from the cat followed the shots. There was a lively -scrambling in the umbrella tree, and the dark object that Hamilton -White had pointed out disappeared for a few seconds. The party was -too eager to see the result of the shots to take their eyes from the -tree for even a second. - -“There he comes!” cried Ham. “It’s a hit. Look at him tumble!” - -The lion had plunged from the tree and was hurtling down. He struck -the ground with a loud whack, landing a few yards from the campfire, -where he lay kicking, then straightened out dead. - -From the shots and the fall of the lion the coyotes got a fright -that sent them scurrying to the shadows. - -“Now’s our chance to clear them out! Everybody shoot and shoot fast. -No danger of doing any damage, for our ponies are behind us!” -ordered White. - -“Put down a barrage, you shooters, and give them a kick that will -keep them going. I want to go to bed,” cried Stacy. “I never shoot -at anything I can’t see. It isn’t sportsmanlike.” - -Some lively shooting followed, and the camp and its immediate -vicinity was cleared of the vicious visitors in a few moments. - -“We must get the ponies up in a hurry now, Lieutenant,” reminded -Ham. “You ladies stay out in the open, but keep together with rifles -at ready. Brown, you stay here and look after them. Shoot if -anything develops.” - -The two men started back into the forest at a run, and they were -just in time, for slinking forms were already stalking the plunging, -snorting ponies. - -It took but a few moments to free the ponies and lash them together -with lead ropes, whereupon the men started back to camp. They -hesitated to fire at the beasts, either coyotes or wolves, which -were now stalking the ponies, fearing to alarm the girls. Only a -slight rustling indicated the presence of the slinking beasts, and -that sound continued until the men with the ponies were more than -half the way to the camp. - -“Hark!” exclaimed the guide suddenly. - -“Did you hear that, Lieutenant?” - -“No. What was it?” - -“Three shots. They weren’t from our camp, either—they were farther -away—and I should say from a revolver. Let us hurry on.” - -A rifle crashed. - -“That one was from our party. I’m going to cut loose. You bring the -horses in as best you can.” White cast off the lead rope, and dashed -ahead towards the camp, keeping his mount from burying its nose in -the ground by sheer muscular effort, as the little animal frequently -stumbled, and staggered over obstructions that could not be seen in -the darkness. The guide rode into camp at a swift gallop. - -“What is it?” he demanded, sweeping the camp with a quick -comprehensive glance. - -“There isn’t anything the matter,” answered Stacy Brown, who stood -leaning on his rifle. - -“Then why did you shoot? I told you to shoot if anything developed,” -rebuked the guide. - -“I didn’t say that I did shoot. However, for your own private ear, -not for general publication, I’ll say I did fire a shot. What about -it?” demanded the fat boy belligerently. - -“Why?” - -“Because some fellow was signalling us with small arms. Maybe some -poor fellow is lost. I have a big heart, sir—I am full to -overflowing with human sympathy, so I answered his shot.” - -Hamilton White sighed. There was no answer that he could think of. -Grace laughed at him, and the guide grinned appreciatively. - -Hippy arrived safely at camp with the horses a few moments later, -and was quickly informed of the cause of the shooting. Neither Hippy -nor White liked the thought of revealing their presence, for they -knew that peril might lurk in the big woods for the Overland Riders, -and for that reason they regretted Stacy’s shot. - -“Well, I reckon you ladies had better turn in. We three men must -clean up the camp after the mussing it has had. How’s the cat?” -asked the guide. - -“He is a nice fat fellow, Hamilton,” bubbled Emma. - -“And Stacy made a wonderful shot, didn’t he, Mr. White?” spoke up -Elfreda enthusiastically. - -“I always make wonderful shots,” boasted the fat boy. “Why, I could -tell you of shots that I have made that you wouldn’t believe -possible were anyone else to tell you the same story about himself.” - -The Overlanders laughed heartily. - -“Chance shot!” declared Hippy. - -“I think so, too,” chirped Emma. - -“I think I know a chance shot when I see one,” added Lieutenant -Wingate. - -“I don’t doubt it. You’ve made enough of them,” growled Stacy, and -the laugh was on Hippy. “I’m going to turn in. If the coyotes return -don’t bother to awaken me. I am perfectly able to take care of -myself if they get close enough.” - -“You will help us clear up this camp, Stacy Brown!” ordered Hippy. -Stacy demurred, but obeyed. When Hippy assumed that tone, Stacy knew -that it was best to obey orders. - -The three had been at work for only a few moments when a fusillade -of shots was heard. The shots were from small arms, and were much -nearer the camp than before. All work ceased instantly, and the -guide looked his displeasure at the interruption. He beckoned to the -girls to go to the far side of the camp, which they did without -protest, but he observed that they had picked up their rifles and -laid them across their laps, as they sat down in the shadows. - -“Oh, Hamilton, do be careful,” called Emma. - -Nora snickered, and Emma Dean elevated her chin disdainfully. - -“Sh-h-h-h!” warned Grace. “I hear someone coming.” - -“Help!” The cry was hard by the camp. - -Ham White and Hippy, standing back from the light of the campfire, -did not move. Their rifles were held in the crooks of their left -arms ready for instant use. - -“It may be a trick. Stand by!” warned White in a low voice. - -“Aye, aye, sir,” answered Hippy. - -A man, dishevelled, his clothing torn, his face bloody, staggered -into the camp. - -“I’m done for!” he gasped, and collapsed in a heap. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - A RUDE AWAKENING - - -“Look out!” was White’s warning to Lieutenant Wingate, as the guide -sprang forward to the man on the ground. - -“Is he dead?” called Elfreda, getting up to go forward to the -visitor’s assistance. - -“No. Stay where you are for the present, please.” The camp was -silent for a moment, then White stood up. “It’s Jim Haley!” he -announced. “And he has been pretty roughly used.” - -“The Man from Seattle!” cried the girls. Elfreda was at his side -instantly. - -“Is he wounded?” she asked. - -“I think not,” replied the guide. - -“See if he has any peanuts with him,” advised Stacy Brown. - -“Stacy!” Hippy’s voice was stern, and the fat boy subsided. - -A quick examination by White and Miss Briggs failed to reveal any -wounds. They brought water, and Elfreda bathed Haley’s face, which, -though bloody, was only scratched, probably by contact with bushes. -It took but a short time to revive him, his trouble being almost -wholly exhaustion. Grace hastened to make a pot of tea, which Haley -gulped down and instantly recovered himself. - -“Sorry I lost my samples, or I’d not have been in this shape,” he -said, grinning. - -“What happened to you?” Hippy asked. - -“Same old story. The mountain ruffians wanted peanuts, so they -tackled me. One taste of the International’s product and men will -commit murder to get more of it. I threw away all I had, and they’re -picking them up along the trail. It was the only way I could get rid -of the scoundrels. Then I got into more trouble. A pack of wolves -got the scent of the peanuts and they tackled me, too, but I hadn’t -any of the International’s product to throw to them, so I had to run -for it. They chased me nearly all the way in. ‘Good for man and -beast’ is the slogan that I shall send on to the International for -use in their publicity matter.” - -The girls were now laughing heartily, but, as they recalled the -manner of Haley’s leaving them, they subsided abruptly. Haley’s now -merry eyes caught the significance of the change. - -[Illustration: “I’m Done For!”] - -“What have I said or done now? Is it because I have no peanuts for -you good people?” - -“I think the young ladies would like an explanation of your sudden -departure the other night,” spoke up Hippy Wingate. - -“Were I to tell you that I ran away because I was afraid, you -probably would not believe me, so I’ll not tell you that. There are -some things one can speak of freely, and others that he cannot. This -latter happens to be my difficulty now. If you feel that you do not -want me, of course I shall not impose upon you. I thank you, but I -warn you that you are not to enjoy any of the International’s -product until you reach home. They eat ’em alive up here.” - -“You are quite welcome to remain as long as you wish. Please stay -over Sunday with us, Mr. Haley,” requested Grace. “We hope to have a -spread for our Sunday dinner,” she added laughingly. - -“You win, Mrs. Gray. Unfortunately, my International raiment is in a -sad condition, but if you will lend me a pair of shears I’ll cut off -the ragged ends and try to make myself presentable.” - -The girls, at this juncture, bade the men good-night and turned in, -for there were not many hours left for sleep, and they were now very -tired after the exciting night through which they had passed. - -A few words passed between the guide and the peanut man, and Ham -White listened with a heavy frown on his face. - -“I won’t do it!” he exclaimed. “Do you think you would were you in -my position?” - -“If the International’s product didn’t pay me I should,” answered -the peanut man, with a twinkle in his eyes. - -“Oh, hang the International!” retorted White. “I give you fair -warning that I’ll not double-cross these young women for you or for -any of your confounded outfit. I’ve done enough already, and I am -thinking of going to them and making a clean breast of what I have -done and then get out.” - -“Don’t be a fool, White. Here! Read this.” Haley extended a folded -slip of paper to the guide, who opened and read it, the frown -deepening on his forehead. - -White handed back the slip of paper, and resting his chin in the -palm of his hand sat regarding the distant campfire thoughtfully, -for they had withdrawn out of earshot of the camp for their -conversation. - -“Very well!” agreed Hamilton White after a few moments’ reflection. -“I might as well be hanged for a sheep as a wolf, but if anything -happens here as a result I shall tell why. Remember that, Haley.” - -“Oh, well, what’s a bag of peanuts more or less?” was the enigmatic -reply of the Man from Seattle. “I’ll take a nip of sleep, if you -don’t mind, and be on my way, but not _far_ away.” - -The queer visitor took the blanket that had been given to him, and, -walking back into the forest a short distance from the camp, lay -down and went to sleep. The guide did not turn in at all, but sat -silently in the shadows, rifle at his side, thinking and listening. -Thus the rest of the night passed, and day began to dawn. - -With the breaking of the day Hamilton White climbed the miniature -mountain, and drawing a single-barreled glass from his pocket began -studying the landscape. A tiny spiral of smoke about two miles to -the north claimed his instant attention. He studied it for a few -moments. At first the smoke was quite dark, then the spiral grew -thin and gray as it waved lazily on the still morning air. - -“Someone is building a breakfast fire,” he muttered. “And they know -how to build a fire, too. That may be Haley’s crowd. Ah!” - -As White slowly swept his glass around he discovered something else -that aroused his keen interest. On a distant mountain a flag was -being wigwagged. He could not see the operator of it, but he was -able to follow the message that was being spelled out. - -Another shift of his glass and a careful study of known localities -enabled the guide to find the person who was receiving the message, -and soon the receiver began answering with his signal flag. - -Ham White grinned as he read both messages. - -“The forest eyes of Uncle Sam!” he murmured. The signalers were -forest lookouts whose eyes were constantly on the alert watching -over the vast forest within their range for suspicious smokes, and -they were having a friendly Sunday morning conversation over a -distance of nearly four miles. - -Ham read and smiled. - -“If they knew they would be more careful of what they said,” he -chuckled, then a few moments later he climbed down, returned to camp -and started the breakfast fire. He fried some strips of bacon, put -on the coffee, and then he sounded the breakfast call. - -“Come and get it!” was the call that rang out on the mountain air. - -The Overlanders thought they wanted to sleep, in fact, they were -hardly awake when they got lip grumbling, in most instances, and -began hurriedly dressing. All were shivering, for the air was very -chill. The odor of the breakfast, when they smelled it, added to the -haste of their dressing. - -“Stick your heads in the cold water and you will be all right,” -advised the guide. - -The girls returned from the spring, their faces rich with color, -eyes sparkling, and ready for breakfast. - -“How are the appetites? I don’t ask you, Mr. Brown. You have proved -to my satisfaction that you can eat whether you are hungry or not,” -laughed White. - -“We are ready for breakfast, sir,” answered Elfreda Briggs. “My, but -it does smell good.” “Where is Mr. Haley?” questioned Grace, -regarding the guide with a look of inquiry in her eyes. - -“He thought best to sleep outside of the camp, and no doubt has gone -on before this.” - -“Why, Mr. White?” persisted Grace. - -“That is a question that I can’t answer just now, Mrs. Gray,” -returned the guide, meeting her eyes in a level gaze. - -“Oh, very well. We will have breakfast.” - -“We will,” agreed Stacy, and began to help himself from the frying -pan, when the guide smilingly placed a hand on the fat boy’s arm. - -“You forget the ladies, Mr. Brown,” he reminded. - -“Forget them? How could I?” - -“It is you who forget, Hamilton,” interposed Emma. “You forget that -Stacy Brown never was brought up.” - -“Give me the chuck!” whispered Stacy. “Heap the plate.” - -White, catching the significance of the request, heaped the plate, -and Stacy bore it to Emma with great dignity. He bowed low and -offered the plate. - -“Your highness is served,” he said. “If you will be so kind as to -call your sweet soul to earth from the ethereal realms above long -enough to feed that sweet soul on a few fat slices of common pig, -you will be a real human being. I thank you,” added the boy, as -Emma, her face flushing, took the plate, her lips framing a reply -which was never uttered. The shout of laughter that greeted Stacy’s -act and words left Emma without speech. Nor did she speak more than -once during the meal, then only to ask for another cup of coffee. - -Breakfast finished and the morning work done in camp, the three men -went out to groom the horses, while Grace and Elfreda strayed away. -Their objective was the rock from which Ham White had made his early -observation. - -“Have you the diary?” asked Grace as they seated themselves. “Oh, -what a wonderful view. Isn’t it superb?” - -“Yes, I have the diary, and I see the view, and agree with you that -it is superb, but suppose we get down to business before we are -interrupted. I do not believe we shall be spied on here, at least,” -said Elfreda, glancing about her. - -The thumb-worn book was produced, and the girls bent over it, -beginning with the first page. There were daily weather comments, -movements of the prospector from place to place, little incidents in -his daily life, none of which seemed to shed any light on the -subject in which the two girls were interested. - -“Here is something!” breathed Grace finally, and read, under date of -April 30, the following paragraph: - -“‘Plenty here. Dare not dig, for am watched. Picked up in channel -enough pay-dirt to keep over next winter. Channel itself ought to -pan out fortune, but shall have to have help. Isn’t safe to try it -alone. The gang of cutthroats would murder me. Some day mebby -they’ll get me as it is.’” - -“Hm-m-m-m,” murmured Miss Briggs. “I wondered why, if he had made -such a find, Mr. Petersen shouldn’t get out the gold and put it in a -safe place before someone got ahead of him. The diary seems to -furnish a reason for his delay. He must refer to the Murray gang.” - -“Listen to this entry, Elfreda,” begged Grace, reading: - -“‘Queer thing this morning. The sun was shining on the children, and -on grandma’s bonnet, but her face was as black as a nigger’s. I -wonder if that was a warning to me to keep away. Gold, gold! How -terrible is the lure for the yellow stuff. It gets into the blood, -it eats into the heart. It’s a frightful disease.’” - -“That checks up with what Mr. Petersen had me to write down, doesn’t -it, Grace?” breathed Elfreda. - -“Undoubtedly. He must refer to the same thing, but it doesn’t give -us the least idea where the place is.” - -“The man would be a fool to write a thing like that in a diary—to -tell where and how. Anything else? There is something on the next -page.” - -“Yes,” answered Grace, turning the page and reading: - -“‘Though I haven’t found it, I know pretty well where the mother -lode is, but I’m afraid of it—afraid to look for it. I’m afraid the -wealth I should find there would kill me just because of the -responsibility of possessing it. Then again, what is there left in -life after a man has got all he has dreamed of, and yearned for, and -fought for, and worked for, up to that time? Nothing!’” - -“What a philosopher!” marvelled Grace Harlowe. - -“He is right, too,” agreed Miss Briggs. “Suppose we forget about it, -also,” urged Elfreda. “I am tired of it.” - -“J. Elfreda, if I didn’t know you so well, I should believe you are -in love, you are so gloomy. Listen! Mr. Petersen probably has no one -surviving him. He wished you to have what he had found. It was the -request of a man about to pass out; it was a trust, Elfreda. One day -someone, perhaps the very ones who tried to kill him, will stumble -on the Lost Mine. I should say that the prospector’s request imposed -a duty on you, my dear—a duty to go to the place he names, take -possession of what you may find there and keep it for your own. You -can’t expect to make a fortune practicing law, especially if you -don’t do more practicing than you have done in the last few years. I -fear these summer outings of ours have cost each of us something.” - -Elfreda said she didn’t regret the loss of time. Her time was her -own, and she had sufficient funds to enable her to take care of -herself and the little daughter that she had adopted a few years -before. - -“The question is, though, how am I going to find this place—how are -we going to find it, I mean, for what I find is for the outfit, not -for my own selfish self. I—” - -Elfreda’s eyes had been wandering over the scene that lay before -them as Grace slowly turned the leaves of the diary. Miss Briggs -thought she had seen a movement off to the right at the edge of the -rock farthest from the camp. - -“What is it?” demanded Grace, glancing up quickly. - -“Nothing. Go on. Find anything else?” - -“Only this: ‘When the sun is at the meridian the sands turn to -golden yellow,’” read Grace. - -“What does he mean, do you think?” - -“I suppose he means to convey that the bed of the dry stream, if it -is dry, shows a sort of golden strip. That is all I can make of it. -There seems to be nothing else in the book in reference to the -subject in which we are particularly interested. I am certain that -the poor man knew what he was saying; I believe that he believed he -had found what he says he found. Whether he did find it or not is -quite another matter. In any event Lost River and the lost mine are -well worth looking for as we go along. If there be such a place, -Overland luck will lead us to it,” finished Grace. - -“I doubt it—I was going to say I hope Overland luck doesn’t lead us -to it, to our River of Doubt. Oh, Grace!” - -“Wha—at is it?” - -“Oh, look!” - -A black head of hair, lifted just above the level of the rock on the -far side, revealed a low forehead and a pair of burning black -eyes—evil eyes they seemed to the two startled girls. They could not -see the hands that were gripping the edge of the rock, but what they -could see was sufficient to fill them with alarm. - -Without an instant’s hesitation, Elfreda Briggs snatched up a chunk -of flinty rock and hurled it with all her might. The chunk of rock -fell a couple of yards short of the mark, bounced up into the air, -and landed fairly on the man’s head. - -“Who says a woman can’t throw a stone!” cried J. Elfreda Briggs -almost hysterically. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - BANDITS TAKE THEIR TOLL - - -“Run!” cried Grace. - -“The diary!” exclaimed Elfreda, as Grace dropped the book, snatched -it up, and ran clambering down the rocks. - -The guide saw them coming, saw that something was wrong, and strode -forward to meet the two girls. - -“What is it?” he asked sharply. - -“A prowler,” answered Grace, out of breath. - -“Where?” - -“There! On the other side of the rock. He was spying on us, and I -think Miss Briggs hit him with a piece of rock,” exclaimed Grace. - -“Lieutenant!” called Hamilton White, and sprinted around the base of -the big rock. Hippy Wingate was not far behind him, though Hippy did -not know what had occurred, nor did he wait for an explanation. He -knew that there was trouble, and that was sufficient for him. - -The two men reached their objective at about the same time. White -was peering at the rocks and bushes at the base of the big rock. - -“Miss Briggs did hit him. See the blood there, and the bushes -crushed where he fell. She must have given him a good wallop,” he -chuckled. - -White began to run the trail, a trail that was plain and easily -followed. Hippy was right behind him, using his eyes to good -advantage. - -“Lieutenant, I think you had best go back and watch the camp. This -may be a trick to coax us men away. Keep a sharp lookout. Have Brown -stand guard with you. There is little need to worry, for we can see -and hear. Skip!” urged the guide. - -Hippy lost no time in getting back to camp, and when he reached -there he found Grace and Elfreda laughing, and explaining to their -companions what had happened. - -They repeated the story to him. - -“Oh, well, let them fuss. They can’t do anything to us,” averred -Lieutenant Wingate after he had heard all of the story. “I’ll sit on -top of the rock and watch over you children.” - -“That’s what I say,” agreed Stacy. “We men can beat them at their -own game, and have a lap or so to spare. Ham will chase them so far -away that they never will find their way back. If he doesn’t I -will.” - -“Don’t be too positive,” admonished Grace. “I think it wise for us -to be on the alert. For some reason those ruffians are determined to -be rid of us, at least.” - -“Oh, I hope Hamilton will take care of himself,” murmured Emma, -whereat her companions laughed heartily. - -None of the girls left the immediate camp all that morning; they -even sent Stacy to the spring for water, much to that young man’s -disgust, for Stacy had planned on having a fine day’s sleep in his -tent. - -Noon came, and the guide had not returned, so Grace decided that -they would have something to eat. The girls got the meal. - -After they sat down to eat, the girls tried to be merry, but they -admitted that they missed Hamilton White, though none felt alarm at -his absence. The meal finished, dishes were washed and put away, and -packs laid out for a quick move, in the event of that becoming -necessary, for by this time the Overland Riders had learned to be -ready at a moment’s notice. - -Hippy from his point of vantage kept guard over the camp and its -vicinity, now and then studying the view spread out before him. The -air was fragrant with the odor of the forest, and Hippy grew sleepy. -To keep awake he decided to get down and walk. This he did, reaching -the ground on the side of the rock farthest from the camp. - -The Overlander, with only a revolver, strolled through the forest -making a circle around the camp, and studying the trees for blazes -and the ground for indications of recent visitors. Now and then he -would sit down, back against a tree, and gaze up into the blue sky -and the waving tops of the big pines. - -The afternoon wore away and Hippy was still trail-hunting. It was -near supper time when Nora called him. There was no answer, so she -climbed the rock, expecting to find her husband sleeping, for Hippy -loved sleep fully as much as Stacy Brown did. - -Lieutenant Wingate was not on the rock, but Nora found his rifle -laying there. She ran back to her companions in alarm. - -“Hippy isn’t there!” she cried. “Oh, girls, can anything have -happened to him?” Nora was on the verge of tears. - -“No, of course not,” comforted Grace. - -“Then where is he?” - -“Probably asleep somewhere about,” suggested Emma. “You know he and -Stacy have the sleep habit.” - -“I don’t believe it. I am going out to search for him.” - -“Nora, you will not!” differed Grace with emphasis. “We will all -remain where we are. To get separated would be foolish. Hippy is all -right, so sit down and chat with us. Mr. White will be along soon, -and some others besides Emma Dean will be glad to see him,” she -added, with a teasing glance at Emma. - -The Overland girls ate a cold supper that night, no one feeling like -cooking or sitting down to a hearty meal. Nora was so worried that -she refused to eat at all, and, while the other girls were equally -disturbed, they masked their real feelings by teasing each other. -Emma and Stacy were ragged unmercifully. - -Darkness settled over the forest, but still no Hippy, no guide. - -“I think it will be advisable to bring in the horses, don’t you, -Elfreda?” asked Grace. - -Miss Briggs and the others thought that would be a wise move, so the -ponies, and such of their equipment as was outside the camp, were -brought in; fuel was gathered and piled up so that they might keep -the fire burning; then the party sat down in their tents, with -blankets thrown over their shoulders, and began their watch. - -It was ten o’clock that night when the hail of Ham White was heard, -and after the tension of the last few hours the Overland girls felt -like screaming a welcome. Instead they sprang out and stood awaiting -him. - -“Well, did you good people think I had deserted you?” he cried out. -“I am nearly famished. Is there anything left from dinner?” - -“Yes, of course there is. I will get you something. First I must -tell you. Mr. Wingate has been missing since some time this -afternoon. We don’t know what to make of it unless he has fallen -asleep somewhere,” said Grace. - -“What! Tell me about it.” - -Nora told the guide the story, explaining that Hippy had taken up -his station on the rock to guard the camp, and that that was the -last they saw of him. - -Ham White was disturbed, but he did not show it. Instead he laughed. - -“No doubt, as Mrs. Gray has suggested, he has gone to sleep. Where -is Mr. Brown?” - -“He is asleep in his tent, as usual,” spoke up Emma. “Oh, Hamilton, -won’t you please find Hippy—now?” - -“I will do my best. Give me a snack and I’ll go out now. I followed -the other trail for something like five miles. There were four men -in the party, only one of whom came near the camp. The trail finally -bumped into the side of a mountain and I lost it. It was so dark I -could not follow it farther. Thank you!” he added, as Emma handed -him some bacon. “I will go right out.” - -They followed him around the rock and watched with keen interest as -Ham White searched for and found the trail of the missing Hippy, -which he followed, with the aid of his pocket lamp, for some -distance. - -“He was strolling,” announced the guide. “You can see here where he -sat down to rest, then went on. Please return to camp. Unless he -wandered off and lost his way, I shall probably soon find him.” - -The girls promptly turned back towards camp, Nora with reluctance, -which she made no effort to conceal. Then followed two hours of -anxiety. The guide returned shortly after midnight. - -“There is no use of searching farther to-night,” he announced. “Mr. -Wingate undoubtedly has strayed away, but I’ll find him in the -morning. Please turn in and get some rest, for we shall undoubtedly -have an active day to-morrow. In any event, don’t lose your nerve, -Mrs. Wingate. The Lieutenant has had enough experience to know how -to take care of himself.” - -Nora went to her tent weeping, Emma Dean’s arm around her, but Grace -held back at a gesture from Elfreda, who had observed that the guide -studiously avoided looking directly at Nora Wingate. - -“Mr. White, have you anything to say to us?” questioned Elfreda. - -“Meaning what?” - -“We wish to know what you really did discover. It was well not to -say any more than you did to Mrs. Wingate.” - -“You made a discovery of some sort—of that we are convinced,” spoke -up Grace. - -“Yes, I did,” admitted White. “I found the lieutenant’s revolver -beside a tree where he had been sitting. His trail ended there!” - -“Meaning?” persisted Miss Briggs. - -“That he was attacked and carried away, in all probability. I found -evidences of that.” - -“What can be done?” demanded Elfreda. - -“Nothing until morning. I have means of obtaining assistance, which -I will employ as soon as it is light enough to see.” - -The girls turned away and walked slowly to their tent, and the guide -stepped over to the tent occupied by Hippy and Stacy Brown. He was -out in a moment and striding towards Elfreda’s quarters. - -“Miss Briggs! Mrs. Gray!” he called. - -“Yes!” answered the voices of Elfreda and Grace. - -“Stacy Brown is not in his tent. There has been a struggle, and the -boy has been forcibly removed,” was the startling announcement. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - A TEST OF COURAGE - - -“Sta—Stacy gone?” exclaimed Elfreda Briggs. “It can’t be possible. -He is playing one of his practical jokes on us.” - -“Let us look, but don’t disturb Emma and Nora if it can be avoided,” -urged Grace. - -The two girls, with the guide, repaired to Lieutenant Wingate’s -tent, and examined it, using their pocket lamps. It was as Hamilton -White had said—there was every evidence that a struggle had taken -place there. The fat boy’s hat and his revolver lay where they had -been hurled to one side of the tent. His blouse was a yard or so to -the rear, and the imprint of his heels where they had been dragged -over the ground was plainly visible. - -“He must have been asleep,” nodded White. - -“Yes,” agreed Grace. “If awake Stacy would have set up such a howl -that none could have failed to hear. When do you think this was -done, Mr. White?” - -“When we were out looking for the lieutenant. If you will remember, -Mr. Brown remained behind.” - -“Do you think it wise to follow his trail?” asked Grace. - -“No. Not now. I dare not leave the camp. All this may be part of a -plan. My duty is here, at least until daylight, when I will get into -communication with those who will find both men.” - -“You think so, Mr. White?” questioned Elfreda anxiously. - -“Yes. It is the work of the same gang, but what their motive is we -can only surmise. You and Mrs. Gray may know.” - -Elfreda felt her face growing hot, and a retort was on her lips, but -she suppressed it. - -“Mrs. Gray, if you think I should try to run the trail now, I will -do so, but it would be against my judgment. I hope you do not -insist,” said White, turning to Grace. - -“I believe you are right,” answered Grace. “Come, Elfreda, we will -go to our tent, for no serious harm can come either to Hippy or -Stacy. They dare not harm them.” - -Ham White did not reply. He knew the character of the men who -committed that piece of banditry, and knew that they would hesitate -at no crime to gain their ends, whatever those ends might be. - -The guide got no sleep that night. Mindful of the attacks that had -been made on the camp, he took up his position at a distance, and, -with rifle in hand, sat motionless the rest of the night. From his -position in the deep shadows he commanded a view of the entire camp, -which was dimly lighted by the campfire all night long. - -There were occasional sounds that Ham White did not believe were -made by marauding animals, but none were definite enough to warrant -exposing his position. During his vigil nothing occurred to disturb -the sleepers. - -The graying mists of the early morning were rising from gulch and -forest, enfolding the mountaintops, when Ham White stole around the -camp, scrutinizing every foot of the ground. By the time he had -completed this task the mists were so far cleared away that a good -view of the surrounding country might be had. - -From his kit the guide selected a wigwag signalling flag, and taking -one of the tent poles for use as a flagstaff, he went cautiously to -the high rock that stood sentinel over the Overland camp, and -climbed to its top. - -“I hope none of the girls wake up,” he muttered, peering down into -the camp, which was as quiet as a deserted forest. - -Ham White, after attaching the flag to the pole, began waving it up -and down, which in the wigwag code means, “I wish to speak with -you.” - -It was at this juncture that Grace Harlowe slowly opened her eyes. -Where she lay she could look straight up to the top of the rock -without making the slightest movement, and her amazement must have -been reflected in her eyes. - -Like several of the Overland girls, Grace’s experience in the war -had included learning to signal and to read signals. She was out of -practice, but was easily able to read any message not sent too fast. -Ham began his message, after getting the attention of the persons to -whom he was signalling, at a speed that Grace could not follow. She -did, however, catch a few words that were enlightening. - -“Trouble—Haley—Trail—Send word—Caution—Great secrecy or expose -hands—Fatal to—” were some of the words that she caught as the guide -flashed them off. Then he paused. - -“How I wish I could see the answer,” muttered the Overland girl, as -she watched Hamilton White, with glasses at his eyes, receiving the -message that was being sent to him. - -Grace Harlowe’s, however, were not the only pair of eyes that -witnessed that exhibition of signalling. Other eyes were observing, -but that other pair could not read a word of what the signallers -were saying. - -White dropped his glasses and snatched up his flag, and she read, -this time with greater ease: - -“It may be fatal. Great danger to both. My responsibility. Must have -instant action. This an order. Obey without loss time. Report soon -as anything to say.” The guide signed his name, and the words that -followed the signature filled Grace Harlowe with amazement. She saw -the guide remove the flag from its staff and hide it under a stone, -after which he descended to the camp, passing the open tents without -so much as a glance at them. - -Ham stirred up the fire and put over the breakfast, and, while it -was cooking, Grace came out, greeting him cheerfully. - -“Is there any news, Mr. White?” she asked sweetly. - -“No, not yet.” - -“What have you done?” - -“I signalled to a fire-lookout station that assistance was needed. -It is best to wait until we hear from them.” - -“How, signal?” she questioned, appearing not to understand. - -“By the air route, Mrs. Gray,” was the smiling reply. - -Grace Harlowe shrugged her shoulders. - -“You are a very clever man, Mr. White,” she said, and walked to her -tent to awaken Miss Briggs. - -When informed that Stacy Brown was missing, a few moments later, -Nora Wingate became hysterical, but Grace and Elfreda calmed her, -and the party were ready to sit down to breakfast when the guide -announced it as ready. - -It was a trying, anxious morning for the little band of Overlanders. -White made frequent trips to the rock, observed questioningly by -Elfreda. - -“What is he looking for, Grace?” she asked. “Does the man expect to -find the bandits that way?” - -“I don’t know. Why not ask him, J. Elfreda?” - -“Not I. You know I would not.” - -About mid-forenoon Grace suggested to the guide that he go out into -the forest and see if he could glean any information as to the -direction that the kidnappers had taken when they left the camp, -with either Hippy or Stacy Brown. - -White pondered the subject a moment, then agreed. - -“If you will promise not to leave camp, and to fire a shot at the -least suspicious sound or occurrence, I will go out,” he said. “One -of you had better go to the rock and take station there until my -return.” - -Grace said she would do that. Matters were working out to her -satisfaction, and, after telling Elfreda to take her rifle and post -herself a short distance to the rear of the camp, and assigning Emma -and Nora to the right and left ends of their camping place, Grace -climbed the rock and sat down. After Ham White, following a survey -of the camp and her arrangements, of which he approved with a nod -and a wave of the hand, had left the camp, Grace got up and looked -for the signal flag, which she found under a flat stone. - -“Now! Having disposed of my companions I shall see what I shall and -can see,” she told herself. - -Securing the signal flag, the Overland girl took a survey of the -landscape. A vast sea of dense forest lay all about her, broken here -and there by a white-capped mountain. Nothing that looked as if it -might be a fire-lookout station attracted her eyes. She had used her -field glasses, but without result. - -A moment of vigorous signalling on her part followed, after which -Grace swept the landscape again. She discovered nothing at all. -Another trial was made, and the word “answer” was spelled out by -her. - -Her eye caught a faint something far to the north of her, and -Grace’s glasses were at her eyes in a twinkling. A little white flag -was fluttering up and down against the background of forest green in -the far distance. - -“I’ve got him!” cried the girl exultingly. “I’ve got him!” Then, -wigwagging, Grace Harlowe signalled the one word, “Report!” - -“Who?” came the answer, almost before she could get the glasses to -her eyes to read the message. - -“For White,” she wigwagged. “Report!” - -Holding the flag, now lowered to the rock, with one hand, the other -holding the glasses to her eyes, Grace bent every faculty to -watching that little fluttering, bobbing square of white, that, at -her distance from it, looked little larger than a postage stamp. - -“Repeat!” she interrupted frequently, whenever part of a word was -missed. It was a laborious effort for her, out of practice as she -was, and the exchange of messages lasted for a full half hour before -the Overland girl gave her unseen, unknown signaller the “O. K.” -signal. - -Grace folded the flag and placed it under the stone, then -straightened up. - -“Mr. Hamilton White, I have you now!” she exclaimed, a triumphant -note in her voice. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - THE FLAMING ARROW - - -“Where am I at?” - -It was Hippy Wingate’s first conscious moment since he was struck -down while sleeping with his back against a tree not far from the -Overland camp. All was darkness about him as he awakened in -unfamiliar surroundings. Essaying to rise, the Overlander discovered -that he was bound. Still worse, there was a gag in his mouth. - -A gentle breeze was blowing over him, and at first he thought he was -still under the trees. Hippy then realized that there was a hard -floor beneath him. His head ached, and when he tried to sit up he -found that it swam dizzily. - -“I wonder what happened to me?” he muttered. “Hello!” - -There was no response to his call; in fact, his voice, still weak, -did not carry far and it was thick because of the gag. Then began a -struggle with himself, that, while it exhausted him for the time -being, aided in overcoming his dizziness. - -Hippy heard men conversing, heard them approaching, whereupon he -pretended still to be unconscious. A door was flung wide open, and a -lantern, held high, lighted up the interior of the building with a -faint radiance. - -“Hain’t woke up,” announced one of the two men who stood in the -doorway. - -“Mebby he never will,” answered the other. - -“I don’t reckon it makes much difference, so long as we got two of -’em,” returned the first speaker. “What shall we do—let ’im sleep?” - -“Yes.” - -The man with the lantern strode over and peered down at the -prostrate Overlander, while the prisoner, from beneath what seemed -to be closed eyelids, got a good look into the swarthy, hard-lined -face. Lieutenant Wingate would remember that face—he would remember -the voices of both men—would know them wherever he heard them. - -“Let ’im sleep. When he wakes up we’ll have something to say to -’im.” With that the two men went out, slamming the door behind them. - -The lantern light had shown Hippy that he was in a log cabin. At his -back was a window, or a window-opening, for which he was thankful, -as it offered a possible way of escape. But how, in his present -condition, could he hope to gain his liberty? - -There was no answer to the Overlander’s mental question. First, he -must regain his strength. The leather thongs with which he was bound -interfered with his circulation, and his legs were numb. So were his -arms, and his jaws ached from the gag that was between his teeth. In -fact, Lieutenant Hippy Wingate did not remember ever to have -suffered so many aches and pains at one time as he had at that -moment. - -He began his struggles again, but more with the idea of starting his -circulation and gaining strength than with any immediate hope of -escape. By rolling over several times he was able to reach the door, -but having reached it he had no hands with which to open it. Hippy -wanted to look out. Failing there, he bethought himself of the -window, and rolled back across the floor to it. Exerting a great -effort, he managed to work his head up to the window so he could see -out. - -The night was dark, but the Overlander was able to make out trees -and rugged rocky walls, together with what appeared to be a dense -mass of bushes. The scene was unlike anything he had seen in the -State of Washington since his party had started on their outing. - -“I may be up in the Canadian Rockies, for all I know,” he muttered. - -Hippy sank down, weak and trembling. - -For a change, he rolled back and forth, pulling himself up to the -window again and again, and each time found himself stronger than -before. - -“If I were free and had a gun I’d show those cowards something!” -raged the Overlander, his anger rising. “Why did they have to pick -on me? I wonder what the folks at the camp are think—” - -“Sh-h-h-h!” - -It was a low, sibilant hiss from the window, and Hippy fell suddenly -silent. - -“Keep quiet and listen to me,” warned a hoarse voice. “The gang is -out of range, but we don’t know when one or more of ’em will be -back. I’m coming in.” - -Not being able to answer, except with a grunt, the Overlander merely -grunted his understanding. - -The stranger leaped into the room and felt for the prisoner. - -“I am going to cut you loose. Are you wounded?” - -“No, I think not,” mumbled Hippy, but his words were unintelligible. - -The first thing the stranger did was to remove the gag, which he did -with so much care that the operation gave no pain. Then came the -leather thongs. These he ripped off with a few deft sweeps of a -knife, and Lieutenant Wingate was a free man so far as his bonds -were concerned. - -“Can you walk?” in the same hoarse voice. - -“I could fly if I had to,” was the brief reply. “Who are you?” - -“You wouldn’t know if I told you. Here!” The man thrust a revolver -into his hand. “Don’t use it unless you have to. We aren’t out of -the woods by a long shot. Come!” - -The stranger assisted Hippy through the window, which was -accomplished with some difficulty, for Lieutenant Wingate was stiff -and sore. A firm hand was fixed on his arm, and his companion began -leading him rapidly away. Not a word was spoken for several -minutes—not until they had plunged into the dark depths of a canyon, -through which the man picked the way unerringly. - -“How are you standing it?” was the question abruptly put to -Lieutenant Wingate. - -“Rotten! But I’ll pick up speed as I go along and get my motors -warmed up.” - -The stranger chuckled. - -“Where are we going?” - -“We are headed for your camp, but it’s quite a hike and a hard one. -If you get leg-weary, stop and rest a bit. How’d they get you?” - -“I went to sleep just outside the camp, and I think I must have got -a clump on the head. Ouch!” Hippy had lifted a hand to his head, and -felt there a bump as big as an egg. “I guess I did get a clump. It’s -a wonder I’m not dead. When is it, to-day or to-morrow?” - -“It’s the day after,” was the half humorous reply. - -“Please tell me how you found me?” asked the Overlander. - -“Ham White got in touch with some people I know. They got word to -me, and gave me the tip. The same people saw the gang that got you -heading for the pass where you were taken, so I made for that place -as soon as I got the word from White. I was lucky; I might have had -to hunt the whole state over for you. The gang made a bad play when -they picked you up. We’ve got a line on them now.” - -“Who is we?” interjected Hippy. - -“All of us,” was the noncommittal reply. “Don’t speak so loudly. It -isn’t safe yet.” - -That walk Hippy Wingate never forgot. Every step sent shooting pains -through his head and legs. He stumbled frequently, but every time -the grip of the stranger tightened on his arm, and he was kept on -his feet. - -“When you get to camp, tell your people to watch out. Some of the -gang are still out on trail. I reckon they aren’t out for any good, -and they may be planning to rush your camp and get the rest of your -party.” - -“Why do they want us?” wondered Lieutenant Wingate. “Is it robbery?” - -“Yes, but not the sort of robbery you think. Tell your friend Miss -Briggs that it’s time she told her party her story. She knows why.” - -“I begin to see a light,” muttered the Overlander. “Say! There’s -something familiar about your voice, but I can’t place it. Got a -cold?” - -“Yes.” - -Little conversation was indulged in after that, and at last Hippy’s -rescuer halted and pointed. - -“See that light?” he asked in a whisper. - -“Yes.” - -“That’s your camp. I leave you here. Take my advice, and don’t make -much noise to-night. Keep your fire low, and post guards. Tell White -there is a man out here wants to see him. You need not let the -others know about my being here. I’m in a hurry. Good-night.” - -“But—won’t you come—” - -“Go on!” - -Hippy wavered a little as he started towards the camp, into which he -staggered a few minutes later. - -A cry greeted his appearance, and Nora’s arms were flung about his -neck ere he had fairly reached the light of the campfire. He held up -his hand for silence. - -“Give me something to eat, if you love me. I’m famished.” - -Nora ran for the coffee pot, which Ham White took from her. Hippy -stepped over to him and whispered something to the guide, as he -relieved White of the coffee pot. - -White immediately left the camp. - -By now the other members of the party were about Hippy shoving their -joy at his return. - -“Have you seen Stacy?” demanded Grace eagerly, as soon as she could -get his attention. - -“No. Why?” - -“He, too, has been missing, and—” - -“The curs!” raged Lieutenant Wingate. “So they got him, too, did -they?” - -“Never mind now. You must drink and eat. Where is Mr. White?” -wondered Grace, glancing quickly about the camp. - -“I sent him out on an errand,” answered Hippy. “Ah! The coffee is -not so hot that it burns, but it’s nectar.” - -“Oh, my darlin’! Your head!” cried Nora, just discovering the -swelling there. - -Elfreda was at his side in an instant, examining the lump that, to -Hippy, seemed fully as big as his head itself. Miss Briggs ran to -her tent for liniment, and in a moment was applying it to the sore -spot. - -Hippy’s story was brief, because there was little that he could tell -them. He was amazed when he learned that he had been away so long. - -Grace explained to him how White had reached some lookouts on the -range and got them to go in search of him. “How they found you so -soon, I don’t understand. Do you?” - -Hippy shook his head. - -“There are some things in this neck of the woods that are beyond -explaining. I hope they didn’t give Stacy such a wallop as I got. -But don’t worry about him. They can’t keep him long. Stacy will eat -them out of his way. I was easy. He isn’t.” - -Ham White returned at this juncture. - -“We shall probably have another guest to-night, if all goes well,” -he announced. - -“A guest?” wondered the Overlanders. - -“So I am informed; perhaps more than one. Do not ask any questions, -for I can’t answer them. Well, Lieutenant, you had a rough time of -it, didn’t you?” - -“The Germans could not have done anything much worse.” - -“Would you recognize any of the fellows who captured you?” -questioned White. - -“I saw only two, but I shall know them when I see them, and they -will have reason to know me, for—” - -“Hamilton, who are the guests you are expecting?” urged Emma in her -sweetest tone of voice. - -“Sorry, Miss Dean, but I can’t tell you.” - -“Isn’t that just like a man—making a mystery of everything? I -think—” - -“Hello, folks!” cried a voice from the bush. - -The Overlanders fairly jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. - -“Tom! Tom Gray!” cried Grace, running and throwing herself into her -husband’s arms. “How happy I am to see you, you will never know. I -needed you, Tom—we all have needed you, and I think we shall need -you still more. Where did you come from?” - -“Hello, old chap!” cried Hippy jovially. - -The Overlanders crowded around Captain Tom Gray joyously. - -“How are you, White!” greeted Grace’s husband, as soon as he could -free himself from the welcome of Grace, Nora and Emma. “I have been -looking forward to meeting you, and I knew, from what I had heard, -just the sort of man you would be—I mean as to looks,” added Tom, -grinning. “The men on the range are looking forward to seeing -their—” - -A warning look from the guide checked Tom. - -“I will explain later,” whispered the guide. - -“I thank you for sending for me,” bowed Tom, with ready -resourcefulness. “I knew that the need must be urgent or you would -not have done so.” - -“Yes. I have a double responsibility—a moral and a physical one, and -I felt that I had no right to go farther until I had consulted with -Mrs. Gray’s husband. We are heading for trouble, in fact we have -already been having it.” - -“Tell me about it. I know some of the facts, but I want them at -first hand.” - -“Miss Briggs knows the story. I suggest that she relate the story of -her experiences, which will give you the slant I want you to get. I -suppose you know of the kidnapping of Lieutenant Wingate and Stacy -Brown?” asked the guide. - -“The bare facts only. J. Elfreda, you seem to be the pivotal point -on this journey. Grace is holding my hand so tightly that I shall -have to ask her to give me a chance to listen to you,” answered Tom -laughingly. - -Emma offered to demonstrate to give Tom a “chance” to hear the -story. Grace laughed happily. A great load of responsibility and -worry had been lifted from her shoulders. - -“I will be good, J. Elfreda. Please tell Tom everything—everything, -remember. Mr. White, we wish you to sit in,” added Grace, as the -guide discreetly moved away. - -There followed a moment of silence, then Elfreda Briggs began the -story of the fire, of her arrival at the forest cabin, and of the -dramatic occurrences there. She told of the diary, of the loss of -the gold dust, and of the general directions that Sam Petersen had -left for locating the claim, though Elfreda did not say what those -directions were. She thought it advisable not to do so. - -Hippy got up and walked to his tent, returning shortly and standing -with his back to a tree and his hands in his pockets as Miss Briggs -finished her story. - -Grace took up the story from that point, relating all that had -occurred since Elfreda’s experience in the forest shack, but -avoiding what she had learned through her wigwagging about Hamilton -White. - -Tom Gray pondered over the story, stroking his cheek, which Tom -always did when thinking deeply. - -“The Murrays, eh, White?” he questioned, glancing up at the guide. - -Ham White nodded. - -“It looks that way,” replied White. - -“They know about this Lost River story, do you think?” - -“Most everyone does up here. It is an old Indian legend, and -probably has no more foundation in fact than most Indian legends,” -answered the guide. “Mind you, I am not saying that such a place -doesn’t exist. No doubt there are many rich veins in the Cascade -Range yet to be discovered. Petersen evidently believed he had found -it, but he undoubtedly was delirious when he described the spot. He -had been shot, you know.” - -“When he made the entries in his diary he hadn’t been shot,” -retorted Miss Briggs with some warmth. She checked herself sharply. - -“Not having seen the entries I cannot say,” replied White. - -“What puzzles me is what became of the contents of the bag of gold. -Surely the bandit who came back did not take it, for he did not have -the opportunity,” reminded Captain Gray. “What became of it, -Elfreda?” - -“Have a look at this,” spoke up Hippy Wingate, tossing a small -leather pouch of his own into Elfreda’s lap. - -“Wha—what—” gasped the girl. - -“It is the gold you thought had been stolen, and—” - -A peculiar whirring sound checked what Hippy was about to say. The -Overlanders glanced up and saw descending upon them what they took -to be a falling firebrand, with a streamer of light like the tail of -a comet following it. - -“Look out!” shouted Hippy. - -His warning was not necessary, for the Overland Riders had leaped to -their feet and ran for cover. The firebrand hit the ground with a -thud, and as it landed Hamilton White threw a blanket on it, and -himself on the blanket to smother the flame. The guide knew that -there was a meaning in that flaming visitor’s arrival, and he wished -to ascertain it. - -“Oh, Hamilton, what is it?” cried Emma. - -“The flaming arrow!” exclaimed Tom Gray. “That’s an Indian trick. No -white man ever thought of that. What does it mean, White?” - -“Wait!” The guide removed a thin piece of bark that had been bound -to the arrow near its butt, and from under the bark he drew out a -piece of paper. “It is a message,” he announced after peering at the -piece of paper, and then handed it to Tom Gray. