Robins8 and song-sparrows put in an appearance, and ducks were everywhere. On the very first warm day, bees, flies, and a mosquito or two were thawed9 into life, and hummed and buzzed in the sunshine as if there had never been any winter. In every sandy bluff11 and bank the ground-squirrels, beautifully mottled little creatures, came out of their holes, and sat up on their haunches as stiff as a ramrod, with their fore-paws demurely13 folded on their breasts, and sunned themselves and cast curious glances at their new neighbors.
[158]
Purple crocuses blossomed in abundance, and everywhere grass was growing green and buds were starting. Spring had come!
"What do you think of a prospecting14 trip?" asked Uncle Will of Pennock, one morning. "I believe we can sink a shaft15 now."
"That's a good idea," said Pennock. "The frost ought to be out of the upper soil by this time. If it isn't, we can thaw10 it with fire."
"The one thing I don't like about this place," continued Uncle Will, "is that the creek seems to be deserted16. We heard rumors17 of extraordinary richness here, and if there's any truth in them, there ought to be some signs of life hereabouts."
"That's so," admitted Pennock. "It was Cannon18 who advised the Cap'n to leave a few men here. He said he sunk a hole last year and found gold enough to make it worth while to explore more fully12. What really brought our party into this country, though, was a report of a rich strike up above. That's where the rest of them have gone; but I don't know just how far it is."
"Well," said Uncle Will, "the stories I heard may have been misleading. We'll see what there is here anyhow, and take our chances. By the way, there's another creek to the southeast yonder, where you see that gully in the mountain. We might send a party there."
[159]
To this proposition Pennock assented19. Accordingly Mr. Bradford and Roly, with Large, Nichols, and the two Indians, set off toward the gully, which was about six miles distant, while Uncle Will, David, Pennock, Reitz, Adair, and Johnson started for the headwaters of the creek beside which they had camped,—a journey of four miles. We may as well follow the fortunes of the latter party.
There was no trail worthy20 of the name, but once or twice hoof-marks were discovered, probably made by Cannon's pack horse the previous season. Sometimes they entered forests of standing21 spruce and poplar, either growing or fire-killed, and now it was a district of fallen trees, where it was almost impossible to advance, from which they emerged with a sigh of relief into some open grassy22 meadow near the stream, where walking was pleasant and easy. Presently they ascended23 a clay bluff a hundred feet high, skirting its edge where it was free from timber. From this vantage ground they could see the snowy peaks of the Dasar-dee-ash Mountains, thirty miles to the south, on the other side of which lay the claims they had taken in April. Uncle Will examined the fine clay of the bluff, and gave it as his opinion that it would make excellent bricks and pottery24.
In an hour and a half, they came to the foot-hills, where the stream fell noisily over a bed of boulders25 in a pretty glen. A sharp lookout26 was kept, but no signs[160] of Cannon's work were seen. At length it was decided27 to sink a hole on the south bank where a bed of gravel28 had been deposited by the water. From the nature of the rocks about them, they concluded that bed-rock was not far below the surface. Picks, shovels29, and a gold-pan had been brought, and the men took turns at the digging. It was hard work, for many large stones were encountered frozen into their places, and these could only be pried30 loose at risk of a bent31 pick. When a depth of twelve inches was reached, Pennock filled the pan with a sample of the gravel, and took it to the stream, while the others, except Adair, who was swinging the pick, gathered around him, eager to know the result of the test. Not a color was found, but there was black sand and in it two small rubies32.
The discovery of the rubies did not seem to offset33 the disappointment of the men at finding no gold,—a fact at which David wondered, until his uncle informed him that those gems34 were quite commonly found in the Northwest, and such small ones were of little value. David resolved, however, to look about for himself, and, in a mound35 of sand thrown up by ants, he found a dozen or more, some of them a little larger than the ones in the pan. These he carefully picked out, and put in his match-box for safe keeping.
Meanwhile, the work in the prospect-hole went steadily36 on. At a depth of two feet a small color was found, by[161] which time it was noon, and work ceased for an hour. By the middle of the afternoon the hole was three feet and a half deep, and solid rock was gained, though toward the last so much water entered that digging was difficult, and bailing37 had to be resorted to. At the bed-rock, where all their hopes rested, were found a few insignificant38 colors,—nothing more.
Uncle Will, usually so cheerful, was quite downcast at this result. He had heard the rumors of gold from men whom he trusted, and was obliged to conclude that they had themselves been misled. Indeed, it seemed to be one of those instances in which a very small tale, by long travelling and frequent repetition, becomes strangely magnified and distorted. The Thirty-six had detached few men here because the story, as they had heard it, had located the wealth in a different place. Still there might be a good deal of gold on this creek, for a single hole is usually not enough to determine the character of a gulch39. At least one more shaft must be sunk where the gravel was deeper, before all hope need be abandoned. Even if worst came to worst, there still remained the Alder40 Creek claims, and Lucky's nugget.
