Down the Slope

Gus looked triumphant, and again shouted loudly; but the expression of his eye was changed to despair as the stranger burst through the foliage.

"Why Joe! Joe!" Fred cried, as he leaped forward and caught Brace by the hands. "How did you happen to get here just when you were most needed?"

"I reckon I'd gone right past without knowin' you was anywhere near, if it hadn't been for your wild yells."

"It was Gus who did that," Fred replied, glancing with a smile toward the discomfited prisoner. "He thought as I did, that it was Tim."

"Do you mean his partner?"

"Yes."

"Have you got the best of both?"

In the fewest words possible Fred explained how the capture had been made, and Joe actually leaped for joy when the stolen money was displayed.

CHAPTER XXVII

AN UNLOOKED-FOR DENIAL

"You've done a big thing, my boy," Brace said, approvingly, when Fred's story was concluded, "an' it won't be long before we can bring Sam back to Farley's with not so much as a suspicion against him. Besides that, we own the land that'll make all hands rich."

"How did you do it?"

Joe gave him all the details, and concluding with the interview between himself and Mr. Wright, said:

"I didn't leave that night as I decided on; but went back to see poor Bill, an' your mother insisted I stay till mornin'. The sun wasn't up when I started out, an' a mighty blind hunt it proved to be till the first camp was struck. That kinder livened me a bit; but I couldn't get onto the trail, an' from then till Gus yelled I hadn't any idea which way to go."

"How far do you suppose we are from Farley's?"

"I reckon it'll take smart walkin' for the rest of this day, an' the best part of to-morrow before we see the works."

"And the provisions I took from Tim and Gus are all gone."

"I've got enough for supper, if we don't eat too hearty, and the balance of the time we can suck our thumbs."

"Then we'd better make another start. It must be three o'clock."

"Do you know the straight cut?"

"I'm not even certain we're heading right."

"By keeping on the high land we are bound to come out somewhere near Farley's or Blacktown."

When the journey was continued Gus took good care to give his captors no trouble, for he understood that Joe would show but little mercy, if there was any attempt to cause delay.

At a reasonably rapid pace the three marched until darkness forced a halt, and then the small amount of provisions Brace had brought was consumed without satisfying the hunger of either member of the party.

Gus was tied between his captors, where he could stretch himself at full length, and the night passed quietly. There was no longer any fear Tim could effect a rescue, even though he might be near at hand, and Fred enjoyed a most refreshing rest.

What all hoped would prove to be the last day's journey was begun without breakfast, and the advance was by no means rapid.

At ten o'clock Fred declared he could go no farther without a rest, and the party sought shelter from the sun under a wide spreading tree, where a view could be had of a depression in the land for some distance ahead.

Joe and Fred were facing this open stretch, and had but just begun to discuss the subject which was ever uppermost in their minds – the coal vein – when a figure carrying a heavy burden emerged from the thicket on the lower side, evidently bent on ascending the mountain.

"Now, what can that fellow be doing?" Joe asked, as he arose to his feet. "It's a boy, an' we'd be in big luck if it should turn out to be that precious Tim."

"But it isn't; he wears a cap, and this one has a hat. It looks something like – Why it is! It's Skip!"

"Skip?" Joe repeated in amazement. "What's he doin' out here, an' with such a load?"

"In order to answer that question I shall have to ask him," and Fred shouted the boy's name.

Skip started as if alarmed at being summoned, and then, waving his hat in triumph, he came toward the party at his best pace.

"I knew I'd find you if I hunted long enough," he exclaimed as he came within speaking distance, and added when he finally reached the tree and threw down the burden. "It's mighty heavy, an' I thought one spell yesterday I'd have to give up the job. Reckon you're glad to get it, eh?"

"What have you there?"

"Grub, of course. When Joe didn't turn up, an' there was no sign of Fred, I figured that you'd both want somethin' to eat, so took out my wages in what was handiest to eat. Mrs. Byram said I'd never find you, but it wouldn't do any harm to try, so here we are."

"Did you spend your money to buy us food?" Fred asked.

