Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 482 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

———_ _- oe J ri, - é a4) & ‘ 7 7 AP i * t. 4 —- “" . p ~— * % > « ES Fa ey _ pression in the ground, however slight, was thor- ! pnaehy explored with the spade, and so eager an anxious were the amateurs that they regret- ted there were not half a dozen spades at com- mand, The hunt was kept up withoutsuccess till noon when all went to camp for dinner, but as soon as the meal was over they hurried back and re- sumed the search, All that afternoon they la- bored diligently without success, and when dark- ness at length compelled them to quit for the day the plain around and about them looked like a deserted prairie-dog town. With a feeling of disappointment they return- ed to camp resolved to continue the search on the morrow. They were satisfied beyond all doubt that the Hidden Cache was somewhere in the vicinity, and they were determined to find it if it took a month or more. The next morning they started out quite early, and as they neared the scene of the previous day’s labor Old Pegleg caught sight of a black stump of a bush protruding an inch or so above the grass. , ‘** Look here, lads,” the old plainsman said, ‘‘thar’s the stub o’ a bush that’s been growin here once,” ‘* Yes, and a cottonwood, too,” said Stonewall, stooping and chipping off some of the stump with his knife. ‘* Well, what can you make of that?” asked Frank Payne. ‘* Why, doesn’t them notes say Mercer stuck a cottonwood stick in the ground ’bout a rod or two west of the cache ?” ‘* Yes, but that’s a stump six inches in diame- ter,” replied Payne. know it, but aren’t it singular that a cot- tonwood bush should once be growin’ here alone—out so far from the river? You know, don’t you, that a cottonwood cutting will take root and grow like a willow? Now, s’pose the twig Captain Mercer stuck in the ground near his cache took root and grew toa good-sized bush, and then the prairie fire literally killed it, and the buffalo rubbed it down, leaving nothin’ but this stump?” ‘* Well, in that case, which is possible, but hardly probable, the cache would be about two rods east of the stump,” said Ben Clark, ‘* and it won’t take long to make the examination.” ‘* By smoke! here’s a@ slight depression,” ex- claimed Frank Payne, who was already on the search; ‘‘ bring thé sy\ade here, Clark.” | Ben took the spade to him, and grasping it impatiently, he sent thy polished blade down in- to the earth. As he did so he sprung back as if from a serpent, exclaiming: ‘** Did you hear that, boys? The spade grated upon something hard. Listen!” Again he sent the spade down into the earth, and this time all heard a dull, grating noise, ‘‘ Boys, we’ve found it!” declared the elated young man, as he worked the handle of the spade to and fro, and produced that grating sound again. ‘** Dig down, youngster, and be sure it’s there,” commanded Old Pegleg, ‘‘ before you procla- mate so stoutly.” Frank began to shovel out the dirt, and in a few moments the iron rim of a kettle was re- vealed to their gaze, ‘‘ Kureka!” shouted Payne, tossing the spade into the air and shouting with joy; ‘‘ come, boys, and look upon the rim of the kettle—the t that contains the treasure!” The party all came up, and leaning over, gazed down at the kettle; then they started up with a yell, and fora few moments they acted like wild men. Stonewall Bob threw his hat in- co the air and shot a hole through it before it reached the ground. Old Pegleg danced a jig on his one foot. Young Lockwood stood on his head, and Ben Clark turned a handspring back- ward and forward, the last time driving his moceasined feet into Stonewall’s breast with such force as to completely upset the young Trojan. “There, now, that7ll do!” Old Pegleg finally said, ‘‘ don’t bu’st your galls, but come and let’s finish the work. To be sure we’ve found the gold, for I hearn the eagles on the coins just now pipin’ to each other with joy.” Stonewall Bob took up the spade and carefully dug the dirt from around the iron kettle, then he took hold of the vessel and lifted it from the hole and placed it on the ground. ‘* It?s heavy as lead,” the young Trojan said. The pot was full, the top being covered with solidly-packed earth, so that all beneath was in- visible. “Turn