Beadle's Dime Library No. 411: The White Crook — page 29: what you’re looking at

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

ra al ' lake up yonder, perceived that it would be quite an easy engineering feat to bring from there a water power of great force. It was near the eastern end that the mine was situated, and as P em there was nothing to show for it but a small hole in the rock and a pile of broken ore. Obviously there was no way of getting into or out of the basin but that by which Stepney and his party had come. As they came they had carefully examined the bottom of the narrow pass for signs of the thieves as it was believed that if any ore had been stol- en if must have been taken out in that direction but no signs were visible, though in places the gravel or sand might have given uvidence. When they came to the examination of the neighborhood of the mine, it was evident that thieves had been about, as recent tracks were found there which were clearly not those of Manuel. The Mexican’s re tg was also confirmed by the appearance of the pile of ore, from which a considerable portion was missing and had evi- dently been lately removed. Of this there could be no manner of doubt, as the pile had lain through the winter, and was sufficiently weather-worn to shown where it had been interfered with, Nhe most reasonable answer to the first ques- How had the basin been discovered, and who tion suggested a highly probable answer to the ’ second. to gain access to the plateau at the northern end Consequently the squaw man was doubtless as pas y thare. he had strayed into the basin and discov- | on Bella Vi , could the thieves be? Hark Sarpy said that the only white man_be- sides himself and his own people who knew how was Zeke Stebbins, well acquainted with the upper portion of the s as anybody else, and it was reasonable to suppose that in the course of his spying about ered Hark Sarpy’s mine. Knowing of the calamities that had fallen up- sta, he had taken advantage of them to steal the valuable ore in sight and ready for removals. If so, who had helped him, and how had he got away with it? Stepney suggested that he might have been assisted by his friends the Apaches; but this idea was promptly repudiated by Captain Dun- ning and Matrvel. ‘“The fact of the matter is,” said the old man, ‘¢ that the ’Paches don’t go into that line of busi- ness, Silver ore is no ’count to an Injin, and he won’t work, anyhow.” Further consideration led the parties to the conclusion that Zeke Stebbins, if he should prove to be the thief, must have done the work alone or with little help. As there was obriomily but one way by which he could get out with it, it was determined to guard the pass, lie in wait for him at night, and catch him in the act, When they had got home and reported their discoveries and conclusions, it was settled that Shawnee Jim and Manuel, who volunteered for the purpose, should keep guard in the pass that night, taking turns. hey were to conceal themselves and watch for the appearance of the thief or thieves, but on no account to expose themselves to danger. If the depredators should prove to be too many for them, they were to let them pass and notice their precveses | Nothing was heard from them during the night, and in the morning they showed up at Bella Vista with the report that nothing had happened to them. They had simply passed a quiet night, and were sure that nobody had entered or left the a “Tf that proves anything,” observed Mark Stepney, ‘it proves that the thief has come to the conclusion that the game is not worth the candle, as the e of stealing the ore Is ater than the profit to be got out of it. So e has quit the business, and we won't be bother- ed by him any more.” ; This was the opinion of the others, with the exception of Manuel, and they confessed to a feeling of relief on that score. Yet, when Stepney and ge age Dunning made another trip to the mine, they discovered, greatly to their astonishment and vexation, that the de ations had been continued. There could be no doubt of this, as they had | noticed the pile of valuable ore carefully, and vere then confident that a considerable por- tion of it had disappeared since their last visit. This was clear ¢nough, and the puzzle was, since it was certain that the pass had not been used for that purpose, how had the thieves got away with the plunder. ‘‘] can’t imagine how the scheme is work- . | ed,” said Mark, ‘unless they have a balloon.” As he spoke he glanced upward at the lofty 1} walls that surroun ed the basin, and suddenly uttered a smothered ejaculation. ‘What's up?” hastily demanded Captain mm Hush and don’t look up! I saw a man ooking over the edge of the cliff up there, I lon’t want him to think that we have noti ee ‘ a i ¢ — ‘0 es zs é \ af * oA ‘ ‘ ~ »" + sr) ‘i The White eee — ee hile Crook. him. Come to the mine hole, and we will busy ourselves about there for a few minutes.” They did as Mark suggested, and after a few minutes sauntered away and turned into the pass by which they had reached the basin. There they halted and concealed themselves, and one after the other peered around a point of | rock and glanced up at the cliff at the eastern end of the basin. The same man whom Stepney had seen was again looking down over the edge of the cliff. CHAPTER XLI. ON A CROOKED TRAIL. ‘““THAT kinder gits me!” remarked Captain Dunning. ‘‘ What do you make of it, my boy?” ‘It seems to me to be pretty plain now,” an- swered Stepney. over the edge of the cliff is one of the rascals who have been stealing the ore.” ‘* Like enough; but that don’t tell us anythin’ to speak of. That was he doin’ up thar, and how do they git away with the stuff?” ‘*T said that they might work the scheme by means of a balloon. ell, they haven’t got a balloon, but have got tho next thing to it, I judge. "What's that?’ **Some sort of a hoisting-machine by which they raise the ore up to the edge of the cliff. I don’t know how they could have hit upon an easier or Safer way of working the scheme. We would never have suspected it if we had not happened to catch sight of that fellow.” ‘* But what do they want to git the stuff up thar fur; and what do they do with it arter they git it thar?” ‘¢ That’s what we will have to find cut.” Mark Senne’ expressed the opinion of the other inmates of Bella Vista in saying that the how and the wherefore of the ore-stealing mys- a was something they would have tofind out. hen he and Captain Dunning reached the plateau and made their report, it was the unani- mous opinion there that the matter must be im- mediately investigated. It would never do to allow such a rascally scheme to be worked, without a vigorous and successful effort to get at the bottom of it, to wipe out every vestige of its methods, and to punish the perpetrators if they could be got hold 0 f. Captain Dunning sensibly suggested that the he not to run any risks that could be avelded, and therefore should take a sufficient force to enable them to overcome the rascals in the event of a collision. He proposed to bring from his ranch his son Bob, with Ben Boggs and Joe Butler, as they could easily be spared for a day or two, if not longer, and the addition of those three would give alarge enough party to go in search cf the thieves, without leaving Bella Vista un- guarded. The young men, who were glad to have a lit- tle more excitement to vary the monotony of ranching, came willingly enough, and the morn- ing after Mark Stepney’s discovery at the mine- basin, the party were ready to start. {t consisted of six men, Jack Bunn and Bob Dunning being left at the house to take care of the ladies. As they were all well armed, it was supposed that this force would be quite sufficient for the accomplishment of their purpose, Captain Dunning, in view of his age and ex- perience, was made the leader of the expedition and Shawnee Jim, who was better ac uainted with the intricacies of the mountains than any of the others, acted as guide. After bidding their friends at Bella Vista not to worry about them in case they should not re- turn for a day or s0, they descended into the pass, and went out into the gorge that led through the range. They followed this pass eastward, and moved rather slowly, as it was important that they should find and use the first practicable opening into the hills at the northern side of the gorge. Nothing of the kind was found, in spite of the most diligent search, until they had reached and passed the place where Hark Sarpy and his two young friends were overtaken by the Apaches whom they astonished with dynamite. There Shawnee Jim, who was in the advance, struck a horse-trail that led out of the gorge in a northerly direction. It had apparently been used_ very little of late, but was still an evident trail, and they had no hesitation in following it, as their object was to reach by the nearest possible route the edge of the cliff where Stepney had seen the man looking down into the basin. As they started into the hills that young man was seized by an idea, and he hastened to re- lieve himself of the burden, ‘‘When I first saw that Zeke Stebbins,” said he, ‘at the tavern across the range whic : Sarpy spoke about, I remember his telling the Trishman who kept the place that he had quit trading with the Indians, and had gone into mining speculations. Perhaps he was not lying og part of the statement may have bee ee “Ss he was tellin’ the truth fur once,” re- marked Captain Dunning. “ What of it?” + Ab és } Age: wc — ¥ ,* of ne ee : As ie Ot oF walt > a“ x. a > ‘“The man we saw looking | ty