Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 398 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

12 wading into the stream, find a flat stone in the bed of the brook. ***Chip away the mortar which holds it and it can be raised, when the water will flow through the opening thus made. ***Fotlow on down the creek, and you will find something that will attract your attention, which investigate, *** Your loving father, ‘“** Henry DANFORD.’”’ For a moment a dead silence reigned, and then Frank gave a wild yell that rattled the window frames, and brought the landlord tum- bling up from the office, he thinking that some one was being killed. But learning that it was only Faro Frank, he retired, when Kit was compelled to read the document over and over again. Finally, after the third or fourth reading, Dainty put in a word. ‘**I know the locality referred to very well,” said she, ‘‘my father having pointed out the cross-cut in the rock, in memory, he said, of cee one who was killed there by a falling rock. ‘*It is west of here some distance, and is on the main road. ‘If you would like to ride in that direction now, I will point out the place to you.” “} think that we had better wait until to- morrow, as it is too late now to do anything. ** Frank, will you come around early and go with us?” ‘* Most assuredly I will; I am as anxious to _ the end of this thing as you can possibly ‘*Tll be around bright and early.” And going to The Broadway, Faro Frank made sure of not missing his engagement by staying up all night. he next morning the three rode away to the west, passing the gully that led to Kit’s ‘‘ den,” he ae it out to Dainty and promising to make her acquainted with its mysteries in the near future. ; They rode on some distance further, when Dainty, who had been watching the left-hand side of the road for a few minutes, suddenly stopped, and pointing high up on the cliff, called the attention of Kit and Frank to a rude cross cut in the rock. ‘*There is what my father refers to in his letter,” she said, ‘‘and we must go due north from here to the creek.” So, dismounting and fastening their horses to a small tree near by, they commenced the ascent of the north bank, which was here gently slop- ing, and could easily be climbed. A brisk walk of half a mile, they guiding themselves by Kit’s compass, brought them to the banks of a noisy, brawling mountain stream, that flowed nearly due east and west, but. a few feet below them turned abruptly to the southeast. Taking this point as their starting-place, they measured a hundred yards, as nearly as they could by pacing off the distance, and then Kib, who had on a pair of hip-boots, waded into the shallow water and walked up and down, feeling with his feet for the flat stone mentioned in the letter. He was soon successful, finding, after a few moments’ search, a flat surface beneath his feet that was probably four feet square. ‘*The second point mentioned by Mr. Danford is now found,” called out Kit, *‘and now we must devise some means by which we may be able to remove the mortar and lift this stone. ‘*Come, Frank, where is your imagination? ‘*Can’t you suggest something?” ‘*Of course I can,” replied Frank, with an assumption of wounded dignity. AN we have to do is to build a dam across the creek sufficiently high to stop the flow of water above for a time, and we can easily work at the bed of the creek.” ‘* Yes,” responded Kit, sarcastically. ‘* That is an excellent plan. ‘*It would not take us more than a week or two to build such a dam as you suggest, and of course the water would stop running from above while we were working, and would not rise as the dam rose and flow over the top.” And he looked quizzically at Frank, who re- moved his hat and scratched his head, evidently appreciating, for the first time, the difficulties that Kit suggested. ‘**] never was much at civil engineering, any- how, Kit,” he at length confessed frankly, ‘‘and I guess I'll have to give it up.” ‘Let me help you out,” quietly interrupted n an artiaed spectator of Dainty, who had this scene. “Get a gun-cotton cartridge, water-proofed, of course, and explode it on the stove, Kid-Glove Kit and Pard. ——s ll ee ‘** You can easily do that, and as the explosive | ‘What in the world have you there, Dan?” force of the material is tremendous, you can | asked Frank, eying the basket curiously. easily shatter the stone to pieces.” ‘‘An excellent suggestion, Mrs. Barton, and in view of it I hereby tender my resignation as mining engineer-in-chief to Christopher Barton, But where did you get your ideas regarding explosives?” ‘Oh, my father was quite a chemist; but will you have any difficulty in procuring a battery ” ‘** None in the least; my brother has one, and also plenty of gun-cotton. ‘*He is always fooling with such things, and has nearly blown himself up with the stuff a half a dozen times, ‘*T'll ride to The Gulch and get him to come and bring his infernal machine along. ‘* Meantime, Kit, you hunt about and see if you can’t find a crevice into which we can insert the cartridge; but for fear that none exists, I will bring a crowbar back with me, and we can dig a hole underneath the stone. ‘* You have no objection to Charley’s coming back with me?” ed. ot the slightest; bring Dan along, too, if he is up. ay have no secrets from you three.” ‘** And they could not be in safer hands.” And then Frank, hurrying down the hill, reached the horses and rode off to The Gulch. CHAPTER XXII. AN EXPLOSION. WHILE they awaited the return of Faro Frank, Dainty seated herself on a fallen tree, while Kit busied himself looking for some place in which they might place the explosive. But he attained no other result than that of wetting himself from head to foot, finally emerg- ing from the stream dripping and cold. ut he was able to stand any such exposure, and -although chilled to the bone, did not fear — serious results. Vhile waiting, Dainty told him much about her father; how he had left home when she was yet very young, and gone to Colorado, remain- ing away several years, and then returning, had found his wife dead, and his daughter in