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - HIS FATE IN THE BALANCE - - -“It’s a red hot one, I’ll bet!” exclaimed Hippy. - -“Hippy!” admonished Nora. - -“What is it, Tom?” begged Grace, slipping an arm through his. “I -think I know.” - -“You are right, Hippy.” Captain Gray held the slip of paper down so -the feeble light of the fire shone upon it. “It is from Stacy. -Listen: - -“‘Help! I’m in Dutch again. Get me out, quick. They are a lot of -ruf—of fine gentlemen here, but they want something that you’ve got. -If they don’t get it I’m to be shot at sunrise. Oh, wow! They want a -book they say you have, and they want it bad. You are to leave it on -top of the rock by the camp and go away. They want something else, -too—a bag of gold that you or somebody took from that fellow -Petersen. Mebby I’ll see him soon. Do you folks know anything about -the gold? I told them the nearest thing to gold that I’d seen up -here was a sunset the other night. They say the book and the gold -doesn’t belong to you—that one of our party stole it. You folks have -been holding out on me! I’ll be even with you for that. Can’t write -any more ’cause the mail man won’t wait. Hurry, for the love of -Mike! Hurry or I’m a dead one! Wow! Stacy.’” - -“They wouldn’t dare!” cried Nora. - -“Oh, yes they would,” answered Tom. “The Murrays are a desperate -gang. Even if they get what they demand they might put him out of -the way, but it is my opinion that they will simply set him adrift, -in which event we shall find him. How do you communicate, White?” he -asked, turning to the guide. - -“He wigwags,” spoke up Grace; whereat the guide gave her a quick -glance, but the Overland girl’s face told him nothing. - -“Please take your flashlight and see if you can pick up a station -with it, White. If so, tell them where the boy may possibly be and -ask them to send someone after him.” - -“Just a moment, Captain. May I speak with you aside?” - -Tom stepped away from his companions, and he and the guide held a -long whispered conversation. Tom then returned to the others. - -[Illustration: “The Flaming Arrow!”] - -“Mr. White advises against doing as I suggested. He says the rangers -are already looking for Stacy, and that to signal would simply be -putting the bandits on their guard. There are other reasons which he -has given me in confidence. You shall know all about it later on. -Now may I see that diary, Miss Briggs?” - -“Yes, of course. Throw it away if you like. I never want to see the -hateful thing again. What I do think I am entitled to, though, is an -explanation from you, Hippy Wingate. When, where and how did you get -my bag of gold?” - -“Perhaps a good little fairy, knowing my love for the yellow stuff, -dropped it into my mess kit so that I might buy gold plates to use -at meals in place of the luxurious tin plates that I am now using. -How did you get it, J. Elfreda?” - -“Mr. Petersen gave it to me. He said the Murrays knew he had it, and -that it was to be mine for what he was pleased to call my kindness -to him. He gave me the diary at the same time because it held a -supposed clue to Lost Mine and Lost River, a river paved with gold.” - -“I don’t wonder that Stacy accuses us of ‘holding out on him,’” -chuckled Tom Gray. - -“I might, and with very good reason, make the same accusation -against certain persons unmentionable,” retorted Miss Briggs, which -brought a laugh from her companions. - -Tom Gray, in the meantime, had been running over the pages of the -diary, noting every entry made by the old prospector. - -“A leaf has been torn out of here. It looks as if it were lately -torn out. Did you do it?” he asked, addressing Miss Briggs. - -Grace explained that the leaf was torn out when the book was -snatched from her hand one night, of which circumstance she had -already told Tom. - -“What was on it?” - -“We destroyed the leaf,” spoke up Miss Briggs. - -“That wasn’t what I asked you, J. Elfreda. Of course you do not have -to answer if you don’t wish to. I am simply trying to get at the -bottom of this affair as a guide to our immediate actions. It is -very important.” - -Elfreda glanced at Hamilton White. He caught the glance and, -instantly comprehending, stepped back and began poking the fire and -putting on fresh fuel. - -“‘Grandma and the Children—three peaks due east,’” whispered -Elfreda. - -She saw a sudden flash in Tom Gray’s eyes, an expression that -Elfreda was unable to interpret. - -“‘When the sun is at the meridian the sands turn to golden yellow,’” -he quoted from the diary. “This, taken in connection with what you -say was on the torn leaf, is quite enlightening. I think we will -tear out two more pages while we are about it, if you have no -objection.” - -“Go as far as you like, Tom. You may throw the book away if you -wish. It has brought us only bad luck,” said Miss Briggs. - -“I say, White! My suggestion is that we leave this confounded diary -where Stacy directs us to leave it.” - -“And the gold?” - -“Well, that is different. I don’t like the idea of giving gold to -those cutthroats. What is the value of the stuff? Let us look it -over.” - -Tom Gray examined the nuggets, weighed them in his hand, a stone at -a time, and, disregarding the “dust,” closed and secured the bag. -Then he opened it, and weighing out several nuggets again in his -hand, glanced over at Miss Briggs. - -“I should say that there is something more than two thousand -dollars’ worth of nuggets and ‘dirt’ there, of which I hold from -five to seven hundred dollars’ worth in my hand. Elfreda, you -probably will think I have a cold nerve to make the suggestion, but -I propose that we put these nuggets in a bag with the diary and -leave them for the bandits.” - -“What! Give five hundred dollars to a bunch of bandits?” cried Hippy -aghast. “Impossible! Are you crazy?” - -“We may be, at that,” admitted Captain Gray. - -“Say yes. Tom knows what he is doing,” whispered Grace, nudging Miss -Briggs. - -“Of course, Tom,” replied Elfreda promptly. “If you say leave it -all, I’ll say the same. You can’t imagine what a relief it will be -to me to be rid of it.” - -“Thank you. White! A word with you!” - -An earnest conversation followed between Tom Gray and the guide, -following which, Ham White packed his kit, stowed some food in his -bag and brought up his horse. - -“Look here, old top! Where are you going?” demanded Hippy. - -“On business, Lieutenant. The Captain can tell you why. I hope to -see you soon. Good-night and good luck.” With that the guide turned -his horse toward the south, the opposite direction from that which -the Overland Riders were following. They were amazed, and demanded -an explanation. - -“It isn’t safe to say a word,” answered Tom. “I’ll tell you this -much, though. Pack up and be ready to start on a long ride within an -hour. We are heading towards home!” - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - “I’M SHOT!” CRIES EMMA - - -“Home!” cried Nora and Emma in chorus. “No, no, no!” - -“Why go home?” wondered Miss Briggs. “I thought we had just started -on our adventures.” - -“Don’t oppose,” whispered Grace. - -“So that’s the game, is it?” chuckled Hippy, who had been regarding -Tom narrowly, and saw by the expression of Captain Gray’s face that -he had a definite motive in making the announcement that they were -about to head towards home. - -“All right, Grace. He did not say that we are going home,” answered -Miss Briggs in reply to Grace. “I might have known. To leave here -now, with Stacy missing, and our affairs in the air, as it were, -would be unthinkable. I am afraid my brain is becoming addled.” - -“You should demonstrate,” reminded Emma, and Elfreda nodded her -approval of the sentiment. - -Preparations for the departure had already been begun by Captain -Gray, and now Hippy turned in to assist him. Tom soon left to get -his horse, which had been tethered not far from camp. He had refused -to answer questions as to how he found the camp, nor did Grace ask, -but the others did. - -When all was in readiness for leaving, packs lashed, horses saddled, -Tom, taking the diary and the gold, went to the rock and hid the -stuff as the message from Stacy had directed them to do. - -“Mount!” ordered Tom upon his return from planting the book and the -gold, and he doused the fire, making certain that every last spark -was extinguished. He then swung into his saddle and led the way, -heading south, followed silently by the others of the party. They -wondered how, in the darkness, he could find his way, but Tom was -taking the stars as his guides. He was too experienced a forester -not to be able to go in any direction in a forest, day or night, and -go almost unerringly. - -The Overlanders were sleepy and not any too happy. They were -worrying about Stacy, too. There was little conversation because it -was necessary to give all attention to their riding. Riding in a -forest at night is a trying experience, and sometimes a painful one -when one considers the bumps, the collisions of legs against trees, -and the slaps in the face from low-hanging bushes. All this the -Overland party experienced, so their progress was slow. - -They had proceeded about an hour when a distant rifle report was -heard. It seemed to come from the rear. Tom called a halt to listen. -A rattling fire sprang up, and continued for several minutes; then -died out after a few further scattering shots. - -“Can you locate it, Tom?” called Hippy. - -“I should say that the firing is somewhere near the camp we left,” -replied Tom. - -“Oh, how strange,” cried Emma. “Why are they fighting there, and who -is it that is fighting?” - -“Quite possibly it is the bandits fighting over J. Elfreda’s gold,” -suggested Grace as the party, at a command from Tom Gray, moved -forward again. Some time later the leader called back that they were -about to come upon a small watercourse and that they would follow -it. - -“We shall probably find plenty of overhanging bushes, so protect -your faces,” he directed. - -They wondered how he knew that they were near a stream. Tom said he -could smell it. - -“Wonderful scent,” growled Hippy. “Perhaps you can tell us whether -or not the water is wet.” - -“It may be for you if you don’t watch your step,” answered Captain -Gray laughingly. - -They entered the stream a few moments after that, and the going -proved to be even worse than Grace’s husband had predicted. Bushes -hung over the stream and met, forming a bower so low that the riders -had to lean well forward to protect their faces from being -continuously whipped. Not alone that, but the horses were constantly -slipping on moss-covered stones, threatening at every moment to -unhorse their riders. - -Emma wailed her protests ere they had proceeded far, but Tom said -they must take their medicine and be good sports. - -“I don’t want to be a sport,” complained Emma. “I want to sleep.” - -“Demonstrate over it,” advised Lieutenant Wingate. - -It was just before daylight when Tom headed out of the stream -through a narrow defile in the rocks, finally coming to a halt on a -level piece of ground of about three acres, surrounded on all sides -by mountain forests. - -The Overlanders could not see their surroundings clearly, but got a -general idea of them, and immediately begged their leader to let -them dismount for a rest and for a bite to eat. - -“All right! Go to it,” cried Tom Gray, setting them the example by -dismounting and removing the saddle from his horse. - -As the day began to dawn, the girls gazed interestedly at the -terraced forest, at the green carpet of mountain meadowland that lay -at their feet through which flowed a sparkling stream of water, then -up at the dawning day. It was then that Grace made a discovery. - -“Why, Tom, we have been traveling north, not south!” she exclaimed. - -“Too true, Loyalheart,” answered Captain Gray with a jolly note in -his voice. - -“Then we are not on our way home?” cried Nora. - -“No. We are going on into the Cascades, in the foothills of which we -now are. We are going to find Stacy, and then—perhaps we shall find -something else. First, folks, we shall have to meet and reckon with -the bandits of the range. They are determined that we shall not make -a move that they do not check.” - -“Do—do you think they are watching us now, Tom?” begged Emma with -concern. - -“Possibly, but I rather think they are fully occupied at present. I -will let you into a secret. The purpose of leaving Elfreda’s gold -and the old prospector’s diary was to trap the bandits and attack -them.” - -“Who will attack them?” Elfreda asked. - -“Certain officers of the law who were lying in wait about the camp -even before you left there. It was a battle on our campground that -you heard—a battle between the officers and the bandits of the -range. We will now get breakfast and have forty winks of sleep, -provided we are not interrupted.” - -Sleep was welcome, even more so than breakfast. The meal was quickly -disposed of and the Overlanders lay down with their clothes on, Tom -advising them to be ready to move at an instant’s notice. - -They had not been asleep long ere the crash of a rifle brought all -members of the party to their feet. - -“Lie down and stay down!” commanded Captain Gray, setting the -example by throwing himself to the ground. Tom knew what the others -did not—that a rifle bullet had sped low over the spot occupied by -the Overlanders. - -Then came a heavy scattering fire from two sides of the mountain -meadow, and now they could plainly hear the bullets singing -overhead. - -Frightened, Emma Dean sprang up to run to the cover of the trees and -as she ran they saw her throw up her hands. - -“I’m hit! Oh, I’m shot!” she cried, and pitched forward in the deep -meadow grass. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - STACY SEEKS A CHANGE - - -When Stacy Brown awakened from the sleep into which his captors had -put him, he was lying across the back of a horse. - -At first the fat boy didn’t know what had occurred; then he recalled -that there had been a struggle in his tent and that a hand on his -throat had nearly choked him to death. A few seconds after that he -lost consciousness. And now he was being carried away on horseback. -“Let me up! Let me up!” he shouted. - -A prod from a heavy boot caused him to utter a loud howl. - -“Shut up!” commanded the man behind him in the saddle on the same -horse. - -“Le—let me up and I will. I’ll yell all the way if you don’t,” -persisted Stacy. - -The boy’s hands were bound to his sides, and his ankles were tied -together. - -For reasons of his own, the rider halted the horse and dismounted. -He then released the boy’s ankles, and slightly loosened the leather -thongs that hound his arms, but there he stopped. - -“Aren’t you going to untie me?” demanded Stacy. - -“Hold your tongue. You’ll be lucky if I don’t clout you over the -head. You hang onto me now. If you try any tricks I’ll finish you -with a bullet between the eyes.” - -“Oh, wow!” wailed the fat boy. “Where you going to take me?” - -“None of your business! Is it any of your business?” The fellow -thrust the muzzle of a revolver into Stacy’s face. - -“N—n—n—no! It isn’t any of my business,” chattered the boy. He was -thrown astride the horse; then his captor mounted in front of him, -and Stacy clung to the fellow’s shirt with the tips of his fingers. - -It was an awful ride, Stacy slipping from side to side with each -gallop of the mount, the perspiration streaming down his face from -his efforts and the nervous strain. - -The ride continued for what seemed hours; then the horseman having -halted uttered a sharp, short whistle, which, being answered, he -rode ahead. Two men with rifles loomed out of the darkness and -peered up at the riders. - -“Got him?” - -“Yes. Where’s the other one?” - -“In the shack. We don’t want to put this one there. They mustn’t get -close enough together to talk. We’ll put him in the trough.” - -_The trough!_ Stacy began having visions of a ducking in cold -mountain water, which thought made him shiver. He was forcibly -removed from the horse and made to walk, with a cold hand at the -back of his neck. He was taken but a short distance from the horse, -then, after his feet had been tied and the arm bonds tightened, -Chunky was rolled into what, at home, would have been called a -ditch. Here, it was a narrow channel that had been cut through the -rocks by water. This was the “trough,” and Stacy was left alone -there, while his captors walked away. - -It was not long after their departure that he heard excited voices. -They were hurrying towards him. - -“Hey, you feller there!” - -“Well, what do you want?” growled the boy in the “trough.” - -“He’s all right. I hope the boys kotch the rest of ’em. Don’t make -no difference whether it’s dead or alive so long as we’ve got two of -’em.” - -Stacy pricked up his ears at this. He wondered to whom they -referred. - -“Come out of that!” ordered one of the men. - -“I can’t fall up. Take me out if you want me.” - -Stacy was yanked from the “trough” with far from gentle hands, his -bonds were removed, and he was permitted to walk, guarded by the -men. Some little distance from the “trough” they rounded a rock and -came upon a small campfire, near which sat two other men, and rough, -hard-faced men they were. They eyed him with menacing eyes. Stacy -did not like the looks of them. - -“Who be ye?” demanded one of the two by the fire. - -“Name’s Brown. Who are you?” - -“What you doing up in these woods?” - -“Riding for my health, but it’s the most unhealthy place I ever got -into.” - -“Know anything ’bout a diary that a fellow named Petersen—a hoss -thief—got robbed of by one of your party?” - -“My party never robbed anybody,” objected Stacy indignantly. - -“Shut up! Answer me.” - -“How can I answer you and shut up at the same time?” - -The man addressed sprang up and struck the fat boy with the flat of -his hand and Stacy toppled over. - -“You’re a coward! A miserable sneak—” - -_Whack!_ A second slap laid the boy flat on the ground again. He got -up, red of face and raging within. - -“If I had a gun you wouldn’t dare do that, you ruffian!” - -“Here’s a gun,” answered the bandit, thrusting a revolver towards -the Overland boy. - -Stacy shrugged his shoulders, but did not take the weapon. - -“I—I don’t like to hurt anyone. I—I—I have an aversion to taking -human life, and if I were to take that weapon I’m afraid I might -forget myself and shoot someone,” stammered the fat boy. - -The bandits laughed. - -“Called your bluff, didn’t I?” sneered the fellow. - -“No. I said if I had a gun you wouldn’t dare do that. Not having a -gun I suppose you can do as you like—this time.” - -“Sit down thar. I want you to write a letter to your folks back -there and tell them that they got to leave the book that one of ’em -stole from Petersen, and the bag of gold, too, under a stone on top -of the rock behind the camp, and then git out.” - -“You mean that I can go then—after I have written the note?” -questioned the boy with a hopeful note in his voice. - -“I didn’t say nothing of the kind.” - -“Then I won’t write it!” declared Stacy with emphasis. - -Another whack from the bandit’s ham-like paw sent the boy -staggering. - -“Listen, young feller. This ain’t no joke. Whether or not you go -back at all ain’t worrying me, but I’ll tell you this much. You -write that letter and say in it that if your folks don’t do as you -tell them to, we’re going to shoot you to-morrow. Mebby we’ll do it -anyway, and that’s what’s coming to you if you don’t write. Will you -write the letter?” - -“I’ll write it,” agreed the fat boy. “Give me something to write -with.” Stacy labored over that letter, and his forehead and face -were wet with perspiration while he was doing it. If he failed to -convey the message, he believed the bandits really would make way -with him, and if the Overlanders did not obey the order of the -bandits, he was positive the bandits would carry out their threat. -For these reasons Stacy Brown took more care in composing that -letter than he had ever done before in writing a letter. - -It was this message that, some time later, landed in the camp of the -Overlanders on the flaming arrow, shot to them by a half-breed -Indian. - -“Read it,” commanded the bandit. - -Stacy did, whereupon the bandits with heads close together read it -over laboriously, one holding the message close to the fire for -better light. The one who appeared to be the leader handed it to a -companion. - -“See that the ‘squaw-man’ pushes that through by the air road,” he -ordered. “It’s got to go through in a hurry or somebody’ll suffer. -Git!” - -“Cap’n!” cried a voice, and a man dashed around the corner of the -rock that protected the bandits. “He’s gone! He’s vamoosed. Don’t -know how, but some varmint cut the ropes and let him out.” - -“Gone! Go after him, men! What are you standing ’round here for? Get -him, dead or alive! Nail that boy first! Never mind, I’ll do it. -I’ll—!” The bandit paused suddenly and a blank look appeared on his -face. “Whe—whe—where is he?” - -Stacy Brown was not there. He had taken advantage of the -interruption, and bounded away. - -“You need a change, Stacy Brown, and you’re going to have it, if -your legs hold out,” growled the boy as he bounded away into the -forest. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - A STRANGE VISITOR - - -“Emma’s hit!” wailed Nora, as the girls sprang up at Emma Dean’s cry -and the tumble that they saw her take. - -“Get down!” commanded Tom Gray. “You’ll be hit.” - -Not one of the three girls gave heed to his warning. Elfreda, Grace -and Nora ran to the spot at which they had seen Emma pitch forward. - -Elfreda was the first to reach her. Emma lay moaning, both hands -pressed to her right cheek. - -“Where were you hit, dear?” questioned Miss Briggs with no trace of -excitement in her voice. - -“In my cheek. I thi—think the bullet went clear through.” - -“If it had you wouldn’t be talking to me now. Take your hand away, -please,” directed Elfreda. - -Emma would not do so, so Grace stretched forth a hand and forcibly -removed Emma’s hand from her face. A red blotch on the cheek with a -small white center were the only indications that something really -had hit the girl. Elfreda examined the spot, and a smile rippled -over her face. - -“You poor child! No bullet even grazed you, but something did sting -you,” announced Elfreda. “I think it is a bee sting. Did you feel -stings anywhere else?” - -“Yes. On the other cheek, but not so bad there,” gasped Emma. -“That’s why I thought the bullet had gone through.” - -“This is one instance in your life when you should have -demonstrated,” declared Miss Briggs. “You see how easy it is to -imagine things, and suffer because you imagine.” - -Emma sat up and smiled. - -The shooting was still going on from the borders of the meadow, -though the firing was not so rapid as before, both sides apparently -sparing their ammunition, but enough shots were being fired to make -it most uncomfortable for the Overlanders who were directly in line -of the firing between the two opposing forces. - -Tom joined the girls and led them to a safer place behind some huge -boulders, where he sternly ordered them to remain until he gave them -permission to change positions. Tom, rifle in hand, then crept out -to a place where he could get a better view of what was going on. As -he reached a point of vantage a double blast of fire overhead -greeted him; then the firing ceased altogether. - -It was then that the Overlander discovered a man creeping around the -far end of the meadow. Then he saw another man creeping out from the -opposite side of the field, and realized that the two men were -stalking each other. - -“Keep low, girls!” he called softly. “Something is coming off here -if I’m not mistaken.” - -Instead of keeping low four heads quickly bobbed up from behind the -boulders. At first the girls saw nothing unusual; then they -discovered what Tom had just seen. They could see both men at -intervals as the men’s heads came up. - -“Girls!” Grace snatched her field glasses and directed them at the -creeping man on their side of the meadow. - -“Wha—what is it?” cried Nora. - -“The Peanut Man—it’s Jim Haley! There—see!” She passed her glasses -to Elfreda who took a long look. - -“You are right, Grace. What does it mean?” - -“That we have friends here, J. Elfreda, but I fear something -terrible is going to happen. Look!” - -The two men had seen each other as their heads were cautiously -raised above the tall grass, and both exchanged shots with their -revolvers at identically the same second. Then they both ducked back -to the protection of the meadow grass. - -Jim Haley was on his feet a few seconds later. - -“Come out, you sneaking cur!” he shouted. “Stand up like a man!” - -The taunt was too much for Haley’s adversary. The fellow leaped to -his feet, and, as he leaped, he fired. So did Haley. Neither scored, -and, so far as the Overlanders could observe, not a human being -except themselves saw the duel that was being fought out there in -the meadow. Haley’s adversary ducked, and the Overlanders saw what -his strategy was. A slight waving of the grass told them that the -fellow was crawling to the left. They did not know whether or not -Haley saw that. - -A moment or so later the man again sprang up and fired, but the -Peanut Man had not been deceived. His revolver banged so quickly -that the watchers could not tell which man fired first. - -“Good for Jim Haley!” cried Tom Gray. - -“Don’t!” admonished Grace. “Tom, don’t forget that this may end in a -tragedy.” - -“That’s what it is going to end in—perhaps more than one tragedy. -When Haley and the other fellow wind up you will see more lively -work, and—” - -“Hippy! Oh, where is my Hippy?” cried Nora. - -“Don’t worry. He has gone to join some of the men who are backing -Haley,” replied Tom. - -Neither Haley nor his opponent ducked after that and to the Overland -girls, terrible as it was, it was a wonderful thing to see the two -men standing up in the meadow shooting at each other as calmly as -though they were firing at targets. - -Emma Dean’s face was pale, and her whole body was trembling with -excitement. - -A little cry from one of the girls greeted a new move on the part of -Haley’s antagonist. The fellow suddenly whipped out another -revolver, and began shooting with both guns at the same time. - -Jim Haley demonstrated that he, too, could do that, and he did, and -the bullets flew thick and fast. Then suddenly they saw Haley’s -enemy spin half way around. - -“He’s hit!” cried Nora. - -The man was hit, and Haley held his fire. But the Peanut Man’s -adversary came back with two more shots, both of which grazed -Haley’s body. Then, like a flash, Jim Haley fired two shots at the -same instant. His adversary turned slowly and then pitched sideways -to the ground. - -Haley himself went down almost as suddenly, the difference being -that Haley was not hurt, but he knew what to expect after his -adversary had fallen seriously wounded. - -The crash of rifles was heard on the opposite side of the meadow, -but there was no reply from the Overland side. - -“Where are they? Oh, where are Hippy and the people he is with?” -cried Nora. - -“I think they are on the other side of the meadow among the trees, -creeping toward their enemies,” answered Grace Harlowe. “Two parties -are shooting over on that side now.” - -“Yes,” answered Tom. “You have it right, Grace. The Peanut Man -offered himself as a possible sacrifice to enable his companions to -work around to the other side of the meadow and attack the enemy on -their own ground.” - -“But where is Mr. Haley? Are you sure that he wasn’t hit?” begged -Emma. - -“No. I could see by the way he went down that it was to avoid the -volley that he knew would be fired at him,” Tom informed them. -“Girls, I am in hopes that this morning’s work may mark the finish -of the job that certain men have been sent up here to accomplish.” - -“I don’t understand,” said Elfreda, interested at once. - -“You will later,” was Captain Gray’s noncommittal answer. - -“Should we move from here, Tom?” questioned Grace a little -apprehensively. “The firing has stopped.” - -“No. We must wait here. That is the arrangement, no matter which way -the fight goes. We must be on our guard, so get your rifles and sit -down behind the boulders, while I keep watch here.” - -The Overland party obeyed, but not willingly. They had come out from -their hiding place to watch the duel, and preferred not to miss -further operations, but Tom was insistent. - -It was well past noon when a loud hello brought the girls to their -feet. The call was uttered by Hippy. - -“I had an awful time getting here without crossing the meadow. I -didn’t know what I might run into out there, so I came around -through the forest, and it was mighty rough going. Got anything -loose around here?” he demanded. - -“Saddle rations; that is all,” replied Grace. “Help yourself to -whatever you can find.” - -“Oh, Hippy, have you seen anything of Hamilton?” begged Emma -anxiously. - -“Yes. Why?” - -“Is—is he all right?” - -“He was beating up Hawk Murray with his fists and doing it -beautifully, the last I saw of him,” answered Hippy. “Never saw a -fellow with a better punch than ‘Hamilton,’ as you call him, has.” - -“Hippy, what about the man out there in the meadow?” asked Miss -Briggs. “I am going out there. He may not be dead, and it is inhuman -to leave him there to suffer, even if he is an enemy. Who is he? Do -you know, Hippy?” - -“Yes. That fellow is Two-gun Murray, the slickest man with a -revolver that ever hunched a shoulder, and you will please stay away -from him.” - -“Tom,” said Grace, laying a hand on her husband’s arm, “I wish -someone would go out there. Perhaps it isn’t wise that any of us -girls should do so, but we are not afraid, if you will permit. -Please!” - -“Come along, Hippy. I guess it is up to us,” urged Captain Gray. - -Hippy protested that he must have food, but Nora promised that, if -he would go out, she would have a nice meal ready for him when he -returned, so the two men, with drawn revolvers, walked out -cautiously to the spot where the mountain bandit had fallen. He was -not at the exact spot where he had fallen, but they had no -difficulty in following the trail which he had left. - -They found Two-gun alive, but unconscious, and a few moments later -they were on their way back to camp, carrying the heavy burden. The -Overland girls, knowing that the man was still alive because Tom and -Hippy were carrying him so carefully, were ready with water, -bandages and antiseptics, to give first aid. - -“Where is he hit?” was Elfreda’s first question. - -“Both shoulders,” answered Tom briefly. - -Grace and Elfreda began working on the bandit immediately, and in -half an hour he regained consciousness. The girls found that Two-gun -was seriously wounded, both bullets having gone through him. They -said that he should be taken to some place where surgical aid might -be had, but Tom said that was impossible. All that could be done had -been done. Further, he said that men of his type were fairly well -used to being shot up. No vital spot had been hit and both Tom and -Hippy were of the opinion that Two-gun would live to spend at least -a few years in prison. This bandit, however, probably had never -before enjoyed the really tender treatment such as the girls were -giving him. He followed Elfreda’s every movement with his eyes. - -“I—I didn’t tell on you—about the saddle and the hoss,” he said -weakly. - -“I know it,” answered Miss Briggs. “That is one reason why I am -trying to take good care of you. But you must be quiet and conserve -your strength.” - -“Who was the fellow that got me?” demanded Two-gun. - -“That I cannot tell you, Mr. Murray,” replied Elfreda. - -“He was some handy with the gun, I’ll say, Miss.” - -Elfreda moved away from Two-gun, and asked anxiously if any word had -been had of Stacy. None had. She then suggested to Tom that the -wounded bandit might be able to give them information that would -lead to finding Stacy, so Tom asked Two-gun if he knew of Stacy’s -whereabouts. The bandit shook his head. He said he knew that two -members of the Overland party had been captured, but that he had not -learned what had become of the prisoners. - -“There is one of them,” Captain Gray informed him, pointing to -Hippy. “Were both men taken to the same place?” - -“They might have been,” was the reply, and that was all that could -be elicited from Two-gun Murray. - -There was nothing now to be done save to wait until the men, who had -tricked the bandits and saved the Overlanders from probable serious -consequences, advised them what to do; so the party made themselves -as comfortable as possible, sleeping part of the time and taking -turns at watching the camp and Two-gun Murray. - -At night their vigil was redoubled, for none knew how many of -Two-gun’s companions were at large. They knew that some had been -captured, as Hippy Wingate had told them so, and that Ham White had -had a fist fight with Hawk Murray, the leader of the band of -marauders that had terrified the entire Cascade Range. - -It was well after midnight when the camp was hailed. Tom answered -the hail. - -“Come forward with your hands up and identify yourself,” he ordered. - -“Yeow!” howled a voice that brought every member of the Overland -party to his feet. - -“Stacy!” shouted the Overlanders. - -“Wha—what!” exclaimed Tom Gray as an Indian loped into camp, a rifle -in his hand, which he kept pointed in the direction of Captain Gray. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - A THRILLING DISCOVERY - - -“Me Cat-foot Charlie. Me come!” - -“Yes. He’s the cat and I’m the foot,” answered another voice, and -Stacy Brown strolled into camp with his chest thrown out. “I’ve been -captured, sentenced to death, and, being the foot, I did some fast -footwork, and here I am. Old chap Pussy here found me and brought me -back. Oh, no, I wasn’t lost. I never know where I am, anyway. He -showed me the way. Who—” - -“Our sweet dreams of peace are now at an end,” complained Emma. - -Stacy did not heed her words nor the congratulations of his -companions who were happier than words could express to have him -with them again. The fat boy was interested in the man who lay by -the fire. - -“Who’s that?” he demanded. - -“His name is Murray,” answered Lieutenant Wingate. “He and Jim Haley -fought a duel to-day, and Two-gun—that is the man’s name—got a bit -the worst of it.” - -“Two-gun Murray! Hey, you! I’m wise to you. You’re the fellow that -stole my fish—the same person that I clouted over the head. You say -he is wounded, Uncle Hip?” - -“Yes, seriously so.” - -“Think it would do much harm if I were to give him another wallop -over the head—just for luck, you know?” - -“Stacy!” Tom Gray’s voice was stern. “Get away from that man and let -him alone!” - -“Oh, all right, but I would like to give him just one clout. It’s -coming to him.” - -Captain Gray took firm hold of the fat boy’s collar and projected -him to some distance from the wounded man. - -“Cat-foot, have you word for me?” demanded Tom. - -The Indian grunted and handed Tom a message. It was from Hamilton -White, and the smile that lighted up the captain’s face as he read -it, told the Overland Riders that it contained good news. - -“We are to move as soon as we can pack up,” announced Tom. “Cat-foot -will accompany us.” That was all Captain Gray would say. - -Emma, whose curiosity was proverbial, pouted and complained that -every one of the party seemed to think it smart to make a mystery of -everything. - -After offering the Indian food, which he refused and sat down by -himself, the Overlanders quizzed Stacy about what had happened to -him. Stacy told what he knew of his capture, and of the incidents -that followed. In the course of the conversation it developed that -Cat-foot Charlie had been sent to pick up the fat boy’s trail and -follow it until he found him. Hamilton White had brought that about. - -Cat-foot had gone to the scene of Hippy’s imprisonment and from -there soon found Stacy’s trail. This was made the easier because he -had eavesdropped on two of the bandits and learned how Stacy got -away. - -“Fat boy, him run like Indian chased by bad spirits,” announced the -Indian when asked about the chase. - -Stacy, it developed, discovered that the Indian was chasing him, and -from that moment on it was a race, the frightened Overlander making -top speed to drop his pursuer. The race ended when Cat-foot finally -overtook him, leaped on the boy’s back, and held him until he had -explained what he wanted. Stacy’s courage thereupon returned. - -“Our fallen hero,” observed Emma when the tale was finished. - -“Yes, but I didn’t get shot,” retorted Stacy. - -The Overlanders laughed heartily at Stacy’s retort, for it was a rap -at Emma, though the boy did not know it. He laughed with them just -the same. - -“Where are we going?” Nora wanted to know. - -“Northwest,” answered Tom briefly. “You will know all about it -within twenty-four hours. The question is, what are we to do with -our wounded man. We surely can’t leave him here. Cat-foot, do you -know this fellow?” - -“Me know.” - -“What do you think we had better do with him?” - -“Shoot um!” was the prompt reply of the Indian. - -“Pussy, you are a man of rare judgment,” complimented Stacy, -grinning at the Indian. - -“It is what one would expect from one savage to another,” murmured -Emma. - -“What did the Chief say about it?” demanded Tom. “I mean Mr. White.” - -“Chief say me stay. Men come git Two-gun.” - -“Why do you call Hamilton the Chief?” wondered Emma. - -“How many of the bandits did they get?” questioned Tom, ignoring -Emma’s inquiry. - -“Not know.” - -“Very well, I will turn Two-gun over to you, but, Cat-foot, if you -do one little thing to disturb that man you will have to answer to -me. When he asks for a drink, give it to him and say nothing—say -nothing at all to him at any time unless he wants something. You -also will be held responsible for his not getting away, and after -the men take him, unless you get different orders from the Chief, -you will come to us at Three-Mile Pass. That’s all, except that we -will leave food for you and Two-gun.” - -At Tom’s direction all hands began packing, making ready for another -night journey. Stacy complained bitterly, saying he hadn’t had a -night’s sleep in so long that his eyelids hung down over his cheeks. - -“Where are we going, anyway?” he wanted to know. - -“Three-Mile Pass, you heard me say. Do you know where that is?” -returned Captain Gray. - -“No. Do you?” - -Tom said he had a fair idea of its location. Though tired and -somewhat nervous, the Overland girls prepared for the journey with -their usual cheerfulness, and were under way in an hour. Tom -selected an unsuspected pass as the route from the meadow, and the -riders were soon swallowed up in its deep gloom. It seemed as though -night had poured the blackest of her coloring into this pass, but -the trail was fairly smooth and one could not stray from it without -bumping into the rocks. - -No halt was made until daylight. Then the party stopped for -breakfast, and, while there, horses were heard approaching. The -girls were startled, and looked to Tom for orders, but Captain Gray -merely smiled. - -“Don’t worry; only some guests for breakfast,” he said. - -“It’s Hamilton!” cried Emma Dean, as two horsemen rode into sight. - -“And the Peanut Man,” added Nora joyously. - -“Put over a fresh pot of coffee,” suggested Grace. “They look tired, -and goodness knows one, at least, has a right to be tired.” - -“Peanuts, peanuts, ladies and gentlemen!” called Jim Haley. “The -International product has reached to the utmost limits of the -Cascades already, and will soon be over the border. Howdy, folks!” - -It was a real welcome that the Overlanders gave the two men. Elfreda -and Grace were studying the face of Haley, with the same thought in -the mind of each. Could this carefree, temperamental Haley be the -Haley that they had seen facing the bandit gunman calmly, never -flinching under the bandit’s fire, and in the end downing his man? -It did not seem possible. - -“How did you make out with your patient?” he asked, his face -suddenly assuming a grave expression as he shook hands with Miss -Briggs. - -“His wounds were serious, but, if he is not neglected, I think he -will pull through.” - -“He will not be neglected where he is going,” was the significant -reply. “The officers have taken him away from your last camp by now, -so don’t worry. After a snack we will have a talk all around.” - -The breakfast from then on was a happy reunion, and even Elfreda -Briggs forgot to be distant towards Hamilton White. Emma managed to -sit beside him, her face wearing a most devoted look. - -When the dishes had been put away, the party settled down to talk -over their experiences, and after a little Tom Gray cleared his -throat and announced that he had something to say. - -“You Overlanders have accused some of us of all the time making a -mystery of everything. While clearing myself, there are others -present whom I wish to clear of any suspicion of doing other than -their duty. - -“Here are the facts: When I came up here with my wife and her party, -I was supposed to come as a forester, but as a matter of fact I came -on quite another mission. For a long time tourists and others have -been preyed upon by mountain bandits, the Guerrillas of the -Cascades, as some call them. As a forester here for a survey it was -thought that I might get a line, so to speak, on the gang and its -lair without them suspecting me. I did that to a certain extent. -Then, too, there was a famous government forester who came to -Washington State on the same mission. He thought he could best look -over the ground by joining out with a party of tourists, and he was -unfortunate enough to fall in with the Overland Riders. That man -knew these forests and mountains, and, after finishing this -particular mission, he is to be the chief of the foresters, which, -in fact, he is already.” - -“Hamilton White!” cried Nora. - -Tom Gray nodded. - -“And he has done his work well. In addition to that he has been a -wonderful guide and a delightful companion to you folks.” - -“Even if he did deceive us,” said Elfreda. - -“Not all of us,” spoke up Grace, who then told of the wigwagging -incident when she learned that he was the chief of the foresters -through doing some signaling on her own account. - -Ham White laughed heartily. - -“I suspected something of the sort,” he added with a chuckle. - -“To continue my story,” resumed Captain Gray, “another man came to -us sailing under false colors, if you wish to call it that. This man -proposed that the Overlanders be used as a decoy to lure the bandits -on, knowing that the ruffians believed one of our party possessed -the key to Sam Petersen’s gold find. Ham White objected to -subjecting us to peril, but when the newcomer showed him orders from -the Washington authorities directing White to coöperate fully with -him and carry out his orders, White was obliged to obey.” - -The eyes of the Overland Riders turned toward Jim Haley, who -actually grew rosy under their accusing gaze. - -“Don’t look at me that way. I confess, but you shall have your -peanuts just the same,” he promised laughingly. - -“Folks, know Jim Haley, chief of the special agents,” introduced -Tom. “Between White and Haley the entire band of guerrillas, with -one exception, has been rounded up. Some are on their way to stand -trial, others are being conveyed to a hospital to be treated for -their wounds, and two are dead. They have spied on this party, -watched their every move ever since they came into the Washington -forests, and especially so since Sam Petersen died from a gunshot -wound inflicted by one of the Murrays.” - -“How perfectly thrilling!” breathed Emma Dean. - -“The big round-up came yesterday when the bandits were preparing to -make a mass attack on our camp, but Haley outwitted them. They did -not know that a body of forest rangers and sheriff’s deputies were -secreted on your side of the meadow, ready not only to defend you, -but to capture the ruffians who were about to try to take you and -force information from you. It was Haley who, as you know, went out -to meet Two-gun Murray, and beat him in a standup gun duel,” said -Tom. - -“Captain! Please talk about the weather,” begged Haley amid -laughter. - -“They didn’t find out about the gold mine after all, did they?” -chuckled Hippy. “Say, Haley, I know you, you old rascal! You’re the -fellow with a cold who rescued me from the bandits,” he accused, and -Haley agreed with a nod. - -“Speaking of gold, Hippy Wingate,” spoke up Elfreda Briggs, “I think -I am entitled to an explanation. How did you chance to have my bag -of gold in your possession?” - -“Ham White gave it to me, and told me to hang onto it—that it wasn’t -safe for you to carry it around.” - -“Indeed!” - -“I took it from the bunk where Petersen lay, before you came in the -shack that day. I expected that the gang would return, so I scraped -up some pebbles and substituted them for the gold, replacing the -canvas bag where I found it,” explained Ham White. - -“Was it you who exchanged shots with Two-gun Murray that day?” she -asked. - -Ham nodded, and Elfreda bent an accusing glance on Stacy Brown. - -“Well, I saved you from that ruffian, didn’t I?” protested the fat -boy. - -“Yes, Stacy, and I forgive you for trying to make me think you had -suffered the bandit to shoot at you while you lay behind a bush,” -smiled Elfreda. - -“Not if my legs were in good working order. I wouldn’t lie behind -any bush or anything else and let a sure-thing gunman blaze away at -me,” declared Stacy Brown with an earnestness that raised a merry -peal of laughter. - -“Time to break camp,” announced Tom Gray. “We can chatter after we -have made a new camp, which will not be many miles from here.” - -“Where are we bound for?” asked Hippy. - -“Three Mile Pass.” Captain Gray’s face wore a broad smile, and -Grace, knowing him so well, regarded him suspiciously. - -“Tom has something up his sleeve,” Grace confided in Elfreda. - -“They all have,” observed Miss Briggs. “These honest men who have -opened their hearts to us have not yet opened the aforesaid hearts -far enough.” - -“Boots and saddles!” cried Hippy, and the Overland Riders with their -guests took to their mounts. It was a happy ride that morning; the -air was cool, birds were twittering, and Hippy was trying to sing, -his efforts in that direction raising a perfect storm of protest. - -No stop was made, except now and then to water the horses, until -nearly noon. Then they halted, apparently for no cause at all, the -visitors and Tom Gray fussing with saddle girths, all the time -regarded narrowly by Grace and Elfreda. - -At last they started on through a rapidly broadening pass, following -the dry course of a mountain stream. The sunlight flooded the pass -as their trail bore more to the right, and at the turn Tom Gray held -up his hand, a signal to halt. - -“Oh, look at the Old Lady of the Mountain!” yelled Stacy. “Yes, -she’s got a kid on either side of her. Ha, ha, ha!” he laughed. - -“Elfreda!” Grace gripped the arm of her companion. “‘Lost -River—Grandma and the Children—Three Peaks dead east.’ Look! There -are the peaks. The sun is at the meridian. Oh, Elfreda!” - -“And look—the yellow sands of Lost River. Oh, Grace! If it should be -only a dream I’d faint, after all I have been through to get here. -See! The old lady’s face is black as ink, just as that poor, unhappy -old prospector said it was.” - -“Children, do you know where you are?” called Captain Gray, none of -the party having heard the exclamations of Grace and Elfreda. - -“Yes, Tom Gray. I am sitting on my gold mine,” answered Miss Briggs, -trying to control her voice and keep her elation out of it. - -“Why, Elfreda! I thought you did not want a gold mine—that you -wished to hear nothing more about the hateful subject,” chided -Grace. - -“I think I—I have the fever, and—” confessed Elfreda. - -“You are in fact sitting on your gold mine. When I learned that Lost -River was at the feet of Grandma and the Children, with Three Peaks -dead east, I recognized the description instantly, for I had been -here, and was impressed with the odd formations to be seen here,” -said Captain Gray. “You will recall the words of the old prospector -in the diary and on the sheet on which you wrote down what he told -you. I was here trying to locate the headquarters of the Murrays, -and, for your information, we are less than half a mile from the -lair of the Guerrillas of the Cascades—the Murrays. Such is the -irony of fate,” added Tom. - -“Gold! Hooray!” yelled Stacy, tossing his hat into the air. “I hope -it doesn’t turn out to be iron.” - -“Please don’t get excited,” admonished Grace. “We are not certain -that there is any gold here.” - -“Any gold here?” answered Tom. “Ham, tell them what you know.” - -“Mrs. Gray, when I left you so mysteriously I came up here at -Captain Gray’s direction to make a thorough survey—to find out, if -possible, if Petersen’s was an idle dream or the real thing. It was -real! I have already panned enough of the sand of Lost River through -my fingers to make a fair meal ticket for this party. It is true -that we have not found the real vein, but we know it cannot be far -from here, and we are going to search for it.” - -“Say! Whose gold mine is this?” demanded Lieutenant Hippy Wingate. - -“Whose? Why, Miss Briggs’, of course,” answered Ham White. “I have -sent a trusty ranger to Seattle to file her claim, which we have -staked out broadly, and we are in hopes that it may take in the -mother lode. In any event, we are on the ground, and we will broaden -our claim so that you may be protected. Am I forgiven for all the -deception I have practiced on you and Miss Briggs and the others?” -asked White, addressing Grace. - -“It is for us to ask your pardon, Mr. White, for suspecting that you -were not what you seemed, or so it seemed to us at one time.” - -Stacy had leaped from his horse and was digging feverishly in the -sands of Lost River. - -“I got one! Whoopee!” he howled, holding up a “nugget” nearly as big -as an egg. - -Hippy snatched the “nugget” from him and turned it over in his hand, -then broke into uproarious laughter. - -“Why, you simp! That’s not a nugget, it is merely a piece of quartz. -Dig some more, Chunky.” - -“I suggest that we do not lose our heads, and that we make camp and -behave,” cried Grace. - -The Overlanders agreed, and in the happiest frame of mind they -dismounted and pitched their camp, after which they walked over the -claim with Tom, Mr. White and Haley as guides. On the way up the -channel of the dry stream Nora picked up three small nuggets of real -gold. - -“The luck of the Irish, me darlin’,” cried Nora, playfully patting -Hippy on the cheek. - -“I wish it understood,” announced Elfreda after their return to -camp, “that this is not Elfreda Briggs’ claim, but the Overland -Riders’ claim.” - -“Too late,” answered Tom. “Your claim will be filed before you or -anyone else can stop it.” - -“I will see about that,” murmured Elfreda. - -That evening, by the campfire, the members of the party discussed -their good fortune, and made plans for the future. - -Busy days followed, some of the party panning the sands of Lost -River for gold, and finding enough to arouse them to a high pitch of -excitement. There was no thought of continuing the journey, for -there was work to be done where they were. A mining expert had been -sent for, and his investigations were still in progress five weeks -later when Grace asked Tom to take her home. - -Jim Haley had not remained long with them, for he, too, had work to -do in connection with evidence against the captured bandits. - -The others of the party decided that they would return with Grace, -but Ham White, at Miss Briggs’ request, together with three former -forest rangers, remained on the claim to guard and work it, and -assist in locating, if possible, the rich vein that all believed -could not be far away. - -“You are all coming to see us next winter at Haven Home,” reminded -Grace on the morning of their departure for Cresco, where they were -to board a train for the east—and Home! “It probably will be along -about Christmas time, that being the most joyous season for old -friends to get together, and we will have a Christmas tree and -everything,” she added, laughing. - -Good byes were said and the Overland Riders retraced their trail, -the last journey that, as a body, they probably ever would take. A -week later found them at their homes. Each had his own life to lead -now, for the years were drawing on, and the Overlanders were no -longer children. