It will be necessary to go back a little in order to explain how so extraordinary a charge came to be made against the party in which we are interested.
Bill Mosely and Tom Hadley did not become reconciled to the loss of their stolen horses. They found it much less agreeable to use their own legs than the legs of the two mustangs which had borne them so comfortably over the hills. They cursed the fate which had led to their meeting with Ki Sing, and the poor Chinaman would have fared worse at their hands had they anticipated the trouble which he indirectly1 brought them.
Bill Mosely was naturally lazy; any sort of work he considered beneath him, and he desired to avoid all possible trouble in the lawless and vagabond life which he had chosen. He took it worse, indeed, than his companion, who was neither so shiftless nor so lazy as he.
During the few days which had elapsed since they were glad to leave the mountain-cabin they had averaged less than ten miles' daily travel. They had money enough to purchase animals to replace those which had been taken from them, but had not found any one who was willing to sell for a reasonable price, and Mosely, though he came easily by his money, was far from lavish2 in the spending of it.
It chanced that an hour after the arrival of Richard Dewey and his party at the Golden Gulch3 Hotel, Mosely and his companion, dusty and tired, approached the small mining-settlement, of which the hotel was the principal building.
"Thank Heaven, Tom, there's a mining-town!" ejaculated Mosely, with an expression of devotion not usual to him. "Now we can get something to eat, and I, for my part, feel as empty as a drum. It's hard travelling on an empty stomach."
"I should say so," remarked Mr. Hadley, with his usual formula. It must be admitted, however, that in the present instance he was entirely5 sincere, and fully6 meant what he said.
"There's a hotel," said Tom Hadley, a minute later, venturing on an original observation.
"So there is; what is the name?" inquired Mosely, who was not as far-sighted as his companion.
"The Golden Gulch Hotel," answered Hadley, shading his eyes and reading from a distance of fifty rods the pretentious7 sign of the little inn.
"I suppose they'll charge a fortune for a supper," said Mosely, whose economical spirit was troubled by the exorbitant8 prices then prevalent in California, "but we must have it at any cost."
"You always have a good appetite of your own," observed Mosely, not without sarcasm10, which, however, Tom Hadley was too obtuse11 to comprehend.
"I should say so," returned Tom complacently12, as if he had received a compliment.
"No doubt you'll get your money's worth, no matter how much we pay for supper."
Tom Hadley himself was of this opinion, and so expressed himself.
They had already caught sight of two mustangs which were browsing13 near the Golden Gulch Hotel, and the sight of these useful animals excited the envy and longing14 of Bill Mosely.
"Do you see them mustangs, Tom?" he inquired.
"I should say so."
"I wish we had them."
"Couldn't we take them?" suggested Hadley, his face brightening at the thought of this easy mode of acquiring what they so much needed.
"Are you mad, Tom Hadley?" returned Bill Mosely, shrugging his shoulders. "Are you anxious to die?"
"I should say--not."
"Then you'd better not think of carrying off them horses. Why, we'd have the whole pack of miners after us, and we'd die in our boots before twenty-four hours had passed."
On the whole, this prospect15 did not appear to be of an encouraging character, and Tom Hadley quietly dropped the plan.
"Perhaps we can buy them," suggested Mosely by way of amendment16. "I've got tired of tramping over these hills on foot. After we've got some supper we'll inquire who they belong to."
Up to this point neither Mosely nor his companion suspected that the mustangs which they desired to purchase had once been in their possession. That discovery was to come later.
Before reaching the Golden Gulch Hotel they encountered the landlord, already introduced as Jim Brown.
Mr. Brown scanned the new-comers with an eye to business. Being strangers, he naturally looked upon them as possible customers, and was disposed from motives17 of policy to cultivate their acquaintance.
"Evenin', strangers," he remarked, as affably as a rather gruff voice and manner would permit.
"Good-evening," said Bill Mosely, socially. "What might be the name of this settlement?"
"Golden Gulch?"
"I reckon."
"It ought to be a good place, from the name."
"It's middlin' good. Where might you be from?"
"We're prospectin' a little," answered Bill Mosely vaguely19; for there had been circumstances in his California career that made it impolitic to be too definite in his statements.
"Where are you bound?" continued the landlord, with that licensed20 curiosity which no one ventured to object to in California.
"That depends upon circumstances, my friend," said Bill Mosely, guardedly. "We may go to 'Frisco, and then again we may not. To-night we propose to remain here in Golden Gulch. Is that a comfortable hotel?"
"Well, stranger, seein' I keep it myself, it mightn't be exactly the thing for me to say much about it; but I reckon you won't complain of it if you stop there."
"I'm glad to meet you," said Bill Mosely, grasping the landlord's hand fervently21. "I don't need to ask any more about it, seein' you're the landlord. You look like a man that can keep a hotel--eh, Tom?"
"I should say so," returned Tom Hadley, making the answer that was expected of him.
"You're a gentleman!" said Jim Brown, on whom this flattery had its effect. "Just come along with me and I'll see that you are treated as such."
"What are your terms, say, for supper and lodgin', landlord?" asked Bill, with commendable22 caution.
"Five dollars," answered Brown.
"And for supper alone?" he asked.
"Two dollars."
"We'll only take supper," said Mosely.
"Just as you say."
"We're so used to campin' out that we couldn't breathe in-doors--eh, Tom?"
"I should say so, Bill."
"Suit yourselves, strangers. I reckon you'll want breakfast in the mornin'."
"As likely as not." Then, turning his attention to the mustangs: "Are them mustangs yours, landlord?"
"No; they belong to a party that's stoppin' with me."
"Will they sell?"
"A lame man? Who is with him?" asked Bill Mosely, with a sudden suspicion of the truth.
"Well, there's another man and a boy and a heathen Chinee."
"Tom," said Bill Mosely, in excitement, "it's the party we left on the mountain."
"I should say so, Bill."
"Do you know them, strangers?"
"Know them?" ejaculated Bill Mosely, who instantly formed a plan which would gratify his love of vengeance25 and secure him the coveted26 horses at one and the same time--"I reckon I know them only too well. They stole those mustangs from me and my friend a week ago. I thought them animals looked natural."
"Hoss-thieves!" said the landlord. "Well, I surmised27 there was something wrong about them when they let that yaller heathen set down to the table with them."
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1
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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gulch
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| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
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ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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7
pretentious
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| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
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8
exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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9
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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12
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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13
browsing
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| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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14
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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16
amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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17
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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19
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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20
licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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26
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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