it up and empty it on the grass,” said Ben Clark. A3 Stonewall lifted the pot a breathless silence Stonew ——— eee rrr upon that particular occasion. fellupon the party and all fixed their eager eyes upon the vessel. The young Trojan turned the kettle up. The contents slipped out in a solid block like a brick from the mold. Still nothing but dirt was visi- ble, Frank Payne gave the lump a kick, and it crumbled to pieces, but not a gold coin was to be seen ! ‘* The devil and calamity!” blurted Stonewall, ‘‘ what does that mean? Where’s the coins with Pegleg’s piping eagles?” ‘*They must be in the other kettle—Goven said there was two of them buried,” said Payne, somewhat excitedly. Stonewall began digging, and soon struck an- other kettle, which he lifted from the cache, Like the other, it was full of something, the top being covered with earth. ‘* Boys,” said the young Trojan, as he turned the kettle upside down, “‘ this tells the tale,” The contents of the vessel slipped out like the other, in a solid block, Stonewall tore the block to pieces with his hands, and to the utter amaze- ment of all, not a single gold coin was to be seen | CHAPTER XV. THE END OF IT ALL, LIKE dumb statues the hunters stood for sev- eral moments gazing at the empty kettles, the gaping cache, and at one and another, with a blank look of disappointment and surprise upon their faces, ‘‘ What’s that, Bob?” asked Payne, pointing at the pile of earth. ‘‘A bottle, by calamity!” exclaimed the Boy Trojan, picking asmall glass vial out of the dirt; ‘and it’s got a paper in it, too,” ** Perhaps it will explain matters.” uickly broke the vial with his up the paper and handed it to Stonewall knife and too Frank Payne. * Tor hon is some writing upon it,” the young man said, unfolding the paper with nery- ous fingers, ‘‘ Read! read!” cried the friends, Payne read as follows: “To Wom Tas Comes GREETING:—Four weary ae oe journeying up this valley chanced to find, y the merest accident, this cache in which there were many thousands of gold dollars; and not know- ing whether the owner was alive, nor the where- abouts of his heirs, we will take possession of it and devote it to the benefit of some orphans we know of in great need, (Signed) HE ORPHANS,” As he concluded reading, Payne crushed the paper in his hand, and looking about him, said in disgust: ‘“ Will somebody please kick me?” ‘‘ Heavens! that makes me tired,” observed Lockwood. ‘*Let’s all go soak our heads,” added Ben Clark in disgust. Stonewall Bob and Old Pegleg rolled on the ground in a fit of laughter, ‘‘ Well,” Payne finally said, gazing abstracted- ly away across the plain, ‘‘ we’ve been having a lorious lively time, anyhow, gold or no gold. Health is wealth, they say; therefore, I’ve been enriched coming West on this excursion, Gold corrupts:'the morals, and I'll venture the asser- tion that the canker has laid hold of them cussed ‘Orphans’ before this.” ‘All that galls me is the dangers we passed through getting here,” observed young Ren- shaw. ‘*That’s passed, and you're safe, and know more than you did, so what are you whining about?” retorted Lockwood. ‘* All your trouble comes,” said Stonewall Bob, ‘Sof Ben Clark binp bits Goven’s secret to his sweetheart in Arch Vandyke’s hearing, Lovers shouldn’t talk.” ‘‘ Big White-Buffalo-Calf has bawled again,” said Old Pegleg, ‘‘and if he’d apply his advice to hisself, whar’d them canoes on his feet, and them blankets on his legs be?” ‘¢ Stonewall,” said Payne, *‘ you can give them two kettles and that spade to the chief, and this cache will do for a skunk’s nest. Let us go back to camp and have a war-dance,” So saying, the entire party returned to camp disappointed but not at all despondent, The party remained at the Indian camp over two weeks, and in that time they were not idle. They went out with the Indians on several buf- falo-hunts, and upon each occasion distinguished themselves for the number of bisons they slew. Finally Old Black Wolf gave a grand war- dance in honor of his guests, and if ever night was made hideous with a demoniac revel, it was To the amuse- ment of his friends, Stonewall Bob took part in the dance, and his towering form was a conspicu- all Bob, the Boy Trojan. —_—- me TN TCE, EAS SF HH HS) CFS ere 7 - ~ ————E —- - ous figure among the half-nude, grotesquely: painted Indians, Ridiculous as the whole proceedings were to the white spectators, the chief and his fair daughter regarded them as eminently success- ful. and it was with a smile of joy that Singing- Biid watched the form of the Boy Trojan as he went yelling and posturing and dancing around and around in one never-varying circle, That the princess was in love with the youn giant vhere was not a doubt in the minds o the whites, but there was some question as to whether her affections were fully reciprocated by the young plainsman. At length the time for departure home came, and it was with a feeling of no little regret that the hunters were forced to quit the Indian camp; and no one seemed to take their departure more to heart than did Singing-Bird, Before parting, the princess and Stonewall held a private talk, and what passed between them—what promises were made and wishes ex- pressed will never be known, for Stonewall was too gallant and honorable to trifle with the affec- tions of the simple-hearted girl, or to say aught of her not of the greatest respect, Old Pegleg Sol consented to accompany his friends to the settlement—tha home of the Thurs- tons and Ben Clark, and no sooner were they out of sight and hearing of the Indian camp than Stonewall Bob opened on the old borderman and gave him *‘dead away” to the party as to the ‘‘masked battery” he carried concealed in bis wooden leg; he also revealed the mystery con- nected with the death of the Indian, Bounding- Bear, and not until then did Stonewall’s friends know how near he came to death that night in the Indian camp. At noon of the first day of their homeward journey the party halted in the valley by the Sentinel, that historical rock where the Boy Trojan first met Mabel Thurston on that ever- to-be remembered night of the great buffalo stampede. The polished bones of half a dozen bisons were all that remained of that whirlpool of death that rolled and surged around the rock, excepting some dark stains on the stone where the life-blood of Zadok, the hunter, had been spilled. A feeling of the deepest sorrow filled the breast of Mabel Thurston as:she stood by the Sentinel. The maiden again told the story of the old man’s tragic death, and wept bitterly. ‘* Boys,” said Stonewall, ‘‘ let us dedicate this rock to the memory of Zadok, the bunter, and carve his name upon it, that ages to come may look upon it.” ‘Oh, do! do!” cried Mabel, with a feeling of veneration for the memory of the man who had saved her and her father’s life at the cogt of his own, With the blade of a hatchet for a chisel, Stone- wall Bob cut the name, “ ZADOK,” in large, deep letters upon the stone. Itrequired several hours to do it, but all felt that the time was well spent, and when they mounted and moved on, it was with a feeling of relief over having paid a last tribute to a dead hero. On the fourth day of their journey the party reached the settlement, where all were receitved with the wildest demonstrations, And thus ended the search for the Hidden Gold Cache, and while it had been barren of re- sults so far as treasure was concerned, every one of the party was ready to vote it a grand suc- cess so far as yerils, adventures and thrilling sport went, The amateurs were proud of their lively experience on the Great Range, yet they had no desire to pass through the same again. And while the amateurs were at Humboldt they had the pire of attending the wedding of Ben Clark and Mabel Thurston, an affair which the notorious Archibald Vandyke had hoped to prevent by the abduction of the mai- den, assisted by the outlaws to whom Vandyke had furnished the information concerning Mer- cer’s buried treasure, Finally the time came for the amateurs to take their departure for their Eastern home, and it was then that their separation from their friends—from Stonewall Bob and jolly Old Peg- leg—was made with feelings of the deepest re- gret, which would have been all the deeper, had arrangements not been made for another grant hunt one year from that time, when their ae- quaintance and friendship could of eourse be re- newed, During the fall Old Pegleg Sol returned to his favorite haunts away up on the upper Missouri, and there Stonewall Bob promised to take the amateurs when they again came West in quest of sport and adventure, THE END, cho 1, ‘