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - THE HOUSE OF HAPPINESS - - -Haven Home was brilliantly lighted, for it was Christmas eve, and -Grace had made good her promise to ask the Overland Riders to spend -the holiday week with her and Tom. - -Haven Home was a house of happiness on that wonderful Christmas eve, -for, up in the nursery, lay a little pink and white bundle of -humanity over which the Overlanders bent—that is, the girls did—and -worshiped at the shrine of Grace Harlowe’s own little daughter, now -less than four weeks old. For that bit of humanity the whole party -had come laden with gifts, not forgetting many beautiful things for -Yvonne, Grace’s adopted daughter—the child that Grace had rescued -from the cellar of a deserted village amid the crashing of exploding -German shells in the great world war—now a beautiful young woman. - -Hamilton White was there, big, brown and manly, a figure that -attracted attention where-ever he went; Jim Haley was there, too, -with a load of peanuts that required a wagon to carry them from the -express office. - -Elfreda had brought her adopted daughter, now home from a finishing -school, and a different child she was from the daughter of the Mad -Hermit that the Overlanders had taken to their hearts some years -before. - -But where was Stacy Brown? No one could answer the question. Stacy -had not even replied to the invitation to join the Christmas party, -and there was disappointment, for no reunion of the Overlanders -could be complete without the fat boy. - -Emma Dean was monopolizing “Hamilton” most of the time, and Nora -confided to Grace that she actually believed it was going to be a -“match,” but Grace shook her head and smiled. - -And then Stacy arrived! - -The fat boy made his usual dramatic entrance at a moment when he -knew attention would be centered on him. It was. - -Stacy was in full evening dress, carrying an opera hat, which he -crushed and popped open with one hand as he shook hands and bowed -with a grace that was unsuspected by his companions. - -“Did you stop at the hotel to get into those glad rags?” demanded -Hippy. - -“We wondered why you were so late,” said Grace. “It never occurred -to us that you would stop to dress before coming up to the house. -Why, if you felt that you must dress, did you not come here? Your -room has been ready for several days.” - -“Dress? Who said I stopped to dress? I dressed this morning before -leaving home.” - -“Stacy!” cried Nora in a horrified tone. - -“Well?” - -“You don’t mean that you wore your evening clothes all day on the -train?” demanded Nora. - -“Sure I did. I didn’t want to put them in my suit case and wrinkle -them all up, so I wore them. Anything wrong about that?” - -There was silence for a few seconds, then the Overlanders broke out -in peals of laughter. - -“Say, I want to see the kid. _He_ won’t laugh at me, I’ll bet,” said -Stacy. - -“Wrong gender, young man,” observed Hippy. - -“Of course you shall see him,” cried Grace, linking her arm in -Stacy’s and leading him upstairs, with the entire Overland party -following. - -Two little blue eyes looked up at him as Stacy gazed, and popped his -crush hat at the bundle of pink and white until the nurse took it -away from him indignantly. - -“The perfect picture of Grace, isn’t she?” bubbled Emma. - -“Oh, I don’t know. Cute little monkey, isn’t she?” - -“Young man, you come downstairs,” ordered Hippy, collaring Stacy and -leading him away, while the Overlanders followed laughing. The -merriment had begun with the arrival of Stacy. - -Dinner was announced as they reached the drawing room, and it was a -dinner that Stacy Brown did full justice to. It did the Overlanders’ -hearts good to see him eat. - -“How you ever managed to develop such an appetite, short of -starvation, is a thing that I have many times wondered at,” teased -Tom. - -“Develop it! I didn’t. It’s a gift,” was the fat boy’s quick -response. “I was born with it, and I don’t know why you folks are -always making fun of me,” he retorted, appearing to be very much -hurt. - -“That is because you are always making fun of yourself,” reminded -Emma. - -“Not when you are about,” mumbled Stacy. - -And so the merriment went on. - -At the close of the dinner Hamilton White made his mine report. The -mother lode of “Lost Mine” had just recently been tapped when work -was suspended for the winter, to be resumed in the early spring, he -said. The mining engineer in charge of the work was authority for -the statement that it would undoubtedly pan out a big fortune. White -said he had the expert’s detailed report which they could look over -at their leisure. - -“So J. Elfreda is a rich woman, eh?” said Stacy, regarding her -solemnly. - -“Yes, rich in the sense that I have such friends as these,” answered -Elfreda, her eyes moist as she glanced at the eager, flushed faces -about her. “Gold is not riches—friendship is. As for the riches of -the ‘Lost Mine’ I have with me a transfer of title to the property, -signed, sealed and delivered, providing as follows: - -“One eighth to the new baby. - -“One eighth to my adopted daughter ‘Little Silver.’ - -“One eighth to Yvonne. - -“One eighth each to Grace, Nora and Emma. - -“And—” Elfreda paused, and in a subdued voice added, “one eighth -each for myself and for my husband to be.” A flush slowly grew into -her cheeks as J. Elfreda Briggs bent her eyes on the paper from -which she was reading. - -“Your—your what?” stammered Nora, as all eyes were fixed on Miss -Briggs’ face. - -“My husband to be!” Elfreda raised her eyes, eyes full of happiness, -to her friends. “I am to wed Mr. White in the early spring. You, my -beloved friends, are the first to be told. Why should you not be -first?” - -“Oh, Hamilton, isn’t that perfectly wonderful!” cried Emma. - -Emma had broken the ice, the dead silence that, for a few seconds, -had followed Elfreda Briggs’ announcement, and then the exclamations -and the congratulations fairly overwhelmed Elfreda and Hamilton -White. - -Everything else was forgotten. - -“Well, old chappie, what have _you_ got to say for _yourself_?” -demanded Hippy Wingate, frowning on “Ham” White. - -“Only that I am the most fortunate of men,” answered Hamilton White -gravely. - -“Never mind, Emma,” spoke up Grace smilingly as she looked into the -flushed face of Emma Dean. “I have named the baby—I just now named -her, and her name is Emma Grace Harlowe Gray.” - -“Oh, the poor kid,” wailed Stacy. “To go through life with a name -like that! My heart of hearts bleeds for her.” - -“For he’s a jolly good fellow,” struck up Tom Gray, whereupon Grace -ran to her piano and joined with the accompaniment, and the old -house resounded to the rollicking song until the nurse came down, -her face wearing a deep frown. - -“Please, please!” she begged. “You have awakened the baby.” - -The song stopped. - -“Well, we are all set now except for Stacy Brown and Emma Dean. They -are our hopeless bachelors,” declared Hippy. - -“Bachelors! I guess not,” retorted Stacy. “Emma and I have decided -to tie up, too.” - -The Overlanders shouted. They thought it was one of Stacy’s jokes. - -Then the Overlanders began to realize that Stacy was not joking. - -“But how do you two expect to get along—you are fighting all the -time?” wondered Nora. - -“The difference between us and some others is that we will have done -all our fighting before we were married. Am I right, Emma?” - -“Yes, Stacy dear,” replied Emma, blushing furiously. - -“When did all this take place?” asked Grace. - -“Oh, we got engaged by the correspondence-school plan,” Stacy -informed her. - -“The idea! Children like you two getting married,” objected Nora. - -“Children? Huh! I’m twenty-three, and Emma—” Stacy shrugged his -shoulders. “Well, let her speak for herself. Anything else—anyone -got any questions to ask?” - -“Yes,” spoke up Elfreda. “If I may do so without offense, I should -like to know what you propose to do after you marry Emma?” - -“Nothing!” with rising inflection in his voice. “I have money, my -little wife will have more, and we two will live a life of -distinguished and elegant leisure.” - -“You poor turtle doves,” chortled Hippy Wingate. - -The merry moments that followed failed to soothe the wakeful baby -upstairs. After the excitement over the startling announcements had -abated, Grace proposed that they dress the Christmas tree, and, -following that, they danced for an hour, and the wonderful evening -came to a close—for all except Stacy and Emma. The two strolled out -on the snow-covered lawn of Haven Home, hand in hand, with the moon -beaming down upon them, and a million diamonds sparkling at their -feet. - -“Stacy dear, do you remember that night up in the North Woods when -the Overlanders were preparing to leave for home? Do you remember -what Hippy asked me as a snowbird chirped high up in a great tree, -just as one is now chirping in that apple tree yonder?” asked Emma. - -“I remember,” nodded Stacy. - -“Hippy asked me, ‘Emma, what is the little bird saying to-night?’ I -answered, ‘He is wishing us all a merry, merry Christmas and a glad, -happy new year.’ That is what the snowbird is saying to us from the -old apple tree to-night, isn’t he, Stacy dear?” - -“You bet, kid. Wise guys, those snowbirds,” he observed as they -turned and strolled back towards the house. “We are going to be -happy, aren’t we, Emma?” - -“Going to be? Why, we are happy now, dear. Say good-night to me out -here,” she whispered as they reached the veranda. - -Stacy did so. He said good-night several times before they went -indoors. Emma Dean’s eyes were bright and her cheeks wore a rosy -glow when she faced her companions in the drawing room a moment -later. - -The Overland Riders smiled. They understood. - - THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the -Lost River Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 62946-0.txt or 62946-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/9/4/62946/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -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. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -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/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/62946-0.zip b/old/62946-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e05a871..0000000 --- a/old/62946-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62946-h.zip b/old/62946-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 89dd065..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62946-h/62946-h.htm b/old/62946-h/62946-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 1ae5764..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h/62946-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7242 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" -"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <title>Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders on the Lost River Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower—A Project Gutenberg eBook</title> - <link rel='coverpage' href='images/cover.jpg' /> - <meta name='cover' content='images/cover.jpg' /> - <style type="text/css"> - body { margin-left:8%; margin-right:8%; } - p { text-indent:1.15em; margin-top:0.1em; margin-bottom:0.1em; text-align:justify; } - h1 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; page-break-before: always; - font-size:1.4em; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; } - h2 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; page-break-before: always; - font-size:1.0em; margin-top:3em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; } - h2.nobreak { page-break-before: avoid; } - div.section { page-break-before:always; margin-top:4em; margin-bottom:4em; } - div.chapter { page-break-before:always; margin-top:4em; margin-bottom:4em; } - .caption { text-indent:0; padding:0.5em 0; text-align:center; font-size:smaller; } - body { font-size:120% } - p.caption { font-size:1em; } - .sc { font-variant:small-caps } - </style> -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Lost -River Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -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/license - - -Title: Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Lost River Trail - -Author: Jessie Graham Flower - -Release Date: August 16, 2020 [EBook #62946] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<h1>GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON THE LOST RIVER TRAIL</h1> - -<div class='section'> - -<div id='frontis' style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:10.0%; width:80%;'> - <img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> -<p class='caption'>“Elfreda Darted Ahead.”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='font-size:1.6em;'>Grace Harlowe’s Overland</div> -<div style='font-size:1.6em;'>Riders on the Lost</div> -<div style='font-size:1.6em;margin-bottom:1em;'>River Trail</div> -<div style='margin-bottom:1em;'>By</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:0.7em;'>JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M.</div> -</div> -<div style='font-size:0.8em;'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div>Author of The High School Girls Series, The College Girls Series,</div> -<div>The Grace Harlowe Overseas Series, Grace Harlowe’s Overland</div> -<div>Riders on the Old Apache Trail, Grace Harlowe’s Overland</div> -<div>Riders on the Great American Desert, Grace Harlowe’s</div> -<div>Overland Riders Among the Kentucky Mountaineers, Grace</div> -<div>Harlowe’s Overland Riders in the Great North Woods,</div> -<div>Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders in the High</div> -<div>Sierras, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders</div> -<div>in the Yellowstone National Park,</div> -<div>Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders</div> -<div>in the Black Hills, Grace Harlowe’s</div> -<div>Overland Riders</div> -<div>Among the Border</div> -<div>Guerrillas, etc.,</div> -<div style='margin-bottom:2em;'>etc.</div> -</div> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div>Illustrated</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;margin-top:2em;'>PHILADELPHIA</div> -<div>HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Copyrighted, 1924, by </div> -<div style='margin-bottom:1em;font-variant:small-caps;'>Howard E. Altemus </div> -<div style='font-size:0.8em;'>PRINTED IN THE</div> -<div style='font-size:0.8em;'>UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='section'> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='margin-bottom:1em;'>CONTENTS</div> -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter I—<a href='#chI'>A Mystery of the Night</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>“There is peril in the air,” warns the guide. Overlanders take flight. -Emma says the suspense is killing her. “The worst is yet to come,” -promises Stacy Brown. Threatened by a forest fire. The Overland Riders -hasten to the relief of imperilled villagers.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter II—<a href='#chII'>In the Demon’s Grip</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Inhabitants of Silver Creek deride Ham White’s warning. Aroused at last. -The fire demon roars. Miss Briggs narrowly escapes. “The fire is yonder! -Work, you thick-heads!” A woman’s scream starts a panic among the -villagers.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter III—<a href='#chIII'>A Rain of Fire</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Ham White directs the fire-fighters. Great tongues of flame. The panic -increases. Grace urges village women to the creek. Danger in the water. -Elfreda Briggs is carried away on the current. Land at last. The -Overland girl utters a thrilling cry.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter IV—<a href='#chIV'>The Lost Cabin</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>The village is saved. Overland horses are missing. “Run, girls! Run!” -cries Grace. Ham White is excited. Searching parties are organized. Emma -concerned for her “Hamilton.” Another member of the Overland party is -missing. “Help! I’m dying!” groans Elfreda’s caller.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter V—<a href='#chV'>A Fruitless Quest</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Overland girls search the village for their missing companions. Ham -White hears more bad news. The guide fears the worst. “There is another -peril!” Only the lieutenant knows that one of his party has slipped away -looking for the missing.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter VI—<a href='#chVI'>Facing a New Peril</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>The wounded prospector tells his story. “Oh, you poor man,” cries -Elfreda Briggs. “They shot me for gold!” A grave duty to perform. Miss -Briggs’ legacy. Sam Petersen’s horse hidden. Mountain bandits pay a -visit to Lost Cabin.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter VII—<a href='#chVII'>The Discovery</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>“Hawk Murray!” breathes Elfreda Briggs. The Overland girl keeps her -nerve. Ready to defend herself. Startled by the return of a bandit. -“Lady, what about the saddle over there in the brush?” he asks. Elfreda -in the toils. A strange thing happens.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter VIII—<a href='#chVIII'>Stacy Takes a Hand</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>“I’ll show you you can’t steal my beans and fish!” howls the fat boy. -Stacy proves himself a hero. Mysterious shots put the caller to flight. -“They’ve shot him!” cried the girl. A voice from the shadows of the Lost -Cabin. An amazing disappearance.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter IX—<a href='#chIX'>Mysteries Multiply</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>The journey to Silver Creek begun. Stacy helps himself to beans. The -welcome home. “Lost River” an Indian legend. Words fail the fat boy. -Miss Briggs confides in Grace. Elfreda’s gold turns to stone. Sam -Petersen’s diary whisked from Grace Harlowe’s hand.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter X—<a href='#chX'>The Man from Seattle</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>“Hands up!” Peanuts are great civilizers. Overlanders regard their guest -with suspicion. Emma makes the fat boy laugh. “Just another mystery.” -“Now who are you, and what is your game?” demands Ham White sternly. -Stalked by a shadow. “Quick! Something has happened to Elfreda!”</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XI—<a href='#chXI'>Believers in Safety First</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Guns bang and Stacy lies low. Struck on the head. “I felt a hand under -my pillow,” explains Miss Briggs. The guide is disturbed. Emma offers to -“demonstrate” for him. Stacy alarmed for his trousers. Jim Haley makes a -mysterious disappearance.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XII—<a href='#chXII'>A Successful Experiment</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Elfreda’s experience leaves her pale. More than one man involved in the -attack. White finds a trail of blood. Stacy Brown votes himself the -cross of war. The fat boy up to mischief. Another shadow stalks the -Overland tents. A near panic in the camp.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XIII—<a href='#chXIII'>The Camp is Invaded</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Bears on the rampage. Ponies snort in fright. “We’ve got them going!” -cries Ham White. Havoc worked by marauding beasts. One bear is killed. -Stacy confesses that he called the bears. The savagery of Nature let -loose. “They are coming! Move cautiously.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XIV—<a href='#chXIV'>The Battle of the Beasts</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Howls are mingled with snarls. Coyotes attack the dead bear. Wolves add -to the uproar. A sight that thrilled. The battle brief. Grace takes a -shot and misses. Stacy downs a lion. Slinking forms stalk the ponies. -Beady for trouble. A wounded man staggers into camp.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XV—<a href='#chXV'>A Rude Awakening</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>“It’s Jim Haley!” exclaims the guide. The mountain ruffians wanted -peanuts. White refuses to double-cross the Overlanders. Ham White sees -the “Forest Eyes.” The old prospector’s secrets studied. Interrupted by -an intruder. “Who says a woman can’t throw a stone?”</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XVI—<a href='#chXVI'>Bandits Take Their Toll</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Hippy and the guide search for a prowler. Guarding the camp. An -Overlander is missing. An anxious watch. The search abandoned. Nora -reassured by the guide. Ham White admits that he has made a discovery. -“Stacy Brown has been forcibly removed!” is the startling announcement.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XVII—<a href='#chXVII'>A Test of Courage</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Two Overland Riders now missing. Hamilton White is apprehensive. An -all-night vigil. The guide sends wigwag signals in the early morn. -“Great danger to both!” Grace Harlowe reads the fluttering message. A -girl’s clever strategy. “Hamilton White, I have you now!”</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XVIII—<a href='#chXVIII'>The Flaming Arrow</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Hippy finds himself in the toils. Visited by his captors. “Keep quiet -and listen to me!” warns a hoarse voice. A long and trying hike. The -Overlander restored to his friends. “Isn’t that just like a man!” A -guest who is doubly welcome. A flaming messenger drops into camp.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XIX—<a href='#chXIX'>His Fate in the Balance</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>A letter from Stacy. The fat boy to “be shot at sunrise.” In the hands -of desperate men. A sudden flash lights up Tom Gray’s eyes. Bandits’ -demands are met. The guide takes a hurried departure. A mysterious -mission. “It isn’t safe to say a word.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XX—<a href='#chXX'>“I’m Shot!” Cries Emma</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Tom leads in the long night journey. Battle sounds in the air. Grace -makes a pleasing discovery. A warning against the mountain bandits. The -Overland party awakened by the crash of a rifle. The camp in confusion. -Emma Dean falls a victim.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XXI—<a href='#chXXI'>Stacy Seeks a Change</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Carried away on a horse. In the hands of rough men. The fat boy forced -to write a letter. His bluff is called. Bandits hear bad news. Stacy -takes advantage of his opportunity.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XXII—<a href='#chXXII'>A Strange Visitor</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Emma misses an opportunity to “demonstrate.” A battle is fought over the -Overlanders’ heads. A thrilling duel in the mountain meadow. “Something -terrible is going to happen!” An exhibition of great courage. A bandit’s -career ended.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XXIII—<a href='#chXXIII'>A Thrilling Discovery</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Cat-foot Charlie arrives. A fallen hero. The arrival at Three Mile Pass. -The key to many mysteries. Sunlight yellows the pass. “Look! Oh, look!” -Grandma and the Children! Elfreda Briggs comes into her own. A final -good-bye to forest and mountain trails.</p> - -</div> -<div class='sc'>Chapter XXIV—<a href='#chXXIV'>The House of Happiness</a> -</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-right:2em; margin-left:2em'> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>Overlanders visit Haven Home. A joyous Christmas reunion. Stacy Brown -makes a sensational entrance. The pink and white bundle in the nursery. -Surprises come thick and fast. What the snowbird said to Emma and Stacy.</p> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;'>GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;'>RIDERS ON THE</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;'>LOST RIVER TRAIL</div> -</div> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chI' title='I: A Mystery of the Night'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER I</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A MYSTERY OF THE NIGHT</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Lieutenant! Lieutenant!”</p> - -<p>“Eh? Wha—what is it?” muttered Hippy Wingate, rousing himself from a -deep sleep.</p> - -<p>“Listen, Lieutenant! There is peril in the air,” answered Ham White. “I -don’t know where it is, but I do know there is trouble afoot, and that -instant action is necessary. I don’t think it advisable to let the -others of our party know, so long as there probably is no immediate -danger.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! You men of the forest make me weary. Everything is a mystery—a -peril and so forth and so on. Ham, you’re a good fellow, but you remind -me of Tom Gray—always looking for trouble. What is the big idea?”</p> - -<p>Hamilton White placed his lips to Hippy’s ear and whispered. A little -distance from them the camp was sleeping soundly. Not a sound disturbed -the forest night save the faint whisperings of the tree-tops and the -occasional twitter of a bird high up among the branches.</p> - -<p>“You don’t say!” exclaimed Hippy, sitting up awake and thoroughly on the -alert. “Are you positive?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. It may be a matter of hours; then again minutes may cover the -time.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” questioned Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Move at once,” answered the guide with emphasis. “We will lay our -course to the northeast and get as far away from here as possible in the -shortest possible time. We’ve got to break camp now, Lieutenant!”</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate sprang to his feet and began dressing. While doing so he -asked how they were to explain their hurried departure to the others of -the party, unless the whole truth were told. White said he would attend -to that.</p> - -<p>Hippy shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Ham, you have the Overland Riders sized up wrong. They aren’t -tenderfeet, not by a long shot, nor are they shying at danger any more -than you are,” declared Hippy with some heat.</p> - -<p>“Turn them out!” ordered Ham. “We can’t afford to waste a moment.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Buddy, I’ll turn them out. You will have to do the rest, -though. Turn out, you sleepy-heads!” roared Hippy.</p> - -<p>The response was almost instantaneous. The Overland Riders bounced out -of their tents, rubbing their eyes, staggering a little, for they were -not yet fully awake, and demanding to know what had happened. Ham White, -who was already engaged in packing their belongings, paused long enough -to reply.</p> - -<p>“Folks, we must break camp and get out of this right smart,” he informed -them.</p> - -<p>“What! Lose my night’s sleep?” wailed Stacy Brown. “Move if you wish, -but I stay right here until after breakfast, then I’ll think about -seeking new and more beautiful scenes.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. White, will you please tell me why we must break camp at this hour -of the night?” begged Grace Harlowe, stepping over to the guide, and -looking up into his face. “What is it? I know you must have good reason -or—”</p> - -<p>“Because, Mrs. Gray, some trouble has developed in the woods, and we are -exposed to it. I don’t wish to alarm you, and for that reason I can’t -explain just now, so please trust to me and don’t urge me to give my -reasons,” answered the guide, resuming his work.</p> - -<p>Grace directed a quick glance at the sky, and Elfreda Briggs, now at her -side, did likewise. The stars were clear white, and a light breeze was -stirring the tops of the big pine trees.</p> - -<p>“Grace, what do you make of it?” questioned Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Nothing, J. Elfreda. Mr. White is an experienced guide, so let’s hustle -and pack for a move.”</p> - -<p>Emma Dean, who had dressed hurriedly, was now importuning the guide to -tell her what it was he feared.</p> - -<p>“If you will only tell me, I will demonstrate over it, and you will see -how quickly the danger, or whatever it may be, will pass,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, Miss Dean, I am too busy to talk. Please get yourself ready -for riding as quickly as possible,” replied Mr. White.</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well!” Emma elevated her chin and walked away.</p> - -<p>“Go on! Demonstrate! I know Ham is willing to try most anything once,” -urged Stacy Brown.</p> - -<p>“If Mr. White tried you once, I am quite certain a second trial would be -unnecessary, Stacy,” retorted Emma.</p> - -<p>“Wow!” muttered Stacy.</p> - -<p>“If my Hippy says it is all right I am satisfied,” spoke up Nora -Wingate, giving Hippy a playful pat as he passed her.</p> - -<p>“How demonstrate?” wondered Hippy. “Is this another of your fads? You -have been ‘concentrating,’ ‘reading nature,’ and doing goodness knows -how many other crazy things, on several recent journeys.”</p> - -<p>“Mine is not a fad, Hippy,” replied Emma with dignity. “What you call -‘fads’ are simply demonstrations of Truth.”</p> - -<p>“Such as Arline Thayer put over on you last year,” chuckled Stacy Brown, -to which Miss Dean deigned no reply.</p> - -<p>“It is too bad that poor Arline’s health will not permit her being with -us this year,” murmured Grace.</p> - -<p>“Demonstrating,” resumed Emma thoughtfully, “is to breathe in harmony, -permitting no inharmonious thoughts to enter your being.”</p> - -<p>“Meaning what?” persisted Hippy Wingate teasingly.</p> - -<p>“Meaning, sir, that if you will think hard in the right way, believing -with all your might that certain things will come out as you wish them -to, you will find that they will.”</p> - -<p>“Good! I’ll just demonstrate a million dollars into my pocket between -now and morning,” promised Stacy.</p> - -<p>Hamilton White gave the Overlanders a quick glance of appraisal, and -nodded to himself. He admitted that perhaps he had not at first formed -the proper estimate of the party he was guiding through the forests and -mountains of the rugged state of Washington. All hands, with the -possible exception of Stacy, began work, and in less than an hour the -camp had been struck and the equipment loaded on the ponies, the embers -of the cook fire having been well soaked with water.</p> - -<p>The girls of the party were still trying to solve the mystery of their -hurried departure as they mounted and started away with Mr. White in the -lead. They soon found themselves too fully occupied to give thought to -anything other than to dodging trees and low-hanging limbs, for the -forest was very dark. Hippy Wingate brought up the rear, Stacy Brown in -the middle of the line of riders, grumbling and complaining with every -jolt of the pony, now and then dozing off in his saddle but suddenly -awakening as a tree-trunk scraped his shin or a bough smote him in the -face.</p> - -<p>After an hour of uncomfortable riding the guide called a halt, and, -strapping on his climbers, began climbing a tree. He was out of sight in -a few seconds. In the meantime, Grace, gazing up to the skies, noticed -that the stars had now lost their whiteness and had taken on a faded -tint. This puzzled her. She did not know how to interpret the change, -unless, perhaps, it was caused by fog.</p> - -<p>“Did you solve the mystery, Mr. White?” called Emma in her sweetest -voice as the guide stepped to the ground and began removing his -climbers, for Emma had already attached herself to Hamilton White as a -man worth while. “What did you discover?”</p> - -<p>“Principally atmosphere, Miss Dean,” was the noncommittal reply.</p> - -<p>“I think you are real mean,” pouted Emma. “I am angry with you. Some -persons think it is clever to make a mystery of everything, and—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, demonstrate over it,” advised Stacy wearily. “It’s only -light-headed persons who thus reason.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed! That accounts for some of your peculiarities,” Emma came back -quickly. By this time the Overlanders were laughing over the sparring of -Emma Dean and Stacy Brown.</p> - -<p>“Please get under way,” directed the guide, vaulting into his saddle. -Grace and Elfreda took up positions behind him, and the journey through -the somber forest again began. It continued on until about an hour -before daybreak, when, in the faint light, the two girls observed the -guide moisten a finger on his lips and hold it up, slowly turning the -finger from side to side.</p> - -<p>Grace wondered, and did the same several times, observed questioningly -by her companion.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” whispered Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“I—I’m not certain,” answered Grace a little lamely.</p> - -<p>“This suspense is killing me,” cried Emma, joining the two girls. -“Unless my curiosity is gratified, I surely shall expire.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you do what you threatened to do, demonstrate over the -situation?” demanded Elfreda laughingly.</p> - -<p>“Hamilton doesn’t like me to,” returned Miss Dean flushing.</p> - -<p>“So? That is the way the wind blows,” chuckled Elfreda, and the girls -laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>“Hamilton!” murmured Grace. “It seems to me that matters are progressing -rather rapidly, Emma dear. Here we have been out less than two days on -our annual vacation in the saddle, and you are calling our handsome -guide by his first name. I am amazed at you. I—”</p> - -<p>Ham White threw up a hand as a signal that they were to halt. Day was -dawning, and the waving plumes of the tall pines were now quite plainly -visible from below.</p> - -<p>“Stop here and take a light breakfast. Better not unpack anything. I -will be back in a few minutes,” said the guide. “These are orders,” he -flung back over his shoulder as he rode rapidly away.</p> - -<p>“It seems to me that our guide is rather bossy,” observed Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>“He isn’t!” protested Emma indignantly. “He is the finest man I ever -knew.”</p> - -<p>The others looked at each other and burst out laughing; then they began -teasing Emma as they ate breakfast standing beside their ponies. Mr. -White returned ere they had finished their light meal. A quick, -comprehensive glance showed him that his orders had been obeyed.</p> - -<p>“You people think me an alarmist, I know, but the fact is I did not wish -to alarm you until I was certain. Now that I have been able to get a -clear observation, I know.”</p> - -<p>“The worst is yet to come,” grumbled Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Yes. You always bring this outfit bad luck,” retorted Emma.</p> - -<p>“Please, please, children!” begged Grace. “What is it, Mr. White?”</p> - -<p>“We are in the direct path of a forest fire!”</p> - -<p>There followed a moment’s silence, then Hippy spoke up.</p> - -<p>“What is the chance of our getting away from it?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I am coming to that, and—”</p> - -<p>“Then the question seems to be, how much time have we to get out of the -way of this fire?” questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>The guide said that neither he nor any one else could answer that -question.</p> - -<p>“A forest fire is a sneaking demon,” he declared. “Sometimes one sees no -fire at all, then again it seems as if the whole universe were ablaze. -As a rule, persons who are caught in forest fires never realize it until -the fire has leaped upon them. This fire, so far, is the kind you do -see. Look up!”</p> - -<p>All eyes were turned upwards. They saw that the sky was covered with a -yellow haze. The haze seemed low. Birds were winging their way -northward, flying swiftly, and there were rustlings farther out in the -forest, and sounds of unseen creatures hurrying.</p> - -<p>“I wish Tom were here,” breathed Grace. Tom Gray, her much-loved -husband, now a well-known forestry engineer, was somewhere off in that -vast forest, making a survey for the government. Grace uttered a fervent -prayer for his safety.</p> - -<p>“I believe the fire is still some hours away, but the breeze is in our -direction, and bids fair to hold all day. By striking off to the -eastward and making good time, we have an excellent chance of getting to -higher rocky ground where we shall probably be safe,” was the guide’s -prediction.</p> - -<p>“<i>Alors!</i> Let’s go,” urged J. Elfreda Briggs, with a touch of her -old-time lightness of spirit.</p> - -<p>“That is what I am getting at. I can direct you so that you folks ought -to make it, but I dislike leaving you,” added Mr. White.</p> - -<p>“Leaving us!” exclaimed Emma.</p> - -<p>“Yes. More than half a day’s ride from here is a village, a forest -mountain village, with women and children, who, perhaps, will never know -their peril until too late. It is known as Silver Creek, named from the -stream that flows through it, a stream that for about half of the year -is a swollen torrent—water icy cold, coming from the mountain peaks in -the north. In any event, they will need help, and it is my duty to get -there as quickly as possible. Lieutenant, will you take it upon yourself -to lead your party to safety, and let me go on?”</p> - -<p>“That—that is for the girls to answer,” replied Hippy gravely, turning -to Grace and her companions.</p> - -<p>“Help will be needed at Silver Creek, you think, Mr. White?” questioned -Grace.</p> - -<p>“Yes. All they can get.”</p> - -<p>“Girls, I think we, too, know where our duty lies, do we not?” she asked -evenly.</p> - -<p>“Yes!” was the quick reply from Elfreda and Nora and Emma.</p> - -<p>“We are going with you, Mr. White,” announced Grace.</p> - -<p>“Oh, help!” wailed Stacy.</p> - -<p>A moment later the Overland party was riding at top speed, following -closely on the heels of the guided pony, knowing that upon their speed -in reaching their destination many lives might depend.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chII' title='II: In the Demon’s Grip'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER II</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>IN THE DEMON’S GRIP</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Whew! The weather is getting hotter and hotter up here!” exclaimed -Stacy, fanning himself with his sombrero as they trotted along. “Does it -always get this way up here?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes,” answered the guide, with a grim smile.</p> - -<p>The others of the party who saw the smile understood.</p> - -<p>“Hamilton, you don’t mean it is the heat coming from the forest that we -feel, do you?” questioned Miss Dean.</p> - -<p>The guide nodded and urged his pony ahead at a more rapid pace. The -others were keeping up a continual chatter, laughing and joking, and Ham -White wondered if they fully realized the peril that was stalking them. -Mr. White did not yet know the young people he was guiding. Nor did they -know him, which fact Elfreda Briggs voiced when she spoke to Grace on -the subject as they were jogging along.</p> - -<p>“There is something about Mr. White that I can’t interpret,” she said.</p> - -<p>“And that is?” demanded Grace, regarding her companion with twinkling -eyes.</p> - -<p>“That is just it; I don’t know. I do know that Emma has an awful crush -on him, though I am positive that Mr. White doesn’t know it.”</p> - -<p>“It is nothing new with Emma, is it?” answered Grace laughingly. “Let me -see, how many men has the dear girl been in love with since we went to -France for war work with our college unit?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I lost the count a long time ago. What is that?”</p> - -<p>“Snow. Look at the snow!” shouted Stacy, pointing to a shower of white -flakes that was sifting down over them.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it can’t be possible!” wondered Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Yes, snow, and the temperature a hundred in the shade,” declared Stacy. -“This is a fine climate. I feel cooler just at sight of those beautiful -white flakes.”</p> - -<p>“What is it, Ham?” called Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Ashes!” answered the guide. “Ride hard!”</p> - -<p>The Overlanders understood now. It was ashes from the forest fire that -was following on their trail, and no further urging was necessary to -keep them going as fast as they could force their horses. In a short -time they were free from the feathery shower and the air seemed fresher, -though they occasionally caught a faint odor of smoke. The Overlanders -felt a certain relief, believing that they had thrown off their pursuer, -but Hamilton White felt no such assurance. That taint of smoke told him -more than the shower of ashes had told him. It meant that the fire was -creeping rather than blazing high, and he knew that a creeping forest -fire was a much to be dreaded enemy. One never knew when or where to -look for it, and it had an uncanny habit of swooping down on one when -least looked for, and devouring. Ham increased his pace.</p> - -<p>No stop had been made in that long ride, except once to let the sweating -ponies drink from a cold mountain stream, and about mid-afternoon the -guide called back that they were nearing Silver Creek village. The party -caught their first glance at the creek, whose shining surface indicated -that it had been well named. It was silvery, but ere they had followed -it long, little waves of mud-colored water were leaping up.</p> - -<p>There had been a severe storm in the mountains within a day, and the -flood was pouring down on its way to the lowlands. It was soon roaring -so loudly that they had to shout to make themselves heard.</p> - -<p>Then the village suddenly burst upon them, a settlement of several -hundred people, with stores and a post office that got its mail twice a -week by a post rider.</p> - -<p>The party of riders as they entered the village attracted the entire -attention of the inhabitants, who gathered about, and regarded the -newcomers closely.</p> - -<p>“Got anything to eat in this burg?” demanded Stacy Brown, slipping from -his saddle and grinning at the villagers.</p> - -<p>“Reckon ye can git something at the store,” answered someone.</p> - -<p>“Then me for the store!”</p> - -<p>Stacy left his pony and ambled into the general store, where Ham White -and Hippy already had gone. White was just greeting the postmaster, who -owned the place, as Stacy entered.</p> - -<p>“Forest fire?” jeered the postmaster, in reply to the guide’s warning. -“Never had any such thing at Silver Creek—never expect to. Creek yonder -will stop any forest fire that ever sprung a spark. Look at it! Listen -to it! I reckon you’ve—”</p> - -<p>“Stop it!” commanded White sternly. “I demand the help of the villagers, -and if they don’t make haste this town will be wiped out before they get -started.”</p> - -<p>Stacy helped himself liberally from the cracker barrel, listening -wide-eyed to the conversation. So long as the crackers held out he was -well satisfied to have the men talk and keep the storekeeper occupied.</p> - -<p>“Who be ye?” demanded the man.</p> - -<p>“I am the guide of this party, and—” Ham whispered to the storekeeper.</p> - -<p>“Eh? Oh, well, if that’s the case I reckon we’ve got to go through the -motions of stopping a fire that ain’t. What do ye propose to do?”</p> - -<p>“Call these people together and tell them to get their axes and begin to -fell trees around the village. I will tell them which ones to cut. Then -I want them to help us backfire the grass around the village; get out -every pail and pan in the place. If there are any barrels here, fill -them with water. Cut boughs to whip out the fire and keep it from -getting away from us while we are backfiring. My party will help. Have -you seen any rangers here within a day or so?”</p> - -<p>“No. Bud Carver was passing through about a week ago, and he said—”</p> - -<p>“Never mind what he said. Get out and tell those people what they are to -do—”</p> - -<p>White was interrupted by a growl from the storekeeper, who had grabbed -Stacy by the collar and separated him from the cracker barrel.</p> - -<p>“Here, ye young thief—”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you call me a thief!” protested Stacy. “I am paying for what I -get. I’d have paid in advance, but you were busy and I didn’t want to -interrupt you,” explained the fat boy lamely. “Here’s five cents, and -that is more than the whole barrel is worth. I’ll bet you have had them -here ever since Washington stopped being a territory—in name.”</p> - -<p>Uttering a growl, the storekeeper stalked out to the porch and waved the -people to him. Hippy Wingate grasped Stacy by an arm and propelled him -from the store.</p> - -<p>“It is fortunate for you, young man, that there was nothing to eat in -the postoffice part of the place, or you would have helped yourself and -got in trouble with the United States Government,” declared Hippy.</p> - -<p>The others of the party had led their ponies up to the porch and were -standing beside them, waiting for orders from the guide, each one -listening attentively while the storekeeper told the villagers what -Hamilton White had directed him to say.</p> - -<p>A loud laugh followed the remarks.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t goin’ to burn no grass ’round here! That’s stock grass fer the -cows and the hosses next winter,” warned one.</p> - -<p>“The grass is going to be burned, and if you don’t do it we shall do it -ourselves. If we fail, the forest fire will do it and take in the -village at the same time,” warned the guide.</p> - -<p>“Show me a forest fire and I’ll think about it,” demanded the man.</p> - -<p>“You have a nose. Can’t you smell it?” retorted Hippy Wingate.</p> - -<p>The villager laughed.</p> - -<p>“That smoke is from a bush fire on Bald Mountain where a feller is -clearing a pa’cel of ground fer a cabin,” jeered the villager.</p> - -<p>“The breeze doesn’t happen to be blowing from the direction of Bald -Mountain, my man,” reminded White. “It is coming from the opposite -direction. If you will use your brains, provided you have any, you will -find that the air from the south on your face is hotter by several -degrees than it is from the other direction. Get your axes and the other -things that Mr. Skinner has for us.”</p> - -<p>Still unconvinced, the man shook his head, and refused.</p> - -<p>“Tie your horses, Overlanders! We will backfire ourselves,” called -White.</p> - -<p>“Ye’ll get a charge of buckshot in yer carcass if ye do!” threatened the -mountaineer.</p> - -<p>“Try it!” suggested Ham White, giving the man a long, steady look in the -eyes. The protesting villager melted away.</p> - -<p>At White’s direction, the storekeeper got out all the pails in his -store, which, together with axes and grub-hoes, were cast out on the -porch.</p> - -<p>“You ladies must keep back out of the way,” directed Ham.</p> - -<p>“We shall do our part, Mr. White,” answered Grace. “Give us something to -do.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” answered the guide after slight hesitation. “You may fill -all these pails with water and distribute them along the edge of the -village on the north side.”</p> - -<p>Boughs, green and tough, were quickly cut by White, who then directed -Hippy to start backfiring, which means firing towards the approaching -forest fire, the start of which is always a risk—the risk of its getting -away and burning that which the fire fighters are seeking to protect. -Only a small section at the edge of the forest was fired at first, Ham -White standing guard with Stacy, ready to leap to the danger point if a -blaze should begin creeping towards the village.</p> - -<p>Not a villager lifted a hand to assist, but loud protests were voiced -when the pungent smoke from the burning grass settled over them.</p> - -<p>“You will be in luck if you swallow nothing worse than smoke,” Ham White -flung back at them.</p> - -<p>There was something in this lithe, upstanding man of the forest that -held the villagers back from taking matters into their own hands and -driving the intruders from the place. He was everywhere, directing Hippy -where to fire, advising the girls where to pour water, prodding Stacy -Brown to keep that worthy from sitting down and shirking his share of -the labor.</p> - -<p>Perspiration was standing out on every face, and every face was red from -the heat of the flames that were rapidly eating their way towards the -big trees in the background. Ham White wanted to fell those trees, but -he could not do it alone, nor would the villagers do it for him, so he -did what could be done, and was glad that he had such ready workers as -the Overland Riders proved themselves to be. They were resourceful, too, -and soon understanding what the guide was seeking to accomplish, went to -it without further instruction.</p> - -<p>“Miss Briggs!” he called, and Elfreda was at his side in a moment.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Mr. White?”</p> - -<p>“You are a level-headed woman—”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” answered Elfreda smilingly, mopping the perspiration on her -face into sooty streaks.</p> - -<p>“I wish you would go around the right-hand side of this burn. The smoke -is blowing towards us now, so you will get little odor from it. Go into -the forest a little way and watch and listen and sniff. Watch the -ground, not the sides. Any indications of fire that you discover, hear -or smell, let me know instantly.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mr. White. Carrying water is not particularly inspiring. I -am glad to do something that will occupy me more absorbingly. How shall -I get back here if you fire the right-hand side you just mentioned?”</p> - -<p>“This side will be burned off by then, but don’t stand in one spot many -seconds at a time when crossing it. You might burn your feet. Be careful -that you don’t get lost. I trust you to take care of yourself.”</p> - -<p>For a few brief seconds they held each other’s eyes, then Elfreda turned -and walked briskly away.</p> - -<p>“Please, Hamilton, won’t you come back out of danger,” begged Emma, -slipping an arm through his at this juncture. “I am terribly nervous, -but I am demonstrating for you with every fiber of my being.”</p> - -<p>“Go demonstrate on the villagers—do something worth while,” advised -Stacy sourly.</p> - -<p>“I will after this is finished—I’ll demonstrate over you,” retorted -Emma.</p> - -<p>The guide made no reply, but turned back to his work. Elfreda had -already disappeared from sight. Hers was a responsible post, and none -knew that so well as Hamilton White himself, though Elfreda began to -realize it when she found herself alone in the forest. With every sense -on the alert, Elfreda devoted herself to following Mr. White’s -instructions. She could catch faint whiffs of smoke from the south, but -could see no fire. At first, she thought the odor was from their own -backfire, but after a little she was able to distinguish a difference in -the odor coming from the south. It was more pungent, more overpowering, -seeming to possess more substance, more body, than did the faint smoke -from the grass fire that reached her nostrils.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if I had better run back and report? No. I will stay here -until I have something definite. I may be imagining.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda was now so far back in the forest that she could not hear the -crackling of the grass backfire that Ham White had started, and she -could but faintly hear the flow of Silver Creek. Soon a few scattering -“snowflakes” began falling about her, and from the previous experience -she knew what these meant. There was fire to the south, though it might -be many miles away. Elfreda was not sufficiently familiar with forest -fires to interpret these indications with certainty.</p> - -<p>A low, rumbling noise, that might have been distant thunder, caused her -to listen attentively.</p> - -<p>“It might have been a train,” she murmured, then instantly recalled that -there was no railway within fifty miles.</p> - -<p>A breeze sprang up from the south and the tops of the trees bent under -it ever so little. Then suddenly Elfreda Briggs witnessed a sight that, -for the instant, paralyzed her—that prevented her from moving a muscle.</p> - -<p>What, at first sight, looked to be a shining serpent, was wriggling -toward her, now and then breathing a little spurt of smoke. The -“serpent” disappeared, and she then saw others, all wriggling, twisting, -turning, disappearing, and suddenly appearing in another spot a few -yards away.</p> - -<p>“Merciful heaven, what is it?” cried the Overland girl.</p> - -<p>A little pine tree, not more than two yards in height, suddenly became -the victim of one of these shining “serpents” and burst into crackling -flames and was consumed in a few minutes.</p> - -<p>“Fire!” cried the watcher. Elfreda turned, startled, and fled towards -the “burn” that her companions had made.</p> - -<p>They saw her coming on fleet feet. Hamilton White waved to her to keep -to the right, for the grass was still holding fire on the course she was -following, but Elfreda took the gesture for a wave of welcome, and waved -back. In the next second she saw the guide running towards her, followed -by Grace.