Another Landslide
: Dave Porter In The Gold FieldsIt was another landslide, crashing and roaring down the side of the
mountain, carrying rocks, dirt, and brushwood before it. The earth
roared and shook, and it was said afterwards that the slide could be
heard many miles away.
Down in the mine that he had but just discovered, Dave remained
crouching against a wall of rock, murmuring a prayer for his safe
deliverance from the peril that encompassed him. Ev
expected would be his last--that those rocky walls would crash in on him
and become his tomb. Roar followed roar, as the landslide continued and
more rocks fell. Then the air around him seemed to be compressed, until
he could scarcely breathe.
"Oh, if I were only out of this!" he thought, and at that moment he
would have gladly given all he was worth to have been in the outer air
once more.
Gradually the roaring and the quaking ceased, and Dave breathed a little
more freely. He groped around in the darkness and managed to locate the
fallen torch, which still glowed faintly. He swung it into a blaze with
nervous energy.
Was the landslide at an end? Fervidly he prayed that it was. Torch in
hand, he tried to make his way to the spot where he had entered the
mine.
He soon found this impossible, for the reason that the passageway had
shifted, and huge rocks blocked his way. Several times he tried to climb
over the rocks, only to fall back helplessly. He cut his hands and broke
his finger-nails, but this availed him nothing.
"But I've got to get out! I've got to!" he told himself, over and over
again. "I can't stay here!" And then he tried to climb the rocks in
front of him once more.
It was hard work, especially with the torch in hand. Once Dave tried to
carry the torch between his teeth, but it was too short, and his face
was scorched, while the smoke almost strangled him.
Suddenly he slipped on some wet rocks and went down and down, he knew
not whither. He was stunned by the fall, and the precious light slid
from his grasp and rolled several yards away.
"Oh!" he murmured as he gathered his scattered senses and arose slowly
to his feet. Then he saw that the torch was on the point of going out
and he made a dash for it, and swung it once again into a faint blaze.
As he stepped around he noticed something else that added to his dismay.
In his fall he had twisted his left ankle, which gave a twitch that made
him shut his teeth hard, to keep from crying out with pain.
"Oh, I hope I haven't broken it!" he muttered. "However am I going to
walk on it, even if it is broken?"
In sheer desperation he commenced to climb up the wet rocks down which
he had tumbled. The ankle hurt not a little, yet in his excitement the
youth scarcely noticed the pain. His one thought was to get out of the
cave before another landslide or earthquake occurred.
A few minutes later found Dave on the level from which he had fallen. As
he scrambled over the rocks something caught the glare of the
torchlight. The youth picked up the object.
"Another nugget!" he told himself. "The place must be full of them!"
But what good would these nuggets be to him or his friends if he could
not get out of the mine-cave? He was deep underground and this new
landslide or earthquake might bury him and the contents of the mine
forever!
"I've got to get out!" he repeated over and over again. "I've got to get
out somehow!"
Trying to pierce the gloom ahead, Dave swung his torch behind him. Was
he mistaken, or was that a glimmer of daylight in the distance? He
stumbled forward, over some loose stones, and presently came to a split
in the narrow passageway.
From overhead came a faint ray of daylight! He almost felt like giving a
shout of joy, so welcome was the sight. But then his heart sank once
more as he realized that the thin shaft of light came from a split in
some rocks which were fifty or sixty feet above his head. The walls were
so steep and slippery that to scale them was utterly out of the
question.
In front of Dave was now a solid wall of rock, so the youth knew that he
could not get out in that direction. With a heavy heart he retraced his
steps, trying to locate the opening by which he had entered the cave.
But the landslide, or earthquake, had changed the surroundings to such
an extent that he hardly knew how to turn to make the next move.
A youth less stout of heart than Dave might have sat down and given up
the case as hopeless. But our hero was not made of such stuff. He moved
on slowly, in one direction and then another, trying out what looked as
if they might be passages to the outer air.
And then came another distant rumble, showing that the earthquake, or
landslide, was not yet at an end. The boy held his breath, wondering if
it would come closer and annihilate him. But the rumble remained at a
distance, and in less than a minute passed away completely.