"Why not? It'll take a good deal more'n that to straighten things between us, an' I'd like to get the 'count squared some time."

"You've done it already, Skip. It was you who first put us on the track of the thieves, and now you've helped the cause along wonderfully, for it has been a good while since I had all I could eat."

"Well, fill yourself up right now. There's no need to hurry, for you can't get to Farley's to-night, an' – Hello, Gus! Got through with your trip so soon?"

"You'll wish I hadn't before this thing is ended," was the surly reply, and then the prisoner turned his back on the ex-chief of the regulators.

Quite naturally Skip was eager to hear the result of the chase, and while Joe and Fred were eating they gave him the full particulars.

"Do you know the way home?" Brace asked when the story was told.

"Of course. I've been out here half a dozen times. Was you calculatin' to keep straight ahead?"

"Yes."

"Then you'd gone six miles the other side of Farley's."

"If that is the case, it's lucky you found us. Let's make another start; now I've filled up it seems possible to travel without stopping again until we are at mother's door."

With a guide and provisions in plenty, the long tramp yet to be endured seemed but a trifling affair, and the party, with the single exception of Gus, were in the best of spirits.

The night was spent near a small water course in the valley, and at three o'clock all hands entered the company's store at Farley's.

Both Mr. Wright and the cashier were in the building, and they listened in undisguised astonishment as Joe told the story of the capture.

"Here is the money, except what they have spent," Fred said when Joe concluded the recital, and he handed the package to the superintendent.

An examination showed that but fifty-three dollars were missing, and then Mr. Wright turned to Gus, who was wearing a look of mingled indignation and innocence.

"How did you get this money from Thorpe?"

"Who is he, sir?"

"The boy who was bringing it from the bank."

"I never saw him."

"Then how did you get these notes?"

"I never had 'em sir."

"Why, I took them out of his pocket," Fred cried, in surprise.

"Explain yourself," Mr. Wright said to the prisoner.

"Me an' Tim Sanger was goin' to camp out on the mountains while work was slack," Gus began with an air of truthfulness. "We had a shanty built, an' Tim went off fishin' when this feller," here he pointed to the astonished Fred, "jumped in on me. I'd seen him in Blacktown, so didn't think anything was out of the way till he knocked me down."

"Why did he strike you?"

"That's jest what I don't know. He tied me all up like this, an' I had to do as he said till we met Joe Brace. Then I heard one of 'em say to the other: 'This will get Sam out of the scrape, for we can say Gus Dobson had the money what was stole, in his pocket.' That's all I know about it, an' I never saw them bills till this very minute."

"It was a good scheme for Sam to give up the money in this way when he found the case was so dead against him," the cashier said in a low tone, as if speaking to himself; but he took care that Mr. Wright should hear distinctly.

"What do you mean?" Joe cried fiercely.

"Nothing, nothing, I must have been thinking aloud."

"You intended we should hear every word," the miner added, excitedly.

"Be quiet, Brace, while we get the facts of this strange story," Mr. Wright said, sharply.

"You have got the facts already sir. I told you before I left town that this fellow was one of the thieves."

"That doesn't prove anything," the cashier replied, with a malicious smile.

"I'll prove more than that to you, if you dare show your nose out doors."

"Either leave the office, Brace, or hold your tongue," and now the superintendent spoke in an angry tone.

"Fred, what have you got to say in answer to this boy's story?"

"Not a word, sir. What Joe has told you is true, and if it ain't believed you can serve the warrant which was issued for me, as soon as you please."

"He can't say anything," Gus added, triumphantly. "If Tim was here he could tell you jest why we left Blacktown; but, of course, he don't know about the job this feller is try in' to put up on me."

"Where is Tim?"

"I dunno. He'll likely come home when he can't find me."

"Are you willing to stay here until he returns?"

"Sure; there ain't any reason why I'd want to run off, if you tell my folks where I am."

Joe could contain himself no longer.

"Do you mean to put his word agin ours?" he cried fiercely.

"Why not?" the cashier asked, softly. "It looks to me very much as if his having been brought here was an outrage."