</p> - -<p>Elfreda darted ahead, and was nearly at the edge of the burn when she -came up with them. To her amazement, the guide picked her up, then threw -her flat on the ground. He rolled her over and over in the blackened -ashes of the grass, Grace assisting by vigorous pats, for Elfreda’s -skirt had caught fire.</p> - -<p>The blaze was out in a moment, and now the girl began to feel the sting -of burns. Assisted to her feet Elfreda was a sight, her face, neck and -arms black, little patches of white showing here and there, accentuating -the blackness of the rest.</p> - -<p>“Quick, take her somewhere and look her over. Get oil from the store and -put on her burns if she has any. Be lively. I—”</p> - -<p>“The fiery serpents are there!” gasped Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“What!” demanded the guide.</p> - -<p>“They’re there, darting all around just beyond the edge of the burn in -the forest. I don’t know—I think—”</p> - -<p>“Take her away!” commanded White sternly.</p> - -<p>The guide bounded across the burned space and plunged into the forest. -He came back a few moments later, even more rapidly than he had gone -out, never stopping until he reached the store porch.</p> - -<p>Something in Hamilton White’s attitude or in his expression silenced the -villagers who had gone into spasms of laughter at Elfreda Briggs’ -plight.</p> - -<p>“Men, the forest fire is yonder, less than an eighth of a mile away!” he -shouted. “It may not be too late to save the village, but I think it is. -Get your women and children down to the bank of the creek. Bring water -and wet down everything. Work, you thick-heads!” There were murmurs of -objection. A puff of hot air was driven through the village, and a few -moments later a blue haze settled over it. A great silence fell over the -people. It was broken by a woman’s scream.</p> - -<p>“Fire!” yelled a man.</p> - -<p>“Fire! Fire! Fire!”</p> - -<p>The chorus was taken up by a hundred voices, and panic seized upon the -inhabitants of Silver Creek.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chIII' title='III: A Rain of Fire'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER III</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A RAIN OF FIRE</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Wet down the roofs of all the houses. Keep your heads or you’re -goners!” shouted Ham White.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders had grabbed pails and filled them from the creek, -running with them to points where water soon would be needed. Stacy, -however, with his usual disinclination to work, took it upon himself to -boss the villagers, which he did very well. He appeared to be not at all -disturbed by the peril that menaced them.</p> - -<p>The sky was now heavily overcast. To add to the gloom, daylight was -fading with the prospect of a night of terror for the people of Silver -Creek. The air grew hot and the pungent odor of smoke sent many into -paroxysms of coughing.</p> - -<p>Hamilton White, cool and collected, was giving terse orders here and -there, and working with tireless energy. Hot puffs of wind drove through -the village streets, and that, he knew, was the vanguard of what was to -come.</p> - -<p>Men were working under difficulties but to good purpose, for the guide -was directing the work of covering roofs with wet blankets, which were -wet down as fast as water could be brought. The smoke grew more dense, -more suffocating with the moments, and, somewhere off to the south, a -roar like that of an approaching storm was plainly heard. Ham White, -hearing, understood.</p> - -<p>“Look! Oh, look!” cried Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>Great tongues of flame were seen leaping into the air high above the -tree-tops of the forest. Sparks and burning embers were now falling in -the village streets. Overhead the air itself seemed to be on fire. -Sheets of flame were curling and rolling through the forest like -breakers on a reef. At one moment the sky would be lighted up -brilliantly, and in the next deep, impenetrable darkness covered all.</p> - -<p>The terror of the villagers increased, and the Overland girls, on their -way to and fro for water, did what they could to calm the women, but -without great success. To add to the terror and the peril, the village -was now surrounded with fire on three sides. It seemed to be growing -more threatening with the moments, and the clouds of soot became denser.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how terrible!” cried Nora to Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but one of the most tremendous spectacles I have ever seen,” -answered Grace, whose face, like all others about her, was so black as -to be almost unrecognizable.</p> - -<p>In all the excitement, however, the two girls found time to observe and -marvel. They saw streamers of fire appear to die out, and then charge -forward toward the village at race-horse speed, threatening to envelop -and devour it.</p> - -<p>The villagers started to run as their panic increased.</p> - -<p>“Stay where you are! You are safer here!” Ham White shouted in warning -to all.</p> - -<p>Houses were now catching fire, despite all efforts, and men worked in a -frenzy, for, if the fire once got a good start in the village, they now -knew that it would be destroyed. Some of the cooler heads among the -women lent much assistance to the Overlanders, but most of them were too -terrified to give any assistance at all.</p> - -<p>“Some of these women surely will perish unless something is done at -once,” said Miss Briggs. “Suggest something, Grace, for the love of -heaven.”</p> - -<p>“The creek! Help me herd them down on its bank,” answered Grace with -ready resource. “Nora! You and Emma must assist. Don’t hesitate. Jump to -it! There are men enough to carry water. Lives are of more account than -houses.”</p> - -<p>The girls sprang to their task with energy. It was not an easy task to -which they had assigned themselves, and the first of the women sent to -the stream had to be forced there. There were choking protests, but the -Overland girls gave no heed, as there was no time for argument, and -seconds wasted might mean loss of lives.</p> - -<p>“If your clothes catch fire, duck into the creek,” was the advice -shouted over and over again to the village women by Grace and her -companions. “Keep close to the shore or you may be swept off your feet -and carried downstream.”</p> - -<p>The latter part of the Overlanders’ advice was not heeded in every -instance, and now and then one of the girls found it necessary to haul -ashore some woman who was in danger of being carried away by the -current.</p> - -<p>As the heat in the village increased in intensity, shivering women and -children were standing in the creek’s cold waters, protecting themselves -from the burning air by covering their heads with wetted articles of -clothing.</p> - -<p>Another peril found them there. Logs, broken, charred tree-limbs, were -rolling and tumbling down with the stream. Something hit Elfreda, who -was dragging a woman to safety, and pushed the girl under. Struggle as -she would, Miss Briggs was unable for some time to extricate herself, -though she did manage to keep her head above water. Her skirts had -caught on the branches of what proved to be the bushy top of a tree, and -she was swept away on the current.</p> - -<p>After what seemed hours Elfreda succeeded in freeing herself, and -permitted herself to float while she rested, breathing hard from her -exertions.</p> - -<p>The village of Silver Creek had disappeared in the distance. A roaring -sound came to Elfreda’s ears, which she soon discovered was caused by -the rushing current of a turbulent river.</p> - -<p>“Mercy! What am I coming to?” cried the girl in her extremity. Elfreda -was frightened, but by no means panic-stricken. “Oh, this surely is the -end!” gasped the girl as she found herself suddenly whirled into wild -waters.</p> - -<p>It was Roaring River into which Miss Briggs had been swept from the -creek, and now her last hope seemed gone, for the stream was wide and -full of floating logs and brush, and here and there dark objects brushed -past her. The girl drifted on and on, chilled and exhausted, but still -possessing a strength of will that kept her from letting go, as many -another would have done in her circumstances.</p> - -<p>Of how long she had been in the water Elfreda had not the slightest -idea, but it seemed to have been hours, when suddenly she was halted by -the roots of a tree on the bank of the river, from which the dirt had -been washed away.</p> - -<p>Grasping at the roots, Miss Briggs clung there resting. After a little -she dragged herself over the roots and finally reached soft yielding -earth.</p> - -<p>“Thank God!” breathed Elfreda fervently, and stretching out she sank -into a deep sleep of exhaustion.</p> - -<p>When Miss Briggs awakened from that sleep the sun was shining, but there -was a yellow haze in the air, and the odor of smoke was wafted to her on -the morning breeze. Birds were singing in the trees, and the earth -seemed at peace.</p> - -<p>“J. Elfreda, you have done it this time!” she rebuked herself. “Why did -you ever go into that terrible water? Oh, what has become of the others? -This will never do. I must do something!” she cried, rousing herself and -standing up to look about her.</p> - -<p>What to do, was the perplexing question. It was then that Elfreda -discovered a trail. Trees along the trail had been blazed, but the -blazes were not new. The path had been used frequently, she observed, -and led into the forest. For that the Overland girl was thankful.</p> - -<p>After brief reflection, Miss Briggs decided to follow the trail that -Fate had offered to her. It must lead somewhere, she reasoned. Had -Elfreda been more familiar with life in the forest she would have known -that this was either a trapper’s or a fisherman’s trail, but to her all -forest blazes looked alike, so she plodded on slowly, keeping a sharp -lookout for slashes on sides of the trees, and for signs of human -habitation.</p> - -<p>When an hour had passed, and the trail still led on, the girl began to -lose heart. She sank down to rest and think, but as she peered -underneath the low-hanging branches of under-brush and saplings, Elfreda -made a discovery that set her pulses beating. There, less than fifty -yards ahead of her, she saw a shack, and about it was a hedge of -evergreens that undoubtedly had been placed there by human hands.</p> - -<p>“Saved!” cried Elfreda, springing to her feet, forgetful of the aches -and pains of a few moments before.</p> - -<p>The Overland girl caught her breath suddenly, and a rush of color leaped -to her cheeks, for Elfreda Briggs had made another discovery, and with -it came the realization that a most amazing thing had occurred.</p> - -<p>Uttering a shrill little cry, Elfreda started forward at a run.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chIV' title='IV: The Lost Cabin'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER IV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE LOST CABIN</span> -</h2> - -<p>“The village is saved!”</p> - -<p>Hamilton White, blackened, red-eyed, his clothing scorched, made that -announcement as, at the break of day, he had opportunity to look about -him.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and not a life lost,” agreed Grace Harlowe, herself worn out and -disheveled. “It is a miracle. Mr. White, they should get down on their -knees to thank you for what you have done for Silver Creek. Without your -resourcefulness—Well, there would be nothing left of the village or -people.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you!” Ham White bowed and grinned through the soot on his face. -“The credit is due wholly to the assistance of the Overlanders. In other -words, the shoe is on the other foot.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what next?” demanded Hippy Wingate coming up, Emma Dean -following, and taking her place beside the guide.</p> - -<p>“Something to eat if we can find it, then to get out of here and to -dodge what is left of the fire,” replied the guide. “Suppose we go down -to the creek and wash our faces.”</p> - -<p>“Get out of here!” jeered Hippy. “With what? I haven’t seen anything -that looked like a horse since yesterday. I think our animals must have -gone downstream, and that we are all fixed for a long hike to some place -where fresh mounts can be had.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton! Is it really true that the ponies have run away?” begged -Emma, linking arms with the guide.</p> - -<p>“Too true, little bird,” chuckled Hippy. “Thank you, Mr. Wingate. Being -a bird is better than being a donkey,” answered Emma.</p> - -<p>“And hop from bough to bough, and chatter and then chatter some more,” -finished Hippy.</p> - -<p>“While a donkey can only bray, and then bray some more,” was Emma’s -parting shot, which brought a shout of laughter from the begrimed -Overlanders.</p> - -<p>Hippy made a gesture of helpless resignation, and turned to the guide to -ask what they had better do.</p> - -<p>“We will find the stock somewhere to the northeast, provided they have -been neither burned nor drowned. Stock have an instinct that tells them -to seek high ground,” said the guide. “By the way, is Miss Briggs in one -of the houses resting?”</p> - -<p>“Elfreda!” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>The girls looked at each other with the same question in their eyes. -None had seen her since the evening before, and in the excitement and -confusion she had not been missed.</p> - -<p>“Girls, girls! Run!” cried Grace. “Go to every house in the village. She -must be here! She must be here! Hippy! Mr. White! Please help us.”</p> - -<p>There was instant compliance, and half an hour later the Overlanders met -in front of the post office. Grace was the only one of the party that -had any information to convey. Grace had found the woman whom Miss -Briggs had tried to rescue, and ascertained that the last that woman had -seen of her was when Elfreda had given her a vigorous push towards the -shore.</p> - -<p>For the first time since the Overlanders had known him, Ham White lost -his composure. He steadied himself in a moment. Leaping to the steps of -the store he shouted to the villagers that were still thronging the -streets.</p> - -<p>“Men!” he said. “These splendid young women have helped to save your -town and your women and children. One of the young women, Miss Briggs, -is missing. She <i>must</i> be found, and I want you men to form a searching -party. Get your breakfasts, but never mind anything else. If you are -men, which I believe you to be, you won’t have to be urged. I’ll tell -you what to do. Will you go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes!” The answer was a shout. And Hamilton White smiled.</p> - -<p>The guide directed the girls to steady themselves, and eat. As for -himself, he wanted nothing to eat except what he could carry with him -and munch on his way. White sent one searching party down each side of -the creek, heading the party on the left side himself, with Lieutenant -Hippy Wingate leading the party on the right.</p> - -<p>“Do not worry if we aren’t back as quickly as you might hope for, as we -shall be looking for stock—for our horses—at the same time,” he urged.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton, do be careful of yourself,” begged Emma as the men were -starting away. “I shall demonstrate for you all the time you are away.”</p> - -<p>Grace linked an arm in Emma’s.</p> - -<p>“My dear, how long have you known Mr. White?” she asked gently.</p> - -<p>“It seems as though I have always known him,” answered Emma dreamily.</p> - -<p>“As a matter of fact, you have known him less than a week. It is true we -took him on the recommendation of the banker at Cresco, where we made -our start for the Cascade Range of Washington State, and we know him to -be a man of intelligence, a brave, resourceful fellow, but there is -still something about him that I do not understand. I don’t believe he -is what he represents himself to be, but, if we should ever go out -again, he is the man I should like to have lead us. Just the same, that -is no reason why you should be so forward. Emma, well-bred girls are not -supposed to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Be a good fellow, which -you are, but be dignified,” admonished Grace smilingly.</p> - -<p>“I am and I do,” answered Miss Dean haughtily.</p> - -<p>“Now let us forget our little lecture, and do what we can to assist the -women of the village to get set, so to speak,” suggested Grace. “We must -not worry about Elfreda. I believe we shall find her and that she is as -safe at this moment as we are.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll demonstrate over her. I’ll keep saying to myself, ‘Elfreda is well -and happy. No harm can come to her because only error can mean harm,’” -promised Emma, bubbling and laughing.</p> - -<p>“Come,” said Grace. “Demonstrate after we have given some material aid -to these distressed people.”</p> - -<p>It was about this time that Elfreda reached the shack in the forest and -made the discovery that so startled her. Elfreda’s amazement was caused -by the sight of a human being, sitting on a stump near the shack. The -human being was short and fat. He was eating from a can of baked beans, -his big eyes regarding Miss Briggs soulfully, his cheeks puffed out with -the beans.</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” cried Elfreda. “Oh, Stacy Brown! Am I dreaming?”</p> - -<p>“Mebby,” mumbled the fat boy, digging more beans from the can.</p> - -<p>Elfreda ran to him, and in her joy at seeing her Overland companion, she -threw her arms about Stacy. In doing so she knocked the can of beans -from his hands, and the rest of the contents was spilled on the ground.</p> - -<p>“Now see what you’ve done,” wailed the fat boy. “And the beanery fifty -miles away.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind the beans. What is this place?”</p> - -<p>“Lost cabin,” answered Stacy promptly.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t. I just guessed it. Hungry?”</p> - -<p>“Famished,” answered J. Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Some more canned stuff under the floor of the shack,” he informed her, -waving a hand towards the cabin, and picking up the spilled beans one by -one, placing each individual bean carefully in his mouth.</p> - -<p>“First tell me how you got here?” demanded Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Came down on a Roaring River Liner—other words, a log. Where’s the -party?”</p> - -<p>“Trying to put out the fire at Silver Creek. Shall we try to find our -way back?”</p> - -<p>“What! With all that food cached in the shack?” demanded Stacy almost -indignantly. “So long as the food holds out and no fire comes along, I -stay right here. I know a good thing when I find it. After I get enough -to keep my strength up I am going down to the river and catch some fish. -Then we will have a real spread.”</p> - -<p>“Hopeless!” exclaimed Elfreda. “I am glad to see you, though. I think -you are right about remaining here for the day. When the fire is under -control our folks will search for us, and Mr. White will pick up our -trail.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I left ‘feetprints’ in the river when the log rolled me off. Did -you ever observe how wonderfully prominent ‘feetprints’ in the water -are, Elfreda?”</p> - -<p>Elfreda gave her head a toss and walked to the cabin. It was a typical -forest shack. There was a plain deal table, two chairs, a bed on the -floor and blankets hung over a line. The dishes were limited, but -sufficient for one or two persons. She investigated an opening in the -floor, from which Stacy had lifted the trap door, and found there a good -supply of canned goods, some rope, axes, picks and shovels.</p> - -<p>“A forest ranger’s shack,” she murmured. “Yes, I think that must be it.” -Elfreda helped herself to a can of beans, surveyed it ruefully and -carried it outside.</p> - -<p>“Have you the can-opener, Stacy?” she asked.</p> - -<p>Stacy shook his head.</p> - -<p>“How did you open your cans then?” Several empty cans lay about the -stump on which he was sitting.</p> - -<p>“With my teeth. Bit ’em open!” said the fat boy thickly.</p> - -<p>“Stacy Brown, you are impossible! I think I know a better way.” Elfreda -got an axe from the shack and attacked the can of beans. She made a bad -job of it, and most of the beans that were not mashed flat were -scattered about on the ground. These, the fat boy gathered up carefully -and placed in his own can.</p> - -<p>“Get another can. I’m busy, but I will open it for you. Girls are so -helpless.”</p> - -<p>“I am beginning to agree with you,” answered Miss Briggs, returning to -the cabin for another can. When she came back Stacy removed the top of -the can with his knife, and handed the food to her.</p> - -<p>“For this, you buy me a new knife when we reach a store somewhere. -Knives cost money, and I can’t afford to waste mine on girls.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have a new knife, and thank you very much for your courtesy,” -returned Elfreda.</p> - -<p>Stacy gave her a sidelong glance.</p> - -<p>“You look all fagged out. After you finish that can, better go in and -lie down. Besides, it won’t do to overload your stomach so soon after a -bath.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you funny boy!” Elfreda laughed until two tear drops were sparkling -on her brown cheeks. “If you will catch some fish I promise to cook them -for you, and we will have a real spread. Yes, I will take a nap, for I -am completely fagged. Did you discover any coffee in the shack?”</p> - -<p>“Uh-huh. I didn’t have time to make coffee. I’m too busy to do so now.”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs went to the shack, spread out the blankets for inspection, -and found them clean; so she laid them on the bed and stretched out for -a rest. Until then she had not realized how weary she was, and, in a few -moments, fell into a deep sleep.</p> - -<p>After a time Stacy took a nap by the stump, from which he did not awaken -until late in the afternoon. He did not know what time it was, his watch -having stopped on his wet ride from the village of Silver Creek. The fat -boy decided to go fishing. There was a bamboo pole, hook and line in the -shack, and this he got, after taking a squint at the sleeping Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Girls are such sleepy-heads,” muttered the boy, as he shouldered the -pole and went out, making all the noise he could, all of which failed to -awaken Miss Briggs. On the way to the stream he looked for a rotting -stump, one of which he eventually found, and with his hunting knife -managed to dig out some nice white grubs for bait.</p> - -<p>“Humph! They do look almost good enough to eat,” he muttered, surveying -some of the grubs in the palm of his hand. “I don’t blame the fish for -liking them.”</p> - -<p>Shortly after that the fat boy sat down on the bank with his line in the -water, thoroughly at peace with the world, and content to remain where -he was so long as the food held out.</p> - -<p>Stacy had not been fishing long when he heard a horse approaching, but -did not turn his head, his eyes remaining fixed on the fish line that -caused a little ripple in the stream as it split the current.</p> - -<p>“Hello, boy!” called a voice behind him.</p> - -<p>“Same to you,” returned Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Fishing?”</p> - -<p>“No. Just teaching this grub how to swim.”</p> - -<p>“Say, you! You’re too fresh. I’ve a good mind to throw you into the -river,” growled the newcomer.</p> - -<p>“Better not. I’ll get wet.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you come from?” demanded the man, his voice sharp and -incisive.</p> - -<p>“Up Silver Creek way. I came down here on the river packet to get away -from the forest fire.”</p> - -<p>“I mean, where do you live?”</p> - -<p>“Right here at the present moment. I don’t look as if I were dead, do -I?”</p> - -<p>“You may be soon if you ain’t more civil. What happened to the village?”</p> - -<p>“Some people got singed, others got wet. I got a little of both before I -shipped.”</p> - -<p>The man got down from his horse and stepped around where he could see -the fat boy’s face. Stacy gave him a slow, sidelong glance, then turned -his attention to his line. He had a bite, and a few seconds later he -landed a fish.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” grunted the stranger. “Anybody with you?”</p> - -<p>“A few grubs in my pocket and myself, that’s all. Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“None of your business!”</p> - -<p>Stacy regarded the stranger blinkingly. The fellow was not a -pleasant-looking man, and a scar across one cheek gave him a still more -evil look. The horse he rode, Stacy observed, was a fine animal and -looked as though it could develop a lot of speed.</p> - -<p>“Where’d you get the nag?” questioned the boy.</p> - -<p>“Bought him. Didn’t think I stole him, did you?” demanded the man -indignantly.</p> - -<p>Stacy shrugged his shoulders, but made no reply. He resumed his fishing.</p> - -<p>“Let me give you some advice, young fellow. This is no place for -children. You git out of here, and stay out. I’ll be back later, and if -you’re here then I’ll help you out on the run.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks,” drawled the fat boy without looking up.</p> - -<p>The stranger rode away, and Stacy resumed his fishing. He caught a fine -mess of trout; then the grubs gave out. Being too tired to return to the -shack just then the Overlander decided to take a nap, which he proceeded -to do. Night came on, and Stacy Brown was still asleep. So was Elfreda -Briggs, in the shack. Miss Briggs had not moved since she lay down hours -before.</p> - -<p>It was late when she finally suddenly roused herself and sat up. The -cabin was enshrouded in darkness. Peering out, she saw that it was -night.</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” she called. There was no response. Stacy Brown was sleeping -peacefully on the bank of Roaring River.</p> - -<p>Elfreda wondered what had awakened her so suddenly. Then all at once she -understood. She heard a horse approaching. The animal stopped just -beyond the cabin. Miss Briggs did not go to the door, but got to her -feet and listened. She thought she heard someone groan; then all was -silence for a moment.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” exclaimed the Overland girl under her breath as the door of the -shack was slowly pushed open. “Who is it?” she cried, with all the -steadiness that she could summon. Miss Briggs reached for her revolver, -but it was not in its holster.</p> - -<p>A man staggered in. She could see his figure faintly outlined in the -doorway.</p> - -<p>“Help! I’m shot—I’m dying!” groaned the man, and collapsed at the feet -of Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chV' title='V: A Fruitless Quest'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER V</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A FRUITLESS QUEST</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Grace! Oh, Grace!”</p> - -<p>After several hours of hard work assisting the women of the village to -untangle the confusion of their homes, the contents of most of which -were in the streets, Nora came running in search of Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>“What is wrong, Nora?” begged Grace a little fearfully.</p> - -<p>“Have you seen Stacy?”</p> - -<p>“No. Come to think of it, I have not. Why, I haven’t seen him since last -night, either.”</p> - -<p>“Neither has anyone else, so far as I have been able to learn.”</p> - -<p>“Are you positive that he did not go out with the men this morning?” -asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“They say he did not.”</p> - -<p>“Chunky”—as his companions sometimes called him—“is probably asleep -somewhere about,” suggested Emma Dean. “You know what a wonderful -sleeper he is.”</p> - -<p>“I doubt it,” answered Grace reflectively. “Was he in the creek?”</p> - -<p>Nora said she did not know.</p> - -<p>“That makes two of our party that are missing. What are we going to do?” -begged Nora, tears of anxiety springing to her eyes.</p> - -<p>“We will search for him in the vicinity of the village. That is all we -can do. If we do not find him we simply shall have to wait until the men -return to-night,” decided Grace.</p> - -<p>“If Hamilton were only here he would know what is best,” complained -Emma.</p> - -<p>Grace gave her a look of rebuke.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White probably will find the boy. He will leave nothing undone, of -that we girls are certain, and we shall have to make the best of a bad -situation, which may not be nearly so bad as it seems,” comforted Grace. -“Come, let us take different directions and search the village and its -immediate vicinity.”</p> - -<p>“I have another one to demonstrate over now. I don’t want to demonstrate -over Chunky, but I suppose it wouldn’t be honest not to,” complained -Emma. “This is terrible.”</p> - -<p>The girls separated and made a careful search about the village and out -among the trees, as far from the village as they dared to go. There were -still many little smouldering fires, but there was so little for them to -feed upon that they could not spread.</p> - -<p>Not a trace of the missing boy did the girls find, though there was -plenty of tragic evidence of the deadly work of the forest fire -everywhere they went. The girls returned, giving up the task.</p> - -<p>“We must wait, and go on with our work. It will help to keep our minds -from our worries. My husband would be a great comfort if he were here, -for Tom is ever ready and resourceful,” murmured Grace.</p> - -<p>“He is no better than Hamilton,” protested Emma indignantly. “What -Hamilton doesn’t know about everything up here isn’t worth knowing.”</p> - -<p>The girls laughed at Emma, who turned away, face flushed and eyes moist. -They busied themselves all the rest of the day, but when night came on, -the searchers had not returned. Shortly after nine o’clock, however, a -shout told the anxious Overlanders that someone was approaching. It -proved to be Hippy Wingate and his party. Hippy reported that they had -not found a trace of Elfreda Briggs. He was shocked when he learned that -Stacy also was missing.</p> - -<p>It was an hour later when Hamilton White and his party of searchers came -in. They were leading a bunch of horses.</p> - -<p>“We got them all but one, folks,” he cried as the villagers and the -Overlanders crowded about him and his party.</p> - -<p>“But Miss Briggs!” wailed Nora Wingate. “Don’t tell me that—”</p> - -<p>“She was not found on the left-hand side of the river. We followed -Roaring River down to a point about fifteen miles below here. As you -see, we got all the mounts but one, and that one evidently was swept -away, else he would have been with his mates.”</p> - -<p>White was speaking more rapidly than was his wont, and Grace was -regarding him keenly.</p> - -<p>“Did you know that Stacy Brown is missing also?” she asked.</p> - -<p>The guide regarded her for a moment.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Don’t be disheartened, Mrs. Gray. To-morrow I -shall take the other side of the river and stay out until I get a -definite line on what has happened. It would have been useless to remain -out longer to-night.”</p> - -<p>After a little, when he had answered many questions, White beckoned -Grace aside.</p> - -<p>“You are a level-headed woman, Mrs. Gray, so I think it best to tell you -what I have discovered. I—”</p> - -<p>“I knew you were keeping something back. Tell me. The truth is better -than the suspense.”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t agree with you. I found Miss Briggs’ hat and her -handkerchief on my side of the river. The men with me do not know this. -The current on my side of the stream set into a bend at one point, then -switched over to the right-hand side. That is why I am going down the -right-hand side to-morrow. To me the finding of the hat is proof that -our missing woman was really swept downstream, but my confidence in Miss -Briggs’ cool-headedness is so strong that I believe she found a way to -get out of the river.”</p> - -<p>“I hope so,” replied Grace quietly. “By the same token, I think we shall -find Stacy. If he succeeds in finding something to eat, he will remain -where the food is until it is exhausted,” she added with a little smile.</p> - -<p>“Just so,” agreed the guide. “I am more disturbed about possible peril -to Miss Briggs after she escaped from the river.”</p> - -<p>“Meaning what?” demanded Grace.</p> - -<p>“That there is danger to the north of us—a peril worse than forest fires -or wild beasts.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes!” urged Grace.</p> - -<p>“I mean the Murrays.”</p> - -<p>Grace said she never had heard of them.</p> - -<p>“They are notorious bandits, cutthroats, robbers, everything that is -vicious. Did Miss Briggs wear any jewels?”</p> - -<p>“She did—a diamond ring that is quite valuable, and a jewelled watch -that was presented to her by the French government after she finished -her work there with our college unit in the war.”</p> - -<p>“They would kill for less than that!” was the disturbing announcement of -Hamilton White, as he turned abruptly away.</p> - -<p>Ham White did not wait until morning to resume his search. After taking -a light supper, and packing some “grub” in his kit bag, he quietly -forded the creek with one of the Overland ponies, then disappeared in -the darkness, headed downstream. Only Lieutenant Hippy Wingate knew that -he had gone. Ham White was headed towards an adventure that proved to be -a thrilling one, both for himself and others.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chVI' title='VI: Facing a New Peril'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER VI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>FACING A NEW PERIL</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Sho—Shot!” gasped Elfreda Briggs, as the stranger lay huddled on the -floor where he had fallen. He was breathing heavily, and perhaps it was -this that brought Miss Briggs to herself. After long service with -wounded men in France, she knew what a bullet wound was, and her first -instinct upon recovering from her fright was to give first aid.</p> - -<p>Elfreda had found candles and matches in the cabin, and these she -quickly procured, lighting two candles the better to see her patient. -She peered down at her unexpected guest, a long, lean figure, his lined, -unshaven face ashen from pain and weakness. Elfreda instantly recognized -the symptoms.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you poor, poor man!” she cried in a voice full of sympathy, and -placed a folded blanket under his head. Then the Overland girl ran out -to a spring just back of the cabin, returning with a basin of cold -mountain water. First giving the wounded man a drink, she tore open the -faded, worn shirt and bathed his wound, which she knew at once was a -serious one.</p> - -<p>This served to rouse the patient a little, and he regarded her with -searching eyes—eyes that were full of pain.</p> - -<p>“Tha—ank you. You’re a good girl. What be you doing here?”</p> - -<p>“I belong to a party, but was carried down the river from Silver Creek -village when the forest fire reached there. Never mind that—tell me -about yourself.”</p> - -<p>“The gang got me—Hawk Murray’s gang. Name’s Sam Petersen, and I’m a -prospector—was a prospector, but I’m done, finished now.”</p> - -<p>“Why did they shoot you?”</p> - -<p>“For gold, Miss, gold! But I hung on to my horse and got away. They’ll -be here.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda begged him not to worry, seeing that the thought of the Murray -gang excited him.</p> - -<p>“Promise me, for your own sake, that you will not let them find me or -know that I have been here. If they find out they’ll do the same by you -that they have done by Sam Petersen.”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs caressed the gray head, and moistened his lips with the cold -mountain water. Then, as tenderly as possible, she dragged the wounded -man to the bunk at one corner of the room, where he might be more -comfortable.</p> - -<p>“It’s mighty good to have you help me, but tain’t no use. I’ve staked my -last claim and—listen!” Petersen roused himself, and a new light flashed -into his eyes. “I must tell you, and I must do it quick. Reach in my -pocket and take out the diary there. Hide it! Left hand po—pocket. -That’s it.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda hesitatingly drew forth a well-worn book, the corners of which -were broken down and the leaves swollen from frequent thumbing.</p> - -<p>“There’s something else there, too. Take that, too; it’s your’n.”</p> - -<p>The Overland girl drew forth a small canvas bag, soiled and worn, and -heavy. It was tied at the neck with a buckskin thong, and at his nod she -opened the bag. She saw a handful of nuggets, some worn and shiny, -water-worn as they proved to be, while at the bottom of the bag was some -dust.</p> - -<p>“Gold!” murmured Elfreda Briggs. “Is this why they shot you, Mr. -Petersen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and for what’s in that diary. Mebby you’ve heard of Lost Mine, a -dried-up water course that the Indians say many years ago was paved with -gold.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda shook her head.</p> - -<p>“Crazy prospectors like Sam Petersen have been hunting for that mine for -more’n twenty-five years. Sam Petersen found it!” The man’s voice had -dropped to a thrilling whisper. A dead silence followed, broken by the -hoot of an owl near the cabin.</p> - -<p>Elfreda shivered a little.</p> - -<p>“It’s there in the book—all but how to get there. Hawk Murray and his -gang found out that I’d got this bag of dust and nuggets. They knew I’d -been prospecting for just what they’d been trying for a long time to -find, and they believed I’d found it. Hawk and his bunch trailed me, and -we had a shooting match. I downed one of the gang, but Hawk got me. -Lady, I ain’t a bad man—I’m an honest man, but up here a man’s what he -is, and if he ain’t able to shuffle for himself he’s all set to be -shuffled off one day.”</p> - -<p>“You are talking too much—exerting too much effort. Be quiet and rest,” -commanded Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“I got to talk. I got to talk fast. I ain’t got much more time. Write -down in the book what I got to say. Ready?”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs nodded. “Lost River, north branch, Grandma and the Children, -three peaks dead east—and there’s the bed of Lost River. In it is gold, -shining gold, the promised land and—it’s yours. I ain’t got no family.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite understand. Can you make it a little clearer?”</p> - -<p>“All yours and—”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t talk any more. I want you to rest. You are getting -excited. What is gold compared to a man’s life, Mr. Petersen?”</p> - -<p>There was no reply.</p> - -<p>Elfreda Briggs glanced at the face, then, leaning over, peered closer.</p> - -<p>“Get rid of the horse—shoot him. They’ll be here soon after daylight and -then—”</p> - -<p>That was all. The tired old voice trailed off into nothingness. Sam -Petersen had staked his last claim.</p> - -<p>Tears trickled down Elfreda’s cheeks. A thin gray bar of daylight was -now creeping across the cabin floor, and with it came the memory of the -old prospector’s warning: “The Murray gang will be here soon after -daylight”—and then—“Get rid of the horse!”</p> - -<p>Realizing that perhaps her own life might hang on following Petersen’s -advice, Miss Briggs sprang up and ran out. Standing a few yards from the -cabin, there was a fine bay mare browsing on the tender leaves of the -hedge. The animal regarded her solemnly, and, she thought, with a -friendly approving look.</p> - -<p>“You poor horse! Shoot <i>you?</i> I couldn’t do it, but I am going to try to -hide you,” declared the Overland girl.</p> - -<p>Gripping the bridle she led the animal off to the right of the cabin -until she reached a stream. Into this she led the animal for some -distance, and secreted him in a narrow pass that was well hidden.</p> - -<p>“I think I will take the saddle and hide that,” reflected Elfreda. Upon -second thought she decided to carry it back and hide it near the cabin, -for she recognized it as a fine Mexican saddle. The saddle she did -secrete in a thick growth of bushes about fifty yards from the shack.</p> - -<p>As she approached the cabin her footsteps became halting.</p> - -<p>“What if they should come and find him here? Oh, this is terrible. -Where, where can Stacy be? Why doesn’t he come back?”</p> - -<p>It was not a pleasant task that confronted Elfreda Briggs, but she went -to it with lips set, face pale, and heart beating nervously. She covered -the thin old frame of Sam Petersen, and over it laid the blankets.</p> - -<p>“Oh, this is terrible,” moaned the girl, then grew suddenly rigid. The -sound of approaching horses reached her alert ears as she stood in the -middle of the floor, every faculty on the alert.</p> - -<p>They galloped up to the shack and halted.</p> - -<p>“Hello the cabin!” called a rough voice.</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs pinched her cheeks to bring back the color that she knew had -left them, then summoning all her courage she stepped to the door. That -courage almost failed her when she saw before her six of the roughest -looking men she ever had seen. They were mounted on lean, tough horses; -there was a rifle in every saddle boot, and they wore side arms as well.</p> - -<p>“The Murrays!” gasped the girl. “Sam Petersen knew whereof he spoke.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chVII' title='VII: The Discovery'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER VII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE DISCOVERY</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Hawk Murray!” exclaimed Elfreda Briggs, as one of the horsemen rode -around the hedge and up to the door of the cabin. Elfreda recognized the -man by his long hooked nose that really resembled the beak of a hawk. It -was not a pleasant face to look upon.</p> - -<p>“Mornin’, Miss,” he greeted, with an attempt at politeness.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, sir,” replied Miss Briggs firmly, essaying a smile as she -said it, though she did not feel like smiling, for the eyes of the rider -seemed to be searching her very soul.</p> - -<p>“Do ye live here?” was the next question.</p> - -<p>“For the present, yes.”</p> - -<p>“Ye don’t reckon ye’ve seen a stranger on a bay mare passin’ here this -mornin’, do ye?” he questioned, leaning over and peering into the face -of the Overland girl.</p> - -<p>“No, sir. No one has passed here, so far as I know, since daylight. I -don’t know who passed before that. Why do you ask?”</p> - -<p>“We’re a posse on the track of a hoss thief. The bay mare he rode was -stole, and some gold he had was stole, too.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” observed Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“We trailed the thief this way, but back a piece we kind of lost the -trail,” volunteered the Hawk, grinning apologetically. “Be ye alone?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no. I am with a party. They are not here now, but I look for them -to arrive shortly,” she answered, trying hard not to appear disturbed.</p> - -<p>“Well, so long. We’ll be on our way.” The man swung off his hat and, -wheeling his horse about, jogged along. Her heart sank as she saw that -the riders were taking a direction, which, if followed on, would lead -perilously close to the spot at which she had secreted Sam Petersen’s -horse. She regarded each man keenly as they passed her, and theirs she -saw on close inspection were hard, callous, reckless faces. There was -coldness, there was daring, in them.</p> - -<p>The last man in the line, younger than his companions, while his face -was also cold, appeared to be of a character different from the others. -There was a poise of the head, a grace in riding, and in the manner with -which he bowed as he swung his hat low, that singled him out as a man -somewhat above his fellows, in intelligence at least.</p> - -<p>The riders were out of sight in a moment, and, with their passing, -Elfreda Briggs’ knees grew suddenly weak. She staggered into the cabin -and sat down heavily.</p> - -<p>“Had they come in I don’t know what I should have done,” murmured the -girl, placing a hand on the diary that she had hidden in her blouse. The -bag of nuggets and “dust” lay in plain sight near the bunk on which Sam -Petersen lay. Elfreda hurriedly sprang up and secreted the bag under the -blankets. Then a sudden thought came to her. She recalled that the old -prospector wore a holster, and that she had noticed the size of the -revolver butt that protruded from it. Instant determination to possess -herself of the weapon seized her.</p> - -<p>“They will return! I feel it!” she cried.</p> - -<p>It took but a moment to get the weapon and the cartridge belt, to both -of which the girl gave critical inspection, for Elfreda had handled -revolvers, both in France in wartime, and on their annual summer outings -in the saddle. The weapon was loaded, and several rounds of cartridges -still remained in the belt.</p> - -<p>“There!” she exclaimed, after strapping the holster on. “I at least have -the means of defending myself. Hark!”</p> - -<p>Hoof-beats were plainly audible, but they seemed to be those of only one -horse. A glance through the doorway, without revealing herself, verified -this.</p> - -<p>“It’s the good-looking one,” breathed Elfreda, retiring into the shadows -and giving her holster a shift. “I must go out. It never will do to let -that man come into the cabin,” she decided as she stepped to the door -with an expression of surprised inquiry in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Ye didn’t think I’d be back so soon, did ye?” he grinned.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I looked for you to return,” Elfreda replied. “What is it -you wish?”</p> - -<p>“I reckoned as I’d like a drink of water.”</p> - -<p>“Wait. I will fetch a dipper. The spring is just beyond the stump over -yonder.” Elfreda was out with a dipper in her hand in a moment, and held -it up to him, but the rider did not take it. He swung from the saddle -and stood leaning against his mount, regarding her with something like a -twinkle in his eyes. Elfreda saw that twinkle and was reassured.</p> - -<p>“I see ye’ve got your hardware on,” he said, pointing to the revolver. -“Purty sizable gun for a lady, eh? Ye didn’t have it on when I was here -before.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I was expecting more company after you went off. Why do you -ask?”</p> - -<p>The rider shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Reckon I’ll take that dipper now,” he said, extending a hand for it. -Elfreda gave it to him, and keen as his eyes were, it is doubtful if he -discovered the fear that Elfreda felt. After stepping back she got a -broom and began sweeping up the cabin floor, which she was still doing -when the man returned from the spring. Hearing him coming, she stepped -outside.</p> - -<p>“Thankee,” he said, returning the dipper.</p> - -<p>“What would ye say, lady, if I told ye I wanted to search the shack?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>“I should say <i>no!</i>” was the emphatic reply.</p> - -<p>“And what if I decided to do it anyhow?” grinned the mountain rider.</p> - -<p>“I’d shoot you!” she answered coldly.</p> - -<p>“Sufferin’ cats! I believe ye would. Never can tell what these quiet -kind might do. Can I have a look at the little toy?” he teased.</p> - -<p>“You may look at the muzzle, if you wish.”</p> - -<p>The fellow laughed and slapped his thigh.</p> - -<p>“Ye’re a cool one, I’ll tell them all.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you.” Elfreda was covertly watching every movement of her caller, -every expression of face and eyes, and she could not but feel that he -was unusually confident about something. Rack her brain as she might, -she could not think what that something might be, unless Hawk’s party -had discovered the bay mare, which she did not believe was a fact, for -the party had swerved off to the right after leaving the vicinity of the -forest cabin.</p> - -<p>“If I reckerlect, lady, ye told the boss that ye hadn’t seen any -strangers hereabouts—a fellow on a bay mare, an old party and a tough -one.”</p> - -<p>“I told you no one had passed here, and to the latter part of your -question I am free to say that your party included the only ‘tough ones’ -I have seen since coming into the forest.”</p> - -<p>“So! I reckon I see the p’int. Lady, what about that saddle over there -in the brush?”</p> - -<p>Elfreda could feel her face going pale.</p> - -<p>“The—the saddle!” she gasped, but instantly recovered herself. “What -saddle do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I mean Sam Petersen’s saddle. I’d know that leather among all the rest -in the Cascade range. He stole that, too. Now where’s the bay mare? He -sure didn’t ride her away without the saddle.”</p> - -<p>“Find him, if you want to know. Don’t ask me! As for the saddle that you -say is over yonder in the brush, draw whatever conclusions you wish. Is -that all? If so, I have work to do and will go to it,” announced J. -Elfreda with great dignity.</p> - -<p>“I reckon that’s ’bout all, ’cept that I’d like to look over that -shack.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, you may step up to the door and look in, but no farther if -you value your life,” replied Elfreda, turning her back on him and -stepping through the doorway.</p> - -<p>The visitor was not slow to accept the invitation. He reached the -threshold, and was about to stride into the cabin when he suddenly found -himself facing the old prospector’s revolver, held in the steady hand of -Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“You may take a look at the revolver now if you like,” she offered. -“Stay where you are!”</p> - -<p>A glint came into the man’s eyes, a glint of danger, but it faded and he -laughed.</p> - -<p>“Very neat, Miss. I think I’ll take a look at that bunk over there, and -that there hole in the floor with the trap door in it.”</p> - -<p>“Out! Instantly!” Elfreda’s voice rang out with a new note in it.</p> - -<p>The unwelcome guest’s hand sagged slowly towards his own holster.</p> - -<p>“Hands up! Quick!”</p> - -<p>The man obeyed, his eyes never leaving hers, nor did Elfreda’s eyes -leave those of her caller. While he undoubtedly, with his long -experience in quick work, could have dodged and drawn and fired ere Miss -Briggs was able to prevent it, he did not do so. Perhaps he feared that -she might hit his horse instead of himself, for that animal was directly -in range with her weapon.</p> - -<p>“Mount! Leave this place instantly! If you attempt to interfere with me -you will do so at your peril!” she warned.</p> - -<p>“Farewell, lady,” he answered mockingly. “I shall see ye just the same, -and ye will answer my questions next time.” The fellow swung into his -saddle, Miss Briggs still keeping her weapon trained on him as she -followed him out.</p> - -<p>Then she saw the man suddenly stiffen in his saddle, and what followed -came at such speed that she was dazed. The fellow’s revolver leaped, it -seemed to her, from its holster and met his hand half way. There was a -sudden report, and a faint puff of grayish smoke from the muzzle.</p> - -<p>A fraction of a second, after the report of his weapon, brought a shot -from somewhere to the left of the Overland girl. The bandit’s horse -jumped, and to Elfreda it was plain that the animal had been hit. It -reared, and its rider toppled over and plunged backwards to the ground.</p> - -<div id='i001' style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:10.0%; width:80%;'> - <img src='images/i001.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> -<p class='caption'>The Bandit Was Using Elfreda as a Shield.</p> -</div> - -<p>“He’s killed!” cried Miss Briggs, dropping her own weapon and running to -the prostrate bandit who lay where he had fallen, his face turned to one -side, and half hidden by his sombrero. She gave no thought to the peril -that she might be inviting by aiding the ruffian. Her one thought was to -give aid.</p> - -<p>The girl was bending over him, when, in a flash, the fellow was on his -feet, and two sinewy hands had grabbed her arms and whirled her about in -the direction of the shot that had been fired at him. Elfreda Briggs had -walked into a trap!</p> - -<p>That was not all. A report at her ear was followed by another and -another. The bandit was shooting over her shoulder, using the Overland -girl as a shield.</p> - -<p>There were no answering shots, nor could Elfreda see what the bandit had -been shooting at, but she stood frozen, while he, alert and cool, kept -his gaze fixed on a clump of bushes a few dozen yards ahead of them.</p> - -<p>Elfreda had not uttered a sound. She was trembling, but rather than have -the man using her as a shield know this she summoned all her will power -and gained control of herself.