"Thank fortune, that didn't come here!" he murmured, and passed his hand
over his forehead, upon which the thick beads of cold perspiration had
gathered. He strained his ears for several seconds longer, but all
around him was now as silent as a tomb.
"Oh, I must get out!" he muttered, despairingly. "I must! There must be
some kind of an opening somewhere!"
Again he stumbled onward, into one passageway after another. Once the
place was so narrow that he became fairly wedged fast and had all he
could do to draw back. Then a sudden chill swept through his body,
making his teeth chatter.
Must he give up? Was that cave to become his tomb?
The thought forced itself upon Dave in spite of his effort to take a
more cheerful view of the situation. He was hemmed in--not an avenue of
escape seemed open.
"I won't give up! I won't! I won't!" he muttered, half savagely, and got
up from the rock on which he had sunk down to rest. Climbing around in
that place where the footing was so uncertain had taken both his wind
and his strength, and he was panting, and his knees shook beneath him.
Only a short time had elapsed since that dreadful first shock had come,
yet to the youth it seemed an age.
He looked at the torch. It had burned well down and would not last much
longer. And when it was gone he would be left in total darkness!
This was a new cause for fear, and it made Dave move around faster than
ever.
Suddenly he stopped short. A new sound had reached his ears--a strange,
weird sound that made his flesh creep and his hair stand on end.
It was the cry of a wildcat--shrill and uncanny in that pent-up space.
Slowly it came nearer, although from what direction our hero could not
at first make out.
He waited behind a spur of rocks and the cry--it was more a whine of
fright than anything else--came closer. Then, on a shelf of rocks but a
short distance away, Dave caught sight of the beast.
It was limping along on three feet, dragging a bleeding hind leg and a
bleeding tail behind it. Evidently it had been caught between the
falling stones as in a trap and had pulled itself loose in a mad effort
to save its life.
For the moment Dave forgot his other perils as he faced the beast.
Evidently the wildcat had scented the youth, for it gave a savage cry
as of defiance. Perhaps it thought that Dave was responsible in some way
for the pain it was suffering.
The youth's hand was on the rocks and almost unconsciously it closed on
a sharp stone about as big as his fist. Raising the stone, he took quick
aim and threw it at the wildcat.
As my old readers know, Dave was a good baseball player and, at Oak
Hall, had often filled the pitcher's box with credit. He threw the stone
with accuracy and vigor, and it landed fairly and squarely on the head
of the wildcat.
There was a weird screech, and the beast whirled around and around on
the rocks, coming closer and closer to our hero. Once it clawed savagely
at Dave, but he shoved the creature off before any damage was done. Then
it fell down in a cleft of some rocks, where it snapped and snarled
until Dave sent down a heavy boulder on top of it, thus ending its
misery.
"Phew!" gasped the youth, after the excitement was over. "That was
almost as bad as when we shot the mountain lioness!"
He had dropped the end of his torch, but now picked it up once more and
commenced to move around as before. He proceeded blindly, not knowing in
what direction to turn to reach the outer air.
"Where can the others be?" was a question he asked himself more than
once. Were they, too, caught underground, or had the awful landslide
carried them down into the valley and buried them?
In the course of his climbings Dave presently came to a new turn, one
which had before escaped his attention. This turn led upward and gave
him fresh hope. But, just as he fancied that he was getting close to the
outer air, he reached a flat wall, and further progress in that
direction was out of the question.
His heart sank like lead in his bosom, and he walked slowly back to the
point from which he had started. How to turn next he did not know.
Half an hour passed, and Dave was almost in despair. His torch had
reached its end and was on the point of going out. Then, not knowing
what else to do, he set up a cry for help.
There came no reply, and he cried again. Then he pulled out his pistol
and fired a shot.
The discharge of the weapon echoed and reechoed throughout the cave and
brought down several small stones. Then, to Dave's intense surprise and
joy, an answering shot came back.
"Who is it?" he yelled. "I am here! This way! This way!"