"If you speak to me agin I'll spoil the whole of your face, you cur! After arestin' a boy for meetin' with an accident in doin' what you oughter done, an' gettin' out warrants for others what couldn't have had a hand in the matter, it's easy to see why you want to believe this little villain's story. When the truth is known you understand blessed well that the town will be too hot to hold you."

"That will do," Mr. Wright cried, sternly. "I shall have no such language used here. Leave this moment, Brace, and when you are more calm we'll discuss the matter."

Joe looked in silence first at the cashier, and then at the superintendent, after which he said to Fred and Skip:

"Come, lads, this is no place for us. We've saved the company's money, an' now are likely to be treated as we were for standin' by 'em at the time of the riot."

With this reminder he walked out of the building followed by both the boys.

CHAPTER XXVIII

OPINIONS

The three who had entered the store in such high spirits left it in a maze of bewilderment and anger.

That Gus could concoct so plausible a story was none the less astonishing than that Mr. Wright should give it credence, so far as to refrain from ordering the boy's immediate arrest.

Joe was so enraged that during the walk to Fred's home he did nothing but inveigh in the strongest terms against the company, and more especially these two of its servants who had insulted both himself and Fred by refusing to believe their united statements.

"I'll pound that cashier 'till he can't say beans," he cried, shaking his fist in impotent rage.

"What good will that do? People won't believe our story any quicker because of it."

"I'll be satisfied, an' that's enough."

"Don't make such threats," Fred said, imploringly. "If he hears of them it will only give him a chance to make trouble for you."

"I'll not only make 'em; but carry out every one. It won't take much more talk to coax me into servin' Wright the same way."

Several of the miner's acquaintances hailed him as he passed; but his heart was so full of anger that he paid not the slightest attention, and Fred felt a sense of most profound relief when they were inside the house, where the wild threats could not be heard by those who might report them at the store.

After the greetings with Mrs. Byram the travelers went to the chamber where Bill lay helpless, his fractured limb bound in splints and bandages.

Here the different stories were told again, and the invalid's astonishment was not less than that of his companions.

"It don't hardly seem reasonable," he muttered, after a long pause. "I reckon the best thing would be for you an' Fred to see the lawyer right away. There's no knowin' what kind of a scrape may grow out of this."

"It'll do jest as well if we go in the mornin' on the first train," Joe replied. "After the tramp we've had it comes kinder natural to hanker for a bed."

"I s'pose it would be tough; but don't waste any time to-morrow."

"Wright can't do much between now an' then, so rest easy, mate. They won't be able to take the land from us, an' in another year we'll be among the big-bugs ourselves."

"Are you sure the trade can't be backed out of?"

"I've left everything with the lawyer, and he'll fix matters about right."

Bill closed his eyes as if in thought; Fred went down stairs to talk with his mother, and Skip took his departure, Joe saying as he accompanied him to the door:

"We won't forget what you've done, lad, an' before long us four – that's countin' Sam – will be in condition to pay off our scores."

"I'll have all I want when the fellers I buried in the mine promise to forget what's been done."

"Then you can rest easy, for the matter was settled yesterday when you brought the grub."

After Skip left Joe went out to see his friends, and an hour later he returned in a perfect rage.

"That villain of a cashier has taken good care to tell his side of the story," he exclaimed, bursting into the invalid's room, "an' more'n half the men I've seen believe we got the money from Sam to stick the robbery on that thievin' Gus. Mr. Wright has taken the boy up to his house, an' is pettin' him like a prince, I s'pose, to square off for what we did to him. Why, even Donovan says old man Dobson oughter prosecute us for the outrage, as he calls it."

"I can't believe it!" Bill cried, trying in vain to rise to a sitting posture.

"I'm tellin' the truth, all the same. There's a big excitement in town, an' I wouldn't be surprised if Fred was arrested in the mornin', spite of what he's done."

"Don't the folks know what kind of a boy that Dobson feller is?"

"I reckon they do; but the cashier keeps talkin' about destroyin' one feller's character to help another, an' the blind fools here swallow all he says."