</p> - -<p>The bandit fired again. The shooting, so close to her ear, fairly -deafened her. Elfreda had another cause for worry, for she did not know -at what instant the bandit’s enemy might conclude to fire again. To a -person in her position, that was not a comforting thought. No answering -shot came, and the girl drew a long breath of relief.</p> - -<p>Not a word had passed between them up to this point, but now she spoke.</p> - -<p>“You coward!” breathed Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Had to do it,” was the brief reply.</p> - -<p>“You will pay dearly for this,” she threatened.</p> - -<p>“Shut up! I’ll give ye a clout over the head if ye don’t, and I’d hate -to do that to a purty gal like—” <i>Bang!</i></p> - -<p>The bandit fired. Then a strange thing happened, and Elfreda was hurled -forward on her face with unexpected violence.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chVIII' title='VIII: Stacy Takes a Hand'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER VIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>STACY TAKES A HAND</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Wow! I’ll show you that you can’t steal my beans and my fish!” yelled -an angry voice behind Miss Briggs. The outlaw was pulling himself -together and unsteadily getting to his feet just as Elfreda sprang to -hers. Then there sounded a sudden whack, a grunt, and the bandit again -measured his length on the ground, after receiving another blow on the -head.</p> - -<p>“Stacy! Stacy Brown!” cried Elfreda, for it was Stacy who had stolen up -behind the bandit and clouted the outlaw on the head with a stick just -after the fellow had fired his last shot.</p> - -<p>Ere the man had fully recovered from this last whack, Chunky had sprung -forward and snatched up the bandit’s weapon.</p> - -<p>“Now you get out of this before I get mad. I’m only out of patience now, -but when I’m mad I’m a dangerous man. Get!”</p> - -<p>With his own revolver trained on him, the bandit evidently considered -prudence the wise course. He had not yet fully recovered from Stacy’s -last wallop, and staggered as he ran to his horse. As he swung into his -saddle, a shot from somewhere brought a grunt from the fellow, and the -Overlander saw the bandit shudder.</p> - -<p>“Don’t shoot! He’s hit,” warned Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t shoot this time. It was someone else,” flung back the boy. -“You move, and you move fast. And next time you steal a fellow’s beans -and fish, you pick out some fellow who’ll stand for it!”</p> - -<p>The outlaw rode away at a brisk gallop, swaying a little in his saddle, -still considerably dazed from Stacy’s two wallops, and in pain from the -bullet that had hit him.</p> - -<p>“Stacy! Oh, Stacy!” cried Elfreda, running to the boy and throwing both -arms about him. “You wonderful boy! I never thought you had such -courage.”</p> - -<p>“Courage? I’m a hero! I always was. All I needed was the opportunity to -show that I am. I ought to have a medal.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have one. Do—do you think he will come back?” she asked with -an apprehensive glance in the direction taken by the outlaw.</p> - -<p>“Come back? Why, I should say he wouldn’t. That fellow is scared stiff. -You couldn’t drag him back here.”</p> - -<p>“There are others, Stacy. You don’t know all. They were all here, and -after they went away he came back and—”</p> - -<p>“Others?” Stacy’s face went solemn. “If that’s the case, I reckon we’d -better run while the running is good.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t, not yet. I must talk with you. There is something to be done -before we leave. But you were so brave, and all the time you were hiding -behind the bushes, letting that desperate fellow shoot at you without -your firing a shot fearing that you might hit me. It was wonderful! What -did you mean when you accused the man of stealing your fish—had you seen -him before?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I had seen him. He tried to interfere with me while I was -fishing for a mess of trout for you yesterday afternoon. I did get a -mess of them, beauties, too,” declared Stacy boastfully. “I finally got -tired; the bait gave out, so I ate part of a can of beans and lay down -for a nap. Well, I didn’t wake up, I guess, until this morning. The fish -were gone, and so were the rest of the beans. I tell you I was good and -angry. When I got here you were having your misunderstanding with the -ruffian.”</p> - -<p>“And you really were in those bushes shooting at him?”</p> - -<p>“I was in the bushes all right.”</p> - -<p>“But who fired that last shot that hit him?” demanded Miss Briggs -suddenly, regarding her companion narrowly.</p> - -<p>“The—the sec—That’s so. I wonder who did. He was some shooter. But -listen! I know. It must have been one of that fiend’s friends shooting -at me. He didn’t hit the fellow he fired at. Isn’t that a good joke on -the fellow in the bushes, and on the one that got hit!” cried the fat -boy, his assurance returning. “Tell me what has happened here.” Stacy -was stalking back and forth twirling the outlaw’s weapon on his finger.</p> - -<p>“Come with me to the shack and I will tell you. Tragedy, not comedy, has -come to this place. I would have given anything could you have been here -to help me, for, Stacy, I needed help as I never in my life needed it -before. Listen, for we must lose no time in doing what we have to do, -and then get away from this unhappy spot.”</p> - -<p>They were in the cabin by this time.</p> - -<p>“A man came here last night, wounded and faint. I tried to help him, but -he was beyond help. Stacy, the poor fellow died. Those ruffians had shot -him. I do not think the man who shot him was the one who made a shield -of me, but it was one of the same gang.”</p> - -<p>“Di—died!” gasped Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, in a few minutes after he got here. I have his horse hidden some -little distance from here.”</p> - -<p>“Whe—whe—where is he?”</p> - -<p>“There!” she announced gently, pointing to the bunk. “We can’t leave him -there, Stacy. There is something to be done, and I just can’t bring -myself to do it.”</p> - -<p>Stacy, his eyes large and round, backed hurriedly from the shack.</p> - -<p>“Come on out. I can’t talk in there any more,” he urged, and Elfreda -joined him at once. “Let me think. I can’t do it, either. I can fight a -bad man, or wild animals, but this—this I—I can’t. Why did they shoot -him?”</p> - -<p>“They said he was a horse thief, but I know better. He possessed -information that they wanted. This fellow that you sent away found the -man’s saddle, though I don’t know how he chanced to discover it. The -horse he may have discovered also, but I hardly think so. If not, we can -take the animal and try to find our way back to Silver Creek.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Let’s find the horse. We can send Ham White back to do what you -said. Where is the horse?”</p> - -<p>“We will go look for him, but we must proceed with caution,” said -Elfreda. “Take your revolver and I will take mine. You fall in behind. I -will lead because I know the way.”</p> - -<p>Stacy did not appear to relish the mission at all, but he relished still -less being left alone at the cabin, so he followed along obediently. -Elfreda proceeded with great caution, watching the ground and the -surrounding forest.</p> - -<p>“Keep perfectly quiet,” she warned, as they neared the spot where the -horse had been secreted. “Stay where you are,” added Elfreda in a -whisper, then crept forward.</p> - -<p>“This is spooky,” muttered the fat boy. “I don’t like what I can’t see.”</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” There was alarm in Elfreda’s voice. “Come here!”</p> - -<p>He did not move as rapidly as he might, but a few moments later was -standing at her side, and Stacy blinked as his gaze followed the -direction in which she pointed.</p> - -<p>A handsome bay mare lay dead in the secluded spot. It was the horse that -Sam Petersen had left in her charge.</p> - -<p>“Shot! The brutes!” cried Elfreda. “They have shot her. Well, perhaps -that is better. Mr. Petersen asked me to dispose of the animal or hide -her. What a pity!”</p> - -<p>“I call it a good riddance. Say, Elfreda, you don’t suppose any of that -gang are hanging around here, do you?” questioned Stacy apprehensively.</p> - -<p>“Gracious! I hope not. Come, let us get away from this place.”</p> - -<p>Stacy was quite ready to move, and took the lead, Elfreda following. -They lost no time in getting back to the cabin, but, as they approached, -Stacy again began to lag.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t we going down to the river and try to find our way back to our -party?” he asked as his companion started to enter the cottage.</p> - -<p>“Not yet. I have something to do in here first,” she made reply. “Oh!” -Elfreda sprang back.</p> - -<p>“Wha—wha—what!”</p> - -<p>“There’s someone in there,” she whispered.</p> - -<p>“Oh, wow!” Stacy jumped and started off.</p> - -<p>Elfreda looked her disgust, and, summoning her courage, stepped into the -cabin.</p> - -<p>“Who is it?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“I was waiting to see how steady your nerves are,” answered a voice that -brought a thrill to her. A man rose and stepped towards her.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White! Stacy, come in, it’s all right,” she called, a happier note -in her voice. “I am so glad to see you, for I need you.” Elfreda shook -hands with the guide. “How long have you been here?”</p> - -<p>“I came in just a moment ago. My horse is down near the river, where I -picked up your trail and came up here. What has been going on here? I -believe there was some shooting up this way. So it sounded to me.”</p> - -<p>“The Murrays have been here, and, had it not been for Stacy, I fear -something serious might have happened to me. Stacy really saved me, even -going so far as to let one of the outlaws shoot at him. Would you think, -from what you have seen of him, that Stacy is brave enough to fight a -duel with one of that gang?”</p> - -<p>Ham White looked solemn and shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Our party is very much worried about you, Miss Briggs—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, are they all right?” cried the Overland girl, flushing at thought -of her forgetfulness.</p> - -<p>“Every one of them, but we must get back to them as soon as possible. -Tell me the story.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda then related the whole story of her experiences, passing briefly -over her trip down the creek and the river, and relating the story of -the arrival of Sam Petersen and his death, omitting the incident of the -diary, as well as the story of the lost mine and the bag of nuggets and -dust.</p> - -<p>“Died here? Where is—”</p> - -<p>“There!” answered the girl in a low voice, pointing to the bunk. “You -and Stacy will please do what is necessary. I could do it if I had to, -but so long as you are here it is better not.”</p> - -<p>“What did the ruffian who came back here look like?”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs described the man in detail.</p> - -<p>“That was Two-gun Murray, one of the most notorious gun-fighters on the -range. He has more brains than his brother, Hawk Murray, and some -personal charm, but he is a cold-blooded ruffian. Is he the fellow you -saw down by the river, that Miss Briggs has told me about?” questioned -White, turning to Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Yes. And he is the fellow who stole my fish and ate my beans,” -complained the boy.</p> - -<p>“I wonder what that crowd was after Sam Petersen for?” reflected the -guide, regarding the two Overlanders from beneath half-closed eyelids.</p> - -<p>“He had something that they wanted—information or something of the -sort,” murmured Miss Briggs. Elfreda was not yet ready to confide in the -guide. She wished for time to think over carefully what Petersen had -told her, and to examine his diary critically.</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite get it, but I will,” he replied.</p> - -<p>Ham White got up briskly.</p> - -<p>“Come, Stacy. Let us do our duty.”</p> - -<p>“Just a moment,” begged Elfreda. “I wish to do something here first. -Will you two please step outside?”</p> - -<p>The guide gave her a quick look, and his face hardened ever so little. -He bowed and walked from the cabin. The instant he was out of sight, -Miss Briggs got the bag of gold and secreted it in her blouse.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White, I am going out in the forest to think, while you are busy -here,” she added, stepping from the cabin. Elfreda’s face was flushed. -Hamilton White regarded her narrowly but merely nodded in reply to her -announcement. That nod was cold, and Miss Briggs realized it. Her head -was held a little higher as she walked away, though she knew that -self-imagined guilt was at the back of her annoyance.</p> - -<p>Ham White knew that there was some purpose in the Overland girl’s -remaining in the cabin for a few moments; perhaps he came nearer to -knowing her purpose than Elfreda imagined.</p> - -<p>The girl sat down under a tree and thought. The bag of gold in her -blouse troubled her. Elfreda took it out and emptied the contents in her -lap. Apparently a small fortune lay there, but, as she gathered up a -handful of the contents of the bag, Elfreda Briggs made a terrible -discovery.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chIX' title='IX: Mysteries Multiply'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER IX</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>MYSTERIES MULTIPLY</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Miss Briggs, do you feel equal to starting back to Silver Creek?” -questioned the guide as she returned. “The sooner we get away from here -the better it may be for us.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Anything to get away from this haunt of tragedy. How far are we -from there?”</p> - -<p>“About thirty-five kilometers, I should say, though it may be more.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda glanced at him quickly.</p> - -<p>“Were you in service in France during the war?” she questioned.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“May I ask in what capacity? You know the girls of this party were there -with the Overton College unit.”</p> - -<p>“I was with the signal corps. To return to the subject of our journey, I -have a horse a short distance from here. You may ride him, and Mr. Brown -and I will walk.”</p> - -<p>“Walk! Walk thirty-five miles?” demanded Stacy in a tone that was almost -a wail.</p> - -<p>“I said thirty-five kilometers, not thirty-five miles,” corrected the -guide.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care which it is; thirty-five of anything is too far for me. I -can’t walk. I have a sore finger. I stuck it on a fishhook yesterday,” -protested the fat boy.</p> - -<p>“Very well, you may remain here if you wish. Come, Miss Briggs. We must -take along some of the provisions that are in the cabin.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. White found those too,” thought Elfreda, then aloud: “Have we the -right to do that?”</p> - -<p>“Within reason, yes. This is a forest ranger’s cabin, and one is free to -help himself.” Stacy ran in and filled his pockets with cans, and the -guide took a can of beans for himself and one for Miss Briggs, directing -Stacy to put back all but one of those he had taken. The three then set -out at a brisk walk, and at about a mile from the cabin they turned off, -and soon found the horse, on which they placed the Overland girl. After -mounting, she secretly tucked the canvas bag into the saddle pocket.</p> - -<p>It was a relief to Elfreda not to have to walk, and further, it gave her -opportunity to study the wiry figure of Hamilton White as he strode -along in the rear of Stacy, whom he was urging along, much to that young -man’s freely voiced disgust.</p> - -<p>Shortly after noon they stopped to water the horse and to give the rider -an opportunity to rest. They then pressed on, for the way was rough and -progress slow. It was near night when they came within hailing distance -of Silver Creek village, and a great shout went up from the Overlanders -when they saw Elfreda.</p> - -<p>During the absence of the guide, the Overlanders’ missing horse had come -in, enabling the Overland Riders to resume their journey to the Cascade -Range. It was an evening of rejoicing for them, in which the villagers -joined, for the young women of the Overland party had been of great -assistance to them in their trouble. Not alone that, but it was freely -admitted that Ham White and the Overlanders had saved the village from -destruction.</p> - -<p>Early on the following morning, after bidding good-bye to the villagers, -the Overlanders rode away. On the way, Miss Briggs told her companions -of her experiences during her absence, omitting any reference to the bag -of gold and the diary. Even Hamilton White had no idea that she -possessed it, so far as she was aware, though Elfreda was not so certain -that he did not suspect her having the bag of gold.</p> - -<p>It was noticed by at least one of the party that Miss Briggs and the -guide had little to say to each other that day; in fact, they seemed to -avoid each other. Not so with Emma Dean, who kept as close to Hamilton -White as she could, hanging on his words and showing her keen interest -in him in the expression of her eyes. At supper that evening, however, -Elfreda asked him a direct question.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White, have you ever heard of a stream known as Lost River?” she -asked.</p> - -<p>“I have,” spoke up Stacy Brown. “I fell in it the other night when they -had the fireworks at Silver Creek village.”</p> - -<p>“I believe there is an old Indian legend of some sort about Lost -River—something to do with gold or silver,” replied the guide, giving -her a swift, appraising glance.</p> - -<p>“Is there such a thing as an Indian legend about ‘Grandma and the -Children’?” persisted Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha! That’s a good one. Did they fall into the foaming flood also?” -demanded Chunky in a loud voice.</p> - -<p>“Children should be seen and not heard,” rebuked Emma sternly.</p> - -<p>“Is that why you are so quiet to-day, Miss Dean?” asked the boy.</p> - -<p>“I am quiet, Stacy Brown, because you so disturb the atmosphere that one -has to shout to make herself heard at all,” returned Emma with great -dignity.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>“I reckon that will hold you for a few moments,” interjected Hippy -Wingate. “Got anything more to say on the subject, young man?”</p> - -<p>“Not a word.”</p> - -<p>Stacy did not even join in the laugh that followed.</p> - -<p>By this time they had finished their supper, and Elfreda nodded to Grace -to indicate that she wished to speak with her, and the two strolled off -without attracting attention. They were soon out of earshot, and Grace -suggested that they go no farther.</p> - -<p>“Now what is it that is troubling you, J. Elfreda?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“I have a guilty conscience, dear Loyalheart, and I must confess to -you.”</p> - -<p>“I knew you had something on your mind,” nodded Grace. “So far as -concerns your having a guilty conscience, that is impossible. You only -imagine it.”</p> - -<p>“After you have heard my story you will think differently. Grace, you -don’t know all that took place in the forest cabin—all that occurred in -connection with the death of the old prospector.” Elfreda then related -the story in detail, giving the real reason, as told to her by Petersen, -for the attack of the Murrays. “Have you your lamp, your pocket lamp?”</p> - -<p>Grace produced her flashlight, and Miss Briggs, taking it from her, -turned a bar of light on the diary that she had removed from her blouse.</p> - -<p>“This is it, Grace, and here are the notes I made of what Mr. Petersen -told me. I haven’t read the writing in Mr. Petersen’s diary—I haven’t -had the heart or the inclination to do so. I feel like a thief.”</p> - -<p>“Elfreda!” rebuked Grace.</p> - -<p>“Then you think I have a right to keep this—this thing?”</p> - -<p>“Why not? You say he has no family, no relatives. What you have shown me -is, in reality, the will of a dying man. He gave you what he had in -payment for your kindness to him. So far as his story of finding the -lost mine is concerned, I am inclined to think it a myth. At any rate, -don’t trouble your head over the matter any more. The chances are that, -even if the mine really exists, we never shall find it, but when Tom -joins us in the Cascades I will lay the facts before him. Tom knows this -country pretty well. That is why the Government is employing him to make -a timber survey, and at the same time, to look into some other matters.”</p> - -<p>“But, Grace, this is going to be a terrible weight on my mind,” -protested Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“And you a successful lawyer!” laughed Grace. “I never thought that a -lawyer could be so conscientious. And think of the romance of all this,” -went on Grace Harlowe with growing enthusiasm. “Have you no romance in -your soul?”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs shook her head.</p> - -<p>“It is not given to many girls to play a leading part in a search for a -lost gold mine. Even the suggestion of courting peril ought to appeal to -you, Elfreda. I should like to go through the diary with care. I don’t -like doing that now when we can’t see about us, as we have reason to -believe that there may be people in this vicinity who would stop at -nothing to obtain possession of it. Of course, we are safe here, though. -What about the bag of nuggets and dust that Petersen gave you?”</p> - -<p>“I have the bag. The contents I threw away.”</p> - -<p>“Elfreda Briggs!” cried Grace indignantly. “Threw away a bag of gold -nuggets and gold dust! Are you crazy?”</p> - -<p>“I may be, Grace dear. When I opened the bag, after putting Mr. -Petersen’s horse away, I found that it contained nothing but worthless -quartz rock. There was no gold there. The nuggets and gold dust had been -taken out. Someone had stolen the nuggets and dust in the short time -that I was away from the shack.”</p> - -<p>Grace uttered an exclamation.</p> - -<p>“When Stacy and I returned to the shack, we found Mr. White sitting in -the cabin. I asked him to go outside for a moment, and while he was away -I got the bag. Then I made an excuse for going out into the forest. On -emptying the contents of the bag into my lap I found that I was the -proud possessor of only a bag of worthless stones!”</p> - -<p>“Elfreda! You don’t mean to infer that Mr. White took it—you can’t think -such a terrible thing of him!” begged Grace.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to think. He was there; he has acted peculiarly ever -since, and has avoided me. Isn’t it a natural thing for me at least to -wonder?” demanded Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda Briggs, I am amazed!” cried Grace Harlowe. “Is that why you -have been so cold and distant towards the guide? He does not deserve -such treatment. Were I in your place I should, in the light of what you -have told me, tell him the story that you have related to me.”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” Elfreda said with strong emphasis. “I have no reason for -confiding in anyone but you. Neither shall I do anything farther in this -matter. Gold mines—gold doesn’t bring happiness. Quite the contrary, so -far as my experience goes.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is true, but after one has found happiness, gold is a mighty -good thing to keep that happiness from getting wobbly. I—” Grace paused -abruptly. She thought she had heard a sound close at hand. Grabbing the -flashlight, she swung the bar of light about with one hand, the other -hand holding the prospector’s diary.</p> - -<p>An amazing thing occurred.</p> - -<p>The prospector’s diary was whisked away from Grace Harlowe, leaving in -her hand only a leaf out of it that she had held between her fingers.</p> - -<p>“Overland!” It was the shrill rallying cry of the Overland Riders, and -hearing it, they sprang to their feet and ran up, as Grace Harlowe’s cry -for assistance was echoing through the forest.</p> - -<p>Ham White reached the two girls first, calling out his name as he -charged to them.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“Someone was here, Mr. White. At least someone or something snatched a -book out of my hands. I saw no one, but am positive that I heard someone -just before the occurrence,” Grace informed him.</p> - -<p>The rest of the party, with the exception of Stacy Brown, were on the -scene a moment or so later, each with an eager question.</p> - -<p>“Why, Hamilton, you went out that way a few moments before the girls -were disturbed. Didn’t you see anyone?” wondered Emma.</p> - -<p>The guide shook his head. He was regarding Grace and Elfreda with a -curious expression on his face as they came within range of the -campfire.</p> - -<p>“Was the book of value?” he asked, meeting Miss Briggs’ eyes. She -returned his gaze with a level glance.</p> - -<p>“It may have been, Mr. White,” replied the girl, turning away.</p> - -<p>Grace laughed. The incident had not disturbed her, but the mystery of it -did. That a prowler could get so close to her without attracting her -attention hurt her pride. Her companions were much more upset than was -either of the two active participants. Stacy slept through it all, and -did not awaken until morning.</p> - -<p>It was some time after that before the camp settled down for the night, -but the guide sat in the shadows, smoking his pipe and thinking.</p> - -<p>“Did you hear what Emma said?” questioned Elfreda in a whisper to Grace -as they snuggled under their blankets.</p> - -<p>“About what?”</p> - -<p>“About Mr. White. It seems he may have been somewhere near us out -there.”</p> - -<p>“This affair has several queer phases,” admitted Grace.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care. I’m glad the diary is out of my hands; now I can wash -them of it all, and my conscience at the same time. My gold mine has -gone a-glimmering.” Elfreda laughed, but without much mirth.</p> - -<p>“My dear J. Elfreda, you are not going to get off so easily. Here is the -page on which you wrote the location of the gold mine at Mr. Petersen’s -direction. I had the leaf in my hand when the book was snatched away, -and it just tore itself loose and remained with me. So you see you are -still fated to be a millionaire. Reason will tell you that the book may -not be of value to the possessor.”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs asked why.</p> - -<p>“Because,” replied Grace, “there can be nothing very definite in the -diary or it would not have been necessary for Mr. Petersen to give you -the definite directions that he did. The matter of real value, you will -find, is on the sheet that I still have. I’ll give it to you in the -morning. My advice to you is to commit those lines to memory, and then -burn the slip of paper.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I will burn it all right,” agreed Miss Briggs. “Don’t say gold to -me again to-night. I wish to sleep—to sleep peacefully.” Elfreda made -good her word on the following morning, and destroyed the slip of paper.</p> - -<p>Before the others were awake the guide went out and was away from the -camp for more than an hour. He was just returning when Hippy Wingate -came out.</p> - -<p>“Find anything exciting this morning?” asked Hippy jovially.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Someone was prowling about the camp last night. I found the spot -where the young ladies were sitting, and I also found the imprints of -booted feet. About a quarter of a mile to the west of us a horse was -tethered, and the fellow who was here undoubtedly rode it, and went -north, after leaving this vicinity. Is it your wish that I run his trail -out, Lieutenant?”</p> - -<p>“No. What’s the use? If he is particularly interested in us he will come -again, and maybe he will come once too often and get caught,” suggested -Hippy.</p> - -<p>The guide bowed and went about getting breakfast. The party was in their -saddles at an early hour, turning their faces toward the north, and the -Cascade Range, which was their destination. It was a glorious day, and -even Hamilton White thawed under the sweet lure of the forest, and -talked forest and woodcraft to his party.</p> - -<p>They camped that night in a rocky pass, well sheltered, and with a -mountain stream at their feet. Everyone was tired, and chilled from the -mist that was settling over the pass. Before anything else was done, a -fire was built and coffee prepared by the girls. Then Ham White began -making camp, and Stacy and Lieutenant Wingate cared for the horses.</p> - -<p>Stacy, very proud of his saddle, which he had ridden for a long time, in -fact ever since he had ridden with the Pony Rider Boys on their many -adventurous journeys, brought the saddle in and threw it down near the -fire. Something fell out of the saddle pocket. Stacy picked it up and -looked at the object frowningly.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” demanded Grace a little sharply.</p> - -<p>“That? I’m blest if I know,” answered Stacy, his face showing some -perplexity.</p> - -<p>Grace took the object from him, glanced into it, and looking up at -Elfreda, laughed.</p> - -<p>“Here is the book—the diary,” announced Grace, extending it to Miss -Briggs. “Remember what I told you last night? Did I not say that you -would not get off so easily? Stacy, how did you come by this?” demanded -the Overland girl, turning to the fat boy.</p> - -<p>“What’s all the fuss about? I picked it up when I went after my horse -this morning and forgot all about it. Why the excitement?”</p> - -<p>“There is no excitement,” answered Miss Briggs with dignity as she -tucked the old prospector’s diary into her blouse. “Mr. White, Mr. Brown -found the missing book and has returned it to us.”</p> - -<p>Before anyone could comment on the find or ask questions about it, Ham -White held up a hand for silence.</p> - -<p>From far away came a shot. After a little it was followed by two shots, -an interval and one shot.</p> - -<p>“A signal,” announced the guide.</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate raised his revolver to fire.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” commanded Ham White. “Let the other fellow do the shooting. We -aren’t certain that we want to know him.” There was meaning in the -guide’s words, a warning, and the Overlanders fell silent. There was -also the vivid memory with Elfreda and Grace of the mysterious hand that -had snatched the prospector’s diary, and both girls felt an intuition of -other mysteries to come.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chX' title='X: The Man From Seattle'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER X</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE MAN FROM SEATTLE</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Someone is coming,” announced Grace, when, half an hour later, her keen -ears detected a sound, faint, though unmistakable. She was the only one -of the party to hear it at that instant, though a moment later the guide -nodded.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders saw him hitch his revolver holster into convenient -position as he stood up and leaned easily against a tree.</p> - -<p>“As I was saying,” he began. “Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows, -and—”</p> - -<p>“Hands up!” rang out a sudden command. “Put ’em up till I look you -over.”</p> - -<p>Stacy Brown was the only one of the party that obeyed the command. The -Overlanders were too much interested in the newcomer to obey the -command, for he was fantastically clad. The fellow was holding two -revolvers which he kept moving from side to side, his keen eyes -regarding the party appraisingly as well as alertly. It was his clothing -that attracted most attention, for the man was dressed like a Mexican -rancher, with the velvet jacket, embroidered with silver, the broad -sombrero, likewise embellished with silver, and the faint metallic -tinkle of silver spurs was heard as he shifted his position.</p> - -<p>The keen expression in his eyes changed to a twinkle.</p> - -<p>“Well, well, who would have thought it!” he exclaimed. “A bunch of -foozleheads.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Stacy Brown. “Foozleheads! That is a brand new -one. Emma, he is looking at you.”</p> - -<p>The newcomer lowered his weapons and shoved them into their holsters.</p> - -<p>“Well, who are you?” demanded Ham White. “You appear to be a new -specimen up here.”</p> - -<p>“Who, me? Haven’t you heard of me? I’m Jim Haley, sole representative of -the International Peanut Company in the State of Washington. I’m known -as the Man from Seattle, and I’ll have peanuts in every home, in every -bandit cave in the great preserves of the State, and all over the rugged -peaks of the Cascades if I hold out long enough. Peanuts are a great -civilizer; they are the oil on troubled waters, and if the wild men up -here were to eat enough of them I’ll guarantee that they never would -hold up another unfortunate traveler.”</p> - -<p>“Bandits?” questioned the guide, regarding the visitor narrowly.</p> - -<p>“Yes. They’ve held me up twice in twenty-four hours, and the last time -they took my horse away.”</p> - -<p>“It strikes me that you are quite handy with hold-up methods yourself,” -observed Hippy Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Peanuts? Peanuts?” demanded Stacy eagerly. “Got any with you?”</p> - -<p>“It will be my everlasting regret that I have not. You see I ate up most -of my samples, then the bandits took the rest of them. This is a rotten -country. I had to get food, and when I smelled your smoke I took a -chance, not knowing whether or not I was running into another bunch of -bandits, and here I am, safe and sound. Luck is with the Man from -Seattle, the greatest peanut salesman in the world. I’ll have a cup of -coffee, if you please, and anything else that’s lying around loose, then -I shall be delighted to take your orders for peanuts to be delivered at -your homes, freight paid, and an extra bag gratis for good luck.”</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly, you shall have something to eat,” promised Grace. -“Girls, help me rustle some grub for our caller. Were you lost?”</p> - -<p>“Lost? Why, I’ve never found myself since I came into the forest. How -could a man, who never has known where he was at, be lost? Been held up -by these mountain ruffians yet?”</p> - -<p>The Overlanders shook their heads.</p> - -<p>“They are so sudden. Why, they wouldn’t even give me an opportunity to -demonstrate—”</p> - -<p>“Demonstrate!” cried Emma with sudden interest. “Do you demonstrate, Mr. -Hart—”</p> - -<p>“Haley, if you please,” interjected the newcomer.</p> - -<p>“Really, do you, Mr. Haley?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I do.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that perfectly lovely! You see, girls, I am not the only one that -demonstrates to ward off trouble. Just think, think hard, that something -you desire very much, will be, and it will be.”</p> - -<p>The Man from Seattle looked puzzled for a moment, then he laughed -heartily.</p> - -<p>“Demonstrate a bag of peanuts for me, then,” spoke up Stacy Brown.</p> - -<p>“That’s it, young man—it’s peanuts that I demonstrate. I’ll see that you -get a fair sample when I get back to Seattle,” promised Haley.</p> - -<p>“Oh, fudge! Everything is food with you, Stacy Brown. Why can’t you be -less gross, and more spiritual?” complained Emma.</p> - -<p>“I presume it is the company I keep, and—”</p> - -<p>“Your supper is ready, Mr. Haley,” called Grace.</p> - -<p>The peanut man did full justice to the meal prepared for him, and, while -he ate, the Overlanders plied him with questions. Ham White sat back and -regarded their guest with interest. White was keen, and little escaped -his alert eyes.</p> - -<p>“That fellow is bluffing!” was his mental comment. “I wonder what his -game is.”</p> - -<p>“Now that you have no horse, what are you going to do?” asked Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Sell peanuts! I’ll take your orders now.”</p> - -<p>The peanut man did, and when he had finished, each member of the party -had given him an order for a bag of peanuts, Stacy being the only one -whose order was a gift. From then on until bedtime the visitor rattled -on, keeping the party convulsed with laughter. In the conversations that -followed the evening’s entertainment, Jim Haley succeeded in drawing -from them the story of their experiences in the brief time that they had -been out, and discovered that he was not talking with greenhorns.</p> - -<p>Mr. Haley was particularly interested in Miss Briggs’ experiences with -the bandits at the ranger cabin, and questioned her in detail as to the -appearances of the riders.</p> - -<p>“Probably the same fellows that held me up,” he observed, stroking his -chin. “You say the old prospector had something that they wanted to get -possession of?” he asked, turning to Elfreda.</p> - -<p>She answered with a slight incline of the head.</p> - -<p>“What was it?” The question was direct and incisively put.</p> - -<p>“Being a lawyer, and having my client’s interests at heart, I decline to -permit her to answer,” returned Elfreda, which brought a hearty laugh -from the party, Jim Haley laughing more loudly than any of the others.</p> - -<p>Hamilton White’s face hardened ever so little.</p> - -<p>“Your questions are rather personal, and I must ask you to be more -discreet,” he rebuked.</p> - -<p>“A thousand pardons!” bowed the visitor. “For this indiscretion, I shall -include some handsome oil paintings, which we give only to big jobbers -with large orders for International Peanuts Products, when I fill the -orders you have been so magnanimous as to favor me with.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a mighty indigestible word, that magnanimous thing. Don’t put -anything like that in the shipment with my peanuts,” declared Stacy.</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean to say you don’t know the meaning of that word?” -exclaimed Nora.</p> - -<p>“Can’t say that I do,” answered Stacy carelessly. “What does it mean, -Emma?”</p> - -<p>“Your education has been neglected. Any schoolboy ought to know the -meaning of a word so common as that,” returned Emma airily.</p> - -<p>“All right, you tell us. I’ll swallow whatever you say—once!”</p> - -<p>“Why, magnanimous means—it means—it means—Pshaw, I know what it means -perfectly well, but somehow I can’t properly explain it.” Emma’s face -was growing red. “Oh, Hamilton, you tell my ignorant companion what—”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha, ha!” chortled the fat boy. “You tell him, Hamilton.”</p> - -<p>Grace and Elfreda were laughing immoderately, and Hippy was chuckling to -himself. All knew that Miss Dean knew the meaning of the word, but that -Stacy, with his question, had confused her.</p> - -<p>“I believe the dictionary explains it as being elevated in soul,” -answered the guide smilingly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton, isn’t that wonderful?” breathed Emma. “It sounds so -utterly poetic.”</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t think so were you to swallow it with a bag of peanuts,” -grumbled the fat boy.</p> - -<p>And after the laughter had subsided, Grace announced that she was tired -and said she would turn in.</p> - -<p>“Do we make an early start in the morning, Mr. White?” she asked, -turning smilingly towards the guide.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if that is agreeable to you, Mrs. Gray,” was the courteous reply. -The easy grace of this man, and the evident culture that was beneath the -surface, had puzzled Grace Harlowe from the beginning. There was that -about him that was mysterious, unfathomable. These thoughts were in the -Overland girl’s mind as she turned towards the little tent which she and -Elfreda occupied together.</p> - -<p>“By the way, Mr. Haley,” she added, halting at the tent opening, “Mr. -White will fix you up for the night with a blanket. If you will bunk in -with Lieutenant Wingate, there is room. Mr. White prefers to sleep in -the open.”</p> - -<p>“So do I. In the vast open, with the ambient atmosphere enveloping me -like a blanket, I can ponder over the psychology of merchandising -peanuts better than when I am shut in. All nature assists, the saplings -sap and seep into my brain, into my subconscious being, and the leaves -leave their native habitat to come to my aid, and—”</p> - -<p>“One can’t blame them so much for that,” observed Emma. “Good-night, Mr. -Haley; good-night, Hamilton; good-night, all.”</p> - -<p>“Either that man is a lunatic or else he is a big fraud,” declared -Elfreda, entering the tent. “Which is it?”</p> - -<p>“Just another mystery, that is all,” answered Grace good-naturedly. “Why -worry about him?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t. I have sufficient troubles of my own to keep me from sleeping -soundly.”</p> - -<p>By this time the others were turning in; the visitor had already rolled -himself up in a blanket with feet to the fire, and Ham White was out -seeing that the ponies were secure for the night. He remained out there -for a long time, looking up at the tree tops, dimly discernible in the -faint light. At the same time he appeared to be listening, now and then -glancing back at the silent figure of Jim Haley.</p> - -<p>At last the guide turned and strode back into camp, and threw his -blanket down beside Haley. But White did not lie down at once. Instead, -he crouched down beside the visitor and peered down into the man’s face. -A pair of twinkling eyes were gazing up at him.</p> - -<p>“You are awake, eh? I rather thought you would be. Now who are you, and -what is your game? Out with it or out you go!”</p> - -<p>“Who am I? I am G 16, and I want to talk with you!” Haley’s voice sank -to a whisper as he made the mysterious announcement.</p> - -<p>Ham White uttered an exclamation, then, quickly collecting himself, he -lay down on his blanket close to the peanut salesman, and for the next -half hour the two men spoke in earnest tones, tones too low for the -Overlanders to hear.</p> - -<p>It was long after midnight, when, had one been awake, he might have -discovered a shadowy figure slinking along at the rear of the camp. It -first paused at the tent occupied by Hippy and Stacy, then crept on all -fours to the one in which Grace and Elfreda were sleeping. These little -tents were open at both ends, though they could be closed in the event -of a storm, and a person at either end, by peering closely, could see -the heads and faces of the occupants.</p> - -<p>Inch by inch the shadow, now flat on the ground, wriggled towards the -two sleeping girls. A lean hand reached cautiously under, first Grace’s -pillow, then under Elfreda’s. The pillows were pneumatic pillows that -were filled with air before retiring, and were soft and comfortable, as -well as sensitive to the touch.</p> - -<p>The pressure of the shadow’s hand under the pillow disturbed Elfreda -Briggs, and her eyes slowly opened, but she did not move, believing that -the hand belonged to her companion. A sidelong glance, however, told her -that Grace’s back was towards her, therefore the hand could not belong -to her. Elfreda’s next thought was that Stacy Brown was trying to play -pranks on her.</p> - -<p>In the meantime the hand crept slowly about under the pillow. It was -time to act, and Miss Briggs, half raising herself on one elbow, made a -grab for it. She grasped a bare muscular arm.</p> - -<p>“Overland!” cried the girl, and the familiar thrilling call of distress -awakened every person in the camp with the exception of Stacy Brown. -Then darkness overwhelmed Elfreda and she knew no more.</p> - -<p>Grace, awakened by the cry, threw her arms about the neck of her -companion.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda! Elfreda! What is it?”</p> - -<p>There was no reply.</p> - -<p>“Overland! Quick! Something has happened to Elfreda!” she cried, -springing from her blanket, as the quick, sharp report of a revolver -smote the ears of the campers.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXI' title='XI: Believers in Safety First'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>BELIEVERS IN SAFETY FIRST</span> -</h2> - -<p>Bang! Bang! Bang! The air seemed filled with explosions of rifles and -revolvers, and the Overland camp was in an uproar in a moment, even -Stacy Brown rousing himself sufficiently to sit up and take quick -notice. The instant the shooting began Stacy, concluding that his -services were not needed, lay down with his blanket drawn up over his -head.</p> - -<p>“Safety first,” muttered the boy as a bullet tore a hole through his -little dog tent. “Wow! I wonder what all the excitement is about?”</p> - -<p>Grace and Stacy were the only ones of the outfit who had not run out -following the alarm. Grace had turned her pocket lamp on Elfreda’s face. -It was a pallid face that she looked upon.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda! Elfreda! What is it?” begged Grace. “Oh, what is it?”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs was breathing, but was unconscious.</p> - -<p>The shooting died away as suddenly as it had started, and then Emma and -Nora ran to Grace’s tent, crying out to know what had happened.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, girls. Please hold the light so I can examine her. I -heard Elfreda scream, then came the shooting, and that is all I know -about it,” answered Grace. Her nimble fingers ran over her companion’s -head, neck and shoulders, for Grace’s experience in the hospital service -in France had not only made her efficient in emergencies, but had taught -her to keep her own self well in hand.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Here it is.”</p> - -<p>“Wha—what!” gasped Nora.</p> - -<p>“A lump on the top of her head, well down near the forehead. She has -been dealt a heavy blow, but with what, I can’t say. Fetch water. We -must try to revive her.”</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Hippy Wingate came running up at this juncture, revolver in -hand.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda has been knocked out,” Nora told him.</p> - -<p>“With what?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Hippy,” spoke up Grace. “Please go away. This is no place -for you. Stand by in case we need you. Where is the guide?”</p> - -<p>“He is trying to find out if there are prowlers about here. I think he -found someone, for I heard a man yell,” Hippy informed them as he left -the tent.</p> - -<p>Reviving Elfreda was a matter of only a few minutes after they began -bathing her face and rubbing her body. Grace then uttered a sigh of -relief.</p> - -<p>“What—what happened to you?” stammered Emma.</p> - -<p>“Don’t question her now. Can’t you see that she is weak?” rebuked Grace. -“Lie perfectly quiet, dear. You can talk later,” admonished Grace, as -Miss Briggs indicated that she had something to say. “You girls had -better step out and give us a few moments’ quiet,” she advised. “Hippy, -if it is prudent, you had better start up the fire,” she called. “We -must have light and warm water. Where is Stacy?”</p> - -<p>Hippy said he had not seen the fat boy, and then went straight to -Stacy’s tent, where he found him still practicing safety first. Hippy -dragged Stacy out by the feet.</p> - -<p>“Leggo! Wow!” howled Stacy. “Oh, it’s you, is it?” he added. “What do -you mean by waking up a fellow like this? Anything wrong?” he questioned -innocently.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no; nothing at all. Everything is peaceful and quiet. You get out -and help me build a fire, and be lively about it, too. I’m not in the -mood to trifle with you.”</p> - -<p>While Hippy and Stacy were building a fire, the two girls, Emma and -Nora, got water to be heated. Grace bathed Miss Briggs’ feet in the hot -water, for the injured girl was in a chill. A lump of sizable -proportions had formed on her head. This was dressed by Grace, and in a -short time Miss Briggs was asleep. Grace then stepped outside to her -companions who were standing about the fire.</p> - -<p>“Hasn’t Mr. White come in yet?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t seen him. Has J. Elfreda said anything yet?” questioned -Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Not about what happened. If she awakens again, and is then able to -talk, I will question her. Please let me know when Mr. White comes in.”</p> - -<p>It was some time later when the guide returned. Elfreda had been awake -from her brief sleep long enough to tell Grace what she knew of the -occurrence.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White, what do you know about this?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“Not a thing. The first I knew of anything being wrong was when someone -called, followed by a cry. I think it was Miss Briggs who first cried -out.”</p> - -<p>Grace nodded.</p> - -<p>“As I got on my feet I saw a man running, and knowing that it could be -none of our party running away, I fired at him. I don’t think I hit him. -He returned the fire, but at that juncture Lieutenant Wingate began -shooting. Lieutenant, I’ll say you aren’t slow about getting into -action. It was bully. Then I chased the man and he and I both emptied -our revolvers at each other. One of us hit him—”</p> - -<p>“It was your shot, Ham,” interrupted Hippy. “I wasn’t shooting when he -cried out.”</p> - -<p>“Then you didn’t get the fellow?” demanded Grace, addressing the guide.</p> - -<p>“No. He got away. I wish it had been daylight. That is all I can tell -you. May I ask what Miss Briggs has to say of the attack on her?”</p> - -<p>“She says she felt something moving under her pillow, and after waiting -a moment she became convinced that a hand was searching there. She made -a grab for the hand and caught a man’s arm and then lost consciousness.”</p> - -<p>“Fright?” asked the guide.</p> - -<p>“Fright! No. A blow on the head, Mr. White. I think the fellow must have -brought his fist down, for the injury doesn’t look as if it had been -done with a stick or an instrument. That is all she knows about it, -sir.”</p> - -<p>“Was anything taken—did she have anything under her pillow?” persisted -White.</p> - -<p>“Yes. That little canvas bag she carries. There was nothing of value in -it. There may have been some small change there, for most of her money -was in her money belt around her waist. The other things in the bag were -such toilet articles as we all carry to use while riding—and a little -powder,” added Grace smilingly. “Mere men don’t understand those -things.”</p> - -<p>“Thieves!” cried Stacy. “Oh, wow!” The fat boy ran to his tent and -feverishly searched his clothing. He was back in a few moments. “I knew -it! The thief didn’t dare tackle a real man. You see, he picked out weak -women. He knew better than to trifle with Stacy Brown.”</p> - -<p>“Even if Stacy Brown did hide under a blanket when the show opened,” -supplemented Lieutenant Wingate. “I presume, if Elfreda had not given -the alarm, the man would have gone through all our belongings.”</p> - -<p>Ham White was pacing up and down. They could see that he was disturbed.</p> - -<p>“The low-down cur!” he breathed, clenching his fists, his face set and -slightly paler than usual.</p> - -<p>“Hamilton! Hamilton! Don’t disturb yourself so,” begged Emma -solicitously. “Be calm, do. I will demonstrate for you.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, let the peanut man do the demonstrating,” jeered Stacy. “Your -demonstrating might do at a family picnic, but up here it is punk!”</p> - -<p>White gave no heed to Emma’s sympathetic words. He stood with lowered -chin thinking.</p> - -<p>“The peanut man!” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Where is Mr. Haley, Mr. White?” demanded Grace.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Mrs. Gray,” replied the guide slowly. “I thought he was -sleeping beside me when I sprang up. I haven’t seen him since,” added -Ham White, bending over to poke the fire.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders looked at each other, and each knew what the other was -thinking about.</p> - -<p>“Some demonstrator, that fellow,” observed Stacy Brown. “I’m mighty glad -that he didn’t demonstrate over that fifty-cent piece in my trousers -pocket.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXII' title='XII: A Successful Experiment'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT</span> -</h2> - -<p>“We might as well move on,” advised Grace. “To-morrow will be Sunday, -and we ought to find a good camping place for that day, and have a day -of rest.”</p> - -<p>“Does Miss Briggs feel able to ride?” asked Ham White.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Her head naturally is still quite sore, but otherwise she is as -fit as any of us. It takes a lot to put J. Elfreda Briggs out of -commission,” added Grace laughingly.</p> - -<p>“That it does,” agreed Elfreda herself, emerging from her tent with a -head bandage like a turban.</p> - -<p>The party were just gathering for breakfast on the morning after the -attack on Elfreda. She was a little pale, but wholly herself. The -Overlanders all shook hands with her as she came out, Ham White among -the number, and, for the instant of the hand-clasp, their eyes met, each -seeking in the fleeting look to read the secret of the other’s reserve.