a e mak | ‘Just this of it. He may have a mine some- | where about here in the hills, or may have had one, or may have been interested in one, and - _ there may be some machinery at that mine.” | “* Durned if I kin guess what you’re drivin’ at, | my boy.” ‘*Tf there is anything of the kind, he may be taking the stolen ore there. [If not, I can’t imagine what he can do with it. This trail was made for some purpose, and it is quite likely | that it may lead to a mine.” ‘“‘There is somethin’ in that, Mark. Any- % how, the trail is bound to lead to somewhar.” Shawnee Jim, who had been examining the sign carefully, gave it as his opinion that the | “ae was not and never had been an Indian. trail. _ Ifit bad been made by white men, there was: -more than a chance that Stepney’s supposition: | was correct. | It was soon made evident that the trail was: not going to lead them to the edge of the cliff _ which they desired to reach, unless by a round- about way, as it had a steady northeasterly direction, and a southeasterly course was whats they wanted. | However, as it was the only opening into the | hills which they had been able to find, there was nothing for them to do but to follow it, hopin that they might strike a side trail which wold. take them to their objective point. If Stepney’s supposition should prove correct,, and the trail should lead them to a mine, aban-. doned or otherwise, they might expect to gain information that would lead to more important - results, That was exactly what they found at the end: of it. The trail led them on into the hills, with only a slight ascent, and without any visible cpeny: at either side, until it terminated in a glen that. well fitted Stepney’s guess. Then they found a rude shanty, a rusty en-- gine and boiler under a shed, with an gee iu the rock, and piles of broken stone, alf of" — which clearly indicated an abandoned or unused mine. The party from Bella Vista hurried forward, te 3 to take the occupants of the little settle- — ee y surprise; but they found no occupants’. there, Although there were signs of recent habita- - tion in and about the shanty, it then contained no inhabitants, and the closest search failed to - discover any. It was impossible to decide how many people» —_— had lately been there; but the number could not: | be less than four or five, judging by the horse- — tracks. The engine and boiler had evidently not been used for many months, and that the mine had been abandoned as worthless was made clear by the quality of the outfit that lay about the. opening. Near the engine shed, however, was found a> pile of ore that was much fresher in appearance, , ! and far more valuable than the stuff about the - mine. As soon as this was discovered it was pounced upen and examined as a clew to the lost prop-- erty. OD Phis is our ore,” said Stepney, as he picked up a chunk and viewed it criti Y: ‘*T reckon it must be,” observed Captain Dun-- ning. ‘‘It never growed here, fur sart’in, and it’s been brought here quite nef too.” “More than that, my friend. I am a fair judge of that sort of thing, and I would be» ~ willing to swear that it came from Hark Sar- | py’s mine. I wish I could as at tell you beer has become of the rascals who brought it. awdy. ‘“‘Findin’ em is now only a question of time, Mark. We've struck one end o’ the trail, and — only need to foller it up to git to other end. I reckon it’s the best end we've struck, too,aswelE ‘| be more likely to close in on ’em and take "em when they won’t be lookin’ fur us.” aa ‘““You think, then, that we'll find them at’ our mine?” ae ‘“Thar or tharabouts, and all we’ve got to do is to ketch onto the trail.” : Shawnee Jim attended to this matter, and had no difficulty in finding what he wanted. one, leading up a steep ascent in a westwardly direction, and there could scarcely be a doubt. that the recent occupants of the glen had taken that trail. ; Captain Dunning’s party started off on the trail as soon asit was found, but they did not make rapid progress, as they had come from i Sy Ds Bella Vista afoot, presuming that they would ee: have a explore venintin where horses could not ° 4, travel. {See They did not grumble at this, but found some consolation in it. “It mang Air us a bit,” remarked the old man “but we kin git over sech ground as this as fast as if we was mounted, and we'll be more likely to come up on our game, as they will have to quit their horses or stand and take what we've - In this prediction the speaker w&s mistaken, , as the result proved. iS : The trail led the party by a rough and diffi-- SO UK OS ae F) % -~ : ag 7. te * ’ * 4 = a bea oe \~ The trail was a horse trail, evidently a new + 4 “ oo * r a . ‘ et “a * at toa , % 4 e J a * Sv | 4 . a os ha ~ * aa P:. y-,) - File, i? ¢ He > ~ t 7% . A . ys SH ft a s * r