"What makes him so down on our crowd?"

"'Cause he had no business to make the arrests, an' if it was proved Gus an' Tim stole it, he'd be in a bad mess with all hands."

"Look here, Joe" – and Bill spoke very earnestly – "it don't make any difference how tired you an' Fred are, you must go to Blacktown this very night. That lawyer will tell us jest what oughter be done, an' we've got to fight this thing tooth an' nail, now all hands are agin us."

Joe realized that this was good advice, and went at once to confer with Mrs. Byram and Fred.

The result of this last interview was that an hour after midnight the miner and the boy left the house quietly, and walked at a rapid pace directly across the mountain.

"This is pretty tough, lad," Joe said, when they were some distance from the town. "It seems as if I'd done nothin' but tramp for the last month."

"I won't grumble if this matter is straightened out finally, but just now it looks as though all hands would have been better off to let things go as they might."

"Don't get downhearted. When our mine is open you can afford to laugh at this little fracas."

Although Joe spoke so cheerily he was far from feeling comfortable in mind, as was apparent when they visited the lawyer's house at a very early hour next morning.

The mental anxiety could be plainly read on his face as he waited to receive the legal opinion after telling his story.

"I don't think you need fear any serious trouble, although matters may be very disagreeable for a while," that gentleman said. "It will be well for us to make complaint against the Dobson boy, and by causing his arrest be certain of having him here when he is wanted. I will attend to it at once."

"How much money do you want?"

"We won't speak of that now. When I do business for a firm as rich as yours, I am not afraid of losing my fees."

"It would be hard to find any poorer concern."

"There's where you make a mistake, Mr. Brace. Your title is clear; an expert, whom I sent, reports that there can be no question as to the presence of coal in large quantities, and I shall be only too glad to purchase stock when the company is formed."

"Do you mean the whole of that?" Joe asked, his eyes glistening with delight.

"To prove it I will advance on your joint note any reasonable amount of money which may be needed. In fact, I think it would be a good idea to give Mr. Wright a hint of your discovery, when I'm quite sure he'd view this whole affair in a different light."

"We'll keep the secret a while longer. I'd rather get out of the scrape before folks know what we've found, an' then settle old scores. Now, Fred, s'pose we go to see Sam?"

"I'll walk to the jail with you, and you can wait until I have despatched an officer to Farley's for the Dobson boy."

The fact that Lawyer Hunter had come with the visitors insured them every facility for seeing their friend, and the three met in the turnkey's room with the knowledge that they might be together the entire day.

Poor Sam looked forlorn, indeed, when he entered the apartment. It had been so long since his friend's last visit that he fancied they were deserting him.

His appearance changed decidedly when they explained the reason for their absence, and two hours were spent in giving a detailed account of all that had happened since his departure from Farley's.

Then, forgetting the present troubles, the three talked of the day when they would be mine owners instead of laborers, and built so many air castles that neither heeded the passage of time until Mr. Hunter returned with the information that an officer had visited Farley's only to find the superintendent looking anxiously for Gus.

"It seems that Mr. Wright took the boy home last night, and, believing in his protestations of innocence despite your testimony, left him unguarded. As might have been expected, he took advantage of this credulity to make his escape, and now I fancy it will be many days before he re-visits this part of the country."

"Then all we have done goes for nothing," Fred said, mournfully.

"In that you are very greatly mistaken. Thorpe will be acquitted beyond a doubt, and it is not likely Mr. Wright dare press any charge against you at present. I shall go with you to Farley's, after Sam is released on bail, and guarantee matters will be set right."

"Am I to go out?" Sam asked in surprise.

"As soon as it can be arranged. Your friends are to accompany me, and the matter can be accomplished very quickly."

Fred was amazed at the ease with which all this was done. He and Joe went before a magistrate, and repeated under oath the story they had told so often; two friends of Mr. Hunter's signed a paper to which the other's names had already been affixed, and, ten minutes later, Sam was with them, looking radiantly happy at being in the open air once more.

It was too late to return home, unless Joe and Fred were willing to take another tramp across the mountain, and all three went to the hotel, where they formed a very jolly party.