</p> - -<p>“I have been out since break of day, following the trail of our -prowler,” announced White. “There was more than one man involved in the -game, whatever it was. They had horses, three horses, and there must -have been that many men involved, though only one man entered the camp. -The probabilities are that they reasoned one man would stand a better -chance to carry out their plan without detection than would a bunch of -them, and they undoubtedly were right. One of our shots, as I said last -night, hit the fellow, for I found a trail of blood drops. Their trail -shows that he had to be assisted to his saddle, and that a companion -rode along at his side when they went away.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton. Did you demonstrate all of that?” begged Emma, her eyes -filled with admiration.</p> - -<p>“I read the trail, that’s all,” replied the guide. “If that is -demonstrating, I demonstrated.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” laughed Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Stacy Brown, you are a young ruffian!” cried Emma indignantly.</p> - -<p>“I know it.”</p> - -<p>“Besides, you show the most abject cowardice whenever courage is called -for. Why not be like Mr. White, afraid of nothing?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose Ham’s a hero, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you know he is,” agreed Emma, her face relaxing into a happy -smile.</p> - -<p>“Well, he didn’t do anything to save Elfreda’s life, did he?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps not directly. Indirectly he did.”</p> - -<p>“Then I am the heroest hero of the two. Elfreda, didn’t I save your -life—directly—when that bandit was shooting at—” Stacy checked himself. -“I leave it to this honorable bunch if I am not entitled to the cross of -war with all the palms on it that the old thing will hold. I demand a -rising vote.”</p> - -<p>All except Emma got up, and all were laughing heartily.</p> - -<p>“Carried! We will now proceed to replenish the coal bin,” announced -Stacy, resuming his breakfast.</p> - -<p>Emma had nothing further to say to him, though Stacy regarded her with -large, soulful eyes during most of the meal. Following breakfast, the -men of the party broke camp and rolled the packs, and in a very short -time they were on their way.</p> - -<p>Grace and Elfreda rode side by side, Grace wishing to see to it that her -companion did not overdo herself.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t had an opportunity to ask you if the thief got anything of -value?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“No. The diary was not in the bag. I put it under my money belt when I -turned in,” Elfreda informed her.</p> - -<p>“Good for you! I have been thinking that you and I should look through -that book carefully, and if there be information of value in it, we -should make a copy of it. You keep the original and I will keep the -copy.”</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs said she didn’t care much what happened to the diary, save -that she did not like the idea of being beaten.</p> - -<p>“I hope I am too good a lawyer to give up a case until the jury has -brought in a verdict against me. Then, after I have carried it to the -higher court and have been defeated there, then I’m beaten. But not -until then. What about the peanut man? Grace, is he the guilty one?”</p> - -<p>“Ask Hamilton White. He knows,” was the low-spoken reply.</p> - -<p>“Why do you say that?”</p> - -<p>“From the expression of his face when I asked about Haley. There is -something about those men that I do not clearly understand.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda averred that there were several “somethings” that needed -clearing up.</p> - -<p>“My dear Elfreda, we are involved in so many mysteries that, first thing -we know, we will be accusing each other. To-morrow being Sunday, I -suggest that we go over the diary—get off somewhere by ourselves and -make a thorough job of it,” suggested Grace, to which Elfreda agreed -with a nod.</p> - -<p>Grace, at this juncture, turned in her saddle to see what had become of -Stacy, who had been lagging behind all the morning. He was not in sight -when she looked, but the next time she turned he was observed back some -distance, riding off the trail a little way, leaning over and catching -bushes in his hands.</p> - -<p>“I wonder what mischief that boy is up to now?” murmured Grace. “Surely -he is not doing that solely for exercise.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think he needs exercise?” questioned Miss Briggs with a -smile.</p> - -<p>Grace’s answer was a laugh.</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless I owe Stacy Brown an obligation that I never can repay,” -added Elfreda gravely, and to this Grace gave an emphatic assent.</p> - -<p>The day’s journey was without incident, and was thoroughly enjoyed. Many -trails were crossed, some of which Hamilton White halted to examine, and -then proceeded on his way without comment, unless he gave an opinion to -Hippy Wingate who was riding beside him. Emma Dean kept as close to the -guide as possible, and watched him as though fearing that he might get -away from her. The guide, however, gave only the most ordinary attention -to Emma, just as he did to the others of the party.</p> - -<p>“Is there much gold up this way, or is it a myth?” Hippy was asking him, -as the fat boy continued with his operations at the rear of the line of -horses.</p> - -<p>“There undoubtedly is plenty of it if one knew where or how to find it. -I never did, never expect to, and don’t know that I should care to. In -my experience I have learned that not only is gold an elusive substance, -but that it seldom brings the finder happiness. Ordinarily it brings him -disaster, even death!”</p> - -<p>“Whew! You talk like an actor playing in a tragedy,” observed Lieutenant -Wingate.</p> - -<p>The guide grinned and resumed his study of the trail. Hippy had thought -there might be opportunity to draw Hamilton White out as to his career. -The Overlander was positive that it would prove an interesting story, -but no opportunity presented itself on this occasion, so Hippy prudently -kept his questions to himself. Emma, however, kept up an almost -continuous chatter all the morning and most of the afternoon.</p> - -<p>As the day waned, they began urging their horses to a faster pace, White -explaining that he wished to reach a certain camp-site that day. He said -it would make an ideal Sunday rest camp.</p> - -<p>“Do you think we shall be safe there?” questioned Emma. “Oh, I hope so, -Hamilton.”</p> - -<p>“As safe there as anywhere up here—perhaps more so, for we shall be on -high ground where nothing can get to us, at least in daylight, without -our observing the approach.”</p> - -<p>“You know the place, then?” suggested Hippy. “Have you been there -before?”</p> - -<p>“No.” The answer was brief and final, and Hippy wondered how Ham could -know about a particular spot in the forest, and lead them directly to it -if he never had been there. Hippy could find no answer to that.</p> - -<p>The Overland Riders reached the site just before sundown. The country -about them was mountainous and heavily forested. Back of the camp -towered a huge rock. A little way from it was a smooth level spot, and -bubbling from the rock itself there came a stream of water almost at ice -temperature, as they discovered when drinking cups were brought and all -hands helped themselves.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Grace. “Is there any drink in the world to equal it?”</p> - -<p>“Not now,” answered Hippy Wingate.</p> - -<p>“And never has been,” nodded Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>The guide gave expression to a wry smile and went on about his work of -preparing for a week-end camp. Lieutenant Wingate attended to the -unloading, the equipment being piled in orderly manner, and, after a -time, Stacy was prodded into assisting him.</p> - -<p>“Mercy! What a peculiar odor there is here,” exclaimed Grace. “Don’t you -smell it, girls?”</p> - -<p>Nora, Emma and Elfreda sniffed the air.</p> - -<p>“Hippy, what is it? Don’t you smell something disagreeable?” demanded -Nora.</p> - -<p>“Now that you speak of it, I do. Stacy, see if you can find anything -dead about here.”</p> - -<p>“The place is all dead,” growled the fat boy. “No excitement, no -nothing. But there may be, there may be.”</p> - -<p>“May be what?” asked Hippy, regarding the boy keenly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking.” Stacy avoided Hippy’s eyes, for -his was a guilty conscience. Stacy Brown had been making an experiment, -but as yet he did not know whether or not it was going to produce -satisfactory results. He saw Hamilton White give him a slanting glance -out of the corners of his eyes, and got busy at once unrolling packs and -laying out the tents. This alone should have been sufficient to arouse -the suspicion of the Overland Riders, for the fat boy never worked -unless for some particular reason of his own. The others of the party -were too busy to notice him, and after a time they became used to the -strange odor, faint at times and then strong, as the evening breeze -stirred it into life.</p> - -<p>At supper, however, they did find it most unpleasant, and Lieutenant -Wingate discovered that the odor was always more noticeable in the -vicinity of Stacy, but he made no comment. The guide some time before -that had made a similar discovery.</p> - -<p>Immediately after the evening meal, Mr. White made a survey of their -surroundings, including a visit to the top of the big rock. From there -he found what he expected to find, an excellent view of the mountains -and the forest for many miles about, but the light was fading, and he -deferred further survey until the morning when the light would be right -to see much farther.</p> - -<p>The Riders were tired after their long day’s ride, so all hands turned -in early, and were asleep in a few moments, except the fat boy. Stacy, -by frequent pinchings of himself, and chuckling over the fun he might -have were his experiment to prove a success, managed to keep awake.</p> - -<p>Giving his companions ample time to sink into a profound sleep, the fat -boy crept from his blanket, moving very cautiously so as not to awaken -Hippy Wingate. Once outside he took a long look at the form of Hamilton -White who lay rolled in his blanket near the campfire, for the air was -now chill. White was plainly asleep.</p> - -<p>Stacy crept to Grace’s tent, then to the one occupied by Nora and Emma, -pausing for a moment at each and performing some peculiar motions. It -would have been difficult for anyone to even guess at what the boy might -be up to.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to give that guide fellow a dose, too,” muttered the fat boy, -again pausing for a long look at White. “I reckon I’d better let well -enough alone, though.”</p> - -<p>Stacy got back to his own tent without awakening a single member of the -party.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” he muttered. “Sleepy-heads, all. Anybody could walk in here and -steal them without awakening a single person. I don’t believe anything -is going to happen at all. That fellow down at Cresco is a fake, and -I’ll be even with him when we get back there. I’ll get my money back -or—or—” Stacy Brown’s eyes closed, his mutterings became mere murmurs -and then ceased altogether. He, too, was sound asleep, the biggest -sleepy-head of them all.</p> - -<p>It was several hours after that that something happened.</p> - -<p>Emma Dean uttered a terrified scream, and Nora Wingate, suddenly -awakened, screamed louder than Emma did. The two girls bounded from -their beds and ran from the tent hysterically crying for help.</p> - -<p>“Hamilton! Oh, Hamilton!” cried Emma.</p> - -<p>The guide had sprung to his feet at the first scream. Grace and Elfreda -were only a few seconds behind him.</p> - -<p>“Merciful heaven! What is it?” cried Miss Briggs, as her eyes saw what -appeared to be a huge form at the tent entrance.</p> - -<p>Both girls ran out at the other end of the tent, then Hamilton White’s -rifle spoke, waking the echoes of the forest, just as Stacy Brown ran -from his own tent in a terrible fright.</p> - -<p>“Oh, wow, wow, wow!” howled the fat boy. “He got me, he did.”</p> - -<p>Stacy’s experiment had proved an entire success, and he had fallen a -victim to his own prank.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXIII' title='XIII: The Camp is Invaded'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE CAMP IS INVADED</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Don’t run. Keep together back of me. Lieutenant, look out for the rear. -I’ll take care of the rest,” shouted the guide.</p> - -<p>“What is it? Hamilton, what is it?” cried Emma.</p> - -<p>“Bears!” answered Grace Harlowe. “I never saw so many in all my life. -What does it mean?”</p> - -<p>The camp was full of the beasts. They were ambling swiftly here and -there, growling, sniffing, pawing, and apparently without fear. This, as -some of the party knew, was not like the ways of the black bear. -Ordinarily a black bear cannot get away from man quickly enough. Even -the discharge of the guide’s rifle did not put the invaders to flight.</p> - -<p>“Fire into their legs, Lieutenant,” directed White. “We don’t want to -kill them if we can avoid it. Besides, it is against the law.”</p> - -<p>The two men let loose with their rifles at the feet of the beasts, but -in the faint light aim was uncertain, and it was only occasionally that -a grunt indicated that an animal had been hit.</p> - -<p>Out in the bushes the ponies were snorting in fright. Stacy suddenly -uttered a yell as a bear ran between his legs and threw him down. From -the way the bear got away from him it was evident that the beast was as -badly frightened as was the fat boy. The swift work of White and Hippy -was having its effect, too, and here and there a dark form was observed -ambling away into the forest.</p> - -<p>“Now! All together. We’ve got them going!” cried Ham White. “Be careful -that you don’t shoot towards the ponies.”</p> - -<p>Stacy ran for his rifle, and a moment later he, too, was firing away, -and continued to fire until he was pulling the trigger on empty -chambers, but his assistance was no longer needed.</p> - -<p>“I think they are all out now,” announced the guide. “I suspect that we -shall have some bear meat for breakfast just the same, but we can’t help -it. A man has a right to defend himself, though I always try to keep -within the law. Lieutenant, keep the camp clear while I build a fire so -we can see what we have.”</p> - -<p>The coals of the evening fire were still smouldering, and it was the -work of but a few moments to start a blaze large enough to light up the -camp. The bears had torn and uprooted two tents and worked other havoc. -The camp was in a mess.</p> - -<p>Hippy circled the camp.</p> - -<p>“We got one of the beasts, a small one,” he called. “Sure we’ll have -bear meat for breakfast.”</p> - -<p>White hurried to him.</p> - -<p>“Nice fat fellow, too. We will dress him, and then we shall have to -guard the carcass or there will be none of it left by morning.”</p> - -<p>“I think I’ll turn in, now that the excitement is all over,” announced -Stacy at this juncture.</p> - -<p>“You will not. You will assist us to prepare the carcass or you get no -bear steak for breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care. I prefer venison anyway. Bear meat is too coarse for Emma -and me. We prefer something lighter, more spiritual.”</p> - -<p>“<i>More</i> is the meat of your argument, as usual,” flung back Miss Dean.</p> - -<p>With Hippy’s assistance the bear was hung up from a pole which was -thrust through its hocks, and White began deftly skinning it. The animal -was then dressed and left to cool.</p> - -<p>The guide was perspiring freely and so was Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Good work, Lieutenant. I reckon this isn’t the first time you have -dressed bear,” approved the guide.</p> - -<p>“What now?” asked Hippy.</p> - -<p>“You people had better go to bed. I shall sit up, for we may look for -visitors before daylight.”</p> - -<p>“Visitors!” cried the Overlanders.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered White, smiling. “You will hear them, and after their -arrival there will be little sleep in this outfit.”</p> - -<p>Hippy decided to remain on watch with the guide.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mr. Brown!”</p> - -<p>Stacy, on his way to his tent, halted at the guide’s call.</p> - -<p>“Well, what is it?”</p> - -<p>“Suppose you come over and tell us about it, so that we may laugh at the -joke, too.”</p> - -<p>All eyes were turned on the fat boy.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to bed,” protested Stacy sourly.</p> - -<p>“Not now you are not,” decided Hippy sternly. “You come here. Now, Mr. -White, go on with the entertainment. I suspect we are going to hear -something. In fact, I already have a sneaking suspicion that there has -been something shady in this bear affair.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you get the stuff?” began White.</p> - -<p>“What stuff?”</p> - -<p>“The bear-bait that you have been distributing along the way and in -camp?”</p> - -<p>“I—I did—”</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” rebuked Emma. “Be a good little George Washington now, and -confess to Hamilton that you cut down the cherry tree.”</p> - -<p>“I realized that there was something familiar in the odor that we -detected here last evening, but I could not place it. That odor is here -now. It is bear-bait, and we have you to thank for our unexpected Sunday -dinner,” accused Ham White.</p> - -<p>“Stacy Brown! Did you do that?” demanded Nora severely.</p> - -<p>“Well, it was this way,” admitted the fat boy.</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you tell me that you had the urge to do this terrible thing -so that I might demonstrate over you?” begged Emma.</p> - -<p>“Oh, demonstrate over the wild animals.”</p> - -<p>“That is what I have suggested,” reminded Emma. “The wild animal did not -give me the cue.”</p> - -<p>“Go on, young man,” urged Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I—I thought some bear meat might be appreciated by you folks, and of -course I knew we couldn’t shoot bear, as it is out of season, unless we -had to get rid of them. I—”</p> - -<p>“Close your throttle! You are on the wrong division,” commanded Hippy. -“Where did you get that stuff—I mean the stuff that you planted to call -the bears?”</p> - -<p>“Down at Cresco. I was talking with an old hunter who told me that he -used bear-bait, and could call bear to him at any time. He said I must -plaster it along the trail on bushes, and a few hours afterwards the -bear would come right to the camp, that you didn’t have to hunt them at -all. That is the way to hunt—wait for them to come to you. It is so much -simpler. Well, he had some of it and was willing to sell it to me for -five cart wheels—”</p> - -<p>“Five what?” interrupted Nora.</p> - -<p>“Cart wheels—dollars. I thought I had been stuck, but I wasn’t, was I?” -chuckled the fat boy. “Wait! I have some of it left in a can. I’ll get -it and show it to you,” offered Stacy, turning to run to his tent.</p> - -<p>“No!” shouted the Overlanders.</p> - -<p>Hippy grabbed the fat boy and hauled him back.</p> - -<p>“We aren’t finished with you yet. Go on with the story. It is -interesting,” averred Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I waited till you were all asleep, then I plastered the tents, and then -went to sleep. You know the rest. It worked, didn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“It did,” agreed the guide. Ham White’s eyes were twinkling.</p> - -<p>“Stacy Brown, aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” cried Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Ashamed? No, of course not. I am proud of myself. The trouble with you -folks is that you have no sense of humor. Even a Britisher would laugh -at this. I haven’t had time to laugh for myself, but I am going to now.”</p> - -<p>Stacy did. He laughed uproariously and long, but there was little mirth -in his laughter. His motive was to put his companions in a frame of mind -that would make it easier for him, for Stacy secretly feared they would -take sweet revenge on him for his prank.</p> - -<p>A brief period of silence followed the fat boy’s laughter, then the -Overlanders broke loose. Theirs was real mirth, and their laugh lasted -longer.</p> - -<p>“Well, what are we going to do with him?” demanded Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I reckon the young man is right about our lack of a sense of humor,” -agreed Ham. “We have had our laugh; we have some fine meat for -to-morrow, and we have had some excitement with no harm done except a -little loss of sleep and a somewhat mussed-up camp. My suggestion is -that if Mr. Brown will go bury that can of bear-bait, then sleep out in -the woods to-night, we will let him off this time. Well?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bury the stuff, yes, but I won’t sleep out in the woods. The bears -might get me,” objected Stacy. “One tried to, in my tent.”</p> - -<p>“That is exactly the point that Hamilton is making,” spoke up Emma. -“Sleep out in the woods, by all means.”</p> - -<p>A long, wailing cry echoed through the forest.</p> - -<p>“Mercy! What’s that?” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>“The coyotes have scented the fresh meat,” answered White. “They will -all be here soon, and some other beasts, too. Are you folks game for a -sight that will thrill you—that will show you the savagery of nature let -loose?” he asked quickly.</p> - -<p>“Yes!” agreed the Overlanders eagerly. They did not know what he -proposed to do, but were ready for anything that he might suggest as a -diversion.</p> - -<p>“Get your belongings, blankets, and such things as you don’t care to -lose. We men will get the horses, and—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, have a heart!” begged Stacy. “What! Ride at this time of night? I -prefer to stay in camp.”</p> - -<p>“You may,” agreed the guide.</p> - -<p>Stacy sat down and regarded the preparations sourly, but when he saw -that his companions really were going to leave him, he ran for his pony -and his equipment. It was but a short time later that the party filed -out of camp, leading their horses, stepping out at a brisk walk, for -White was in some haste.</p> - -<p>After proceeding several hundred yards from the camp, the guide halted.</p> - -<p>“Tie your stock, and tie them securely, for we shall have to leave them -here alone for a time,” he directed.</p> - -<p>This having been done, the party gathered together, waiting for Ham -White to direct them what to do next.</p> - -<p>“We will wait here for the present,” he said.</p> - -<p>Five, ten minutes of tense silence passed; then a long mournful howl -resounded through the forest. It was answered by other howls farther -away, then a scream brought rustlings in the tree-tops where the birds -stirred restlessly.</p> - -<p>“They’re coming. Move forward cautiously; make no loud noises and be -careful where you step. No one is to use a weapon unless I tell him to -do so. Come!”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXIV' title='XIV: The Battle of the Beasts'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XIV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE BATTLE OF THE BEASTS</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton!” said Emma, as she placed a trembling hand on the arm of -the guide.</p> - -<p>“Be quiet,” he admonished.</p> - -<p>The howls were coming nearer with the seconds, it seemed. There were -suggestive rustlings, and the faint sound of padded feet on the soft -ground somewhere to the right of the party.</p> - -<p>The sensations of the Overland Riders were not wholly delightful, and -their nerves were tense and on edge.</p> - -<p>The howls of the coyotes were mingled with snarls, and between -themselves and the faint light of the campfire the Overlanders now made -out slinking shadows.</p> - -<p>“Mother of Mercy! What does it all mean?” murmured Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>“The coyotes are here,” Grace informed her. “Don’t be alarmed. They -cannot harm us if we keep together and don’t get panic-stricken.”</p> - -<p>“Silence, please!” ordered White. “We will proceed. Pick your way.”</p> - -<p>They had reached a point further on when the guide halted them.</p> - -<p>“Look!” he said in a low tone of voice.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders gazed on a scene such as they had never gazed upon -before.</p> - -<p>A pack of coyotes were milling and snarling at the carcass of the -suspended bear. They were leaping and rending the bear’s flesh, -springing upon each other in their frenzy, biting and tearing their -fellows.</p> - -<p>A long-drawn howl from the forest was followed by a chorus of yelps. The -air seemed full of hoarse wails.</p> - -<p>“Wolves!” announced the guide briefly. “You can talk now. Your voices -can’t be heard by those beasts with all this uproar. How do you like -it?”</p> - -<p>“It is terrible!” murmured Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps, but that is the way, not only of the beasts, but of man, -though man is more cruel. Life is a survival of the fittest. Look at the -trees and you have the answer. The tall ones are the vigorous ones; the -runts—”</p> - -<p>The guide was interrupted by a scream that was almost human in its -quality.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Now we shall see something worth while. Watch!” he warned.</p> - -<p>What seemed to be a big ball of fur came hurtling from a tree, landing -right among the coyotes. Then followed the maddest battle and the -noisiest one that any member of the Overland party, with the possible -exception of Ham White, had ever seen.</p> - -<p>“See the big cat give it to them!” cried the guide.</p> - -<p>“The—the cat!” stammered Emma.</p> - -<p>“Yes. That’s a mountain lion, which, as a matter of fact, is not a lion -at all.”</p> - -<p>The girls were too thrilled with the scene before them to give heed to -his words.</p> - -<p>The battle was brief, but when the lion finally leaped away with a large -chunk of meat in his jaws, three coyotes lay stretched out on the -ground. Whether the lion had killed them, or whether their own fellows -had done the deed, the eyes of the Overlanders had not been quick enough -to perceive. Now that they were rid of their enemy, the coyotes returned -to their savage feast.</p> - -<p>“Say! You aren’t going to let those beasts eat up all our meat, are -you?” demanded Stacy. “I want some of that meat myself.”</p> - -<p>“Is there any danger to us, Mr. White?” questioned a voice in the -guide’s ear.</p> - -<p>He turned quickly, to find Miss Briggs standing at his side.</p> - -<p>“No. We have our rifles, and so long as the bear meat holds out those -cowardly brutes can think of nothing else. We will give them something -to think about shortly, however. I think we have seen about enough of -this, and I am a little anxious about the ponies, too.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“You heard the wolves howling a little while ago. Well, you don’t hear -them now, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Meaning?” interjected Grace.</p> - -<p>“That they may be attacking the ponies or they may be stalking us—may at -this moment be within a few yards of us. I don’t worry about our safety. -They would have to be very hungry to attack us, in force as we are, but -let them overwhelm a pony and get him down, and he is lost.”</p> - -<p>The guide paused, and peered through the leaves of a bunch of saplings -behind which the party was standing. He gazed steadily for a full -minute.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Gray, fix your gaze on that tree with the umbrella top. Do you get -it?” asked White eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Let me know if you see anything.”</p> - -<p>“I see something dark on one of the projecting limbs,” answered Grace, -after a long look. “What is it?”</p> - -<p>“An animal, probably a lion.”</p> - -<p>“Ours?” questioned Hippy.</p> - -<p>The guide shook his head.</p> - -<p>“‘Ours’ as you call him is too full of bear meat at this moment to climb -a tree. He is probably still munching under a thick growth of creeping -juniper somewhere, and may remain there all night. That animal in the -umbrella tree must be another lion. Want to try your marksmanship on -him, Mrs. Gray? Take a shot at him,” urged Hamilton White. “This isn’t a -fair test, I know, for you can’t even see your rifle sights.”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, I’ll try it.” The members of the party, at the guide’s -direction, had brought along their rifles, as Ham knew that the weapons -might be needed. Grace stepped forward a little, moved to the right, -then to the left, each time peering over the barrel of her automatic -rifle. “I am not certain, but I think I can line up one sight. Shall I -fire?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” answered White.</p> - -<p>The Overland girl knelt down and rested the rifle against the side of a -tree, but the position did not suit her, so she lay flat on her back on -the ground, with the weapon held between her elevated knees. It was for -only a few seconds that she waited, then there came a flash and a sharp -report, followed by a <i>spat</i>!</p> - -<p>A snarl, and a faint squeal, came down to them.</p> - -<p>“You hit the tree, and I shouldn’t be surprised if you barked the beast, -too!” cried Ham enthusiastically. “Try it again.”</p> - -<p>“No. Give the others a chance. The one who brings down the beast shall -be free from all camp duties until Monday night,” suggested Grace.</p> - -<p>“Here! Let me take a shot!” exclaimed Stacy. He raised his rifle, -without changing his position at all, and before the girls could ask an -opportunity to shoot, Stacy fired three quick shots.</p> - -<p>A scream from the cat followed the shots. There was a lively scrambling -in the umbrella tree, and the dark object that Hamilton White had -pointed out disappeared for a few seconds. The party was too eager to -see the result of the shots to take their eyes from the tree for even a -second.</p> - -<p>“There he comes!” cried Ham. “It’s a hit. Look at him tumble!”</p> - -<p>The lion had plunged from the tree and was hurtling down. He struck the -ground with a loud whack, landing a few yards from the campfire, where -he lay kicking, then straightened out dead.</p> - -<p>From the shots and the fall of the lion the coyotes got a fright that -sent them scurrying to the shadows.</p> - -<p>“Now’s our chance to clear them out! Everybody shoot and shoot fast. No -danger of doing any damage, for our ponies are behind us!” ordered -White.</p> - -<p>“Put down a barrage, you shooters, and give them a kick that will keep -them going. I want to go to bed,” cried Stacy. “I never shoot at -anything I can’t see. It isn’t sportsmanlike.”</p> - -<p>Some lively shooting followed, and the camp and its immediate vicinity -was cleared of the vicious visitors in a few moments.</p> - -<p>“We must get the ponies up in a hurry now, Lieutenant,” reminded Ham. -“You ladies stay out in the open, but keep together with rifles at -ready. Brown, you stay here and look after them. Shoot if anything -develops.”</p> - -<p>The two men started back into the forest at a run, and they were just in -time, for slinking forms were already stalking the plunging, snorting -ponies.</p> - -<p>It took but a few moments to free the ponies and lash them together with -lead ropes, whereupon the men started back to camp. They hesitated to -fire at the beasts, either coyotes or wolves, which were now stalking -the ponies, fearing to alarm the girls. Only a slight rustling indicated -the presence of the slinking beasts, and that sound continued until the -men with the ponies were more than half the way to the camp.</p> - -<p>“Hark!” exclaimed the guide suddenly.</p> - -<p>“Did you hear that, Lieutenant?”</p> - -<p>“No. What was it?”</p> - -<p>“Three shots. They weren’t from our camp, either—they were farther -away—and I should say from a revolver. Let us hurry on.”</p> - -<p>A rifle crashed.</p> - -<p>“That one was from our party. I’m going to cut loose. You bring the -horses in as best you can.” White cast off the lead rope, and dashed -ahead towards the camp, keeping his mount from burying its nose in the -ground by sheer muscular effort, as the little animal frequently -stumbled, and staggered over obstructions that could not be seen in the -darkness. The guide rode into camp at a swift gallop.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” he demanded, sweeping the camp with a quick comprehensive -glance.</p> - -<p>“There isn’t anything the matter,” answered Stacy Brown, who stood -leaning on his rifle.</p> - -<p>“Then why did you shoot? I told you to shoot if anything developed,” -rebuked the guide.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t say that I did shoot. However, for your own private ear, not -for general publication, I’ll say I did fire a shot. What about it?” -demanded the fat boy belligerently.</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“Because some fellow was signalling us with small arms. Maybe some poor -fellow is lost. I have a big heart, sir—I am full to overflowing with -human sympathy, so I answered his shot.”</p> - -<p>Hamilton White sighed. There was no answer that he could think of. Grace -laughed at him, and the guide grinned appreciatively.</p> - -<p>Hippy arrived safely at camp with the horses a few moments later, and -was quickly informed of the cause of the shooting. Neither Hippy nor -White liked the thought of revealing their presence, for they knew that -peril might lurk in the big woods for the Overland Riders, and for that -reason they regretted Stacy’s shot.</p> - -<p>“Well, I reckon you ladies had better turn in. We three men must clean -up the camp after the mussing it has had. How’s the cat?” asked the -guide.</p> - -<p>“He is a nice fat fellow, Hamilton,” bubbled Emma.</p> - -<p>“And Stacy made a wonderful shot, didn’t he, Mr. White?” spoke up -Elfreda enthusiastically.</p> - -<p>“I always make wonderful shots,” boasted the fat boy. “Why, I could tell -you of shots that I have made that you wouldn’t believe possible were -anyone else to tell you the same story about himself.”</p> - -<p>The Overlanders laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>“Chance shot!” declared Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I think so, too,” chirped Emma.</p> - -<p>“I think I know a chance shot when I see one,” added Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“I don’t doubt it. You’ve made enough of them,” growled Stacy, and the -laugh was on Hippy. “I’m going to turn in. If the coyotes return don’t -bother to awaken me. I am perfectly able to take care of myself if they -get close enough.”</p> - -<p>“You will help us clear up this camp, Stacy Brown!” ordered Hippy. Stacy -demurred, but obeyed. When Hippy assumed that tone, Stacy knew that it -was best to obey orders.</p> - -<p>The three had been at work for only a few moments when a fusillade of -shots was heard. The shots were from small arms, and were much nearer -the camp than before. All work ceased instantly, and the guide looked -his displeasure at the interruption. He beckoned to the girls to go to -the far side of the camp, which they did without protest, but he -observed that they had picked up their rifles and laid them across their -laps, as they sat down in the shadows.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton, do be careful,” called Emma.</p> - -<p>Nora snickered, and Emma Dean elevated her chin disdainfully.</p> - -<p>“Sh-h-h-h!” warned Grace. “I hear someone coming.”</p> - -<p>“Help!” The cry was hard by the camp.</p> - -<p>Ham White and Hippy, standing back from the light of the campfire, did -not move. Their rifles were held in the crooks of their left arms ready -for instant use.</p> - -<p>“It may be a trick. Stand by!” warned White in a low voice.</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir,” answered Hippy.</p> - -<p>A man, dishevelled, his clothing torn, his face bloody, staggered into -the camp.</p> - -<p>“I’m done for!” he gasped, and collapsed in a heap.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXV' title='XV: A Rude Awakening'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A RUDE AWAKENING</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Look out!” was White’s warning to Lieutenant Wingate, as the guide -sprang forward to the man on the ground.</p> - -<p>“Is he dead?” called Elfreda, getting up to go forward to the visitor’s -assistance.</p> - -<p>“No. Stay where you are for the present, please.” The camp was silent -for a moment, then White stood up. “It’s Jim Haley!” he announced. “And -he has been pretty roughly used.”</p> - -<p>“The Man from Seattle!” cried the girls. Elfreda was at his side -instantly.</p> - -<p>“Is he wounded?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“I think not,” replied the guide.</p> - -<p>“See if he has any peanuts with him,” advised Stacy Brown.</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” Hippy’s voice was stern, and the fat boy subsided.</p> - -<p>A quick examination by White and Miss Briggs failed to reveal any -wounds. They brought water, and Elfreda bathed Haley’s face, which, -though bloody, was only scratched, probably by contact with bushes. It -took but a short time to revive him, his trouble being almost wholly -exhaustion. Grace hastened to make a pot of tea, which Haley gulped down -and instantly recovered himself.</p> - -<p>“Sorry I lost my samples, or I’d not have been in this shape,” he said, -grinning.</p> - -<p>“What happened to you?” Hippy asked.</p> - -<p>“Same old story. The mountain ruffians wanted peanuts, so they tackled -me. One taste of the International’s product and men will commit murder -to get more of it. I threw away all I had, and they’re picking them up -along the trail. It was the only way I could get rid of the scoundrels. -Then I got into more trouble. A pack of wolves got the scent of the -peanuts and they tackled me, too, but I hadn’t any of the -International’s product to throw to them, so I had to run for it. They -chased me nearly all the way in. ‘Good for man and beast’ is the slogan -that I shall send on to the International for use in their publicity -matter.”</p> - -<p>The girls were now laughing heartily, but, as they recalled the manner -of Haley’s leaving them, they subsided abruptly. Haley’s now merry eyes -caught the significance of the change.</p> - -<div id='i002' style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:10.0%; width:80%;'> - <img src='images/i002.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> -<p class='caption'>“I’m Done For!”</p> -</div> - -<p>“What have I said or done now? Is it because I have no peanuts for you -good people?”</p> - -<p>“I think the young ladies would like an explanation of your sudden -departure the other night,” spoke up Hippy Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Were I to tell you that I ran away because I was afraid, you probably -would not believe me, so I’ll not tell you that. There are some things -one can speak of freely, and others that he cannot. This latter happens -to be my difficulty now. If you feel that you do not want me, of course -I shall not impose upon you. I thank you, but I warn you that you are -not to enjoy any of the International’s product until you reach home. -They eat ’em alive up here.”</p> - -<p>“You are quite welcome to remain as long as you wish. Please stay over -Sunday with us, Mr. Haley,” requested Grace. “We hope to have a spread -for our Sunday dinner,” she added laughingly.</p> - -<p>“You win, Mrs. Gray. Unfortunately, my International raiment is in a sad -condition, but if you will lend me a pair of shears I’ll cut off the -ragged ends and try to make myself presentable.”</p> - -<p>The girls, at this juncture, bade the men good-night and turned in, for -there were not many hours left for sleep, and they were now very tired -after the exciting night through which they had passed.</p> - -<p>A few words passed between the guide and the peanut man, and Ham White -listened with a heavy frown on his face.</p> - -<p>“I won’t do it!” he exclaimed. “Do you think you would were you in my -position?”</p> - -<p>“If the International’s product didn’t pay me I should,” answered the -peanut man, with a twinkle in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Oh, hang the International!” retorted White. “I give you fair warning -that I’ll not double-cross these young women for you or for any of your -confounded outfit. I’ve done enough already, and I am thinking of going -to them and making a clean breast of what I have done and then get out.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a fool, White. Here! Read this.” Haley extended a folded slip -of paper to the guide, who opened and read it, the frown deepening on -his forehead.</p> - -<p>White handed back the slip of paper, and resting his chin in the palm of -his hand sat regarding the distant campfire thoughtfully, for they had -withdrawn out of earshot of the camp for their conversation.</p> - -<p>“Very well!” agreed Hamilton White after a few moments’ reflection. “I -might as well be hanged for a sheep as a wolf, but if anything happens -here as a result I shall tell why. Remember that, Haley.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, what’s a bag of peanuts more or less?” was the enigmatic -reply of the Man from Seattle. “I’ll take a nip of sleep, if you don’t -mind, and be on my way, but not <i>far</i> away.”</p> - -<p>The queer visitor took the blanket that had been given to him, and, -walking back into the forest a short distance from the camp, lay down -and went to sleep. The guide did not turn in at all, but sat silently in -the shadows, rifle at his side, thinking and listening. Thus the rest of -the night passed, and day began to dawn.</p> - -<p>With the breaking of the day Hamilton White climbed the miniature -mountain, and drawing a single-barreled glass from his pocket began -studying the landscape. A tiny spiral of smoke about two miles to the -north claimed his instant attention. He studied it for a few moments. At -first the smoke was quite dark, then the spiral grew thin and gray as it -waved lazily on the still morning air.</p> - -<p>“Someone is building a breakfast fire,” he muttered. “And they know how -to build a fire, too. That may be Haley’s crowd. Ah!”</p> - -<p>As White slowly swept his glass around he discovered something else that -aroused his keen interest. On a distant mountain a flag was being -wigwagged. He could not see the operator of it, but he was able to -follow the message that was being spelled out.</p> - -<p>Another shift of his glass and a careful study of known localities -enabled the guide to find the person who was receiving the message, and -soon the receiver began answering with his signal flag.</p> - -<p>Ham White grinned as he read both messages.</p> - -<p>“The forest eyes of Uncle Sam!” he murmured. The signalers were forest -lookouts whose eyes were constantly on the alert watching over the vast -forest within their range for suspicious smokes, and they were having a -friendly Sunday morning conversation over a distance of nearly four -miles.</p> - -<p>Ham read and smiled.</p> - -<p>“If they knew they would be more careful of what they said,” he -chuckled, then a few moments later he climbed down, returned to camp and -started the breakfast fire. He fried some strips of bacon, put on the -coffee, and then he sounded the breakfast call.</p> - -<p>“Come and get it!” was the call that rang out on the mountain air.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders thought they wanted to sleep, in fact, they were hardly -awake when they got lip grumbling, in most instances, and began -hurriedly dressing. All were shivering, for the air was very chill. The -odor of the breakfast, when they smelled it, added to the haste of their -dressing.</p> - -<p>“Stick your heads in the cold water and you will be all right,” advised -the guide.</p> - -<p>The girls returned from the spring, their faces rich with color, eyes -sparkling, and ready for breakfast.</p> - -<p>“How are the appetites? I don’t ask you, Mr. Brown. You have proved to -my satisfaction that you can eat whether you are hungry or not,” laughed -White.</p> - -<p>“We are ready for breakfast, sir,” answered Elfreda Briggs. “My, but it -does smell good.” “Where is Mr. Haley?” questioned Grace, regarding the -guide with a look of inquiry in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“He thought best to sleep outside of the camp, and no doubt has gone on -before this.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Mr. White?” persisted Grace.</p> - -<p>“That is a question that I can’t answer just now, Mrs. Gray,” returned -the guide, meeting her eyes in a level gaze.</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well. We will have breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“We will,” agreed Stacy, and began to help himself from the frying pan, -when the guide smilingly placed a hand on the fat boy’s arm.</p> - -<p>“You forget the ladies, Mr. Brown,” he reminded.</p> - -<p>“Forget them? How could I?”</p> - -<p>“It is you who forget, Hamilton,” interposed Emma. “You forget that -Stacy Brown never was brought up.”</p> - -<p>“Give me the chuck!” whispered Stacy. “Heap the plate.”</p> - -<p>White, catching the significance of the request, heaped the plate, and -Stacy bore it to Emma with great dignity. He bowed low and offered the -plate.</p> - -<p>“Your highness is served,” he said. “If you will be so kind as to call -your sweet soul to earth from the ethereal realms above long enough to -feed that sweet soul on a few fat slices of common pig, you will be a -real human being. I thank you,” added the boy, as Emma, her face -flushing, took the plate, her lips framing a reply which was never -uttered. The shout of laughter that greeted Stacy’s act and words left -Emma without speech. Nor did she speak more than once during the meal, -then only to ask for another cup of coffee.</p> - -<p>Breakfast finished and the morning work done in camp, the three men went -out to groom the horses, while Grace and Elfreda strayed away. Their -objective was the rock from which Ham White had made his early -observation.</p> - -<p>“Have you the diary?” asked Grace as they seated themselves. “Oh, what a -wonderful view. Isn’t it superb?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have the diary, and I see the view, and agree with you that it -is superb, but suppose we get down to business before we are -interrupted. I do not believe we shall be spied on here, at least,” said -Elfreda, glancing about her.</p> - -<p>The thumb-worn book was produced, and the girls bent over it, beginning -with the first page. There were daily weather comments, movements of the -prospector from place to place, little incidents in his daily life, none -of which seemed to shed any light on the subject in which the two girls -were interested.</p> - -<p>“Here is something!” breathed Grace finally, and read, under date of -April 30, the following paragraph:</p> - -<p>“‘Plenty here. Dare not dig, for am watched. Picked up in channel enough -pay-dirt to keep over next winter. Channel itself ought to pan out -fortune, but shall have to have help. Isn’t safe to try it alone. The -gang of cutthroats would murder me. Some day mebby they’ll get me as it -is.’”</p> - -<p>“Hm-m-m-m,” murmured Miss Briggs. “I wondered why, if he had made such a -find, Mr. Petersen shouldn’t get out the gold and put it in a safe place -before someone got ahead of him. The diary seems to furnish a reason for -his delay. He must refer to the Murray gang.”</p> - -<p>“Listen to this entry, Elfreda,” begged Grace, reading:</p> - -<p>“‘Queer thing this morning. The sun was shining on the children, and on -grandma’s bonnet, but her face was as black as a nigger’s. I wonder if -that was a warning to me to keep away. Gold, gold! How terrible is the -lure for the yellow stuff. It gets into the blood, it eats into the -heart. It’s a frightful disease.’”</p> - -<p>“That checks up with what Mr. Petersen had me to write down, doesn’t it, -Grace?” breathed Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Undoubtedly. He must refer to the same thing, but it doesn’t give us -the least idea where the place is.”</p> - -<p>“The man would be a fool to write a thing like that in a diary—to tell -where and how. Anything else? There is something on the next page.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Grace, turning the page and reading:</p> - -<p>“‘Though I haven’t found it, I know pretty well where the mother lode -is, but I’m afraid of it—afraid to look for it. I’m afraid the wealth I -should find there would kill me just because of the responsibility of -possessing it. Then again, what is there left in life after a man has -got all he has dreamed of, and yearned for, and fought for, and worked -for, up to that time? Nothing!’”</p> - -<p>“What a philosopher!” marvelled Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>“He is right, too,” agreed Miss Briggs. “Suppose we forget about it, -also,” urged Elfreda. “I am tired of it.”</p> - -<p>“J. Elfreda, if I didn’t know you so well, I should believe you are in -love, you are so gloomy. Listen! Mr. Petersen probably has no one -surviving him. He wished you to have what he had found. It was the -request of a man about to pass out; it was a trust, Elfreda. One day -someone, perhaps the very ones who tried to kill him, will stumble on -the Lost Mine. I should say that the prospector’s request imposed a duty -on you, my dear—a duty to go to the place he names, take possession of -what you may find there and keep it for your own. You can’t expect to -make a fortune practicing law, especially if you don’t do more -practicing than you have done in the last few years. I fear these summer -outings of ours have cost each of us something.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda said she didn’t regret the loss of time. Her time was her own, -and she had sufficient funds to enable her to take care of herself and -the little daughter that she had adopted a few years before.</p> - -<p>“The question is, though, how am I going to find this place—how are we -going to find it, I mean, for what I find is for the outfit, not for my -own selfish self. I—”</p> - -<p>Elfreda’s eyes had been wandering over the scene that lay before them as -Grace slowly turned the leaves of the diary. Miss Briggs thought she had -seen a movement off to the right at the edge of the rock farthest from -the camp.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” demanded Grace, glancing up quickly.</p> - -<p>“Nothing. Go on. Find anything else?”</p> - -<p>“Only this: ‘When the sun is at the meridian the sands turn to golden -yellow,’” read Grace.</p> - -<p>“What does he mean, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose he means to convey that the bed of the dry stream, if it is -dry, shows a sort of golden strip. That is all I can make of it. There -seems to be nothing else in the book in reference to the subject in -which we are particularly interested. I am certain that the poor man -knew what he was saying; I believe that he believed he had found what he -says he found. Whether he did find it or not is quite another matter. In -any event Lost River and the lost mine are well worth looking for as we -go along. If there be such a place, Overland luck will lead us to it,” -finished Grace.</p> - -<p>“I doubt it—I was going to say I hope Overland luck doesn’t lead us to -it, to our River of Doubt. Oh, Grace!”</p> - -<p>“Wha—at is it?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, look!”</p> - -<p>A black head of hair, lifted just above the level of the rock on the far -side, revealed a low forehead and a pair of burning black eyes—evil eyes -they seemed to the two startled girls. They could not see the hands that -were gripping the edge of the rock, but what they could see was -sufficient to fill them with alarm.</p> - -<p>Without an instant’s hesitation, Elfreda Briggs snatched up a chunk of -flinty rock and hurled it with all her might. The chunk of rock fell a -couple of yards short of the mark, bounced up into the air, and landed -fairly on the man’s head.</p> - -<p>“Who says a woman can’t throw a stone!” cried J. Elfreda Briggs almost -hysterically.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXVI' title='XVI: Bandits Take Their Toll'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XVI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>BANDITS TAKE THEIR TOLL</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Run!” cried Grace.</p> - -<p>“The diary!” exclaimed Elfreda, as Grace dropped the book, snatched it -up, and ran clambering down the rocks.</p> - -<p>The guide saw them coming, saw that something was wrong, and strode -forward to meet the two girls.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” he asked sharply.</p> - -<p>“A prowler,” answered Grace, out of breath.</p> - -<p>“Where?”</p> - -<p>“There! On the other side of the rock. He was spying on us, and I think -Miss Briggs hit him with a piece of rock,” exclaimed Grace.