the care of friends. Settling up his affairs in Pennsylvania, he had again left his former home, gone to Philadel- She and, leaving Dainty there, had gone to ew York, where he remained several days. When she again saw him, he seemed much changed, and wa’ suspicious of every one he met and fretful. He told her that she would, one day, be im- mensely wealthy, but would not divulge to her in what direction her wealth lay. They had been in Colorado but a short time when her father had been killed, and she had never learned from him where his mine was located, although he often mentioned it. He thought that he was to be robbed of his riches and kept aloof from every one, remaining in his cabin and covering sheet after sheet of syed with figures, always destroying his calcu- ations when he had finished them. She had reached this point in her story when snddenly they were interrupted by the return of Frank, who was accompanied by his brother, the latter carrying a small mahogany box anda sachel. Greetings having been exchanged, Frank who carried an iron bar across his shoulder, walked to the bank of the creek and said: ** Well, Kit, what luck?” ** None at all, Frank, I can not find a hole big enough to stick my finger into. ‘* 1 guess we'll have to fall back on your crow- bar suggestion. ‘* Here, let me have it.” And again Kit waded into the stream and be- gan to dig a hole in the gravel-bed of the stream, just at the edge of the stone. While he was thus occupied, Charley, opening the sachel took from it a handf ul of loose gun- cotton and began stuffing it into an elongated oil-skin bag, which, when filled, resembled a section of bologna sausage, into one end of which he inserted a wire, and then tied it up tightly. ‘But where is Mr. Burton?’ suddenly in- quired Dainty. “Oh, Dan? he'll be along presently; he had some scheme, I don’t know what; but promised to join us soon, ‘*Charley, walk over to the road and show him the way up here.” Before the latter returned, Kit had completed his work and again waded ashore, which he had pone reached when Charley and Dan arrived, the atter carrying a huge basket. | , ** Lunch.” ‘Good idea, we will build a fire, warm the coffee—if you have any—and then, having ex- ploded the cartridge, will have something to eat! while the water is running off.” Charley and Dan were completely ignorant of what the others intended doing; but asked no uestions, contenting themselves with following .it’s and Frank’s directions. Taking the cartridge Charley had prepared, Kit placed it m the hole he had made and which extended several inches under the stone, and then handed the end of the wire to the young. fellow, who taking his box, walked off a couple - of hundred yards, uncoiling the wire as he went, \ and calling the others after him. He then placed the box on the ground and in- serted the end of the wire in the side, fastening it in its place with a clamp. ‘* This box,” he explained, as his friends gath- ered about him, ‘‘ contains an electric battery. ‘*To explode the cartridge, it is only necessa- ry to press this button, when the wires will be connected, and the spark will flash into the cot- n. ‘**For in this insulated cord that leads to the cartridge, there are two wires and the open ends will produce the flash. 6é ook \ ™ Stop cried Frank, as Charley was about to press the button. ‘*As Mrs. Barton is more interested in this result than any of us, as itis a legacy from her father to her, let hers be the hand that opens up the road to her fortune!” ‘** You are right, Frank, but do not forget that I am ignorant of what results you expect to ob- tain, or I, myself, would have suggested what you have proposed.” ‘*] know it, old man; but be patient a while and you will learn all.” And then Dainty, extending her hand, pressed firmly on the button, following Charley’s direc- tions, and at the touch there came a mufiled roar from the bed of the creek, the water was thrown high aloft and numbers of stones and fragments of rock flew far and wide, And immediately after the explosion they all hurried to the bank of the stream and there saw, yawning in the middle of the bed, a hole that was a yard or more in diameter. The flat stone that had covered it had been blown into a thousand fragments, and the wa- ter in the stream now flowed uninterruptedly into this new opening, channels having been cut leading to it from each bank, being in the shape of a letter V, with the open end turned up-stream., The bed of the brook, below the hole was rapidly becoming dry, and while waiting for all of the water to run off, they made a fire, warmed the coffee and partook freely of the lunch that Dan’s thoughtfulness had provided for them. When they had completed their meal, they all arose, and Kit leading, they walked on down the stream for a mile or more, carefully survey- ing every foot of the ground, until suddefly Kit stopped and examinéd some object that had at- tracted his attention. And as the others came up, they saw it was an iron bar, projecting a foot or so from the sandy bottom, which was crossed by another bar at right angles. ‘*Frank or Charley or Dan,” said Kit, one of us will have to go back for the crowbar, for we cannot dig this out with our hands. ‘* You wait here while I go after it.” The others demurred but Kit insisted and started back, while the impetuous Frank, stoop- ing down, began to scrape away the wet sand with his hands. And in a few moments he brought to light the top of an iron box, rusty from the action of the water, and which was buried deep in the sand, and could not be moved. So giving it up, he contented himself with waiting for Kit’s return, which happened be- fore many minutes passed. CHAPTER XXII. THE FATAL POOL, JORDAN watched Colton warily for some time, but, as he had no recurrence of his - oxysms, he gradually recovered from the teat into which the other’s wild cries had thrown him, and took a calm view of his situation. ‘‘T don’t know what is going to become of me, imprisoned in an inaccessible canyon, in the company of a maniac and a lot of grinning skeletons. ‘* Look as I can, I can find no way out of this j