On the first train next morning the partners, accompanied by Mr. Hunter, arrived at Farley's, and found public sentiment greatly changed. The flight of Gus had caused very many to believe he really was the guilty party, although no one could guess how he gained possession of the money, and the walk to Mrs. Byram's was something like an ovation.

CHAPTER XXIX

A QUESTION OF TITLE

It was as if each person who had doubted Sam's honesty felt it necessary to call at Mrs. Byram's and congratulate him upon what now appeared to be good proof of his innocence.

Fred and the miners also came in for their share of attention, and even Bill, whose limb was paining him severely, joined his partners in celebrating their victory, which now seemed certain.

Before returning home Mr. Hunter called to consult with his clients relative to making a stock company of the new mine, and, when he left, it was with full authority to do whatever he believed their interests demanded.

Among the visitors in the evening was Donovan, and he had no hesitation in calling himself very severe names for having been so stupid as to think it possible his old friends could have been engaged in any questionable transaction.

"The cashier is about as sore a man as can be found in town," he said, "an' if I ain't way off in my reckonin' he'll be lookin' for another job mighty soon."

"Does he say anything against us?" Bill asked.

"He's glum as a fish. Every feller who goes in wants to know where Gus is, an' he keeps out of sight all that's possible."

"Have you seen Mr. Wright to-day?"

"No; but I heard he an' that lawyer of yours had a long chin about the business. Say, Bill, by the time you get out of this scrape you'll owe a pretty penny for law, I reckon. Why don't you try to make the company pay it?"

"We can stand the racket, an' won't ask a soul to help us."

"Somebody must have died an' left you a pile, for men that work at Farley's don't often have enough to pay big lawyers for runnin' around."

"It'll be all right, Donovan, so don't worry about that."

But the mine boss did worry. He failed to understand how Bill and Joe could incur such expense with any prospect of paying it, and when he left the house it was to discuss the matter in all it's bearings with a select few of his particular friends.

The superintendent did not consider it worth his while to call; but on the following morning Joe received a note to the effect that if he intended to return to the mine, it would be to his advantage to resume his work at once.

"Tell Mr. Wright that I've got through with his company, an' he can put a man in my place whenever it suits him," the miner said to the messenger, and the latter had hardly reached the store before a workman from Blacktown arrived with the startling intelligence that the four who had been accused of the robbery had purchased a large tract of land on the mountain, and were about to open a mine.

This news was so wonderful that one of the loungers volunteered to walk to the town for the sole and only purpose of learning if it was really true.

An hour later it was rumored that Fred received the following telegram from Blacktown:

"Have opened books for subscriptions, and already received pledges to the full amount necessary for beginning the work.

Arthur Hunter."

The lounger returned in hot haste with information that the people there were in the highest state of excitement regarding the new company which was being formed by some of the most influential men in the county, and related with many embellishments of his own, the story of how the vein had been discovered by Sam and Fred.

This was sufficient to cause another stream of callers to Mrs. Byram's house, and, learning that the secret had been made known, the four owners had no hesitation in giving all the particulars.

Now the cashier was more unpopular than ever. Even those who refrained from censuring him on the day previous, had nothing but hard words for the man who could make such an error as to charge with theft those who were wealthy in the possession of such a rich vein as the new one was reported to be.

Fully one-third of all those in the company's works took a half holiday to see the new mine, and some of the most sanguine started out to prospect for other evidences of coal.

In six hours land in the immediate vicinity of the mountain increased in price, until it would hardly have paid to buy it, unless gold could be found in large quantities, and the entire county was in a ferment of excitement.

It is needless to say that the four partners were very happy; but even in the midst of the great joy they found time to wonder why Skip had not called to congratulate them.

Nearly every other one of their friends and acquaintances visited the house at some time during the day and evening; but the ex-chief of the regulators was conspicuous by his absence.

"I wonder what the matter is with him?" Fred asked, when, at a late hour, the partners were alone. "Do you suppose he thinks we don't want to see him just because we have been fortunate?"