"Hello!" was the long-drawn-out answer, coming from some point that
appeared to be over his head. "Where--are--you?"
And then, as Dave's torch gave a final flicker and went out, our hero
saw a shaft of light move over the rocks above his head.
"It's Roger's flashlight!" he told himself, and then he set up another
cry.
The rays of the flashlight became stronger and of a sudden they shot
downward, directly in Dave's face.
"It's Dave!" came in Roger's voice. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," was the ready reply. "That you, Roger?"
"Yes. Phil is with me."
"Were you hurt?"
"Shaken up a bit, that's all," replied Phil, and now Dave saw his chums
standing in an opening that was about eight feet above his head.
"We had better get out of here," went on Roger, quickly. "Another
landslide may bury us alive!"
"I've found the mine!" cried Dave. "I've got some nuggets from it--and a
pick, a crowbar, and a broken lantern, all with your uncle's initials on
them!"
"Good for you!" cried the senator's son. "Phil and I found some
evidences of the mine up here--an old coat of my uncle's and some of his
stakes. But we had better get out now--we can talk this thing over
later."
"I can't get out down here--the passageway is blocked with rocks."
"Did you get in from below?" cried Phil. "We got in from up here."
A few words more passed, and the two boys on the upper ledge of rocks
passed down a length of rope they carried, and by that means Dave was
soon enabled to climb up and join them. There were no more quakes, so
all began to breathe more freely. Yet they felt that it would be
advisable to leave the cave-mine without delay.
"It certainly is the lost Landslide Mine!" exclaimed Roger. "Oh, how
glad I am that it has been found! And how glad my folks will be to get
the welcome news!" Even the peril of the present situation could not rob
him of his joy over the discovery that had been made.
He and Phil had picked up several small nuggets, so that all were sure
they had really discovered the lost mine.
"But they will have to be careful how they work this mine," said Dave,
as he walked along with his chums. "They can't work it from below--it
will be too dangerous."
"Oh, they'll find some way, don't fear," answered Roger. "As long as
they know the gold is there, they'll find a way to get it."
"Where are the others?" went on Dave, as he saw daylight ahead, much to
his satisfaction.
"That we don't know," answered Phil. "But we are hoping they are safe."
"By the way, did you see Merwell and Haskers?" cried Dave, suddenly.
"Why, no--not since they ran away from our camp," returned Roger.
"I saw them--just before I found this opening. They were below me, the
two of them and Sol Blugg."
"Maybe they got caught," muttered Phil.
No more was said just then, for the boys had to do some climbing over
several big rocks, and needed their breath. Then they made a turn, and a
moment later came out into the sunlight.
"Oh, how good it seems to be out in the air once more!" murmured Dave.
"Thank heaven, none of us were killed," added Roger.
"No more underground exploring for me," avowed Phil. "More than once I
thought we would be buried alive!"
"That is what I was afraid would happen to me," said Dave, seriously.
"Yes, we can all thank heaven we are out of it."
"And now to hunt up Blower and Mr. Dillon," came from the senator's son.
"If only they are safe!" murmured Dave. For the time being those who had
been on the mountainside below them were forgotten.
It was hard work to make their way from rock to rock. All the trails
were gone, and they had to proceed with extreme care, for fear of
dislodging some rock and rolling down into the valley with it.
"There they are!"
It was Dave who gave utterance to the cry, about half an hour later. He
pointed to a distant spur, and there, sure enough, they beheld Abe
Blower and Tom Dillon. The old miners had the horses with them.
"I wonder if they were hurt?" queried Phil.
"They seem to be all right," returned Roger. "I wish they would look
this way."
"We'll have to signal to them," said Dave.
"How are you going to do it?" asked the shipowner's son. "You can't call
to them at such a distance. They wouldn't hear you."
"We can give 'em a pistol shot, Phil."
"Why, to be sure! How foolish I was, not to think of it!"
"I'll fire a shot," said Roger, and brought out his weapon.