</p> - -<p>“Lieutenant!” called Hamilton White, and sprinted around the base of the -big rock. Hippy Wingate was not far behind him, though Hippy did not -know what had occurred, nor did he wait for an explanation. He knew that -there was trouble, and that was sufficient for him.</p> - -<p>The two men reached their objective at about the same time. White was -peering at the rocks and bushes at the base of the big rock.</p> - -<p>“Miss Briggs did hit him. See the blood there, and the bushes crushed -where he fell. She must have given him a good wallop,” he chuckled.</p> - -<p>White began to run the trail, a trail that was plain and easily -followed. Hippy was right behind him, using his eyes to good advantage.</p> - -<p>“Lieutenant, I think you had best go back and watch the camp. This may -be a trick to coax us men away. Keep a sharp lookout. Have Brown stand -guard with you. There is little need to worry, for we can see and hear. -Skip!” urged the guide.</p> - -<p>Hippy lost no time in getting back to camp, and when he reached there he -found Grace and Elfreda laughing, and explaining to their companions -what had happened.</p> - -<p>They repeated the story to him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, let them fuss. They can’t do anything to us,” averred -Lieutenant Wingate after he had heard all of the story. “I’ll sit on top -of the rock and watch over you children.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what I say,” agreed Stacy. “We men can beat them at their own -game, and have a lap or so to spare. Ham will chase them so far away -that they never will find their way back. If he doesn’t I will.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be too positive,” admonished Grace. “I think it wise for us to be -on the alert. For some reason those ruffians are determined to be rid of -us, at least.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I hope Hamilton will take care of himself,” murmured Emma, whereat -her companions laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>None of the girls left the immediate camp all that morning; they even -sent Stacy to the spring for water, much to that young man’s disgust, -for Stacy had planned on having a fine day’s sleep in his tent.</p> - -<p>Noon came, and the guide had not returned, so Grace decided that they -would have something to eat. The girls got the meal.</p> - -<p>After they sat down to eat, the girls tried to be merry, but they -admitted that they missed Hamilton White, though none felt alarm at his -absence. The meal finished, dishes were washed and put away, and packs -laid out for a quick move, in the event of that becoming necessary, for -by this time the Overland Riders had learned to be ready at a moment’s -notice.</p> - -<p>Hippy from his point of vantage kept guard over the camp and its -vicinity, now and then studying the view spread out before him. The air -was fragrant with the odor of the forest, and Hippy grew sleepy. To keep -awake he decided to get down and walk. This he did, reaching the ground -on the side of the rock farthest from the camp.</p> - -<p>The Overlander, with only a revolver, strolled through the forest making -a circle around the camp, and studying the trees for blazes and the -ground for indications of recent visitors. Now and then he would sit -down, back against a tree, and gaze up into the blue sky and the waving -tops of the big pines.</p> - -<p>The afternoon wore away and Hippy was still trail-hunting. It was near -supper time when Nora called him. There was no answer, so she climbed -the rock, expecting to find her husband sleeping, for Hippy loved sleep -fully as much as Stacy Brown did.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Wingate was not on the rock, but Nora found his rifle laying -there. She ran back to her companions in alarm.</p> - -<p>“Hippy isn’t there!” she cried. “Oh, girls, can anything have happened -to him?” Nora was on the verge of tears.</p> - -<p>“No, of course not,” comforted Grace.</p> - -<p>“Then where is he?”</p> - -<p>“Probably asleep somewhere about,” suggested Emma. “You know he and -Stacy have the sleep habit.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it. I am going out to search for him.”</p> - -<p>“Nora, you will not!” differed Grace with emphasis. “We will all remain -where we are. To get separated would be foolish. Hippy is all right, so -sit down and chat with us. Mr. White will be along soon, and some others -besides Emma Dean will be glad to see him,” she added, with a teasing -glance at Emma.</p> - -<p>The Overland girls ate a cold supper that night, no one feeling like -cooking or sitting down to a hearty meal. Nora was so worried that she -refused to eat at all, and, while the other girls were equally -disturbed, they masked their real feelings by teasing each other. Emma -and Stacy were ragged unmercifully.</p> - -<p>Darkness settled over the forest, but still no Hippy, no guide.</p> - -<p>“I think it will be advisable to bring in the horses, don’t you, -Elfreda?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs and the others thought that would be a wise move, so the -ponies, and such of their equipment as was outside the camp, were -brought in; fuel was gathered and piled up so that they might keep the -fire burning; then the party sat down in their tents, with blankets -thrown over their shoulders, and began their watch.</p> - -<p>It was ten o’clock that night when the hail of Ham White was heard, and -after the tension of the last few hours the Overland girls felt like -screaming a welcome. Instead they sprang out and stood awaiting him.</p> - -<p>“Well, did you good people think I had deserted you?” he cried out. “I -am nearly famished. Is there anything left from dinner?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course there is. I will get you something. First I must tell -you. Mr. Wingate has been missing since some time this afternoon. We -don’t know what to make of it unless he has fallen asleep somewhere,” -said Grace.</p> - -<p>“What! Tell me about it.”</p> - -<p>Nora told the guide the story, explaining that Hippy had taken up his -station on the rock to guard the camp, and that that was the last they -saw of him.</p> - -<p>Ham White was disturbed, but he did not show it. Instead he laughed.</p> - -<p>“No doubt, as Mrs. Gray has suggested, he has gone to sleep. Where is -Mr. Brown?”</p> - -<p>“He is asleep in his tent, as usual,” spoke up Emma. “Oh, Hamilton, -won’t you please find Hippy—now?”</p> - -<p>“I will do my best. Give me a snack and I’ll go out now. I followed the -other trail for something like five miles. There were four men in the -party, only one of whom came near the camp. The trail finally bumped -into the side of a mountain and I lost it. It was so dark I could not -follow it farther. Thank you!” he added, as Emma handed him some bacon. -“I will go right out.”</p> - -<p>They followed him around the rock and watched with keen interest as Ham -White searched for and found the trail of the missing Hippy, which he -followed, with the aid of his pocket lamp, for some distance.</p> - -<p>“He was strolling,” announced the guide. “You can see here where he sat -down to rest, then went on. Please return to camp. Unless he wandered -off and lost his way, I shall probably soon find him.”</p> - -<p>The girls promptly turned back towards camp, Nora with reluctance, which -she made no effort to conceal. Then followed two hours of anxiety. The -guide returned shortly after midnight.</p> - -<p>“There is no use of searching farther to-night,” he announced. “Mr. -Wingate undoubtedly has strayed away, but I’ll find him in the morning. -Please turn in and get some rest, for we shall undoubtedly have an -active day to-morrow. In any event, don’t lose your nerve, Mrs. Wingate. -The Lieutenant has had enough experience to know how to take care of -himself.”</p> - -<p>Nora went to her tent weeping, Emma Dean’s arm around her, but Grace -held back at a gesture from Elfreda, who had observed that the guide -studiously avoided looking directly at Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White, have you anything to say to us?” questioned Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Meaning what?”</p> - -<p>“We wish to know what you really did discover. It was well not to say -any more than you did to Mrs. Wingate.”</p> - -<p>“You made a discovery of some sort—of that we are convinced,” spoke up -Grace.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I did,” admitted White. “I found the lieutenant’s revolver beside -a tree where he had been sitting. His trail ended there!”</p> - -<p>“Meaning?” persisted Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“That he was attacked and carried away, in all probability. I found -evidences of that.”</p> - -<p>“What can be done?” demanded Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Nothing until morning. I have means of obtaining assistance, which I -will employ as soon as it is light enough to see.”</p> - -<p>The girls turned away and walked slowly to their tent, and the guide -stepped over to the tent occupied by Hippy and Stacy Brown. He was out -in a moment and striding towards Elfreda’s quarters.</p> - -<p>“Miss Briggs! Mrs. Gray!” he called.</p> - -<p>“Yes!” answered the voices of Elfreda and Grace.</p> - -<p>“Stacy Brown is not in his tent. There has been a struggle, and the boy -has been forcibly removed,” was the startling announcement.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXVII' title='XVII: A Test of Courage'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XVII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A TEST OF COURAGE</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Sta—Stacy gone?” exclaimed Elfreda Briggs. “It can’t be possible. He is -playing one of his practical jokes on us.”</p> - -<p>“Let us look, but don’t disturb Emma and Nora if it can be avoided,” -urged Grace.</p> - -<p>The two girls, with the guide, repaired to Lieutenant Wingate’s tent, -and examined it, using their pocket lamps. It was as Hamilton White had -said—there was every evidence that a struggle had taken place there. The -fat boy’s hat and his revolver lay where they had been hurled to one -side of the tent. His blouse was a yard or so to the rear, and the -imprint of his heels where they had been dragged over the ground was -plainly visible.</p> - -<p>“He must have been asleep,” nodded White.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” agreed Grace. “If awake Stacy would have set up such a howl that -none could have failed to hear. When do you think this was done, Mr. -White?”</p> - -<p>“When we were out looking for the lieutenant. If you will remember, Mr. -Brown remained behind.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think it wise to follow his trail?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“No. Not now. I dare not leave the camp. All this may be part of a plan. -My duty is here, at least until daylight, when I will get into -communication with those who will find both men.”</p> - -<p>“You think so, Mr. White?” questioned Elfreda anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Yes. It is the work of the same gang, but what their motive is we can -only surmise. You and Mrs. Gray may know.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda felt her face growing hot, and a retort was on her lips, but she -suppressed it.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Gray, if you think I should try to run the trail now, I will do -so, but it would be against my judgment. I hope you do not insist,” said -White, turning to Grace.</p> - -<p>“I believe you are right,” answered Grace. “Come, Elfreda, we will go to -our tent, for no serious harm can come either to Hippy or Stacy. They -dare not harm them.”</p> - -<p>Ham White did not reply. He knew the character of the men who committed -that piece of banditry, and knew that they would hesitate at no crime to -gain their ends, whatever those ends might be.</p> - -<p>The guide got no sleep that night. Mindful of the attacks that had been -made on the camp, he took up his position at a distance, and, with rifle -in hand, sat motionless the rest of the night. From his position in the -deep shadows he commanded a view of the entire camp, which was dimly -lighted by the campfire all night long.</p> - -<p>There were occasional sounds that Ham White did not believe were made by -marauding animals, but none were definite enough to warrant exposing his -position. During his vigil nothing occurred to disturb the sleepers.</p> - -<p>The graying mists of the early morning were rising from gulch and -forest, enfolding the mountaintops, when Ham White stole around the -camp, scrutinizing every foot of the ground. By the time he had -completed this task the mists were so far cleared away that a good view -of the surrounding country might be had.</p> - -<p>From his kit the guide selected a wigwag signalling flag, and taking one -of the tent poles for use as a flagstaff, he went cautiously to the high -rock that stood sentinel over the Overland camp, and climbed to its top.</p> - -<p>“I hope none of the girls wake up,” he muttered, peering down into the -camp, which was as quiet as a deserted forest.</p> - -<p>Ham White, after attaching the flag to the pole, began waving it up and -down, which in the wigwag code means, “I wish to speak with you.”</p> - -<p>It was at this juncture that Grace Harlowe slowly opened her eyes. Where -she lay she could look straight up to the top of the rock without making -the slightest movement, and her amazement must have been reflected in -her eyes.</p> - -<p>Like several of the Overland girls, Grace’s experience in the war had -included learning to signal and to read signals. She was out of -practice, but was easily able to read any message not sent too fast. Ham -began his message, after getting the attention of the persons to whom he -was signalling, at a speed that Grace could not follow. She did, -however, catch a few words that were enlightening.</p> - -<p>“Trouble—Haley—Trail—Send word—Caution—Great secrecy or expose -hands—Fatal to—” were some of the words that she caught as the guide -flashed them off. Then he paused.</p> - -<p>“How I wish I could see the answer,” muttered the Overland girl, as she -watched Hamilton White, with glasses at his eyes, receiving the message -that was being sent to him.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe’s, however, were not the only pair of eyes that witnessed -that exhibition of signalling. Other eyes were observing, but that other -pair could not read a word of what the signallers were saying.</p> - -<p>White dropped his glasses and snatched up his flag, and she read, this -time with greater ease:</p> - -<p>“It may be fatal. Great danger to both. My responsibility. Must have -instant action. This an order. Obey without loss time. Report soon as -anything to say.” The guide signed his name, and the words that followed -the signature filled Grace Harlowe with amazement. She saw the guide -remove the flag from its staff and hide it under a stone, after which he -descended to the camp, passing the open tents without so much as a -glance at them.</p> - -<p>Ham stirred up the fire and put over the breakfast, and, while it was -cooking, Grace came out, greeting him cheerfully.</p> - -<p>“Is there any news, Mr. White?” she asked sweetly.</p> - -<p>“No, not yet.”</p> - -<p>“What have you done?”</p> - -<p>“I signalled to a fire-lookout station that assistance was needed. It is -best to wait until we hear from them.”</p> - -<p>“How, signal?” she questioned, appearing not to understand.</p> - -<p>“By the air route, Mrs. Gray,” was the smiling reply.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“You are a very clever man, Mr. White,” she said, and walked to her tent -to awaken Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>When informed that Stacy Brown was missing, a few moments later, Nora -Wingate became hysterical, but Grace and Elfreda calmed her, and the -party were ready to sit down to breakfast when the guide announced it as -ready.</p> - -<p>It was a trying, anxious morning for the little band of Overlanders. -White made frequent trips to the rock, observed questioningly by -Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“What is he looking for, Grace?” she asked. “Does the man expect to find -the bandits that way?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. Why not ask him, J. Elfreda?”</p> - -<p>“Not I. You know I would not.”</p> - -<p>About mid-forenoon Grace suggested to the guide that he go out into the -forest and see if he could glean any information as to the direction -that the kidnappers had taken when they left the camp, with either Hippy -or Stacy Brown.</p> - -<p>White pondered the subject a moment, then agreed.</p> - -<p>“If you will promise not to leave camp, and to fire a shot at the least -suspicious sound or occurrence, I will go out,” he said. “One of you had -better go to the rock and take station there until my return.”</p> - -<p>Grace said she would do that. Matters were working out to her -satisfaction, and, after telling Elfreda to take her rifle and post -herself a short distance to the rear of the camp, and assigning Emma and -Nora to the right and left ends of their camping place, Grace climbed -the rock and sat down. After Ham White, following a survey of the camp -and her arrangements, of which he approved with a nod and a wave of the -hand, had left the camp, Grace got up and looked for the signal flag, -which she found under a flat stone.</p> - -<p>“Now! Having disposed of my companions I shall see what I shall and can -see,” she told herself.</p> - -<p>Securing the signal flag, the Overland girl took a survey of the -landscape. A vast sea of dense forest lay all about her, broken here and -there by a white-capped mountain. Nothing that looked as if it might be -a fire-lookout station attracted her eyes. She had used her field -glasses, but without result.</p> - -<p>A moment of vigorous signalling on her part followed, after which Grace -swept the landscape again. She discovered nothing at all. Another trial -was made, and the word “answer” was spelled out by her.</p> - -<p>Her eye caught a faint something far to the north of her, and Grace’s -glasses were at her eyes in a twinkling. A little white flag was -fluttering up and down against the background of forest green in the far -distance.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got him!” cried the girl exultingly. “I’ve got him!” Then, -wigwagging, Grace Harlowe signalled the one word, “Report!”</p> - -<p>“Who?” came the answer, almost before she could get the glasses to her -eyes to read the message.</p> - -<p>“For White,” she wigwagged. “Report!”</p> - -<p>Holding the flag, now lowered to the rock, with one hand, the other -holding the glasses to her eyes, Grace bent every faculty to watching -that little fluttering, bobbing square of white, that, at her distance -from it, looked little larger than a postage stamp.</p> - -<p>“Repeat!” she interrupted frequently, whenever part of a word was -missed. It was a laborious effort for her, out of practice as she was, -and the exchange of messages lasted for a full half hour before the -Overland girl gave her unseen, unknown signaller the “O. K.” signal.</p> - -<p>Grace folded the flag and placed it under the stone, then straightened -up.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hamilton White, I have you now!” she exclaimed, a triumphant note -in her voice.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXVIII' title='XVIII: The Flaming Arrow'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XVIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE FLAMING ARROW</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Where am I at?”</p> - -<p>It was Hippy Wingate’s first conscious moment since he was struck down -while sleeping with his back against a tree not far from the Overland -camp. All was darkness about him as he awakened in unfamiliar -surroundings. Essaying to rise, the Overlander discovered that he was -bound. Still worse, there was a gag in his mouth.</p> - -<p>A gentle breeze was blowing over him, and at first he thought he was -still under the trees. Hippy then realized that there was a hard floor -beneath him. His head ached, and when he tried to sit up he found that -it swam dizzily.</p> - -<p>“I wonder what happened to me?” he muttered. “Hello!”</p> - -<p>There was no response to his call; in fact, his voice, still weak, did -not carry far and it was thick because of the gag. Then began a struggle -with himself, that, while it exhausted him for the time being, aided in -overcoming his dizziness.</p> - -<p>Hippy heard men conversing, heard them approaching, whereupon he -pretended still to be unconscious. A door was flung wide open, and a -lantern, held high, lighted up the interior of the building with a faint -radiance.</p> - -<p>“Hain’t woke up,” announced one of the two men who stood in the doorway.</p> - -<p>“Mebby he never will,” answered the other.</p> - -<p>“I don’t reckon it makes much difference, so long as we got two of ’em,” -returned the first speaker. “What shall we do—let ’im sleep?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>The man with the lantern strode over and peered down at the prostrate -Overlander, while the prisoner, from beneath what seemed to be closed -eyelids, got a good look into the swarthy, hard-lined face. Lieutenant -Wingate would remember that face—he would remember the voices of both -men—would know them wherever he heard them.</p> - -<p>“Let ’im sleep. When he wakes up we’ll have something to say to ’im.” -With that the two men went out, slamming the door behind them.</p> - -<p>The lantern light had shown Hippy that he was in a log cabin. At his -back was a window, or a window-opening, for which he was thankful, as it -offered a possible way of escape. But how, in his present condition, -could he hope to gain his liberty?</p> - -<p>There was no answer to the Overlander’s mental question. First, he must -regain his strength. The leather thongs with which he was bound -interfered with his circulation, and his legs were numb. So were his -arms, and his jaws ached from the gag that was between his teeth. In -fact, Lieutenant Hippy Wingate did not remember ever to have suffered so -many aches and pains at one time as he had at that moment.</p> - -<p>He began his struggles again, but more with the idea of starting his -circulation and gaining strength than with any immediate hope of escape. -By rolling over several times he was able to reach the door, but having -reached it he had no hands with which to open it. Hippy wanted to look -out. Failing there, he bethought himself of the window, and rolled back -across the floor to it. Exerting a great effort, he managed to work his -head up to the window so he could see out.</p> - -<p>The night was dark, but the Overlander was able to make out trees and -rugged rocky walls, together with what appeared to be a dense mass of -bushes. The scene was unlike anything he had seen in the State of -Washington since his party had started on their outing.</p> - -<p>“I may be up in the Canadian Rockies, for all I know,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>Hippy sank down, weak and trembling.</p> - -<p>For a change, he rolled back and forth, pulling himself up to the window -again and again, and each time found himself stronger than before.</p> - -<p>“If I were free and had a gun I’d show those cowards something!” raged -the Overlander, his anger rising. “Why did they have to pick on me? I -wonder what the folks at the camp are think—”</p> - -<p>“Sh-h-h-h!”</p> - -<p>It was a low, sibilant hiss from the window, and Hippy fell suddenly -silent.</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet and listen to me,” warned a hoarse voice. “The gang is out -of range, but we don’t know when one or more of ’em will be back. I’m -coming in.”</p> - -<p>Not being able to answer, except with a grunt, the Overlander merely -grunted his understanding.</p> - -<p>The stranger leaped into the room and felt for the prisoner.</p> - -<p>“I am going to cut you loose. Are you wounded?”</p> - -<p>“No, I think not,” mumbled Hippy, but his words were unintelligible.</p> - -<p>The first thing the stranger did was to remove the gag, which he did -with so much care that the operation gave no pain. Then came the leather -thongs. These he ripped off with a few deft sweeps of a knife, and -Lieutenant Wingate was a free man so far as his bonds were concerned.</p> - -<p>“Can you walk?” in the same hoarse voice.</p> - -<p>“I could fly if I had to,” was the brief reply. “Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t know if I told you. Here!” The man thrust a revolver into -his hand. “Don’t use it unless you have to. We aren’t out of the woods -by a long shot. Come!”</p> - -<p>The stranger assisted Hippy through the window, which was accomplished -with some difficulty, for Lieutenant Wingate was stiff and sore. A firm -hand was fixed on his arm, and his companion began leading him rapidly -away. Not a word was spoken for several minutes—not until they had -plunged into the dark depths of a canyon, through which the man picked -the way unerringly.</p> - -<p>“How are you standing it?” was the question abruptly put to Lieutenant -Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Rotten! But I’ll pick up speed as I go along and get my motors warmed -up.”</p> - -<p>The stranger chuckled.</p> - -<p>“Where are we going?”</p> - -<p>“We are headed for your camp, but it’s quite a hike and a hard one. If -you get leg-weary, stop and rest a bit. How’d they get you?”</p> - -<p>“I went to sleep just outside the camp, and I think I must have got a -clump on the head. Ouch!” Hippy had lifted a hand to his head, and felt -there a bump as big as an egg. “I guess I did get a clump. It’s a wonder -I’m not dead. When is it, to-day or to-morrow?”</p> - -<p>“It’s the day after,” was the half humorous reply.</p> - -<p>“Please tell me how you found me?” asked the Overlander.</p> - -<p>“Ham White got in touch with some people I know. They got word to me, -and gave me the tip. The same people saw the gang that got you heading -for the pass where you were taken, so I made for that place as soon as I -got the word from White. I was lucky; I might have had to hunt the whole -state over for you. The gang made a bad play when they picked you up. -We’ve got a line on them now.”</p> - -<p>“Who is we?” interjected Hippy.</p> - -<p>“All of us,” was the noncommittal reply. “Don’t speak so loudly. It -isn’t safe yet.”</p> - -<p>That walk Hippy Wingate never forgot. Every step sent shooting pains -through his head and legs. He stumbled frequently, but every time the -grip of the stranger tightened on his arm, and he was kept on his feet.</p> - -<p>“When you get to camp, tell your people to watch out. Some of the gang -are still out on trail. I reckon they aren’t out for any good, and they -may be planning to rush your camp and get the rest of your party.”</p> - -<p>“Why do they want us?” wondered Lieutenant Wingate. “Is it robbery?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but not the sort of robbery you think. Tell your friend Miss -Briggs that it’s time she told her party her story. She knows why.”</p> - -<p>“I begin to see a light,” muttered the Overlander. “Say! There’s -something familiar about your voice, but I can’t place it. Got a cold?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>Little conversation was indulged in after that, and at last Hippy’s -rescuer halted and pointed.</p> - -<p>“See that light?” he asked in a whisper.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“That’s your camp. I leave you here. Take my advice, and don’t make much -noise to-night. Keep your fire low, and post guards. Tell White there is -a man out here wants to see him. You need not let the others know about -my being here. I’m in a hurry. Good-night.”</p> - -<p>“But—won’t you come—”</p> - -<p>“Go on!”</p> - -<p>Hippy wavered a little as he started towards the camp, into which he -staggered a few minutes later.</p> - -<p>A cry greeted his appearance, and Nora’s arms were flung about his neck -ere he had fairly reached the light of the campfire. He held up his hand -for silence.</p> - -<p>“Give me something to eat, if you love me. I’m famished.”</p> - -<p>Nora ran for the coffee pot, which Ham White took from her. Hippy -stepped over to him and whispered something to the guide, as he relieved -White of the coffee pot.</p> - -<p>White immediately left the camp.</p> - -<p>By now the other members of the party were about Hippy shoving their joy -at his return.</p> - -<p>“Have you seen Stacy?” demanded Grace eagerly, as soon as she could get -his attention.</p> - -<p>“No. Why?”</p> - -<p>“He, too, has been missing, and—”</p> - -<p>“The curs!” raged Lieutenant Wingate. “So they got him, too, did they?”</p> - -<p>“Never mind now. You must drink and eat. Where is Mr. White?” wondered -Grace, glancing quickly about the camp.</p> - -<p>“I sent him out on an errand,” answered Hippy. “Ah! The coffee is not so -hot that it burns, but it’s nectar.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my darlin’! Your head!” cried Nora, just discovering the swelling -there.</p> - -<p>Elfreda was at his side in an instant, examining the lump that, to -Hippy, seemed fully as big as his head itself. Miss Briggs ran to her -tent for liniment, and in a moment was applying it to the sore spot.</p> - -<p>Hippy’s story was brief, because there was little that he could tell -them. He was amazed when he learned that he had been away so long.</p> - -<p>Grace explained to him how White had reached some lookouts on the range -and got them to go in search of him. “How they found you so soon, I -don’t understand. Do you?”</p> - -<p>Hippy shook his head.</p> - -<p>“There are some things in this neck of the woods that are beyond -explaining. I hope they didn’t give Stacy such a wallop as I got. But -don’t worry about him. They can’t keep him long. Stacy will eat them out -of his way. I was easy. He isn’t.”</p> - -<p>Ham White returned at this juncture.</p> - -<p>“We shall probably have another guest to-night, if all goes well,” he -announced.</p> - -<p>“A guest?” wondered the Overlanders.</p> - -<p>“So I am informed; perhaps more than one. Do not ask any questions, for -I can’t answer them. Well, Lieutenant, you had a rough time of it, -didn’t you?”</p> - -<p>“The Germans could not have done anything much worse.”</p> - -<p>“Would you recognize any of the fellows who captured you?” questioned -White.</p> - -<p>“I saw only two, but I shall know them when I see them, and they will -have reason to know me, for—”</p> - -<p>“Hamilton, who are the guests you are expecting?” urged Emma in her -sweetest tone of voice.</p> - -<p>“Sorry, Miss Dean, but I can’t tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that just like a man—making a mystery of everything? I think—”</p> - -<p>“Hello, folks!” cried a voice from the bush.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders fairly jumped at the sound of the familiar voice.</p> - -<p>“Tom! Tom Gray!” cried Grace, running and throwing herself into her -husband’s arms. “How happy I am to see you, you will never know. I -needed you, Tom—we all have needed you, and I think we shall need you -still more. Where did you come from?”</p> - -<p>“Hello, old chap!” cried Hippy jovially.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders crowded around Captain Tom Gray joyously.</p> - -<p>“How are you, White!” greeted Grace’s husband, as soon as he could free -himself from the welcome of Grace, Nora and Emma. “I have been looking -forward to meeting you, and I knew, from what I had heard, just the sort -of man you would be—I mean as to looks,” added Tom, grinning. “The men -on the range are looking forward to seeing their—”</p> - -<p>A warning look from the guide checked Tom.</p> - -<p>“I will explain later,” whispered the guide.</p> - -<p>“I thank you for sending for me,” bowed Tom, with ready resourcefulness. -“I knew that the need must be urgent or you would not have done so.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I have a double responsibility—a moral and a physical one, and I -felt that I had no right to go farther until I had consulted with Mrs. -Gray’s husband. We are heading for trouble, in fact we have already been -having it.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me about it. I know some of the facts, but I want them at first -hand.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Briggs knows the story. I suggest that she relate the story of her -experiences, which will give you the slant I want you to get. I suppose -you know of the kidnapping of Lieutenant Wingate and Stacy Brown?” asked -the guide.</p> - -<p>“The bare facts only. J. Elfreda, you seem to be the pivotal point on -this journey. Grace is holding my hand so tightly that I shall have to -ask her to give me a chance to listen to you,” answered Tom laughingly.</p> - -<p>Emma offered to demonstrate to give Tom a “chance” to hear the story. -Grace laughed happily. A great load of responsibility and worry had been -lifted from her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“I will be good, J. Elfreda. Please tell Tom everything—everything, -remember. Mr. White, we wish you to sit in,” added Grace, as the guide -discreetly moved away.</p> - -<p>There followed a moment of silence, then Elfreda Briggs began the story -of the fire, of her arrival at the forest cabin, and of the dramatic -occurrences there. She told of the diary, of the loss of the gold dust, -and of the general directions that Sam Petersen had left for locating -the claim, though Elfreda did not say what those directions were. She -thought it advisable not to do so.</p> - -<p>Hippy got up and walked to his tent, returning shortly and standing with -his back to a tree and his hands in his pockets as Miss Briggs finished -her story.</p> - -<p>Grace took up the story from that point, relating all that had occurred -since Elfreda’s experience in the forest shack, but avoiding what she -had learned through her wigwagging about Hamilton White.</p> - -<p>Tom Gray pondered over the story, stroking his cheek, which Tom always -did when thinking deeply.</p> - -<p>“The Murrays, eh, White?” he questioned, glancing up at the guide.</p> - -<p>Ham White nodded.</p> - -<p>“It looks that way,” replied White.</p> - -<p>“They know about this Lost River story, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“Most everyone does up here. It is an old Indian legend, and probably -has no more foundation in fact than most Indian legends,” answered the -guide. “Mind you, I am not saying that such a place doesn’t exist. No -doubt there are many rich veins in the Cascade Range yet to be -discovered. Petersen evidently believed he had found it, but he -undoubtedly was delirious when he described the spot. He had been shot, -you know.”</p> - -<p>“When he made the entries in his diary he hadn’t been shot,” retorted -Miss Briggs with some warmth. She checked herself sharply.</p> - -<p>“Not having seen the entries I cannot say,” replied White.</p> - -<p>“What puzzles me is what became of the contents of the bag of gold. -Surely the bandit who came back did not take it, for he did not have the -opportunity,” reminded Captain Gray. “What became of it, Elfreda?”</p> - -<p>“Have a look at this,” spoke up Hippy Wingate, tossing a small leather -pouch of his own into Elfreda’s lap.</p> - -<p>“Wha—what—” gasped the girl.</p> - -<p>“It is the gold you thought had been stolen, and—”</p> - -<p>A peculiar whirring sound checked what Hippy was about to say. The -Overlanders glanced up and saw descending upon them what they took to be -a falling firebrand, with a streamer of light like the tail of a comet -following it.</p> - -<p>“Look out!” shouted Hippy.</p> - -<p>His warning was not necessary, for the Overland Riders had leaped to -their feet and ran for cover. The firebrand hit the ground with a thud, -and as it landed Hamilton White threw a blanket on it, and himself on -the blanket to smother the flame. The guide knew that there was a -meaning in that flaming visitor’s arrival, and he wished to ascertain -it.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton, what is it?” cried Emma.</p> - -<p>“The flaming arrow!” exclaimed Tom Gray. “That’s an Indian trick. No -white man ever thought of that. What does it mean, White?”</p> - -<p>“Wait!” The guide removed a thin piece of bark that had been bound to -the arrow near its butt, and from under the bark he drew out a piece of -paper. “It is a message,” he announced after peering at the piece of -paper, and then handed it to Tom Gray.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXIX' title='XIX: His Fate in the Balance'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XIX</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>HIS FATE IN THE BALANCE</span> -</h2> - -<p>“It’s a red hot one, I’ll bet!” exclaimed Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Hippy!” admonished Nora.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Tom?” begged Grace, slipping an arm through his. “I think I -know.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, Hippy.” Captain Gray held the slip of paper down so the -feeble light of the fire shone upon it. “It is from Stacy. Listen:</p> - -<p>“‘Help! I’m in Dutch again. Get me out, quick. They are a lot of ruf—of -fine gentlemen here, but they want something that you’ve got. If they -don’t get it I’m to be shot at sunrise. Oh, wow! They want a book they -say you have, and they want it bad. You are to leave it on top of the -rock by the camp and go away. They want something else, too—a bag of -gold that you or somebody took from that fellow Petersen. Mebby I’ll see -him soon. Do you folks know anything about the gold? I told them the -nearest thing to gold that I’d seen up here was a sunset the other -night. They say the book and the gold doesn’t belong to you—that one of -our party stole it. You folks have been holding out on me! I’ll be even -with you for that. Can’t write any more ’cause the mail man won’t wait. -Hurry, for the love of Mike! Hurry or I’m a dead one! Wow! Stacy.’”</p> - -<p>“They wouldn’t dare!” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes they would,” answered Tom. “The Murrays are a desperate gang. -Even if they get what they demand they might put him out of the way, but -it is my opinion that they will simply set him adrift, in which event we -shall find him. How do you communicate, White?” he asked, turning to the -guide.</p> - -<p>“He wigwags,” spoke up Grace; whereat the guide gave her a quick glance, -but the Overland girl’s face told him nothing.</p> - -<p>“Please take your flashlight and see if you can pick up a station with -it, White. If so, tell them where the boy may possibly be and ask them -to send someone after him.”</p> - -<p>“Just a moment, Captain. May I speak with you aside?”</p> - -<p>Tom stepped away from his companions, and he and the guide held a long -whispered conversation. Tom then returned to the others.</p> - -<div id='i003' style='margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:10.0%; width:80%;'> - <img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> -<p class='caption'>“The Flaming Arrow!”</p> -</div> - -<p>“Mr. White advises against doing as I suggested. He says the rangers are -already looking for Stacy, and that to signal would simply be putting -the bandits on their guard. There are other reasons which he has given -me in confidence. You shall know all about it later on. Now may I see -that diary, Miss Briggs?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course. Throw it away if you like. I never want to see the -hateful thing again. What I do think I am entitled to, though, is an -explanation from you, Hippy Wingate. When, where and how did you get my -bag of gold?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps a good little fairy, knowing my love for the yellow stuff, -dropped it into my mess kit so that I might buy gold plates to use at -meals in place of the luxurious tin plates that I am now using. How did -you get it, J. Elfreda?”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Petersen gave it to me. He said the Murrays knew he had it, and -that it was to be mine for what he was pleased to call my kindness to -him. He gave me the diary at the same time because it held a supposed -clue to Lost Mine and Lost River, a river paved with gold.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t wonder that Stacy accuses us of ‘holding out on him,’” chuckled -Tom Gray.</p> - -<p>“I might, and with very good reason, make the same accusation against -certain persons unmentionable,” retorted Miss Briggs, which brought a -laugh from her companions.</p> - -<p>Tom Gray, in the meantime, had been running over the pages of the diary, -noting every entry made by the old prospector.</p> - -<p>“A leaf has been torn out of here. It looks as if it were lately torn -out. Did you do it?” he asked, addressing Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>Grace explained that the leaf was torn out when the book was snatched -from her hand one night, of which circumstance she had already told Tom.</p> - -<p>“What was on it?”</p> - -<p>“We destroyed the leaf,” spoke up Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“That wasn’t what I asked you, J. Elfreda. Of course you do not have to -answer if you don’t wish to. I am simply trying to get at the bottom of -this affair as a guide to our immediate actions. It is very important.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda glanced at Hamilton White. He caught the glance and, instantly -comprehending, stepped back and began poking the fire and putting on -fresh fuel.</p> - -<p>“‘Grandma and the Children—three peaks due east,’” whispered Elfreda.</p> - -<p>She saw a sudden flash in Tom Gray’s eyes, an expression that Elfreda -was unable to interpret.</p> - -<p>“‘When the sun is at the meridian the sands turn to golden yellow,’” he -quoted from the diary. “This, taken in connection with what you say was -on the torn leaf, is quite enlightening. I think we will tear out two -more pages while we are about it, if you have no objection.”</p> - -<p>“Go as far as you like, Tom. You may throw the book away if you wish. It -has brought us only bad luck,” said Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“I say, White! My suggestion is that we leave this confounded diary -where Stacy directs us to leave it.”</p> - -<p>“And the gold?”</p> - -<p>“Well, that is different. I don’t like the idea of giving gold to those -cutthroats. What is the value of the stuff? Let us look it over.”</p> - -<p>Tom Gray examined the nuggets, weighed them in his hand, a stone at a -time, and, disregarding the “dust,” closed and secured the bag. Then he -opened it, and weighing out several nuggets again in his hand, glanced -over at Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“I should say that there is something more than two thousand dollars’ -worth of nuggets and ‘dirt’ there, of which I hold from five to seven -hundred dollars’ worth in my hand. Elfreda, you probably will think I -have a cold nerve to make the suggestion, but I propose that we put -these nuggets in a bag with the diary and leave them for the bandits.”</p> - -<p>“What! Give five hundred dollars to a bunch of bandits?” cried Hippy -aghast. “Impossible! Are you crazy?”</p> - -<p>“We may be, at that,” admitted Captain Gray.</p> - -<p>“Say yes. Tom knows what he is doing,” whispered Grace, nudging Miss -Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Of course, Tom,” replied Elfreda promptly. “If you say leave it all, -I’ll say the same. You can’t imagine what a relief it will be to me to -be rid of it.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you. White! A word with you!”</p> - -<p>An earnest conversation followed between Tom Gray and the guide, -following which, Ham White packed his kit, stowed some food in his bag -and brought up his horse.</p> - -<p>“Look here, old top! Where are you going?” demanded Hippy.</p> - -<p>“On business, Lieutenant. The Captain can tell you why. I hope to see -you soon. Good-night and good luck.” With that the guide turned his -horse toward the south, the opposite direction from that which the -Overland Riders were following. They were amazed, and demanded an -explanation.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t safe to say a word,” answered Tom. “I’ll tell you this much, -though. Pack up and be ready to start on a long ride within an hour. We -are heading towards home!”</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXX' title='XX: “I’m Shot!” Cries Emma'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XX</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>“I’M SHOT!” CRIES EMMA</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Home!” cried Nora and Emma in chorus. “No, no, no!”</p> - -<p>“Why go home?” wondered Miss Briggs. “I thought we had just started on -our adventures.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t oppose,” whispered Grace.</p> - -<p>“So that’s the game, is it?” chuckled Hippy, who had been regarding Tom -narrowly, and saw by the expression of Captain Gray’s face that he had a -definite motive in making the announcement that they were about to head -towards home.</p> - -<p>“All right, Grace. He did not say that we are going home,” answered Miss -Briggs in reply to Grace. “I might have known. To leave here now, with -Stacy missing, and our affairs in the air, as it were, would be -unthinkable. I am afraid my brain is becoming addled.”</p> - -<p>“You should demonstrate,” reminded Emma, and Elfreda nodded her approval -of the sentiment.</p> - -<p>Preparations for the departure had already been begun by Captain Gray, -and now Hippy turned in to assist him. Tom soon left to get his horse, -which had been tethered not far from camp. He had refused to answer -questions as to how he found the camp, nor did Grace ask, but the others -did.</p> - -<p>When all was in readiness for leaving, packs lashed, horses saddled, -Tom, taking the diary and the gold, went to the rock and hid the stuff -as the message from Stacy had directed them to do.</p> - -<p>“Mount!” ordered Tom upon his return from planting the book and the -gold, and he doused the fire, making certain that every last spark was -extinguished. He then swung into his saddle and led the way, heading -south, followed silently by the others of the party. They wondered how, -in the darkness, he could find his way, but Tom was taking the stars as -his guides. He was too experienced a forester not to be able to go in -any direction in a forest, day or night, and go almost unerringly.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders were sleepy and not any too happy. They were worrying -about Stacy, too. There was little conversation because it was necessary -to give all attention to their riding. Riding in a forest at night is a -trying experience, and sometimes a painful one when one considers the -bumps, the collisions of legs against trees, and the slaps in the face -from low-hanging bushes. All this the Overland party experienced, so -their progress was slow.</p> - -<p>They had proceeded about an hour when a distant rifle report was heard. -It seemed to come from the rear. Tom called a halt to listen. A rattling -fire sprang up, and continued for several minutes; then died out after a -few further scattering shots.</p> - -<p>“Can you locate it, Tom?” called Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I should say that the firing is somewhere near the camp we left,” -replied Tom.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how strange,” cried Emma. “Why are they fighting there, and who is -it that is fighting?”</p> - -<p>“Quite possibly it is the bandits fighting over J. Elfreda’s gold,” -suggested Grace as the party, at a command from Tom Gray, moved forward -again. Some time later the leader called back that they were about to -come upon a small watercourse and that they would follow it.</p> - -<p>“We shall probably find plenty of overhanging bushes, so protect your -faces,” he directed.</p> - -<p>They wondered how he knew that they were near a stream. Tom said he -could smell it.</p> - -<p>“Wonderful scent,” growled Hippy. “Perhaps you can tell us whether or -not the water is wet.”</p> - -<p>“It may be for you if you don’t watch your step,” answered Captain Gray -laughingly.</p> - -<p>They entered the stream a few moments after that, and the going proved -to be even worse than Grace’s husband had predicted. Bushes hung over -the stream and met, forming a bower so low that the riders had to lean -well forward to protect their faces from being continuously whipped. Not -alone that, but the horses were constantly slipping on moss-covered -stones, threatening at every moment to unhorse their riders.</p> - -<p>Emma wailed her protests ere they had proceeded far, but Tom said they -must take their medicine and be good sports.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want to be a sport,” complained Emma. “I want to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“Demonstrate over it,” advised Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>It was just before daylight when Tom headed out of the stream through a -narrow defile in the rocks, finally coming to a halt on a level piece of -ground of about three acres, surrounded on all sides by mountain -forests.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders could not see their surroundings clearly, but got a -general idea of them, and immediately begged their leader to let them -dismount for a rest and for a bite to eat.</p> - -<p>“All right! Go to it,” cried Tom Gray, setting them the example by -dismounting and removing the saddle from his horse.</p> - -<p>As the day began to dawn, the girls gazed interestedly at the terraced -forest, at the green carpet of mountain meadowland that lay at their -feet through which flowed a sparkling stream of water, then up at the -dawning day. It was then that Grace made a discovery.</p> - -<p>“Why, Tom, we have been traveling north, not south!” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Too true, Loyalheart,” answered Captain Gray with a jolly note in his -voice.</p> - -<p>“Then we are not on our way home?” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>“No. We are going on into the Cascades, in the foothills of which we now -are. We are going to find Stacy, and then—perhaps we shall find -something else. First, folks, we shall have to meet and reckon with the -bandits of the range. They are determined that we shall not make a move -that they do not check.”</p> - -<p>“Do—do you think they are watching us now, Tom?” begged Emma with -concern.</p> - -<p>“Possibly, but I rather think they are fully occupied at present. I will -let you into a secret. The purpose of leaving Elfreda’s gold and the old -prospector’s diary was to trap the bandits and attack them.”</p> - -<p>“Who will attack them?” Elfreda asked.</p> - -<p>“Certain officers of the law who were lying in wait about the camp even -before you left there. It was a battle on our campground that you -heard—a battle between the officers and the bandits of the range. We -will now get breakfast and have forty winks of sleep, provided we are -not interrupted.”</p> - -<p>Sleep was welcome, even more so than breakfast. The meal was quickly -disposed of and the Overlanders lay down with their clothes on, Tom -advising them to be ready to move at an instant’s notice.</p> - -<p>They had not been asleep long ere the crash of a rifle brought all -members of the party to their feet.</p> - -<p>“Lie down and stay down!” commanded Captain Gray, setting the example by -throwing himself to the ground. Tom knew what the others did not—that a -rifle bullet had sped low over the spot occupied by the Overlanders.</p> - -<p>Then came a heavy scattering fire from two sides of the mountain meadow, -and now they could plainly hear the bullets singing overhead.</p> - -<p>Frightened, Emma Dean sprang up to run to the cover of the trees and as -she ran they saw her throw up her hands.</p> - -<p>“I’m hit! Oh, I’m shot!” she cried, and pitched forward in the deep -meadow grass.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXI' title='XXI: Stacy Seeks a Change'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>STACY SEEKS A CHANGE</span> -</h2> - -<p>When Stacy Brown awakened from the sleep into which his captors had put -him, he was lying across the back of a horse.</p> - -<p>At first the fat boy didn’t know what had occurred; then he recalled -that there had been a struggle in his tent and that a hand on his throat -had nearly choked him to death. A few seconds after that he lost -consciousness. And now he was being carried away on horseback. “Let me -up! Let me up!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>A prod from a heavy boot caused him to utter a loud howl.</p> - -<p>“Shut up!” commanded the man behind him in the saddle on the same horse.</p> - -<p>“Le—let me up and I will. I’ll yell all the way if you don’t,” persisted -Stacy.</p> - -<p>The boy’s hands were bound to his sides, and his ankles were tied -together.</p> - -<p>For reasons of his own, the rider halted the horse and dismounted. He -then released the boy’s ankles, and slightly loosened the leather thongs -that hound his arms, but there he stopped.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you going to untie me?” demanded Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Hold your tongue. You’ll be lucky if I don’t clout you over the head. -You hang onto me now. If you try any tricks I’ll finish you with a -bullet between the eyes.