It turned out that the other party, under Mr. Bradford, had met with even less success. Rubies they had found, but not a single color of gold. However, they had not reached bed-rock at the end of the first day.
Uncle Will and his companions returned to the cabin[162] a few minutes before the others. Seated on the ground outside the door, they found an Indian family, consisting of an old bent squaw, two young women, and a thin, weak-looking young man. The old squaw, evidently the mother of the others, waved her arms in token of welcome as soon as she saw the white men. Then, touching41 the young man's breast she exclaimed, "Him sick, you savvy42?"
"Sick, is he?" repeated Uncle Will, looking at the pinched features and wasted frame.
"Sick—yis—you savvy [understand]?" said the squaw.
"Consumption," said Uncle Will to David. "It's very prevalent among the Indians, and carries off hundreds." Then turning to the old Indian woman he added, "I savvy,—very bad, very sick. Have some tea?"
"Tea! Yis, yis," answered she, eagerly, for tea is considered a great luxury by the Indians, and this family, dressed in ragged43, cast-off clothing, seemed too abjectly44 poor to buy anything at the trading-post. Indeed, the only food they had was dried salmon45, though the man carried an antiquated46 shot-gun.
Uncle Will made some tea, and the natives drank it delightedly in the cabin, which they entered without invitation as soon as the door was opened.
It must be explained here that the door was fastened[163] by a sliding pole which ran some distance along the inner side of one of the front logs, and was held in place by wooden pegs47. The pole was shoved across the door by means of a knife-blade inserted from the outside between two logs at a crevice48 left for the purpose five feet from the door. In this manner the door had been locked that morning when the two parties set off. Doubtless the Indians had tried the door; but finding it secure, and seeing no means of opening it, they had not ventured to break in, but waited for the return of the miners.
Both Uncle Will and Pennock realized the desirability of keeping the secret of the lock from the visitors, and this they attempted to do when the door was opened, Uncle Will attracting the attention of the Indians, while Pennock softly stole up to the crevice and pried back the bar.
But though the natives did not see the door opened, they intended none the less to know how it was done, and that was why they so promptly49 entered the cabin with the others. However, the white men thought it best to say nothing, for it might be that they would drink their tea and go out without noticing the door. Pennock, who was a Colorado man and had no liking50 for the "redskins," kept an eye on them from the moment of their entrance.
The old squaw, after a quick inventory51 of the contents of the cabin, glanced furtively52 toward the door, and at[164] once discovered the long bar, but she did not know exactly how it was managed. So presently she shuffled53 unconcernedly up to the front of the cabin, and, turning about, faced the centre of the room. To all appearances, she was idly leaning against the logs, but both Pennock and David noticed that her hands behind her back were busily fumbling54 with the bar, and moving it cautiously back and forth55. The "game was up." Knowing the existence of the bar, and its height from the ground, she would easily discover from the outside the crevice through which it was controlled.
"The rascally56 old witch of an Injun!" muttered Pennock through his teeth; but he knew it was of no use now to make a fuss. He broke out violently, however, when the visitors were gone and it was discovered that a nearly empty butter-can outside the house had disappeared with them.
"They're all sneak-thieves, every one of 'em," he declared angrily; "and the worst of it is that the old squaw learned the secret of our lock. I saw her fumbling round. Now we've got to leave somebody here every time we go away. I'd just like to—!"
This sounded very much like the preface to a dire57 threat; but Mr. Bradford, who had arrived some minutes previously58, interrupted it by observing that the Indians would not be likely to take food or clothing.
"No," said Uncle Will. "They'll make off with[165] empty cans, or any little thing they think won't be missed, but they wouldn't take goods of value. That's too dangerous in this country. Besides, we've treated them well, and they're pretty low-down creatures if they steal from us now."
"All the same," said Pennock, "there was half an inch of good butter in that can, and I was intending to make a coffee cup of it as soon as it was empty. They're a shrewd lot, if they are dirty and ignorant. I hope they've gone for good."
It was a vain hope. A little later, a column of smoke half a mile up the trail northward59 showed that they had camped.
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1
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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stranding
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| n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 ) | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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8
robins
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| n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书） | |
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9
thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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11
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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12
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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13
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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14
prospecting
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| n.探矿 | |
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15
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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16
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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18
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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25
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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26
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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shovels
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| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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30
pried
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| v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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34
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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35
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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37
bailing
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| （凿井时用吊桶）排水 | |
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38
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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39
gulch
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| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
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40
alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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42
savvy
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| v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的 | |
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43
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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44
abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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45
salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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47
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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48
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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49
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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50
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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51
inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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52
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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53
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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54
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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55
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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56
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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57
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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58
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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