To the first shot there was no reply, but when a second was discharged
both Abe Blower and Tom Dillon were seen to turn around. Then the boys
commenced to wave their hands vigorously.
"They see us!" exclaimed Dave, half a minute later. They saw the two old
miners wave their hands in return, and Abe Blower discharged his
pistol.
"See, they are doing some kind of signalling!" cried Phil, a little
later.
All watched with interest. They saw that Abe Blower had taken up a long
bit of brushwood and was waving it in a circle to the northwestward.
"They want us to come around in that direction!" said Roger. "Don't you
think so, Dave?"
"That's the way it strikes me," was our hero's reply. "See, what is left
of the trail is in that direction. But, my! how the whole face of the
mountain is changed!"
"Not much trail left!" grumbled Phil. "If we are not careful we'll break
our necks reaching them!"
"We'll have to take it slowly," answered Dave.
The three youths set out, and they were glad to see the two miners do
the same. The men were on horseback, and the other steeds came behind
them.
As the boys had surmised, progress was difficult, and often they had to
halt, not knowing how to proceed. Here and there they could see a small
portion of a trail, but for the most part the way was new and
exceedingly rough.
"If they ever do any mining here they'll have to spend a lot of time
first building a roadway," was Phil's comment.
"If the mining pays it won't take long to get a roadway--and bridges,
too," answered Roger. "Money can do almost anything, you know."
"Oh, I know that."
"The main thing will be to guard against the landslides," said Dave,
grimly. "But I guess they'll know how to do that, too."
On went the boys, over the rough rocks and across patches of freshly
turned up dirt. All were utterly worn out, yet not one of them
complained.
"There they are!" cried Dave, some time after noon, as they made a turn
around some rocks; and in a few minutes the friends were together once
more.
"All safe?" asked Abe Blower, anxiously, and then, when assured that no
harm had come to the boys, he added: "Mighty glad to know it!"
"So am I glad!" put in Tom Dillon, heartily. "It was sure some
landslide! Almost as bad as the one that wiped out the mine!"
"We've got good news!" cried Roger. "We have relocated the lost mine!
Dave did it!"
"You and Phil did it, too," said our hero, modestly.
"Wot! Have ye located the Landslide Mine?" roared Abe Blower.
"We sure have," returned Phil. "Look here!" And he brought out some of
the nuggets he carried. And then Roger and Dave did the same.
"This is grand!" exclaimed Tom Dillon. "Nuggets, an' pretty big ones,
too. But how do you know it's the mine?"
"We found some landmarks," answered Roger. "And my uncle's coat and a
note-book----"
"And his pick, crowbar, and lantern," added Dave. And then the three
boys told their story in detail.
"It must be the lost mine," said Abe Blower. "An' if it is, I
congratulate ye!" And he shook hands all around. "Tom, they got ahead o'
us," he added, with a grin.
"So they did," was the answer. "Well, I'd rather have it that way than
have those other fellers locate the mine. By the way, I wonder how they
fared in the landslide?" the old miner continued.
"Three of them, Merwell, Haskers, and Blugg, were below me," answered
Dave. "They were over yonder," and he pointed with his hand.
"Wot! Down on thet ledge?" cried Abe Blower.
"Yes."
"Humph! Then I reckon it's all up with 'em," went on the old miner.
"What do you mean?" asked Roger.
"I mean it's likely they was wiped out," was the reply. "When the fust
quake an' slide came I was lookin' down towards thet ledge. I saw some
heavy rocks go down, and a big mass o' dirt, too, an' the ledge was
buried out o' sight. If they was down thar, it's more'n likely they was
buried alive!"
"Oh, I'd hate to think that!" cried Dave, with a shudder.
"Do you think the landslide is at an end?" asked Phil, anxiously.
"There is no tellin' about that, lad. We'll go up on the mountain, and
to the safest place we can find, and then wait," said Tom Dillon.
This was done, and an hour later, worn out completely, all sat down to
rest and to partake of lunch. They could look far along the mountainside
and see just where the avalanche of rocks and dirt had swept downward, a
portion halting here and there, and the remainder going clear to the
valley far below.