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, wow!” wailed the fat boy. “Where you going to take me?”</p> - -<p>“None of your business! Is it any of your business?” The fellow thrust -the muzzle of a revolver into Stacy’s face.</p> - -<p>“N—n—n—no! It isn’t any of my business,” chattered the boy. He was -thrown astride the horse; then his captor mounted in front of him, and -Stacy clung to the fellow’s shirt with the tips of his fingers.</p> - -<p>It was an awful ride, Stacy slipping from side to side with each gallop -of the mount, the perspiration streaming down his face from his efforts -and the nervous strain.</p> - -<p>The ride continued for what seemed hours; then the horseman having -halted uttered a sharp, short whistle, which, being answered, he rode -ahead. Two men with rifles loomed out of the darkness and peered up at -the riders.</p> - -<p>“Got him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Where’s the other one?”</p> - -<p>“In the shack. We don’t want to put this one there. They mustn’t get -close enough together to talk. We’ll put him in the trough.”</p> - -<p><i>The trough!</i> Stacy began having visions of a ducking in cold mountain -water, which thought made him shiver. He was forcibly removed from the -horse and made to walk, with a cold hand at the back of his neck. He was -taken but a short distance from the horse, then, after his feet had been -tied and the arm bonds tightened, Chunky was rolled into what, at home, -would have been called a ditch. Here, it was a narrow channel that had -been cut through the rocks by water. This was the “trough,” and Stacy -was left alone there, while his captors walked away.</p> - -<p>It was not long after their departure that he heard excited voices. They -were hurrying towards him.</p> - -<p>“Hey, you feller there!”</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you want?” growled the boy in the “trough.”</p> - -<p>“He’s all right. I hope the boys kotch the rest of ’em. Don’t make no -difference whether it’s dead or alive so long as we’ve got two of ’em.”</p> - -<p>Stacy pricked up his ears at this. He wondered to whom they referred.</p> - -<p>“Come out of that!” ordered one of the men.</p> - -<p>“I can’t fall up. Take me out if you want me.”</p> - -<p>Stacy was yanked from the “trough” with far from gentle hands, his bonds -were removed, and he was permitted to walk, guarded by the men. Some -little distance from the “trough” they rounded a rock and came upon a -small campfire, near which sat two other men, and rough, hard-faced men -they were. They eyed him with menacing eyes. Stacy did not like the -looks of them.</p> - -<p>“Who be ye?” demanded one of the two by the fire.</p> - -<p>“Name’s Brown. Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“What you doing up in these woods?”</p> - -<p>“Riding for my health, but it’s the most unhealthy place I ever got -into.”</p> - -<p>“Know anything ’bout a diary that a fellow named Petersen—a hoss -thief—got robbed of by one of your party?”</p> - -<p>“My party never robbed anybody,” objected Stacy indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Shut up! Answer me.”</p> - -<p>“How can I answer you and shut up at the same time?”</p> - -<p>The man addressed sprang up and struck the fat boy with the flat of his -hand and Stacy toppled over.</p> - -<p>“You’re a coward! A miserable sneak—”</p> - -<p><i>Whack!</i> A second slap laid the boy flat on the ground again. He got up, -red of face and raging within.</p> - -<p>“If I had a gun you wouldn’t dare do that, you ruffian!”</p> - -<p>“Here’s a gun,” answered the bandit, thrusting a revolver towards the -Overland boy.</p> - -<p>Stacy shrugged his shoulders, but did not take the weapon.</p> - -<p>“I—I don’t like to hurt anyone. I—I—I have an aversion to taking human -life, and if I were to take that weapon I’m afraid I might forget myself -and shoot someone,” stammered the fat boy.</p> - -<p>The bandits laughed.</p> - -<p>“Called your bluff, didn’t I?” sneered the fellow.</p> - -<p>“No. I said if I had a gun you wouldn’t dare do that. Not having a gun I -suppose you can do as you like—this time.”</p> - -<p>“Sit down thar. I want you to write a letter to your folks back there -and tell them that they got to leave the book that one of ’em stole from -Petersen, and the bag of gold, too, under a stone on top of the rock -behind the camp, and then git out.”</p> - -<p>“You mean that I can go then—after I have written the note?” questioned -the boy with a hopeful note in his voice.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t say nothing of the kind.”</p> - -<p>“Then I won’t write it!” declared Stacy with emphasis.</p> - -<p>Another whack from the bandit’s ham-like paw sent the boy staggering.</p> - -<p>“Listen, young feller. This ain’t no joke. Whether or not you go back at -all ain’t worrying me, but I’ll tell you this much. You write that -letter and say in it that if your folks don’t do as you tell them to, -we’re going to shoot you to-morrow. Mebby we’ll do it anyway, and that’s -what’s coming to you if you don’t write. Will you write the letter?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll write it,” agreed the fat boy. “Give me something to write with.” -Stacy labored over that letter, and his forehead and face were wet with -perspiration while he was doing it. If he failed to convey the message, -he believed the bandits really would make way with him, and if the -Overlanders did not obey the order of the bandits, he was positive the -bandits would carry out their threat. For these reasons Stacy Brown took -more care in composing that letter than he had ever done before in -writing a letter.</p> - -<p>It was this message that, some time later, landed in the camp of the -Overlanders on the flaming arrow, shot to them by a half-breed Indian.</p> - -<p>“Read it,” commanded the bandit.</p> - -<p>Stacy did, whereupon the bandits with heads close together read it over -laboriously, one holding the message close to the fire for better light. -The one who appeared to be the leader handed it to a companion.</p> - -<p>“See that the ‘squaw-man’ pushes that through by the air road,” he -ordered. “It’s got to go through in a hurry or somebody’ll suffer. Git!”</p> - -<p>“Cap’n!” cried a voice, and a man dashed around the corner of the rock -that protected the bandits. “He’s gone! He’s vamoosed. Don’t know how, -but some varmint cut the ropes and let him out.”</p> - -<p>“Gone! Go after him, men! What are you standing ’round here for? Get -him, dead or alive! Nail that boy first! Never mind, I’ll do it. I’ll—!” -The bandit paused suddenly and a blank look appeared on his face. -“Whe—whe—where is he?”</p> - -<p>Stacy Brown was not there. He had taken advantage of the interruption, -and bounded away.</p> - -<p>“You need a change, Stacy Brown, and you’re going to have it, if your -legs hold out,” growled the boy as he bounded away into the forest.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXII' title='XXII: A Strange Visitor'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A STRANGE VISITOR</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Emma’s hit!” wailed Nora, as the girls sprang up at Emma Dean’s cry and -the tumble that they saw her take.</p> - -<p>“Get down!” commanded Tom Gray. “You’ll be hit.”</p> - -<p>Not one of the three girls gave heed to his warning. Elfreda, Grace and -Nora ran to the spot at which they had seen Emma pitch forward.</p> - -<p>Elfreda was the first to reach her. Emma lay moaning, both hands pressed -to her right cheek.</p> - -<p>“Where were you hit, dear?” questioned Miss Briggs with no trace of -excitement in her voice.</p> - -<p>“In my cheek. I thi—think the bullet went clear through.”</p> - -<p>“If it had you wouldn’t be talking to me now. Take your hand away, -please,” directed Elfreda.</p> - -<p>Emma would not do so, so Grace stretched forth a hand and forcibly -removed Emma’s hand from her face. A red blotch on the cheek with a -small white center were the only indications that something really had -hit the girl. Elfreda examined the spot, and a smile rippled over her -face.</p> - -<p>“You poor child! No bullet even grazed you, but something did sting -you,” announced Elfreda. “I think it is a bee sting. Did you feel stings -anywhere else?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. On the other cheek, but not so bad there,” gasped Emma. “That’s -why I thought the bullet had gone through.”</p> - -<p>“This is one instance in your life when you should have demonstrated,” -declared Miss Briggs. “You see how easy it is to imagine things, and -suffer because you imagine.”</p> - -<p>Emma sat up and smiled.</p> - -<p>The shooting was still going on from the borders of the meadow, though -the firing was not so rapid as before, both sides apparently sparing -their ammunition, but enough shots were being fired to make it most -uncomfortable for the Overlanders who were directly in line of the -firing between the two opposing forces.</p> - -<p>Tom joined the girls and led them to a safer place behind some huge -boulders, where he sternly ordered them to remain until he gave them -permission to change positions. Tom, rifle in hand, then crept out to a -place where he could get a better view of what was going on. As he -reached a point of vantage a double blast of fire overhead greeted him; -then the firing ceased altogether.</p> - -<p>It was then that the Overlander discovered a man creeping around the far -end of the meadow. Then he saw another man creeping out from the -opposite side of the field, and realized that the two men were stalking -each other.</p> - -<p>“Keep low, girls!” he called softly. “Something is coming off here if -I’m not mistaken.”</p> - -<p>Instead of keeping low four heads quickly bobbed up from behind the -boulders. At first the girls saw nothing unusual; then they discovered -what Tom had just seen. They could see both men at intervals as the -men’s heads came up.</p> - -<p>“Girls!” Grace snatched her field glasses and directed them at the -creeping man on their side of the meadow.</p> - -<p>“Wha—what is it?” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>“The Peanut Man—it’s Jim Haley! There—see!” She passed her glasses to -Elfreda who took a long look.</p> - -<p>“You are right, Grace. What does it mean?”</p> - -<p>“That we have friends here, J. Elfreda, but I fear something terrible is -going to happen. Look!”</p> - -<p>The two men had seen each other as their heads were cautiously raised -above the tall grass, and both exchanged shots with their revolvers at -identically the same second. Then they both ducked back to the -protection of the meadow grass.</p> - -<p>Jim Haley was on his feet a few seconds later.</p> - -<p>“Come out, you sneaking cur!” he shouted. “Stand up like a man!”</p> - -<p>The taunt was too much for Haley’s adversary. The fellow leaped to his -feet, and, as he leaped, he fired. So did Haley. Neither scored, and, so -far as the Overlanders could observe, not a human being except -themselves saw the duel that was being fought out there in the meadow. -Haley’s adversary ducked, and the Overlanders saw what his strategy was. -A slight waving of the grass told them that the fellow was crawling to -the left. They did not know whether or not Haley saw that.</p> - -<p>A moment or so later the man again sprang up and fired, but the Peanut -Man had not been deceived. His revolver banged so quickly that the -watchers could not tell which man fired first.</p> - -<p>“Good for Jim Haley!” cried Tom Gray.</p> - -<p>“Don’t!” admonished Grace. “Tom, don’t forget that this may end in a -tragedy.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what it is going to end in—perhaps more than one tragedy. When -Haley and the other fellow wind up you will see more lively work, and—”</p> - -<p>“Hippy! Oh, where is my Hippy?” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry. He has gone to join some of the men who are backing -Haley,” replied Tom.</p> - -<p>Neither Haley nor his opponent ducked after that and to the Overland -girls, terrible as it was, it was a wonderful thing to see the two men -standing up in the meadow shooting at each other as calmly as though -they were firing at targets.</p> - -<p>Emma Dean’s face was pale, and her whole body was trembling with -excitement.</p> - -<p>A little cry from one of the girls greeted a new move on the part of -Haley’s antagonist. The fellow suddenly whipped out another revolver, -and began shooting with both guns at the same time.</p> - -<p>Jim Haley demonstrated that he, too, could do that, and he did, and the -bullets flew thick and fast. Then suddenly they saw Haley’s enemy spin -half way around.</p> - -<p>“He’s hit!” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>The man was hit, and Haley held his fire. But the Peanut Man’s adversary -came back with two more shots, both of which grazed Haley’s body. Then, -like a flash, Jim Haley fired two shots at the same instant. His -adversary turned slowly and then pitched sideways to the ground.</p> - -<p>Haley himself went down almost as suddenly, the difference being that -Haley was not hurt, but he knew what to expect after his adversary had -fallen seriously wounded.</p> - -<p>The crash of rifles was heard on the opposite side of the meadow, but -there was no reply from the Overland side.</p> - -<p>“Where are they? Oh, where are Hippy and the people he is with?” cried -Nora.</p> - -<p>“I think they are on the other side of the meadow among the trees, -creeping toward their enemies,” answered Grace Harlowe. “Two parties are -shooting over on that side now.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Tom. “You have it right, Grace. The Peanut Man offered -himself as a possible sacrifice to enable his companions to work around -to the other side of the meadow and attack the enemy on their own -ground.”</p> - -<p>“But where is Mr. Haley? Are you sure that he wasn’t hit?” begged Emma.</p> - -<p>“No. I could see by the way he went down that it was to avoid the volley -that he knew would be fired at him,” Tom informed them. “Girls, I am in -hopes that this morning’s work may mark the finish of the job that -certain men have been sent up here to accomplish.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand,” said Elfreda, interested at once.</p> - -<p>“You will later,” was Captain Gray’s noncommittal answer.</p> - -<p>“Should we move from here, Tom?” questioned Grace a little -apprehensively. “The firing has stopped.”</p> - -<p>“No. We must wait here. That is the arrangement, no matter which way the -fight goes. We must be on our guard, so get your rifles and sit down -behind the boulders, while I keep watch here.”</p> - -<p>The Overland party obeyed, but not willingly. They had come out from -their hiding place to watch the duel, and preferred not to miss further -operations, but Tom was insistent.</p> - -<p>It was well past noon when a loud hello brought the girls to their feet. -The call was uttered by Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I had an awful time getting here without crossing the meadow. I didn’t -know what I might run into out there, so I came around through the -forest, and it was mighty rough going. Got anything loose around here?” -he demanded.</p> - -<p>“Saddle rations; that is all,” replied Grace. “Help yourself to whatever -you can find.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hippy, have you seen anything of Hamilton?” begged Emma anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Why?”</p> - -<p>“Is—is he all right?”</p> - -<p>“He was beating up Hawk Murray with his fists and doing it beautifully, -the last I saw of him,” answered Hippy. “Never saw a fellow with a -better punch than ‘Hamilton,’ as you call him, has.”</p> - -<p>“Hippy, what about the man out there in the meadow?” asked Miss Briggs. -“I am going out there. He may not be dead, and it is inhuman to leave -him there to suffer, even if he is an enemy. Who is he? Do you know, -Hippy?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. That fellow is Two-gun Murray, the slickest man with a revolver -that ever hunched a shoulder, and you will please stay away from him.”</p> - -<p>“Tom,” said Grace, laying a hand on her husband’s arm, “I wish someone -would go out there. Perhaps it isn’t wise that any of us girls should do -so, but we are not afraid, if you will permit. Please!”</p> - -<p>“Come along, Hippy. I guess it is up to us,” urged Captain Gray.</p> - -<p>Hippy protested that he must have food, but Nora promised that, if he -would go out, she would have a nice meal ready for him when he returned, -so the two men, with drawn revolvers, walked out cautiously to the spot -where the mountain bandit had fallen. He was not at the exact spot where -he had fallen, but they had no difficulty in following the trail which -he had left.</p> - -<p>They found Two-gun alive, but unconscious, and a few moments later they -were on their way back to camp, carrying the heavy burden. The Overland -girls, knowing that the man was still alive because Tom and Hippy were -carrying him so carefully, were ready with water, bandages and -antiseptics, to give first aid.</p> - -<p>“Where is he hit?” was Elfreda’s first question.</p> - -<p>“Both shoulders,” answered Tom briefly.</p> - -<p>Grace and Elfreda began working on the bandit immediately, and in half -an hour he regained consciousness. The girls found that Two-gun was -seriously wounded, both bullets having gone through him. They said that -he should be taken to some place where surgical aid might be had, but -Tom said that was impossible. All that could be done had been done. -Further, he said that men of his type were fairly well used to being -shot up. No vital spot had been hit and both Tom and Hippy were of the -opinion that Two-gun would live to spend at least a few years in prison. -This bandit, however, probably had never before enjoyed the really -tender treatment such as the girls were giving him. He followed -Elfreda’s every movement with his eyes.</p> - -<p>“I—I didn’t tell on you—about the saddle and the hoss,” he said weakly.</p> - -<p>“I know it,” answered Miss Briggs. “That is one reason why I am trying -to take good care of you. But you must be quiet and conserve your -strength.”</p> - -<p>“Who was the fellow that got me?” demanded Two-gun.</p> - -<p>“That I cannot tell you, Mr. Murray,” replied Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“He was some handy with the gun, I’ll say, Miss.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda moved away from Two-gun, and asked anxiously if any word had -been had of Stacy. None had. She then suggested to Tom that the wounded -bandit might be able to give them information that would lead to finding -Stacy, so Tom asked Two-gun if he knew of Stacy’s whereabouts. The -bandit shook his head. He said he knew that two members of the Overland -party had been captured, but that he had not learned what had become of -the prisoners.</p> - -<p>“There is one of them,” Captain Gray informed him, pointing to Hippy. -“Were both men taken to the same place?”</p> - -<p>“They might have been,” was the reply, and that was all that could be -elicited from Two-gun Murray.</p> - -<p>There was nothing now to be done save to wait until the men, who had -tricked the bandits and saved the Overlanders from probable serious -consequences, advised them what to do; so the party made themselves as -comfortable as possible, sleeping part of the time and taking turns at -watching the camp and Two-gun Murray.</p> - -<p>At night their vigil was redoubled, for none knew how many of Two-gun’s -companions were at large. They knew that some had been captured, as -Hippy Wingate had told them so, and that Ham White had had a fist fight -with Hawk Murray, the leader of the band of marauders that had terrified -the entire Cascade Range.</p> - -<p>It was well after midnight when the camp was hailed. Tom answered the -hail.</p> - -<p>“Come forward with your hands up and identify yourself,” he ordered.</p> - -<p>“Yeow!” howled a voice that brought every member of the Overland party -to his feet.</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” shouted the Overlanders.</p> - -<p>“Wha—what!” exclaimed Tom Gray as an Indian loped into camp, a rifle in -his hand, which he kept pointed in the direction of Captain Gray.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXIII' title='XXIII: A Thrilling Discovery'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>A THRILLING DISCOVERY</span> -</h2> - -<p>“Me Cat-foot Charlie. Me come!”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He’s the cat and I’m the foot,” answered another voice, and Stacy -Brown strolled into camp with his chest thrown out. “I’ve been captured, -sentenced to death, and, being the foot, I did some fast footwork, and -here I am. Old chap Pussy here found me and brought me back. Oh, no, I -wasn’t lost. I never know where I am, anyway. He showed me the way. -Who—”</p> - -<p>“Our sweet dreams of peace are now at an end,” complained Emma.</p> - -<p>Stacy did not heed her words nor the congratulations of his companions -who were happier than words could express to have him with them again. -The fat boy was interested in the man who lay by the fire.</p> - -<p>“Who’s that?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“His name is Murray,” answered Lieutenant Wingate. “He and Jim Haley -fought a duel to-day, and Two-gun—that is the man’s name—got a bit the -worst of it.”</p> - -<p>“Two-gun Murray! Hey, you! I’m wise to you. You’re the fellow that stole -my fish—the same person that I clouted over the head. You say he is -wounded, Uncle Hip?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, seriously so.”</p> - -<p>“Think it would do much harm if I were to give him another wallop over -the head—just for luck, you know?”</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” Tom Gray’s voice was stern. “Get away from that man and let him -alone!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, all right, but I would like to give him just one clout. It’s coming -to him.”</p> - -<p>Captain Gray took firm hold of the fat boy’s collar and projected him to -some distance from the wounded man.</p> - -<p>“Cat-foot, have you word for me?” demanded Tom.</p> - -<p>The Indian grunted and handed Tom a message. It was from Hamilton White, -and the smile that lighted up the captain’s face as he read it, told the -Overland Riders that it contained good news.</p> - -<p>“We are to move as soon as we can pack up,” announced Tom. “Cat-foot -will accompany us.” That was all Captain Gray would say.</p> - -<p>Emma, whose curiosity was proverbial, pouted and complained that every -one of the party seemed to think it smart to make a mystery of -everything.</p> - -<p>After offering the Indian food, which he refused and sat down by -himself, the Overlanders quizzed Stacy about what had happened to him. -Stacy told what he knew of his capture, and of the incidents that -followed. In the course of the conversation it developed that Cat-foot -Charlie had been sent to pick up the fat boy’s trail and follow it until -he found him. Hamilton White had brought that about.</p> - -<p>Cat-foot had gone to the scene of Hippy’s imprisonment and from there -soon found Stacy’s trail. This was made the easier because he had -eavesdropped on two of the bandits and learned how Stacy got away.</p> - -<p>“Fat boy, him run like Indian chased by bad spirits,” announced the -Indian when asked about the chase.</p> - -<p>Stacy, it developed, discovered that the Indian was chasing him, and -from that moment on it was a race, the frightened Overlander making top -speed to drop his pursuer. The race ended when Cat-foot finally overtook -him, leaped on the boy’s back, and held him until he had explained what -he wanted. Stacy’s courage thereupon returned.</p> - -<p>“Our fallen hero,” observed Emma when the tale was finished.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I didn’t get shot,” retorted Stacy.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders laughed heartily at Stacy’s retort, for it was a rap at -Emma, though the boy did not know it. He laughed with them just the -same.</p> - -<p>“Where are we going?” Nora wanted to know.</p> - -<p>“Northwest,” answered Tom briefly. “You will know all about it within -twenty-four hours. The question is, what are we to do with our wounded -man. We surely can’t leave him here. Cat-foot, do you know this fellow?”</p> - -<p>“Me know.”</p> - -<p>“What do you think we had better do with him?”</p> - -<p>“Shoot um!” was the prompt reply of the Indian.</p> - -<p>“Pussy, you are a man of rare judgment,” complimented Stacy, grinning at -the Indian.</p> - -<p>“It is what one would expect from one savage to another,” murmured Emma.</p> - -<p>“What did the Chief say about it?” demanded Tom. “I mean Mr. White.”</p> - -<p>“Chief say me stay. Men come git Two-gun.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you call Hamilton the Chief?” wondered Emma.</p> - -<p>“How many of the bandits did they get?” questioned Tom, ignoring Emma’s -inquiry.</p> - -<p>“Not know.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, I will turn Two-gun over to you, but, Cat-foot, if you do -one little thing to disturb that man you will have to answer to me. When -he asks for a drink, give it to him and say nothing—say nothing at all -to him at any time unless he wants something. You also will be held -responsible for his not getting away, and after the men take him, unless -you get different orders from the Chief, you will come to us at -Three-Mile Pass. That’s all, except that we will leave food for you and -Two-gun.”</p> - -<p>At Tom’s direction all hands began packing, making ready for another -night journey. Stacy complained bitterly, saying he hadn’t had a night’s -sleep in so long that his eyelids hung down over his cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Where are we going, anyway?” he wanted to know.</p> - -<p>“Three-Mile Pass, you heard me say. Do you know where that is?” returned -Captain Gray.</p> - -<p>“No. Do you?”</p> - -<p>Tom said he had a fair idea of its location. Though tired and somewhat -nervous, the Overland girls prepared for the journey with their usual -cheerfulness, and were under way in an hour. Tom selected an unsuspected -pass as the route from the meadow, and the riders were soon swallowed up -in its deep gloom. It seemed as though night had poured the blackest of -her coloring into this pass, but the trail was fairly smooth and one -could not stray from it without bumping into the rocks.</p> - -<p>No halt was made until daylight. Then the party stopped for breakfast, -and, while there, horses were heard approaching. The girls were -startled, and looked to Tom for orders, but Captain Gray merely smiled.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry; only some guests for breakfast,” he said.</p> - -<p>“It’s Hamilton!” cried Emma Dean, as two horsemen rode into sight.</p> - -<p>“And the Peanut Man,” added Nora joyously.</p> - -<p>“Put over a fresh pot of coffee,” suggested Grace. “They look tired, and -goodness knows one, at least, has a right to be tired.”</p> - -<p>“Peanuts, peanuts, ladies and gentlemen!” called Jim Haley. “The -International product has reached to the utmost limits of the Cascades -already, and will soon be over the border. Howdy, folks!”</p> - -<p>It was a real welcome that the Overlanders gave the two men. Elfreda and -Grace were studying the face of Haley, with the same thought in the mind -of each. Could this carefree, temperamental Haley be the Haley that they -had seen facing the bandit gunman calmly, never flinching under the -bandit’s fire, and in the end downing his man? It did not seem possible.</p> - -<p>“How did you make out with your patient?” he asked, his face suddenly -assuming a grave expression as he shook hands with Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“His wounds were serious, but, if he is not neglected, I think he will -pull through.”</p> - -<p>“He will not be neglected where he is going,” was the significant reply. -“The officers have taken him away from your last camp by now, so don’t -worry. After a snack we will have a talk all around.”</p> - -<p>The breakfast from then on was a happy reunion, and even Elfreda Briggs -forgot to be distant towards Hamilton White. Emma managed to sit beside -him, her face wearing a most devoted look.</p> - -<p>When the dishes had been put away, the party settled down to talk over -their experiences, and after a little Tom Gray cleared his throat and -announced that he had something to say.</p> - -<p>“You Overlanders have accused some of us of all the time making a -mystery of everything. While clearing myself, there are others present -whom I wish to clear of any suspicion of doing other than their duty.</p> - -<p>“Here are the facts: When I came up here with my wife and her party, I -was supposed to come as a forester, but as a matter of fact I came on -quite another mission. For a long time tourists and others have been -preyed upon by mountain bandits, the Guerrillas of the Cascades, as some -call them. As a forester here for a survey it was thought that I might -get a line, so to speak, on the gang and its lair without them -suspecting me. I did that to a certain extent. Then, too, there was a -famous government forester who came to Washington State on the same -mission. He thought he could best look over the ground by joining out -with a party of tourists, and he was unfortunate enough to fall in with -the Overland Riders. That man knew these forests and mountains, and, -after finishing this particular mission, he is to be the chief of the -foresters, which, in fact, he is already.”</p> - -<p>“Hamilton White!” cried Nora.</p> - -<p>Tom Gray nodded.</p> - -<p>“And he has done his work well. In addition to that he has been a -wonderful guide and a delightful companion to you folks.”</p> - -<p>“Even if he did deceive us,” said Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Not all of us,” spoke up Grace, who then told of the wigwagging -incident when she learned that he was the chief of the foresters through -doing some signaling on her own account.</p> - -<p>Ham White laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>“I suspected something of the sort,” he added with a chuckle.</p> - -<p>“To continue my story,” resumed Captain Gray, “another man came to us -sailing under false colors, if you wish to call it that. This man -proposed that the Overlanders be used as a decoy to lure the bandits on, -knowing that the ruffians believed one of our party possessed the key to -Sam Petersen’s gold find. Ham White objected to subjecting us to peril, -but when the newcomer showed him orders from the Washington authorities -directing White to coöperate fully with him and carry out his orders, -White was obliged to obey.”</p> - -<p>The eyes of the Overland Riders turned toward Jim Haley, who actually -grew rosy under their accusing gaze.</p> - -<p>“Don’t look at me that way. I confess, but you shall have your peanuts -just the same,” he promised laughingly.</p> - -<p>“Folks, know Jim Haley, chief of the special agents,” introduced Tom. -“Between White and Haley the entire band of guerrillas, with one -exception, has been rounded up. Some are on their way to stand trial, -others are being conveyed to a hospital to be treated for their wounds, -and two are dead. They have spied on this party, watched their every -move ever since they came into the Washington forests, and especially so -since Sam Petersen died from a gunshot wound inflicted by one of the -Murrays.”</p> - -<p>“How perfectly thrilling!” breathed Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“The big round-up came yesterday when the bandits were preparing to make -a mass attack on our camp, but Haley outwitted them. They did not know -that a body of forest rangers and sheriff’s deputies were secreted on -your side of the meadow, ready not only to defend you, but to capture -the ruffians who were about to try to take you and force information -from you. It was Haley who, as you know, went out to meet Two-gun -Murray, and beat him in a standup gun duel,” said Tom.</p> - -<p>“Captain! Please talk about the weather,” begged Haley amid laughter.</p> - -<p>“They didn’t find out about the gold mine after all, did they?” chuckled -Hippy. “Say, Haley, I know you, you old rascal! You’re the fellow with a -cold who rescued me from the bandits,” he accused, and Haley agreed with -a nod.</p> - -<p>“Speaking of gold, Hippy Wingate,” spoke up Elfreda Briggs, “I think I -am entitled to an explanation. How did you chance to have my bag of gold -in your possession?”</p> - -<p>“Ham White gave it to me, and told me to hang onto it—that it wasn’t -safe for you to carry it around.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed!”</p> - -<p>“I took it from the bunk where Petersen lay, before you came in the -shack that day. I expected that the gang would return, so I scraped up -some pebbles and substituted them for the gold, replacing the canvas bag -where I found it,” explained Ham White.</p> - -<p>“Was it you who exchanged shots with Two-gun Murray that day?” she -asked.</p> - -<p>Ham nodded, and Elfreda bent an accusing glance on Stacy Brown.</p> - -<p>“Well, I saved you from that ruffian, didn’t I?” protested the fat boy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Stacy, and I forgive you for trying to make me think you had -suffered the bandit to shoot at you while you lay behind a bush,” smiled -Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Not if my legs were in good working order. I wouldn’t lie behind any -bush or anything else and let a sure-thing gunman blaze away at me,” -declared Stacy Brown with an earnestness that raised a merry peal of -laughter.</p> - -<p>“Time to break camp,” announced Tom Gray. “We can chatter after we have -made a new camp, which will not be many miles from here.”</p> - -<p>“Where are we bound for?” asked Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Three Mile Pass.” Captain Gray’s face wore a broad smile, and Grace, -knowing him so well, regarded him suspiciously.</p> - -<p>“Tom has something up his sleeve,” Grace confided in Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“They all have,” observed Miss Briggs. “These honest men who have opened -their hearts to us have not yet opened the aforesaid hearts far enough.”</p> - -<p>“Boots and saddles!” cried Hippy, and the Overland Riders with their -guests took to their mounts. It was a happy ride that morning; the air -was cool, birds were twittering, and Hippy was trying to sing, his -efforts in that direction raising a perfect storm of protest.</p> - -<p>No stop was made, except now and then to water the horses, until nearly -noon. Then they halted, apparently for no cause at all, the visitors and -Tom Gray fussing with saddle girths, all the time regarded narrowly by -Grace and Elfreda.</p> - -<p>At last they started on through a rapidly broadening pass, following the -dry course of a mountain stream. The sunlight flooded the pass as their -trail bore more to the right, and at the turn Tom Gray held up his hand, -a signal to halt.</p> - -<p>“Oh, look at the Old Lady of the Mountain!” yelled Stacy. “Yes, she’s -got a kid on either side of her. Ha, ha, ha!” he laughed.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda!” Grace gripped the arm of her companion. “‘Lost River—Grandma -and the Children—Three Peaks dead east.’ Look! There are the peaks. The -sun is at the meridian. Oh, Elfreda!”</p> - -<p>“And look—the yellow sands of Lost River. Oh, Grace! If it should be -only a dream I’d faint, after all I have been through to get here. See! -The old lady’s face is black as ink, just as that poor, unhappy old -prospector said it was.”</p> - -<p>“Children, do you know where you are?” called Captain Gray, none of the -party having heard the exclamations of Grace and Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Tom Gray. I am sitting on my gold mine,” answered Miss Briggs, -trying to control her voice and keep her elation out of it.</p> - -<p>“Why, Elfreda! I thought you did not want a gold mine—that you wished to -hear nothing more about the hateful subject,” chided Grace.</p> - -<p>“I think I—I have the fever, and—” confessed Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“You are in fact sitting on your gold mine. When I learned that Lost -River was at the feet of Grandma and the Children, with Three Peaks dead -east, I recognized the description instantly, for I had been here, and -was impressed with the odd formations to be seen here,” said Captain -Gray. “You will recall the words of the old prospector in the diary and -on the sheet on which you wrote down what he told you. I was here trying -to locate the headquarters of the Murrays, and, for your information, we -are less than half a mile from the lair of the Guerrillas of the -Cascades—the Murrays. Such is the irony of fate,” added Tom.</p> - -<p>“Gold! Hooray!” yelled Stacy, tossing his hat into the air. “I hope it -doesn’t turn out to be iron.”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t get excited,” admonished Grace. “We are not certain that -there is any gold here.”</p> - -<p>“Any gold here?” answered Tom. “Ham, tell them what you know.”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Gray, when I left you so mysteriously I came up here at Captain -Gray’s direction to make a thorough survey—to find out, if possible, if -Petersen’s was an idle dream or the real thing. It was real! I have -already panned enough of the sand of Lost River through my fingers to -make a fair meal ticket for this party. It is true that we have not -found the real vein, but we know it cannot be far from here, and we are -going to search for it.”</p> - -<p>“Say! Whose gold mine is this?” demanded Lieutenant Hippy Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Whose? Why, Miss Briggs’, of course,” answered Ham White. “I have sent -a trusty ranger to Seattle to file her claim, which we have staked out -broadly, and we are in hopes that it may take in the mother lode. In any -event, we are on the ground, and we will broaden our claim so that you -may be protected. Am I forgiven for all the deception I have practiced -on you and Miss Briggs and the others?” asked White, addressing Grace.</p> - -<p>“It is for us to ask your pardon, Mr. White, for suspecting that you -were not what you seemed, or so it seemed to us at one time.”</p> - -<p>Stacy had leaped from his horse and was digging feverishly in the sands -of Lost River.</p> - -<p>“I got one! Whoopee!” he howled, holding up a “nugget” nearly as big as -an egg.</p> - -<p>Hippy snatched the “nugget” from him and turned it over in his hand, -then broke into uproarious laughter.</p> - -<p>“Why, you simp! That’s not a nugget, it is merely a piece of quartz. Dig -some more, Chunky.”</p> - -<p>“I suggest that we do not lose our heads, and that we make camp and -behave,” cried Grace.</p> - -<p>The Overlanders agreed, and in the happiest frame of mind they -dismounted and pitched their camp, after which they walked over the -claim with Tom, Mr. White and Haley as guides. On the way up the channel -of the dry stream Nora picked up three small nuggets of real gold.</p> - -<p>“The luck of the Irish, me darlin’,” cried Nora, playfully patting Hippy -on the cheek.</p> - -<p>“I wish it understood,” announced Elfreda after their return to camp, -“that this is not Elfreda Briggs’ claim, but the Overland Riders’ -claim.”</p> - -<p>“Too late,” answered Tom. “Your claim will be filed before you or anyone -else can stop it.”</p> - -<p>“I will see about that,” murmured Elfreda.</p> - -<p>That evening, by the campfire, the members of the party discussed their -good fortune, and made plans for the future.</p> - -<p>Busy days followed, some of the party panning the sands of Lost River -for gold, and finding enough to arouse them to a high pitch of -excitement. There was no thought of continuing the journey, for there -was work to be done where they were. A mining expert had been sent for, -and his investigations were still in progress five weeks later when -Grace asked Tom to take her home.</p> - -<p>Jim Haley had not remained long with them, for he, too, had work to do -in connection with evidence against the captured bandits.</p> - -<p>The others of the party decided that they would return with Grace, but -Ham White, at Miss Briggs’ request, together with three former forest -rangers, remained on the claim to guard and work it, and assist in -locating, if possible, the rich vein that all believed could not be far -away.</p> - -<p>“You are all coming to see us next winter at Haven Home,” reminded Grace -on the morning of their departure for Cresco, where they were to board a -train for the east—and Home! “It probably will be along about Christmas -time, that being the most joyous season for old friends to get together, -and we will have a Christmas tree and everything,” she added, laughing.</p> - -<p>Good byes were said and the Overland Riders retraced their trail, the -last journey that, as a body, they probably ever would take. A week -later found them at their homes. Each had his own life to lead now, for -the years were drawing on, and the Overlanders were no longer children.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXIV' title='XXIV: The House of Happiness'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXIV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.0em'>THE HOUSE OF HAPPINESS</span> -</h2> - -<p>Haven Home was brilliantly lighted, for it was Christmas eve, and Grace -had made good her promise to ask the Overland Riders to spend the -holiday week with her and Tom.</p> - -<p>Haven Home was a house of happiness on that wonderful Christmas eve, -for, up in the nursery, lay a little pink and white bundle of humanity -over which the Overlanders bent—that is, the girls did—and worshiped at -the shrine of Grace Harlowe’s own little daughter, now less than four -weeks old. For that bit of humanity the whole party had come laden with -gifts, not forgetting many beautiful things for Yvonne, Grace’s adopted -daughter—the child that Grace had rescued from the cellar of a deserted -village amid the crashing of exploding German shells in the great world -war—now a beautiful young woman.</p> - -<p>Hamilton White was there, big, brown and manly, a figure that attracted -attention where-ever he went; Jim Haley was there, too, with a load of -peanuts that required a wagon to carry them from the express office.</p> - -<p>Elfreda had brought her adopted daughter, now home from a finishing -school, and a different child she was from the daughter of the Mad -Hermit that the Overlanders had taken to their hearts some years before.</p> - -<p>But where was Stacy Brown? No one could answer the question. Stacy had -not even replied to the invitation to join the Christmas party, and -there was disappointment, for no reunion of the Overlanders could be -complete without the fat boy.</p> - -<p>Emma Dean was monopolizing “Hamilton” most of the time, and Nora -confided to Grace that she actually believed it was going to be a -“match,” but Grace shook her head and smiled.</p> - -<p>And then Stacy arrived!</p> - -<p>The fat boy made his usual dramatic entrance at a moment when he knew -attention would be centered on him. It was.</p> - -<p>Stacy was in full evening dress, carrying an opera hat, which he crushed -and popped open with one hand as he shook hands and bowed with a grace -that was unsuspected by his companions.</p> - -<p>“Did you stop at the hotel to get into those glad rags?” demanded Hippy.</p> - -<p>“We wondered why you were so late,” said Grace. “It never occurred to us -that you would stop to dress before coming up to the house. Why, if you -felt that you must dress, did you not come here? Your room has been -ready for several days.”</p> - -<p>“Dress? Who said I stopped to dress? I dressed this morning before -leaving home.”</p> - -<p>“Stacy!” cried Nora in a horrified tone.</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean that you wore your evening clothes all day on the -train?” demanded Nora.</p> - -<p>“Sure I did. I didn’t want to put them in my suit case and wrinkle them -all up, so I wore them. Anything wrong about that?”</p> - -<p>There was silence for a few seconds, then the Overlanders broke out in -peals of laughter.</p> - -<p>“Say, I want to see the kid. <i>He</i> won’t laugh at me, I’ll bet,” said -Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Wrong gender, young man,” observed Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Of course you shall see him,” cried Grace, linking her arm in Stacy’s -and leading him upstairs, with the entire Overland party following.</p> - -<p>Two little blue eyes looked up at him as Stacy gazed, and popped his -crush hat at the bundle of pink and white until the nurse took it away -from him indignantly.</p> - -<p>“The perfect picture of Grace, isn’t she?” bubbled Emma.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t know. Cute little monkey, isn’t she?”</p> - -<p>“Young man, you come downstairs,” ordered Hippy, collaring Stacy and -leading him away, while the Overlanders followed laughing. The merriment -had begun with the arrival of Stacy.</p> - -<p>Dinner was announced as they reached the drawing room, and it was a -dinner that Stacy Brown did full justice to. It did the Overlanders’ -hearts good to see him eat.</p> - -<p>“How you ever managed to develop such an appetite, short of starvation, -is a thing that I have many times wondered at,” teased Tom.</p> - -<p>“Develop it! I didn’t. It’s a gift,” was the fat boy’s quick response. -“I was born with it, and I don’t know why you folks are always making -fun of me,” he retorted, appearing to be very much hurt.</p> - -<p>“That is because you are always making fun of yourself,” reminded Emma.</p> - -<p>“Not when you are about,” mumbled Stacy.</p> - -<p>And so the merriment went on.</p> - -<p>At the close of the dinner Hamilton White made his mine report. The -mother lode of “Lost Mine” had just recently been tapped when work was -suspended for the winter, to be resumed in the early spring, he said. -The mining engineer in charge of the work was authority for the -statement that it would undoubtedly pan out a big fortune. White said he -had the expert’s detailed report which they could look over at their -leisure.</p> - -<p>“So J. Elfreda is a rich woman, eh?” said Stacy, regarding her solemnly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, rich in the sense that I have such friends as these,” answered -Elfreda, her eyes moist as she glanced at the eager, flushed faces about -her. “Gold is not riches—friendship is. As for the riches of the ‘Lost -Mine’ I have with me a transfer of title to the property, signed, sealed -and delivered, providing as follows:</p> - -<p>“One eighth to the new baby.</p> - -<p>“One eighth to my adopted daughter ‘Little Silver.’</p> - -<p>“One eighth to Yvonne.</p> - -<p>“One eighth each to Grace, Nora and Emma.</p> - -<p>“And—” Elfreda paused, and in a subdued voice added, “one eighth each -for myself and for my husband to be.” A flush slowly grew into her -cheeks as J. Elfreda Briggs bent her eyes on the paper from which she -was reading.</p> - -<p>“Your—your what?” stammered Nora, as all eyes were fixed on Miss Briggs’ -face.</p> - -<p>“My husband to be!” Elfreda raised her eyes, eyes full of happiness, to -her friends. “I am to wed Mr. White in the early spring. You, my beloved -friends, are the first to be told. Why should you not be first?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Hamilton, isn’t that perfectly wonderful!” cried Emma.</p> - -<p>Emma had broken the ice, the dead silence that, for a few seconds, had -followed Elfreda Briggs’ announcement, and then the exclamations and the -congratulations fairly overwhelmed Elfreda and Hamilton White.</p> - -<p>Everything else was forgotten.</p> - -<p>“Well, old chappie, what have <i>you</i> got to say for <i>yourself</i>?” demanded -Hippy Wingate, frowning on “Ham” White.</p> - -<p>“Only that I am the most fortunate of men,” answered Hamilton White -gravely.</p> - -<p>“Never mind, Emma,” spoke up Grace smilingly as she looked into the -flushed face of Emma Dean. “I have named the baby—I just now named her, -and her name is Emma Grace Harlowe Gray.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the poor kid,” wailed Stacy. “To go through life with a name like -that! My heart of hearts bleeds for her.”</p> - -<p>“For he’s a jolly good fellow,” struck up Tom Gray, whereupon Grace ran -to her piano and joined with the accompaniment, and the old house -resounded to the rollicking song until the nurse came down, her face -wearing a deep frown.</p> - -<p>“Please, please!” she begged. “You have awakened the baby.”</p> - -<p>The song stopped.</p> - -<p>“Well, we are all set now except for Stacy Brown and Emma Dean. They are -our hopeless bachelors,” declared Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Bachelors! I guess not,” retorted Stacy. “Emma and I have decided to -tie up, too.”</p> - -<p>The Overlanders shouted. They thought it was one of Stacy’s jokes.</p> - -<p>Then the Overlanders began to realize that Stacy was not joking.</p> - -<p>“But how do you two expect to get along—you are fighting all the time?” -wondered Nora.</p> - -<p>“The difference between us and some others is that we will have done all -our fighting before we were married. Am I right, Emma?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Stacy dear,” replied Emma, blushing furiously.</p> - -<p>“When did all this take place?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“Oh, we got engaged by the correspondence-school plan,” Stacy informed -her.</p> - -<p>“The idea! Children like you two getting married,” objected Nora.</p> - -<p>“Children? Huh! I’m twenty-three, and Emma—” Stacy shrugged his -shoulders. “Well, let her speak for herself. Anything else—anyone got -any questions to ask?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” spoke up Elfreda. “If I may do so without offense, I should like -to know what you propose to do after you marry Emma?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing!” with rising inflection in his voice. “I have money, my little -wife will have more, and we two will live a life of distinguished and -elegant leisure.”</p> - -<p>“You poor turtle doves,” chortled Hippy Wingate.</p> - -<p>The merry moments that followed failed to soothe the wakeful baby -upstairs. After the excitement over the startling announcements had -abated, Grace proposed that they dress the Christmas tree, and, -following that, they danced for an hour, and the wonderful evening came -to a close—for all except Stacy and Emma. The two strolled out on the -snow-covered lawn of Haven Home, hand in hand, with the moon beaming -down upon them, and a million diamonds sparkling at their feet.</p> - -<p>“Stacy dear, do you remember that night up in the North Woods when the -Overlanders were preparing to leave for home? Do you remember what Hippy -asked me as a snowbird chirped high up in a great tree, just as one is -now chirping in that apple tree yonder?” asked Emma.</p> - -<p>“I remember,” nodded Stacy.</p> - -<p>“Hippy asked me, ‘Emma, what is the little bird saying to-night?’ I -answered, ‘He is wishing us all a merry, merry Christmas and a glad, -happy new year.’ That is what the snowbird is saying to us from the old -apple tree to-night, isn’t he, Stacy dear?”</p> - -<p>“You bet, kid. Wise guys, those snowbirds,” he observed as they turned -and strolled back towards the house. “We are going to be happy, aren’t -we, Emma?”</p> - -<p>“Going to be? Why, we are happy now, dear. Say good-night to me out -here,” she whispered as they reached the veranda.</p> - -<p>Stacy did so. He said good-night several times before they went indoors. -Emma Dean’s eyes were bright and her cheeks wore a rosy glow when she -faced her companions in the drawing room a moment later.</p> - -<p>The Overland Riders smiled. They understood.</p> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='margin-top:1.4em;'>THE END</div> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the -Lost River Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 62946-h.htm or 62946-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/9/4/62946/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -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. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -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/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - -</body> -<!-- created with ppr.py 20.0711 on 2020-08-16 13:57:03 GMT --> -</html> diff --git a/old/62946-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/62946-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 13514c6..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62946-h/images/frontis.jpg b/old/62946-h/images/frontis.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index cfc9377..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h/images/frontis.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62946-h/images/i001.jpg b/old/62946-h/images/i001.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5cc30fa..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h/images/i001.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62946-h/images/i002.jpg b/old/62946-h/images/i002.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8fbd664..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h/images/i002.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62946-h/images/i003.jpg b/old/62946-h/images/i003.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 86b624c..0000000 --- a/old/62946-h/images/i003.jpg +++ /dev/null |