They had been resting about an hour when they saw a figure approaching
on foot. It was a man, hatless, and with half his clothes torn from his
back. As he came closer they recognized Larry Jaley.
"Jaley, where are you going?" demanded Tom Dillon.
At the sound of the miner's voice the man halted and then threw up his
hands. Then he staggered forward once more.
"Save me!" he yelled, wildly. "Save me! Don't shoot me! Save me from the
landslide!" And then stumbling, he fell at the feet of Dave and his
friends.
"Are you alone?" asked Abe Blower.
"Ye--yes! Save me! Oh, save me!" whined Jaley, and he turned a face full
of fear on those before him.
"Where are Merwell and Haskers and Blugg?" asked Dave.
"All gone--swept away by the landslide!" was the whining reply. "Oh, it
was awful! It smashed them all up--and smashed up the horses, too! Oh,
save me! Save me!" And then Larry Jaley gave a gasp and fell in a heap,
unable to say another word.
More
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Trevison rode in to town the next morning. On his way he went to the edge of the butte overlooking the level, and looked down upon the wreck and ruin he had caused. Masses of twisted steel and iron met his gaze; the level was littered with debris,... Apache Knives Dig Deep!
At five o'clock of this cloudless October morning Colonel Montgomery Byrne, "of the old Army, sir," was reviling the fates that had set him the task of unraveling such a skein as he found at Sandy. At six he was blessing the stars that sent him. A... Apaches
In the half light of the early morning, a stagecoach was rattling down a steep hill near the New Mexico-Arizona boundary line. The team of six bronchos fought against the weight of the lumbering vehicle behind, with stiff front legs threw themselve... Applehead Shows The Stuff He Is Made Of
Lite Avery, turning to look back as they galloped up a long slope so gradual in its rise that it seemed almost level, counted just fourteen Indians spreading out fanwise in pursuit. He turned to Applehead with the quiet deference in his manner that ... As It Turned Out
They found H. J. Owens the next forenoon wandering hopelessly lost in the hills. Since killing him was barred, they tied his arms behind him and turned him toward the Flying U. He was sullen, like an animal that is trapped and will do nothing but li... At Abe Blower's Home
The boys saw at once that something was wrong. Mrs. Carmody was completely bewildered, and being old, had no easy time of it to collect her wits. "Do you feel faint?" asked Dave, kindly. "Can I get you a glass of water?" "No, I'll be all rig... At Don Floristo's
In the moonlight, behind the El Chihuahense Saloon, Kid Wolf and the gambler met. The latter found The Kid leaning silently against a ruined adobe wall in the deserted alleyway. The sound of the music from within the gambling hall could be heard f... At Dunbarton
For their first bridal camp he chose an island. Long weeks beforehand he had thought of this place, and set his heart upon it. Once established in his mind, the thought became a picture that he saw waking and sleeping. He had stopped at the island... At Home At Cross L
In two days Rowdy was quite at home with the Cross L. In a month he found himself transplanted from the smoke-laden air of the bunk-house, and set off from the world in a line camp, with nothing to do but patrol the boggy banks of Milk River, where ... At Sheriff's Creek
The sun had nearly set when we galloped into Bob Quirk's camp. Halting only long enough to advise my brother of the escape of Tolleston and his joining the common enemy, I asked him to throw any pursuit off our trail, as I proposed breaking camp tha... At Silver Switch
Like that of other railroad officials, whose duties constrain them to spend much time in transit, Lidgerwood's desk-work went with him up and down and around and about on the two divisions, and before leaving his office in the Crow's Nest to go do... At The Big Mallard
The sun rose the next morning upon an eventful day in Bruce's life. He was backing his judgment--or was it only his mulish obstinacy?--against the conviction of the community. He knew that if it had not been for their personal friendship for himse... At The End Of The Road
Madeline saw that the car was surrounded by armed Mexicans. They presented a contrast to the others she had seen that day; she wondered a little at their silence, at their respectful front. Suddenly a sharp spoken order opened up the ranks next to... At The End Of The Road
Curly's wooden face told nothing of what he was thinking. The first article of the creed of the frontier is to be game. Good or bad, the last test of a man is the way he takes his medicine. So now young Flandrau ate his dinner with a hearty appeti... At The Lazy D Ranch
Helen Messiter was a young woman very much alive, which implies that she was given to emotions; and as her machine skimmed over the ground to the Lazy D she had them to spare. For from the first this young man had taken her eye, and it had come upon... At The Rio Gloria
The matter to be taken up with McCloskey, master of trains and chief of the telegraph department, was not altogether disciplinary. In the summarizing conference at Copah, Vice-President Ford had spoken favorably of the trainmaster, recommending hi... At The Round Up Club
A big game had been in progress all night at the Round Up Club. Now the garish light of day streamed through the windows, but the electric cluster still flung down its yellow glare upon the table. Behind the players were other smaller tables litte... At The Watts Ranch
It was with a decided feeling of depression that Patty Sinclair approached the Watts ranch. Long before she reached the buildings an air of shiftless dilapidation was manifest in the ill-lined barbed wire fences whose rotting posts sagged drunkenl... Aunt Janet Braved
Nightfall of a weary day had come. Camp Sandy, startled from sleep in the dark hour before the dawn, had found topic for much exciting talk, and was getting tired as the twilight waned. No word had come from the party sent in search of Downs, now ... Back From Arcadia
The president of the Mesa Ore-producing Company stepped from the parlor-car of the Limited at the hour when all wise people are taking life easy after a good dinner. He did not, however, drive to his club, but took a cab straight for his rooms, wher... Back From The Dead
Westward the little three-car train chugged its way fussily across the brown prairie toward distant mountains which, in that clear atmosphere, loomed so deceptively near. Standing motionless beside the weather-beaten station shed, the solitary pas... Back To God's Country
To minimize the risk, Megales and Carlo left the prison by the secret passage, following the fork to the river bank and digging at the piled-up sand till they had forced an exit. O'Halloran met them here with horses, and the three men followed the r... Back To Holston
Soon we were out of the forest, and riding across the sage-flat with Holston in sight. Both of us avoided the unpleasant subject of my enforced home-going. Evidently Dick felt cut up about it, and it caused me such a pang that I drove it from my min... Bad Medicine
The house at the horse ranch was a long, low L-shaped adobe structure. The first impression Curly received was that of negligence. In places the roof sagged. A door in the rear hung from one hinge. More than one broken pane of glass was stuffed wi... Bad News
Andy Green, that honest-eyed young man whom everyone loved, but whom not a man believed save when he was indulging his love for more or less fantastic flights of the imagination, pulled up on the brow of Flying U coulee and stared somberly at the pi... Bad News
News of the Killing at Alder, as they call that night's slaughter to this day in the mountain-desert, traveled swiftly, and lost nothing of bulk and burden on the way; so that two days later, when Lee Haines went down for mail to the wretched little... Bad News From The Front
It might well be imagined that a man returning from such a morning's work as had been Blake's could be excused from duty the rest of the day. He and his little party had had a spirited running fight of several hours with an evasive and most exaspe... Baffled But Still Dangerous
When Trowbridge left Dorothy Purnell, promising to find his friend for her sake, he had assumed a confidence that he was far from feeling. No man knew the country thereabout any better than he did, and he realized that there was, at best, only a m... Balaam And Pedro
Resigned to wait for the Judge's horses, Balaam went into his office this dry, bright morning and read nine accumulated newspapers; for he was behindhand. Then he rode out on the ditches, and met his man returning with the troublesome animals at l... Bandits
When Madeline and her party recovered composure they sat up to watch the finish of the match. It came with spectacular suddenness. A sharp yell pealed out, and all the cowboys turned attentively in its direction. A big black horse had surmounted the... Banishing A Shadow
Randerson could not adjust his principles to his purpose to do Masten to death while working for Ruth, and so, in the morning following his meeting with the Easterner on the trail leading to Chavis' shack, he announced to the men of the outfit tha...